Premier League: Bolton Wanderers 0 - 1 Chelsea
Unfortunately I had to make do with radio commentary and brief Match of the Day highlights, so links to match reports and video highlights only I’m afraid. Post your observations on the game in the comments.
Match reports
The Guardian, Daniel Taylor: “Avram Grant has his first league win and even if Chelsea’s fans still refuse to sing his name (it may be well into 2008, if at all, before that moment arrives) it was noticeable yesterday that the visiting fans were not as vocal in their continued support of Jose Mourinho. Winning always tends to placate unhappy supporters and, after a workmanlike 1-0 victory reminiscent of the old days, Grant is entitled to claim an air of normality is returning - if, that is, life is ever normal at Chelsea.”
The Times, Tom Dart: “Chelsea were entertaining yesterday, but for neutrals - not quite what their watching owner, Roman Abramovich, would have hoped for. The scoreline was the traditional symbol of dour, grinding efficiency, but that would be a misrepresentation of this match. Chelsea performed with an insecurity that was not redolent of the José Mourinho years. They did not concede but they gave up plenty of chances and possession.”
Daily Telegraph, Tim Rich: “If, by removing Mourinho, Chelsea’s owner, Roman Abramovich, hoped for a more entertaining side and a pivotal role for his friend, Andrei Shevchenko, he is being grimly disappointed. Grant argued yesterday that his first responsibility was to stabilise Chelsea’s results before unveiling the beautiful game, a process he said would take “several months”.”
The Independent, Sam Wallace: “Like a wilful teenager determined to establish his independence, Grant is bringing Shevchenko’s career to an abrupt halt regardless of the feelings of Chelsea’s sugar daddy, Roman Abramovich. Ushered into the inner circle at Chelsea on the basis that he believed he knew how to get the best out of the £31m man, Grant has no sooner been installed in power than he has curtly disregarded Shevchenko.”
The highlights
Click here for extended high quality video highlights from Virgin Media.
Related links
- Posted at 12:44 AM · Permalink · Print · 4043 views · Last indexed by Google on the 16th May 2008
- Tags: Avram Grant, Bolton Wanderers, Chelsea, Premier League, Salomon Kalou
I saw the game live on the beamback in the Blues Bar. It’s a pretty good arrangement with numbers limited so it’s comfortable and there are plenty of screens so no matter where you are there’s always a good view.
To summarise the game I’d say it was a typical 0-1 way winning performance of the last 2-3 years with the only difference being our defence giving away just enough extra space at the back to make Kevin Davis look international class.
Great to see Lampard back – he looked match fit.
Clearly the fans are warming to Avram because he’s got his own song. To the tune of Batman “na na na na na na na na AVRAM!â€
Can I just ask Nick, what station was you listening to for the commentary?
I was having a (little) look online and couldnt find anything via BBC or Google?
we did ok. was watching the game on the local national broadcaster Botswana Television. we ground out an away victory. i am happy with it. right now we need points more than anything else. we have lost ground. lets come to within touching distance of the title and then we can talk about other things. those who have been saying that ’sexy’ football is the dream should realise that a team of our calibre has to keep the points coming, ’sexy’ football or ‘unsexy’ football. for now i am happy with with every 3 point we can get.
lets rally behind the team. i was touched by JT with that mask, battling it out there in the park. we need that mentality more than ever. you go you blue boys!!!!
Happy with the performance…. For me Joe Cole is looking lively, complete with ridiculous Ronaldo style stepovers, but I am yet to decide whether his new-found flir makes him more or less effective.
Great to see Lamps back doing what he does best…. He made the keeper work on a couple of occasions, which was nice to see.
Glad Kalou got a goal….. In reality he had to score eventually…. You can’t have 30 shots in a month and not score at all! Seriously though, he took the goal well, and looked ok.
Also pleased to see Avram has had the balls to keep Sheva on the bench… I hope it is a sign that he isn’t simply Roman’s lapdog.
Personally I am beginning to warm to Grant. With the benefit of a bit of time to think, I reckon that Roman probably gave a great deal of thought to the issue of Jose, and came to the conclusion that he wanted the team to be the stars and not Mourinho.
Only time will tell if Grant is capable of keeping the players on track, but in all reality, for a collective wage of at least a million quid a week, they really should be able to hold things together, regardless of who is in charge, now that the initial shock is out of the way.
Sorry…. The above comment ismine.
Forgot I changed my name last week, to avoid unneccessary ridiculing of my comments!
certainly a goal that has steadied the fort a little bit… a 0-0 or a loss and things would have been very interesting..
Didn’t see the game but it rounded off a decent week in terms of getting some momentum going; such a shame the international break has cropped up now - hopefully we’ll remain relatively injury free before Boro (who look pretty shocking and well short on luck at present). Hopefully we can take advantage after our shocking record up at the Riverside in recent years.
Bar Man City, October and November contain some *relatively* straightforward games. December is tougher but we’re at home a fair bit - will hopefully be a good indication of how Grant and the squad are getting on come the New Year (transfer window / ANC to consider then).
Hurrah, Kalou has scored.
Great finish from him. As ‘Andy’ pointed out, about time. Only 46 more matches until his next one.
Glad Lamps is back, but thought (and this is based on just MOTD highlights) that JT looked average at best. Maybe the broken face has taken it’s toll on him.
‘Boro away is never easy, but hopefully with Lamps getting some match time under his belt for England, DD back from suspension and SWP from injury we should start afresh after the Internationals - a chance to truly assess where we are as a collective.
Rob - I listened to Chelsea’s own commentary via Chelsea TV Online.
Avram Grant 1 loss 1 draw and 3 wins…five more matches before I make my assessment.
It was not a pretty show out there… Sidwell almost cost us… i know he is trying but I do not see how this bloke passes for a midfielder…he did not make a forward pass that reached our player…His work rate is high but the skill levels are very low…
I wonder how we could get him in and let Diarra out???? Some of the things that TSO did in his last term were sure to get him the sack… to an extent I think Ranierri had a better eye to spot talent well considering the buys… am yet to see an Avram buy though I know he was responsible for signing Benayoun currently with Liverpool and Yakubu now with Everton while in Isreal…
Under the circumstances he has not done worse than JM so far. Bolton did not offer the challenge that Valencia offered and for those that thought Valencia was a walk in the park…we did hand them their first loss this season…
In “100 years of Solitude” by Gabriel Garsia Markes there is nice place which I really like. Colonel Buendia question the results of the peace agreement and asks what did we fight for if none of aims are reflected in this agreement.
Now back to Chelsea. Avram Grant arrives to Chelsea as special coach of Shevchenko and protagonist of attacking football. When you look at it now you see that grant plays Shevchenko even less than TSO, games with Fulham, Bolton show that our style is even more defensive than it was, SO WHAT DID WE FIGHT FOR??? Where is the new style Grant talks about all the time, where is the new Chelsea??? So far it has been the same as before in terms of style, just less wins.
Yes Jose, maybe TSO made some poor transfers deliberately as a ploy to getting sacked and paid off.
I tried to screw up in one job because I wanted a big pay off but unfortunately I just kept getting promoted.
That Mourinho - cunning bugger, he was…
Yes Mark another British disease, promote incompetent employees… never fails ;-)
OK, I have to say that after having all my posts “moderated” over the last week or two… meaning, once I submit my post it takes several hours - as many as 12 hours - for it to get posted, I’ve considered deleting this blog from my bookmarks and look for another Chelsea forum.
I think it’s childish that the boys of the “Oh my God, life it’s over without Mourinho” club, are so afraid of what I might say that they have to think about it for a few hours before allowing the others to read. If “moderation” would be the general rule of the board, I’d have no beefs with it…. but that is not the case.
Well, I had time to watch Chelsea beat Bolton and I have also had time to watch Valencia’s game against Espanyol.
In order to better understand the importance of the 3 points we won at Bolton, let me tell you what happened to Valencia after they lost at home to our beloved Chelsea mid last week. For starters, they were so tired, that only Villa (of the 4 forwards that started against us) had the legs to start the game. That alone tells you how much energy it takes to stay in a game against our boys. Not only that, but in spite of playing at home, Valencia lost the game 1-2…. having a hard time (physically and psychologically) to stay in the game. That is how much Chelsea took out of them!
In contrast to that, Chelsea played away at Bolton, one of the most physical teams in the Premiership, and gets the win! This is the real context in which this game should be analyzed.
Kalou wasn’t injured and he was taken off at half-time while Chelsea was winning just 1-0; I find it very strange. Any other manager would have kept the momentum and killed off the game!
SimonT;
Kalou was replaced at half time due to a hamstring strain. It was injury, not tactical move.
Hey Folks, found a website to watch chelsea games and loads of other ones, mail me for the link iv watched every game since the start of the league off it.
K.T.B.F.F.H.
First of all I’d like to thank everyone at ChelseaBlog.com for the excellent job they’re doing! I enjoy and eagerly await each and every post!
But I have one small request: could you PLEASE post links to YouTube/Media-something/BBC video highlights as before?! I’m currently out of the UK and hence can’t use VirginMedia. I remember you used to post YouTube links and also links from some other website the name of which I can’t remember. Thanks!
I am starting being p*ssed off! People say Mourinho could not play attacking football are fool, yes full of madness. Either you didn’t watch the first two seasons or you ain’t used to watch Champions League and other foreign leagues. Otherwise you would be aware that Mourinho’s strategy relies on efficiency in the back and attacking football while going forward along with much pressing…
I see lot of people, entitled to their own opinion though, being ungrateful to Mourinho. Even you do not need to… Give credit where it is due please.
As Mourinho said himself:
‘NO OMELETTES NO EGGS’
NO OMELETTES NO EGGS: No attacking player implies no attacking football
Mikel,
nice quotation, I asked myself the same question (and I bet everyone did) and came out with a scary answer, maybe he’s trying to build a team around Sheva and he already training the team for some tactics involving Sheva being our one-and-all striker, then I was awake with sweat all over me
It’s no good…I can’t stand it anymore!
Bobiyou, you keep goin’ on about the Omellette & eggs analogy, but it’s clear you’ve totally misunderstood what Mourinho was trying to say…Please mate, do us all a favour and read the quote again carefully will you?
SimonT. Kalou WAS injured, he tweaked his hamstring. Hence his non appearance for the 2nd half…Why not check to make sure before posting?
MikeL. You’re not being serious are you? Grant’s first job is to steady a VERY rocky ship. The last two games would suggest reasonable success, but two away wins on the bounce not good enough for you eh?
Grant has said in at least two interviews that I’ve seen, that he wants to play a more attractive game…Give him a bit of time. It only shows a poor understanding of the game on your part to expect an instant revolution.
Oh yeah, while I’m here.
MikeL…What are you talking about regarding Grant being the “special coach of Shevchenko”?
Grant holds no special allegiance to any player. ONLY those in form.
MikeL– it’s garcia marquez
Southside Bucky, could you quote your sources that “Kalou was injured”? Chelsea FC site did not mention that he was.
guru/andy
you’ve had your posts ‘moderated’ in recent weeks as there was a period when you seemed incapable of posting without lacing every message with personal abuse, not because of your views on Mourinho or anything else to do with Chelsea. Others hold similar views and aren’t moderated - simple really, no conspiracy to gag you or anyone else.
It’s up to Nick whether he changes this; if (as you seem to be doing)you can stick to football, I see no reason why not. But if you choose to delete us from your life, it is entirely your call.
Not sure why all the hysteria over Kalou’s injury, but I’ll bail out those who mentioned it :
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/h.....019625.stm
I read it in The Observer on Sunday as well. And, I think, the NOTW (I’m classy like that).
He pulled / strained / tweaked his hamstring.
So the Dutch ‘Mafia’ are slowly but surely consolidating their power-base within the club. The view - as outlined in the Guardian, I think - that this is a conspiracy, the aim of which is to get to Abramovich’s money so that certain chosen agents/sharks get their commissions, is partly believable. On the other hand, could a man who has made it as big as Abramovich really be a sucker to this kind of thing? I’m sure we can expect some purchases in January and then a flood of big ones over the summer (as well as sales). Agents like nothing more than a big turnover of players.
I think it will be a great pity. I would love to see more of the youngsters such as Sinclair being promoted even if that means a year or two of consolidation. Some purchases, yes, but no these huge sums of money being wasted a la Veron, Shevchenko etc
Hello all. I read today how klinsmann confirmed that Avram Grant while still director of football at Portsmouth spoke to him to try and lure him to replace Jose at Chelsea. I mean, now we see why we lost the league last season. Not just the inhuries, although we should still have won in any case with the squad, but because of all that turmoil which was being initiated by Abromovih and Grant even when he was not even a Chelsea employee! It makes me sick that this guy is the manager of Chelsea. As I have said before, this guy should be totally abused at every home game until he and Roman get the message. In England we value fair play almost as much as winning and it is not the done thing. I will be in the Harding stand in two weeks and I will try my best along with others to make sure he gets the message! What a complete Snake! He make me sick even if we win the CL and the league! Jose failed to learn the old adage, “keep your friends close but your enemies closer” !!
The Klinsmann story in the Times is staggering and shows exactly why so many of us think Chelsea are an astonishingly badly run club, and why ultimately Mourinho was doomed to fail, especially given the stupidly high bar he was set.
However, some people still seem to believe our plethora of bosses are the very model of sophistication, discretion and wisdom.
A couple of excellent victories do not change the comical and damaging structure of CFC.
Cheers for that Fifty. you saved me a tedious job there!
Hey, Dio. Why not try running up to the bench and tell him face to face? I’d love to see you on the news being rugby tackled by a copper.
relax mr dio football is not always as clean as you picture it to be !once you`ve been here in italy youll understand the basics..for chelsea i still think we need afew more players
just to mention to have a championsleague winning combination and the premiership
1).ANELKA
2).DIEGO(THE BRASILIAN)
3).KLAAS JAN HUUNTELAR
4).RONLADINHO
then i think we should just offload players like
1.SHEVA(BEYOND HELP)
2.KALOU(PLAIN USELESS BETTER OF PLAYING FOR NANTES )
3.PHILIPS( HEADLESS CHICKEN)
4.BALLACK(WE CAN MAKE MONEY HERE)
5.TALBENHAIM.(NOT CHAMPIONSLEAGUE MATERIAL)
6. RENATO(too error prone nowadays)
7.PIZZARO()ad rather have drog+ anelka than the other strikers
ANELKA still looks very energetic and is not cup tied..he also reads the game well has pace and rises to the occasion indeed a match winner..bolton are wasting him.
DIEGO ..VERY CREATIVE WITH EXCELLENT VISION…BRILLIANT WHEN IT COMES TO HOLDING AND DISTRIBUTUION CAN ALSO SHOOT WITH BOTH FEET EXCELLENTLY…WE SHOULD HAVE THIS GUY..MORDEN DAY DECO
RONALDINHO…
I THINK HE HAS JUST LOST THE CONFIDENCE COZ OF MESSI`S FORM STILL A BRILLLIANT PLAYER CAN DESTROY ANY DEFENCE AT WILL…
with the arrival of TEN CATES i think its inevitable that a few signings are possible during the january transfer window )
RIJKAARD coming to chelsea is also a possibility due to…the obvious
When I think of Chelsea nowadays, I have this vision of a number of people all fighting for control of a car - kind of like kids joyriding ; they might pull off a few impressive tricks between them along the way, but you just know it’ll end up wrapped round a lamp post…
I was delighted with a win in Valencia and at the Reebok. There is a long way to go but it’s a start. Last I watched the phone in on Chelsea tv. Can anyone please tell me if Graham ‘name dropper’ Frankel who lives in Monaco actually gets any pleasure from football or from Chelsea football club. We all have a right to our opinions but his constant bleating on top of of all the crap we get in the press has yet again put me of my bloody dinner. This tosser even call up on Your On Sky sports. I’ve yet to hear one single postive self inportant hanger on. Give the players some time and encouragement.
Dio,
It is not new for me at least, Grant well known in Israel A.K.A. “Restless Intriguer”.
The last two games have given me hope considering not so long ago everything seemed to be rapidly disintegrating. I thought there was a lot of spirit against Valencia and a lot of fight against Bolton. The Cole boys were both on fire and I don’t think anyone had a *bad* game, they seemed pretty together as a group at the end and it is only a matter of time before confidence grows. Still don’t know about all the murky stuff that’s going on behind the scenes, but if Ten Cate comes in it should focus those players that may be unsure about AG. Getting back to grinding out 0-1 away wins is an improvement and if the team get back to winning consistently, the unity should increase.
dickson,
You’ll have to excuse my ignorance, but who is “. RENATO(too error prone nowadays)” who you want to get rid of ???
And you must be mistaken if you think we’d ever make money from Ballack. We’re funding that guy’s retirement and there’s no team on Earth (or even beyond !!!) that would be foolish enough to pay the King’s ransom we are to have him occupy the medical team.
Renato? Wasn’t he the big lad that sang ‘Save Your Love’ with Renee?
Renato = Ricardo Carvalho, no?
http://cdbaby.name/r/e/renato.jpg
Renato - Jon Obi Mikel?
No… JD is right he’s that singer bloke, unless he’s one of Roman’s mates that’s just signed.
If so, how is he “error prone”? :D
Believe me, that record was an error.
But if we’re talking about Carvalho, he isn’t. Error prone, that is.
Diego = off to real madrid
Ronaldinho = 85 million (Is it really worth it?)
BTW why would they sell Pizarro he has been a worthwhile addition to the squad.
Kalou = Still improving but needs more games
Id go for players like
1. Ricardo Quaresma (Has a shot like a rocket and can go past almost anyone
2. Sergio Aguero (The new Lionel Messi)
3. Micah Richards (Versatile defender who can do it all)
I do agree with you about Ben Haim though, we dont need him.
I guess the guy just made a mistake, confusing Renato, who plays for Sevilla (Brazilian international)for a Chelsea player.
renato sounds like a player from pro evolution soccer 4 or something, where they don’t have the licencing agreements to use the players and teams actual names..
for example chelsea are south west london blues.. or somehting like that
perhaps renato is ronaldo? but i didnt think he played for chelsea…
too much playstation for young dickson me thinks.. or then again, maybe not enough
Paulo Renato Rebocho Ferreira.
Paulo Renato Rebocho Ferreira ?
thanks for spoiling the fun..
‘I guess the guy just made a mistake, confusing Renato, who plays for Sevilla (Brazilian international)for a Chelsea player.’
But is he error prone and if so when will we sign him?
Hah.. was going to post the link too =)
Is that really the best picture of Ferreira that Wikipedia could find?
Rebocho sounds better than Renato anyway.
I think Paulo Ferreira is alright, a consistent no-nonsense kind of play, though Belleti is better, me thinks.
“I guess the guy just made a mistake, confusing Renato, who plays for Sevilla (Brazilian international)for a Chelsea player”
A common mistake. I always confuse players who play for other teams with ours.
That goal Sunday, great pass from Lev Yashin to Ferenc Puskas. Nice punt up to Romario who knocked it onto Thomas Skuravy (sp) for the finish.
What, they’re not Chelsea players….
What I’ve seen of Belleti so far I’ve liked, he was marauding forward in the last few minutes against Bolton, when Renato came on for Joe Cole, and looked well-composed, he naturally gives the team width and attacking potential.
We need more error prone players. In time, they become cult heroes and we’re short on them at present.
I am now moderately fascinated by Chelsea players middle names.
Guess who answers to Mykolayovych? Yves? Cameron? Jason?
With no reference at all to the latter, has anybody ever seen a picture of Joe Cole with his mouth closed?
‘We need more error prone players. In time, they become cult heroes and we’re short on them at present.’
Have you not seen John Terry play this season?
Mykolayovych is Shevchenko, obviously. The horrible long word just means that his father’s name was (is) Mykola, which is Ukranian for Nicolas (Nick).
I’m just concerned as to how much we’re going to have to spend in medical bills to keep JT going this season. He’s going to look like an extra from Casualty come May at this rate.
Joe Cole does look like he’s catching flies most of the time.
Is this not a perfect opertunity to create a new song for Paulo aka Renato. Again obviously in tune to the Rene and Renato ‘SAVE YOUR LOVE FOR ME, DARLING SAVE YOUR LOVE…….’ but ‘Ferera make that pass make that passsss………’
I realy am wasted in IT.
K/T/B/F/F/H
Forgot to mention… during the last 2 months I’ve watched 4-5 Sevilla matches. One thing I know for sure is that Alves isn’t worth a fraction of the 20 million pounds that TSO was so ready to splash on the player. Belletti was an excellent choice. Alves can’t defend… he is always in the opposition’s half! Most goals conceded by Sevilla come from Alves’ side!!!
Renato married Elton John - surely that was the mother of all mistakes?
Are you sure this guy who said Renato didn’t mean ALEX? Is his name not something like Alex Dos Santos Renato? Just a stab in the dark as all Brazillians have like 15 names! Ronaldinho isn’t even called Ronaldinho! It means little Ronaldo. So who knows!
Sorry just thought i’d stick my pennys worth in!
That’s what i Thought - Alex.
Anyways the guy seems to be playing cm with our team.
To Joe: Quaresma can go past anyone? Yeah, maybe after he’s made friends with every blade of grass in premier league football pitches.
If he’s ready to toughen up then he will be one hell of a player for any team. It’s not like he needs to bulk either, the guys pretty damn big already but we play football in England … ‘Not FOOKING BALLET!!!”
Interesting rumours about Huntelaar, but probably no substance in them.
Some acrobatics from the guy on Youtube…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQbNneMKzsU
Most of his goals in clips appear to be headers or close range finishes. There were one or two chips too, but for the most part, he looks like a proper goalscorer.
At Heerenveen he was explosive, seen him score some incredible goals for holland, but has he really been playing as well for Ajax?
Anyone?
Sergio Aguero:
Anyone who hasn’t seen Aguerro, he is blody good. But Atletico bought him for something like £16 million and he’s still only a kid.
He won’t be heading our way any time soon…
For Atletico Madrid (where the football is meant to be of a higher standard than in Argentina…)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....o%20Aguero
Some magical stuff from him in Argentina… Unfortunately can’t seem to find the clips i saw before. Here’s another though, if anyone’s interested:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtwJrH4hIE4
Always been very impressed with what I’ve seen of Huntelaar (which isn’t a huge amount). Whilst they’re very different players, you can never forget the “Well Kezman looked good in Holland too…” caveat.
If we hear just one more denial that Hiddink is coming to the Bridge, I think we can assume it’s going to happen. I mean, how many times can all the parties involved deny the same story? Hiddink: “Cheslea? me? No, no, no. Of course not. Never. No no no.” Abramovich: “Hiddink? Chelsea? Not at all. Never crossed my mind. No no no no.” [repeat every three days]
Oh and another thing — Ten Cate is Surinamese Dutch. Just like Ruud. Shexhy football, anyone?
Clarke has signed a new £500,000-a-year deal to work alongside Henk ten Cate.
Well done!
JD,
With regards to Kezman, I remember being on holiday in the Canaries somewhere when we signed him and reading in an Englich tabloid (classy eh ??) that Kezman at £5m was going to be the best signing ever, and show how over-proced Drogba was.
And anyone can look good playing in Holland. That’s why we bought Kalou.
JT sent for a ‘precautionary’ scan on a knee injury.
He’s turning into the most injury prone defender in world football.
Will we ever have a fully fit squad ???
rumour has it that kaka is coming to chelsea and we are selling didier drogba and frank lampard whom i think will join jose in his next club that he’ll be coaching they should have known by now .i think there is something still hidden here!!!
AND TO ALL YA BLOGGERS DO YOU THINK ANY CHELSEA PLAYER HAS WHAT IT TAKES TO BECOME FIFA WORLDPLAYER OF THE YEAR ?
OR ARE THESE AWARDS JUST MERITED TO LALIGA AND SERIE A? WHAT DO THEY LOOK FOR ??????
Kaka would definitely be a great acquisition to the club, and possibly give us that something special we’ll miss now that Arjen has gone to Real.
It would be disappointing to see Frank leave in order for us to snap him up but perhaps - and this is just my view - it would be worth the sacrifice?
When it comes to Dids though I don’t think we should allow him to leave at all under any circumstances especially if Lamps moves on, who else would we rely on to score?
To answer your final question Dickinson, I really don’t think FIFA World player will be coming to England never mind Chelsea, although it’s down to coaches of the top teams across Europe to vote I believe strongly that they will - as they always do - look for a player who has won the Champions League in the previous year, which of course none of ours have and although you might not agree, I don’t believe our club is seen on the same level as the likes of Milan and Barcelona in the eyes of other top coaches.
Besides it’s not as if were everybody’s cup of tea is it?
Kaka ive heard Roman is going to offer £100 million thats ridiculous, as for Lamps I dont see him leaving so far its been all rumors no facts regarding him, and I think Drogba is most valueble at chelsea and wont be sold if the talk I heard is true.
We wont let him leave for less than
£15m.
Fifty…..
“And anyone would look good playing in holland. Thats why we bought kalou”
Not a fair comment in my opinion. At least the dutch league provide great exports….much more than i can say for the english league (probably why you hardly find any quality english player outside the premiership)….
Track some of the recent fifa world footballers of the year for instance, u’ll notice that a number of them had some stint in the dutch league at some point in the early/formative part of their careers….that in itself speaks volumes…cant track any in recent times that is tied to the premiership.
Kalou is endowed with skills that most players labour so hard to acquire….Aside from luck, he needs some ‘tuning’ to become one of the deadliest finishers in the premiership. That is the work of the coaches….maybe that will change with the new technical team on ground who knows?
On the side…..i look at man city and ericsson and wonder what went wrong with england during his tenure as national team coach…could it be that there wasnt enough quality players in england or was it too much pressure from the many so called ‘football experts’ in england that made him fail? The guy (in the shortest time)practically assembled a new set of players who can not communicate on the field of play yet gets the best results week in week out….makes me really wonder what the problem is with the english team/players…
Always blue!
alex…. “Aside from luck, he needs some ‘tuning’ to become one of the deadliest finishers in the premiership”
He needs to swap his boots to the right feet for Kalou to be one of the Premiership’s deadliest strikers!
Also, Could John Terry be any more injured…. So far we have knee, cheekbone, toe, shoulder…. any more that I have forgotten?
Greenlight sounds like a title to a kiddies song… Head and shoulders knees and toes, and repeat… ;-)
alex,
I’m not being overtly patriotic, but your with regard to your comment “At least the dutch league provide great exports….much more than i can say for the english league (probably why you hardly find any quality english player outside the premiership)….” I think you’ll find the reason is that the Premier League is one of, if not, the best domestic league in the World. And the Eredivise isn’t. Hence lots of players leaving to better themselves.
Alex,
Like this; I believe as well as picking those with ability Erricson buys players with certain personalities. When their personallities match in the dressing room, everyone is much happier on the field.
There is a whole science behind matching personalities, in fact there is a table to show which personalities match and which ones don’t.
Jung-Myers-Briggs is the chap who came up with the tests to depict who’s who;
http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp
With England’s players they are all on hugh saleries and aren’t as hungry i’d say. This along with personality and on pitch ability was his undoing as England manager.
K/T/B/F/F/H
Just read this in the Times today : “Terry returned to his club for further treatment yesterday and a scan revealed a torn meniscus, which usually requires three weeks’ rest.”
At what point do Chelsea need to realise the bloke is a walking pin-cushion, withdraw him from the squad straight away and give him a chance to rest ???
The longer he continues to ‘defy’ one injury, the more likely it is he’ll pick up another one.
I reckon he should be rested until all his injury niggles have healed - we’ll have to get by with Alex and Riccy at the back.
By The Time Kalou has reached 26 or 27, I think we’ll see him as one of the top players in Europe.
Course that won’t seem like anything less than ridiculous to a lot of us here, but he will grow the more he plays for us.
Fifty…
u were silent on the ‘world footballer of the year’ stuff….thot u were going to give me an insight as to the last time it was won by:
a) a player in the english league;
b) a player who had left the english league.
The english league attracts players from other leagues cos of the aggressive marketing/publicity (and viewership) the EPL gets (and the money too) not necessarily for the local skill content. The players who make waves in ‘other’ leagues are often the same ones who come to make the waves in the EPL. These are players who in some cases have grown thru the academy in those ‘other’ leagues.
The average core english product is what some would call a ‘local champion’….glorified / overrated / overpriced in his own backyard, but can not hold his own on foreign soil.
I think the dutch league has produced (or contributed in producing) some excellent, world class players over the years and should be referred to with much more respect….
Always blue!
I think you’re right Alex with regards to the fact that a lot of English talent these days are overrated but this is not always the case, players such as Terry and Rooney can hold their own against any of the top players across the continent.
I believe that the fact of the matter is that our own home grown players have far more pressure put on them than in any other country, such is the media limelight.
Finally, more English players would be sold abroad if it wasn’t for the price-tag placed on them by the club chairmen.
To someone who asked about Huntelaar’s performance at Ajax:
“He is seen as a rising star in Dutch football, having scored 46 goals in 55 league games for Ajax.”
Heard a lot about this lad Huntelaar his record in Holland is as impressive as that of Dirk Kuyt and we all know just what he’s gone on to do at Liverpool.
However if we were to sign him I think we need to sell on one our current forwards and in my opinion Kalou still has it in him to make it at The Bridge, he might not have the talent to put him on the same level as that of Eidur in the fans eyes but I believe he is a good player to have as backup in case of injuries.
alex,
I have no idea when / if an Englishman has been named World Player of the Year either on home-soil or abroad, and frankly am not too bothered.
Whilst I dont disgaree completely with the points you make, and I’ll agree that there are a hell of a lot of over-paid, over-rated wanabee’s, the fact of the matter has to be that if the Premier League, as it does, attracts some of the best players in the World - why wouldn’t home-grown players want to better themselves by playing with the best ???
I think you’re wrong to say they wouldn’t be able to hold their own abroad. Quite simply, despite all the money, some players still have a thing called loyalty. Why should JT / Lamps / Gerrard / Carragher / Ronaldo have to play abroad to prove they’re World Class ??? Any of those I’ve mentioned could play successfully in any country.
I can’t believe I have had my nickname disrespected by a bloke called ‘Clive’!! :)
Can anyone else believe the amount of shit Frank Lampard is copping at the moment….. Whilst Gerrard and Barry have looked in Frank’s absence, Frank looked equally good when Gerrard whimped out of the game against the Germans (where Lampard scored a great goal, incidently)
I hope he gets a decent run against the Russians, cos he really doesn’t deserve to be the target for the boo-boys.
I despair of England fans sometimes; the lowest of the low when in a pack - irrespective of form, no-one deserves that sort of abuse. Plenty of England players have been through a rough patch in terms of form (Rooney anyone?) and not a word is uttered. Wouldn’t be disappointed to see him walk away from the national side and let them get on with it.
This video is hilarious.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=pYHggzKlAi4
Also, here’s a typically good piece by Samuel.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/t.....658578.ece
Greenlight - in defence of Clive, he wasn’t disrespecting your name, he was saying that the injuries to JT were like the nursery rhyme ‘Head, shoulders, knees and toes’. Thought i’d clear that up before handbags at 10 paces! :-D
The boo-boys were a disgrace - so called England “fans”…fickle lot!
No-one I know (who support other clubs) can actually agree on why Lamps was booed (they still jest he’s ‘Fat Frank’ which I just find tedious).
According to some other forums I’ve read this morning, the consensus seems to be a) ‘because he’s crap’ (how Phil Neville and others escape booing on this reason is a mystery); b) ‘because he’s fat’ (I read he has something like 6% body-fat - hardly a need to call Gillian McKeith !!!) or c) ‘cos he’s a Chelsea player’ (We’ll just ignore the fact that so are SWP, JT, Joe Cole and Ashley Cole then).
Someone somewhere probably has their own reason - the majority of others probably joined in because they’re very deluded; can’t think for themselves and, let’s face it, it wouldn’t be English football without a scapegoat would it ???
Loving the Gerrard video. Says it all - Stevie Me has a bad game in an England shirt, it is at best excused or completely ignored. Just ridiculous.
:) I apologise Greenlight I can see how it might read, but Nicky is right, it was a reference to the injuries to JT and the nursery rhyme.
As far as handbags go I don’t have one, but I’m sure Greenlight might ;-)
The Lampard boo boys are just un educated idiots, here was a player that was the fans player of the year in 2005 shows how fickle some people can be.
And for all the Gerrard/Lampard debates, the so called wonderful Mr G isn’t exactly firing on all cylinders at club level, and doesn’t exactly set the international stage on fire with his Enland performances either.
The boo boys are probably West Ham fans anyway, and why should we take them seriously!
Apology accepted Clive….. I read it wrongly….. I’ll put the handbag away again!
I think Lampard is being booed for a combination of reasons:
- The bar is raised too high for him, since he was the fan’s player of the year and universally acknowledged as a main factor in Chelsea’s achievements. Which leads to…
- Envy. Supporters from teams other than Chelsea naturally dislike him, for what he represents for Chelsea. So, there is a natural tendency to highlight any error is makes and disregard anything good.
Actually, there was a similar phenomenon back here in Portugal regarding Vitor Baia in the latest phase of his career. Every great save he made was deemed natural, and therefore not worthy of mention, whereas any error would be considered as yet another prove that he was over the hill…
Of course other team’s fans won’t acknowledge these factors, which work mainly on a subconscious level.
England fans have to find someone to boo. If It isn’t Frank Lamaprd it will be someone else.
On the transfer front though, news that we might be in for Mikel Arteta, has got me excited - don’t know about everyone else here, but Arteta would be a good buy. Plenty of prem experience and has been performing well regularly for everton. Underrated IMO and what about those set peice deliveries? We could sure use them if you ask me.
Van Der Vaart also being mentioned with rumours that Arnesan has already contacted the midfielder’s agent about a move.
Hmmm…. another tasty rumour, it would be quite something if we could one or both of these guys…
Very keen on Arteta
I once mentioned that Frank should be replaced with Arteta and got a roasting from some people out here.
IMO I think if we get Arteta lets give sidwell away as well…for free…
Alex really hits the nail in for me…There is mention of the England midfield and we offer names like Frank, Gerrard and that other bloke with other names being offered like Rooney. The fact of the matter is that besides blind Scholes there is none other English man that would play in my midfield. IMO….
If I were to put my team together I would buy a Czech or Italian goalie, Italian, British or German Central Defenders, Ivory Coast, English or French full backs, Brazilian, Portuguse or Spanish creative midfielders, Argentinian, English or French Defensive midfielders, Mexican, Argentinian, French or Dutch wingers, and an Argentinian, Ivory Coast, Dutch or French striker
You did indeed Jose, but you’re twisting the point here (and congratulations, it’s been at least a week since you’ve managed a Lampard related post - you must have had withdrawl symptoms).
Most acknowledged that Arteta is a very good player and it’s great that we’re interested in him. Whether or not he is able to be a direct replacement for Frank (which isn’t what was mentioned, by the way) is another matter entirely though.
I dont think everton will let Arteta leave. Id go for somebody like Rafael Van Der Vaart or Juan Roman Riquelme!
Damien Duff will most likely retire after failing to successfully battle with his April injury. Damn, he’s only 28.
An awesome player he was… Both for us and Blackburn. Great, great player. I’m really depressed now :(
Very true that Johnathan… Personally, wasn’t thinking of Lamps being replaced by him. He won’t be ablt to do what Lamps does for us.
THAT CANT BE TRUE ABOUT DUFF!!!
Damn shame if it is.
Oh well… at least it will be the toons crying the loudest instead of us.
”If I were to put my team together I would buy a Czech or Italian…”
Now what is all that about?
YOU BUY THE BEST FOR A SPECIFIC POSITION regardless of his nationality, Surely???
We hear some strange things from footie fans…
Must say my already not so high estimation of Mr Musamba has just been re-enforced. (Not that this matters to any one other than myself of course…)
BTW Van der vaart rumours seem to be more than just rumours…
This one is more likely than the Arteta story, what with all our dutch influences beginning to manifest themselves…
Anyone else think the medical staff need to strap JT to a bed for about 12 weeks and let him recover.
The blokes trying so hard to get fit for England, he’s jeopardising his availability for us.
Can’t see he’ll be fit to play this weekend, then we’ve got Schalke next week. Not looking good.
Fifty - personally I’d keep my secret desires to strap JT to a bed private but it’s your choice :-)
I note Sammy Lee has been fired from Bolton. This should be a lesson for anyone who advocated Steve Clarke should have taken over from TSO. Some people are destined for number one’s and others for number two’s.
I come on this site a lot and love it. However - Administrators!! your getting very lazy!! Why no new posts in so long?
Some idea’s for posts are:
1) Henk Ten Cate - thoughts on his arrival
2) Injuries - A.cole and JT - what is going on!!
3) Thoughts on Avi Grant so far.
4) Potential Jan purchases
5) Potential Jan/ Summer leavers - i.e. Drogs, Lamps, etc
Cheers!!
JT needs a long, long break. He’s not been fit for a year and it’s been increasingly apparent in his performances. He’s slow to react to danger, doesn’t have as strong a leap and is making unforced errors, possibly because he is reacting to problems he anticipates will occur rather than what is actually happening on the pitch. Playing without his regular partner hasn’t helped, but currently he reminds me of Marcel in his last season and it’s very worrying. Three months off, minumum, Alex and Carvalho will suffice.
You re definitely right Peter. I am unhappy saying that but he could be another Duff if he persists to play when unfit…
The possible saving grace from all this is that JT looks like he might at least get next summer off.
Did read a good article (can’t recall who by - possibly Martin Samuel) after his Carling Cup final injury. Basic premise was that whilst he may have a heart of old English oak, that his body is flesh and bone which needs looking after. Fantastic attitude yes, but if he carries on like this he’s could shorten his career quite substantially if he’s not careful.
On the Frank being booed front - I’ve advocated his retirement from the England scene several times a la Paul Scholes. If this gets Frank back to his best for us then my view is Fuck England and it’s fickle fans (me included). I don’t care how professional you are, the booing must impact negatively on your mindset somewhere, albeit subconsciously.
Most England fans are bigoted brainless morons who religiously follow the pack and have no balls to think independently or challenge the behaviour of others. How else can you explain the utterly pathetic singing of God Save The Queen as a terrace chant, just because some tuneless saddo band with no girlfriends strike up the tune? GSTQ is a British national anthem and is NOT, I repeat NOT a football song and you would never catch me singing the damn thing in order to support the ENGLISH national team! Frank, next years summer tournament is cancelled mate, so do yourself a favour and jump ship now, and let Stevie GoldenBollocks continue to stutter along in international mediocrity.
As fot JT, well I agree, the club should jump in now and and take him out for 3-4 months. When fit, he can play 5 or 6 reserve games and then come back to lead us into the final stretch before having a summer off. He is his own worst enemy, reminding me of a boxer who 10 rounds into a 12 round fight, having been knocked down twice, bleeding from both eyes, with lip like Lesley Ash and teeth like Shane McGowan, having been pummelled from corner to corner, still insists he can take the other guy out! Like BA Baracus, we should give him a jab that sends him to sleep, for 3-4 months.
And England need to realise 9(n a different note) that we are not in the same international category as Brazil, Argentina, Italy , Germany or France. No, we’re with Portugal, Spain, Holland and Belgium. Since 1966 we’ve reached 2 semi-finals, one in a home based competition (Euro 96) and Italia 90 and a few quarter finals. Not really close, and certainly no great chugging Cuban thigh rolled cigar. Hardly a ringing indictment of consistent success. We as a antion need to get a realistic perspective on our capability as a national team. For me, since the days of SGE, it is Chelsea first, Chelsea reserves second, Chelsea youth third, my nephews team fourth and then England.
Rant over.
Ha ha, spot on Tony.
I mean, those morons who think dropping Lampard would make England suddenly become world-beaters - what planet are they on? And then, even after he’s been dropped, they still boo him when he comes on as sub! This after he played (and scored) his last appearance with a broken fucking toe? Who would want to play for fans like that?
And you can see it in the players - they’re terrified of making a mistake cos they know they’ll get coated by the fans and the national media, whereas their own club supporters will cut them some slack cos they’ve a much better idea of their value. Fans and team deserve each other.
As for BA - didn’t they used to give him doctored milk?
sport.setanta.com/en/Sport/News/Football/2007/10/18/Premier-League-Drogba-bombshell/
Not exactly a surprise. Looks like we’re going to need at least three new strikers in the summer.
“Since the day I arrived, I wanted to leave Chelsea and then again every summer,” he is quoted as saying”
Good riddance then. It comes across that he’s never actually wanted to be here. I’m guessing it’s a monetary reason he’s stayed up till now.
On the England front, not qualifying for next summers tournament (and we wont) will, at last, make some deluded fools aware of the fact we are, at best, an above-average National side.
A handful of world-class players; a buffoon for a manager; a complete joke of an association behind the scenes all whipped into a frenzy every two years by some pathetically over-zealous journalism, convincing the nation we’re destined to win a major tournament again.
In 1966 England had a team. I’m not sure anything that’s worn 3 lions for decades could be classed as a team, and there’s nothing to indicate that will change in the future.
Still, we can all boo Frank Lampard so it’s not all bad, eh.
‘I’m guessing it’s a monetary reason he’s stayed up till now.’
I think the reason he’s stayed is something that starts with Mo and ends in urinho.
To be honest, I don’t blame him for being pissed off given that he also played for supporters who booed him because they were too dumb to clock what he brought to the team and believed what they read in the tactically ignorant media.
As I said at the time of the first title, no other CF in the world could do what DD was doing for us.
Most of us know that reports in French newspapers are sometimes lost in translation, and some are even made up! so lets not be to hasty in concluding what the truth is yet.
Anyway as Jose used to say… he wouldn’t want anyone at the club that didn’t want to stay. We’ll know soon enough as there tends to be denials of any mischievous stories on the official CFC site.
Why are you all so sure England won’t qualify? You’ll definitely beat Croatia now and we WON’T defeat Israel, not in a million years, precisely because of the victory yesterday. Now everyone’s thinking beating Israel and Andorra (yes, fucking Andorra) is a piece of cake but it isn’t. We have a decent team, maybe even a good team with lots of potential because most of our players are young. They have pace, technique, ambition and a great manager behind them. But we’re utterly worthless in two key areas: the defense which is simply dreadful (and no decent young players in sight) and concentration/attitude. And that will cost us the Euro, and if not, will compromise our already non-existent chances there. So beating Israel is a major problem, I reckon.
I do support my team and I most definitely believe in them. They’re young and everyone besides the defense is really good. For the first time in God-knows-how-many years we actually have some great midfielders and strikers. But I’m worried about the attitude. They made a fucking holiday out of what happened yesterday when in reality we were shit and unorganized. But since we have won, no one really cares about all the flaws. For the first time there’s light at the end of the tunnel, and lots of it, but the players need to understand that yesterday’s victory doesn’t mean they’re any good. It means that they have an incentive, a reason to improve under such great coaching staff. Yesterday’s victory only means we need to work harder and harder because finally there’s some sense in doing it.
And I don’t thinking anyone besides Hiddink understands that. They’re all elated. You know that each player got $100000 for winning?! I hope Hiddink understands that and will at least try to explain it to the players who now think of themselves as kings of the world and will not under any circumstances exchange jerseys with shit like Kaka and Ronaldinho (*sarcasm*)
Rant over. All I wanted to say was that you lads have a chance to qualify. Don’t feel down yet. Unfortunately, that’s the tendency of our team. Give everything they’ve got in one match and then play like shit in all the other matches. Same was during the Euro 2000 qualifiers. We beat France at Stade de France, the first team to do so, 3-1 and then fucked up against lowly (at that time) Ukraine. Same same thing might happen against Israel or even Andorra.
And good luck at the Rugby WC Final! :)
That doesnt sound like Drogba, But if he leaves we will proberbly get Huntelaar and Ronaldinho/Kaka. Lamps will stay me thinks.
Drogba’s a great player - then again he does make us a bit one dimensional with the long ball.
As an Australian (yes well done, you beat us again in rugby-couldnt give a shit really, we don’t play that sport in my state, but well done none the less)
anyway, as an australian it seems to me, having lived in the uk on and off for afew years that your countries sporting mentality is all wrong. one young person does one good thing and he is a hero- shower him with praise, make him captain, get carried away, heap him with extreme amounts of pressure, then when they inevitably screw up, theyre on the end of an angry mob with pitchgforks and smoking shotguns…
your world cup squad of 02 had absolutely no support, you guys were beaten before you left, by your own media. Plus half your team is only there on reputation and this imagined greatness that comes out once a millenium…
In australia, our sportspeople win the majority of the time because we support them, we back them- and they come back heros.. the english come back shamed everytime.
its just interesting to see how your stars are treated after being elevated to godlike status so quickly after one cracker goal or something like that….
hope this makes sense, i’ve got a cracker of a port barrel that ive been hitting tonight..
by the way, if i was frank i would tell the national team to fuck off.
Dylbo hit it right on the head.
It’s the f’ing tabloid media that pump the fans with all this failure or hype. The majority of football supports are working class who can’t afford/won’t pay more then 20p for a news paper so they get the shit journolism. they believe everything thing they read. This has lead to;
#Over inflated ego’s of players.
#Hyped up fans.
#Then players being slated for a mistake.
Compare the sporting culture in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland to that of the continant and the soutern hemisfere and we still the completelty different mentality towards our teams or sports starts. For me the media is to blame for this, this pick and choose how much they want to slate a player and for how long.
I’ve always been anti tabloid and always will be. They’re all mindless hacks with pressing deadlines.
K/T/B/F/F/H
On a side issue if it was Lamps that had missed that sitter instead of Stevie (I can do no wrong) Gerrard. I think the men with flaming torches and pitchforks would be looking to lynch him today!
Some good points Dylbo; I’ve always felt that the media industry that bases itself around sport in this country thrives far more on failure than it does success. There is far more to analyse and deconstruct when things go wrong than when they go right.
In terms of football, I don’t think many people that really know their onions believe the Sky invented “Golden Generation” nonsense, but a mixture of mismanagement and ridiculous media pressure (and misunderstanding of the game itself) has led to a shameful wasting of talent on the international stage. I certainly don’t believe that England have some God-given right to win things (or indeed qualify for every tournament), but the level of underachievement is an embarassment.
The players have to take some of the blame of course, but I am amazed that more of them don’t tell the national side to f*ck off - I think if they weren’t so fearful of a media pasting, they probably would.
I suppose we’re going to see the best and worst of our media this weekend with the Rugby and the Brazilian GP.
I dread to think what will be written and reported if both end in failure, but quite frankly I’ll be more than satisfied with 3 points at Middlesbrough. I’m easily pleased :-)
I am happy that everybody agrees to some extent that England’s failure is due to two things:
1. Overpressure from the media, which are gloryfing people and making them villains a second later. What gets me crazy is people ask for the sacking of any manager (whatsoever, club or country) after a bad result. The team needs to be build over a long term not short period. Look at the preparation of Germany. They lose almost 75% of their matches during the preparation of their World Cup but when came July they were 3rd of the World Cup. Sometimes England media and fans needs to grant more time to managers and don’t make knee-jerks reactions or inferences.
2. It is sometimes very nice to proud yourself but it better look at the reality in the mirror. England has definitely a bunch of good players but I am afraid, not all of them are world-class. Rio Ferdinand ain’t a world class defender I have never seen (to my best knowledge) his name in any best XI. This is the case for a lot of players. I don’t want to list any here to just enter in useless debate and being carried away of what I want to point out. No balance because England keep lining up all players regarded as the bests in their positions. That does not mean the best XI….
Finally, people argue that it is down to foreign players the underperformance of the national team. I am afraid, Spain, Italy and other leagues got a massive import of foreign players. And what do you say of countries like Romania, Russia, Austria, Norway who have got a small amount of ‘foreigners’. they do not perform. So it’s better to look for the motives behind this failure elsewere. If England players are overrated and just not good enough. How come premier league teams, which are after all businesses and compete at european level will come young lads through their first team. Impossible. They are doing inconsiderable effort to get English players in their first team when they are just average. Otherwise they would have not lined up a single English player. Ask Wenger, he’ll tell you. He’s trying to make Walcott perform but for the good of his team he prefers line up his best XI rather than his best English XI. Simple as that. Managers are working for their clubs not for the FA. They are doing their best to make young english lads come through but they are not those stupid, of course not at the expense of their team.
People need to bear in mind that just a realistic and fair analysis of the underperformance could reuslt in better tomorrow…
Re the Drogba story, now on the BBC so clearly they haven’t sacked all their staff http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/h.....051285.stm it’s a little confusing.
On the one hand he wants to leave due to the implosion of morale post TSO and yet on the other hand he wanted to leave from day one and every subsequent summer. If the story is true he sounds like a drama queen that we’re probably better off without.
I am very fluent in French. BBC does not tell all the story. They are right when saying that Drogba wants to leave but they don’t say that Drogba did insist that some players were behind the Jose’s Mourinho departure. I was saying that well before. Nobody trusted me
Look here some part of the original version:
http://www.eurosport.fr/footba.....1402.shtml
ahahahah
look at the opportunity for other supporters to start criticising our team.
But fairly Drogba leaving will be a huge loss.
Carling Cup 2005: one goal, one assist, we won 3.1
Community Shield 2006: Two goals, we won 2.1
FA Cup 2007: one goal we won 1.0
Carling Cup 2007: two goals we won 2.1
Barclays premier league 05: 10 goals, 26 assists
Barclays premier league 06: 12 goals, 18 assists
Champions League 05: 5 goals in 9 matches
Champions League 07: 6 goals in 12 matches
Barclays premiership 07: 20 goals
When reviewing these statistics whatsoever Drogba leaving will be an IMMENSE LOSS!
The guy has done pretty well for us even though he was criticised the two first seasons his contribution was very huge.
I am afraid that the club is likely to be destabilised in the aftermath of Jose’s leaving…
Any clue about who’s behind Jose’s departure…I am afraid it is our captain, Joe Cole (not really surprising), Scheva (obvious)…
Does it really matter?
It doesn’t but what gets me so mental is that the clouds are still over Stamford Bridge
If, and even more likely now, when Didier leaves the club,