Wednesday 30th April

Standing on the edge...

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It seems that there is a bit of a game on this evening.

Having read some missives from Merseyside, there appears to be something of a North / South divide evident between us. So, just to clarify a few points that I’ve read about us Chelsea fans in recent days.

Yes, my real name is Tarquin. The chap I sit next to at Stamford Bridge has a double-barrelled name that sounds like a couple of small villages in the Lake District.

We both run hedge funds and heat our swimming pools by burning £50 notes. And stray members of the working classes (but only when we’re bored with shooting at them).

We will be leaving our offices early today (the resident Arsenal fan is looking after mine — well, what else does he have to do?) and asking the driver to head to a little hostelry near the stadium in order to quaff a few pre-match liveners.

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Sunday 27th April

Premier League: Chelsea 2 - 1 Manchester United

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Match reports

The Observer, Duncan Castles: "First, let us applaud Chelsea. Victory essential, their long, proud unbeaten home record on the line against a team almost every critic considers superior, and deprived of one of their driving forces by the death of his mother, this was a team that rose to the occasion."

Sunday Times, Joe Lovejoy: "After those two Champions League stalemates, a match that lived up to its billing. Chelsea took punitive advantage of Sir Alex Ferguson’s gamble on fielding a half-strength team and kept their title hopes alive with a deserved tooth-and-nail victory, gained by two goal

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Wednesday 23rd April

Champions League: Liverpool 1 - 1 Chelsea

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Match reports

The Guardian, Kevin McCarra: "The roars of the Anfield crowd at the close were solely of defiance. Lesser supporters would have been struck dumb by John Arne Riise's own-goal equaliser for Chelsea four minutes into stoppage time that, improbably after this showing, makes the visitors favourites to stride on to a Champions League final against Barcelona or Manchester United in Moscow."

Daily Telegraph, Henry Winter: "Lacking inspiration for long periods, Chelsea rarely troubled Pepe Reina, but kept pressing to conjure up only the fourth goal Liverpool have conceded at Anfield in 15 European semi-finals on a nig

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Friday 18th April

Premier League: Everton 0 - 1 Chelsea

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Match reports

The Guardian, Andy Hunter: "Michael Essien's first-half goal brought Chelsea a merited win to move them to within two points of Manchester United, albeit having played a game more, and the resilience that thwarted a late revival from David Moyes' side gave their manager another statistic to throw at his legion of detractors at Stamford Bridge."

The Times, Matt Hughes: "Most neutrals would not take long to decide whom they consider to be worthy champions, but Chelsea deserve great credit for pushing United farther than anyone else, particularly given the injuries and internal problems they have e

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Tuesday 15th April

Premier League: Chelsea 1 - 1 Wigan Athletic

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Match reports

The Times, Matt Hughes: "Chelsea got what they deserved after a dreadful first half and a lack of ruthlessness in failing to close down the game after Michael Essien had given them the lead in the 56th minute, and now face the unpalatable prospect of United winning the league at Stamford Bridge on April 26."

The Independent, Glenn Moore: "The tortoise, it may be recalled, beat the hare but Chelsea's dogged, unspectacular pursuit of Manchester United now looks unlikely to produce a similar surprise. Last night they threw away two priceless point

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Wednesday 9th April

Champions League: Chelsea 2 - 0 Fenerbahce (agg 3 - 2)

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Match reports

Daily Telegraph, John Ley: "Another year, another semi-final. For the fourth time in five seasons, Chelsea reached the last four of the Champions League and they enjoyed some Turkish delight, albeit with two hardly impressive displays. At least it offers the club another - some would argue, their best - chance to finally claim their Holy Grail that is Europe's greatest domestic prize."

The Times, Matt Hughes: "After Michael Ballack had calmed nerves with a fourth-minute header, Chelsea endured moments of real anxiety, most notably when Hilário, the substitute goalkeeper - he was a fir

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Sunday 6th April

Premier League: Manchester City 0 - 2 Chelsea

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Match reports

The Observer, Jamie Jackson: "Chelsea deserve a little of the stuff they sometimes lack - goodwill - for at least keeping the Premier League title race alive with this victory, which maintains the pressure on Manchester United. They deserved this win, though their performance was, like the match, hardly vintage. Still, with Arsène Wenger fielding a virtual second string against Liverpool earlier in the day who could earn only a draw, Avram Grant's team deserve credit for a surge that has not included a league defeat since 16 December."

Sunday Times, Paul Forsyth: "Vulnerable they may be under the guidan

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Friday 4th April

Premier League preview: Manchester City v. Chelsea

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Well, just three days after an outing to the sun drenched city of Istanbul where our brave/courageous or apathetic/arrogant boys (delete as appropriate) suffered a setback in the Euro Big Cup first quarter-final play-off against Fenn Her Barchy (as spelt in the subtitles I inadvertently activated during the game and couldn’t work out how to get rid of) we travel to the small provincial town of Manchester for a super soccer game against the lesser famed football club in the area. No, not Bury, but Manchester City.

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Thursday 3rd April

Champions League: Fenerbahce 2 - 1 Chelsea

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Match reports

The Guardian, David Hytner: "Having forged ahead through an own-goal from Deivid, [Chelsea] had a fistful of first-half chances to become unassailable. Yet dreams turned into nightmares in the second half as an equaliser from Kazim Kazim, better known to English audiences as Colin Kazim-Richards, formerly of Bury, Brighton and Sheffield United, was followed by a strike in a million from Deivid that more than made amends for his earlier aberration. As Carlo Cudicini clutched at thin air and felt the top corner of his net swell from 25 yards, Chelsea realised that next Tuesday's return leg at Stamford Bridge will be fraught with peril."

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