News for January 2006

Chelsea 1, Charlton 1

January 22, 2006 || posted by whitney

The Blues' 100% home record was broken. They still lead the EPL by 17 points, but Liverpool have 3 games in hand.

Gudjohnsen 18

Joe Cole, Eidur, and Lamps paced the Blues. A solid debut for Maniche

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Chelsea Leaving the Bridge?

January 20, 2006 || posted by whitney

Chelsea Football Club is believed to be considering a £400m bid for the Earls Court exhibition centre in order to relocate from their Stamford Bridge home. A move to a new site would help the champions compete more seriously in revenue terms with Arsenal, who moves to their new 60,000 Ashburton Grove home at the beginning of next season, and Manchester United, whose Old Trafford capacity will shortly be increased to 75,000.

They maintain that the first option is to increase Stamford Bridge to at least a 50,000 seater.

The Independent

Update - Chelsea Spin Control

The Blues deny that plans are in motion to move to the Earls Court site. The emphasis is on improving the current ground, but they acknowledge that there have been difficulties.

The Guardian

My Take

The glaring ommission in these stories is public financing. The book "National Pastime", by Szymanski and Zimbalist, contrasts soccer and baseball. A key takeaway is that football was setup to maximize community consumption, not extract monopoly profits. One byproduct of this viewpoint is that the public has never subsidized a team as a substitute easily exists for free.

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Blues' Gossip

January 17, 2006 || posted by whitney

I was listening to Nick and Steven on their new Sirius Radio Show, World Soccer Daily, and there we're two interesting stories.

Takeaways from today:

1) There may be an update to the Joe Cole, Page 3 girl bustup from the weekend. Details are murky, but a duo of thugs have taken responsibility for the beating, and have implicated Anton Ferdinand of West Ham in the action.

2) Sven-Gate continues to top the headlines. With the push for him to step down now, and without a clear replacement, Steven walked us through a scenario that would lead to Jose taking over. If Chelsea wrap up the EPL in early April and are knocked out of the Champions League, JM would be in position to be a caretaker manager. The benefit would be his leadership style and ego. Unlike Sven, JM would sort out the Lampard, Beckham, Gerrard, Cole, etc. midfield situation with authority. The renewed sense of discipline, and possibly superior tactics, could make the most out of this strong England team.

World Soccer Daily is simulcast weekdays at 11am at Real.com

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Chelsea 2, Sunderland 1

January 15, 2006 || posted by whitney

The Blues recorded their 10th straight EPL win increasing their lead to 16 points.

Crespo 28
Robben 69

Crespo, Eidur, Gallas, and Robben paced the Blues. Shortly after picking up the winner, Robben was sent off for receiving a second yellow for embracing the fans in the stands, Gallas was a rock in the defense, especially after Terry's error led to Sunderland's goal. Crespo continued his goal scoring streak.

Credit to the Black Cats for a hard fought battle, and special praise for their keeper, Kelvin Davis, who kept the game close. A failure by the first teamers to finish the Cats off earlier, prevented Carlton Cole, Lassana Diarra, and Roberth Huth from getting a longer run out in the game.

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Chelsea Seal Maniche Deal

January 4, 2006 || posted by whitney

Maniche has joined the Blues on season-long loan.

With Essien's injury and ban from the Barca game, the hardworking Maniche will provide great cover.

He has a £5million option.

ESPN Soccernet

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Chelsea 3, West Ham 1

January 2, 2006 || posted by whitney

The hectic Christmas season wrapped up with another quality performance from the Blues. West Ham played well, but they proved little match for the EPL’s best. Chelsea are still on top, 11 points up on Man Utd and 15 points up on Liverpool.

Lampard 25
Crespo 61
Drogba 80

Robben was unlucky not to find the back of the net. He was a top performer throughout the day. Crespo scored 45 seconds after coming onto the pitch, and should’ve scored at least one more. Drogba scored a beautiful goal to cinch it.

Essien was taken off early in the match with an ankle injury. The severity isn’t yet known, but it may force him out of the African Nations Cup. The move for Maniche seems more prescient after this match.

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Are Pompey the New Big Spenders

Businessman Alexandre Gaydamak is set to become joint owner of Portsmouth after striking a deal with chairman Milan Mandaric.

The tabloids rumor is that Gaydamak is ready to spend ₤100million on players. The Fratton Park team could be a force next season.

ESPN Soccernet

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Blues Near Deal for Maniche

January 2, 2006 || posted by whitney

To bolster the squad with Michael Essien's departure, JM is acquiring former Porto player Maniche on loan. His arrival from Dynamo Moscow can be permanent for £5million in the summer.

ESPN Soccernet

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Chelsea 2, Birmingham 0

January 2, 2006 || posted by whitney

Crespo 25
Robben 43

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