News for August 2005

Chelsea 2, Tottenham 0

August 28, 2005 || posted by whitney

Goals from Del Horno and Duff brings the Blues win streak to nearly 15 years. Mido picked up an early red card, turning the momentum Chelsea's way.

New boys, Del Horno and SWP likely had their best outing yet in the London Derby.

Proper Match Reports

BBC

ESPN Soccernet

Planet Football

Soccernet's "Insider"

Has an interesting take on the style of Chelsea's play.

ESPN Soccernet

Misc.

According to the Sunday Mirror (refrenced in the BBC gossip column), Stamford Bridge area will be re-developed in an £800M plan. Part of the plan includes a 70,000 seater. Hopefully the story will be picked up, and more details will emerge. This does fit with Kenyon's stated goal of bringing the club closer to self-sufficiency.

comments () -- click to submit

Chelsea at Tottenham Preview

August 26, 2005 || posted by whitney

Chelsea look to continue their unbeaten streak at White Heart Lane.

Tottenham will play us tough, but expect a victory.

The NY Blues Supporter Group will be watching the match at Nevada Smith's Saturday at 10am EST.

Proper Match Reports

BBC

Planet Football

comments () -- click to submit

Champions League News

August 25, 2005 || posted by whitney

Either Chelsea or Milan picked up the hardest UCL draw. at the same time, Arsenal and Real Madrid are on cakewalks.

Bottom line, UEFA is sticking it to the FA for not booting Everton.

Also, look for alot of chatter on English conspiracy theories. Spain also demonstrated the strength of their league with 3 teams making it to the Group Stage.

JM calls for caution

When you are playing for 4 trophies, you need a big squad. Given the difficult draw that we have (top to bottom), our squad will really be a boon.

Money Quotes:

"This is a very dangerous group for us. Not because of Liverpool, as all the teams in the top group were dangerous, no matter who we got. All of them were big teams with a big reputation. No, this group is dangerous because in the third and fourth seeds there were some smaller teams, but we got Anderlecht and Betis.

"Anderlecht have a big history in Europe with much experience of the Champions League. It is the debut for Betis but they are very strong, one of the best teams in Spain, so this becomes a dangerous group for Chelsea.

ESPN Soccernet

Match Dates

Tuesday 13th September: Anderlecht (home)
Wednesday 28th September: Liverpool (away)
Wednesday 19th October: Real Betis (home)
Tuesday 1st November: Real Betis (away)
Wednesday 23rd November: Anderlecht (away)
Tuesday 6th December: Liverpool (home)

Complete UCL Draw

ESPN Soccernet

Terry and Cech best in Europe

Terry took home the defender honors over Carragher and Maldini.

Cech beat out Buffon and Dudek.

Lamps was nominated for midfielder, along with van Bommel. Kaka took home the honors.

Ronaldinho beat out Chelsea transfer targets Adriano and Sheva for the striker award.

Gerrard picked up the MVP. I think Lamps was in the mix for this, but all the Chelsea players likely split the vote.

Chelsea FC

comments () -- click to submit

Chelsea 4, West Brom 0

August 24, 2005 || posted by whitney

Frank Lampard celebrated the birth of his daughter with a brace. He also notched his 50th league goal. Drogba and Cole had the other two.

New boys SWP and Michael Essien started, as did Joe Cole. They all had a role in the scoring.

A confident performance by the champs, who are rounding into form.

Match Reports

BBC

Planet Football

ESPN Soccernet

comments () -- click to submit

Squad Updates

August 23, 2005 || posted by whitney

Transfers

Tiago seems poised to move to Lyon in a £6.8M move.

He cited the lack of first team opportunities in a World Cup year as the reason for the move.

I think JM is showing some compassion here, especially in light of the Robben and Carvalho dust up. With Essien and Eidur, there wouldn't be enough playing time in the central midfield for everyone.

BBC

ESPN Soccernet

Chelsea FC

Loans

Jarosik will join Smertin out on loan. He's joining Birmingham on season-long loan. The deal could become permanent.

Planet Football

Carvalho Outburst

JM has fined Carvalho £85,000 for his outburst. According to JM, Carvalho had voiced his concerns in private before his outburst, and then he decided to bring them to the media. He also criticized his teammates. Robben, on the other hand, spoke about himself, and made no references to his teammates.

BBC

Terry has denied the fact that there is open rebellion. I'd agree, so long as we keep winning.

ESPN Soccernet

The New York Times compares the rotation policy of Chelsea to that of NFL teams. Are soccer positions becoming more specialized?


NYT

comments () -- click to submit

Chelsea 1, Arsenal 0

August 21, 2005 || posted by whitney

Drogba breaks 10 year Arsenal unbeaten streak.

With a little bit of luck, Drogba knocked in the winner off of a set piece in the 73rd min. He was a menace his entire time on the field. With his pace and aerial ability, he's a better strike option than Crespo against the best EPL defenses. Crespo needs a higher class of service, and that won't always be there.

Essien played well in this match, coming on as a sub. SWP was very good as well.

Robben looked a bit tired, but that's to be expected after his inspired performance, 2 goals, for Holland at mid-week.

Terry and Gallas proved the stats from last season right. They are our best central defense pairing.

Lamps is rounding into form, but still not at his best. Both full backs were steady.

Perhaps the most surprising aspect of this game was the play of Makelele. I'd never realized how big a role he plays on offense. He's initiates the offense.

Proper Match Reports

BBC

Planet Football

comments () -- click to submit

The Squad

August 19, 2005 || posted by whitney

If we continue to play a 4-3-2-1, which is expected, here's a possible depth chart. There is an asterisk next to the expected first-team starter.

GK
1 - Cech*
2 - Cudicini

RB
1 - Ferreira*
2 - Johnson

CB
1 - Terry*
2 - Gallas*
3 - Carvalho
4 - Huff

LB
1 - Del Horno*
2 - Bridge

Midfielders
1 - Lampard*
2 - Makelele*
3 - Essien*
4 - Gudjohnsen
5 - J. Cole
6 - Geremi
7 - Diarra

Attacking Midfielders
1 - Duff*
2 - Robben*
3 - SWP
4 - J. Cole
5 - Gudjohnsen

Striker
1 - Drogba*
2 - Crespo
3 - Gudjohnsen
4 - C. Cole

In the defense and midfield, it's pretty clear what our choice lineup should be. If the OPTA stats are correct, Gallas should pair with Terry before Carvalho. Also, Essien is a skilled enough both offensively and defensively to allow Lamps to focus on offense, as Maka does on defense.

When we get into our attacking "3", it gets murky. Between Duff, Robben, Cole, and SWP it's possible that we've got the 4 best wingers in the EPL. There isn't a spot for all of them.

That said, Duff and Robben have picked up injuries in the past, and the team is built to play 60-70 games. Also, they all bring something different to the table. Duff is a mechanical scoring machine. Robben has good moves and speed. SWP also has good on-ball control and electrifying pace. and Joe Cole is relentless, and is probably the most gifted defensively. Last week Cole and SWP brought a whole new attacking dimension to the lineup last week against Wigan. But when you consider Robben's electrifying performance for Holland in Wednesday’s Friendly, I doubt he'll lose his spot. Look for Duff to keep his spot in the short run.

Up top we've got great depth, and three top notch players. Drogba is looking dominant aerially, like his L'Om days. Crespo is as close to clinical as we've got. Gudjohnsen has always kept a spot in the team, no matter what's happened. And Carlton Cole is a great young player. I think we'll see Drogba with Duff, as he's less apt to create for himself (read: long ball to Drogba who'll play it off.) and Crespo with SWP who'll create a ton of space for him.

comments () -- click to submit

The Effect of a Big Squad...

August 17, 2005 || posted by whitney

Centre-back Ricardo Carvalho hit out at JM's decision to leave him out of the first XI.

I'm not pleased with this at all. Bottom line, the Gallas and Terry pairing had better stats than any other pairing. So the numbers aren't in Carvalho's favor, but it gets worse. Rather than making this a personal dispute, he suggests that he's a cut above the bench boys (Huth, Cole, Tiago).

Read the full transcript at Planet Football

Update

Right back at you says JM...

Money Quotes:

“Ricardo Carvalho seems to have problems understanding things, maybe he should have an IQ test.

“I am not happy to have heard about this through the papers.

"Ricardo has worked with me for four years and I do not understand these quotes, he probably needs to see a doctor.

Planet Football

Update

Both JM and Carvalho have backed down from their harsh words.

Chelsea FC

BBC

comments () -- click to submit

Essien Moving to the Blues

August 15, 2005 || posted by whitney

In a £26 million move, Michael Essien will join Chelsea shortly. He's awaiting a medical.

BBC

Update

Essien deal hits a snag.

The marathon transfer saga over Chelsea's bid to sign Lyon's Michael Essien took another twist tonight when it was revealed the Premiership champions had still not received the relevant paperwork to complete the move.

ESPN Soccernet

Impact on the Squad

Joe Cole now realizes that he's not in the first team squad. While Essien is pure class, you can't help but feel bad for Cole. A year ago, Cole was on the verge of being shipped out. Rather than pouting, he dedicated himself to his defense and became an impact player in the squad. Now as Cole realizes his potential, he may even be the answer for England on the left.

Planet Football

It appears that Jiri Jarosik is moving to Birmingham. Geremi may also be on the outside looking in.

Planet Football

comments () -- click to submit

Chelsea 1, Wigan 0

August 14, 2005 || posted by whitney

In dramatic fashion, Crespo won this game with a great extra-time strike.

While this wasn't our best game, it is clear that Wigan is legit.

Proper Match Reports

BBC

ESPN Soccernet

Post Match Comments

JM We're Lucky

Essien Update

Rumor has it, that after Lyon's game at Marseille, they will announce the transfer.

comments (2) -- click to submit

Chelsea at Wigan

August 13, 2005 || posted by whitney

Chelsea kick off the EPL season against the Prem New Boys, Wigan.

11am EST

Check the Links Page for your US supporter club info.

Things to watch:

1) The goal output from the strikers
2) The integration of SWP with the existing attacking midfields
3) Who plays in the midfield with Lamps and Maka

Proper Match Previews

BBC
Planet Football

comments () -- click to submit

Cole Gate Wrap Up

August 13, 2005 || posted by whitney

Nick at the Chelsea Blog has a great piece detailing the FA's finding.

There are some great nuggets in this recap. If you can, check it out.

comments () -- click to submit

Essien Update - Deal Back On

August 9, 2005 || posted by whitney

In the span of an hour, the deal is now back on.

Ths Sun is reporting that Roman Abramovich personally acquired Michael Essien of Lyon for £27million.

The Sun

*Note - You'll have to buy the paper for the entire story.

Update

Several sites have confirmed The Sun's story. Behold the power of Russian oil gangster money.

Football 365

ESPN Soccernet

BBC columnist, and former football star, John Collins doesn't believe that Michael Essien is a great player. The reality is that he uses no statistical evidence to develop his position. He rated as well as Lamps in the CL last year. Expect Essien to eventually play in the midfield with Lamps and Maka.

BBC

Update

Sunday look for a final decision in the transfer saga of the off-season.

Planet Football

Mikel Update

FIFA has stepped in, ordering John Obi Mikel back to Lyn Oslo, his Norweigan club.

After his play in the FIFA World Junior Championships for Nigera, the runner-up, he's got a very bright future.

Planet Football

comments (1) -- click to submit

Chelsea Picked as Favorites

August 9, 2005 || posted by whitney

Chelsea looked poised to repeat after increasing their squad depth.

BBC

Hernan Crespo is the one to watch. As Lampard lead the team in goals last season, Chelesa needs more production form its strike force to reach the next level.

Bottom line, look for them to be the champs again. And at the absolute worst, Chelsea might round out the top three.

ESPN Soccernet

While Chelsea have improved, it is the shortcomings of Arsenal and Man Utd that will hand them the title. Liverpool is the dark horse, as Rafa is building a dangerous squad.

ESPN Soccernet

comments () -- click to submit

Frank Arnesen Preparing for Work

August 9, 2005 || posted by whitney

The signing of the former Tottenham Sporting Director fits with Kenyon's strategy of future self sufficiency.

Arnensen, who is to report in September, was spotted scouting two talented youngsters. If he can replicate his work at PSV (He was a major player in the Dutch club's rise in the mid '90s.), the EPL had better watchout.

Planet Football

comments () -- click to submit

Chelsea Take Community Shield

August 7, 2005 || posted by whitney

A Didier Drogba brace lead the Blues over the Gunners 2-1.

The match was typical Chelsea - efficient offense coupled with steller defense. Julio Baptista who? Drogba was the Beast. On his first goal, he beat Senderos to the spot, chest trapped, and beat Lehmann. His second, was more a byproduct of tenacity. He bullied his way through three Arsenal defenders on his way to the goal.

Paulo Ferreira was great on the right. He contained Henry all day. Also, he was very effective at turning the ball upfield and finding Robben/SWP.

Asier Del Horno also was strong at left back. His ball found Drogba for the first goal. As his familiarity with the team grows, expect him to take a larger offensive role - he's got that potential. His inability to clear the ball led to the Fabregas goal.

Tactically, it seemed as if we were bypassing the midfield. Lamps played a more defensive role, and the ball was either advanced up the wings by duff/cole and robben/swp, or played long in the air to the forward attacking players. Gudjohnsen also started in the midfield.

All in all, a strong performance. We handled the attack of Arsenal, which bodes well for the upcoming season. On the Gunner side, if Gilberto Silva can stay healthy and control the midfield (like he did in the 2nd half) then they should be able to cope with the loss of Vieria. The reality is that Fabregas is not a holding midfielder.

BBC Match Report

Jose's Take

JM decided not to claim an edge over his main rivals. He'll leave that to Kenyon.

Planet Football

Arsene's Position

The Arsenal manager claimed the Blues used long-ball tactics and time-wasting to beat his side 2-1 in the Community Shield on Sunday afternoon.

"Don't be too worried - I'm not. Did you see the game today? You can be worried if you are a Chelsea supporter," he declared.

"Chelsea were dangerous with the long balls, they were very direct and we tried more to play our usual game.

"I'm not here to judge Chelsea's game, they play their game and we play ours. I just feel that Drogba gave us a hard time on the long balls, but that's not a criticism."

Football 365

comments () -- click to submit

Essien Update - Deal Dead

August 5, 2005 || posted by whitney

Yesterday, the deal was reportedly dead.

Planet Football

Now, Essien has denied that he is on strike.

Earlier in the week, he was quoted as saying: "From now on I am playing with the junior players and I will not take part in any first-team matches for them."

Today, in direct contradiction to his earlier quote, Essien hits back: "I don't know anything about this. I didn't tell Lyon anything."

The ideal solution is for Chelsea to pay for a first option. As Essien has already stated his desire to leave Lyon for Chelsea, it is unlikely that he will sign a new contract. After next season, he'll be one year closer to a Bosman, which will lead to a cheaper price. As he is still only 22, why not let him develop playing Champions League football and for the dominant Lyon team?

BBC

Update

Jose Mourinho says if he was Lyon coach Gerard Houllier he would sell Michael Essien to Chelsea.

Mind games. Houllier is being backed into a corned by both Lyon Chairman Aulus and Chelsea. Should Essien move, it may be too late in the transfer period to acquire a replacement. As times runs out, someone is going to give.

Planet Football

Update

Lyon have set a weekend deadline for any Essien deal. £27 million is their target. The ball is in Chelsea's court.

FINAL Update

Expect Essien to be a Chelsea player shortly.

Lyon boss Gerard Houllier opted to omit Essien from the squad for Sunday's match against Strasbourg and the signs are suggesting he has played his last game for the French champions.

Planet Football

In Other Transfer News

Chelsea are reportedly seeking Cassano of Roma. As he's likely leaving the club next season, £8.5 million seems like a lot. But it is refreshing that we are able to play in Arsene's "other" transfer market.

I'm not sure if Cassano is right for the team, but if we can sign him for free, he's definitely talented.

Thoughts?

Planet Football

comments () -- click to submit

Arsene Wenger is Jealous

August 4, 2005 || posted by whitney

Arsene Wenger declared that Chelsea were paying double the normal market value of players such as Shaun Wright-Phillips as he refused to be lured into wasting his remaining transfer kitty.

ESPN Soccernet

Let's read between the lines. Wenger is either a) upset that we are overspending, and wasting our money, or b) upset that he can't "overspend" to secure his own players.

Personally, I don't think option A is anything to be upset about.

This is a swipe at Arsenal ownership.

Using the Forbes 2005 Valuations, Arsenal banked about £21 million after the 2003-2004 season. Coincidentally, that is the same sum as the cost of SWP. Arsenal has also signed a new kit and sponsorship deal with Emirates, bringing in additional revenue for the upcoming season.

Where has this money gone? To pay for the construction of the brand new Highbury, aka Ashburton Grove, aka Airline FC HQ. This 60,000 seater should increase their revenue after completion, but was it penny wise and pound foolish?

In the short term, their team has weakened. Wenger has been keen on players like Essien and SWP for some time, but management hasn't opened the purse strings. Realizing that an end to his era is approaching, he'd like to have the best possible on field product. After the sale of Vieira it remains to be seen whether they'll challenge for title.

Update

JM Hits Back

"Every week there's a new comment."

"I prefer to just laugh and keep going. I cannot take it seriously. Words, fights, mind games don't apply to me."

Update

Maybe the reason that upstarts Chelsea had more revenue than Arsenal (using the aformentioned Forbes rankings) is that we buy domestic.

Wenger stated yesterday that a more realistic price for the 23-year-old would have been closer to £10million and insisted a player's value doubles as soon as Chelsea enter the bidding.

But Mourinho replied: 'Wenger has his opinion. I think the English market is a special market.

'The fee between English clubs is always very, very high - not because of Chelsea but because of the English market.

'It's not just Shaun - every player who moves from an English club to another English club is too expensive, but that's the market.

'We could buy cheaper if we wanted to but we want English players not foreign ones.

'If we are to have a core of English players, we have to buy at least one English player every season and that's not easy - it's expensive.

'Unlike some teams, we don't want to put out a side made up entirely of foreign players.'

ZING.

ESPN Soccernet

comments (3) -- click to submit

Mourinho the Motivator

August 4, 2005 || posted by whitney

Yesterday, Kenyon announces that Chelsea has the EPL title all but sewn up. Today, Jose expects a tough title defense.

Clearly, Blues Brass is trying to battle complacency.

Football 365

comments () -- click to submit

Big Money on the Horizon?

August 3, 2005 || posted by whitney

The Blues are focusing on the US, Russia, and China to grow their revenue streams. So far, they've toured in the US, have a Russian owner, and Samsung on our kits.

Blues brass sees the distribution of existing game content as the next big thing. While Man Utd tries to start their own TV network, Chelsea is focusing on content for mobiles.

This will prove very interesting. Unless the Sky TV deal falls apart, it is very unlikely that any English Club will have a TV network for live games. However, Chelsea could easily be the provider for a mobile phone TV channel. With the prevalence of 3G mobile networks, we are rapidly approaching the day when streaming video is as common as text messages.

Mobile Content News

comments () -- click to submit

One Horse Race?

August 3, 2005 || posted by whitney

Chelsea Chairman Peter Kenyon has amazingly bragged that Chelsea have already got the Premiership title sewn up.

One paper, there are other talented 11s, but no one can match our depth our roster.

Given the quality of our play last season, these remarks are part of an elaborate mind game. Kenyon plays the braggart, while JM's the motivator. After boastful comments like this, the media and our rivals will come out swinging. With an us vs. them attitude, the players will have a chip on their shoulder for JM to exploit.

The Sun

comments () -- click to submit

Makelele to Return to Les Bleus

August 3, 2005 || posted by whitney

Zinedine Zidane and Claude Makelele have come out of international retirement to play for France again.

Both players have decided to return to Les Bleus after initially deciding to end their playing days for their country following their quarter final exit to eventual champions Greece at Euro 2004 in Portugal.

Makelele should be able to step right in. Three points behind Ireland in their group, his ability to hold the midfield should prove vital given all of their attacking prowess.

Planet Football

comments () -- click to submit

L'OM starlets sign on

August 3, 2005 || posted by whitney

Marseille have secured the futures of two of their most promising stars after both Taye Taiwo and Samir Nasri put pen-to-paper on extended deals at Stade Velodrome.

We'll be hearing alot about these young French players, among other, as they were part of that U17 World Championship squad.

We should be able to sign some of the best young professionals out there. In addition to wages, our partnership with PSV and Benfica will provide for an unprecedented amount of first team (european) matches for these players.

Planet Football

comments () -- click to submit

Clarke Allays Injury Fears

August 1, 2005 || posted by whitney

Chelsea assistant boss Steve Clarke has played down the severity of the injuries to key trio William Gallas, Claude Makelele and Arjen Robben.

French stars Gallas and Makelele picked up knee and head injuries respectively in Sunday's draw with Milan in East Rutherford, New Jersey, while Robben missed the clash due to a hamstring complaint.

Chelsea face Arsenal in the Community Shield next weekend, with The Premiership due to kick-off the following week.

Planet Football

comments () -- click to submit

Culture shock causes failure

August 1, 2005 || posted by whitney

The BBC have an interesting feature on the inability of South American players to cope in the EPL.

Due to the stringent work permit rules, South American players are few and far between, which leaves them to fend for themselves - contrary to their culture.

They bring up Hernan Crespo's decision to nearly quit The Bridge in his first season.

BBC Article

comments () -- click to submit

Essien Update

August 1, 2005 || posted by whitney

Is closure near?

After a final bid of £20M and a season-long Tiago loan, Roman Abramovich is rumored to be heading to Lyon to seal the deal.

ESPN Soccernet

comments () -- click to submit

Jose: Chelsea snub was Gerrard's loss

August 1, 2005 || posted by whitney

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho is sure Steven Gerrard's decision to reject a move to Stamford Bridge will hurt the Liverpool captain more than the Premiership champions.

ESPN Soccernet

Rafa Benitez has brushed off Jose Mourinho's claims that Steven Gerrard will regret snubbing Chelsea.

Rafa Replies

comments () -- click to submit

Jose: 'Impossible to match Sir Alex'

August 1, 2005 || posted by whitney

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has conceded he will not be able to match the trophy haul of Manchester United counterpart Sir Alex Ferguson.

Mourinho won the Premiership and Carling Cup in his first season in charge at Stamford Bridge.

But he insists it is 'not possible' to emulate the achievements of Ferguson.

ESPN Soccernet

comments () -- click to submit

Cole focused on Blues

August 1, 2005 || posted by whitney

Joe Cole claims a spot in England's squad for next summer's World Cup finals is not at the forefront of his mind at present.

Planet Football

comments () -- click to submit