…to be European Champions.

(It wasn’t even our turn to win the FA Cup.)

At last I am starting to realise that Saturday night wasn’t just a dream. It really, really happened!

And now, after the event and with a sore head easing and reality setting in, I would like to give a quick reply to those people who have been saying our name was on the cup from the start – No. No, it wasn’t!

It’s true that as is normal for teams that win trophies, we had some moments of luck along the way, but there were many, many more moments when only determination or sheer hard work or pure skill made the difference.

And if you look at all our games, those moments are there in their hundreds, moments created by the players on the pitch and backroom staff off it.

Big decisions were made. Decisions that required consideration, intelligence and the skill and the guts to follow through.

It wasn’t “our turn” to win the cup. It wasn’t Fate. It wasn’t God. It wasn’t even a case of “things evening themselves out”.

Oh no, what it was, was determination, hard work and skill, shown by Chelsea players and by the management and the owner.

Take nothing away from the club, the squad, the individuals on (and off) the pitch. It was totally, one hundred per cent their effort and skill that resulted in the glory.

Let’s take nothing away from everyone Chelsea by saying stupid things like “it was Fate” or “it was our turn”.

Credit where it’s due: it was Chelsea. Nothing more, and certainly nothing less.

So congratulations to everyone involved from Roman, down through the club and out to all the fans. Everyone played a part: some played a bigger part than others but everyone contributed to putting our name on the role call of football history … AFTER the event.

Well done Chelsea. Pride of London. European Champions 2012.

Ian Ridley’s “There’s A Golden Sky” is about as wide ranging and comprehensive a look at the state of football today as it is possible to cram into 260 odd pages. Ridley writes extensively on football with a style that is fluent, lucid and very easy to read and this, his latest book, is both fascinating and informative.

Ridley’s first book, “Seasons In The Cold” written all of twenty years ago, examined the state of a game then considered to be both a reviled pariah and the unacceptable face of sporting culture.

“There’s A Golden Sky” more or less revisits this arena: it re-examines football by looking at the Premier League and the effect of its (quite phenomenal) growth on the rest of football: from the top of the Premiership down to Hackney Marshes on a Sunday morning.

The book initially looks at the state of the game in the 80’s as it explains the emergence of the Premier League. How the sport then had become vilified, the unacceptably ugly face of English culture, primarily as a result of the violence that went hand in hand with English football. (Strangely, despite well documented instances of hooliganism in other countries, it suited many people to refer to football violence as “the English disease”.)

At the time it seemed that everyone, including the British media, took up this concept as an extra weapon to batter football with – such a contrast to today, isn’t it, when football is the darling of the media – but in all honesty it was difficult to argue against it.

Put glibly, the 80’s was the Decade of the Disaster as far as soccer was concerned: not only was there organised violence on a not insignificant scale, but we had Heysel, Hillsborough, and Bradford – names that will stay always in the memory because of the harrowing and traumatic situations that, with hindsight, could perhaps have been avoided.

From my own experience, if you loved football during the 80’s most people considered that you were likely to be a football hooligan. They believed some fans were decent, law-abiding citizens, of course; but these were a minority. As a rule, it was generally advisable to avoid football fans.

Out of this the Premiership was born. And “There’s A Golden Sky” traces Ridley’s journey up and down the country as he investigates the situations at many Premiership clubs.

Interweaved with this, we look at the situation at a number of non Premiership clubs and the effect the EPL had (and has) on them: amongst them, the debacle of ownership at Portsmouth, the longevity of the amazing ex-Chelsea man Dario Gradi at Crewe, Ipswich after the Cobbold legacy, plastic-pitched Luton Town, the rise and fall of Wimbledon… the list goes on.

Ridley’s book does not forget the players either. It opens and closes with Gazza, perhaps the archetypal – but certainly not the only – victim of the sport.

The pressures on players are sometimes quite extraordinary. In many cases these are ordinary young men suddenly thrust into the role of cult heroes, in many cases millionaire stars with a huge amount of free time on their hands and little or no guidance in how to cope with either the pressure or the money.

The toll is taken in alcohol and gambling and the tales told here are often distressing and moving.

There is a chapter dedicated to the grassroots of Hackney Marshes, to me the legendary bastion of Sunday morning soccer, including the unwelcome and perhaps unforeseen impact of the forthcoming Olympics.

Ridley looks at the rise of the women’s game, too, as well as giving us an insight into the referee’s point of view.

Of special interest to Blues fans will be the “What Roman Did For Us”, a chapter dedicated to Chelsea. Focussed mainly as it is on Bruce Buck’s interpretation of events, it concentrates mainly on the background to Roman’s takeover and the parade of managers thereafter.

It is certainly crammed full of information, but to be honest if you are an obsessive reader of all things Chelsea, there are probably a few snippets here you would not have already read, but not that many. I found that slightly disappointing, but I am perhaps demanding too much of a book that is so impressively comprehensive and wide-ranging.

Nevertheless, a good read and I found it highly enjoyable reading someone else’s perspective on the club since Roman’s arrival.

To me “There’s A Golden Sky” offers a real feel for the day-to-day workings and the behind-the-scenes activities of the modern game, and is a glorious insight into the game we, as fans, are part of.

Ridley asks the right questions of the right people and gets beneath the skin of his subjects in an entertaining and knowledgeable way. It is full of facts, anecdotes and interviews – and above all, evokes the atmosphere of the sport we all love.

If there is a better book about modern day football I have yet to read it. Highly recommended, then, both for content and readability.

An occasional series of open discussions with opposition fans. They can say what they like about Chelsea and I promise not to be rude back to them.

Number 4: The Blues v The Blues

Meet Bill, aka Jasper and a hundred other names. He won’t tell me how old he is and won’t say when he became a City fan. But he just couldn’t stop when it came to other stuff…

Why Birmingham City?
One name – Trevor Francis. He is a Brummie legend, God knows how many goals he scored for us, but I know it was over 100, better than one goal every three games. I just loved his eye for goal, when you saw him run into the penalty area you know there would be a chance on the end of it. He didn’t always score, in fact I remember him missing two absolute sitters in one match, but he was always there, always working, always, always working for the side.

When did you start supporting Birmingham City?
I was a teenager. That’d probably make me a latecomer to the game, but honestly I wasn’t particularly interested in soccer until secondary school. Then I found I had a bit of a knack for booting holy crap out of the ball and I played as a defender and took the free kicks. I enjoyed it, yes – you get sort of addicted don’t you? Then I went to a live game and Bang!

Which Game?
Villa at home, believe it or not. We lost 0-2. But the tension, the noise, the missed chances. I’m pretty certain we dominated the game but I loved it even though we lost.

What was the first game you remember?
That one, if you mean live – losing to Villa. I’ve got used to it [losing to Aston Villa] over time, but it makes beating ‘em even sweeter. I can’t remember any others really.

At some point I must have started watching Match of the Day and The Big Match on Sunday lunchtimes. I loved Brian Moore, and they used to cover the Birmingham derbies pretty regularly. Not as often as the London derbies though, which was a bit annoying when they clashed, but – hey, what was the question again?

What memory of Birmingham City will you still remember when your memory has finally faded and you are old and senile?
This season’s European expeditions, I can afford it now – just! Such pride to see your team competing in Europe. You lot have become blasé about it – not that I’m criticising, but you have, like Man U and Arsenal and whatever. The squad you’ve got you should be qualifying most of the time, but it aint a right, mate, no, not at all, and that’s what I think fans of the so-called top four don’t appreciate.

If you had to pick your favourite Birmingham City player of all time, who would it be?
The great Trevor, King Trev. I was gutted when they sold him, though a million quid seemed a lot of money then. I guess it was, but going to Forest made it worse. I seem to remember we were struggling and looked doomed at the time, so it probably looked like a good move to him.
Fair play to him, it was his goals that really got us into the First Division in the first place, so it seemed sort of, well, acceptable. Didn’t make it any easier to swallow though.

Back to the present day – who is your favourite player at the moment?
Stephen Carr, Mr Motivator. And Zigic – Mr Creator!

How did you cope with relegation?
I got drunk then went home and sat there flicking through some old programmes. I’ve some dating back as far back as the 70’s. I didn’t cope very well though; I never do with that sort of thing.

How do you view your performance so far this season?
Patchy, but more than acceptable really. I didn’t think we’d keep the players we’ve kept, I didn’t think we’d get the players we got in last summer, I didn’t think they’d gel as they have, I didn’t think we would bounce straight back up either, but that’s not such a pipedream.

And how do you see the rest of your season going this time around?
Surprisingly, we look like we are strong enough to at least push for a play-off place. Southampton and the Hammers have got promotion pretty much sewn up, barring something like administration or a total collapse.

What gives me hope though is our home record, unbeaten so far where it matters, and we’ve got Hull next week. That worries me though. I can’t see them scoring more than once, but then again the boys may have their heads turned by Chelsea next weekend, so I can see us maybe losing 0-1. Hopefully not, though, I’d settle for a draw.

And how are you going to fare at Stamford Bridge on Saturday?
I can’t see us getting anything at all, just keep the score down.

You think I meant that didn’t you? Ha ha, no I think we can win. Yes, genuinely! Chelsea are poor at the back, if JT is still out we can score at least one.

You have one of the best strikers in the world going through a crisis, which means he’s still one of the best strikers in the top half of the table. The problem is you don’t have an attacking midfield. Even Mata is struggling to create anything these days and the rest are a waste of space, going forward.

Not too bad defensive midfield-wise, but how can you expect to win when you have one creative player and no wingers. May as well play with a cardboard cut-out up front and hammer the balls up to him in the hope they bounce off and go in.

That’s a bit harsh isn’t it?
True though. Would a team play Wimbledon style long ball if it had eleven Messi’s? No. Would a team play short passing intricate Barcelona style football with not a single creative player? No. Face it, at the moment, you may be transition, I can’t argue with that, but you are crap. Ok, very poor. A dire combination of over-the-hill players who can turn it on one game in ten and young inexperienced players who do the same. The result is a mess.

Are you going to the game?
Watching on telly. A few pints, fish and chips before the game and settle down to the game. Mark my words, we will be the headline makers come Final Score!

Have you ever been to Stamford Bridge?
Last season actually. A night match at the end of last season and we let you win 3-1. Ha ha, no we threw it away, Chelsea deserved it.
I remember your right back falling over the ball before crossing for Chelsea to score really early on. Poor defending. Then Kalou scored a great goal, went past two defenders before scoring a 20 yarder. Excellent, but not good defending again.

We got a penalty to add a bit of respectability towards the end of the game, and maybe we should have a first half penalty too, but all in all it was a fair result I think, no complaints.

What do you think of our new manager, Andre Villas-Boas?
Jury’s out, isn’t it? Obviously when he has the players he wants, he is good. He’s proved that at Porto. But at the moment – I don’t know. Has Chelsea’s slump coincided with Roberto Di Matteo’s arrival? It seems to me it might.

But Villas Boas has got a tough job there. I said Chelsea were a mix of too old and too young. That’s not his fault though, that’s a result of previous managers and a board that thinks it can have success just by throwing money at it. You can’t.

I don’t blame AVB for the position you’re in. In my opinion, finishing fourth would be an over-achievement for Chelsea. This mix of too old and too young – the club shouldn’t have allowed that situation to happen in Ancelotti’s last season, but the club itself – maybe I mean the owner and the directors – are too greedy. They want it all and they want it now.

The too-young players means you can/t realistically play more of your youngsters and hope to win, but they’re the only players you have who can replace the over-the-hill players. Catch 22. As I said, not AVB’s fault, he’s got to make the best of mismanagement and – purely off the top of my head – maybe a lack of sensible forward planning by the directors.

Personally, I’d get shot of half the team in the summer, bring in those players the manager wants and then give him to January. If you are still playing poorly, get rid, but at least give him the opportunity to remove the shackles of player-power and old-age before judging him.

What is your prediction for Chelsea this season?
Fifth. Maybe fourth – not because of Chelsea, but because I can see Arsenal, Liverpool, Newcastle, Spurs failing to stick the pace– especially Spurs if they know Harry is leaving in the summer.

If there was one player from Chelsea you could have for free….
John Terry, just for this season. He would be the difference between taking part in the play offs and winning them.

Club or Country?
Club all the way.

Prediction time! Automatic promotion to the Premiership?
That’s not an easy prediction. Let’s just say, play-off place. Chris Hughton does a brilliant job, but I’m not sure we can stop the top two. But Cardiff, Reading, Blackpool, Hull – nah, none of them are unbeatable. I hope so anyway, we’ve got Hull next week.

We did some rebuilding in the summer, lots in and out and it looks like its beginning to pay off.

Your prediction for the top four for the Premiership this season is?
As it stands to be honest: that’s City, United, Spurs and Arsenal. The only doubt there is Spurs in my opinion.

FA Cup?
Spurs. Birmingham to lose to Spurs in the semi-final!

Champions League?
No one apart from Barca.

Five star dining at an upmarket restaurant, or bacon, egg and chips at a greasy spoon?
I’m a brummie mate. Greasy breakfast, three times a day.

Politics? Religion? Or shouldn’t I ask?
Left wing, and agnostic. I think it’s important to say what you are, what you stand for. I don’t like this “I’m not telling you my politics, it’s my business”, it’s not just my business because my politics could affect everyone else in the community and the country. Wait, I feel a rant coming on, ha ha. I’ll shutup now!

Well, thank you for being so… er, bluntly honest.
That’s ok, thanks for giving me the opportunity to mouth off! It probably sounds like I don’t like Chelsea very much.

Truth is, I do. They’ve always had charisma in my opinion. It just annoys me to see a club in a piss-poor position because of impatience and it annoys me more that your manager appears to be the scapegoat in all this. He’s been shackled by the club and its recent history and by players who won’t put in the effort, seems that way to me at least. I hope they turn it round. After the FA Cup game though.

The furore surrounding John Terry since the Queens Park Rangers game has bought into focus a number of issues. They are, perhaps, two sides of the same coin, but they pose a number of questions.

And I for one have no answers, only more questions. So, let’s play Devil’s Advocate.

1. Is He or Isn’t He? or “No man is good enough to govern another man without that other’s consent.” (Abraham Lincoln)

Amidst all the allegations, the lies, the finger-pointing and the holier-than-thou pontificating in the “is he or isn’t he” witch-hunt surrounding our Captain, there are many who have called for John Terry to be stripped of the captaincy of club and country.

It is said that the first casualty of war is the ‘Truth’. In a similar vein I would suggest that the first casualty of a witch-hunt is ‘Logic’.

To allege that John Terry is racist is to deny logic. Let’s look at the evidence.

There are the character-reference statements boldly made by the likes of Frank Lampard and other players; also those made by AVB and Ray Wilkins. Admittedly they are value judgement made by those who know and respect him, but nevertheless they are also powerful vindications of his character.

We have all read them so I need not go into details here. But in the face of a witch-hunt we need more hard evidence.

He has learned his trade at a multi-cultural club. Chelsea, rather than being an insular English club, has a long history of looking out into wider competition and embracing multi-ethnicity.  This ethos has probably existed at the club since its inception, but certainly from as far back as 1955 when the club should have been the first to compete in European competition.

After winning our first League title, Chelsea were planning a first competitive foreign foray when the ever insular and myopic F.A. and Football League regrettably succeeded in persuading them to withdraw from the competition.  More recently of course Chelsea has been a kaleidoscope of nations – to its obvious benefit.

You do not progress very far in such an organisation if you are inherently racist. And the obvious truth is that he has not only progressed but he has become the figurehead of the club.  The fact is that John Terry is captain of a multi-national, multi-cultural and multi-ethnic team, both on and off the field. He also leads a multi-cultural team at National level, again both on and off the pitch.

Would anyone seriously argue when Terry was breaking into first team football that the likes of Marcel Desailly would have tolerated racist attitudes at the club? And given his obvious admiration for Desailly, that Terry believes he (Desailly) is somehow a lesser player, a lesser person, because of the colour of his skin or his formative culture? Of course not.

Would any England manager hand the armband to anyone remotely racist, with its obvious implications for squad solidarity? The idea is ludicrous and the answer is No.  Similarly, does anyone with an iota of intelligence believe that strong, forceful, and independent characters such as Ashley Cole and Didier Drogba would accept leadership from someone with racist attitudes?

Abraham Lincoln once said “no man is good enough to govern another man without that others consent”. That truism still holds good. The idea of those guys accepting the leadership of a racist is preposterous.  Logically, then, I believe we can put the idea of a racist JT to bed once and for all. Whether the Witchfinder generals amongst the baying masses can grasp that concept is, sadly, another matter.

But of course the question is not about whether Terry is a racist or not, it is about what happened on the pitch. And this is where I start to lose it.

In order to explain why, can I move from the specific race issue to a more general question? The question of behaviour on, and off, the pitch.

2. On and Off. or “We have double standards to live up to” (from Ally McBeal)

The question is “What is acceptable behaviour on the pitch?”

We all know – players, coaches, fans alike – that anything that happens on the pitch in the intensity of the moment is rarely a personal issue. Its motivation and intent can be boiled down to one thing: an effort to gain an advantage over your opponent, an advantage that may win the game. And that surely is the object of sporting competition.

We all know and accept that what happens on the pitch is not a microcosm of society. The rules are changed, barriers broken down, rebuilt: different values emerge.

The customs and mores imitate society, but are not of it. The football pitch is, if you like, a virtual world within a world. To demonstrate the difference in values, let’s look at some of the things that are acceptable on the pitch, but not off it.

Spitting (not at an opponent or anything so crass, just on the ground). It is seen at every match; more, it is seen at almost all sporting occasions. But in the wider world it is considered rude, unhygienic and anti-social.

Swearing loudly and/or aggressively – heard on pitches everywhere, but not acceptable on the street.

Deliberate physical contact with a view to unbalancing or preventing the progress of another. Wholly unacceptable on the street. Unacceptable on the pitch, yet often allowed (Ramos on Walcott anyone?) and condoned as “part of the game”.

Verbal abuse. This can sometimes take the form of racist abuse, but more often consists of disparaging comments about a person’s size or alleged weakness. Tolerated on the pitch, frowned upon off it.

Deliberate ABH – unacceptable, yet often accepted as “part of the game”.

Now I am not suggesting that every football pitch is a lawless zone, nor am I suggesting that the rules of society should be forced onto the field of play. Far from it. The last thing we want is the police prosecuting players left right and centre.  But what if we do impose these external values onto the pitch? The result may be a situation where the following hypothetical questions could be asked.

Why do we accept that in the heat of the moment in a pressurised game a player can attract mild condemnation for a career-threatening tackle; but be subject to a police and FA investigation for an outburst that would be largely ignored on the street?

Why should verbal abuse of any sort be elevated to such a heinous crime that it provokes a police investigation when instances of other anti-social and often violent behaviour do not?  Is it worse to call someone a lanky freak or a midget than to call them black? Or vice versa?

What is the most disparaging insult? And according to whom?

There is also the question of intent. If there is no intent to abuse (and here I mean any form of abuse) is it abuse or is it failed communication?  Has not the victimised player failed to appreciate that the motive behind the statement is not the literal interpretation but an effort to gain advantage?

Moving off the pitch and into the stands for a moment, is it acceptable to tolerate groups of fans making masturbation gestures at a player, thereby condoning their behaviour, while punishing a player for doing the same thing?

Again, how is it that the police intervene in some instances and not others? I understand that if an incident is bought to their attention, they must take action. Yet apparently in 2008 the police themselves urged the FA to take action following complaints of verbal abuse from fans – after which the police decided it was “not feasible” to make arrests (source).

I don’t understand why it is “not feasible” to take action against fans yet it is possible to pursue actions against players.  Is society (and by “society” I mean every one of us) wrong to ignore some issues and elevate the importance of others? Is it right that elevating the importance of an issue should automatically increase the weight of punishment?

Enough. My head is spinning.

So is it possible to find the answers to these questions? Where do we draw the line on these issues?  To be honest, I don’t know. The logic of these hypothetical situations eludes me. Logic appears to have left the room.

It has left because to force outside values – however well-intentioned – onto the football pitch is to create an artificial situation. It creates a dichotomy of values that cannot coexist and is unsustainable. In short, it creates double standards.  And the double standards involved here are staggering, and this is what I find difficult to get my head around.

Returning to the specific John Terry issue, whilst I abhor racism I find very few examples of it on the pitch. In the stand, well, that is another matter.

I find myself in the strange situation of agreeing with Sepp Blatter when he says of the game “There is no racism, there is maybe one of the players [attitude] towards another, he has a word or a gesture which is not the correct one…the one who is affected by that, he should also say that this is a game. We are in a game, and at the end of the game, we shake hands…”

The problem with an outside investigation is that it superimposes the values of the outside onto the football pitch.

Hopefully the investigation into the matter will be based on logic and will focus solely on the facts of what happened on the pitch. It must, logically, also take into account the accepted values of the game rather than external values artificially imposed on it from outside.

Finally I hope that the findings of any investigation are presented clearly and are based on fact and logic.  For in the absence of logic we are left with only one logical conclusion.

Witch hunt.

So, here we are. Vote taken; situation more-or-less unchanged. Time now, perhaps, for forces on both sides to regroup and plan their next move?

A fine display of solidarity coupled with getting the truth out to as many people as possible (without the aid of a corporate machine) and SayNoCPO have succeeded in safeguarding the future of the club.

Or halted the clubs ambition in its tracks.

Whichever way you want to see it, both arguments have their validity.

For me, yesterday was something of a tainted victory. I hate standing in the way of the clubs ambition. Loath it. It’s like smacking your own kids. I never much liked the saying “you have to be cruel to be kind”, I always thought it was the ultimate cop-out for the ultimately unimaginative.

But I honestly cannot stand by and stay silent as the club makes a decision now which could, in hindsight, prove to be short-sighted, naive and the catalyst for its own demise.

In amongst the anodyne statements coming out of the Bridge after the vote was over was the acknowledgment, at long last made verbal, that they recognise three important facts

- they recognise that fans are not opposed in principle to a move away from Stamford Bridge;

- they recognise the worries induced by a move away from the Bridge and outside the “Golden Circle” – the often-quoted three mile area;

- they recognise the worries of fans when they consider a post-Roman Abramovich era.

Bruce Buck and Ron Gourlay have responded to the situation on the Chelsea website (here) and understandably put a positive spin on the defeat. And while Mr Gourlay states that he is aware of the concerns of Chelsea fans, he has neither addressed them nor has he said anything to allay those fears.

His words: ‘Where I think Chelsea Pitch Owners had two concerns which prevented us from getting the 75 per cent was what happens after 2020, and what happens if something happens to Mr Abramovich.”

He has not addressed those issues, true, but possibly now is not the time. In the immediate aftermath of the vote the club not only needs to reconsider its position it also needs to reconsider its attitude to its fans. Because that I believe is where a major problem lies.

I don’t really want to go over old ground, but Chelsea fans have perhaps more than most, learned to fear the property developer.
Had certain individuals in the past not had the foresight to create Chelsea Pitch Owners, there may not have been a club for Roman Abramovich to take over.

It is quite conceivable that an identity-crushing ground share could have eventually strangled the life out of Chelsea – or worse still an amalgamation with another club may have been forced on us and Chelsea’s death would have been not-so-slow.

All “ifs and buts” I know, but the fact remains that property developers could have destroyed Chelsea. No one wants to risk returning to that position – and that is what Chelsea Football Club must understand and accept.

Whether it be in 2020 or a hundred years from then, no one who has the clubs best interests at heart will be prepared to go down that road again. If the club fail to understand that, they have failed to understand one of the prime factors motivating Chelsea fans today.

I understand that the Board believe they are acting in the best interests of the club – I hope they do, anyway. But I am not wholly convinced that they are up to the job. To a layman they appear to be doing the job business-wise, but if you look at the PR debacles they have overseen in the past few years including this current situation… well, you wonder don’t you? But I trust Roman Abramovich, so I’ll suspend my cynicism on that one.

But I fear that without the experiences of the Save the Bridge and the once-terrifying ogre of Marler Estates leading up to the formation of CPO, they are acting without a true appreciation of the clubs roots.
And that is why I am delighted that, despite their best efforts, Chelsea failed. I hope that this will have opened their eyes to the strength of the love we all have for the club and the desire of everyone to move forward together.

Bruce Buck himself confirmed “We all love Chelsea Football Club and we’ll move on and conquer together.’

So with the aim of moving on together, perhaps our club can now appreciate the meaning of the word “together” and actually talk to fans. All we seek are assurances.

But because of our past experiences those assurances must be as cast-iron as possible.

Perhaps when the dust has settled, they can explain, clearly and unambiguously the nature of the safeguards they have in place.
Perhaps they can assure us that the future of the club as an entity in south west London is safe; that the hands that guide its future are more than competent; that our children and our grandchildren will be able to get the same pleasure and thrill out of supporting the club that we do.

I’m not in a position to say where we go from here, but I know what I would like to see.

I would like to see the club being less blandly corporate with its fans. I would like to see the club being more honest and open about its future plans. I would like to hear cast-iron guarantees and invitations to fans to the processes of rebuilding or relocation.

I believe and care about Chelsea’s future. I want us all, in Mr Buck’s words, to move forward together. The CPO believes and cares about Chelsea’s future and similarly wants us to move forward together. We have shown that, openly and unequivocally.

It is now up to the Board to show the same.

An occasional series of open discussions with opposition fans. They can say what they like about Chelsea and I promise not to be rude back to them.

Number 3:  Toffee Time

Why Everton?

As a Scouser, what’s the choice? Tranmere? I used to go to watch them play sometimes, but when you’re a kid you want a bit more razzamatazz don’t you? You want to see the big names play. I still go to Tranmere sometimes now, I went last season and enjoyed it. There’s a nice atmosphere down Prenton Road way.

What about Liverpool?

There’s no need to swear!  Anyway, what about Liverpool?

Okay, when did you start supporting Everton?

I was 8 when I knew I was Evertonian. I’d been to a couple of games, but then one day something changed in me: the shape of the stands, (do you remember the arc behind the goal?), the sounds, the smells, the colour of the grass, they all contributed. I knew Goodison was my place.

What was the first game you remember?

I don’t know, I think I remember the 66 Cup Final, but maybe that’s wishful thinking, but I honestly don’t know which game I went to first. May not even have been Everton.

What’s with Everton’s nickname, The Toffees?

Something to do with a Toffee Shop near Goodison Park which sold Everton mints. That was way back, 1900 or 1901. Since then, the name Toffeemen or the Toffees has stuck.

What memory of Everton will you still remember when your memory has finally faded and you are old and senile?

What do you mean “when”…? The 1984 Cup Final has always stayed with me, especially Andy Gray’s goal. He got there a split second before the keeper and headed it out of his hands almost! That was after Sharps quick turn and shot, lovely goal. The atmosphere was terrific – even if I was watching it on a telly in Bolton of all places.

The goalkeeper that day was our ex, Steve Sherwood. Anyway, if you had to pick your favourite Everton player of all time, who would it be?

You’d probably like me to pick Pat Nevin wouldn’t you? But no, it’s Kevin Ratcliffe. Fast, strong, a great tackler – imagine John Terry with pace. I loved him. It helped he played in a great side, too.

Back to the present day – who is your favourite player at the moment?

I’ve really got a soft spot for the young guns coming through, Jackie Rodwell and so on, so your people better keep your hands off. But I’d go for Marouane Fellaini, just ahead of Tim Cahill. If we can keep him – hell, we’ve really got to keep him – he will be a lynchpin at the middle of the park.

He took a while to settle here I think, judging by his performances, but moving back to defensive mid has improved his game and his control. Brilliant, in all honesty he can play anywhere, but I fear he may going walkies soon. Bill Kenwright’s really got to pull something out of the hat again to keep him. Fingers crossed.

Are there any off-field issues are facing Everton at the moment?

I suppose you are asking that because of your Pitch Owners situation. Don’t you trust the big Russian then? Anyway, apart from the everlasting finance problems facing us, nothing really. I’d like to get a rich billionaire in to give us loadsamoney, but to be honest I’m happy with old Bill Kenwright.

Everton have become renowned for their ability to compete at Premiership level without having Premiership finances. How do you manage this?

Yes, times have changed havent they? Forty years ago we were running with best of them but now we’ve been left behind by the influence of tv money and foreign owners. It’s hard. But a bleedin great youth system and a superb manager mean that we might have our odd scare during the season, call it a flirtation with relegation, but we generally finish well in the top half of the table. I’m convinced there are only five teams better than Everton at the moment, and maybe three or four more who are on a par.

How do you view your performance so far this season?

Patchy, but injuries and loss of players have played a big part. Early days yet though I think.

And how do you see your season going this time around?

Like I said I’m convinced there are five teams better than Everton, and maybe three or four more who are on a par so with a bit of luck we could be competing for Europe come next May. In all honesty though, I think 8^th would be a good finish – but Moyesy and Kenwright have pulled signings out of the bag for us before, so come January we may just get a player or two to give us that added push and make Europe more than just a dream. It’s certainly possible.

And how are you going to fare at Stamford Bridge on Saturday?

We’ve got the knack of getting something from your people, so I’m quietly confident of at least a point. Then again I saw your back four earlier in the season and even John Terry looks to be losing it, they were all over the place sometimes, so there’s a bit of me thinks we can come away with a win. Last minute header – there’s a prediction for you, Everton win 2-1.

Are you going to the game?

Just try to keep me away!

Have you ever been to Stamford Bridge?

I’m a lucky omen for David Moyes I think. I’ve been three times in the last – what? – four or five years or so, and we’ve never lost.  I used to go a few times a season when I lived in London – I was in Uni down there. Saw a few good players then – Colin Pates – did I see him play alongside Mickey Droy? That’s what I remember anyway. Fillery too. But generally you had a crap side then. Think I saw them draw against Wigan or Grimsby in a midweek Cup match in 1978/79, dire game. Has that bought back any memories for you?

Too many! So, are you a closet Chelsea fan? Why don’t you man-up and come out of the closet?

No, I could never follow Chelsea, obviously. One of the reasons I used to go down to Chelsea is because I used to hate them and I couldn’t risk not being there when we took points off them!

If you hated Chelsea, why did you still go there?

Well, sort of love-hate relationship really. I admit I used to quite like Chelsea many years ago, especially when you used to beat that team from the common side of Stanley Park. You beat them 4-2 one year, don’t remember when, but Zola scored and Vialli too I think.

Mark Hughes came on at half-time when we were 0-2 down and changed that game.

Yes, and years before that I think you beat them 3-2 or 4-2 in the FA Cup. You had a pretty poor side, I think you may have been in the old second division then. I was living in London then, made me laugh out loud that result! Really wiped the smile off their faces. You got to respect Liverpool I suppose but even so it’s great when they lose.

Back to hating Chelsea though, that started when Abramovich took over. There was an arrogance then I think, too much splashing the cash, it turned the league upside down and when Mourinho came, everyone hated him, me included. What Chelsea fans called self-confidence most other people call arrogance. It certainly didn’t do much for Chelsea. Chelsea bought their first title, no doubt about it, until the money arrived you were nowhere, that was what I didn’t like.

Did you know that Chelsea had finished third the season before that?

Did they? Okay, perhaps “nowhere” is too strong then. But still, I don’t think anyone liked Chelsea. Then when Mourinho went, they started firing all their managers. They just weren’t behaving properly. Personally, I couldn’t stand anything about Chelsea until Ancelotti took over. He bought a bit of style, a bit of class.

What do you think of our new manager, Andre Villas-Boas?

Excellent. Stylish, classy, young. New ideas. I’d like to see him do well, because he has done well at Porto and for me he seems to combine the best bits of a couple of managers like Mourinho’s attention to detail, Ferguson’s motivation and so on. Don’t know whether he can make it in the Premiership, it’s a lot different to Portugal, but personally I think he will.

Your favourite Chelsea Everton game?

Anything recent – apart from that Final of course. Quickest ever goal though.

Don’t remind me. What is your prediction for Chelsea this season?

Third, but that will be good in what I see as a transition season. I like your peoples emphasis on younger players, I like it that you are beginning to use the younger players more. I also like the new attacking style – personally I don’t think it’s as gung-ho attacking as some people make out, but it’s certainly easier on the eye, and I do quite enjoy watching them now.

So, yes, third in the League, no cup wins though, sorry. Another empty season, but I think you will see improvement in style and flair as the season goes on.

If there was one player from Chelsea you could have for free….

Josh McEachran. Quite a phenomenon and he has his whole career in front of him. From what I’ve seen, in a year or two he’ll be as good as Lampard, Gerrard, only inexperience is holding him back. Hope he gets that this season and next.

Club or Country?

Both. A balance has to be struck, so yes, both.

Prediction time! Your prediction for the top three for the Premiership this season is?

Man City, Man U and Spurs. [Laughs] No, not really, I can’t see United sticking the pace, I don’t think their young players can keep this sort of form up. Ferguson will ensure they finish second of course, because much as I hate to say it, that man is a genius. It’s City for me all the way. Tidy coach, superb squad who must keep up the pressure now early on. Chelsea to finish third, but for me Chelsea and Manure will be a good five points or more behind City.

FA Cup?

Difficult one. An outsider, I think. What about a Championship team, to beat the likes of Blackburn or Wolves?

Champions League?

Barca. Who else. Chelsea? Nah, no chance. Another quarter final berth for your people. I’m not even considering Manure or Arsenal, they just haven’t got the squads.

Five star dining at an upmarket restaurant, or bacon, egg and chips at a greasy spoon?

Five star dining every time. I’ll take the bacon eggs and chips as breakfast and then the posh nosh in the evening. With a fine red. Or two. Or three.

Politics? Or shouldn’t I ask?

You shouldn’t ask, politics and football shouldn’t mix. But as you asked, I don’t really bother, but more to the left and being pushed further by this bunch of halfwits.

Last, but not least, because I enjoy asking this one: how does it feel to be above Arsenal in the table?

Not just above them, but above them AND with a game in hand. They have massively underperformed so far and losing Fabregas and Nasri isn’t really an excuse – even without them they should have done better. I admire their loyalty to Wenger, but there is a line when loyalty turns to stupidity, and I can see some Arsenal fans think the club have reached that point now.

But it’s where we are at the end of the season that counts, and above Arsenal would suit me fine then. Oh, and one last thing: Nil Satis Nisi Optimum. That’s Everton, mate, nothing but the best!

With the background of Chelsea’s offer to CPO, it seems to me that there are a lot of questions about whether or not we trust Ron Gourlay, Buck et al, to do the right thing.

Most of us seem to trust Roman quite a bit (I count myself amongst those) but aren’t sure about the others. Mr Buck wants our trust – he wants us to trust the Board to do the right thing for the club – but he does not appear to want to work for it.

I am also concerned that the Board have decided to pursue this route at a time when Roman may have his attention diverted by the well-publicised court case…or am I being overly cynical? Alternatively, is this a clever piece of media manipulation the club trusts will take the limelight from said court case?

Do we trust the Board not to work behind Roman’s back? If this is the case, do we trust that Roman is savvy enough to be aware of it? If he is fully supportive of this, is our trust in Roman misplaced?

But the fact is, all of that is completely and totally irrelevant. This is not a question of trust. Nor is this about whether or not we move away from the Bridge. This is ultimately a question of good business sense.

No business can be expected to divest itself of its prime business stake, its bargaining power and its whole intrinsic value as Chelsea suggest CPO should do. To suggest that it does so, with no concrete idea of what the other party has in mind is risible. Laughable. Derisory …. quickly, get out the thesaurus, is there any word worse than derisory?

Okay, so the CPO are not a business in the normal sense of the word, but they sure as hell have performed a security function and to a great extent a good-governance function for the club in the past and continue to perform that now. The only difference with CPO now as opposed to five or ten years ago is that their function may – just may – be vital once more in safeguarding the future of the club.

I have tried to be impartial on this and tried very hard it to see it from the club’s point of view. But I can’t. Or rather I cannot see what the club hopes to achieve by saying, in effect; Let’s do a deal – you give us the rights to the real estate and the name and we will – actually we won’t give you anything. Yes, of course if you want promises we will promise you anything that is not supportable in law. But don’t be fooled, in reality, in law, we are giving you nothing…

Surely if such a proposition were mooted across a Boardroom table, the other party would assume it was either a joke or simply walk out at the insult. Either scenario begs the question as to why we – and perhaps more importantly, Roman – should trust what Chelsea’s Board say.

I am not a Chelsea Pitch Owner (nor am I totally opposed to leaving The Bridge), so I say this with the utmost respect to all concerned and knowing that this should have no impact on whatever decision anyone makes. Ultimately it is up to each individual to behave as he or she sees in the best interests of the club.

Now is the time the CPO must stand together though, even if it is against the wishes of their own “leadership”. No backing down until the proposals that are being made are concrete and transparent. Only when the Board can put something on the table that is understandable, clear, unambiguous and to the point, then the CPO can make an informed judgement.

Until then they should not even enter into dialogue with the club other than to say we appreciate your ideas but until concrete proposals are put forward we cannot discuss this now or in the future.

One last point that I dont think anyone apart from myself can answer: why should I continue to fervently support a club who have a Board that behave as cynically, or if not cynically then stupidly, as this?

There are very few things that transcend following your club. There are even fewer that transcend following Chelsea.

But when personal disaster strikes people, you have to take a step back and think; “Well, what can I do?”

In time the full reasons for the terrible tragedy at Gleision Collery will become known. Hopefully then, if there are lessons to be learned, they will be made public in time to prevent anything similar happening in the future.

In the meantime, though, those of us who have not been directly affected by the tragedy can only offer our sympathy and perhaps our money to help those who have had their lives so cruelly ripped apart.

And that is why I have no problem in lifting the following item word for word direct from the Chelsea website. It’s also why I am proud to be Chelsea.

MINERS FUND COLLECTION AT THE BRIDGE

Chelsea Football Club extends our sympathies to all those affected by the recent Gleision Colliery tragedy, in which four miners lost their lives and a fifth was hospitalised.

Bucket collections will be taking place around Stamford Bridge before today’s game against Swansea City and all proceeds from today’s matchday raffle, which is held in the hospitality areas at every home game, will be donated to the Swansea Valley Miners Appeal Fund. The club has also pledged to match the total figure raised with a second donation.

MP for Neath Peter Hain, who set up the fund, said: ‘The tragedy has cast a terrible dark cloud over the whole community, but the response has been absolutely overwhelming and given real comfort to the families.

‘The aim of the fund is to provide support, because the men were due to be paid next week. Now there’s no salary coming into the families.

‘I hope people will be generous and, as a long-standing Chelsea fan of 46 years, I’m extremely grateful for what the club is doing.

‘I’m sure everybody will have been moved by the tragedy and any money you can spare will help the families in the future.’

Donations can also be made by emailing donate@minersappealfund.org

For more information visit www.minersappealfund.org

I’m prompted to write this little off-the-cuff rant as a result of (this morning) catching up reading some of the stuff (for “stuff” read “criticism of the team”) I’ve read on other websites.

Usually I can ignore such criticism (even from Chelsea so-called “supporters” – who do nothing but criticise negatively and offer no constructive comment). Usually, it’s like water off a ducks back.

When you lose, particularly to a direct rival, as we did last weekend, you expect to read criticism from the press; from fans; from the grumpy; from the stupid; from the mischief-makers.

But today I’m in a bit of a bad mood because I missed AVB’s press conference, so I’m going to react to the argument that we are a poor side incapable of winning anything because we attack like we do.

Let’s face it, above all I want trophy wins. Sure, I’m happy to forego winning lots so long as we win fairly often: in other words I’m happy to forego winning cabinets full of trophies in a short space of time a la Mourinho if it means we win a few things once in a while AND play good, exciting, attacking football.

What I dont want is to end every season being classed as an Arsenal – mostly lovely one-touch attacking football, which makes for good dvd’s, but no trophies, which merely provides pointless football.

What we saw at Man U was a step on the way towards attacking football AND winning, I’m very happy to say. Yes, we were the better team – in my opinion, the better team over the whole of the game. But no, we were not perfect, we were not ruthless and we could not turn our dominance into goals. Neither could we shore up a defence that was often exposed, particularly after we went 2-0 down.

But at 2-0 we have to attack and we have to push people forward – and in doing that we raised a few questions about whether we have the players and the organisation to cope with that defensive vulnerability.

Put simply, in that game we certainly did not have the organisation, and as for the players, well, without the organisation in place it’s too difficult to tell whether the players are up to standard or not.

And there’s the main point – it really is far too soon to tell whether we have the players to be able to play fine attacking football. We create chances, we spurn chances, we leave ourselves open.

But – and this is the important point – we are a work in progress.

There is no doubt in my mind that we have the players to take the title this season. There is also no doubt that managers anywhere need time to bed in; similarly, new players need time, as do new systems and their accompanying on-field organisation.

Time is important: if we can improve and if we can gel quickly we have every chance of being up there with a chance of the title in May.

So, how quickly do we need to improve?

Balancing the positives and the negatives from that OT defeat, the positives came out on top. In fact there were more positives out of that defeat than came out of the win at Sunderland… which in turn provided more positives than the win against West Brom…. which in turn provided more than the creditable 0-0 against Stoke.

Sorry if I am being a bit on the pedantic side here, but there is a pattern emerging: we ARE improving. And not just by small amounts each game, the improvements are seen in significant areas. I believe that we are improving quickly and we will continue to improve, hopefully exponentially.

It will only be a matter of time before we see those improvements in the areas that even the mischief-makers, the grumpy and the press can appreciate.

I’m quite convinced that in another five games we will be playing football that is more assured in both attack and defence. And maybe then those who have little or nothing constructive to say can look elsewhere for the targets of their bile.

In the meantime, let’s enjoy the emergence of a new style, because I for one am sure that there are some superb displays ahead.

An occasional series of open discussions with opposition fans. They can say what they like about Chelsea and I promise not to be rude back to them.

Number 2:  Joking with a Jack

Introducing Noel “Once A Jack Always A Jack”, who has supported Swansea through thick and thin, man and boy for over forty years. He gives us his views on all things Swansea and Chelsea and also proves the rule that once you start a Welshman talking, there’s no stopping him…

First, congratulations on Swansea City achieving promotion to the Premiership. You did it the hard way, but you did it in some style…

Thank you! Last season produced some of the most amazing football and saw individual players show real potential. Any game that was being televised “live” seemed to bring out the best in us and from being tipped by the bookies as one of the teams to be relegated it was an even better season than anyone could have predicted!

Remember, it had been after our second successive close season in the Championship to have our manager “poached” off us – firstly Wigan took Roberto Martinez then Leicester took Paulo Sousa and all their back room staff too. So our 3rd season in the Championship saw us kicking off with our 3rd different manager – but what a revelation Brendan Rodgers turned out to be.

At one stage, automatic promotion seemed achievable, then it looked more and more like the dreaded play offs and a potential final at Wembley against Cardiff!

We duly got through a thrilling encounter with Forest (good side) drawing 0-0 away with our full back Taylor sent off in the 2nd minute. The home leg was exciting and we got through 3-1. Cardiff City, having also drawn 0-0 away at Reading faced the 2nd leg the next night knowing we were already there but lost 3-0 to send Reading to meet us at Wembley.

After that winning experience at Wembley, who wanted automatic promotion anyway? 3-0 up at half-time we just knew it wasn’t all over and Reading got it back to 3-2 before Scott Sinclair got his hat-trick to make it 4-2. Final score: 43,000 Swansea fans went delirious.

When did you start supporting Swansea?

Probably 1967/68 I think, I remember it cost 2 shillings (10p) to get in and it was the greatest thing ever!

Why Swansea?

Well, home town club etc and that famous saying “Once a Jack Always a Jack” makes you realise that supporting Swansea is an addiction!

What was the first game you remember?

Newport County – a local derby – at home

What memory of Swansea City will you still remember when your memory has finally faded and you are old and senile?

Apart from this year it is the first game in the old First Division at home to Leeds United. August 1981, a packed Vetch Field, about 3,000 from Leeds, lovely sunny day and we won 5–1!!!!! Jeremy Charles scored first, a hat trick from a truly great centre forward Bob Latchford and the most stunning individual goal from Alan Curtis. I still get goose bumps whenever I see it. What a feeling, what a noise, what a quiet away end… what a memory!

Chelsea and Swansea have a number of connections at the moment, not least your manager Brendan Rogers. What’s your opinion of him?

With a debut season like he just had it has to be admiration. His contacts have been amazing, his time at Chelsea with Mr Mourinho must have been an experience, but to listen to him speak is a refreshing change for a manager – whatever the result, no slagging the referee / linesman, no criticism of individuals in public – but the main thing is so much common sense.

And Scott Sinclair? Borini? Yves Ma Makalambay?

Scott Sinclair found himself a “home” or was it maybe the manager – either way coming here has brought the best out of him. A great season last year which saw him the calmest, coolest person at Wembley taking not only one penalty but two – and scoring them both!! What a man.

Fabio Borini, came on loan, showed great class and genius but not a 90 minute player from what we saw. What we did see was a lot from Chelsea training ground at set pieces. Would have loved to have got him for a season in the Premiership.

We didn’t see too much of the keeper Makalambay apart from cup games as Dorus de Vries was in such good form. Both have now left so we have 3 new keepers.

Frank Lampard – did you see him play during his loan spell at the Vetch?

Yes, certainly did! Would like to think he learned everything he knows from his time at Swansea but maybe we can’t claim that. [Can’t see why not, surely he couldn’t have learned much at Upton Park…? – Jehode]. It was easy to see that he was going to be a top player – hope he keeps a place in his heart for Swansea!

If you had to pick your favourite Swans player of all time, who would it be?

Alan Curtis springs instantly to mind – from my era – and from the time that we went from the old 4th Division all the way to the old 1st Division. Curt, along with Jeremy Charles and the late (great) Robbie James came through the ranks and played for Swansea and Wales as a unit.

Curt had such skill, trickery and an honesty that you don’t seem to find much today – great to see him still involved with the club and he will always be a true legend of our time. I’m sure others older than me will name names too, but even they would agree that Alan Curtis has to be up there somewhere and he is my choice.

Back to the present day – who is your favourite player at the moment?

Favourite doesn’t necessarily mean the best, the fittest, the most skilful does it? Because my answer is going to be Alan Tate (could have been Leon Britton too but I’ll go for Tatey and I’ll tell you why). He joined us on loan from Man Utd and played a great part in helping us stay in the football league that year. His loan spell was up and when he played his last game he took off his white Swansea shirt to reveal a T-shirt underneath saying “Once a Jack, Always a Jack” – but what’s more he meant it. We were able to re-sign him and he’s been with us ever since!

Now, he has got a great football brain and reads the game well but he has played right back, left back, either centre back, midfield and has even been in goal when we played without a reserve keeper once! He left a premiership club to come to us at rock bottom and has played consistently in every level since to lead us out at Man City as vice captain. He is an honorary Jack legend. (Sorry Leon, but you would be too short to play in goal anyway!!)

Did you enjoy being re-united with Roberto Martinez at the Swansea v Wigan game?

Yes, he deserves so much credit for us being where we are today. As a player he helped us stay in the league; as a manager he built on what Brian Flynn and Kenny Jackett had started and got us into the Championship as Champions of League 1 (and I still have my photo with Roberto and the trophy in my office!) He had a decent reception from the home fans.

Swansea are one of the few clubs with a bright ‘n’ shiny new home. From an outsider’s point of view the stadium looks fantastic, the pitch always looks good and access is excellent.

You know, I thought the Vetch Field was better than the Bernabeu, Old Trafford, San Siro all put together but, boy, looking back, it was awful! Don’t get me wrong, the atmosphere at the Vetch was something special and I couldn’t imagine watching the Swans anywhere else, but going to the Liberty has been the best thing for the club and the atmosphere has now transferred there too. The pitch is fantastic and deserves the awards it and the ground staff have received – games at the Vetch cancelled because of too much rain, all a thing of the past.

So how did it feel to have to leave the old Vetch Field?

It was emotional, but as the song goes “Time to say good-bye” we went on the pitch and my Mrs dug up a piece of the turf to grow at home so we had a piece of memorabilia. Some people had seats, adverts, whatever they could rip up (if it hadn’t already fallen down!!).

Do you foresee the limited size of the stadium being a problem in future?

As it is now I have to say yes, though rumour has it that if we stay in the premiership or should I say when we stay in the premiership (!) there are plans to increase it to 30,000 capacity. Fingers crossed.

You share the ground with the Ospreys (Rugby Union) side. Does that ever pose a problem for you?

Not really, the egg chasers don’t use that many of the seats to be honest! I don’t follow rugby much. I wish them success, but there is more interest nowadays in football anyway.

Is ground-sharing ideal for a Premiership club?

Probably not, but the pitch is so good it doesn’t seem to make much difference. As we are tenants of the Council at the moment we don’t have much choice.

Swansea have become renowned for their attacking play. Do you think your style will be suited to the Premiership, or is it going to leave you too vulnerable at the back?

Yes! It will be well suited to the Premiership but it could well leave us either too goal shy or too vulnerable at the back. Don’t know how else to answer that but maybe strengthening the squad in the transfer window will help.

How do you view your performance so far this season?

Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy. That’s what we have to do. It couldn’t get much tougher than away to Man City first game, it’s just a case of getting a settled squad, new players bedded in take it steady then pick up points along the way. Don’t forget, 8 years ago we were facing up to the prospect of starting off in the Conference! Here we are in the Premiership instead – reality check please!

How do you view your season going this time around?

It’s going to be hard, but I would hope for 15th or 16th come the end of the season.

And how are you going to fare at Stamford Bridge on 24 Sept?

Oh no! I think we’ll win, lose or draw – not too sure at the moment. Okay, everyone will say an odds on home win but who can tell? Maybe a draw 1–1.

Are you going to the game?

Unfortunately no, due to other commitments, but would love to be there.

Have you ever been to Stamford Bridge?

Strangely enough, no, not inside just around the outside.

Your favourite Chelsea Swansea game?

April 1981, Swansea 3 Chelsea 0 last home game in old Division 2. It was also my mate Steve’s stag day (before weekends in Prague were ever thought of) just pub, football, pub, club, curry – a proper day out! I seem to recall “Jimmy” Hadziabdic scored a cracker with the outside of his right foot. Great day and the chant of “Going up, going up, going up” was being sung with belief.

What is your prediction for Chelsea this season?

2nd in Premiership and winners of either Carling or FA Cup.

What do you think of our new manager, Andre Villas-Boas?

Looks like a smooth operator!

If there was one player from Chelsea you could have for free….

Drogba. Is he available on a free…..?

Hands off! So, whyDrogba?

Because he’s so flippin’ good! Everybody hates him (but they don’t really) but that’s only like a respect thing. He can change a game in a second, he is so imaginative and unpredictable. When did you say we could have him?

Change the subject: Club or Country?

Club!

Prediction time! Your prediction for the top three for the Premiership this season is?

Two Manchesters and Chelsea in a 1-2-3? Man Utd, Chelsea, Man City. Then possibly Liverpool ? Maybe Swansea ?

FA Cup?

Chelsea

Champions League?

Final at Bayern’s ground? But predictably I guess Barcelona .

Five star dining at an upmarket West End restaurant, or bacon egg and chips at a greasy spoon?

Despite considering myself to be fairly cosmopolitan, when you have a Swansea accent it is slightly difficult to carry it off with any degree of success or credibility, so let’s go for the greasy spoon!

Eastenders, Coronation Street or Pobol Y Cwm?

Corrie every time because it not only has humour in it, it also has Rosie Webster who is Scott Sinclair’s girlfriend and she is often at Liberty Stadium and away games and was at Wembley. Top girl!

Okay dude, and finally….

How are the Swans settling into the Premiership and – I really must ask this one – how does it feel to be above Arsenal in the table?

Well…”finding our feet” I would say is a fair assessment – together with finding the back of the net against West Brom – which was a relief!  Mind you, take away the 4-0 defeat at Man City (and even that was not as one sided as 4-0 might suggest) and the games have been really good contests. Nice to hear Mark Lawrenson say so on MOTD on Saturday too.

At least we’ve not compromised on our style so far and despite a long list of injuries we’ve brought other players in from the squad who have not looked out of place either!

Above Arsenal in the table? Steady on now, though I have to admit to texting my mate on Saturday 5.30pm saying I’d be happy if the season could end now as we were 12th! If it wasn’t for that freak goal last week at the Emirates we could have been 4 points above Arsenal now – at least our goal difference is better than theirs! Almost 3,000 Jacks singing “we’ve got more points than you” to Arsenal before kick off was good, though not true by the end of that game!

Ask me next May (please) what it feels like to be above Arsenal in the table and assuming Arsenal will be at least 17th then I’ll have a pint or two with you!

At the moment, let’s keep two feet on the ground as we prepare for a journey to the Bridge on Saturday hoping that we contribute to a good game and that includes off the pitch as well as on it – a strong travelling support is forecast once again.

Apart from this Saturday and again on Tuesday 31st January 2012, have a great season – hope you like what Brendan has put in place here!!