A Frank Discussion

June 30, 2019

Frank Lampard will be announced as Chelsea’s new manager this week. The decision to hire the 41 year-old is as radical as any made by Roman Abramovich since his purchase of the club in 2003, and has already caused quite some consternation in an already divided fan base in the short-term as to the appropriateness of the move, while also creating an intriguing dynamic for the months and hopefully years…

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A Chaos Theory and The Element of Surprise

September 4, 2013

I have to admit to a strange feeling before games these days. I only realised I’d had this feeling before the Manchester United game. But it had been there from the start of the season. It was a feeling I didn’t wholly understand. And then again, before the European Super Cup Final. Something was missing. There were the usual matchday feelings of course. Excitement, building up as the day wore…

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Return of The Special One

June 8, 2013

The Church of SS Giovanni e Paolo in Venice was founded in 1246 when Doge Jacopo Tiepolo donated some swamp land to the Dominican Brothers after dreaming of a flock of white doves flying over it. The first church was demolished in 1333, when construction on the current church began. It was not completed until 1430. One of the largest churches in the city, it has the status of a…

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Attempting To Predict The Next Chelsea Manager

February 10, 2013

Whilst it might appear to be a futile exercise from the outside at least, it appears to be possible to at least make an educated projection as to the likely contenders for the Chelsea job. It goes without saying that it would be a catastrophe of even grander proportions were Rafael Benitez to get the gig full-time, but for the sake of this exercise and our sanity, we shall presume…

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Fear and Loathing in SW6

November 22, 2012

Already reeling from the departure of Robbie Di Matteo, the suits at Chelsea FC inflicted a further blow on the club’s supporters last night with their appointment of the almost universally-despised former Liverpool boss, Rafael Benitez, until the end of the season. Let’s take a look at some of his pearls of wisdom on CFC whilst he was in charge at Anfield:- “Drogba is a coward, a diver and a…

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Roberto Di Matteo – A Hearfelt Appreciation

November 21, 2012

The news that Roberto di Matteo has been sacked as manager of Chelsea, just five months into a two year contract, has come as a huge and unwelcome shock to most fans. During an early season edition of The Chelsea Fancast, the presenters and benches were of the opinion that if Robbie failed to deliver silverware, he would probably be out of a job at the end of the season….

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Football is a Feminist Issue*

September 9, 2012

It started with a routine event on the pitch, during our first home game of the season against Reading; a player picks up an injury and the medical team, including Dr Eva Carneiro run on to attend the wounded hero. Treatment completed, Dr Carneiro made her way to the West Stand side of the pitch, and from there, to get back to the dug-out, walked past the Matthew Harding Stand….

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The Chelsea Coaching Fraternity

June 26, 2012

On August 4th, Roberto Di Matteo and Gus Poyet will line up in opposing dugouts for a pre-season friendly between Brighton and Chelsea. The match will precede a Premier League campaign that will feature Steve Clarke as manager of West Bromwich Albion and Mark Hughes at QPR, as well as former Blues coach Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool. The number of former Chelsea players – particularly from teams around the turn…

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A Case For Robbie?

April 19, 2012

For the last few weeks I’ve been intending to publish a piece on the merits of keeping Roberto Di Matteo as Chelsea manager. Doing so now might appear reactionary after the excellent result against Barcelona, but if I begin by prefacing the entire article with the notion that his body of work as manager – at least in terms of ‘just’ results – isn’t close to being top of the…

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Another Fine Mess

March 4, 2012

Shortly before Christmas, off the back of a poor run but following qualification for the last 16 of the CL, this column wondered if the season could turn out to be something special (see Special Ones Too). And it certainly has, but not in a good way. A slew of defeats, players who don’t seem to be bothered about putting in a shift but are only too happy to collect…

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