Yes, yes he has. The Spaniard’s first goal in Chelsea blue kicked off wild celebrations at Stamford Bridge as it put the seal on three hard-earned points against West Ham in conditions which at times bordered on the absurd. Frank Lampard’s first half opener had given the Blues a deserved lead but the visitors proved tenacious and wouldn’t go down without a fight. Torres’ left-footed finish put daylight between the…
John Obi Mikel – Balancing The Chelsea Midfield
John Obi Mikel turns 24 today. In his five years at the club he has often divided opinion amongst fans, but there seems to be a slow realisation that Chelsea play better with Mikel in the side than without. In the holding role Mikel is peerless in our squad – and I include Michael Essien in that comparison. Much of the reason the Bison has struggled this season is purely…
The Right Time?
One of the hardest tasks for any manager is to decide when to assimilate young talent into their first team squad. Under enough pressure to succeed in the first place, they often face a clamour from supporters to bring through the next generation and ensure that those not performing to first-team standards are kept on their toes. Some clubs face the need to vindicate investment in their youth development programme,…
If Carlo Goes, Who Replaces Him?
As it looks as though Carlo Ancelotti’s tenure as Chelsea manager is coming to an end after our exit from the Champions League and failure to win any trophies there are a number of candidates that have already been tipped to take over from the Italian. It was recently reported that the players have asked Roman Abramovic for a “dream management team” of Jose Mourinho manager and Guus Hiddink as…
Ever Changing Objectives
Over the past few weeks we have had numerous objectives that seem to be continuously whittled down. Now we’ve got the one – finish second. But I personally feel that we have more than that. I think that steps can be taken now that could well benefit us for next season. This season has obviously fallen below our expectations, with the success we had last season. If you had told…
Reserves: Manchester United 4-1 Chelsea
Chelsea’s youngest reserve team of the team, featuring something of a ramshackle defensive unit and three schoolboys in total on the night, went down to a ruthless and impressive Manchester United team in Monday night action. Two first half goals from Joshua King were responded to by a header from Archange Nkumu, but second half tallies from Gabriel Obertan and Bebe put an emphatic seal on affairs. With the entire…
The Loan Report: April 11-17
By scoring his fourth goal in five appearances for Swansea, Fabio Borini once again leads the headlines as we catch up with Chelsea’s young loanees. With Daniel Sturridge cup-tied for Bolton’s Wembley date with Stoke, and with Michael Mancienne (Wolves) and Gael Kakuta (Fulham) enjoying a free weekend due to cup rescheduling, attentions turned to England’s lower leagues. Borini’s latest effort came in the 53rd minute of the Swans’ trip…
Blues To Extend Inter Relationship?
When Chelsea signed goalkeeper Matej Delać from Inter Zaprešić in September 2009, it signalled the start of a healthy working relationship between the two clubs. According to reports in Croatian media this weekend, the two clubs are still in close contact and the Blues have keen interest in two of the club’s key players in their unpredictable rise to third in the league this season. The main interest surrounds teenage…
Everything’s Going To Be Alright
A day which was suppose to define our season, a day on which we were suppose to forget all the shambles of the previous months, a day which in the end turned out to be another ignominious European night as we failed to overcome a one goal deficit from the first leg at Stamford Bridge. Javier Hernandez gave Manchester United the lead just before the end of the first half,…
The Loan Report: April 4-10
Goals from Daniel Sturridge, Fabio Borini and Patrick van Aanholt, plus a red card for Sam Walker and the premature end of Conor Clifford’s spell at Notts County headline another hectic week in the land of the Chelsea loanee. Bolton’s 3-0 win over West Ham on Saturday saw England Under-21 striker Sturridge add two more goals to his Wanderers total, taking him to six since joining the club on loan…