Chelsea’s 2012 summer tour of the United States of America will include a clash with the MLS All-Stars, according to reports this week. As revealed by Ives Galarcep of Fox Soccer, the Blues will take on the best the MLS has to offer on July 25th at the Philadelphia Union’s PPL Park. It marks the second time the club has been involved in the all-star festivities after losing 1-0 to…
Yesterday’s goalless draw at home to Tottenham put a serious, perhaps fatal dent in Chelsea’s aspirations of a top four finish and a Champions League place for the 2012-13 season. With the Blues facing a five-point deficit and a much harder run-in to the end of the season, questions must now be asked as to what the club’s approach to the remaining eight weeks of the campaign is. The first…
David Luiz is undeniably a cult hero around Stamford Bridge. His flair-filled performances have won many admirers, who leap to defend him in the face of what is often unwarranted criticism in the media. Sure, he’s a little unconventional and has made mistakes, but equally, he’s put in some very good performances, none of which get the credit they’ve deserved. However, over the last few matches, there’s been a noticeable…
I hope nobody ever doubts my loyalty to the club I have followed since the late 1950s when I was taken as a young boy to watch my team, Chelsea FC, play. In those days I stood on a grass terrace where the West Stand is now. So when I criticise some aspects of the modern day club do not take that as the sulkiness of a new fan. Nothing…
“They seek him here/they seek him there/those Frenchies seek him everywhere/Is he in heaven?/Or is he in hell?/The demn’d elusive Pimpernel” The Scarlet Pimpernel – Baroness Emma Orczy The arrival of The Special One in London this week on a not so secret visit has sparked a frenzy of speculation amongst the media, who are linking him with not only every post at the top end of English club management…
Chelsea’s 2012 summer excursions will take them to the United States as they prepare for the 2012-13 season. The Blues return stateside for the first time since 2009, having remained in central Europe during 2010 and touring Asia last summer. Early reports indicate that matches will be played in Washington (D.C.), New York and Seattle during the second half of July. It remains to be seen exactly how many of…
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…
Oh Fernando. You were, and quite possibly still are, one of the most talented strikers in football. The performances shown for Atlítico Madrid, the Spanish national team and, to the greatest annoyance of all Chelsea supporters, Liverpool, have proven this point. But then why do you fail to replicate these performances for our beloved Chelsea? Is it just a dramatic loss of confidence? Failing to settle in a new town?…
An inevitable consequence of a spell of poor form or a season where expectations are not being met is the media’s take on the cause of the maladies. Typically, the woes will be attributed to dressing room discontent and the notion that the manager has ‘lost’ his players, no longer commanding their respect. True to form, this is currently the case with Andre Villas-Boas and Chelsea. The club’s worst season…
The next few months may well prove to be the most important of the Roman era. There are grave concerns from the terraces that this may be the season where the continual mismanagement of the club finally backfires spectacularly. The squad is bereft of the quality needed to truly challenge for the title. The robust presence of the old guard has all but faded with the likes of Cech, Terry,…