It’s that time of year again. After what has at times seemed to be the longest close season in the history of football (1992AD, as Sky call it), the Premier League returns next weekend and TheChels.Net’s resident Old Crone, Gypsy Rose Baby, looks into her crystal ball and also takes a look at what happened to last year’s predictions. Any readers wishing to cross her palm with silver are welcome…
“We are delighted to agree this deal to acquire what is already one of the top clubs in Europe. We have the resources and ambition to achieve even more given the huge potential of this great club.” (Roman Abramovich, 1st July 2003) “I want to know whether this individual is a fit and proper person to be taking over a club like Chelsea. Until that question is answered, then I’m…
When Chelsea visited St Mary’s in the 3rd round of the FA Cup this season, there was general Mafeking among the happy awaydayers. Flares were lit. A thunderflash was ignited, at which two of my friends cheerfully admitted that they nearly shat themselves with fright. But the Southampton fans didn’t enjoy it. Oh no. In fact, a number of them took to Twitter to express their umbrage. Amongst those hugging…
On 20th October, in a dramatic lunch-time kick off, Chelsea defeated Tottenham Hotspur 4-2 at White Hart Lane, having found themselves 2-1 down early in the second half. To come from behind in a derby against bitter rivals gave the Stamford Bridge faithful the belief that, given indifferent early season performances from all the title contenders, what had promised to be a transitional season could yet turn out to contain…
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…
Ah, glorious August, when football fans up and down the country are filled with what usually turns out to be misplaced optimism about the fate of their teams over the coming nine months. And speaking of misplaced optimism, TheChels.Net has asked their resident Old Crone to look into her crystal ball and see what might lie ahead. Please note that these predictions may contain a hefty dose of bias and/or…
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…
“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…
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…
Andre Villas-Boas finally had something to cheer about as Chelsea gave a performance which showed they are making progress and moving in the right direction after the recent debacles, after they broke Newcastle United’s unbeaten start to the season at home and recorded a 3-0 victory at St. James’s Park. The pressure had been mounting on the young manager after a series of insipid performances which have resulted in us…