Preview: Bayern Munich v Chelsea

Bayern v Chelsea – Munich

A preview of the UEFA Champions League final 2012 between Bayern Munich and Chelsea.

Road to the Final
The moment that we have been waiting for has finally come, now we are counting hours and minutes to the finale in Munich.

Didier Drogba says: “Nobody expected us to be there at the beginning of the season, but I think we did everything to reach the finals”

Comparing our start to this season, no one can believe that we are in UEFA Champions league and by eliminating such top class clubs like Barcelona, Benfica and Napoli in the Journey.

There is always a room for a change, and it always happen when we make the right choices. Chelsea made the right choice to give the job to Roberto Di Matteo, and now we are one hand on a historic Champions League victory. To win trophies of such top level, you have to defeat the best teams and Chelsea have managed to do it, so we deserve to win it and we are going for it.

Di Matteo talks on the final: “I do believe our players have all the
qualities you need to win this
competition those qualities have taken us to this event here and I am very positive and very confident.”

Head to Head Stats
-Chelsea is undefeated in the last five matches in UEFA Champions League.
-Chelsea have scored first in all 11 previous Champions League games.
-Chelsea have won one and drawn two of our seven away European matches against German teams.
-Chelsea have now join the list of English clubs to have made 2 or more European Cup/Champions League finals appearances. Liverpool, Manchester United and Nottingham Forest together with Chelsea are only teams to make the most appearances.
-Bayern have won seven consecutive home matches en route to the final.
-Bayern have won one and lost two
of three previous finals against
English clubs.
-Bayern win would make Jupp
Heynckes the 19th coach to have won the Cup twice, after his 1998
success with Real Madrid.
-Bayern have won 13 of their
last 14 European home games.

Match Facts
- This is the sixth European Cup
final between German and
English teams. And only once have the Germans won.

-The last four European Cup finals between English and German teams
have been won by the English club. The most recent was in 1999, Man Utd 2-1 Bayern Munich.

-Five Champions League finals have
gone to penalties – the most recent
being the painful one in Moscow in
2008.

-The last time Chelsea and Bayern met in the Champions League was back in 2005 quarter finals when Chelsea won it 6-5 on Aggregate, Petr Cech, John Terry, Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba all featured.

Team News
A defensive boost for us towards the final, as our defenders David Luiz and Gary Cahill took part in all training sessions this week and they are available for selection after the recovering from injuries. Meanwhile, Malouda is also expected to make a return after he was assessed in the team’s final training session in Munich on friday.

Chelsea will be without Captain John Terry, Branislav Ivanovic, Ramires and Raul Meireles who all are suspended.
And options for Di Matteo on who to put in front today, both Drogba and Torres available. Also Michael Essien and Mikel could start on the defensive midfield role with Frank
Lampard, Juan Mata Kalou on the attacking role.

Bayern will be without Holger Badstuber, Luiz Gustavo, David Alaba who are all Suspended.

Bayern’s Diego Contento is likely to play at left-back with Lahm on the right. While their attack will be lead by Mario Gomez, Ribery and Arjen Robben with Bastian Schweinsteiger and Muller on midfield.

Probable Line-Ups
Chelsea team: Cech, Cole, Cahill, Luiz, Bosingwa, Mikel, Essien, Lampard, Mata, Kalou and Drogba.

Bayern team: Neuer, Contento, Tymoshchuk, Boateng, Lahm, Schweinsteiger, Kroos, Ribery, Muller, Robben and Gomez.

The game will be played today on 19 May 2012 (kick off at 20:45 local time, 18:45 GMT) at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany. And the referee is Pedro Proença (Portugal).

Keep believing wherever you are. Up the Chels!

Twitter: @makivic08

Munich 2012

Is RDM the right man?

Is Di Matteo the Right Man?

After sacking of Portuguese Andre Villa-Boas as the Chelsea manager, interim coach Roberto Di Matteo has brought that lost belief back to the hearts of the blues.

Since his take over, Roberto Di Matteo has managed 6 wins, 1 defeat and 1 draw in 8 games in all competitions. Having a 75 winning percentage, taking us UEFA Champions League quarter-finals and one step close to the Semis, also in FA Cup Semi-final at Wembley. All this has just been a great achievement to what has proved to be a disappointing season so far for Chelsea.

Di Matteo’s tactics;

Squad Rotation Tactic
Now they call him “The Rotatovator” due to the tactic he uses of rotating players, so far the tactic has proved to be working and bringing good results. The importance of this tactic is that it helps to keep each player on form hence it improves team performances week in and week out.

Di Matteo says: “I just talk to the players, give them my opinions and explain the reasons behind my team selections”

Maybe the reason for AvB’s failure at Chelsea was that, when he tries to give out his opinions and explanations – the elder players don’t even listen to him due to the fact of Age difference, no one knows exactly.

Players Torres, Kalou and Mikel, are now on-form players and most important players in the team, playing week in and week out.

Fernando Torres – I say he is back, the El Nino is back!!! 3 goals and 4 assists in the last 5 games. He has now developed the belief and he more of a confident player, his perfomances get higher and higher each week. With such a form, we expect goals to rain from our big man.

Di Matteo on Torres: “I have always said it does not matter who scores, and Fernando has been providing goals for his team-mates, its great that he is scoring as well”

He is likely to be in Spain’s squad for Euro 2012 tournament and as Spain coach Del Bosque said: “If Fernando improves his form, I will select him for the Euros”.

Kalou and Mikel among the players whose futures at chelsea have been a concern, still they have been improving on daily basis. They have both find their places in the first team playing match to match, included in overall Chelsea’s top performers so far.

Kalou is out of contract at the moment, the rumors say “Kalou wants to play in the central role, or else he will be forced not to renew his current contract”.

The central role is occupied by on form Fernando Torres and Didier Drogba, in order for Kalou to get his place on the team and keep on his brilliant form, he has to hang on as Wing forward to secure his place in the first team. Ac Milan and Galatasaray reportedly to be linked with Kalou, who could be available on a free-transfer in the summer.

Mikel has completed 833 of 910 attempted passes (91.54%), his best at the club. He lost his place in the first team but now he is enjoying playing match to match, Mikel has been a solid player in our midfield and his presence makes it more stable. Rumored to join russian side Anzhi managed by Guus Hiddink (Former Chelsea Coach), but at the moment he is not going anywhere.

Back to the question, Is Roberto Di Matteo the right man?
1. Coach to Player Relations.
A good coach is the one who has good relationship with his players, the one who speaks and his players listen a respond positively.

2. Manager tactics.
His tactics are working at the moment, rotating the players and keeping them in firing form. And bringing good results.

3. Objectives.
His objective is to put the team in a Champions league qualification position, currently seems difficult. But as we continue to win our games, it will be secured. On the other hand, he is in a position to lead the team in Fa cup and Champions league glory. Something that may look impossible, but all he needs is to give the team maximum belief and every thing will be possible.

Have a productive day and always be carefree.

Twitter: makivic08

NO MEN WENT TO MOW, STILL HOPE FOR TOMORROW

First Team
One person said I was delusional to think we would get anything in Naples. I would agree, if I didn’t make my predictions based on numerous assumptions. Lineup, formation, strategy and certain players like Didier turning up in the flesh that can actually make a difference.

Football is midfield, defence and attack. I don’t think we should sack AVB but I’m afraid he makes tactical errors, albeit errors related to the players we have. Some managers are good at building a team that suits their plans (right positions, right styles), some are good at shuffling and making the best of what they have, some others are good motivating a team regardless of these factors.The first needs a bit of time if you don’t splash cash, and is much easier if you actually choose to reward the investment put into your youth system. Yesterday the Chelsea youth team came back from 3-0 down to win 4-3 in the FA youth cup. A day after the first team lost 3-1 in Naples.

I digressed, back to midfield, defence and attack. 4-2-3-1. Three attacking midfielders, lone striker, the ever critical holding midfield pivot and a regular back four. I’ll start from the back. Having to lose Bosingwa and put in a half-fit Ashley Cole is just part of the unexpected you expect in football. My problem however was the positioning. We had a slower,calmer right side of defence (Brana and Cahill) and a faster but more erratic left side (Luiz + Cole/Jose). I’m not a real manager, but surely you want to balance the speed of your back four, most especially when you go against a pacey front three. You see, Lavezzi will attack the space between RCB and RB, Hamsik will attack that between LB and LCB and try to playing in Maggio (a right midfielder that makes byline runs), while the potent Cavani picks either of those pockets or the main one between both center backs. Lavezzi scored 2 goals and Cavani scored one by losing Brana. Right side of defence? YES. Might have been slightly better with JT around cause he will always play LCB. To digress, some of the best defence we played this season was when we had Brana-Luiz-JT-Cole. I know Brana loses his left winger/ left back a lot but its better when he has a fast defender like Luiz right next to him.

The midfield pivot of Ramires and Meireles is, simple, stupid. Ramires is a runner, Meireles is a … floater (i really cant find a word to describe him, thinking about it makes my head hurt). Better combinations would have been Essien-Meireles, Mikel-Lampard, Romeu-Ramires, anything with a DM. The more attacking the second MID is, the deeper the DM you want to play. Even though its a pivot(meaning both players share responsibilities in attacking and defensive transitions), you have to play with what you have. Secondly, Ramires and Meireles are relatively bad passers, possibly the worst amongst all our midfielders. On Tuesday, Meireles was unsurprisingly as bad as he has been in recent weeks, Ramires was shockingly abysmal maybe due to the fact that he’s just back from injury. Together, they conceded the 1st goal.

The attack. I said in my match preview that there are 2 Drogba’s which we all know. The bad one turned up, and I don’t know why he finished the game. Firstly, he’s more suited to 4-3-3. Secondly, any manager should be able to see when Drogba is having a horrible game. It never changes. He just gets worse,and worse and we hardly ever win. The fact that he had a poor game just made our attack impotent as a unit. Mata didn’t receive the ball enough cause the poor pivot weren’t making the right transitions and passes to draw Napoli’s midfielders out to free him. Sturridge was occasionally selfish but he made things happen despite hardly having runs to pick out. Malouda was Malouda, no explanation needed. Mata was decent and might have been more effective if he had a Torres in front of him. No Didier/Nando debate here, I’m only saying Drogba had an off-day you can spot from miles away and the 4-2-3-1 is El Niño’s forte.

I can complain about schoolboy errors we made on each goal even though that’s how we got our goal. But the main problems right now are confidence, and managerial decisions. AVB doesn’t seem to know his best team and keeps trying experiments. Confident and motivated players can still manage to win games in a bad tactical setup, but two things are working against us right now and it’s sad. We just have so many players out of position and they aren’t even happy. So much pressure from the media and things are looking blue for the fans, the players and the manager. But there is the future to look forward to, more on that later. Way out of this slump? A couple of lucky wins (even though you create your own luck), improved confidence and a small streak can return us to winning ways, and help AVB determine his first team.

The Youth Team
For the last 2-3 years, I’ve been following our youth team actively and there is one thing that shines through them. Spirit. When you talk about playing for pride of the badge and the club, they know what it’s about. Not to mention a bunch of real quality players we ignore to sign hyped players (e.g. signing Lukaku instead of keeping Borini). Practically every great win I’ve seen in the FA youth cup have been comebacks. The 2010 final, every round last year and the last 2 rounds this year have been proud moments for me as a Chelsea fan. But what they did yesterday was even more awesome than the last minute comeback from the previous round.

Feruz is a real gem, looks even better than Borini was at the same age. Piazon has acclimatized and is performing at such a high level. Amin Affane is so good for his age you wonder where we found him. I could go on and on. I don’t buy into this bullsh** that you shouldn’t put young players under pressure by playing them in high profile games. Why? Because they are young players and you have to invest into their future, with games. They have to make mistakes at the highest level to get to that level. It’s the club’s duty to have faith in some of these lads and not just dish them 4/5 year contracts for reserve games and random loans to Vitesse Arnehem and championship clubs. We don’t have a Pep Guardiola nor a La Masia, but this needs to be soaked into the roots of the club, regardless of the manager in charge. It helps, having a long-term coach but when a club has a proper plan, it flows through the whole club.

If we didn’t have quality young players, that would be another discussion but we’ve clearly invested a lot into these young lads, scouting them, signing them and training them. Just to think Brendan Rodgers worked with Josh McEachran at youth level should put into perspective the quality down there. We have some players that have been here since ages less than 10 that are quality on the pitch and have desire to play for this club, the kind of desire you can’t just fake or find elsewhere. Play them. Throw them in the deep end. What you sow is what you reap. Some might fall off, but some will definitely make it. The reward is the sweetest and it’s a cycle that will continue. There’s nothing fans love more than committed players and watching our very own wear the first-team shirt. I continue to watch the Youth Cup in hope that someday our very own, will remain our very own.

PS: 10 Men went to mow (the song behind the title)

Win or Lose, Up the Blues
Over land and sea, Chelsea chelsea carefree.

Toye

NO APOLOGIES IN SAN PAOLO

Prelim
Here we go again. We’ve been here before, not too long ago. Sometime in December, after losing to the red scousers twice in 2 weeks, and capitulating to an away loss at Leverkusen. Despite handing 3-0 drubbings to both Wolves and Newcastle, (a lucky result according to the media who ignored five Studge one-on-ones and focused on the fact that they managed to hit the woodwork about 3 times compared to us doing that once, 4-3 win for us, no? I digress) we were the underdogs, in a Champions League ‘win or go home’ home tie. The outcome? Another 3-0 drubbing. This time there was no doubt we deserved the win. But what did the media do? They said it was vintage Chelsea, AVB had ditched the high-line and gone back to Mou’s framework with his job on the line. Bollocks. Anyone can decide to play counter attacking football, and it worked – on the day.
That was a different Chelsea. You could identify the strengths (possession, control, chance creation, attacking gung-ho football, energy), and the weaknesses (the ‘mythical’ high-line, Torres issues, Drogba’s fitness, conceding late goals etc). This Chelsea, facing Napoli tomorrow – I don’t get them. I can’t see their style of play, cause there’s no clear style of play! They hardly create any clear chances and just appear so dour every time. They don’t even have any recent 3-0 drubbings, plus it’s an away game. I still feel as deeply confident as I did before Valencia. To quote Walter Mazzarri:

but their team is one of champions, who are all used to the atmosphere of great international events. I’m sure that they will regroup for the occasion

I expect no less from this team.

Naples

The one link we have with this team is the legenda that is Zola who came as close as anyone ever did to recreating his mentor, El Diego’s exploits in the great Italian city.

So I did some quick research and I could hardly find any trends. They seem to do well in big games in the league, but their form is too mixed. Home or away, big team or small fry, no streaks. Is that a good or a bad thing, considering they’ve won their last 2 games without conceding? I wouldn’t know because a team can always continue in form, but I certainly do hope some of that inconsistency kicks in today.
Its all about the Hamsik, Lavezzi and Cavani trinity. Also worth noting that Lavezzi and Pandev have the same no of league goals (5), so the latter could be dangerous off the bench. They defend pretty well at home and will be solid at the back despite Campagnaro being out. Can his replacement, Grava, handle the Drog?
They shouldn’t change much in shape, expect to see a similar lineup to what we’ve seen recently

Chels
JT is doubtful. Ash is back. Lamps is back. Drogs is back? ‘Spine minus John Terry’, is back. Add Ramires to that.
Formation
4-3-3 or 4-3-2-1?
Need all 3 midfielders to match Napoli’s hard midfield and cut off supply to the attacking 3.
With Mata drifting in, and Sturridge naturally running into the box, it might look like a 4-4-2 diamond in some attacking transitions, but by default a 4-3-3 would match itself, if that’s what they go with.
Another alternative is a 4-5-1 with either Ramires on the right, or Malouda on the left. That would surprise signor Mazzarri, and give us more control of the midfield, possibly leaving Edinson et al lost upfront.

Drogba or Torres?
Didier. Why? Because we’re better off playing to his strengths in an away Champions League knockout game. Meaning: Targetman, Studge and Rami counter attacks, Mata drifting into middle occasionally but primarily creating from the left. And also because we are not playing any crisp football nowadays and nino has nothing to feed on.
But we all know there are 2 Didiers. The up-for-it-unplayable one(a la Valencia) and the give-fuck-all one. Doesn’t take you 10mins to spot which one is playing. If the latter turns up I won’t mind him being taken off early cause its all about the team.
Defence
I would say the strongest back four we have available is Brana-Luiz-Cahill-Ash. AVB would go with either that or Bosingwa in for Cahill with Brana at center back. Doesn’t really matter to me that Cahill has never played in the Champions league, I’m not ready to see ‘How Ezequiel raped Jose part 1’.
If JT passes a late fitness test, then I’d like to see him play where I put Cahill. We’re just so much better in games like these with JT in defence, even when he’s 70% fit. You can’t recreate the leadership and organization he brings to the defence, and the team as a whole.

Midfield
Remember one thing those 3-0 drubbings had in common? Oriol. Naturally I should go for Romeu-Lamps/Raul-Ramires. But I haven’t seen him perform recently and would like to see Essien-Lamps-Ramires in the mix of things.

The rest of the team picks itself: Cech, Sturridge and Mata.

We have no excuses not to turn up for this game. The boys need to stand up and be counted, not underestimate our opponents, and play for that shirt. Great nights in Italy like ‘Dennis Wise at the San Siro’ spring to mind, hoping we can add to that.

Prediction

2-2. Cavani(1-0), Drogba(1-1), Lampard(1-2), Cavani(2-2).

I’d take a score draw, but if i know my Chelsea – which I certainly do – It’s not farfetched for them to follow up a loss at Everton plus a draw at home to Birmingham with a resounding, critic-bashing drubbing.

WOLUTB and KTBFFH

‘Toye
(Twitter page)

188BET offers Chelsea FC fans the chance to quiz Ramires.

Hello Blues,

The club’s official betting partner, 188BET, is offering all Chels the chance to chat live with Ramires.

Ramires will be taking over 188BET’s Twitter account to answer fans’ questions during a special live interview on Thursday 2^nd February 2012.

Ramires joined Chelsea FC in 2010 from Benfica and has already clocked up almost 50 appearances for our club, forming a strong midfield partnership with the likes of Meireles and Lampard. He has scored six goals for Chelsea, including the club’s goal of the season award last year for his beautiful strike against Manchester City at Stamford bridge, and also has 27 international caps with his native Brazil to his name.

He will be online at 1:30pm on Thursday 2^nd February and will answer a selection of fans’ questions live via 188BET’s Twitter feed. To take part, all Blues fans have to do is log on to Twitter, follow ‘@188BET’ and submit their questions by tweeting ‘@188BET’ along with the hashtag: #askRamires.

So whether you want to know how Ramires occupies himself outside football, who the best dancer in the squad is or perhaps even if he has any quirks, get online on Thursday and ask him your questions!

KTBFFH

Twitter: @super_chelsea

Facebook: fb.me/superchelsea

KEEP CALM, AND STAY CAREFREE

Carefree. Means much more than nonchalant to a proper Chelsea fan aka one who is ‘proper chels’. The pride you feel whenever a fellow blue says to you “You are proper chels” cannot be faked, assuming you actually are ‘proper chels’ of course. Sorry to digress there, but back to the word carefree; a major chelsea chant, synonymous with ‘proper chels’ and the best word to describe Fernando Torres now that the Drogs has gone off to the AFCON and given him some breathing space.
With Drogba gone, Torres starts, plays 90mins, and is the main striker upfront. Its a bit of responsibility on his shoulders as he was the only striker when Sturridge was injured, (not counting Lukaku who will hardly play) but its a responsibility that is more welcome to him than either sitting on the bench, or coming off at the 60th minute when things aren’t going too well. Three man of the match performances later – that included 3 nino assists (including a match-winning assist’s assist vs Wolves) and ultimately 3 wins – journalists, fans, coaches and players are talking about Torres returning to his best form. I honestly felt this way back in October when he scored against Utd, then against Swansea cause he was looking sharper than he has ever looked since his move to West London. Even without scoring in the last 2 games I can honestly say he is playing his best football in a Chelsea shirt and he seems to have improved his all-round game. Even the cliched ‘yard of pace’ that he seemed to have lost is back. We’ve been quite poor with Sturridge out and Ramires playing the RW role but Fernando has been a bright spot in these last few games, playing a huge role in the goals, and consequently goals. A consistent run of games, with this current form, and the goals will come.

Fernando vs Sunderland

Enough of our disappointing 50m striker from last January, lets talk about this current transfer window.

Kakuta to Dijon
Rating: 4/5

Some of us still believe in the 2009 UEFA u-19 golden ball winner to make it big, either at Chelsea or somewhere else. So he’s had a few bad loans, some have survived such to become starts, some have had their career die from the same. The talent is there, and just needs to be honed. Back in his home country, in a team that has guaranteed him first-team football, I fully expect him to impress in the league where his one-time mate Eden Hazard is attracting worldwide interest from.

I have nothing to prove. When it is my time, I will show what I am capable of. – Gael

Pat Van Aanholt to Vitesse
Rating: 3/5

And another Arnhem acquisition. I’m not really looking forward to this for 3 reasons. 1. Only Rajkovic appeared to be decent of all the players we’ve sent here. 2. Matej Delac didn’t get games, likewise Ulises this season. 3. They’re a poor side and I doubt they’ll do more than give him some games.

Josh McEachran to Swansea
Rating: 4.5/5

The most important of them all. Joshy’s chances me this season have been severely limited and it was all too important that he moved to a Premier League side to gain quality experience. Swansea is the team we wanted, and we hope it turns out to be right one.

There was interest from a number of other Premier League clubs, but I wanted to come to Swansea because of the style of football they play. I think it will suit me. – Josh

Eden Hazard

At the mention of the name I just picture a 4-2-3-1 with him on the left, Studge on the right, Mata in the hole behind the main striker. That picture is obviously a snapshot of a dream. The rumors fuelled by twitter and journos about we landing him for 28m euros may very well be false.
AVB has been very honest about players we go for from day 1, and I believe he will confirm if we indeed have a genuine interest in Eden.
We’ve also been linked to Jovetic, and previously Di Maria. Its good to see the club being linked with wingers, whether that is a result of the general belief that we need wingers or the club actually going for players in that position, we won’t know until the manager says so or one of them signs.

Gary Cahill

Finally we have our man. I wasn’t too pleased with how long this dragged, almost like a saga. Anyone who follows me on twitter would know I don’t really like Cahill but I will focus on the positives and ignore my negative bias. We need a replacement for Alex. He’s a good defender. He partners John Terry for England. He’s used to the premiership. He’s English. He cost 7m. That settles it and we shouldn’t see Bosingwa at center back again, maybe even at all.

…Carrow Road

The squad is boosted as Brana, Cahill, Ess and Studge are all available to start. I can guarantee Studge back in the XI, and either one of Brana or Cahill. Our proper 4-3-3 shape should return, with a better defence and attack. Norwich have been pretty decent of recent, but shouldn’t pose too much of a problem after the first goes in. I predict a 3-1 win to the Chels. Lampard and Sturridge the only goalscorers. El nino with a triple assist man of the match performance. Bosingwa with an own goal that concedes him to the bench for the rest of the season (tongue-in-cheek). That’s a joke by the way, please don’t rape my twitter mentions.

That’s it. I will be watching Chelsea, Swansea and Dijon this weekend, and updating you all on twitter. Do have a lovely weekend, keep it carefree and keep it proper chels.

‘Toye
Twitter: http://twitter.com/ToyeCFC/

FA Cup Preview: Chelsea vs Portsmouth

The Blues army will host Portsmouth today in the FA cup third round. We will be hoping to extend our unbeaten run against Portsmouth to 30 games in all competitions in over 51 years.

The last time we played Portsmouth was the final of the 2010 FA cup at the Wembley, where Didier’s free kick was the decider.

We will be expected to beat Portsmouth any day, but our recent unimpressive run and the injuries to some players might make Portsmouth believe they can win or force a replay.

I will want to believe that our poor run has ended with 2011, especially with the spirit shown at wolves on Monday when our players rallied round to give us the full 3 points following Wolves 85^th minute equalizer. It was a typical Frank Lampard goal, following his typical run into the box.

Andre Villas-Boas might want to give our youngsters some playing time on Sunday, especially since some of the first team regulars are out injured and our African contingent (Drogba and Kalou) are already gone. Ivanovic and Mikel are still weeks away from full fitness, with Terry too not sure of making the game, Hutchinson may come into the central defence. Many would have expected Cahill to be ours by now, but the guy is still fighting for £100 000, more than thrice the £30 000 he is earning at Bolton. We can make do with Hutchinson for now but we definitely need to sign a centre back, Cahill or not

I will be glad to see Mceachran play the entire 90mins, because he is one player I believe should have been a regular by now if he can work on his fitness and physical strength. I initially thought he will benefit from a loan deal, but with our recent injuries and dip in form by players like Merielis and Lampard, I think Mceachran should be given a chance to fight for his place in our first 11.

Another player that I will be happy to see play today is Romelu Lukaku. With Drogba and Kalou heading for Nations cup, Lukaku will naturally get more playing time this January if we don’t sign a striker.

Portsmouth are in top spirit following their 2-0 win over Watford on Monday, though they are still placed 17^th on the championship table.

My Chelsea Team: Cech; Betrand, Luiz, Hutchinson, Ferreira; Romeu, Mceachran, Ramires; Lukaku, Mata, Torres

Portsmouth’s last lineup: Henderson; Ben-Haim,Mokoena,Pearce, Mattock,Mullins,Norris, Huseklepp,Kitson,Futaks

My prediction: Anything short of a Chelsea win will be a shocker, so I think its going to be 3-1 in favour or the Blues.

KTBFFH

@Tooyib

Chelsea January Transfer Window Analysis

January! January! January! The month we have been waiting for, when transfer window opens and the rumors rise till they get ridiculous.

It is believed that Roman will give Villas-Boas a war-chest of £150m to spend in this January transfer window. If that’s true, AVB should seize the opportunity to sign quality players that will enable our squad challenge and hopefully win some trophies.

If AVB signs some quality players, I believe we can even win the premier league this season. It may seem impossible but there is still half a season of games to play. As AVB said: “In this season’s title race, there will be a lot of surprises”.

It’s up to our players to surprise everyone including themselves. I believe they are capable because these are the same players who got us from 7^th to 2^nd place in the league last season. We could have even won the premier league if we got a result at Old Trafford. It is mathematically possible for us to still win the league so we must keep the faith.

Let’s take a look on our current squad, this is the same squad that won at Valencia, Man City, Newcastle and other places. Also it is the same Squad that lost to QPR, Aston Villa, Leverkusen – to mention but a few. If we compare the depth of squad that Man city have, it is bigger than that of Chelsea. To improve our current squad we need to bring 3-4 new players in this transfer window which will help us for the rest of the season.

Here is an analysis of some of the transfer options or possible players to join Chelsea:

Gary Cahill: At 26, his age is not a concern; his performances are the most important. Cheap to be honest, not many defenders will be available at £7m. He’s demanding around £120k wage in wages. Signing for Chelsea will keep alive his chances to play in Euros for England.

According to the reports, Owen Coyle says his move to Chelsea will be completed by Sunday. And he rates him as good defender, who can play for any team.

He has made 19 Premier League appearances this season for Bolton scoring 2 goals, with no assists, 2 yellow cards, 1 red card, 74 percent passing success and 0.6 shots per game. A bit average of him, but I won’t judge him much before he plays for Chelsea. He plays in the centre back role which is occupied by John Terry, David Luiz and Ivanovic.

He is weak at passing, but strong in blocking the ball and playing it into air, strong in aerial duels, clearing the ball out of defence, scores in set pieces especially indirect free-kicks.

Edinson Cavani: He is a Uruguayan forward, 24, of pace that resembles that of Diego Forlan. He has made 13 appearances (1 as a sub) for Napoli in the Serie A scoring a total of 9 goals with one assist and one yellow card in the other hand, 3.4 shots per goal and 68 percent passing success.

A player that his price could be a bit high £45m – £50m, but that wont be a problem for Chelsea. His attributes – Strong in finishing , headed attempts, holding on the ball and also he provides defensive contribution.

A player that will fit in Chelsea’s squad and tactics, and will close the gap to Drogba & Kalou who will depart for Afcon tournaments. He is very useful in counter attacks and also in normal build ups. A kind of player that Chelsea need.
Gonzalo Higuain: He is 24, 7 apps (8 as a sub) for Real Madrid in the Spanish La Liga, scoring 12 goals with no assists, 2 shots per game and 88 percent passing success. He has an impressive scoring record since arriving in Spain in 2006 but he has failed to hold down a regular starting role under Jose Mourinho at Real Madrid.

His price tag is around £25m – £30m, a good finisher and a key passer, Good dribbler with skills and long shooter. He can boost the attacking role at Chelsea and score some handy goals along side others. Not only Chelsea are after him but also the Argentine forward is linked with Juventus and PSG.

Marek Hamsik: 24 years old Attacking midfielder and he can play as a right forward in a 4-3-3 formation, his price could be a problem, rated at £45m – £50m. After Chelsea failed to capture Luka Modric – he grew up as a possible target for Chelsea. He has made 11 apps (5 as a sub) for Napoli in the Italian Serie A scoring 5 goals and providing 4 assists, 1.4 shots per game and 84 percent passing success. He is good in releasing key passes, assisting and finishing too.

He can help to feed the strikers with balls, and adding creativity in our midfield alongside Mata, Romeu, Lamapard, Meireles, Ramires and others. He is in a class of players that can add creativity at Chelsea and boost our attacking forces.

Alvaro Pereira: He is a defender (left) of 26 years old, he has made a total of 10 apps for FC Porto this season in the Liga Sagres, he will provide aid in our defence also in creating attacking build ups – bringing crosses and good runs through opponent’s defence. He has a release clause of £25m.

Cheich Tiote: A 25 year old Ivorian midfielder who has been pretty in good form recently, capable of controlling the midfield defensively and also in attack. 83 percent passing success. Strong in passing, dribbling, tackling and ball intercepting. Good option for Chelsea, but he may find a difficult way to get regular chances of playing at Chelsea since we have a lot of midfielders. He may coast £30m, as Mr. Alan Pardew is in charge of the magpies.

Milos Krasic: He is a 27 year old winger who joined Italian side Juventus from CSKA Moscow, linked with Chelsea also with other Russian clubs but he doesnt want to return to Russia. He may cost around £20m – £25m. He has 85 percent passing success, Strong in dribbling, holding the ball and providing key passes. He can help Chelsea and cover the wing role.

Kaka: He is one of the intelligent playmakers in football and 29 years old. He has made 6 apps (6 as a sub) for Real Madrid in the Spanish La Liga scoring 3 goals and providing 2 assists having 86 percent passing success. He has quite been faced with injuries, making him out and in some poor forms but still a player that Chelsea will need to buy to add more creativity. £30m was a rumored price that Real madrid will sell him.

He is good at scoring, shooting, dribbling and providing key passes also his has a good vision on the pitch and good mentality.

Chelsea need new blood that will make us play top class football like the season we won the historic domestic double, with some quality signings, we can only get better, compete for and win title(s).

Keep the faith wherever you read this from!

UP THE CHELS!!!
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Twitter: makivic08

Chelsea Ends Miserable Year

What's happening to our season?

I cannot believe what we witnessed earlier today. It was a very, very disappointing game from the Men In Blue. Aston Villa came to the Bridge probably seeking a draw and we gifted them a win.

They played 10 men behind the ball and pretended that they would not attack us. We were keeping possession but we did not make it count.

22 minutes into the game, Dunne brought down Drogba, resulting in a penalty. Drogba scored his 150^th goal for the club, a remarkable achievement for him.

If we had killed the game there, we would have Drogba’s 150^th goal, Terry’s 400^th game as captain and 3 points to cheer going into the new year.

Unfortunately, our Blues disappointed us more than they did on Boxing Day. Goal aside, Drogba was crap; he did needless tricks and gave away possession.

Aston Villa picked one of his misplaced passes and nearly capitalized on it. Drogba was so terrible that I prayed fervently that AVB would sub him with anyone, even Kalou!

Daniel Sturridge got a few chances and he could have contributed more if he was not selfish. As the game progressed, he faded away and AVB subbed him for Torres. For me Torres performed better for the team than Drogba and Sturridge put together.

The Spaniard made a great strike that hit the crossbar with his first touch; he also gave Drogba a sweet pass, one the big man squandered. I felt Torres could have done more if our midfield given him the ball more often.

The goals we conceded are unacceptable. The first, JT was in good position to prevent Ireland from scoring but he failed. The second, Luiz decided not to mark Petrov. It must be said though; David Luiz was having a good game until that moment.

Given Aston Villa showed no interest in attacking, AVB brought on Lampard to replace Romeu. AVB made the same mistake when we played Wigan. He made Aston Villa deceive him. With Romeu gone, we lost our ability to break Wigan’s attacks and we lost possession frequently.

Lampard gave away possession in a manner that would have disgusted Oriol. Ireland seized on the opportunity, ran with the ball and set up Darren Bent for an easy finish. 1-3 and there was no way we were coming back.

AVB has his job cut out for him in the upcoming transfer window; he needs to buy players with a winning mentality. In the past, we were noted for grinding out wins even when we played poorly.

We have lost that ability; teams no longer fear us, every team now wants to have a go at Chelsea. I will appreciate AVB more if he stops trying to be a smart ass with the media.

Chelsea has a problem and he should work to fix it. If the rumors that he has been given £150m to spend on quality are true then he should spend it very wisely. Chelsea needs him to get his transfer activity right because a top four finish is not a guarantee this year.

It has been a miserable year for Blues worldwide; I hope our squad makes some positive new resolutions and stick with it throughout 2012.

Keep The Faith (and of course) The Blue Flag Flying High!

Have a prosperous New Year!

Twitter @super_chelsea

Facebook: superchelsea

Chelsea Need new Blood

We need more strength and depth in the squad to challenge in the Premier League title race. This season our squad has been too inconsistent, we earned draws where we should have won and lost games that could have been draws.

Currently we are out the Top 3 and 11 points below the League leaders Manchester city and Manchester united each with 45 points. Luckily, Arsenal failed to take advantage of us dropping points so they remain in 5th place. The miserable thing about our current situation is that Spurs are right above us in third place with a game in hand.

Our season has been poor so far due to goal scoring ducks, controversial refereeing, defensive errors, injuries and off-form runs. It is a miracle that we are in 4th place. Our season has poor and it can get worse if we do not strengthen our squad. We need to first fix our leaky defense and then focus on sharpening our attack. I hope AVB takes advantage of Alex and Anelka’s exit to bring in a quality centre half and a creative midfielder.

In an ideal world, Malouda and Drogba would join Alex and Anelka out of the club this January. Seydou Doumbia would replace Drogba, Hazard would replace Malouda, Hummels would replace Alex and Thiago Alcantara (through a Romeu type deal) would replace Anelka. Unfortunately, we do not live in an ideal world. Most of the best players in the football do not move to new clubs in January. Given the intensity of the rumors, expect Cahill replacing Alex as a Chelsea player by Sunday. We will not buy another striker to replace Anelka; AVB will argue that he has enough strikers i.e. Kalou, Lukaku, Torres, Drogba and Sturridge. Despite Malouda’s threats to leave, I expect him to stay and enjoy his paycheck unless PSG are silly enough to sign him. Close your mind to players like Thiago Alcantara, Mario Goetze, Khedira, Sneijder, Kaka et cetera. Chelsea will not move for them because Essien’s return will strengthen the team.

AVB has to be brave this transfer window because Chelsea finishing top four partly depends on the players that join this January. I see parts of AVB vision already and I like it; if AVB can get quality players who can clearly depict his vision in January, he should not wait until July 2012 because it could be late.