The 2007/08 Chelsea Thread

[TheRandomGuy]

Originally posted by LiverpoolSimplyTheBest:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by TheRandomGuy:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by LiverpoolSimplyTheBest:

I know Drogba was a bit stupid but you shouldn't forget without him you wouldn't have even been here tonight.

save for the second leg against you, when he had a point to prove against Rafa and was doing it for him not the team, he's look completely disinterested for months. Ballack was our best player in the quarters and the first knockout round, and the group stage was pice of p!ss, which Drogba only scored three times in, two of them against reknowned giants of European football Rosenborg. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

yes, I acknowledge the fact he's been a bit rubbish recently but that doesn't change my point one iota. his two goals against us were vital. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

fair point. still mightily ****ed off with him though. can **** off to Milan for all I care.

[TheRandomGuy]

Originally posted by merry_miller:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by TheRandomGuy:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by LiverpoolSimplyTheBest:

I know Drogba was a bit stupid but you shouldn't forget without him you wouldn't have even been here tonight.

save for the second leg against you, when he had a point to prove against Rafa and was doing it for him not the team, he's look completely disinterested for months. Ballack was our best player in the quarters and the first knockout round, and the group stage was pice of p!ss, which Drogba only scored three times in, two of them against reknowned giants of European football Rosenborg. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Maybe he's just had a bad season players do you know. Not like he'd done nowt for Chelsea before this year </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

There's two kinds of bad seasons. One where a player works his arse into the ground but it just doesn't come off, and one where a player just cannot be bothered.

Drogba clearly doesn't want to play for Chelsea anymore and tbh I don't want him here.

[TheRandomGuy]

Was quite calm and happy earlier, have somehow since managed to royally p!ss myself off. Been going over all the ifs and buts time and time again all night. Still can't get my head around the fact we lost the biggest game we've ever played because someone slipped on a lump of dirt. Don't think any defeat has ever p!ssed me off this much. So ****ing close.

[Asmodeus]

Unlucky lads, were excellent second half onwards. Cruel.

[Herman Bloom]

RE: Avram. What it is with you guys being a bit poo in the first half, then being good in the second. Are his half time team talks that good? Is someone else doing it? Or what?

[Pickles]

Unlucky guys. Good game, good game!

[Philip Rolfe]

The Chelsea 2007/2008 Season Stats - Final Edition

Appearances:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

TOTAL EPL CL FAC CC Other

10. J. Cole (45/11) (28/6) (12/1) (2/1) (2/3) (1)

5. M. Essien (40/6) (24/4) (11/1) (1) (3/1) (1)

3. A. Cole (40) (27) (10) (1) (1) (1)

1. P. Cech (40) (26) (9) (1) (3) (1)

8. F. Lampard (37/2) (23/1) (10/1) (1) (3) (1)

6. R. Carvalho (37) (20) (10) (2) (4) (1)

26. J. Terry (37) (24) (10) (2) (2)

21. S. Kalou (32/13) (23/4) (5/6) (2/1) (2/2)

33. R. Alex (32/7) (22/6) (5/1) (2) (3)

35. J. Belletti (32/7) (20/4) (4/3) (2) (6)

24. S. Wright-Phillips (31/9) (20/6) (2/3) (3) (5) (1)

12. J. Mikel (31/8) (24/6) (1/2) (2) (3) (1)

15. F. Malouda (29/9) (16/5) (8/3) (2) (2/1) (1)

4. C. Makelele (29/5) (15/3) (11/1) (2) (1/1)

11. D. Drogba (29/3) (17/2) (11) (0/1) (1)

20. P. Ferreira (22/4) (14/3) (5) (2) (1/1)

13. M. Ballack (24/4) (16/1) (7) (1/1) (1/2)

18. W. Bridge (18/3) (8/2) (3) (3) (4/1)

23. C. Cudicini (18/1) (10) (4/1) (2) (2)

22. T. Ben-Haim (17/2) (10/1) (1/1) (2) (3) (1)

39. N. Anelka (14/10) (10/4) (0/5) (2/1) (2)

7. A. Shevchenko (12/12) (8/9) (2/3) (2)

14. C. Pizarro (11/16) (5/13) (1/1) (2/1) (3) (0/1)

9. S. Sidwell (11/10) (5/8) (0/1) (3) (3/1) (0/1)

17. S. Sinclair (5/2) (0/1) (2) (3) (0/1)

40. H. Hilario (4/2) (2/1) (0/1) (1) (1)

2. G. Johnson (2) (1) (1)

19. L. Diarra (0/1) (0/1)

</pre>

Goals:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

TOTAL EPL CL FAC CC Other

8. F. Lampard 20 10 4 2 4

11. D. Drogba 14 7 6 1

21. S. Kalou 11 7 1 1 2

10. J. Cole 10 7 2 1

13. M. Ballack 9 7 2

7. A. Shevchenko 8 5 1 2

5. M. Essien 6 6

24. S. Wright-Phillips 5 3 1 2

15. F. Malouda 4 2 1 1

00. Own Goal 4 2 2

33. R. Alex 3 2 1

39. N. Anelka 2 1 1

35. J. Belletti 2 2

14. C. Pizarro 2 2

9. S. Sidwell 1 1

17. S. Sinclair 1 1

3. A. Cole 1 1

26. J. Terry 1 1

6. R. Carvalho 1 1

</pre>

How we scored:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

TOTAL EPL CL FAC CC Other

Right foot 72 47 12 4 9

Left foot 14 7 3 1 2 1

Header 18 10 5 3

Other 1 1

</pre>

Where we scored from:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

TOTAL EPL CL FAC CC Other

Inside 6 yard box 23 12 7 2 2

Inside 18 yard box 64 41 11 4 8 1

Outside of 18 yard box 16 12 1 2

</pre>

Direct Free Kicks Scored:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

TOTAL EPL CL FAC CC Other

33. R. Alex 2 1 1

13. M. Ballack 1 1

11. D. Drogba 1 1

</pre>

Assists:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

TOTAL EPL CL FAC CC Other

8. F. Lampard 14 10 3 1

21. S. Kalou 10 7 2 1

10. J. Cole 8 5 2 1

24. S. Wright-Phillips 7 5 1 1

11. D. Drogba 7 6 1

39. N. Anelka 6 4 1 1

14. C. Pizarro 5 1 4

15. F. Malouda 5 3 2

5. M. Essien 5 3 2

17. S. Sinclair 3 1 2

13. M. Ballack 3 1 2

7. A. Shevchenko 2 1 1

35. J. Belletti 2 1 1

20. P. Ferreira 2 1 1

3. A. Cole 1 1

9. S. Sidwell 1 1

33. R. Alex 1 1

26. J. Terry 1 1

18. W. Bridge 1 1

</pre>

At fault for goal:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

TOTAL EPL CL FAC CC Other

1. P. Cech 4 4

6. R. Carvalho 4 4

33. R. Alex 3 2 1

8. F. Lampard 2 1 1

22. T. Ben-Haim 2 1 1

35. J. Belletti 2 2

20. P. Ferreira 2 1 1

23. C. Cudicini 2 1 1

2. G. Johnson 1 1

26. J. Terry 1 1

40. H. Hilario 1 1

5. M. Essien 1 1

</pre>

Clean sheets:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

Portsmouth (H), EPL.

Blackburn (H), EPL

Hull (A), CC

Fulham (H), EPL

Bolton (A), EPL

Middlesbrough (A), EPL

Schalke (H), CL

Manchester City (H), EPL

Wigan (H), EPL

Schalke (A), CL

Derby (A), EPL

Rosenborg (A), CL

West Ham (H), EPL

Sunderland (H), EPL

Valencia (H), CL

Liverpool (H), CC

Blackburn (A), EPL

QPR (H), FAC

Tottenham (H), EPL

Birmingham (A), EPL

Everton (A), CC

Reading (H), EPL

Liverpool (H), EPL

Olympiacos (A), CL

West Ham (A), EPL

Olympiacos (H), CL

Sunderland (A), EPL

Middlesbrough (H), EPL

Manchester City (A), EPL

Fenerbahce (H), EPL

Everton (A), EPL

Newcastle United (A), EPL

</pre>

Failed to score:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

Aston Villa (A), EPL

Blackburn (H), EPL

Manchester United (A), EPL

Fulham (H), EPL

Schalke (A), CL

Valencia (H), CL

Arsenal (A), EPL

Liverpool (H), EPL

Olympiacos (A), CL

Barnsley (A), FAC

</pre>

Hit woodwork:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

TOTAL EPL CL FAC CC Other

21. S. Kalou 4 2 2

8. F. Lampard 4 3 1

14. C. Pizarro 3 1 1 1

39. N. Anelka 2 1 1

10. J. Cole 2 1 1

15. F. Malouda 1 1

9. S. Sidwell 1 1

5. M. Essien 1 1

26. J. Terry 1 1

11. D. Drogba 1 1

</pre>

Penalties won:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

TOTAL EPL CL FAC CC Other

13. M. Ballack 3 2 1

15. F. Malouda 1 1

33. R. Alex 1 1

21. S. Kalou 1 1

8. F. Lampard 1 1

5. M. Essien 1 1

</pre>

Penalties scored:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

Frank Lampard (5/5)

Michael Ballack (2/2)

Andriy Shevchenko (1/1)

CL Final Penalty Shootout

Michael Ballack SCORED

Frank Lampard SCORED

Juliano Belletti SCORED

Ashley Cole SCORED

John Terry MISSED

Salomon Kalou SCORED

Nicolas Anelka MISSED

</pre>

Penalties conceded:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

TOTAL EPL CL FAC CC Other

22. T. Ben-Haim 1 1

3. A. Cole 1 1

10. J. Cole 1 1

18. W. Bridge 1 1

</pre>

Yellow cards:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

TOTAL EPL CL FAC CC Other

6. R. Carvalho 11 6 2 1 1 1

5. M. Essien 9 5 4

35. J. Belletti 8 6 1 1

12. J. Mikel 8 5 1 1 1

26. J. Terry 8 6 2

33. R. Alex 6 6 1

10. J. Cole 6 5 1

8. F. Lampard 5 5 1

11. D. Drogba 6 6

13. M. Ballack 6 5 1

3. A. Cole 4 3 1

4. C. Makelele 4 2 2

22. T. Ben-Haim 3 1 1 1

15. F. Malouda 2 2

20. P. Ferreira 2 1 1

9. S. Sidwell 1 1

21. S. Kalou 1 1

22. T. Ben-Haim 1 1

14. C. Pizarro 1 1

</pre>

Red cards:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

TOTAL EPL CL FAC CC Other

12. J. Mikel 2 1 1

11. D. Drogba 2 1 1

5. M. Essien 1 1

6. R. Carvalho 1 1

3. A. Cole 1 1

8. F. Lampard 1 1

</pre>

Official Man of the Match:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

TOTAL EPL CL FAC CC Other

8. F. Lampard 7 2 2 1 2

13. M. Ballack 7 5 1

5. M. Essien 6 6

11. D. Drogba 4 1 3

10. J. Cole 3 3

6. R. Carvalho 3 3

7. A. Shevchenko 2 2

24. S. Wright-Phillips 2 2

4. C. Makelele 2 2

22. T. Ben-Haim 1 1

3. A. Cole 1 1

21. S. Kalou 1 1

15. F. Malouda 1 1

26. J. Terry 1 1

12. J. Mikel 1 1

9. S. Sidwell 1 1

1. P. Cech 1 1

39. N. Anelka 1 1

33. R. Alex 1 1

No Chelsea player 16 10 4 1 1

</pre>

OTF's Chelsea player of the match:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

TOTAL EPL CL FAC CC Other

8. F. Lampard 6 5 1

24. S. Wright-Phillips 5 5

10. J. Cole 5 4 1

11. D. Drogba 4 3 1

13. M. Ballack 4 3 1

3. A. Cole 4 2 1 1

7. A. Shevchenko 3 2 1

35. J. Belletti 2 2

12. J. Mikel 2 2

33. R. Alex 2 2

1. P. Cech 2 2

6. R. Carvalho 2 1 1

20. P. Ferreira 1 1

21. S. Kalou 1 1

18. W. Bridge 1 1

9. S. Sidwell 1 1

39. N. Anelka 1 1

26. J. Terry 1 1

4. C. Makelele 1 1

Nobody bothered 14 9 5

</pre>

Minute of goal scored: - THIS NEEDS FIXING, IT's MISSING A LOT

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

TOTAL EPL CL FAC CC Other

0-15 9 5 4

16-30 20 13 2 2 3

31-45 13 9 1 2 1

46-60 17 11 2 2 2

61-75 16 13 2 1

76-90 12 8 1 1 2

90+ 3 1 2

Extra Time 2 2

</pre>

Minute of goal conceded:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

TOTAL EPL CL FAC CC Other

0-15 7 4 2 1

16-30 5 2 3

31-45 8 4 2 1 1

46-60 6 5 1

61-75 10 4 3 1 3

76-90 8 4 1 1 2

90+ 4 3 1

Extra Time 2 1 1

</pre>

HT/FT result:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

TOTAL EPL CL FAC CC Other

L/L 2 2

L/D 4 2 2

L/W 1 1

D/L 2 1 1

D/D 10 6 4** 1

D/W 11 6 1 2 2

W/L 1 1

W/D 1 1 1*

W/W 26 18 4 1 3

* = Lost in Extra Time

** = Lost on Penalties

</pre>

Form: D, W, W, D, D

Highest League Position: 1

Lowest League Position: 7

Current League Position: 2

League Position History: 3, 1, 1, 4, 4, AG takes over 5, 6, 7, 7, 7, 4, 4, 4, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, Final Placing 2

Home attendence:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

MATCHES Highest Lowest Average

EPL 19 41,837 39,447 41,397

CL 6 41,139 24,973 37,002 (CL games operate a reduced capacity for media and TV)

FAC 2 41,324 41,289 41,306

CC 3 41,336 40,037 40,849

</pre>

Upcoming fixtures:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

Season Finished

</pre>

Lampard Deflected Goal Watch ©

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

TOTAL EPL CL FAC CC Other

Deflected 1 1

Not deflected 19 10 4 2 3

</pre>

Captain Watch

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

26. John Terry 37

8. Frank Lampard 16

4. Claude Makelele 7

13. Michael Ballack 4

11. Didier Drogba 2 (vs Fulham H, vs QPR H)

6. Ricardo Carvalho 1 (vs Aston Villa H)

10. Joe Cole 1 (vs Aston Villa H)

3. Ashley Cole 1 (vs QPR H)

</pre>

[Philip Rolfe]

Will also summarise some of those stats now.

- Joe Cole leads the team in all appearances, featuring in 56 of 62 matches.

- Only four other players played in 40 or more games (65%) - Essien, Cole, Cech and Kalou.

- Only Joe Cole appeared in 30 or more of the 38 Premiership games.

- Only Joe cole appeared in all 13 CL matches, starting 12.

- Only Frank Lampard broke the 20 goal barrier.

- Frank Lampard breaks the 20 goal barrier in all competitions for the third season in a row. The season before he scored 19.

- Frank Lampard is the only player to hit double figures in league goals.

- 18 different Chelsea players (Own Goals makes it 19) found the scoresheet this season.

- Frank Lampard leads the club in assists once again with 14.

- In hockey scoring terms, where a point is awarded for a goal and a point for an assist, Lampard finishes with 34 points in 39 games. Kalou comes second with 21 in 45, and Joe Cole third with 18 in 56.

- Petr Cech and Ricardo Carvalho finish tied for costing most goals, with 4 each.

- Of every defender and goalkeeper who featured this season, only Ashley Cole and Wayne Bridge did not cost the team a goal.

- They both did, however, concede one penalty each. Both for handball.

- The team kept 32 clean sheets in 62 matches.

- Of those 32 clean sheets, Cech kept 18 (45% of appearances), Cudicini kept 11 (58%), and Hilário kept 3 (50%).

- The team failed to score in 10 of 62 matches.

- The record in those 10 games was Drawn 6, Lost 4.

- John Terry and Nicolas Anelka were the only players to miss penalties this season. Frank Lampard was a perfect 6/6, Michael Ballack a perfect 3/3.

- Ricardo Carvalho picked up 11 yellow cards in 37 appearances. He was also sent off once.

- Michael Essien picked up 9 yellow cards in 46 appearances and was also sent off once.

- Didier Drogba was the only Chelsea player to be sent off twice.

- Chelsea received 92 yellow cards and 8 red cards in 62 matches.

- Frank Lampard and Michael Ballack shared the most Official Man of the Match Awards, with 7 each. Lampard featured in 39 matches to Ballack's 28.

- Michael Ballack was Man of the Match once in every four games.

- The team dropped a winning position at half time only three times. Two were against Tottenham - at White Hart Lane and at Wembley. The other was at Fenerbahce.

- The team turned a half time defeat into points on five occasions. Only one of these was a win - away to Reading under Mourinho in August.

- Two half time defeats were not turned around and were full time defeats - away to Manchester United, and away to Arsenal.

- Chelsea topped the Premiership only once, back in August, after beating Portsmouth.

- Frank Lampard scored just ONE deflected goal in his tally of 20. This game against Liverpool in the Carling Cup.

- Chelsea featured 8 captains this season. Terry and Lampard accounted for 53 of the occasions, Makelele 7 and Ballack 4. Drogba took the armband against Fulham with Terry subbed injured, then was sent off himself. Against Aston Villa, Lampard was subbed injured, so Carvalho took the armband, was duly sent off, and Joe Cole took it. Against QPR in the FA Cup, Ashley Cole led the team out as captain, then handed over to Drogba when he came on.

[Red_Hector]

Thread could do with more stats imo

[bridgekings]

Got back a little over an hour ago, was a brilliant trip bar the result.

Pretty well organised by UEFA on the whole, very hospitable, no attempts to herd people into the fanzones as I was worried they were planning to. There was no trouble between the fans, everything was very civil and they were mixing and chatting prior to the game. Plus, the United fans I spoke to after the game were very magnanimous in victory.

As for the game, so many aspects I could comment on but I need some sleep first, soo tired. Was a brilliant spectacle, we played some fantastic football throughout the second half. Kept telling the guy sitting next to me that it was vital we cashed in whilst we were soo dominant, thats all I could fault us for in that half. First 35 minutes were pretty dire, weren't tight enough in midfield which was allowing Carrick and Scholes to switch the ball quickly to Ronaldo and Hargreaves, that's where they were hurting us.

Ashley Cole had an absolutely brilliant game, could'nt fault him at all. Maka was also superb once we took control of the midfield.Dont agree entirely with the papers I read this morning regarding the Malouda abuse, does work well in-between the lines as Grant has said. He linked play well in that final third. Doesn't have the pace or trickery to play as an out-and-out winger so he's never going to impress by producing Ronaldo-esque runs as a more traditional winger would. He's a more subtle player than that.

Was actually very confident when JT went up for the penalty, absolutely gutted for him and the team. Neither team deserved to lose the game, but it was hard seeing United lift the trophy. Dont understang this monging out in the match thread re his missed penner. People are entitled to their opinions but the 'couldnt have happenned to a better person' comments seem a bit childish. Probably a bit over-sensitive regarding him at the moment having seen how reacted after his miss. And then again, had it been Gerrard who missed, I would have loved it.

Don't want to talk about Drogba really, last night was the last straw for me if im being honest. Would gladly never have to see him in a Chelsea shirt again. This isnt only based on the sending off, as it was obvious that one day his petulance would work against him. But his attitude just stinks, and has done for some time now. He's a clown, once again spending more time trying to get the crowd going than focusing on his own performance. Seems to be far too big for his boots, as well as completely ignoring the fans who gave him a good send off as he trudged towards the tunnel, simple acknowledgemnt would have sufficed. Maybe im being too harsh and please dont get me wrong, im not using his as a scapegoat for the loss, just think he let his teammates down through his actions.

With regards to the sending off, we only have ourselves to blame. There was a situation only 20 minutes before where Kalou returned the ball to near the corner flag after it had been put out of play. Guy sitting next to me was very unimpressed with that and I agreed, was just soo unnesseccary. Cant possibly then complain when United do a similar thing back.

Was planning a little blog for my trip later as some mad stuff happened, will get some sleep first, havent slept since Monday night. Just been running on pure adrenaline. Nonetheless, have enjoyed the season, not sure which direction the club is going to go with regards to Grant. Just hope that whatever is decided is decided quickly, its in the interests of everybody.

[Romario999]

I'm not a Chelsea fan, but I will admit i wanted them to win last night and you were very unlucky i must add after a poor first half you basically controlled the game after that and were realy unfortunate.

Ashley Cole was immense MOTM for me, DRogba flattered to deceive yet again and i was suprised Shevchenko was not brought on in extra time.

[deez0r]

Nice to see you got back home ok Bridgekings, hope everything went well, I pretty much second everything you have said there, it seems we have won over a small amount of fans after the performance last night.

Think Grant will go (whether we won or not wouldnt have changed anything imo) and a new manager brought in sharpish, need to get rid of 7 or 8 players and bring in some top quality. Need a striker who actually gives a damn, and 1 or possibly 2 wingers. Right back hopefully sorted with Bosingwa.

[Poyplemonkeys]

- Didier Drogba was the only Chelsea player to be sent off twice.

Mikel against United and Everton surely?

[Philip Rolfe]

Yeah, slight oversight there. About Mikel's red at OT though...

GRAHAM POLL: "You're not afraid of the big decision, though. You've shown 10 red cards this season and I'd say there's only a question-mark over Chelsea's John Mikel Obi at Old Trafford."

MIKE DEAN: "My gut feeling at the time was yellow card, but I heard my assistant in my earpiece say: 'It's two feet, it's a red card.' I don't know why he didn't back it up with a flag. I've spoken to him since and he doesn't know. Without a flag, it would have been a cop-out to go and talk to him; that looks like I'm passing the blame."

GRAHAM POLL: "I'd have lynched him."

MIKE DEAN: "Well, one thing I did learn was not to take advice from an assistant who hasn't raised a flag. Looking back at that tackle now, in a climate where referees are coming down hard on two-footed tackles, it's still a very orangey-coloured card."

The FA rejected our appeal for that card.

[deez0r]

Phil not sure if you seen in the other thread, any idea how many penalty shoot outs we have gone without a win since Newcastle?

[Philip Rolfe]

The ones you listed are all of them. We won the Premier League Asia Cup pre-season on penners when Jenas chipped one over the bar, but that's it.

[Poyplemonkeys]

Looking for something from Mikel next season. Makelele has to be either out the door or basically only there for European matches. He's too old, and although he was outstanding last night, he's look like a weak link in the midfield a few times this season.

Time for Mikel to step up and show us what he's capable of by surpassing the form of two seasons ago.

[Poyplemonkeys]

Originally posted by Philip Rolfe:

The ones you listed are all of them. We won the Premier League Asia Cup pre-season on penners when Jenas chipped one over the bar, but that's it.

Bobby Robson's face when he did that. An absolute picture

[TheRandomGuy]

didn't miss a penalty all season until last night

[bridgekings]

Oh yeah, theres no way we sold all our allocation. Around half of my section consisted of Russian locals who insisted on sitting down and moaning to the stewards should you dare to stand. Still, the atmosphere in the Chelsea end was pretty good.

[deez0r]

Bridgekings where you on the flight before or after the one that got cancelled or are you not sure?

[bridgekings]

Before, I flew out at 04.35. Think the cancelled flight was the 05.50.

[deez0r]

What would you have done if it had of been yours?

[bridgekings]

Dont know really, was thinking about that on the way home. Probably just have hung around in the hope theyd made a big mistake. Maybe cry a little.

[Philip Rolfe]

Was gonna do a season review for every player but I can't be bothered, so I'll do it like this.

Absolutely outstanding, 10/10

Michael Ballack

Superb/very good season, 8-9/10

Ashley Cole, Michael Essien, Joe Cole, Frank Lampard, Ricardo Carvalho

Acceptable/good season, 7/10

Petr Cech, Didier Drogba, John Obi Mikel, Wayne Bridge, Paulo Ferreira, Salomon Kalou, Carlo Cudicini, Shaun Wright-Phillips, John Terry, Alex, Juliano Belletti

Disappointing season, 6/10

Claude Makelele, Andriy Shevchenko, Steve Sidwell, Claudio Pizarro, Tal Ben-Haim, Nicolas Anelka

Florent Malouda

Was rubbish.

No rating but still in here because he's a legend

Hilário

Who?

Branislav Ivanovic

Feel free to add your own.

--

Onto the summer then, and Kenyon has been talking about signing elite players, and getting Lampard's contract sorted.

“We’re bringing in a couple because I think our squad is too big at the moment, so we’ll be looking at the net spend,†Kenyon said. “But it’s quality we’re after, not quantity, and it’s a very thin market we’re operating in. It’s fair to say they won’t be cheap.

“We’re looking at players who are star names or have the potential to be star names and that’s the key. When you look at what we’ve got, you can think about who to replace in what position, but are they better than what we’ve got? And even if he is, is he available and will he settle?

"We’ve proved that we can compete at the highest level by reaching a Champions League final. We take great heart from that and from the way we played and the way we played showed that we’re very close to that next step of winning the Champions League.â€

“There’s been lots of speculation but we’re pretty confident that the players we want to keep, we’ll keep,†Kenyon said. “That has always been our position. The strategy is clear — home-grown for obvious reasons, the core being English, which is a strength, and having players on long-term contracts so you’re not going through constant change. You always have strong foundations that you can build on and grow. That’s what we’re about.

“With Frank, he is one of the top players in the world and there’s no question that a deal for Frank has always been on the cards and that’s certainly one of the things we’d like to sort out, to get rid of the speculation as soon as possible. I think we’ll talk after the internationals and that’s fair because everyone needs a break, so both things are our priorities.â€

Frank himself has commented on the contract talks

'My contract has obviously been the last thing on my mind in the last six weeks,' Lampard said after Wednesday night's Final, 'but I'll sit down and talk after the England games.

'I hope we can come to a conclusion. I'm pretty confident we can. I've said that many times before.'

Meanwhile, most places are reporting Avram Grant will be told of his 'fate' over the weekend, with Abramovich having held a meeting with key advisors in Moscow after the Final. His decision impacts on any potential signings, obviously, but there's a concensus that we will see many departures, and a pretty big overhaul of an ageing squad.

Shevchenko, Sidwell, Drogba, Pizarro, Malouda, Wright-Phillips, Belletti and Anelka are all figured to go, with the outside potential of Carvalho, Lampard, Essien, and maybe Alex, but I very much doubt those four are off. At any rate, losing those 8 players demands at least two starting calibre signings, and at least 6 replacements brought in. Kenyon talks about making the squad smaller, which I guess means it'll be supplemented with some of the younger guys. Scott Sinclair, Michael Mancienne and Jack Cork are ready to be those guys, with Ryan Bertrand and Gael Kakuta not far off.

So, who's in? All sorts of links (and no I'm not having a bloody list in this thread) but the most regular seem to be Franck Ribéry and Mario Gomez. Grant wants Berbatov to replace Drogba, Arnesen wants Gomez, I'd favour Gomez personally, but Ribéry is the #1 target for me personally. If I ignore Benzema, and I have to considering Aulas isn't gonna accept less than a world record fee.

Huntelaar, Robinho, Giovani, Xavi, Amauri all regularly linked, and realistically too. But it comes down to who the manager will be - Grant? Rijkaard? Eriksson? Mancini? Hiddink? Advocaat? Most interesting summer since Abramovich arrived is ahead.

[Poyplemonkeys]

Laudrup been mentioned in todays papers. Believe I posted several pages back about him, he's worked wonders at Getafe from what my (limited) knowledge of Spanish football tells me.

Is there any chance of this? What type of football to Getafe look to play?

Will probably review the season tomorrow. Not going to be nice reading

[Barry Cartman]

I see Anelka is having his usual end of season whinge about his new club today

[ajw10]

Getafe play good attacking football iirc.

If you sign Ribery, i'll cry

[Poyplemonkeys]

Ribery would be so awesome, but if we sign him I'd also want us to sign a winger with absolutely blistering pace. That's what we've lacked imo. Someone who never comes in off of the flank and just gets the ball, drives to the byline and crosses it.

However if we get both it will hamper Kalou Always been a fan of Kalou and I think lately he's been getting better and better. Had a few excellent games at the tail end of the season. I suppose 4 wingers is pretty much standard though if we get rid of Sweep and Malouda.

[ajw10]

Ribery has got blistering pace.

And yeah always liked Kalou, he gets far too much criticism when you consider Cole has been pretty poor recently and Malouda is/has been rubbish.

[kingcav]

Originally posted by Eric Cartman:

I see Anelka is having his usual end of season whinge about his new club today

what's he said?

[ajw10]

Anelka:Wants to play as striker

Nicolas Anelka has voiced his frustration at being asked to play out of position for Chelsea, while he has also admitted that he refused to take one of the first five penalties in the UEFA Champions League final.

Anelka has not been a regular starter since moving to Stamford Bridge from Bolton in the January transfer window and he has often had to play on the wing rather than in his preferred front role.

The Frenchman claims that he was led to believe he would start alongside Didier Drogba in most games, but Avram Grant has been reluctant to change his formation.

He is unhappy with his role and has demanded to be used as a striker when the new season gets underway.

"Since I have joined the club, I never played in my right position, as second centre-forward," Anelka told L'Equipe.

"I have always played on the left or the right. I have never said anything so far. I was a new man in the team, coming from Bolton. But next season it will be different, I won't be a new man anymore, I will be a Chelsea player.

"When I came here, I was told I will play in a 4-4-2 system. I didn't come to play on the right or left.

Nothing to prove

"I don't have to prove my value in the centre. We could have played together with Didier Drogba.

"But we never even worked on our partnership during training sessions."

Anelka came on in extra-time in the Champions League final before his sudden death penalty was saved by Edwin van der Sar to give victory to Manchester United.

He admits it was difficult to play a part in the shoot-out after coming on so late, adding: "I never thought I would come onto the pitch.

"I stayed sitting on the bench for 110 minutes, and then I have been asked to play after just one minute of warm-up.

"I don't know if it has ever happened in a Champions League final, with such an intensity, to play without a warm-up.

"I was asked to be among the five penalty kickers. I said 'out of the question. I came in almost as right full-back and you want me to kick a penalty?' Finally I had to go as number seven."

[Herman Bloom]

Originally posted by ajw10:

"I was asked to be among the five penalty kickers. I said 'out of the question. I came in almost as right full-back and you want me to kick a penalty?' Finally I had to go as number seven."

Belletti managed it fine tbf.

[Herman Bloom]

[ajw10]

Oh Herms

[kingcav]

rubbish season and now a ruined thread.

sigh

[Poyplemonkeys]

I was going to say what Herman said but, y'know, better. He just bricked it. Can't think of a single situation where your striker shouldn't be taking one of the first 5 penalties.

[Herman Bloom]

I am disgusted with myself, if that helps any?

[ajw10]

Tbf I can't remember Anelka ever being any good at penalties. He never took any for us, not sure if he did for City or Bolton.

[Ratinho]

Frankly a guy who's such an amazing finisher should be confident enough to slide a low shot past a keeper form 12 yards.

Mind you, any professional footballer should know you'll struggle to open your body up to shoot if you place your standing foot about 8mm form the ball.

Kalou should have been taking one in the first five anyway. His pen was icey.

[Barry Cartman]

Anelka is brilliant at taking penalties, think he had a record of 8/8 for us

[Philip Rolfe]

He scored one against us in Jose's first league defeat.

[Barry Cartman]

First and only league defeat that year

[ajw10]

ah fair enough, memory is a bit hazy.

He should be able to score from there I agree, but I'm guessing I wasn't the only one who thought that he was going to miss.

I still <3 him though.

[Ratinho]

Oh yeah, he looked like he was going to miss at every point. Looked irritated to actually be there when he was strolling up.

[Barry Cartman]

tbf thats how he always looked for us

[deez0r]

I would sell Anelka simply for smiling after missing. He can gtf!

[Poyplemonkeys]

He should be able to score from there I agree, but I'm guessing I wasn't the only one who thought that he was going to miss.

I too knew he would miss. As soon as he wasn't one of the first 5 it was obvious he'd refused to take a penalty and thus if he was going to take one he'd miss.

[Benoit2]

Never been a fan of Anelka, never cared for him joining, wont be disappointed if he leaves this summer. Dont really see the point in having him in the team at his age tbf. Better get someone with a future.

[Ratinho]

Yeah, he's fairly brilliant though tbh. Just not on the left wing.