Poyplemonkeys Posted April 5, 2006 Share Posted April 5, 2006 Wouldn't mind seeing Diarra get a few games against the Readings and Leeds type teams next season. Looks like a more attacking Makelele. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwevi Posted April 8, 2006 Share Posted April 8, 2006 next season do you think jose will sort out the stricker problem i.e buy a world class stricker? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanyi Posted April 8, 2006 Share Posted April 8, 2006 Juni, do you mean you think Grant's not good enough, or he's just not got any chance since Johsay isn't too fond of homegrown young? Every game I've seen Grant in (having watched a couple of reserve matches) he's been pretty damn cool, I'd definitely put him up there with Mancienne, SupaScott and Worley. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanyi Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 Going over Juni's list again, bit worrying that only one of the players mentioned (Mancienne) is a genuine academy player and hasn't been snapped up from elsewhere. State of the game, I s'pose. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamieDay Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 Drogba so brilliant today, him and Sheva would be the greatest partnership ever. So playing two up front the way forward? Or is this just a one off? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Philip Rolfe Posted April 9, 2006 Administrators Share Posted April 9, 2006 Depends on the opponent, I'd still favour 4-5-1 in some instances and 4-4-2 in the other. Drogba must must must must must must must stay and play as often as possible, he's amazing. He's got something going with Hernan too, but who knows if Hernan's staying. Happy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamieDay Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 Just seemed like he completely cut all the crap out today, and concentrated on using his strengths. I hope he's learned a lesson here. He will be the most popular player at the Bridge if he carries on like that Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walrus Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 Much better. Glad I got my £45 Cup Semi Final ticket now! Anyone else going? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamieDay Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 Nah I'm saving for my travels. As much as I'd like to go it's the armchair for me. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Philip Rolfe Posted April 9, 2006 Administrators Share Posted April 9, 2006 Should be going, my brother, as an employee, *should* be guaranteed two tickets given he submitted the correct forms last Sunday, well in advance of tickets going on sale, should be confirmed by Tuesday latest, mon. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walrus Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Juni: Should be going, my brother, as an employee, *should* be guaranteed two tickets given he submitted the correct forms last Sunday, well in advance of tickets going on sale, should be confirmed by Tuesday latest, mon. </div></BLOCKQUOTE> He's an employee? Doing what? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walrus Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Walrus: <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Juni: Should be going, my brother, as an employee, *should* be guaranteed two tickets given he submitted the correct forms last Sunday, well in advance of tickets going on sale, should be confirmed by Tuesday latest, mon. </div></BLOCKQUOTE> He's an employee? Doing what? </div></BLOCKQUOTE> If it's anything with the players I might be asking a favour.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Philip Rolfe Posted April 9, 2006 Administrators Share Posted April 9, 2006 He works in hospitality, but has contacts all over the club really, what do you need? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walrus Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Juni: He works in hospitality, but has contacts all over the club really, what do you need? </div></BLOCKQUOTE> My brother is getting married in July and I'm best man. I want to get some VT of some of the players saying congratulations on your wedding day type stuff. I'm happy to travel up and record it or whatever it's just finding out how to get it done. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dee Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 Juni do you get spare tickets etc from your brother? Because hard to get tickets now over here (Northern Ireland) now that our Chelsea Club isnt running no longer due to prices. If so could be interested in getting some that arent needed for next season possibly :> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walrus Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 Can. Worms. Open. Everywhere? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Philip Rolfe Posted April 10, 2006 Administrators Share Posted April 10, 2006 Time to confuse Magic number is now in single figures at 9. One more point needed to guarantee a top two finish. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> MAGIC NUMBERS 10/04/06 Now 01 Apr Now Will's Harry's Pts Pts Pts Pts control Magic Req'd Left % Req'd Left % factor Number Chelsea 9 15 60% 12 18 67% 1.50 3 Man Utd 23 15 153% 26 18 144% 0.65 3 Liverpool 28 12 233% 31 15 207% 0.43 8 </pre> "Magic Number" is in common parlance in US sports and has been for many years, particularly in Baseball and Hockey and it is accepted to mean the combined number of games won, plus games lost by the challenger, to achieve a championship. Since we count in points rather than games there is a slight difference, but it is semantics. There is one element that "Magic Numbers" do not take into account and that is the relative ease of obtaining the said number, i.e. if our magic number is currently 25, and there were 66 available points to achieve that (33 for us to gain, 33 for Man U to lose) so we would need 25 out 66 - only a 37% success rate. If we were at a Magic Number of 25 and there were only 25 available points on the table then we would be needing an exact sequence of results to win, If that number were to drop below 25 available points then the result is unachievable, therefore we should pay attention to the Magic Number AND the ratio of Magic Number to Available Points as it is an indicator of the difficulty of the task Will's control factor - Another factor we should take into account is he "Control Factor", that is, how much of the required Magic Number total is in control of the team and how much requires assistance from the opposition. For instance, if we require 25 points out of 33 available, we have 100% control, assuming that Man U require 40 points but have only 30 to play for therefore they do not have total control, nor do Liverpool. We can express the factor as the percentage of the "controllable" points required - in Chelsea's case, using this example, we would need 25 of 33 (76%) or to put it another way, we control 33 points and need 25, our control factor would be 33/25 = 1.32 - anything over 1.00 is total control of destiny. "Harry's Magic Number" is the lowest position that the clubs can attain this season. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> Remaining Fixtures ================== Chelsea Man Utd Liverpool Fri 14/4 19:45 (H) Sunderland Sat 15/4 12:45 (A) Bolton Sun 16/4 14:30 (A) Blackburn Mon 17/4 12:45 (A) Tottenham 15:00 (H) Everton Sun 23/4 15:00 (H) Middlesbrough Wed 26/4 19:45 (A) West Ham Sat 29/4 12:30 (H) Man Utd (A) Chelsea 15:00 (H) Aston Villa Tue 2/5 20:00 (A) Blackburn Sun 7/5 15:00 (A) Newcastle (H) Charlton (A) Portsmouth </pre> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walrus Posted April 10, 2006 Share Posted April 10, 2006 Juni, any update if your brother would be able to help my video request at all? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Philip Rolfe Posted April 10, 2006 Administrators Share Posted April 10, 2006 he said he'd ask around Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walrus Posted April 10, 2006 Share Posted April 10, 2006 <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Juni: he said he'd ask around </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Ta. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Philip Rolfe Posted April 13, 2006 Administrators Share Posted April 13, 2006 Got my Semi tickets Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Father Senegal Posted April 13, 2006 Share Posted April 13, 2006 I got mine also Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Ryan King Posted April 13, 2006 Share Posted April 13, 2006 JT Player of the Year, fully deserved imo, although he would've been my second choice to Joey Cole. This Ballack deal looks like it's getting close to being done. It's been announced on the official site, so I'd imagine it'd take something major for it to fall through at this stage. Kenyon confirms Ballack talks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey G Posted April 13, 2006 Share Posted April 13, 2006 JT has had some rubbish form this season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanyi Posted April 13, 2006 Share Posted April 13, 2006 Another overpriced star on his way to block young players' paths through to the first XI and run away if things get rough then. Sigh. I'm surprised no-one at these fan forums has asked how Man Utd manage to keep their ticket prices relatively low (yes, I do know they've just been hiked) yet it's apparently impossible for us to lower them despite having a Russian billionaire in charge, willing to pay Geremi £45,000 a week. Anyway, glad Mourinho's changed his tactics. Was a genuinely exciting and enjoyable game last weekend, I hope Crespo and Drogba are partnered again vs Bolton. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Philip Rolfe Posted April 17, 2006 Administrators Share Posted April 17, 2006 Oh so nearly there now... Ratings today? Cech 6 Geremi 7 Terry 7 Gallas 7 Del Horno 6 Makelele 8 Essien 8 Lampard 8 Robben 6 Drogba 8 Crespo 6 Cudicini 6, Cole 7, SWP 7 Cech's injury was very concerning, something's wrong there, hope it's not serious. Fortunately, he and Carlo had little to do. Essien's getting better by the game, he's become truly dominant these last few games, needs to work on finishing (but WHAT a goal ), but yeah, superb. Didier >>>>>> anyone, actually. Something like 16/17 goals and around 12/13 assists this season, but yeah, let's focus on the diving and the handballs and the whinging Lampard back to his very best today. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaitsev Posted April 17, 2006 Share Posted April 17, 2006 Thought Lampard was anonymous apart from his goal to be honest. Essien's tidy though. As one would expect for 24 million. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason the Yank Posted April 20, 2006 Share Posted April 20, 2006 Info about Bridgeview for any Chelsea supporters thinking about coming over Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Philip Rolfe Posted April 23, 2006 Administrators Share Posted April 23, 2006 I'd love to tbf, but it won't happen. I'll pass it around to those who might though http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/...6/04/24/ixfooty.html spot on for me Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Cartman Posted April 23, 2006 Share Posted April 23, 2006 You've reportedly bidded £1m for Sturridge Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanyi Posted April 23, 2006 Share Posted April 23, 2006 For the Liverpool game, I'd say: Cudicini 5, Geremi 3, Terry 6, Gallas 5, Del Horno 4, Makelele 5, Lampard 4, Paulo Ferreira 5, Essien 4, Crespo 3, Drogba 5. SUBS: J Cole 5, A Robben 7, D Duff 6. Basically sh1te. First time I've seen Gerrard comprehensively outplay Lamps, but why was Essien at the front of the diamond?! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Philip Rolfe Posted April 26, 2006 Administrators Share Posted April 26, 2006 New kit people! Home Away Third Yay, Yay, and Ugh Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
VamPuke Posted April 26, 2006 Share Posted April 26, 2006 <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Eric Cartman: You've reportedly bidded £1m for Sturridge </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Abramovich getting rid of loose change? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Philip Rolfe Posted April 29, 2006 Administrators Share Posted April 29, 2006 CHAMPIONS Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dm_gers Posted April 29, 2006 Share Posted April 29, 2006 Nice one Chelsea , 9 in a row would do me fine Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingcav Posted April 29, 2006 Share Posted April 29, 2006 loving the new kits. I wish I had Mourinho's medal Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanyi Posted April 29, 2006 Share Posted April 29, 2006 The new kits do look fantastic, apart from the third one (Chelsea should never wear stripes IMO, even li'l ones). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nadessico Posted May 1, 2006 Share Posted May 1, 2006 if any of u are still after Jose's medal http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=88...1&fromMakeTrack=true its great what u find on ebay Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flatulant_Fox Posted May 1, 2006 Share Posted May 1, 2006 2 snippets of paper sheeeeite: Gallas shocks Chelsea by declaring he wont sign another contract at the Bridge and will leave. And, MORE proof that Jose is just SO >>*, Mourinho offers Eriksson to not pick Terry (If fit), Fat Frank and Joe Cole to allow them to get extra rest before the WC. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Philip Rolfe Posted May 1, 2006 Administrators Share Posted May 1, 2006 I'd like a Gallas quote tbf Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
FungusMungus Posted May 1, 2006 Share Posted May 1, 2006 <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> Gallas: Time for a change of scenery William Gallas has rocked Chelsea's title celebrations by stating he is interested in a move away from the Premiership. The France international defender has been a big hit at Stamford Bridge since joining the Blues in a £6million deal from Marseille in May 2001. But after winning a second consecutive league crown with Jose Mourinho's men, the 28-year-old feels the time could now be right to leave London. He has only one year left on his current contract and is tempted by the challenge of playing elsewhere in Europe. Gallas said: "I've been here five years and maybe that's enough. "I'm a man who wants to win everything and I want to do that in different countries." Chelsea do not need the money, so will not be forced to sell him before his contract expires unless Mourinho is worried about having a player in the camp who wants out. Gallas, who has made over 200 appearances for the Blues, has been strongly linked with a move to AC Milan in recent weeks. </div></BLOCKQUOTE> :/ Although thats from TeamTalk so no idea how reliable it is. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Philip Rolfe Posted May 1, 2006 Administrators Share Posted May 1, 2006 Not particularly reliable at all because it's out of context and incredibly bad journalism. The original quote was in either a matchday programme or the official Chelsea magazine back maybe as far as January and wasn't to do with Billy leaving now, but at some point, because, as he says, he's ambitious. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanyi Posted May 1, 2006 Share Posted May 1, 2006 <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> Not particularly reliable at all because it's out of context and incredibly bad journalism. The original quote was in either a matchday programme or the official Chelsea magazine back maybe as far as January and wasn't to do with Billy leaving now, but at some point, because, as he says, he's ambitious </div></BLOCKQUOTE> But surely the fact that the quotes are old and he implies he wants to leave 'at some point' means that 'at some point' could have turned into 'now' through the magical passage of time? Hope not, it'd be a blow to lose three central defenders this summer (but it would give a chance to Mancienne, which would be a bonus- that is until we spent £200m on Ledley King and some foreign mercenaries) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonTheGTFCFan Posted May 2, 2006 Share Posted May 2, 2006 Jose also says he thinks Makelele and Essien need to be rested on the OS, so i guess its Diarra, Maniche and Eidur in midfield tonight? No youngsters, as the reserves have announced their side for their game..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamieDay Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 Saturday was so good Rooney though Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Philip Rolfe Posted May 4, 2006 Administrators Share Posted May 4, 2006 Hhaha, I thought I'd spare OTF another G14 thread and leave it here. Rummenigge's thrown his toys out of the pram because Ballack's coming to Chelsea and wants a wage cap, then carries on with: <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> Rummenigge was also speaking as a representative of the G14 group of clubs - of which Chelsea are not a member - and reiterated the stance of the organisation that the self-appointed elite clubs should benefit from perpetual participation in Europe's premier club competition. Though he stopped short of demanding a breakaway closed league, Rummenigge said that since Bayern Munich have "taken part in the Champions League on 12 occasions it is fair that there should be a body where participation is guaranteed [for certain clubs]". </div></BLOCKQUOTE> So he wants the rich to get richer, yet complains when the richest get richer? Legendary. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Philip Rolfe Posted May 7, 2006 Administrators Share Posted May 7, 2006 Eager, smug, and I cba to wait to post it, so here's my thoughts <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> Chelsea 2005/2006 results and fixtures FA Community Shield - Chelsea 2-1 Arsenal 07-08-2005 After a summer of debating whether we needed a new striker, something which was generally felt to be true, Didier Drogba proceeded to destroy Philippe Senderos and score two excellent goals to give us our first silverware of the season. Debutant Asier Del Horno played well too. English Premier - Wigan 0-1 Chelsea 14-08-2005 A slugglish sort of start against an excellent Wigan team who probably should've won it, given they missed a number of chances. Deep into stoppage time, Hernan Crespo buried a missle of a left footed effort from 25 yards out to get the season off to a winning start. English Premier - Chelsea 1-0 Arsenal 21-08-2005 Arsenal so early in the season probably worked in our favour, given they're the sort of team who get better as they go. Scrappy game again, summed up perfectly by Drogba's winner, in off his shin as once again he gave Senderos a hard time. English Premier - Chelsea 4-0 West Brom 24-08-2005 The first real convincing win of the season. Michael Essien made his debut, the team probably should've won by more but some profligate finishing from Drogba meant it was only four, as Frank Lampard got his first of the season. English Premier - Tottenham 0-2 Chelsea 27-08-2005 An early season visit to Three Point Lane didn't disappoint. Asier Del Horno opened the scoring with his first for the club, and then was controversially involved with Mido in an incident which saw the latter sent off. Damien Duff sealed another win over Spurs late on, taking the run to 31 games. English Premier - Chelsea 2-0 Sunderland 10-09-2005 Probably made too hard a game of this in the end, relied a little on a bad mistake from Kelvin Davis allowing Geremi to notch a rare goal. Still to concede. European Cup - Chelsea 1-0 Anderlecht 13-09-2005 First game of the Champions League campaign was most notable for the noise the visiting fans made, best visitors to the Bridge for some years. Lampard's free kick, despite not doing much, was too much for Daniel Zitka and Chelsea took the win. English Premier - Charlton 0-2 Chelsea 17-09-2005 First vs Second in the early season formbook, and as most people had expected, the stronger team prevailed. Crespo scored again, and Arjen Robben grabbed his first with a lovely curling effort. English Premier - Chelsea 2-1 Aston Villa 24-09-2005 Ooh, we conceded. Luke Moore probably didn't receive ten grand from the super soaraway Sun for being the first to beat Petr Cech, but it was a nice goal. Set piece maestro Fat Frank prevailed though, scoring a free kick and a penalty to stay 100%. European Cup - Liverpool 0-0 Chelsea 28-09-2005 First of a back to back against the red mickeys, couldn't have been a more boring game (until the second meeting in the CL), nothing of note at all. English Premier - Liverpool 1-4 Chelsea 02-10-2005 Ah, much better. Didier showing he's immense when he wants to be, had a hand in all four goals, arguably claiming four assists. Lampard, Duff, Cole, and Geremi scored in a comprehensive and very satisfying rout. English Premier - Chelsea 5-1 Bolton 15-10-2005 And so, they appeared to have the taste for goals. With some help, and some tactical brilliance. 0-1 down at the break, Bolton have Gardner sent off, Lampard strokes in the free kick, and grabs a second as Didier also grabs two in Chelsea's biggest win since the same scoreline over the same team two and a half years earlier. European Cup - Chelsea 4-0 Real Betis 19-10-2005 Goals, Goals, Goals. The most prolific run under Mourinho continued as Betis were destroyed. Highlights included a first of the season for Carvalho and a Goal of the Season candidate from Crespo in a move involving Lampard and Shaun Wright-Phillips. English Premier - Everton 1-1 Chelsea 23-10-2005 Naturally, when you're hot, and playing a team very very cold, you mess it up. Wright-Phillips' awful half was topped by conceding a penalty, but Lampard scored again to take a point but drop our first points of the season. Oh, and Del Horno may have foul thrown it to him... English League Cup - Chelsea 1-1 Charlton 26-10-2005 Oh Huthy. Huthy, Huthy, Huthy. Not only did his poor header allow Darren Bent in for the Charlton goal, but he missed the decisive penalty to see our elimination and no Quadruple this season. JT grabbed his first. English Premier - Chelsea 4-2 Blackburn 29-10-2005 Hmm, we started to concede. Bellamy caused problems, scoring twice, but then so did Lampard. He's a bit good. European Cup - Real Betis 1-0 Chelsea 01-11-2005 Played a bit of a backup team and regretted it by losing to a solitary Dani effort. Wayne Bridge played his first game in nine months, and I missed the game since I was at some vodka bar somewhere... English Premier - Man Utd 1-0 Chelsea 06-11-2005 Not the nicest of days. Outplayed, outworked, and beaten by a bleedin' Darren Fletcher header. Ah well, gotta lose sometime. English Premier - Chelsea 3-0 Newcastle 19-11-2005 However, gotta win sometime too, and Newcastle just don't win down here. Scott Parker made Joe Cole spin in the air a bit, but Coley scored, so he wins. European Cup - Anderlecht 0-2 Chelsea 23-11-2005 This comfortable win saw qualification achieved, but of more note were the two spectacular finishes. Crespo's lovely lovely volley is in my top five of the season for Chelsea, and I thought he'd volleyed the second too. Only it was Carvalho. Go figure. English Premier - Portsmouth 0-2 Chelsea 26-11-2005 Another of those nothingy games where we're expected to win, and we did. Lampard scored again. English Premier - Chelsea 1-0 Middlesbro 03-12-2005 I think Carlo started this game, I forget, but it wasn't memorable, JT scored his first of two winners. European Cup - Chelsea 0-0 Liverpool 06-12-2005 Less memorable than Boro, meant we weren't gonna win the group. I started to get a bit arrogant about beating Barcelona, given it was an inevitable draw. English Premier - Chelsea 1-0 Wigan 10-12-2005 See: Middlesbrough. Carlo definitely played this one, JT scored his second of two winners. I seem to remember both being identical headers at the Matthew Harding Stand end. English Premier - Arsenal 0-2 Chelsea 18-12-2005 Ownage complete. Three wins over Arsenal in our season, usually our tally for a decade. Wingers Robben and Cole scored the goals in a fairly straightforward win. English Premier - Chelsea 3-2 Fulham 26-12-2005 A tense one, given Fulham played very well, and had a penalty but should've had another and a red card for Joe Cole, but still. Gallas grabbed his customary goal against Fulham before Crespo volleyed home a pretty pretty winner. English Premier - Man City 0-1 Chelsea 28-12-2005 The site of defeat. Only Joe Cole decided he wanted to win, so he scored, and did. Yay. English Premier - Chelsea 2-0 Birmingham 31-12-2005 In truth, it should've been upwards of 8-0. Crespo just refused to score. I think he did get one, as did Robben. English Premier - West Ham 1-3 Chelsea 02-01-2006 After a run of really questionable performances, this was proper Chelsea. Lampard scored again, silencing the pikey boys with a nice volley. Crespo came on, scored, and arrogantly went back off, business done. A fantastic third came from a beauty of a ball from Eidur, dispatched perfectly by Drogba. Blow your bubbles up your arse. English FA Cup - Chelsea 2-1 Huddersfield 07-01-2006 Stuck out some squad players, struggled, allowed Eidur to win it. Lassana Diarra made an impressive debut, winning man of the match and lots of acclaim. English Premier - Sunderland 1-2 Chelsea 15-01-2006 Again, we made it hard for ourselves. Going 1-0 down allowed people time to laugh before Crespo scored, then Robben won it, and got sent off for celebrating by Chris Foy, who we'll visit again later. English Premier - Chelsea 1-1 Charlton 22-01-2006 Charlton appear to be a bit of a bogey team for us. It all seemed fairly comfortable until Carvalho got himself sent off and Marcus Bent scored on what I think was his debut. English FA Cup - Everton 1-1 Chelsea 28-01-2006 Shaky form watch: Increasing. Lampard scored again. He needed to really, to get us out of a hole. English Premier - Aston Villa 1-1 Chelsea 01-02-2006 Ah, we never win at Villa Park. Should've lost really, but scraped another point. English Premier - Chelsea 2-0 Liverpool 05-02-2006 So, off the back of three 1-1 draws the red mickeys get a bit giddy (wtfz). Put to the sword as Gallas scored a clone of his Fulham goal (nice scouting) and Crespo scored a lovely effort. Reina was sent off for hacking/raping Eidur and then punching Robben in the face. Poor sod was knocked over. English FA Cup - Chelsea 4-1 Everton 08-02-2006 Blue mickeys turn. Midweek FA Cup tie, a bit subdued, Everton on their 45th goalie of the year, fairly comfy win, JT volleyed in a stunner. English Premier - Middlesbro 3-0 Chelsea 11-02-2006 Shocking. English FA Cup - Chelsea 3-1 Colchester 19-02-2006 Outplayed for ages, went behind. But hey, I called it, and I called the correct score. Ferreira scored his first in over five years, and Joe Cole won it. European Cup - Chelsea 1-2 Barcelona 22-02-2006 We didn't play that badly. Del Boy getting sent off didn't help, controversial but hey. We even took the lead. Just we then conceded two. Shame. English Premier - Chelsea 2-0 Portsmouth 25-02-2006 Two Eidur assists, two goals, game, set, match. English Premier - West Brom 1-2 Chelsea 04-03-2006 Another controversial one (shock). Robson nearly had a heart attack he was so incensed, JM told him to calm down. Players came back late from half time, Drogba fell over, Robben got sent off again. But Drogba and Cole scored, and we won. Time to start thinking of when we'll lift the title. 8 wins or something. European Cup - Barcelona 1-1 Chelsea 07-03-2006 The Champions League/Treble dream over again, Barcelona sneaking through despite an onslaught of Chelsea pressure. Oh. English Premier - Chelsea 2-1 Tottenham 11-03-2006 16 years. 32 games. 21 wins. 11 draws. 0 losses. Thanks Spurs. Essien got his first, Gallas scored a stunner at the last to erupt the place. English Premier - Fulham 1-0 Chelsea 19-03-2006 A controversial little game this one. Fulham denied a penalty, but scored, much to the surprise of even themselves. Mourinho makes two subs after 26 mins. Chelsea have 16 corners, hit the post, force two wonder saves from Crossley, and have a Drogba effort disallowed for japes. Billy got sent off for stamping on Helguson's leg. Small timers come on to taunt the Chelsea fans and get a bit scared when there's the idea of retaliation. Moral Brigade out in force, nothing really happened. English FA Cup - Chelsea 1-0 Newcastle 22-03-2006 Bye Bye Shearer. Or something less polite. JT scored. SWP dived, allegedly. English Premier - Chelsea 2-0 Man City 25-03-2006 MORE controversy. Didier handles and scores his second after a stunning first. He then falls over a bit and gets booed by some fans. Morons really. English Premier - Birmingham 0-0 Chelsea 01-04-2006 Man Utd fans start to get a wee bit giddy as we fail to beat this shower. Twice goals were disallowed, justly, and we were never in it. English Premier - Chelsea 4-1 West Ham 09-04-2006 Blow your bubbles up your arse - Part II. Chris Foy was back, and he sent off Maniche. Didn't really matter, Drogba and Makelele played the best games they've ever played and a dominant 4-1 win saw JT and Gallas score again. Oh, this one was sweet. English Premier - Bolton 0-2 Chelsea 15-04-2006 Man Utd holding Sunderland to a 0-0 draw a few hours before meant that a win here would end any giddy hopes of a blue slip-up. JT scored again. Lampard scored again, and then pointed to the exact spot he celebrated the title win last season. Magic number down to 4. English Premier - Chelsea 3-0 Everton 17-04-2006 Magic number down to 1. Spurs being Spurs meant we didn't seal it here, but it was a nice, warm Easter Monday afternoon with some lovely football and goals for Lampard (again), Drogba (again), and, erm, Essien. His was nicest. English FA Cup - Chelsea 1-2 Liverpool 22-04-2006 Gutted. Fantastic day out all told, but the performance was shocking, save for a tense last 20 mins as the team threw everything at Liverpool. Oh Joey, you could've been the biggest hero. English Premier - Chelsea 3-0 Man Utd 29-04-2006 Truly glorious, cutting open our nearest challengers at will, exposing their weaknesses time and again. Joe Cole's goal, on most other days, would've been revered for some time. Unfortunately Ricardo Carvalho went marauding and topped it in hilarious fashion. Magic number achived, CHAMPIONS. English Premier - Blackburn 1-0 Chelsea 02-05-2006 Wait, what, we lost?! Apparently we should've had three penalties but I didn't see it, same reason as Betis away... English Premier - Newcastle 1-0 Chelsea 07-05-2006 A very meh game, two goals disallowed, an interesting formation, Carlo suffered a broken ankle but Lenny played well and Jimmy Smith made a first team debut. </div></BLOCKQUOTE> <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> 1 Petr Cech By his standards this season wasn’t as good as his debut campaign in English football. Whilst he’s not been accountable for any more high profile errors than he was last year (ie a couple), he’s not made as many match winning saves and hasn’t had that wow factor he did twelve months ago. Still, he’s been amongst the very best goalkeepers in Europe and to overlook the authority and confidence and generally high level of consistency he gives this team is foolhardy and I’d rather have him than not. Turns 23 this summer, best years are most certainly ahead of him. 7 23 Carlo Cudicini Carlo’s had a few appearances this season, mainly in the Cups but also a handful of league appearances and still looks as assured and capable as ever. It’s a shame he’ll end another season without a medal after Cup elimination took away his final chance, but he serves a pretty big role at this club as a sort of mentor to Cech. It’s a big reason he’s stayed and been satisfied to be backup – I believe he sees it as a new challenge and that as Cech gets better, Carlo’s job is being done. A massive shame he suffered a bad injury at Newcastle, hopefully he’ll recover soundly. 6 40 Lenny Pidgeley One appearance, to close out the season away at Newcastle after Carlo broke his ankle in warmup. 20 Paulo Ferreira Paulo’s certainly had a better second season in English football. At times last season he looked shaky going forward and quiet and withdrawn on the pitch. As this season has gone along, he’s appeared to grow into this team and give some really authoritative and confident performances. A spell in January and February really saw himself assert his influence over the game and was rewarded with a very, very rare goal. Shows nice versatility by filling in at left back and occasionally on the right of the midfield, to….interesting effect. 8 2 Glen Johnson Oh dear Glen. It’s not been a particularly good time for him here really. Injuries set him back, and once fit, he decided to take his rage out on a wall, breaking his hand and keeping him out again. Forgetting his passport for the Barcelona trip probably put the final nail in his coffin. On the plus side, his performances when he’s played haven’t been bad at all, and he’s really liked by some of the players (JT included) but I don’t think Mourinho has the patience to persist with him after three seasons at the club now. He’ll be sold. 5 13 William Gallas Earlier this season I read an article which described Gallas as “one of a few players who are both jack and master of all their tradesâ€. It summed up my thoughts on him pretty well. He’s a fantastic defender in any position across the back and has very few noticeable weaknesses. Another fantastic season saw him play at left back too often, but he’s been that good there that it wasn’t always noticeable, Chipped in with more than his share of goals, including an absolute pearler at home to Spurs. Contract issues and unhappiness with left back have niggled at an otherwise fantastic season, and his recent run at centre back should ensure he stays. 9 6 Ricardo Carvalho It’s not been a particularly good year for Ricky. He’s played often and generally OK, but he’s not been as solid as you’d like. He has a habit of getting very tight to players and conceding needless free kicks which have come back to haunt us, Also has a knack of breaking up field and leaving gaping holes when his limitations are exposed. On the good side, he scored a stunner at Anderlecht, which brought some smiles. Rumours of a summer sale to a Spanish team are likely accurate, and whilst he won’t be missed greatly, we can appreciate the role he’s played in two title wins. 6 26 John Terry The King. This season hasn’t been as dominant as last season but it’s been pretty damn good. He bleeds Chelsea, he desperately wants to get his hands on as much silverware as he can, and there are very few better captains in the game. I’ll get the negatives out of the way early – he’s been exposed this season when diving in and leaving himself glaringly out of position, and has perhaps been shown up for pace a couple of times. But there’s so many more positives. People see him as a rough and tough defender than a finesse one but there are very few defenders better at passing over assorted distances, or at running out of defence with the ball. In front of goal, he’s fantastic, adding more goals to his CV this year, including two cracking volleys. The best centre half in the country has got better, but because it’s not to the level it was last season, it’s not been noticed. 9 29 Robert Huth Very much a season of two halves for Huth. The cult figure amongst fans had a shocking few games around October, and it appeared he was off in January. However, when he got a second run in the team he was a new player, showing patience, good distribution, a calmness and a maturity, perhaps with an eye on the World Cup. Whether he stays or not is up in the air but it’s been a decent year all told. 7 3 Asier Del Horno Del’s taken some justifiable sick this season but he’s also not been credited for some of his good play. Positionally he leaves much to be desired and he seems shy and a lack of confidence. However, his crossing has been good, has an eye for goal, and has a good linkup with Terry and Makelele, making a useful triangle in that area of the field. If he can stay, and I think he will, he’ll grow into the role as time goes on, by erasing some of the nuances in his game. 6 5 Michael Essien Michael arrived with a fair bit of pressure on him, what with a £24m price tag on his head. As the season’s progressed two things have happened – people have labelled him dirty and such stuff through two bad tackles, and they’ve failed to see how good he’s been a lot of the time. He was signed to serve the role between Maka and Lamps and really, he’s done it fantastically. Sure, people may look at his two goals and suggest he might score more, and but for some bad finishing he may have had some, but he’s playing an altogether different role than he was at Lyon, but hasn’t lost anything from his all round game. He’s been an integral part of the title winning side and his presence in the Barcelona tie would’ve made an immense impact for us. More of the same next year please. 8 4 Claude Makelele Approaching 34 he might be but Maka is still the very best at what he does. He’s sublimely in control of everything he does, he very very very very very rarely gives the ball away with a pass, and when he plays well, Chelsea win. Which means he’s had a lot of good performances this season, topped by an immaculate performance at home to West Ham. Points of note will include the occasional bad performance, uncoincidentally in games we’ve lost, and his age will be in Mourinho’s mind as he attempts to figure out what to do with a midfield full of quality next season. Maka, based on this season, should be a massive part of any plans. 9 8 Frank Lampard It’s very easy (and slightly tempting) to say Frank’s suffered a drop off from last season, and in some ways it’s true, but he’s still been the premier midfielder in the country this season, in goals, assists, and generally all-round play. From August through to December there wasn’t anyone better really, his scoring record is scary. Yes, he suffered a quiet spell early in the new year but was doing a lot of stuff he doesn’t usually do, and it was at a time the team as a whole weren’t playing well. Basically if Frank turns in seasons like this year after year nobody can complain. 9 7 Maniche Suffered a little from his reputation preceding him, but didn’t really play badly. He just didn’t play well, and we got a whole lot of nothingness. Won’t return, but it was a nice idea. 5 14 Ndjitap Geremi Another season where Geremi’s had to fight for appearances, he’s done quite well. Given a short run at the start of the season, he chipped in with a couple of goals, including the crowning glory at Anfield, then sat out again and went to Africa. Came back and was given a spell at right back where he was very impressive, showing more attacking poise and will than Ferreira perhaps ever has. Was shown up in an unimpressive Cup Semi but once again, hard to blame him when Ferreira was selected ahead of him in midfield, messing up the entire right side. If he wants to stay, I’d have no qualms. 7 19 Lassana Diarra Lots are expected from Lassana and his early progress suggests the expectation levels are warranted. Very assured reserve performances saw a first team opportunity given in the FA Cup, where his first start was so good he was voted man of the match by numerous sources. A selection of league appearances and the occasional champions league outing will add to his development as he’ll slowly move into Makelele’s spot some years from now. And, he’s a nice lad. 7 11 Damien Duff Basically Djibril Cisse’s beaten someone more recently than Damien. I’m not entirely sure whether it’s an injury/confidence issue or something else but Duff has had a really poor season and a generally off 18 months. He’s not scoring, he’s not making goals for people, he doesn’t beat players like he used to, he always seems to be on the periphery of a game and it’s worrying because he’s such a good player when on form. If he wants out, there’s no shortage of suitors, but I’d much prefer to try and solve the problem and end up with the Duffer we know exists. 5 10 Joe Cole Arguably our player of the season. In the last year to eighteen months Mourinho’s harnessed Joe’s talent fantastically, to the extent that he’s regularly the most dangerous player on the pitch. We now have a more mature Joe, an ambitious player ready to take the weight of the team and expectation and produce every time he goes out to play. He still has his natural flair and tendency to try the tricks and whatnot but his ratio of play to end product is now very very high. Rounded out the season with a title-clinching goal of the season contender at home to Manchester United and has carried his club form over to England, where he should thrive in his first real crack at the World Cup. 9 16 Arjen Robben A weird season for Arjen, he seemed to stagnate a little after an impressive few spells last season. Perhaps the rumours of discontent with Mourinho were true, perhaps something else was up, but he wasn’t on his game until December/January time, when we finally saw the real Robben come to the fore in games he took on and dominated. A little concerning is his disciplinary record, two red cards this season cost us his services for prolonged spells, the Sunderland red was debatable but the WBA one was shocking and poor form. It’s a big summer for Robben. A strong world cup would cement his place amongst the premier wingers in football, and will stand him in good stead for next season. 7 24 Shaun Wright-Phillips It’s all too easy to say he’s not been given a chance. He’s appeared in nearly the exact number of matches Duff, Robben, and Cole have, averaging around 55 minutes per appearance. The problem Shaun’s had is that he’s simply not played well enough. For every time he takes on a defender and gets his speed and dribbling going, he’ll lose the ball at the end of it. A lack of real product and confidence in his own game is the real answer as to why he was one of the few squad players to not register a goal this season, and a lack of assists alongside unconvincing performances is why he’s not been a real regular in the side. Maybe slightly unfortunate that Joe Cole has had such a season in his position, or that he’s had to learn how to play the right side of a three in a new formation, it’s not been SWP’s year at all. Ian Wright needs to shut up though. 5 15 Didier Drogba An absolute star. It’s been one heck of a controversial season for Didier, as the usual accusations of diving, cheating, and unsporting behaviour once again surfaced, at times with good reason. Yet with all that, I’d take Didier in my team ten times out of ten. Once again he’s topped 15 goals in all competitions and perhaps more impressively (not to mention under the radar) he has 20+ assists across the board. Chelsea would be a far poorer team without him, and for all the moments his own fans may feel frustration with inept finishing, whinging, playacting, they should (and do) appreciate his magnificent work ethic, his regular appeal to the fans to be loud, his selflessness, and his team contribution. West Ham at home was the most fantastic display of forward play I’ve seen for many a season, and long may it continue. Fantastic. 9 22 Eidur Gudjohnsen It finally appears as if time is up for Eidur. His play hasn’t been bad at all, he’s still quite comfortable in midfield, and on the rare occasion he plays up front he’s a threat. The problem really stands in the knowledge Ballack will arrive, and will shove Gudjohnsen out of the first team reckoning. As much as I and many a fan love him, he does have deficiencies in his game, perhaps no more than other Chelsea players, but if he’s a jack of many trades but yet really to master any, it might be time to let him move on and progress as he wishes. A fantastic servant to the club and a completely top guy, he’s played well this season, but little more. 7 9 Hernan Crespo A pretty top season from a pretty top player all told. His scoring record is great, but consider what it’d be if he wasn’t so profligate in front of goal. Still, he’s been responsible for some of this season’s most fantastic goals and moments. A short list would include his missile winner at Wigan, his exquisite volley at Anderlecht, his dramatic winner at home to Fulham, his goal at home to Liverpool, and his header at home to Betis. Just a fantastic player who at times has appeared to finally be at home in London, yet reports are building that he still harbours a move away. If he does leave, we’ve got enough fine memories from this season to wish him off with. 8 12 Carlton Cole Did little of note, will leave this summer. Chelsea Team of the Season Petr Cech Paulo Ferreira John Terry Ricardo Carvalho William Gallas Claude Makelele Michael Essien Frank Lampard Joe Cole Hernan Crespo Didier Drogba Reserve and Youth A fairly impressive season from both. The reserve team is generally an extension of the youth team as a lot of the players who turn out regularly are young enough to still play in the youth team (and occasionally still do). Adrian Pettigrew and Michael Mancienne have been standouts in defence and Jimmy Smith has led from the front well. The youth team have been far more impressive. A team with maybe 90% of the players being first-years, at the time of writing are top of their league and still stand a chance of winning the title. Scott Sinclair has had a fantastic first year, Dean Furman has been solid, Jack Cork has emerged as a real leader and Ryan Bertrand has progressed nicely. Of course, it’s too soon to suggest any of them making the first team squad any time soon but there’s certainly hope in abundance. Next Season Where to begin? The silly season will now start and will roll on for the next three months. The three in/three out thing isn’t really accurate, certain reports suggest five in, but there’s no real rule on it. The likes of Gallas, Carvalho, Del Horno, Maniche, Gudjohnsen, Robben, Duff, Crespo could all leave, whilst the in list most seriously contains the names of Ballack, Tevez, Shevchenko, Taiwo, Farfan, and maybe some others. The team needs strengthening in some areas, mainly centre back depth, a starting left back, a fresh winger, and another striker, and we’ll likely address these. It’ll be fun. </div></BLOCKQUOTE> I still think that's shorter than last season Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
McMaster#28 Posted May 7, 2006 Share Posted May 7, 2006 Nice to see Smith get some action today. I hoped Mancienne would too. And I REALLY wanted to see Sinclair at least on the bench Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Philip Rolfe Posted May 7, 2006 Administrators Share Posted May 7, 2006 In short, unrelated to much news, Marcel Desailly has announced his retirement. Thanks Marcel, utter legend Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanyi Posted May 7, 2006 Share Posted May 7, 2006 Juni, how did Pidgeley play today? I'm going to watch MoTD, but you don't really get a sense of a full performance from highlights. Like you said, great to see two youngsters get some action today, it goes a small way towards calming my huge issue with Mourinho that he's basically going to buy to fill in holes, rather than 'risk' giving young players a chance. Your player ratings were pretty accurate, but the ones I'd change would be: Glen Johnson- 6/7. Like Carlton Cole, he's hardly been given a chance and it's obvious Mourinho doesn't like him. His performances have deserved better, he's great going forward and if he got the same treatment as Joey Cole (and curbed his arrogant streak), he could be great one day. Not at Chelsea though, sadly. Robert Huth- 5. I haven't seen him play a single game to justify his reputation, that LC match vs Charlton was absolutely appalling. I hope he leaves this close season. Del Horno- 5. Again, bit rubbish. Started well but he's got an astonishing lack of composure and he's destined to leave or play second fiddle to Taye Taiwo next season. Maniche- 3. He's fat and he's useless. Hitting Jokanovich levels of dreadful. Eidur Gudjohnsen- 5. He's not comfortable in midfield and still inconsistent. As you said, jack of all trades. He's a nice enough player, but not one good enough to be in the Champions' team. I'd also say Essien wasn't quite worth an '8', but that's nitpicking. It'll be intruiging to see who comes and goes this season, maybe we should do a 'Guess Chelsea's 2006/2007 squad' thread. Or just do it in here. I'll get me coat. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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