Chelsea
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TNP mentioned 2 things about chelsea which i fully agree.
firstly they dont have a creative midfielder.
lampard packs a powerful shot but is not a good midfielder. -
ya they don't have playmaker..lampard is a good MC but not a good AM..Originally posted by dragg:TNP mentioned 2 things about chelsea which i fully agree.
firstly they dont have a creative midfielder.
lampard packs a powerful shot but is not a good midfielder.
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Barcelona have again been linked with a move for Frank Lampard with a member of their social commission claiming that the Chelsea midfielder could be the club's next signing.
The Catalans' admiration for the England star, who came second behind Ronaldinho in the recent Ballon d'Or award, first came to light last month when Barca's director of sport Tkixi Beguiristain allegedly told the English press that the club would jump at the chance to sign midfielder.
Beguiristain subsequently denied making the comments, but the rumours are refusing to go away and another Barca employee has now fanned the flames further.
Jordi Orriols, a member of the Spanish champions' ruling body, insists Barca's renaissance in recent times has made them an attractive proposition to every player on the planet and believes Lampard is a realistic target.
Asked who would be Barca's next major signing by Peruvian website El Bocon, he replied: "Frank Lampard. Now all the stars want to come to Barca and we have the luxury of being able to choose.
"Lampard is one of the best and it would not be strange to see him at the Camp Nou."
Orriols also took a swipe at Barca's traditional rivals Real Madrid, and david Beckham in particular, claiming Real's obsession with signing 'galactico' stars had seen them fall behind over the past couple of seasons.
"In the last two years we have overtaken them because our model is more about sport than marketing," he continued.
"At Real Madrid image is more important and it creates more publicity when a player is going out with a singer.
"With us, by contrast, when we sign a player we spend a whole week with him and check up on who his friends and family are." -
another 1-0 win for chelsea against wigan.
4-5-1 again, sianzzzz. -
3-2 win against fulham.
again crespo's superb strike saved the day. -
SWP is really overrated.
such a waste of money. -
another 1 nil win for chelsea.
unbelievably risky. -
chelsea signs maniche on loan from dynamo moscow.
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another 2-0 win to chelsea.
3 points in the bag. -
chelsea 3 - 1 west ham.
another 3 points.
crespo is really good. his substitution changed the complexion of the game.
SWP is really a flop. he tries very hard to impress. dribble and shoot but obviously he is going nowhere. -
Gallas is asking for 70k pounds a week.
i wonder if chelsea is really selling him to juventus.
i hope not. gallas is a great player.
anyway if he is really leaving newcastle should sign him. -
chelsea only managed a 2 - 1 win over huddersfield.
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poor finishing again..whats with swp,i know not much playing time,but seeing his finishing really makes me wana strangle him..
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wayne bridge is asking to leave chelsea. i wonder why gudjohnsen chose to stay?
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he is starting to play now..Originally posted by dragg:wayne bridge is asking to leave chelsea. i wonder why gudjohnsen chose to stay? -
he is just speedy.Originally posted by stellazio:poor finishing again..whats with swp,i know not much playing time,but seeing his finishing really makes me wana strangle him.. -
joe cole was beaten up and had to climb out of a window to escape.
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Where did this happen? Was Cole out clubbing and who else was with him?Originally posted by dragg:joe cole was beaten up and had to climb out of a window to escape. -
extracted from soccernet.
Updated: Jan. 13, 2006
Chelsea shock on the cards, warns McCarthy
Mick McCarthy believes rock-bottom Sunderland are capable of producing the shock of the season by beating Premiership leaders Chelsea at the Stadium of Light on Sunday.
The Black Cats may be hopelessly adrift of their relegation rivals but there is no question of McCarthy giving up the fight until it is mathematical impossible to beat the drop.
His side have won only one league game all season - the derby at Middlesbrough three months ago - and current form suggests that elusive first home win is not close.
'Results have not backed up the performances we have produced over the last few games,' said McCarthy. 'Performances have been good and the attitude has been excellent and if we work as hard as we have done, it might be us who beats Chelsea.
'At some stage Chelsea will lose. It might be us, it might not, but it won't be for the want of trying. When we won promotion at the end of last season and the fixtures came out, this is the sort of fixture we talked about.
'This is why we were so excited about the Premiership. That hasn't changed. We were on a hiding to nothing last week when we played Northwich Victoria in the FA Cup when we couldn't win anything except the game, which we did.
'We did our job but this weekend is somewhat different. Last week there were 97 places between us and Northwich, this week there are 19 places between us and Chelsea, but it was a good feeling to win.
'It's amazing what a win does. It lifts the place no matter who the opposition is. We have a good home record against Chelsea but it's this year that matters.'
McCarthy accepts there is also a massive gap between the clubs in the transfer market and while there appears to be no end to Chelsea's spending spree, he has to make do with scrapping around for loan deals and bargain buys.
'There is no question in terms of the resources they have but what is great about my set of lads is every week what ever the opposition they have a go. Like last week against Northwich Victoria they approached the game in the same way.
'We are having a look around to see what business we can do but nothing is happening. We will just try to move things along.'
McCarthy meanwhile has welcomed the impending appointment of Steve Staunton to succeed Brian Kerr as manager of the Republic of Ireland and the supporting role of Sir Bobby Robson.
Staunton was one of the senior players to back McCarthy in the infamous bust-up with Roy Keane prior to the 2002 World Cup finals in South Korea and Japan and should benefit from Robson's wealth of experience.
'I am delighted for `Stan' (Steve Staunton),' he said. 'I don't know where the contact between Bobby and he came from but Bobby has been a fantastic manager and I am sure `Stan' will benefit from that.
'Steve brings all the things to the table that Irish fans and players will appreciate. He knows the system inside out and what it will take to get the Irish team going again to get results.
'What Steve lacks a bit in management then I am sure he has got the perfect man to help him. I hope it works for them because I like them both personally.' -
another 3 points.
robben was sent off for a 2nd bookable offence - for jumping over the fence in celebration.
what a silly ruling!!! -
finally the special one made a mistake.
he subsituted duff and del herno with the ineffective maniche and SWP.
SWP should leave chelsea. he is a lousy player. -
Keep him there lah since you said he is lousyOriginally posted by dragg:finally the special one made a mistake.
he subsituted duff and del herno with the ineffective maniche and SWP.
SWP should leave chelsea. he is a lousy player.
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and he is a right back.
what a joke?
british referees are lousy. they keep flagging offside when unsure. it has happened too many times already.
benefit of the doubt should be given to the attacking team when in doubt. -
extracted from socccernet.
Updated: Jan. 23, 2006
Unflappable Mourinho unmoved by United victory
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has told Manchester United their win over Liverpool is nothing to get excited about.
Following Rio Ferdinand's late winner at Old Trafford, Sir Alex Ferguson's side were able to gain ground on the Premiership champions, who were held 1-1 at home by Charlton earlier in the day.
But given that Chelsea remain 14 points clear with 15 games remaining, Mourinho felt he could still put United in their place with a few choice words.
He said: 'I am happy with the team and I am happy with our situation. The result of the game between Manchester United and Liverpool, if you go to speak with the winners they will be very happy after the game.
'But if you ask the winners in the middle of their happiness if they want to change position with Chelsea they will lose their happiness immediately.
'When they think how far ahead we are they will lose their smiles.'
Chelsea had looked on course to maintain their 100 per cent record in Premiership fixtures at Stamford Bridge this season when Eidur Gudjohnsen put them ahead in the 18th minute.
But Alan Curbishley's side had already enjoyed a previous visit to the ground, coming away with a Carling Cup penalty shoot-out victory in October.
They prospered again when substitute Marcus Bent, making his debut since a switch from Everton last week, headed an equaliser just before the hour mark.
The late sending off of Ricardo Carvalho for two bookable offences meant Chelsea finished with 10 men for the second game running following Arjen Robben's goal-celebration dismissal at Sunderland last week.
But Mourinho insisted: 'We are a clean team. We played one-and-a-half years without one single red card. The team has a lot of discipline and clean players.'
Charlton had gone on to lose six successive games after the earlier cup success before steadying themselves around Christmas, so Curbishley remained cautious.
He said: 'I can't forget the run we had - it was painful - but a result like this goes a long way towards getting us back on track, although only time will tell.
'Once we had played Chelsea in the League Cup the one thing we lost was that Charlton work ethic. We had it leading up to the cup game and after it just disappeared.
'I had to turn it around, people who had been out of the side came in and we instilled some work-rate again.'
The result took Charlton up to 11th place, level on 29 points with West Ham and Everton. -
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Updated: Jan. 26, 2006
Mourinho full of respect for Wenger
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho insists he has the utmost respect for Arsene Wenger and hopes he can maintain an amicable relationship with the Arsenal boss.
The pair have a well-documented rivalry with Mourinho last year labelling the Frenchman as a 'voyeur' obsessed with Chelsea.
He later admitted he regretted the remarks and now Wenger has accepted an apology he intends to avoid further problems in the future.
The Portuguese told BBC Radio Five Live: 'We have had these problems in the press - I think he is guilty and I am guilty.
'Because he is guilty and I am guilty and because we have enough intelligence to understand that we are both involved in the problems we have I think in the end we respect each other.
'Of course I think he is one of the best managers in the game and I hope we don't have problems again in the future, but if we have we must have the personal respect that now and again we look like losing.'
Mourinho also believes foreign managers such as he and Wenger do not get the respect they deserve in English football.
He feels people who question why top coaching jobs should go to foreigners overlook his and Wenger's achievements abroad.
Mourinho, who won the Champions League with Porto in 2004, said: 'I often read - and it makes me laugh a lot - managers saying, `Why are they there and not me?'
'I think it's a lack of respect. People have to respect what we did before.
'Why did Wenger arrive at Arsenal? Because he had great results before. Why did Mourinho arrive at Chelsea? Because he had great results.'
Mourinho famously called himself the 'special one' when he was appointed Chelsea manager but claims he would not have needed to had he been give due credit for Porto's success under him.
He added: 'If I had come to my first press conference in England and people had treated me like a European champion - which I had become two or three days before - I wouldn't have needed to say such a strong couple of words.
'I needed to show people I'm different, I'm not afraid, I'm confident, I can say things with a big percentage of risk.'
Mourinho led Chelsea to the Premiership title last season, their first league success for 50 years, and they are odds on to repeat the feat this year.
Their biggest disappointment of Mourinho's first season in charge was defeat in the semi-finals of the Champions League but he firmly believes the club will win that competition soon.
He said: 'Champions League is a competition everyone likes to win and enjoy. If you don't do it you don't do it but I believe one day we will do it.'
Mourinho says 'he couldn't be happier' at Chelsea and plans 'to stay in English football for a long time' but admits he would one day be tempted by the chance to manage Portugal.
He said: 'Yes I would like to manage Portugal to finish my career. I don't know, 60 years old, something like that.
'I want to have the chance. I was never an international as a player and to manage my country in a competition would be a special feeling.'