Chelsea Fc Thread

[Sarge]

[Seapok]

If it is true, get him out in January, I would love to have Adriano instead!

Scolari unaware of Drogba talks

Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari admits he cannot rule out the possibility that Didier Drogba has met with Inter Milan officials.

Reports have suggested that former Blues boss Jose Mourinho, now in charge at Inter, is keen to take the Ivorian hit-man to Italy.

The Portuguese coach has been quick to dispel those suggestions, but the speculation refuses to go away.

Allegations have surfaced claiming Drogba recently held talks with Inter's sporting director Marco Branca, as well as Mourinho's agent Jorge Mendes.

Scolari will not have welcomed the unsettling news ahead of crunch contests with Bordeaux, in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday, and Arsenal, in the Premier League on Sunday, and was clearly ruffled when pressed on the matter.

"I do not sleep with him (Drogba)," said Scolari.

"Where he was last night? I don't know. I am not a policeman for my players.

"Ask Peter Kenyon (chief executive), ask Roman Abramovich, I don't know, I am only the coach."

[Thairab]

^^ Adriano for Drogba

Top switch

[Seapok]

^^ Adriano for Drogba

Top switch

I hear ya mate, I think Drogba has seen his best days now, still a great striker on his day but all the diving and moaning is wearing very thin with us blue boys. Adriano is only 26 and will be coming into his peak, his goal tally per game is excellent, something like 30 goals in 50 appearances for Brazil which is no easy feat. I just hope Mourinho will let him go in January.

[Sarge]

'pokey, sorry to burst your bubble but Adriano is a flawed character, good player no doubt but he's been in trouble for as long as I can remember. Spend more time in discos drinking than on the pitch training. He's been sent to Brazil for a few month rehabilitation programme but now he's in the doghouse with Mourinho again. Yes, he may be younger than Drogba, but if the switch is made, Chelsea will be the loser.

[MSingh]

'pokey, sorry to burst your bubble but Adriano is a flawed character, good player no doubt but he's been in trouble for as long as I can remember. Spend more time in discos drinking than on the pitch training. He's been sent to Brazil for a few month rehabilitation programme but now he's in the doghouse with Mourinho again. Yes, he may be younger than Drogba, but if the switch is made, Chelsea will be the loser.

I have to agree however if any 2 people could get the best out of those 2 Players, it's Mourinho with Drogba & Scolari with Adriano..

No dount though that for all his plus points, Adriano does have quite a lot of non Footballing related Baggage & the demon temptations of London Town maybe a little too much for him..

[Seapok]

'pokey, sorry to burst your bubble but Adriano is a flawed character, good player no doubt but he's been in trouble for as long as I can remember. Spend more time in discos drinking than on the pitch training. He's been sent to Brazil for a few month rehabilitation programme but now he's in the doghouse with Mourinho again. Yes, he may be younger than Drogba, but if the switch is made, Chelsea will be the loser.

I have to agree however if any 2 people could get the best out of those 2 Players, it's Mourinho with Drogba & Scolari with Adriano..

No dount though that for all his plus points, Adriano does have quite a lot of non Footballing related Baggage & the demon temptations of London Town maybe a little too much for him..

I'm sure as you say Big Phil could get the best out of him, Robinho is supposed to be a party boy but he is doing ok for City, I would chance it and if things didn't work get rid of in the summer...its only money at the end of the day!

[bkkjames]

Great photo!

[MSingh]

I have to agree however if any 2 people could get the best out of those 2 Players, it's Mourinho with Drogba & Scolari with Adriano..

No dount though that for all his plus points, Adriano does have quite a lot of non Footballing related Baggage & the demon temptations of London Town maybe a little too much for him..

I'm sure as you say Big Phil could get the best out of him, Robinho is supposed to be a party boy but he is doing ok for City, I would chance it and if things didn't work get rid of in the summer...its only money at the end of the day!

Robinho's a Party Virgin if the reports i've read about Adriano are to be believed..

[Seapok]

Credit where credit is due, they were the better team on the night and if we took all 3 points it would of been an injustice!

Bordeaux 1-1 Chelsea

Chelsea suffered a torrid night and slipped to second in Champions League Group A as they were held by Bordeaux and had Frank Lampard sent off.

Petr Cech made excellent early saves from Fernando, Mathieu Chalme and Yoann Gourcuff as Chelsea struggled.

The visitors continued to misfire until Lampard put Nicolas Anelka clean through to score with a low finish.

An unmarked Alou Diarra headed in from a corner to equalise before Lampard was dismissed for two bookable offences.

With Roma's victory over Cluj, the Italians moved a point clear of Chelsea, who must now beat Cluj in their final group match to be sure of reaching the knockout stages.

It is a scenario that Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari would not have envisaged before the match, but one which looked increasingly likely as the evening wore on.

With Deco suspended, Chelsea brought Michael Ballack into the starting line-up - their only change from the weekend.

And it was soon clear that the visitors would miss Deco's creativity as they struggled to get any kind of foothold on the game.

By contrast, Bordeaux's start to the match was far from sluggish and they tested Chelsea keeper Cech with a range of efforts.

Cech had to be at full stretch to turn Fernando's drive around the post.

The Czech stopper also had to be alert to beat away a stinging effort from Chalme and another from Gourcuff as Chelsea gave their hosts too much time and space.

Chelsea managed only to trouble the referee, who booked John Terry, Lampard and Ashley Cole in the first half.

Those cautions seemed at odds with Chelsea's attitude as they actually looked far from being up for the fight.

Long balls up to an isolated Anelka brought no joy, and Ballack looked short of fitness in a midfield that was misfiring.

Bordeaux must have sensed there was an opportunity for them to beat an English team for the first time and put themselves in a strong position to qualify from the group.

Yet for all Chelsea's lack of urgency up front they remained solid at the back and the hosts could not penetrate to create any real chances.

Instead it was Chelsea who took the lead - from out of nothing - when Lampard split the defence and Anelka raced through, dummied his shot twice and then slid in a low shot.

That proved to be the last contribution from Anelka as he was substituted and Didier Drogba came on to assume the lone striker role.

As the game went through a lull, with neither side looking dangerous, it seemed Chelsea would get away with a below-par display and nick the win that would see them progress.

But they left Diarra completely free at a corner and he made no mistake with his header, directing it in off the near post.

Worse was to come for Chelsea as Lampard was given his marching orders for a clumsy challenge on Fernando.

Bordeaux: Valverde, Chalme, Planus, Diawara, Jurietti, Menegazzo, Diarra, Gourcuff, Gouffran (Cavenaghi 67), Wendell (Obertan 75), Chamakh.

Subs Not Used: Olimpa, Bellion, Placente, Traore, Tremoulinas.

Booked: Gourcuff, Jurietti, Chamakh.

Goals: Diarra 83.

Chelsea: Cech, Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Terry, Ashley Cole, Mikel, Joe Cole (Ferreira 85), Ballack, Lampard, Malouda, Anelka (Drogba 63).

Subs Not Used: Cudicini, Bridge, Kalou, Alex, Stoch.

Sent Off: Lampard (86).

Booked: Terry, Lampard, Ashley Cole, Joe Cole.

Goals: Anelka 60.

Att: 34,307

Ref: Frank De Bleeckere (Belgium).

[Seapok]

Ballack hungry for derby win

Michael Ballack is hoping Chelsea can deal Arsenal's title hopes another blow in Sunday's derby at Stamford Bridge.

Arsenal head to West London on the back of three defeats in four Premier League games which have left them 10 points behind Chelsea.

The current leaders are also looking for a fillip at the weekend after being held 0-0 at home by Newcastle United last week and drawing 1-1 at Bordeaux in the UEFA Champions League.

Ballack, who started against Bordeaux for the first time since undergoing foot surgery, is eager to ensure Chelsea pick up the three points on Sunday, live on Sky Sports 1.

And the experienced German midfielder has suggested that defeat for Arsenal would all-but end their interest in this season's title race.

"We are on top of the League and they are 10 points behind us and need to win," Ballack told the Evening Standard.

"At the moment they are not the strongest team because they have other problems now.

"It is our intention to beat them. A 13-point gap is a lot and we hope we can do this. It will be hard for them.

"Everyone at Chelsea is very focused on this title because we want to have it back at Stamford Bridge. Everybody is hungry and you can feel it in training."

[Sarge]

Roma 9

Chelsea 8

Bordeaux 7

CFR Cluj 4

yeah Brighi brace sends Roma TOP!

[Seapok]

Roma 9

Chelsea 8

Bordeaux 7

CFR Cluj 4

yeah Brighi brace sends Roma TOP!

Hopefully your boys will beat Bordeaux in a couple of weeks and make it easier for us to go through if we don't manage a win against Cluj...I thought you was a QPR fan anyway? I haven't seen any Roma threads? maybe you should set one up?

[Sarge]

I'm a lifelong Roma supporter, a Romanista to the core. I've already posted my sentiments in this thread on page 45 - post 1786. Having said that I like all London teams but def not Arsenal. I liked Chelsea in the past, towards the end of Ken Bates area, a strong Italian influence. The first London team I ever watched play live were Spurs at White Hart Lane, early eighties players like Glenn Hoddle, Steve Archibald, Garth Crooks et al ... I guess, I still have a soft spot for them. Roma thread? not sure, I can't see many Roma fans here. I'll be talking to myself

[richmond]

Think our midfield will be too strong for them tonight, we have to press high up the pitch and allow Fabregas little or no time on the ball. Assuming that our defence stays focused (unlike against Bordeaux at the end) we should be able to keep their forwards at bay, and we definitely have enough quality going forward to get a goal or two. Prediction 2-0

[Seapok]

Chelsea v Arsenal

Chelsea's Didier Drogba is banned and Joe Cole could miss out after suffering an ankle injury against Bordeaux.

Juliano Belletti (ankle), Michael Essien (knee), Ricardo Carvalho (knee) and Franco di Santo (hamstring) are out but Alex (groin) has been passed fit.

Arsenal expect to have Emmanuel Adebayor, Bacary Sagna (both ankle) and Samir Nasri (knee) available.

Abou Diaby (abdominal strain) is out, as are Kolo Toure (calf), Theo Walcott (shoulder) and Emmanuel Eboue (knee).

Chelsea (from): Cech, Cudicini, Hilario, Bosingwa, Ferreira, Alex, Terry, Ivanovic, Bridge, A Cole, Lampard, Deco, Ballack, Obi, Kalou, Malouda, Anelka, Sinclair, Stoch, J Cole.

Arsenal (from): Almunia, Sagna, Silvestre, Gallas, Clichy, Nasri, Denilson, Fabregas, Vela, van Persie, Adebayor, Fabianski, Song, Djourou, Ramsey, Bendtner, Gibbs, Hoyte, Wilshere.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger:

"We are written off. You cannot say when you are 10 points behind that we are favourites to win the championship, but you can say as well the only way we can get back into it is to believe we can.

"That is why we want to go into this game on Sunday by believing we can beat them because we know we can. That is all you want your players to do."

BIG-MATCH FACTS

The 143rd London league derby between Chelsea and Arsenal brings together two clubs who have won the Premier League title five times between them, but Chelsea's pair were subsequent to Arsenal's three. Indeed the Stamford Bridge club have not finished outside of the top two in five seasons, while the Gunners have not finished inside the top two in three years.

The Blues go into this match unbeaten in five and top of the table, some 10 points ahead of Arsenal, who've failed to win four of the last five and are scrapping to retain their top four status.

Arsenal sailed into the last 16 of the Champions League this week; stuttering Chelsea are yet to do so. They are two of the top three highest scorers in the Premier League. The Blues are chasing a fourth home win of this top-flight campaign, the Gunners a fourth away maximum.

Arsenal cross the capital in danger of suffering three successive league losses for the first time in 59 Premier League outings, since tumbling to Everton (a), Liverpool (a) and West Ham (h), between 18 March and 7 April 2007.

Chelsea complete their home fixtures against fellow 'Big Four' clubs, having already lost to Liverpool and been held by Manchester United at the Bridge. Arsenal have met one fellow 'Big Four' club so far; beating Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal have won one of the last 12 meetings with Chelsea in all competitions.

Chelsea have lost more games (15), conceded more goals (47) and dropped more points (67) to Arsenal, than to any other club in the Premier League.

CLUB FORM

CHELSEA

1. The joint most winning team with the strongest attack and tightest defence in the Premier League. More details

2. Pocketed 13 points out of 15 without conceding a single goal.

3. Lost one of 14 Premier League games under Filipe Luiz Scolari.

4. Lost one of the last 89 home Premier League matches.

5. Not conceded in five Premier League matches, or in 530 minutes (eight hours 50 minutes). Xabi Alonso's winner for Liverpool was the only goal shipped in seven Premier League outings.

6. Kept clean sheets in 14 of the last 21 Premier League games, and conceded just one goal in each of the other seven.

7. The only professional team in England not to have conceded a goal in the second-half of a league game this season.

8. On the longest current run in the Premier League of 22 matches, since conceding more than a single goal in a game; the 4-4 draw with Spurs at White Hart Lane on 19 March being the most recent occasion.

9. Own the best Premier League record in 2008; won 23, drawn eight and lost one, bagging 77 points from 32 games.

10. The only loss in 18 Premier League matches against London clubs was 1-0 against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on 16 December 2007.

ARSENAL

1. Lost the last two Premier League games against Aston Villa (h) and Manchester City (a).

2. Already lost five times in this Premier League campaign - two more than they did in the whole of last season.

3. Not scored in two games or 222 minutes (three hours 42 minutes) of Premier League football since Samir Nasri netted his second in the 2-1 home win over Manchester United on 8 November.

4. Failed to score in two matches in the whole of the 2007-08 season; already missed the target in three games this term.

5. Last failed to score in three successive Premier League games in December 2005, when losing to Bolton (a), Newcastle (a) and Chelsea (h).

6. Scored five times in stoppage time in this top-flight campaign.

7. Won eight of their last 11 Premier League London derbies.

8. Won one of the last four Premier League games against fellow clubs from the capital.

9. Won two of the last nine league games against fellow 'Big Four' clubs.

KEY PLAYER NOTES

CHELSEA

Kose BOSINGWA, Frank LAMPARD and John TERRY are the only remaining players to have started all of Chelsea's Premier League matches this season.

Nicolas ANELKA has scored eight goals in his last five Premier League appearances.

ANELKA is the top-scoring Premier League player with 14 club goals in all competitions, and is leading in the race for the Barclays Golden Boot with 12 Premier League goals.

ANELKA needs a double to total 100 Premier League goals (Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City, Bolton and Chelsea).

If selected:-

ANELKA will be facing a former club. The 29 year old France international striker made 90 appearances (65 in the league) and scored 28 goals (23 league) for Arsenal between March 1997 and August 1999.

John Obi MIKEL will be making his 100th appearance in Chelsea colours.

Paulo FERREIRA will be making his 150th appearance for the Blues.

ALEX will be making his 50th appearance for the Stamford Bridge club.

Ashley COLE will be facing the club where he started his professional career. The 27 year old England international was a trainee with Arsenal, making 228 appearances (156 in the league) and scoring nine goals (eight league) before his move across the capital in August 2006.

ARSENAL

Manuel ALMUNIA and Gael CLICHY are the only remaining players to have started all of Arsenal's Premier League matches this season.

If selected:-

Cesc FABREGAS will be making his 150th Premier League appearance - all for the Gunners.

Kolo TOURE will be making his 300th appearance in Arsenal colours.

If on the field from the outset:-

Manu EBOUE and Robin VAN PERSIE will be making their 100th starts for Arsene Wenger's club.

HEAD TO HEAD

Chelsea have won two of their last three home Premier League meetings with Arsenal, having failed to do so in any of the previous nine.

Until Liverpool broke their 86-match unbeaten home league record last month, Arsenal had been the last team to beat the Blues in a domestic game at the Bridge; 2-1 on 21 February 2004.

There have been 39 bookings in the last seven league and cup meetings between these clubs, excluding four red cards.

In 29 meetings in all competitions since 1998 there has been just one goalless draw; that being at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League on 20 April 2005.

This fixture produced Chelsea's record attendance of 82,905 on 12 October 1935.

Home and away

League (inc PL): Chelsea 40 wins, Arsenal 58, Draws 44

Prem: Chelsea 6 wins, Arsenal 15, Draws 11

at Chelsea only

League (inc PL): Chelsea 23 wins, Arsenal 23, Draws 25

Prem: Chelsea 5 wins, Arsenal 5, Draws 6

LAST SEASON'S CORRESPONDING GAME

Chelsea 2-1 Arsenal

23 March 2008 - Ref: Mark Clattenburg

Chelsea scorers: Drogba 73, 82

Arsenal scorer: Sagna 59

REFEREE

Mike Dean (Wirral)

[MiG16]

[Seapok]

Mig it was just one of those days! (I'm trying extremely hard to conceal my anger!!!)

[MiG16]

I didnt say nuffin

<insert angelic smile here >

else Id get warnings from JS

[bkkjames]

I didnt say nuffin

<insert angelic smile here >

else Id get warnings from JS

Is JS a Blues fan? If so, that explains it. Now I think we all agree its "Hammer Time" tonight.

[MiG16]

no

Im just not suppose to come in and you know.... on other club threads

but as said above, Ive said nuffin

[mrtoad]

[MSingh]

I agree with Scolari, they made a mistake & that Goal shouldn't have stood..

Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari has demanded an apology from the match officials over Robin van Persie's first goal in the 2-1 defeat by Arsenal.

The Dutch striker's first of two goals appeared to be offside but the goal was allowed to stand by referee Mike Dean.

Scolari said: "I want only after tomorrow that he (Dean) looks at the TV and the referee and the linesman see they are wrong and they say sorry.

"That is all I want, no more, because they were not good and made a mistake."

Television replays appeared to show Van Persie in an offside position after Denilson had played him in on the edge of the penalty area. However, Van Persie drilled his effort past Petr Cech, before grabbing the Gunners' winner three minutes later with a neat, low finish on the turn.

[Sarge]

yeah, I feel for Scolari .... losing at home against Arsenal and (pompous git) Wenger is just as bad as to losing to Liverpool. The first gooners goal was a clear offside. Chelsea didn't deserve to lose.

[maccastime]

I didnt say nuffin

<insert angelic smile here >

else Id get warnings from JS

Is JS a Blues fan? If so, that explains it. Now I think we all agree its "Hammer Time" tonight.

[maccastime]

Hammers would need to start an hour early to beat liverpool,u r dreamin.

[maccastime]

yeah, I feel for Scolari .... losing at home against Arsenal and (pompous git) Wenger is just as bad as to losing to Liverpool. The first gooners goal was a clear offside. Chelsea didn't deserve to lose.

[Seapok]

A little bit offside? that must the understatement of the year so far!!

Robin accepts goal was offside

Arsenal striker Robin van Persie has conceded he was 'a little bit offside' for his equaliser at Chelsea on Sunday.

The Dutchman strayed into an offside position before scoring the first of two goals in a vital turnaround against the Blues.

Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari has hit out at the misjudgement by the linesman and called for referee Mike Dean to apologise.

Van Persie, though, has pointed to a clash between the two London clubs when he had a seemingly onside goal ruled out.

He said in the Evening Standard: "I scored a goal against Chelsea (in a 2-0 home defeat in December 2005). I was onside, but the ref gave it offside and it didn't count.

"This time was maybe a little bit offside, but it counted and that's all that matters."

Meanwhile, Van Persie's strike partner, Emmanuel Adebayor, has hailed the importance of the scalp that hauled them to within seven points of the leaders.

The Togo forward said: "It is a very big win because we went through a lot of difficult moments and people wrote us off in the Premier League. Now this is a message that we have sent out.

"We believe in ourselves, we can do something. Forget about what happened - we are always together. We always believed we can do something and these are the kind of results we can show again.

"Now everyone can see we have kept our title dreams alive and the more important thing now is to keep going."

[bkkjames]

Hammers would need to start an hour early to beat liverpool,u r dreamin.

I am sorry, did you say something?

[MSingh]

Hammers would need to start an hour early to beat liverpool,u r dreamin.

I am sorry, did you say something?

I agree with him though unfortunately James, we could have played against only Reina & probably still wouldn't have scored with our Carlton up front...

Edited December 3, 2008 by MSingh