Rock and Roll Football

Wilma Finstone

2012-01-18T09:46:00.001Z

Man City 1 -0 Chelsea

2010-09-26T20:48:00.003+01:00

After 5 straight league wins on the spin, the first real test of the 2010/11 season was always going to come at Eastlands. After the exit from the Carling cup, albeit with the kids and reserves on show, it was going to be interesting to see how the Blues responded and sadly it was with an away defeat.

Carlo put out a full strength line up with only Lamps missing through injury but despite two pretty much nailed on penalty claims, the reality was that, in a tense and tactical encounter, City came out on top thanks to a single moment of magic from Tevez the Troll.

The 'in game' tweets went like this

After giving the kids & reserves a run out (& breaking a few of 'em) in the Carling Cup, its back 2 the serious stuff with a trip 2 Man City

It's pretty much a full strength blues line up with only Lamps still missing. City have started brightly but the opening 15mins is goalless

Nic's had a sloppy start giving up too much possession but on 27mins Bran hits the bar from our 1st corner - Hart saves the 2nd attempt

This game needs some pace to liven things up & it comes in the final 10mins but fails to deliver a goal. The half ends 0-0

No changes at half time & more of the same until 12mins. Ramires looses possession from a corner & the Troll scores from a quick break 1-0

Chelsea have to press now & gaps are opening up - Zirkov replaces Jedi so no holding man & Sturridge surprisingly replaces the Drog

Young Josh McEachran is on 4 the last 10mins but the blues are just huffing & puffing with no penetration & City see this out 4 a big win.

So the first big test of the season leaves us coming up short and now we have to get up for Marseilles in the CL group stages and the small matter of Arsenal at home on Sunday. More work to do Carlo

Come on you Blues !!

Wigan 0 - 6 Chelsea

2010-08-22T15:42:00.001+01:00

Another emphatic scoreline though the first half performance didn't give much indication of it. Indeed, Wigan gave a good account of themselves and had the best two chances of the opening exchanges before Ash broke down the left on 34mins and found Lamps in the box. His shot was parried by Kirkland but Malouda was on hand to tap in from close range.

Within 3mins of the restart, the Jedi fights free of some tough challenges and finds Nic with a superb ball - Nic shoots across Kirkland and its 0-2. Another quick break, this time from a Cech clearance and Malouda crosses for the Drog who guides the ball back to Nic for his 2nd and our 3rd. That would have been game over in the Jose years but not for this Chelsea. Ferrieia is replaced bt Bran and Kalou comes on for Malouda on 73mins and promptly scores from a sweet Drogba pass. More changes and Yossi is on for Ess and in the 89th min, Ash and the Drog combine nicely on the left and when the cross comes in, Kalou is on hand to head home for 0-5. Into the last minute and the Drog, who has been brilliantly unselfish today, switches the ball from left to right and as the ball is crossed in, Yossi is on hand to score his first Chelsea goal and our 6th on the day.

Yet another drubbing six goal drubbing - COME ON YOU BLUES

BBC report is here

Chelsea 6 - 0 WBA

2010-08-14T21:09:00.001+01:00

After a less than impressive pre-season and a world cup that's best forgotten, the Blues got back to business with a 17:30 home game against newly promoted West Brom. Though the Ramieresfinally gone through on Friday, the lad was not paraded in front of his new fans before kick off. Thankfully the side saw the return of Cech and Alex to shore up the back and the Drog to lead the line however the accident prone Ferreria was preferred at right back to Iva.

Before the game, Carlo had come out and said we weren't interested in Luiz as we had JT, Alex Iva and young Bruma. Its a shame no one had mentioned that Iva was our cover at right back for Paulo and so we genuinely do look light at the back. Still it didn't seem to matter today as normal maxi goal service was resumed.

Here are the in game tweets that came live from the Brigdge earlier today.

Off to our opening game of the season at home to WBA. Hoping to put a miserable pre season behind us with a convincing win. Come on U Blues !!
5mins gone and the keeper spills a free kick from the Drog - Malouda is on hand to tap home and its 1-0

We've taken the foot off the gas & WBA are playing some tidy stuff. Lamps plays Malouda in on 36mins then drills a free kick at the keeper.

Albion are playing some neat football with a few chances but a Drogba special goes thru the wall on 44mins to make it 2-0 at half time

An Albion free kick grazes the bar on 52mins but we go straight up the other end where JT connects with a corner & the Drog prods home. 3-0

Its smooth, smooth Chelsea now - Anelka to Cole to Lamps and its 4-0. That's why we're champions. Yossi is on to give Lamps a rest.

Drogba cuts inside on the edge of the box, let's flys & a cruel deflection makes it 5-0 on 68mins. He too is given a rest an on comes Kalou

Pre-season?? Wot pre-season?? Normal service is resumed as a sweeping move ends with Malouda tapping home a 6th. It ends Chelsea 6 - 0 WBA

It wont be this easy every week and we looked a lot better with Iva at right back but hopefully we'll see a few more signings before the window closes

COME ON U BLUES !!

Terence Trent D'Arby - wonderfull world

2010-06-15T15:59:00.002+01:00

Hadn't seen this for ages
Mad as a box of frogs but what a voice (and some neat guitar to boot) ....
Enjoy

FA Cup Final - Chelsea 1 - 0 Pompey

2010-05-17T14:00:00.006+01:00

Have you ever seen the Blues win a double - I have !!!!

A great day at Wembley if a somewhat bizzar game of football - The Blues should have been 5 up by half time yet 2 missed penalties made it a nail biting affair.

In the opening 45mins, Lamps hit the post, Kalou hit the bar (from 5 yards out - possibly the worse miss ever at Wembley), JT headed against the post and the Drog hit the bar with a rocket that James just got his hand to. Add to that another Drogba effort that scraped the outside of the post and you can understand why at half time we were starting to worry. All this and Cech still had to make a fine save from Piquionne on 22mins but the half amazingly ended all square.

The second half started in a more balanced vein and within 10mins we could and should have been behind. Belletti brought down Dindane in the box but thankfully Boetang decided to pass the ball tamely at Cechs feet for an easy save. Within 5mins we were ahead as the Drog buried a a trademark dipping free-kick beautifully past the despairing James. It should have been all over in the 88th min when Lamps was bundled over in the box but amazingly he scuffed his penanlty chance. It mattered not a jot as 5 nervy minutes later the singing and dancing began.

BTW, in case you missed it, mines a double !!!!

COME ON U BLUES

Chelsea 8 - 0 Wigan

2010-05-09T19:00:00.002+01:00

It had to be done in style and it was !!!

Only one tweet possible today ....

"Championez, championez, ole ole ole !! 103 goals scored, four wins of 7 goals or more & the golden boot to Drogba - championez !!!"

..... now off to wembley with thoughs of a double

Come on U Blues !!!!

Liverpool 0 - 2 Chelsea

2010-05-02T16:17:00.002+01:00

A trip to Anfield is never easy and this one was made that much harder by the thought that victory today would put us one step closer a momentous premier league title and keep us on course for a historic double. Carlo tinkered only as needed with JT returning to the heart of the defence and Bran moving to his more familiar right back role.

The nail biting in game teweets went like this

The TV's on Sky, the volume is up and the bum is squeaking. Come on U Blues !!

Its a bright opening 15mins but Drogba spends too much of it off getting treatment. Kalou is doing his usual tripping & tumbling routine

The Blues look very tense. Best chance goes to Aquilani as Maxi sets him free in the box on 28mins but he bottles it and Bran covers

Disaster for Liverpool as Gerrard back passes to the Drog who rounds Reina to make it 0-1on 33mins completely against the run of play

Lamps runs in unchallenged on 36mins but drives just wide & then does the same 2mins later to release Nic but his effort is blocked.

Babel replaces Maxi & there are cards for Malouda & Ballack. Wiley ignores a big pen shout on 45mins as Lucas brings down Kalou. Still 0-1

No changes at 1/2 time. Kalou skips into the box on 50mins out foxing Mascherano but his goal line cross misses out everyone

Malouda flicks a ball out to Nic on 53mins and this time his cross is slid home by Lamps. Its 2-0 and the travelling Blues start to sing !!

Alex puts in a great last ditch challenge on Babel on 59min. At 0-2 we still don't look comfortable. Both Nic & Malouda test Reina on 66mins

JT gives away a handball on 73mins but it comes to nowt. Into the last 10mins & a laboured counter attack sees Reina save from Nic & Kalou

5mins to go & its ole passing that precedes Zhirkov replacing Kalou. Cech makes his 1st save in stoppage time (says it all) & it ends 0-2. Over to u Fergie

Thoughts turn now to the Stadium of light for the visit of Man U to Sunderland. The need a win as a draw would leave only mathematics of overhauling a 10 goal difference

Come on U Blues !!!

Beyond Oblivion - beyond the download ?

2010-04-29T09:40:00.005+01:00

I sadly missed a tweet (or trick yesterday) on another interesting twist in the whole music download saga. Indeed, if you were preocupied with the Spotify announcement which was big news in itself, this may well have passed you by.

So, if you also missed it, News Corp has made an interesting, if surprising, investment in a digital music start-up company whose stated aim is " shifting the burden for paying for music to device manufacturers and broadband providers, giving consumers free, legal access to an unlimited number of tracks."

Let the cheering commence amongst all digital downloaders - but hang on, this must live in the land of 'too good to be true' right - whats the catch

Well, according to Beyond Oblivion's founder Adam Kidron, there isn't one. Content is essentially 'licensed' to devices and services from which unlimited access is provided thus making the actual cost "pretty much invisible to the customer". Beyond claim this approach will will stimulate the device sales and they will also tier their charges based on the device and market types (presumably a smartphone is cheaper than a PC and South America is cheaper than Europe). The Beyond system can also create protected versions of any file already on a customers device and in a surprising statement "essentially legalise pirated tracks wit the rights owners". “There is no illegal music in the Beyond world because we pay royalties no matter what its source,” Mr Kidron said.

Beyond will pay monthly royalties from its licence revenue based on the number of times tracks have been played with guaranteed minimums for the record companies and maximum caps to avoid unexpected usage spikes.

Beyond told the Financial Times they "expected to pay out well over $100m in royalties to music companies within five years, but believed it was ultimately possible, via its potential agreements with device manufacturers and the music industry, to add $10bn or more to last year’s global digital music revenues of $3.7bn."

So this is kinda like pay per use but not quite .... frankly it all sounds a bit confusing and I'm never entirely convinced by claims to make price "virtually invisible" but its clearly a market move to keep an eye on.

What d'ya think ?

Chelsea 7 - 0 Stoke

2010-04-25T18:15:00.004+01:00

A crunch home game against Stoke, following a disappointing defeat to Spurs, would normally be a banana skin for the Chelsea of old but not today as the mighty Blues ran in 7 goals for the 3rd time this season to go emphatically back to the top of the league.

Having seen Man U turn over Spurs the previous day, the pressure was on but it didn't show as the Blues played with great tempo from the start and bludgeoned Stoke with a text book lesson in attacking football. No doubt some nit pickers will claim that Kalou's second goal was two footed and should not have stood but that would really be harsh. The questions were asked and the Blues answered them with a hat trick from Kalou, two goals from Lamps and one each for Malouda and Sturridge (his first premiership goal)

The 'in game' tweets went like this

When was the last time a home game with Stoke prompted such nerves? Ash is back, Bran replaces JT, Ballack holds & Kalou joins the front 3
Stoke start with 4 centre backs as their back 4 - this will be tough. Lamps drives on 11mins & the block falls to Ash whose shot is parried
Bennett waves away a stong penalty shout & 2 blatant free kicks on the edge of the box. Drogba has a gr8 header saved by Sorensen on 20mins

Its all Chelsea but some nervy finishing is the problem tho on 23mins the Drog controls with a back heel & crosses for Kalou to head home

Anelka's crossfield pass finds Drogba on 30mins & he flicks 1st time 2 Lamps whose drive is parried by Sorensen but Kalou follows in for 2-0

Ballacks having one of his better games in the holding role. Huth hauls Kalou down in the box on 43mins & Lamps slots home the pen for 3-0

No change @ 1/2time. Kalou & Cole wriggle into the box on 55 & 57mins to no effect. Kalou whips in a cross on 62min but it misses Drog & Nic

Kalou beats the offside from a Lamps thru ball on 68min & takes two attempts to get his hat trick - his reward to to be replaced by Joe Cole

Joe Cole crosses on 72min but Malouda misses from 1yrd out, Ballack blasts over 4mins l8r and Malouda misses again from a sweeping counter

Hutchinson & Sturridge replace Paulo & Nic on 80mins. Joe Cole finds Lamps with a great cross & he side foots home 4 his 20th of the season ..ed. It was actually Hutchinsons cross !!

Sturridge is played in by Drogba on 87mins & he rounds the keeper for our 6th. Malouda makes it 7 from a beautiful first time Joe Cole cross 2mins later

Now comes the small matter of a trip to Anfield next week. A win is essential (unless ManU drop points at Sunderland please g-d) and you'd like to think that Rafa's boys would fancy taking things a bit easy to not give ManU the upper hand again. Well ..... you'd like to think that but back in the real world ........

Spurs 2 - 1 Chelsea

2010-04-19T18:31:00.001+01:00

This was the first of the more difficult games in our run in and inevitably it ended in a defeat that actually could have been much heavier. To say the Blues didn't turn up (which we didn't) would be harsh on a Spurs side who were at it from the off. They were hungrier, quicker and should have put the game out of sight at the start of the second half when leading 2-0, Defoe was clean through and missed - shades of a certain FA Cup quarter final.

Tweeting this shambles was difficult but here you go

After ManU's injury time escape earlier today thoughts turn to WHL. Deco, Malouda and Cole all start. Ash makes the bench

Spurs start brightly using plenty of width to stretch the play. Malouda draws a good save from Gomez on 6mins but Spurs are on top.

Spurs have a pen shout waved away on 13mins but get one for a JT hand ball a minute later. Defoe makes it 1-0 and its a huge goal to concede

Replays show the JTs handball as a bit suss but the Blues were too deep & got punished. Pav' draws a great save from Cech on 24mins.

Bentley misses a sitter on 30mins. Mikel is struggling so Ballack's on & Deco holds. Malouda rolls Dawson to net on 38mins but its offside

Too many Blue passes getting blocked thru the middle & we're caught by a quick counter on 43mins as Bale skins Ferreira to drive past Cech.

Carlo makes a double sub at half time with Nic & Bran on for Ferreira and Cole. All subs used but Drogba is hurt in warm up - wot now !!

Defoe breaks clean thru on 48mins 1on1 with Cech who makes a gr8 save. This is really ragged. JTs booked on 60min & then sent off 2mins l8r

The title charge is unravelling. Bently trys a wonder chip on 74min but Cech tips over. Bran drives just over on 77min but its all Spurs

Cech saves from Bale on 81mins & Dawson makes a gr8 block on Drogba a min l8r. Bale & Pav miss 2 more easy chances as we go into injury time

5mins of injury time & Lamps connects with a cross from Bran for 2-1. Alex misses a header, the Spurs fans panic but its too little too late

To equalise would have been a travesty. we were well beaten and now have to face an inevitably bruising encounter with Stoke at home without JT.

Chelsea 1 - 0 Bolton

2010-04-13T22:20:00.004+01:00

It was always going to be tough to play a Tuesday fixture following a hard fought FA cup semi final victory and anyone who thought Bolton were likely to just turn up and roll over were living in 'cloud fergie land'.

Carlo rang the changes starting with Anelka and Drogba at the expense of Malouda and Cole. Ballack (fast picking up the new mantle of Captain Slow) replaced Deco but these changes only served to break up the fluent and flowing Chelsea of late. Build up play was laboured and the lack of pace combined with a resilient and tough tackling Bolton side made for a nervy game that was settled by a solitary goal from Anelka. Only Zhirkov, playing his best game for the Blues, and with stitches in a head wound following a bad clash in the fist half, offered any real pace or gile. Indeed, it was only once Cole and Malouda had been introduced late in the second half that we looked like the Chelsea of recent games.

Still, in the end its all about the points at the business end of the season and the result leaves us 4 points clear with 4 games to go

The nervous 'in game tweets' went like this

Home to Bolton and a chance to open a 4pt gap. Nic & the Drog up top, Cole and Deco are rested so in come Kalou and Mr Slow (Ballack)

Early chances go to the Blues but JT picks up a knock on 10mins & is struggling. Another 10mins gone and Zhirkov is felled with a head wound

A Drogba freekick is parried by Jaaskelainen but bounces wide off Kalou on 25mins. With 3mins to go he turns provider for Nic to heads home

More tempo needed in the 2nd half & perhaps an 'appearance' from the invisible Ballack - we get neither as Kalou squanders 2 good chances

With 15mins gone there's a bit more zip. Zhirkov (our best player by a mile) has a shot well saved on 64mins. Malouda replaces Nic on 66mins

15mins to go & Bolton are still in this so Cole in on for Kalou. Lamps hits the post 2mins later. Coyle throws on 2 strikers for the last 10

There's 4mins of nervy fergie time as Zhirkov finds Cole but he cant convert. The Blues see it out to go 4points clear with 4 games to go.

Man U 1 - 2 Chelsea

2010-04-03T16:31:00.003+01:00

A massive game that was overshadowed by the injury to Wayne Rooney (which was certainly over hyped by the media) ended in a well deserved victory for the Blues. Carlo took a, some might say, huge gamble by leaving out Diddier Drogba and sticking with the side that thumped Villa 7-1 but in reality he could do little else after such a result.

There will also inevitably be lots of talk about refereeing decisions and the "offside goal" from the Drog to make it 0-2 but few can argue that in the first half Chelsea were far the better side. Man U came out frighting in the second half but never really troubled Cech and the Blues ran out deserved winners.

The frantic 'in game' tweets went like this

Its a lively start from both sides - Park is like a man possessed closing down everywhere. Wot odds on a dodgy Mike Dean penalty decision?

Chelsea have settled the better and it shows on 20mins as Malouda bursts into the box and his cross is back heeled home by Joe Cole for 0-1

Mike Dean has a look as Park goes down in the box but his hands stay down. Neville then similarly bundles over Anelka so that's one each

Chelsea have dropped the tempo & Man U are getting more possession. JT clatters Berbatov in the last min of the half but it comes to nothing

United start the 2nd half brightly but the 1st chance goes to the Blues as Ferreira scuffs a 1 on 1 with VdS. Its all Man U since then

Berbatov heads wide on 60 & 67mins as pressure mounts on the Blues so the Drog replaces Anelka on 70min. Nani & Macheda on 4 Park & Scholes

Kalou replaces Cole on 72min as the Blues freshen it up. Its a gr8 change as Kalou finds Drogba on 78mins who lashes home. it looked offside

Hang on 10mins 2 go & the other subs Nani & Macheda combine to bundle home a Man U response. Ballack comes on for Deco to face the onslaught

My bum is squeaking - this is tense stuff. We're into 4mins of Fergie time as Berbatov scuffs a volley

VdS rushes the Blues box in the final minute but Cech collects from the free kick. The Blues collect all 3 points in a vital 1-2 victory.

The title wasn't won or lost today - Arsenal still have the easiest run in and Spurs will have a big say as they play us both - but its good to be back on top and have the matter in our own hands.

COME ON U BLUES !!

The Digital Economy Bill - an affront to our liberty

2010-03-31T16:00:00.004+01:00

I've been a bit of a latecomer to the whole Digital Economy Bill debate and I'm shocked by the lack of coverage on something that, in its current form, is so clearly an affront to our liberty. The Dark Lord Mandelson is parading large parts of this bill under a banner of standing up for the artists and copyright protection but, by any stretch of the imagination, it is simply ham fisted legislation of the worst kind.

Having been a musician in a previous life I'm fully behind anything that empowers and rewards artists for their art. I'm totally against copyright theft but I hope I'm also a pragmatist who can recognise new market dynamics as and when they arise. Most artists want to reach the widest possible audience and indeed, it is audience that ultimately drives success. The web has empowered artists in a way that wasn't imaginable when I first picked up a guitar and law makers clearly need a much better grasp of the dynamics at play before they start wading in with their size 10's

Today came news of an amendment which simply makes matters worse. Drafted on Tuesday, Clause 18 will, amongst other aberrations, allow courts to grant injunctions against websites that aid copyright infringement. Fair enough on the face of it but lets dig in a little deeper. The clause states a website can be targeted based on "a location on the internet which the court is satisfied has been, is being or is likely to be used for or in connection with an activity that infringes copyright".

Hang on !!! "likely to be used" !!! How on earth can that be established. Are we really supposed to accept that the courts should be allowed to bring injunctions against websites they think might, at some point in the future, be used for copyright infringement. Is this crystal ball legislation ?? and remember this comes from the same Dark Lord Mandleson who recommended that users who infringe copyrights should have their Internet connections cut-off - completely ignoring the fall-out to anyone connected / related to the "offender" - children, partners, parents .... whoever !!

If ever a bill needed public outcry to drive amendment then its this one.

Get informed people - BTW, JP Rangaswami. has some excellent posts on this topic - and rise up !!

Chelsea 7 - 1 Aston Villa

2010-03-27T18:43:00.000Z

After an expected but none the less welcome response to the Blackburn draw by thumping Pompey 0-5 away, the Blues faced the much more daunting task of a home fixture against an Aston Villa outfit still in the hint for 4th place.

With Drogba surprisingly rested (though we were subsequently told he was injured ) but still on bench it fell to Lamps and the rejuvenated Malouda to put on a show of ruthless attacking efficiency. The 'in game' tweets follow

Home to the Villa with an injured Drogba on the bench so the front 3 is Anelka, Cole & Malouda 3:10 PM

Villa have set up with 10 men behind the ball & are looking to hit us on the break but on 15mins a drive from Malouda is turned in by Lamps 3:17 PM

Anelka looks to be relishing his lone role through the middle. Lamps & Deco both go close but as expected Villa equalize from Carew on 30min 3:30 PM

This is a lively one. Ref Walton has no idea & is booking every challenge. Malouda & Lamps havin a good game but Joe Cole is ....... 3:41 PM

The Blues have all the possession. A pen shout on Malouda is waved away but a 2nd shout on Zhirkov is successful. Lamps buries the pen. 2-1 3:45 PM

No changes at 1/2 time but Villa have set up 4-4-2. A stunning move on 56mins culminates in cross from Zhirkov that finds Malouda for 3-1 4:16 PM

The Blues look up for this as Anelka releases Zhirkov who's brought down by Dunn in the box. Lamps gets a hatrick, his 20th goal & its 4-1 4:20 PM

What looked like a tricky tie at 3pm is now a rout on 68mins as another sweeping move finds Lamps in the box - he rolls in Malouda & its 5-1 4:27 PM

Ballack, Kalou & van Aarnholt replace Deco, Cole & Zhirkov for the last 15mins as thoughts of Old Trafford loom large. 4:38 PM

Into the last 10mins & Kalou nearly makes it 6 but 2mins later he links up with Anelka who splits the defenders & rolls him in for 6-1 4:43 PM

Lamps gets his 4th and our 7th. The day gets even better as news comes thru that the Arse drop points to a last min equalizer at Birmingham 4:55 PM

The tweets tell only part of the story - this was the complete dismantling of a top 6 side with aspiration of Champions League slot and beautifully sets up the next match - the small matter of a trip to Old Trafford

COME ON U BLUES !!!

Joe' s Black Rock serves up an eclectic mix

2010-03-24T15:21:00.001Z

Got my first real listen to the new album from Joe Bonamassa - Black Rock - and it has me a little preplexed. You probably know the story by now - it was recorded at the new Black Rock Studios, Santorini, Greece hence the album title and surprisingly, for a blues album, has a good few greek influences thrown in - particularly on the cover of Leonard Cohens Bird on a Wire.

Hear Joe's description (BTW Joe, why do you always tell us your date of birth in these clips) here

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/mpd/permalink/m38LBGORO84QAZ

It possibly overdoes the covers a little with Jeff Becks Spanish Boots and Otis Rush's Three Times A Fool, but all in all its a really well put together album..... but that's the problem. Its well put together, beautifully and cleverly arranged with some tradmake JB solos and riffs but to my ears its just a little bit off - almost trying too hard to be different. I cant put my finger on it, but I just preferred the Ballard of John Henry which seemed a more complete and coherent body of work.

Anyway, that's the joy of music - we all get to listen and decide ourselves so go check it out.

Blackburn 1 - 1 Chelsea

2010-03-21T20:45:00.001Z

After the nightmare of a Champions League exit at the hands of the special one it was up to Ewood Park for a tough away test of our powers of recovery and title aspirations. Kalou came in for the ineffective Ballack and for 45mins it looked like the disappointment had been shaken off as the Drog put us ahead on 5 mins.

Sadly, instead of building on the great start we simply went backwards, failed to turn up for the second half and got what we deserved when Blackbun equalized. A spirited final 10mins was no substitute for the missing 75 and the Blues we left no advantage and no room for error left in a faltering title challenge.

The tweets when like this

The Blues have to put the disappointment of Tuesday behind them with a tough trip to Blackburn. Wins for the Arse and Mancs make a win vital
The Blues have started brightly - no Ballack thank g-d - and we're ahead on 5mins as Anelka picks out the Drog who slots home. 1-0
Its got a bit scrappy since the goal with Blackburn threatening on the break. Kalou, Alex & Kalou all go close
On 38mins Malouda cracks one at Brown as the Blues step up a gear but then Bran is injured & replaced by Zhirkov as the half peters out 1-0
Blackburn start the 2nd half brightly with Pedersens long throws causing problems. The Blues look stretched as Roberts replaces Kalinic
The Blues are making hard work of this and 1-0 away is never safe and on 69mins inevitably Douf equalizes as the title challenge slips away
2mins later & Drogba lashes a free kick against the wall as Deco comes on for Kalou. Into the last 10mins, the Blues lack guile or invention
Carlo & Uncle Fester shake their heads as Blackburn continue to frustrate. The pressure grows as Drogba lashes wide from a Deco corner
4mins of injury time & the Blues are battling but it makes no difference. Its another 2 vital points dropped. Advantage Man U & the Arse

If we're honest, most of us saw this coming - tough away game after a Euro defeat. Champions elect win these - we're just not quite there

Chelsea 2 - 4 Man City

2010-02-27T17:27:00.004Z

After the disappointment of the San Siro its back to the cut an thrust of the premiership on a day when more column inches and TV news minutes were given to the possibility of a handshake than the reality of a devastating earthquake.

That said there was a football match to play as well and unfortunately the Blues didn't show up. With Malouda in at left back, the iffy Hilario between the sticks (when will Ross Turnbull actually get a real game) and Joe Cole up front with Anelka and Drogba it still looked a pretty strong line up. After going ahead in the 40th minute things just fell apart - conceeding two goals either side of the break, some odd substitutions (Joe Cole wasn't great but Ballack was worse) anjd even shoddier defending consigned us to to a painful home defeat and worse still left the door ajar for Man U and Arsenal.

The 'in game' tweets are shown below

Pre Match - An earthquake in Chile or a handshake at the Bridge. The one that's getting the most news coverage @ present shows the sad state of UK press
Small matter of a football match today. Man City at home with 1st choice no left or right back, no keeper & limited midfield options. Its getting tough
Malouda starts at left back & JT sports a dodgy mohawke. Joe Cole joins Drog and Nic up top & the Jedi holds. OMG a handshake - just joking
13:08 - A sluggish opening 20mins is punctuated by a thunderous drive from Malouda on 10mins that flys just over. Man City are set out to frustrate.
13:26 - Lamps finds the Drog with a miss hit on 35mins but he shoots over. 5mins later Joe Cole slots Lamps thru & he slots home past Given for 1-0
13:30 - It lasts precisely 3mins as Mikel misses a simple header and Tevez wriggles past JT and Ricky to then scuff a shot past Hilario. Its 1-1
13:50 - No changes at 1/2 time tho Carlo must have been fuming. It's worse after 5mins as a Blues attack breaks down & Bellamy breaks & slots home.
14:05 - An hour gone - SWP on for City, Sturridge & Belletti replaces the hapless Mikel & Joe Cole. It makes no difference so Kalou's on for Ricky
14:20 - With 15mins left its an inevitable penalty against us from Mike Dean with a red for Belletti to boot. The Troll makes it 3-1 and game over
14:25 - Ballack clatters the Troll from behind & he's off so the Blues are down to 9men with 10mins to go. Home record gone and the league... ???
14:32 - Bellamy makes it 4-1 on a 2 vs 5 break from the half way line. It means nothing against 9men tho goal difference might be an issue in May
14: 26 - 5mins of injury time and Lamps converts a penalty to make it 4-2. Helps the goal difference but not much else. Man U & the Arse are smiling.

So Carlo has a lot of work to do with a missfiring side and only limited resources available - no Cech, Bozzy, Ess, Cole, Zhirkov or Deco and now suspensions for belletti and Ballack (the latter being no great loss in my booK). A tough andx phyisical FA Cup quarter final awaits before a derby day visit of West Ham and the the small mater of Jose and Inter.

Its gonna be a tough month or so - Come on u Blues !!

The end of the Road ....

2010-02-17T08:14:00.004Z

I was really saddened to read in the FT yesterday that EMI (probably our last great British music institution - albeit one that's burning an ever deepening hole in Guy Hands pockets over at Terra Firma) have put the iconic Abbey Road Studios up for sale.

As a budding, but not so young muso, in the early 80's I was fortunate enough to spend some time there - though never actually got to record anything much to my dismay - and it was always a place of awe and reverence. Not characteristics shared by many of the guys at EMI who, whilst they rightly assert that modern technology allows you to create music in your bedroom, clearly don't get the magic that happens post the initial creation stage when great musicians get together in a great setting with great procurers and engineers.

EMI would not comment officially but the FT believes it had been considering bids that could raise tens of millions of pounds. As was rightly reported, the Abbey Road brand is probably worth even more than the studio and the property which was bought for £100,000 back in 1929. Whilst it will always be the home of the Beatles greatest hits to most people, it was Pink Floyd's Dark Sides of the Moon that really made me think about what great musicians could do in a great studio.

To be fair EMI has tried to leverage the Abbey Road brand through the Abbey Road Live concert series but this was not well promoted and one assumes not particularly successfully given the current statements.

Expect the usual ringing of hands from the likes of McCartney, Marttin, Gilmour etc al and just hope that someone steps in soon

New Joe Bonamassa Album

2010-02-09T16:40:00.003Z

Joe Bonamassa's new album Black Rock is slated for release shortly - Amazon are showing it up for pre-order with a March 22nd release date - but there was an early review on guitarniose.com. Hard to believe but this is Joes 10th album and will be his last before the upcomming Black Country release (his colaboration with Glenn Hughes and Jason Bonham).

The review concludes with the following...

" Black Rock is a great album and an example of great songwriting, arrangements and of course guitar playing and tone. Joe experiments with guitar tone more than most which brings a nice quality to each track, you never tire of hearing that same sound although and yet it is always unmistakably Joe. Is this album better than The Ballad Of John Henry? Well it is difficult to compare because this album has a totally different feel to it. I love The Ballad Of John Henry, it was my favourite album of 2009 chock full of incredible covers and originals. Black Rock doesn’t quite have the same initial impact for me but grows on you with each listen and after 10 or so listens start to finish I can say that this is probably going to be one of the most played albums in my iTunes this year."

Chelsea 2 - 0 Arsenal

2010-02-08T10:40:00.001Z

What looked like a difficult tie against a so called resurgent Arsenal, whose boss was convinced their thumping by Man U was just an aberration - see more comments below, turned into another thumping albeit without much possession.

The Blues stated with Drogba and Anelka in front of a Lamps, Ballack and Jedi diamond with Ricky joining JT at the back. In a week that saw way too much written about JT's off field situation, it was, as ever, the returning Drog that did the damage in a 25min spell of clinical finishing and sweeping counter attacks. That Arsenal had almost 65% of subsequent possession was of little consequence as the Blues could have had three with Drogba clattered the crossbar with a second half free kick. Havinng promised not tweet as this was supposed to be a nail biter, I soon scummed so here are the in match items

16:10 The Blues are ahead in 7mins. Inevitably its JT who connects with a corner from Malouda and his goal bound header is tapped home by the Drog
16:30 Arsenal have responded well with plenty of possession as you'd expect but in a sweeping Blues counter attack Lamps find the Drog for 2-0
16:50 Again Arsenal have responded with lots of possession (a lot of it being given away by Ballack tho) but the half ends with the Blues ahead.
17: 35 The rain is teaming down & Arsenal are having a real go as the Blues sit back too deep. With 20mins to go Arsenal thro on Eboue & Rosicy
17:55 Joe Cole is on for the last 5mins & Kalou joins him for added time. A new front 2 but its the Blues back 4 who won this today. It ends 2-0

As often happens, the post match Daily Bung in the Telegraph captured the mood of on Mr Wenger perfectly ..

"....yet despite seeing his side once again defend with all the intelligence of a Tony Cascarino column ghostwritten by George W. Bush, Wenger insisted he was "completely happy" with the performance at Stamford Bridge.

Really Arsene? Were you completely happy with Gael Clichy, who moved off the far post and shuffled nervously along the goal line for Drogba's first goal like a toddler who has just wet themselves and is trying to avoid showing their parents? Were you completely happy with Manuel Almunia, who did a marvellous impression of a waxwork figure as he stared ahead with the cold, dead eyes of a bedraggled sniper as Drogba fired past him for the second goal?

Wenger also found the time to have a dig at Carlo Ancelotti's table-topping side, for apparently not winning with the requisite flair. Shame on them, that successful, winning team: they must learn to pass, rather than shoot, ad infinitum. The bounders.

"You have to congratulate Chelsea but we didn't get a demonstration of football," the Frenchman screeched haughtily. "We had 70 per cent possession of the ball. We were not running after the ball. They [Chelsea] did not dominate.

"We were always in an attacking position. We were always risking everything going forward and they were good on counter-attacks. We were a bit uncertain at the start, but when we got into it we were completely dominant (one problem Arsene: at that point you were two goals down and playing against a confident, powerful team that do not like to hand goals to their opponents on a plate, all without the help of a recognised striker on the pitch. Still at least you dominated possession)."

When asked about his opposite number's comments, Ancelotti could barely disguise his confusion. After all, for all these years he has been labouring under the misapprehension that football is about winning matches. Silly sausage.

"Maybe Arsenal had more possession than us, but that is not football," he said. "Football is about results. I think we deserved to win. When you speak about a match, you can't speak only about possession of the ball. No. You have to control the attack and defence.

"When we went ahead, it was very important to play on the counter-attack. Our second goal was an unbelievable goal. Fantastic movement, fantastic pass and a fantastic shot from Didier. This is football."

That's you told, Arsene.

Hull 1 - 1 Chelsea

2010-02-02T22:29:00.004Z

The Blues travelled to the KC stadium buoyed by a good though hard fought result on Saturday however we came up against a resolute and hard working Hull side that ultimately frustrated us on the night and put a dent in the title challenge.

The in game tweets went

20:16 Away to Hull for our game in hand but the Blues, even with the returning Drog, are behind inside 30mins from another set piece disaster as Mouyokolo heads home
20:30 The Blues have upped the tempo and Anelka's brought down on the edge of the box. The Drog takes the free kick and scores. Its 1-1 & game on.
21:00 Its a lively start to the 2nd half with chances at both ends but with an hour gone its still 1-1
21: 25 Into the last 20mins & this could go either way. Joe Cole is on for the ineffective Ballack but as we enter the final 10mins its still 1-1
21:33 Carlo brings on Ash & Sturridge in a last throw of the dice but Hull hold on for a vital point and put a dent in the Blues title challenge

So the lead is down to 2 points when it could have been 4 and now Sundays home game to Arsenal takes on even greater significance

Burnely 1 - 2 Chelsea

2010-01-30T17:17:00.011Z

Its away to Burnley today to try and build on Wednesdays return to the top of the league after beating Birmingham. Carlo brings in Alex and Zhirkov for Deco and Ricky respectively with Malouda and Anelka up top so it looks like Ballack will be asked to hold. The Drog and Kalou are back but rested after their return from the African Nations

Its a bright start for the Blues with Anelka and Lamps combining well and the first chance comes on 8mins from a nice interchange between them but Lamps fires over the bar. New boy Leon Cort is having a good game in the Burnley defence with 3 timely blocks but he can do nothing when on 26mins a sweeping Blues break sees Joe Cole float a peach of a cross that Malouda knocks down for Anelka to tap home. The Blues have gone to sleep a bit after the goal with Ballack, Anelka and Cole all guilty of careless passing but the half still ends 0-1

No changes at half time but within 2mins Burnley are level as Alex fails to clear a through ball and Fletcher peels off him to drive past Cech. There's a suspicion of hand ball and Alex really should have done better but now its game on. Chelsea have been stung into life and Joe Cole has the ball in the net on 55mins but is ruled offside. Its all Chelsea but Burnley are looking to strike on the counter so with 20mins to go Carlo brings on Sturridege for Joe Cole. Ash breaks into the box but his shot is blocked and he takes a bad turm of the ankle as well so he's replaced by Deco - Zirkov drops to left back. Into the last 10mins and Lamps finds Sturridge who turns brilliantly in the box but his shot is cleared for a corner. Lamps takes it and JT rises on the penalty spot to head down and home to put the Blues back in front. Chelsea continue to press forward but without any further score so it ends 1-2 to the mighty Blues and that opens up a 4 point lead at the top.

Come on U Blues !!

Chelsea 3 - 0 Birmingham.

2010-01-28T17:25:00.001Z

A chilly, and what we initially thought would be a nervous, night at the Bridge ended in a comprehensive 3-0 victory for the mighty Blues. Better still we go back to the top of the league by virtue of points and goals as Arsenal could only manage a 0-0 draw away to the Villa

In truth it should have been more as Birmingham, on the back of a 15 game unbeaten streak, were comprehensively outplayed and dismantled in the first half. Goals from Malouda and Lamps punctuated the half but there should have been more from Cole and Anelka The Blues almost let the Brummies back into the game during a sloppy 10mins in the second half but the tempo was raised and Lamps raced half the length of the pitch to turn from provider to finisher to add a 3rd goal in the final minute.

Top of the league and having a laugh ? Oh yes !!

Chelsea 7 - 2 Sunderland

2010-01-16T15:03:00.004Z

Back to the premiership for the visit of Sunderland. It's our first game without the "African Nations 4" so Carlo goes with Anelka, Malouda and Joe Cole up top with Beletti holding and Ballack in the Essien role.

Its a really bright start from the Blues with 3 chances going begging in the first 5mins to Ashley and Joe Cole and finally a Carvaliho header. The misses may not prove costly though as within 2mins Ballack releases Anelka who dances round Fullop inn the Sunderland goal to make it 1-0. Another 10mins gone and its 2-0 as Malouda picks up the ball in the centre circle beats 2 challenges, conjures up a couple of step overs and then drill home a right foot drive - quite brilliant. The shooting boots are on today as its 3-0 with just 20mins gone as a beautiful through ball from JT in brought down in the box by Ashley Cole who drags the ball back to evade a diving tackle from Cana before expertly poking the ball home. Ash is running riot down the left and its 4-0 inside 34mins as he floats in another cross that Lamps slides in to volley home. The half ends with no further goals but Chelsea have been totally dominant.

The second half is underway with Zirkov and Alex on for JT and Ashley Cole while Sunderland bring on Zenden for Steed Malbranque. Its more of the same though as Anelka hits a spectacular drive on 49mins which draws an equally spectacular save from Fulop. Its only temporary respite as Joe Cole puts in a superb cross that is headed home by Ballack - that's 5-0. The Blues take their foot off the gas and get punished as Jones knocks a header down to Zenden who slots home past Cech. Carlo looks furious. The smile is back on his face though as Zirkov sends in a cross that Fulop flaps at only for the ball to fall to Anelka who easily slots home to bring up the half dozen with 25mins still to play. Even a 6-1 Cech can still cause a flutter as he comes out too far and only prods away unconvincingly a ball that Alex and Ricky had well covered. Chelsea are just unstoppable and on 75mins Anelka would have had his httrick but for another splendid save from Fulop. Alex thunders a deflected free kick with 5mins to go that reaches Belletti and the Joe Cole who heads against the post. With a minute of normal time to go its 7-1 as Anelka drives in a cross that Lamps heads home and, even though a late lapse in concentration gifts Sunderland a consolation, it ends in a comprehensive 7-2 victory for the mighty Blues.

Hughes, Bonamassa and Bonham - wow

2010-01-15T17:05:00.003Z

You know that I've been blogging and tweeting about Joe Bonamassa and how I love his fusion of rock and blues.

Well both he and Glenn Hughes (the self proclaimed "Voice of Rock - though who would argue?) have themselves been tweeting about sessions with a new band having played together at the recent King of Blues Jam at the Guitar Centre in LA. Following that show, Joe and Glenn turned up again at a tribute to John Bonham playing alongside his son Jason.

Here's a little reminder of Glenns vocals

So it wasn't a big surprise to hear about the birth of a new project called "Black Country". The news broke on Joe's twitter feed and the details were in Guitar Noise on Friday.

Taking its name from the West Midlands area where Bonham and Hughes both come from its gonna be interesting to see what comes from this new outfit that has Jason Bonham on drums, Derek Sherinian on keyboards, Glenn Hughes on bass and vocals and Joe Bonamassa on guitar and vocals.

Chelsea 5 - 0 Watford

2010-01-04T13:40:00.001Z

The FA Cup campaign kicks off the new year with the visit of Watford to the Bridge as we start the defence of what has become our trophy of the noughties. Once again, I'm at the game so here are the in game tweets and the link to the BBC match report.

3:10 - 4mins gone and Sturridge gets on the end of a JT knock down to score his 1st Chelsea goal. Its 1-0 to the Blues
3:18 - Its 2-0 within 10min as a Joe Cole shot causes chaos in the Watford defence and the ball pinballs into the net. Will go down as an own goal
3:25 - All Chelsea - First Alex draws a cracking save from Loach & Belletti hits a volley just over before Malouda deflects a Zirkov shot for 3-0
4:23 - Just over an hour gone and Lamps makes it 4 with a superb drive from the edge of the box.
4:28 - Its becoming a rout as Sturridge makes it 5-0 in his last action of the half. He's replaced by Fabio Borini

So a cruise through into the 4th round is complete and the day is an even bigger celebration as Man U lost to Leeds Utd earlier in the day. An away tie with Preston beckons

Come on you BLUES !!

Chelsea 2 - 1 Fullham

2009-12-28T14:53:00.007Z

Another tough game, this time at home to Fulham - who'd have thought at the start of the season that Birmingham and Fulham would be tough Xmas games !!. The Drog gets to stay an extra day before going off to the African Nations so he starts alongside Kalou. Joe Cole is at the top of the diamond; Zirkov, Rickey and Ferreira come in for Ash, Alex and Bran. Kakuta is on the bench.

Within 4mins the old defensive frailties are exploited as a loose ball in the box falls to Gera who swivels and then slots home past Cech. A disastrous start for the Blues and now Fulham can sit back, crowd the centre and protect a lead. Joe Cole breaks sharply through the middle on 10mins and feeds the Drog but he shoots tamely at Schwarzer. All the pressure is coming from the Blues but Fulham are really well organised and they're closing down brilliantly. The Blues look a nervous outfit and Ballack is having "a mare" again. On the break, Fulham still look dangerous and on 33mins, Dempsey forces Cech into a good save. John Pantsil's got the measure of the Drog who's moaning and going down even more that usual. The boo's are ringing out at the Bridge and rightly so as a thoroughly disappointing the half ends 0-1. Carlo's got a lot to do and Jose, who's in the crowd today on a scouting mission, will be quietly confident.

No changes at half time and this is a big 45mins coming up as defeat today will open the door to Man U and the chasing pack. Rickey almost gifts Fulham a 2nd as he opts to chest back to Cech and lets in Zamora but luckily Cech is quick enough and stays big. The Blues are pressing and Fulham are trowing bodies into tackles and blocks. Kalou finally gets to the dead-ball line and pulls a back a cross but the shot is blocked. On 58mins Drogba hits one on the turn but its palmed away by Schwarzer for a comfortable save. Wave after wave of Chelsea attack is getting snuffed out by desperate though effective Fulham defending. Bran comes on for Ferreira in a straight swap - strange call - but after 10 more mins Carlo goes for a more attacking move by bringing on Sturridge for the Jedi with 20mins remaining. Finally a decent cross from Bran, after so many this half that couldn't even beat the 1st man, reaches the far post and the Drog heads home the equalizer. Within 2mins its 2-1 as Kalou crosses to Sturridge whose shot from a narrow angle is parried by Schwarzer but the ball bobbles in off Smalling. Straight up the other end and Fulham nearly equalize as Cech flaps at a Duff corner but the header goes just over - we just cannot defend balls into the box and Cech doesn't know whether to come or stick. Zirkov is replaced by Ash with 7mins to go as Kalou feeds Drogba but he drags his shot wide. As 4mins of added time goes up, the Drog feeds Kalou whose shot canons of the crossbar. Fulham will play worse than this and win away games but on a very nervy day the Blues scrape 3 desparate points

Come on u Blues !!!

Birminham City 0 - 0 Chelsea

2009-12-26T14:50:00.004Z

After disappointing performances against Portsmouth, where we only just managed a win, and West Ham where we were lucky to get a draw, it was off to St Andrews for a tricky Boxing Day away tie against an in form Birmingham City. Sturridge starts for the injured Anelka, the Drog is making his last appearance before African Nations duty and Belletti comes in for Ballack.

Updates from my Twitter feed

The frame of the Brum goal is still shaking from a thunderous Alex free kick but an open, even end2end 1st half ends 0-0 at St Andrews

An hour gone and Cech saves a superb curling free kick from Larson to keep this open and enthralling encounter at 0-0

Lamps is off and Joe Cole is on for final 10mins - big call from Carlo. Even tho Brum have been disciplined & dangerous, 3 points was a must

Chelsea are down to 10men as Malouda is sent off for a stupid 2nd yellow card - there's 6mins of added time after an injury to Joe Hart

So it's 2pts dropped in a game where 3 were required. This is not premiership winning form and we'll be luck to be 3rd by end Jan at this rate.

The Blues had the best of the 1st half chances, though Brum had a goal disallowed for offside in the 1st half, and Joe Hart was forced into two stunning saved from Sturridge and Lamps. Alex also crashed a 35yrd rocket of a free kick off the bar inst the bar, while Sturridge poked a good cross by the Drog just wide. The second half was more of the same with the Blues creating but failing to convert the better of the chances. It was definately 2 points dropped

Read the Sky match report is here

Now we face another difficult tie at home to Fulham on Monday - come on you Blues !!!

Chelsea 3 - 3 Everton

2009-12-12T14:53:00.006Z

The Blues play hosts to Everton with Ballack coming in for the injured Essien as Jedi keeps the holding role and Joe Cole is in at the head of the diamond.

A bright start from the Blues and within 3mins a good trough ball from Ballack finds the Drog but his shot squirms wide. Everton are getting back into this and on 11mins a floated free kick from the right comes off JT's head, hits the post and then go in as it bounces off the back of Cech. Its 0-1 to Everton but their lead lasts just 5mins as Ricky dispossess Saha in the centre and feeds Lamps whose layoff releases the Drog and his superb strike levels the game. The pressure is building on Everton now and on 22mins we're ahead as a corner from Lamps is not cleared and after a few bobbles the ball breaks to Anelka who pokes home. Its 2-1 and a great response from the blues. Another Baines free kick is not dealt with on 30mins but this time Cech easily collects. The humour is coming from Jo who goes down under almost every tackle like a sack of spuds and clearly wants to be taken off. He finally gets his way in injury time but his replacement - Yakubu - the gets on the end of another goalmouth scramble, this time from an Everton long throw, and pokes an equalizer past Cech. Carlo will be fuming.

The Blues have got a lot to do in this second half and get off to a good start with the Drog and Joe Cole working early openings. The pressure pays off just before the hour mark as Drogba guides home a cushioned volley to make it 3-2 from an Ivanovich cross. Within 2mins though it's another disaster in the Blues 6 yards box as Chelsea defend a fee kick way too deep and Drogbas headed clearance bounces back in past Cech off Sahar - its 3-3. Ballack nearly restores the lead from a free kick on 75mins which draws a good save from Howard and 2 more chances that fall to Ivanovich and Cole go begging. Cole is replaced by Malouda and Chelsea continue to press but time is running out as Carlo prepares to introduce Borini for the final 3mins but it makes little difference as Ballack drags the final chance wide and the Blues drop points again.

This is a major setback (even accepting the comedy of errors) and we're left hoping that Villa can do us a favour as they take on Man U

More from Davy Knowles

2009-12-12T12:45:00.004Z

I blogged earlier about Davy Knowles - a young bluesman from the Isle of Man who just seems to be rippin up the blues scene at the moment. The more I hear him the more I'm reminded of a young Rory Gallagher

Here's another clip, this time its the title cut from his latest album "Coming up for Air"

Its been a tough few weeks ...

2009-12-06T12:53:00.001Z

.... for the Blues since the 0-3 thumping of Arsenal.

A game that was essentially men against boys and underlined the Blues title credentials has been followed by two draws and a defeat - albeit two of these games were a Carling Cup tie against Blackburn that ened 3-3 (but resulted in a 4-3 defeat on penalties) and a meaning less last CL game against Apoel Nicosia that ended 2-2. However, sandwiched in between was a 2-1 defeat to the premierships new moneybags - Man City - which was a far more worrying slip up as it allowed Man U to close the gap to just two points. Whilst some people will bemoan Cechs positioning for the Tevez free kick or insist that Lamps should have buried the penalty awarded in the last 10mins, the reality was that we were second best all over the part in that game and now minds have top be refocused on Saturdays home game against Everton.

The Muppets do BoRhap

2009-11-24T12:43:00.000Z

Nnow this is back in full HD, it needed a posting
Enjoy

Chelsea 4 - 0 Wolves

2009-11-21T20:33:00.002Z

The blues systematically dismantled a Wolves side who looked to have set their stall out to contain potential damage rather than achieve any great upset. I was tweeting from the game so rtahert than a full match report which you can get here from Sky, here are my tweets.

The blues are 1 up inside 5mins as Malouda cracks one home from 30yrds on the end of a quick counter attack 3:08 AM Nov 21st
Essien gets a 2nd as he drifts in unmarked to head home from a Malouda corner. 2-0 with 11mins on the clock 3:14 AM Nov 21st
Ess gets his 2nd & Chelsea's 3rd with a daisy cutter down the middle that goes right thru Hennessey in the Wolves goal. Showboat time. 3:25 AM Nov 21st
Cech gets down to his left to make a superb save on 39mins. The Wolves fans spend the next 6mins ole-ing every pass. Its 3-0 at half time 3:48 AM Nov 21st
Inevitably its 4-0 after some gr8 hold up play from Anelka the ball is laid back to Joe Cole whose shot slips in the far post 4:17 AM Nov 21st
The kids are on - Borini, Kakuta and Matic have replaced Kalu, Anelka and Malouda as the Blues are turning this into an exhibition 4:40 AM Nov 21st

It reallky was that easy but great to finnaly see Kakuta who looked pretty good (understatement)
Now off to Porto and the sall task of finishing top of our CL group
Come on you Blues

The blues is in good hands..

2009-11-15T17:41:00.007Z

Just as Joe Bonamassa hits the mainstream so The Times ran an article this weekend on another little know blues guitar virtuoso - though this time from the Isle of Man rather than upstate New York.

Davy Knowles has been kicking around for a while now with his band Back Door Slam but he has a new line up and a new album, called Coming up for Air, produced by Peter Frampton so he may just be about to break through big style. Take a look at the performances below and tell me what you think

Davy was just 20 when 'Come Home' below was promo'd back in 2007 but even then he was displaying the vocal and guitar licks of a well seasoned blues man

Saving Myself is going to be on the new album

Finally, a cool version of Messing with the Kid which brings back memories of the late great Rory Gallagher

Joe Bonamassa

2009-10-25T16:13:00.003Z

I've been boring a few people about this guy for a while now so though I'd better post something.

Most of you will know that I've long been a big Gary Moore fan (particularly some of his blues work) but I must admit that recently he's got a bit predictable so I'm really glad to have stumbled on Joe Bonamassa. With a style that's a cross between Gary and Stevie Ray Vaughn blended with as many old blues references as you can muster, Joe is a quite simply a unique and prodigious talent. Born in 1977, he's been playing guitar since the age of 5 and as a young boy played alongside BB King. Looking a bit on the geeky side and sometimes even coming across as a bit arrogant, there is no doubt that if you like blues guitar with a rock kick, you should check him out

Here's a clip form his recent Albert Hall show

and another from North Sea Jazz 2009

but if you think its all flash amps and effects then check this out from what started out as a simple CD signing event

Chelsea 5 - 0 Blackburn

2009-10-24T17:25:00.008+01:00

After the excitement of another European night at the Bridge where Atletico Madrid took a 4-0 drubbing (though in truth we could have been 2 down withing 9 mins) its back to the domestic game for the visit of Blackburn. The "rested" Carvalho is back with Ivanovich moving to right back for Bozzy and Joe Cole replaces Deco in behind The Drog and Le Sulk. The surprise is that Belletti starts at left back rather than Zirkov for the injured Ashley Cole

Inside 30secs a cross-field ball finds Lamps who jinks into the box and lifts a ball to Joe Cole who heads wide from 8yrds - the flag stayed down and it looked a sitter. On 10mins Ballack feeds Lamps and he strikes a glorious curling shot which files just wide. It's all Chelsea at the moment and the pressure pays off with a superb counter attack on 19mis as Cole deftly collects a clearance and finds Ballack who feeds Anelka out wide and his cross is turned into his own net by Givet with Drogba closing in. Its 1-0 and the Blues are coasting. Ballack whips in a cross on 30mins which finds Lamps but his header is just wide and just 2mins later a beautiful sweeping move involving Lamps, Cole and Belletti finally releases Anelka in the box but Robinson is out quickly to close him down. Here's the danger though, as Cech comes for a long throw and misses the ball completely. Luckily it comes to nothing and play sweeps to the Blackurn end as Drogba tries on from 35yrds that forces Robinson into a fine save. Its already 11 - 1 in goal attempts but still only one nil. In the 2 added minutes Robinson saves Blackburn twice - once from a sharp JT volley and then from the resulting corner he's down again to a Drogba header.

No changes at half time but the Blues are 2 up inside 2mins, as Essien feeds Drogba and his pull back is buried by Lamps, and then 3 up 5mis later as Essien drives a swerving thunderbolt past Robinson from a good 35yrds out. On 58mins, Drogba wriggles free in the box only to be brought down by Ryan Nelsen and Lamps makes it 4-0 from the spot. This is becoming a rout as Ferrera replaces Belletti and Drogba heads home a Ballack corner to make it 5-0. New young (just 17) Dutch centre back Jeffrey Bruma replaces Carvalho on 65mins as Chelsea continue to carve Blackburn open with virtually every attack. Joe Cole comes off to a huge ovation from the Stamford Bridge faithful as he's replaced by Sturridge for the final 12mins. Chelsea are just stroking the ball around as 3mins of added time goes up on the board but this time runs down without any more goals. It end 5-0 to the mighty Blues.

Villa 2 - 1 Chelsea

2009-10-17T14:17:00.003+01:00

Up to Villa Park for a difficult away tie following the international break. After a good 2-0 win against Liverpool (which I had to track online whilst away), its a strong predictable Blues line up with the only change being Deco in for Ballack and Essien holding.

Its an open 1st half with a reasonable penalty shout on Agbonlahor for the Villa within 10mins but its waved away. Looked like "six of one and .." but a couple of min later its 0-1 as the Drog turns neatly and cracks as a 30yrd shot that bounces in front of Brad Friedel in the Villa goal and into the net. Its open end to end stuff but 15mins later Lamps can only flick on a Villa corner and the ball carries to Dunne to head home an equalizer. Its all exciting stuff but the half ends all square.

No changes at half time but its Villa who start brightest and they're ahead from another defensive cock-up as Collins arrives completely unmarked to head home Ashley Young's corner at the far post. The Blues are pressing now to try and respond but care is needed not to leave gaps behind. Lamps is having a poor game and Villa look good on the break but chances are still falling to Chelsea however they are not being converted. First on 58mins, the Drog slides Deco in beautifully but his shot is scuffed at Friedel and then Malouda drives on straight at the keeper. Into the last 15mins and Villa should really have wrapped this up as Milner's deep cross is sent back across goal by Young olny for Carew to scoop the ball over when it was easier to score. Straight up the other end and Nicolas Anelka breaks free but his shot is low, tame and again saved by Friedel.

Chelsea throw on Ivanovich from Bozzy and then Joe Cole with less than 10mins to go - Heskey is on for Villa but the Blues still look a long way from an equalizer. There are 3 added minutes and there's a scramble in the Villa box which comes to nothing. Milner gives away a free kick in the final minute but it comes to nothing and the Blues fall to their 2nd defeat on the road. Carlo's not happy and neither are we.

Come on you Blues !!

Wigan 3 - 1 Chelsea

2009-09-26T15:02:00.006+01:00

After home wins against Porto (1-0), Spurs (3-0) and QPR (1-0) we're off to the JJB to face Wigan with a full strength squad that has Zirkov on the bench but surprisingly no place for Joe Cole. The Jedi comes in for Ballack in a holding role and the Drog has shaken off his calf injury to start up top

Its a bright opening 10mins for the Blues with Lamps and Ess both testing Kirkland early on but its Wigan who take the lead as Bramble rises unmarked to head home from a simple N'Zogbia cross with 15mins on the clock. Thomas brings Drogba down with a clumsy challenge on the edge of the box the resulting free kick is easily gathered. Wigan are nearly two up on the half hour as Scharner is allowed a free run but his shot goes over the bar. The Blues are looking a bit leg weary and Wigan are dangerous on the break. On 37mins, Jason Scotland is clean through on goal and only a last ditch tackle from JT save the Blues but from the corner another flighted cross causes havoc in the blues defence. Fortunately Cech smothers Boyce's effort. A half that the Blues will want to forget ends 1-0 and Carlo does not look happy.

Belletti replaces the Jedi at the start of the second half and within a minute the Blues are level. Malouda weaves into the box and finds Drogba who's snap side foot squeezes between Kirklands legs. That's 1-1 but 4mins later Cech brings down Rodellega as he breaks into the box. Its a straight red, a penalty and Hilario has to rush on to face the spot kick replacing Malouda. Rodellega steps up and its 2-1 but the replays show it as a soft "Eduardo" penalty. Its end to end stuff with Wigan still having the better of the exchanges so Carlo throws on Kalou for Bosingwa with 15mins to go. Its a ballsy call but we'll see if its effective. Cole brings down N'Zogbia on the edge of the box and fortunately Rodellega's free kick is just too high. On 83mins Drogba wriggles free in the box and chips to Lamps but he heads well over. Chelsea are down to 9 men as Cole limps off and Ess fills in as temporary left back with 5mins of added time on the clock but its all over as Figueroa skips into the box and his cross/shot is slid home by Scharner. It ends 3-1 on a sorry afternoon at the JJB.

Stoke 1-2 Chelsea

2009-09-12T15:06:00.010+01:00

Up to the Britannia for an away tie with Stoke with yet more FIFa nonsense ringing in our ears. Now we cant even recall our own players who are out on loan - its a good job FIFA are so fair minded and even handed. Anyway, to matters at hand and Carlo makes 4 changes after the exertions of international week. Out go Rickey, Ess, Deco and Anelka with Ivanovic, Jedi, on Malouda and Kalou coming in as replacements. Stoke have set up with a back 5 so I guess we can guess their tactics for the game

Chelsea start brightly and are dominating possession in the opening 15mins but Stoke are getting stuck in - there'll be a few bruises today. The first Delap throw of the match arrives on 16mins and Kalou gets booked for jumping and actually getting a head on the throw. Bit strange that one. Stoke are getting a bit more adventurous and on 30mins Cech starts to come for a pretty simple cross, changes his mind and that leaves Faye unmarked to head home. The Blues are one down yet again in a game they've been bossing. Stoke loose Sovensen to a thigh strain which makes for 8mins of stoppage time and a long ol' first half but on 48mins a beautiful through ball from Lamps find Drogba who lets the ball run and the lashes home an equalizer. The half finally ends on 56mins.

We're off an running again with no changes and within a minute we could be ahead as Lamps and Ballack combine to release the Drog but he blasts over. The opening 10mins have been played almost entirely in the Stoke half but on 56mins a Delap throw causes panic in the blues box and from the resulting corner, Cech is again undecided but finally gathers. On the hour Huth comes close from another corner and that is the trigger for more substitutions - Anelka and Essien replace Kalou and Ballack whilst Tuncay is on for Stoke. A nice interchange between the Drog and Bozzy, 10mins later, releases Lamps but his shot is blocked. Chelsea are turning up the heat as Ess fires over from the edge of the box and then on 75mins Faye throws himself at a Drogba drive. The Drog drives into the box but his shot is well parried by Simonsen. Its desperate defending from Stoke but still 1-1. Belletti replaces the Jedi for the final 10mins and the desperate Stoke defending continues will bodies diving all over the place. There's 5mins of stoppage time and Lamps breaks free on the edge of the box but Faye again dives in to block. You have to admire Stokes defending but their defence is breached with 2mins to go - Essien plays the ball in to Anelka who sidefoots back to Malouda and his shot squeezes inside the near post. It ends 1-2 to the Blues

Still 100% - Come on U Blues

FIFA give Chelsea the blues

2009-09-12T14:50:00.002+01:00

There's been way too much written about the whole Gael Kakuta affair but if FIFA really believe that Chelsea are the only club that have pushed the boundaries of current signing rules then they are insane. You can read the BBCs view here but its hard to see how FIFA are not just singling out Chelsea because the dont have the b**ls to go after Real Madrid, Man U or whoever. Kakuta is a great prospect and, of course, Lens are not happy to have lost out on a young talent but the actions from FIFA are draconian at best and more likely to be seen as purely vindictive.

Yes there have to be rules regarding the development and movement of young talent but get the rules right first and then apply them - its not the other way round.

Chelsea will obviously appeal and the ban will probably be reduced but lets hope this injustice galvanises the team and its spirit.

Chelsea 3 - 0 Burnley

2009-08-29T13:03:00.007+01:00

The possibility of giant killing action at the Bridge for the visit of Burnley. Carlo shuffles again and starts Ballack, Ess and Deco with Lamps staying in the hole behind the Drog and Le Sulk.

Its a frantic opening 25mins. Within 5mins Anelka picks up a great through ball from Ricky but his shot is well saved by Jensen and 2mins later he just fials to connect with a Ballack cross.With just under 10mins gone its Anelka 1-on-1 with Jensen, but he shows too much of it to the keeper saves. Its straight up the other end and McCann slips a lunge from Rickey but hits over from the edge of the box. Lamps is then caught in possession by Mears who releases Martin Paterson but he drags his shot wide from just 15yrds out. Straight back up the Burnley end and first Lamps and then Ballack are deined by last ditch tackles - wot a start and how is this still 0-0 !! Burnley are carved open again as Deco slip in Ballack but Jensen charges him down and blocks a goal bound chip. Its all Chelsea as Cole drives down the left, a cushioned header from JT falls to Lamps in the box but he hits straight at Jensen. Its calming down a bit now, still all Chelsea but need I say it; its all a bit narrow. With 2mins to go Drogba b raks to the byline and pulss the ball back to Lamps but his effort is smothered by Jensen when it looked easier to score. Finally with 46mins on the clock, the Drog drives in to the box again and this time squares to Anelka who slots home from 3yrds out. The Blues go in 1-0 at halftime - about time !!

No changes at half time and within 5mins the Blues are 2 up as Lamps chips a far post ball for Ballack to dive in and head home. Another 5mins and its 3-0 as Ash plays a cracking one-two with Lamps and races into the box to blast a shot into the top corner. Its nearly 4 as Ballack plays in Anelka but his shot bounces off the top of the crossbar. Belletti replaces Bozzzy as Ess drives forwrad and tries one from distance which flies just wide.Chelsea are cruising now. On 77mins Jensen is called on again to make 2 more saves - first from Ess and then he denies Ballack from the resulting corner - but for him it would have been 6 by now. Kalou is on for the Drog but the Blues are unstoppable. On 82 mins Ballack plays in Anelka who slots home but its ruled offside. That's Ballacks last touch as he's replaced by the Jedi for the last 8mins. Kalou breaks through with 2mins remaining and chips Jensen but his effort is cleared off the line by Mears. That's the last meaningful action of the game and it ends 3-0 at the Bridge as the Blues go top - for now

Come on U Blues

Fulham 0 - 2 Chelsea

2009-08-23T15:37:00.009+01:00

Carlo tinkers again for the visit to Craven Cottage by resting Essien (resting after just 3 games !!!) and Deco - both are on the bench but thankfully, old man Sheva stays home. Anyway, that makes four changes from midweek with Ricky, Jedi, Mallouda and Le Sulk all starting. As the teams line up, it sounds like Fulham have the builders in as the PA booms out what sounds like a Polish folk song.

We've gone a goal down in our last 3 games and within a minute it nearly happens again as Dempsey gets free in the box but fortunately he scoops over when he really should have worked Cech. Its a pretty even opening 30mins with few real chances and way too many scrappy midfield errors. However, on 38mins a ball to Lamps breaks through to Anelka who slides in Drogba to slot past Schwarzer. Finally !! Thats how the half ends - frustrating but at least we're ahead.

No changes from the Blues as we start the 2nd half. With 5mins gone, a hit and hope finds Dempsey breaking between Ricky and Cech but thankfully Ricky heads wide for a corner. Straight up the other end and Anelka combines with Lamps again to release the Drog but the pass drags him wide and his snap shot is easily saved. Chelsea are slowly notching up a gear and with 70mins gone, Drogba plays a lovely ball over the top to Lamps but he scuffs wide. Its all Chelsea but whilst its just 0-1 anything could happen. Surely its over now as on 76mins a flowing move between Ballack and Drogba sets Anelka free one on one with Schwarzer and he slots calmly home. Carlo thinks its over as with 9mins remaining he sends on Deco to replace Lamps.

Chelsea could and have should had four today - we actually needed four to go back to the top of the league - but is still 3 wins out of 3. Come on U Blues !!

Sunderland 1 - 3 Chelsea

2009-08-18T21:07:00.005+01:00

A tricky away tie at Sunderland and Carlo rotates the team dropping Le Sulk, Malouda and Jedi in favour of Deco, Ballack and Salomon Kalou. Ivanovic replaces Ricky but he big surprise is that Shevas on the bench - is this shades of the Tinkerman ?

Well its almost a carbon copy of Saturday as the Blues batter the Black Cats for the first 15mins yet go behind to a Daren Bent goal as he slots home after a Kenwyne Jones's shot breaks loose. The pattern continues despite the goal but Ballack, Drogba and Deco all miss good chances and again the diamond shape is making for some very congested play. On 45mins Ballack has a shot cleared off the line from a Deco corner and then Cattermole blocks a goal bound effort from Bozzy. The half ends with the Blues behind against he run of play.

No changes for the second half but its a different Chelsea as Cole and Bozzy sart bombing on from the start. Within 10mins we're level after going close with headers from Ivanovic and the Drog, Ivanovic flicks on a corner and Ballack slots home from 8yards out. Its all Chelsea now and 10mins later McCartney brings Droga down in the box and Lamps steps up to slot home the penanlty. Its 2-1 and a completely different game now. The Drog nearly makes it 3 but heads over from a superb cross from Ash but a 3rd goal comes moments later as Deco drills home a superb strike from the edge of the box. Its all Chelsea now and in quick succession Malouda, Sturridge and Sheva (yes that Sheva) join the fray replacing Kalou, Drogba and Deco respectively.

It ends 1 - 3 with the Blues absolutely dominant. Now, we've gotta stop giving teams a goal start because better teams will punish us - Come on you Blues

Chelsea 2 - 1 Hull

2009-08-15T12:40:00.000+01:00

Footies back for real after the showpiece of the Charity Shiled last week and Hull visit the Bridge looking to be part of an opening day upset. The Mighty Blues make one change from the team that lifted the FA Cup back in May with Ricky replacing the injured Alex. Carlo sticks with the diamond so Jedi holds and Lamps sits behind the from 2 of the Drog and Le Sulk - Essien and Malouda complete the midfield. Joe Cole and new boy Zhirkov are injured - Ballack and Deco are on the bench.

Within 60sec of the start Essien breaks down the right and crosses to the Drog who blasts wide for 6yrds out - great chance and that was a big miss. The Blues have started brightly and are dominating but the diamond is making the midfield very congested - combine that with Anelka operating at a snails pace and possession keeps breaking down. JT connects with a corner on 14mins but it drifts over and straing back up our end a Boateng shot is deflected over by Cech. Despite all our possession and dominance, we're behind (how often did we do that last season) on 28mins as a high ball isn't dealt with and it drops to Hunt who calmly slots past Cech. Jedi picks up a free kick on the edge of the Hull box on 38mins and up steps Drogba who strokes the ball into the far corner for the equalizer. A sweet end to end move on 42mins releases Drogba who hits hopefully from 35yrs but its easily saved - that brings us to half time.

Ballack is on for Jedi as the second half gets underway and, as in the 1st half, the Blues could have been ahead inside a minute as Drogba finds Anelka in the box but the ball drops just behind him and the effort is snuffed out. A minute later and Lamps grazes the near post from the edge of the box. Ballack and Drogba link up on the edge of the box to release Anelka but Dawson snuffs out the danger. Chelsea are moving the ball much more quickly now and Drogba has two more clear cut chances well saved by Myhill. Its all Chelsea and Hull are struggling to get out of their own half but still the lack of width means that moves are breaking down on the edge of the box. Deco replaces Malouda on 70mins but the pattern remains the same as Hull defend doggedly and waste time everywhere they can - its 19 attempts, 9 of them on target so far, but only one goal. With 10mins left, Kalou replaces the hapless Anelka and his first touch is a header just over the bar - close but still no cigar. With 2mins of normal time remaining, a Lamps corner is headed over by Ricky and up the other end a deflection off the same guy makes Cech tip over to avoid a disaster. On 90mins, Drogba and Deco waste 2 more chances (that's 28 attempts so far) and then finally on 92mins the Drog, chips one in from an impossible angle - it was probably a cross but who cares. That's it for the day and the Blues end deserved 2-1 winners

We wont waste that many chances again will we ?? Come on u BLUES !!

Charity Shield: Chelsea 2 - 2 Man U ( Chelsea win 4 -1 on penalties )

2009-08-09T14:49:00.001+01:00

Footie's back !! and the traditional season curtain raiser has the best 2 teams in the country over the last 5 years facing up at Wembley. Carlo has gone with a strong team but a few surprises. The new diamond is in place and Ricky partners JT with Ivanovich on the right (perhaps Alex is resting in lieu of a bid from money bags city. Jedi is in (to play behind Ess, Lamps and Malouda); presumably because Ballack is still not ready and The Drog is up front with Anelka.

First shot on target is from the Drog on 2mins bit its easily stopped by Foster. Rooney plays Berbatov through 2mins later but JT sticks out a foot to break up a good move and a minute after that Ivanovitch hits the bar from a Lamps corner. Its a lively, end to end opening 10mins which results in first blood to Man U as Nani skips inside of Ivanovich and drills home between JT and Cech. Nani and Evra are giving Ivanovitch the run around and he's booked on 13mins. Chelsea look ragged at the back with Berbatov, Rooney, Nani and Park all combining well as Cech has to make two more sharp stops. Chelseas lack of width is worrying and Carlo is up off the bench again. Ash floats a ball into the Drog who feeds Malouda but he flashes it wide when a more controlled effort was needed. Ash then gets round the back and stands up a great ball but the in rushing Essien heads over. Chelsea are well in the game now as Anelka cuts in from the left and his drive is well parried by Foster. With 2mins to go a short Nani corner finds Fletcher who draws another good save from Cech but Chelsea go straight up the other end and a Malouda cross find the Drog but Foster parries again. Thats the last meaningful action of the half.

Second half is underway and Bozzy is on for Ivanovich but its Man U who again start the sharper however on 52mins Ricky initially works the ball across to Lamps and Malouda, and when the final cross comes in, he's on hand to nod home as the ball breaks from Drogba. Its 1-1 and the Blues are on the move now. On the hour, Nani takes a tumble and is eventually replaced by Valencia quickly followed by Ballack replacing the Jedi - Essien drops to the holding role.The games contentious moment comes on 74mins as Ballack checks Evra but the ref plays advantage however the ball breaks away to Chelsea and eventually Lamps slots home off the post. Man U are furious but its 2-1 to Chelsea. Its nearly 3 as the Drog breaks through but Foster gets down sharply to his left. Man U bring on Giggs, Fabio, Scoles and Owen whilst Chelsea bring on Deco for Malouda. Evra comes flying in on Ballack to exact some revenge and gets booked for his efforts. With 8mins to go Kalou replaces Anelka and who knows what the formation is now. Carlo's prowling the technical area with 2mins on the clock and the Blues are playing keep ball. We're into added time but with the clock approaching 92mins Giggs plays in Rooney who nips the ball past Cech to make it 2 - 2 and consign the game to penalties.

The lottery is eventually settled by 2 saves from Cech and conversions from Lamps, Ballack, the Drog and Kalou. Its our first trophy of the season - Come on you Blues !!

JT Stays

2009-07-27T17:24:00.000+01:00

The longest running and noisiest saga of the summer is finally over and so much has been written that I have little to add. Whatever finally happens with JT and his contract there is probably no doubt that he should be the highest paid player at he club given his influence. Could he have come out with his statement earlier - sure, has he been badly advised - definately, have Man City been outta line with their approaches - probably (but who hasn't). Frankly I'm just glad its all over.

BBC Report here

Zhirkov eventually signs

2009-07-12T17:16:00.000+01:00

Finally the Zhirkov saga has come to an end and the "Russian Ronaldo" has joined the Blues

Click here for BBC report

So Chelsea eventually get one of their (lesser) targets but to my earlier posts will we actually get any of the marquee targets we're chasing. Given the state of the euro v the pound, UK tax laws and the behaviour of Real Madrid or new money boys Man City - I'm not holding my breath.

Will we actually sign anyone ?

2009-06-12T14:28:00.000+01:00

Maybe I'm just getting a bit paranoid, but I'm starting to worry if we're actually going to sign anyone of substance in this close season.

After a largely frustrating season that was only saved by Guus and a great day at Wembley, we were all buoyed up a few weeks back with the news that Roman was going to loosen the purse strings and refresh our aging squad. As usual, when this news "leaks out" we get linked with everyone even though those money bags at Madrid and Maine Rd can completely out spend us. Anyway the list was interesting; Kaka, Pato, Villa, Ribery, Aguero and Zhirkov were all pretty mouth watering pospects along with the English contingent of Sturridge, Young and even Glenn Johnson.

Now roll the clock forward a few weeks and things don't smell so sweet. Real Madrid seem to be buying up the planet with gay abandon despite having already landed Kaka and all of a sudden Man U are flush to the tune of some £62m profit having off loaded "perma-tan" Ronaldo.

From our original list;

Kaka has gone - though apparently we didn't bid
Pato wants a chat with our new boss but his current one says he's "untransferable"
Villa doesn't want to leave Spain and is already in talks with Madrid
Ribery doesn't like the climate in the UK and would prefer Barcelona
Aguero wants more cash as his "salary" than Gordon Brown threw at RBS

....even Zhirkov has now said he'd prefer Barcelona (so Romans had to pop over to Mother Russia for a quick word)

Now we hear that Glenn (wouldn't champions league footie be nice) Johnson has actually decided that the lure of squillions from Man City is too great - well you could buy loads of toilet seats with all that cash :-) and Sturridge would kick in a £10m compensation payment.

Worse still, the old man brigade of Gatuso and Pirlo are being talked up as wanting to be reunited with their Don Carlo - hang on, I thought we were looking to reduce the age of the squad and frankly who could they replace anyway !!

I hope I'm wrong but this does not look good.

Maybe, just maybe, there's a deal to be done with Byern involving Bosingwa that could sweenten a Ribery move - but I'm not holding my breath. Otherwise, Aguero is a possibility if the salary can be sorted and Zhirkov might happen if Roman threatens him with exile in Siberia.

Am I the only one who's worried ??

So long Guus - Ciao Carlo

2009-06-01T10:29:00.001+01:00

The statment from Stamford Bridge this morning reads...

Ancelotti is New Chelsea Manager
Posted on: Mon 01 Jun 2009

Chelsea Football Club is delighted to announce that Carlo Ancelotti has agreed to become our new manager.

He has signed a three year contract and will start on July 1, 2009.

Carlo was the outstanding candidate for the job. He has proved over a long period his ability to build teams that challenged for, and have been successful in, major domestic and European competitions.

He also had a highly successful playing career in those competitions and therefore brings unparalleled all round experience to the job.

We are sure everybody at Chelsea will give him a warm welcome and we are all looking forward to working with him.

Now Roman, about those new signings - Ribery, Zhirkov, Villa etc maybe even Tevez

Chelsea 2 - 1 Everton - 2009 FA Cup final

2009-05-31T11:17:00.000+01:00

When John went up to lift he FA Cup - we were there, we were there

Thanks Guus - you'll be sorely missed

Chelsea 2 - 0 Blackburn

2009-05-18T09:30:00.000+01:00

Guus puts out a full strength side (the same team that thumped Arsenal) and signs off at home with a win as the crowd chat "Guus Hiddink - we want you to stay" and "Roman, Roman sign him up".

It was a pretty open match that could have ended 6 - 2 to the Blues but a bullet header from Malouda in the first half and and a sweet low drive from Anelka in the second were the only efforts that made the score sheet. By the hour mark it had pretty much become and exhibition match and the singing - mainly from the Mathew Harding - matched the mood on pitch. But for some appalling refereeing Guus would be leading the Blues out in Rome and at Wembley and such is the warm felt between crowd and manager that midway through the second half he even got up from the dugout to acknowledge the chants and bow to the crowd.

Full time heralded the now obligatory "lap of thanks" and again the chats rang out for Guus to stay. Alas, I believe it's a futile gesture as this man has huge integrity and will no doubt honour his commitments to the Russian team. After that - who knows

Match report here from the BBC.

Arsenal 1 - 4 Chelsea

2009-05-10T18:22:00.000+01:00

Off to the Emirates for a difficult away game particularly after the disappointment and injustice of Wednesday night. Guus opts for pretty much the same team with the only change being the Jedi in for Ballack. Somewhat surprisingly Drogba starts.

Its a torrid opening 15mins with Walcott looking very lively and the Blues seem to be still suffering from Wednesday nights exertions. Walcott plays a neat one-two with van Persie but his shot goes way over and a second attempt from a narrow angle is well saved by Cech. Its all Arsenal as Diaby connects with a Walcott cross but hits it wide. Slowly the Blues are waking up. On 20mins Ash slips in Malouda but he soots straight at Fabianski with the goal begging. We dont have to wait long for a goal though as the Drog floas a free kick into the Arsenal box and no-one rises with any conviction to challenge Alex who heads home. Its 0-1 to the Blues with 28mins on the clock. Malouda's having one of his better games and within 10mins its 0-2 as Anelka picks up the ball midway in the Arsenal half and runs unchallenged before unleashing a swerving shot from 25yrds. Its nearly 3 in added time as Malouda again sets Anelka free in the box but he shoots straight at Fabianski from 10yrds out.

The second half's underway and in less than 5mins its 0-3 as Toure stabs the ball into his own net from a cross/shot from Ashley Cole. Arsenal are having lots of possession and playing pretty football but nothing threatening so on comes Bendtner with an hour gone. Bozzy hits two chances over the bar in as many minutes before letting Bendtner have a free header on 70mins from a Sagna cross and its 1-3. Guus has seen the danger and Bozzy is replaced by Ivanovitch on 77mins. With 8mins left a goalmouth scramble sees Cech save from Silvestre whilst on his backside but its the only scare of he half as the Blues break quickly with Anelka who hits the post only for Malouda to net the rebound.

So it ends 1-4 and the Blues respond in the best possible way. In reality, after the first 15mins it was men against boys. That's 3rd place sewn up and a guaranteed Champions League birth - now, is it possible to clinch the runners up slot ?? Come on U Blues

Chelsea 1 - 1 Barcelona (Barca go through to the final on away goals)

2009-05-07T09:07:00.000+01:00

I just cant bring myself to post a match report this morning. I'm still so angry

At the end of the match I tweeted that "11 blue heroes had been robbed by an incompetent Norwegian" and this morning I feel no better. To loose because you have been out played or out fought is one thing but to be beaten by the most inept of refereeing displays is hard to take.

Don't get me wrong, Barca are a great side and worthy finalists but despite all their possession and silky skills, they did not have a single effort on target for 90mins. Inesta's goal came in the 2nd minute of 4 added minutes of injury time and Cech had not been called upon to make a single save up to that point.

The scenes at the final whistle were disgraceful, and Uefa will surely apply harsh sanctions, but they were understandable reactions. Let's see if Uefa act on the referee as well.

Come on U Blues

West Ham 0 - 1 Chelsea

2009-04-25T15:12:00.000+01:00

Its a strange line up for the Blues today as we go to Upon Park having essentially conceded the title on Wednesday. Thoughts have inevitably turned to the mid week semi final 1st leg at Barca as Ballack, Alex, Drogba, and Essien are all rested. Bozzy starts at left back to get some practise in case he gets the call to try and shutout Messi, Jedi is holding in front of Lamps, Belletti and Kalou with Anelka and Malouda up top. Mancienne come in at right back and Ivanovich partners JT at the back.

The opening 20mins are pretty even but the best chance falls to Dyer who's put clean through by Tristan but he shoots tamely at Cech. The game is flowing nicely with chances at both ends but nothing of any real threat or substance. With 2mins to go, West Ham get a corner and put 4 players in the 6yrd box to pressure Cech who trys to come and fails to connect - the ball falls to Tristan but his weak shot is cleared off the line by the Jedi. Again Chelsea have had all the possession but West Ham have had the best chances; the question is whether Guus will make changes once he hears that the Scousers are one up.

No changes at half time and the pattern in the opening 5mins is the same as the first with lots of Chelsea possesion but with 9mins gone Lamps gets free in the box and he chips through to Kalou who stabs home for 0-1. Ash is coming on so perhaps thats the sign that Guss has seen enough and its time for Bozzy to rest in preparation for the test that will be Lionel Messi. On 64mins, Belletti threads a great ball behind Upson for Anelka but Robert Green is quick to smother his shot. A minute later and a loverly passing move from the Blues sets Ash free on the left but his snap shot hits the bar. On 69mins, Kalou crazily pulls back Ilunga to concede a penalty however Cech saves brilliantly from Mark Noble. Ess replaces Kalou with 15mins to go so Belletti will push up. Mancienne, who's had a good game, is suffering with cramp and is replaced by Ballack with 8mins remaining as Ess slips into right back. Lamps brings down Savio for as free kick with a minute to go (...and the board goes up showing 5mins of added time) but it comes to nothing as does those extra 5mins and it ends 0-1.

A good win that keeps the premiership race mathematically alive but more importantly serves as a good run out for Tuesdays CL Semi Final against Barca - Come on U Blues

Chelsea 0 - 0 Everton

2009-04-22T20:29:00.000+01:00

Back to the Bridge after the exertions of a successful Wembley semi final for a dress rehearsal of the FA cup final. Its the same team that started at Wembley so no rest for the victorious.

The opening 20mins are bossed by the Blues in terms of possession but the best efforts have gone to Everton. On 7mins, Cech saves from Jo with his legs and on 22 Pienaar curls one close but just wide. The same Mr Pienaar gives away a needless free kick on 27mins but Ballacks' free kick doesn't come down quickly enough, There's a good shout for an Everton penalty on 32mins when Alex leaves a lazy leg out on Baines but the ref waves away the appeals. Its now a much more even contest. With 3mins to go Malouda gives a woeful ball away to Cahill who finds Jo on the edge of the box but JT covers up the error. Baines is regularly getting in between Anelka and Ivanovich which is causing big problems down the right but a largely frustrating half ends 0-0. Guus wont be happy.

Surprisingly there are no changes at half time so the staring 11 had better improve but within 2mins Cahill gets a free header in the box - thankfully, Cech safely gathers. The Blues are starting to look sharper but the final ball is lazy; particularly from Anelka. Kalou is warming up and unsurprisingly he replaces Anelka on the hour. Ess also gets a rest as well as the Jedi also comes on pushing Ballack further forward. JT steps up to show how its done by rifling in a 35yrd drive but Howard makes the save. Yobo flattens Malouda on the edge of the box but the ref and linesman conspire to miss it completely. Chelsea are stepping up the pace in the last 20mins and a great ball from Ivanovich falls to Lamps but the shot is smothered. A minute later and Malouda's cross is headed over by Kalou. Its Maloudas last action as he's replaced by Di Santo. Its all Chelsea as we enter the last 10mins as Kalous drive is headed clear by Lescott but Everton still look lively on the break. A long hoof out of defence on 90mins finds Jo in a one on one with Cech who stoops to head away and gets a knock for his troubles as 4mins of added time goes up. Ivanovich finds the Drog who spins but his shot crashes back off the crossbar. Its the last action of a frustrating night that ends all square.

Chelsea have dropped 18 points to date at home and that explains why the premiership has been beyond us for some time now. Still, there's the Champions League and an FA cup final left to contest - Come on u Blues.

Chelsea 2 -- 1 Arsenal (FA Cup semi final)

2009-04-19T18:41:00.000+01:00

A great day at Wembley and a result that generated the kind of response that normally comes when we win at trophy. Shame it was just a semi final (not sure that semi'sshould ever be at Wembley but that's a debate for another time

We got off to a great start when the Drog almost headded into an empty net as Fabianski came charging out but the ball was cleared off he line. Against the run of play, Theo Walcott opened the scoring on 18mins with a shot across Cech that really should have produced a save but for the deflection of Ashley Cole's hand. This set back only served only to spur on the Blues and as we took control of the half we leveled when Malouda collected a superb cross field pass from Lamps and slotted home into the far corner.

pitch so it wasn't much of a surprise when, with 6The second half was much like the first as the Blues got stronger and stronger on a dire wembleymns remaining, Drogba latched on to a looped clearance from Lamps, shook off the challenge of Silvestre, rounded the advancing Fabianski and tapped Chelsea into the FA cup final.

Massive celebrations on the Wembley west side and out on to the concourse after the game

Come on U blues

Read BBC report here

Chelsea 4 - 4 Liverpool (Chelsea win 7-5 on ag)

2009-04-15T10:46:00.000+01:00

An incredible night at Stamford Bridge and I'm still breathless the morning after.

Having played a shambolic first half in which frankly he Blues were luck to be only 0-2 down, they came out for the second half and tore a page out of the Liverpool comeback book by leading 3-2. Goals from Drogba, a screamer of a free kick ofrom Alex and a 3rd from Lamps had looked as if they had put the tie to bed. But back came Liverpool with 10mins to go, scoring 2 goals in as many minutes as the current frailties of Peter Cech came to the fore again. That made it 3-4 and Liverpool only needed to score one more to progress but up stepped that man Lampard again to finish in the dying minutes from a sweet pull back by Anelka.

So the scousers are dumped out of the Champions league for the second year in a row at the Bridge and now there's the small mater of Barca in the Semis - who said this campaign would be easy - Come on U Blues.

Match report >> here and >> here

.... of scarcity, abundance and Prince (yet again)

2009-04-13T15:19:00.000+01:00

You'll remember that Prince famously gave away his last album as a cover mount with the Mail On Sunday and, whilst the music bigwigs threw their hands up in horror, a few of us contemplated that the purple one really understood the new economics of scarcity and abundance - particularly after seeing him live.

Last week Prince announced that his 3 new albums - LOtUSFLOW3R, MPLSoUND and Elixer - will be sold as a triple disc set and will probably retail for less than £10 in the UK. Value indeed (even though he only sings on the first two) however consider this ... According to the Guardian, Princes other release in 2009 will be ... "21 Nights :The Prince Opus, comprising a limited edition book and iPod, has been announced with a price-tag of £1,500".

Now £1500 should buy you a one hell of a book and indeed the report claims "its a massive 280 pages, almost two feet wide, and weighing 17kg". The book documents Prince's 21-night stand at the O2 arena in 2007, interspersed with lyrics, poetry and photographs by Randee St Nicholas. A engraved iPod, pre-loaded with Prince's Indigo Nights live album and a special 40 minute film "made by Prince", documenting the O2 residency is also included in the package. Only 950 sets will be made available and one lucky "buyer" will win a flight to LA for a private Prince gig.

That's a smell over £1.4m just on the "special offer" and before any album sales

.... of scarcity and abundance or what ?

Chelsea 4 - 3 Bolton

2009-04-11T15:46:00.000+01:00

A potentially tricky tie at home to Bolton with minds on Tuesday 2nd leg against the scousers. Guus pairs JT with Rickey to give him a run out and keeps Ivanovich at right back. Jedi comes in for Ess who we hope is just being rested.

After a bright start from Bolton the game swings firmly in our favour with Lamps, Jedi and Ballack bossing the play. On 24mins, Lamps rifles in a low free kick which Jaaskelainen is lucky to palm the ball wide. Its all Chelsea and after a few careless misses from the Drog and the denial of a stonewall penalty on 31mins following a foul on Ash, the deadlock is finally broken on 39mins. Ballack works a nice one two with Kalou on the right and then drives into the box and buries one past Jaaskelainen. Bolton are barely getting out of their half but right at the death a ball is lobbed into Kevin Davies an his snap shot flies just wide.

No changes for the Blues at half time and none needed as within 3mins Kalou is brought down on the right and the resulting free kick in driven in low by Lamps and drilled home by the Drog. its 2-0 and cruising. On 55mins Ivanovich chips in to the Drog who flicks the ball back to Lamps who volleys just wide. Bolton have hardly been out of their half in the opening 10mins. On the hour Ballack feeds lamps in the box and his cross hits Steinsson on the arm. Its a soft penalty but Lamps steps up to makes it 3-0. Boltons goal is under siege as a Kalou cross is knocked out for a corner from which Ivanovich gets a neat head on for the Drog to shoot past Jaaskelainen. That's 4-0 with 68mins gone and its rest time for Lamps and the Drog as Deco and Anelka join the fray.

Bolton substitute Andy O'Brien pulls one back a minute later after Cech fails to collect and a minute later Chris Basham connects with a Kevin Davies header and its 4-2. Surely the Blues wont throw this one away - maybe minds are turning prematurely to Tuesday night ?? But with 12mins to go its 4-3 as a route one ball splits JT and Ash and Matt Taylor heads past Cech. I know the Drog and Lamps are off but we're not playing with nine - we just look like it !! Cool heads are needed as Bolton are just hoisting balls into the Chelse box - its not pretty but its effective.With 3mins to go the ball breaks to Gardner wide on the left; he cuts in past Ballack but thankfully drives well over. A mix up in the Bolton goal and Anelka scuffs a connection but but the ball is cleared off the line. There are 4 very tense minutes of added time to come. Ballack finds Malouda on the edge of the box but his shot is well parried by Jaaskelainen. Last throw of the dice as Bolton win a corner - Cech flaps but the loose ball goes wide.

Jeez that was as bad as Wednesday was brilliant. Liverpool must be heartened by that as they need to score three - g-d I hope not. Come on U Blues.

Liverpool 1 - 3 Chelsea

2009-04-10T15:24:00.000+01:00

They talk about big European nights at Anfield but this will go down as one that all Blues fans had hopped for but few could have expected. Guus pulls a mater stroke by dropping Ess into the holding role to shadow Gerrard (who as a result was almost invisible). Anelka is on the bench with Rickey so its a regulation 4-3-3 with the Drog up top on his own. Bosingwa is still injured so Ivanovitch comes in at right back and his presence was crucial.

It looked ominous when Torres put the scousers ahead on 6mins but the response from the Blues was nothing short of awesome as they soaked up the pressure and built our own great chances. Twice we could have leveled as Drogba wasted good chances (the best on 30mins when he lashed over a Ballack cross) before Ivanovich made Liverpool pay for a sloppy zone on their 6yard box. The half ends 1-1

The 2nd half started in much the same way as the first but slowly the Blues took control and on 62mins a corner form Lamps again exposes the Liverpool zone and Ivanovic darts in to bury a header for 1-2. Within 5mins its 1-3 as Ballack plays in Malouda, who drives in a low cross for the Drog to drive in and bury from close range.

Click for Sky report

Newcastle 0 - 2 Chelsea

2009-04-06T15:16:00.000+01:00

Traveling so again reduced to recieving BBC text reports but this had the potential to be a trickey game at St James Park with the return of Shearer the messaia.

As it goes, it was a hard fought and well earned 0-2 win with golas from Lamps and Malouda to set things up nicely for our CL trip to Anfield on Wednesday.

Click for BBC report
Click for Sky

The ultimate try before you buy ?

2009-03-31T13:36:00.000+01:00

People will know that I stumbled across spotify earlier this year and love it.

So I was excited to hear today that a deal has been struck between Spotify and 7 Digital that will see a 'Buy From 7Digital' option added to the right click menu inside Spotify and will cover a six million strong catalogue of tracks. Now for the iTune haters amongst us - and there are many - this is just fantastic news as 7Digital also delivers its content at ear embracing 320kbps bitrates.

But is this the ultimate try before you buy experience ?? In the past you were only able to hear a few seconds of poor quality audio before making a purchase decision on a particular track. Now you get the whole track, superb quality, arguably better performance than on your local device (see my comment on iTunes performance vs Spotify) and all this before hitting the buy button. Is this the future for other consumer items ?? What d'ya think ??

In related news, I also heard that Spotify are finalising an iPhone / iTouch solution that will be available from the app store. Will Apple really let this go out unencumbered and embarrass their belover iTunes ? Indeed, if you can get Spotify quality streamed to your device and the buy from 7Digital - why would you use the iTunes store at all ? This one will be interesting to watch.

Coldplay vs Satriani - will it ever get to court ?

2009-03-29T06:00:00.000+01:00

I've never been a Coldplay fan. Personally I find their brand of rock very boring and derivative but you can't argue with their commercial success and yes .... lots of people out there do like them.

So I was intrigued to hear back in December last year that Joe Satriani had filed a suit for plagiarism accusing the band of ripping off his 2004 track “If I Could Fly” for their own Grammy-nominated hit “Viva La Vida.” Satriani accused Coldplay of stealing “substantial original portions” of his track.

If you're into the musical theory, then the video below covers that in great detail however you can also just listen and let your ears decide (its not the greatest quality but good enough to hear - the owner has done a pretty good job with "mashing" the 2 tracks)

Anyway, its all gone a bit quite on this one. The last big news was that Satriani's legal team were due to serve the writs on Coldplay at this years Grammys but that seems to have been and gone now.

Personally, I hate this type of thing - I remember the whole Belinda Carlisle and Bon Jovi spat in the eighties over the similarities between "you give love a bad name" and "heaven is place on earth". They're almost always unsatisfactory and show the musicians involved in a poor light. In this case however I have to feel for Joe satriani. This isn't the first time that Coldplay have been cited for plagiarism - see the list in the video above - and the amount of "lifted" material goes way beyond co-incidence.

Anyway - you decide but feel free to post comments or updates to the story.

Tottenham 1 - 0 Chelsea

2009-03-21T15:28:00.001Z

Off to what used to be "3 point lane" but now is a little bit harder with Harry at the Helm. The Blues have Alex and Belletti back for the injured Rickey and Deco respectively otherwise its the team that beat City last weekend.

Its a frenetic start and with 7min on the clock as Ess plays a beautiful one/two with Anelka on the edge of the box but his shot is parried by Gomes. Spurs then drive straight up the other end but Jenas shoots just over. Spurs are pressing both ball and player and as a result Ballack has given a few sloppy balls away - cant keep doing that. Alex lets a nothing ball bounce over his head on 17mins, Keane pounces and his drive forces a good save from Cech. Anleka looses the ball in midfield on 25mins and Chorluka drives forward and finds Keane on the edge of the box but his shot is straight at Cech. With half an hour gone it looks now like Spurs have settled back into a "9 men behind the ball" shape when the Blues have possesion but they're then breaking quickly when we loose it. Belletti pulls a loose ball back to Anelka on the edge of the box but his drive is again parried by Gomes. For the second time, a long ball is allowed to bounce and it releases Mordric but fortunatley it comes to nothing. With a minute to go, the Drog is helped off after a bad clash with King but that's pretty much it for the first half.

No changes as Spurs get the 2nd half underway and they're in front with 4mins as Lennon teases down the right and squares to Mordric who fires low into the corner past Cech. Chelsea need some width - in attacking and defensive play - so no surprise that on 60mins Queresma replaces Belletti on the right. Chelsea are second best all over the pitch right now however Queresma immediately fires in a great back post cross but Lamps header is bundled past the post by Chorlukas hand but no penalty. News comes through that Man U are now 2-0 down which makes this result even more vital. A nice passage of play finds Drogba on the left but his strike is easily saved by Gomes. This is a big 20mins coming up. Jenas and Bent combine on the edge of our box but the block falls to Keane who thankfully fires over. Quarter of an hour to go and Chelsea go 4-4-2 as Malouda replaces Essien - desperate stuff now and a point would do. Another Lamps free kick finds JT's head but his goal bound connection is brilliantly saved once again Gomes. This time JT floats a diagonal ball into the box but this time the Drog heads wide. With 5mins to go, Chelsea break with Ballack but his woeful pass is rightly berated by Drogba. There's 4mins of stoppage time but it might as well be 4 hours for Chelsea as first Anelka scuffs a shot at Gomes, from the resulting corner Alex hits the bar and then Gomes saves from Malouda. Its too little too late and it ends 1-0 to Spurs.

Guss has his first defeat and a chance to pile pressure on Man U is wasted

Chelsea 1 - 0 Man City

2009-03-16T05:51:00.000Z

I'm at the Rugby today - needs must and if you have to watch the egg chasers, it may as well be England V France at Twickers (.... edit the French got well and truely thumped 34-10) so just the radio and web for following the mighty Blues.

Deco comes into a 4-3-3 with Ess, Lamps and Ballack driving the midfield and Rickey is back alongside JT. Within 2mins its almost a dream start as an Anelka cross finds Deco whose shot is deflected in by Lamps but its flagged offside. Its all Chelsea and with 28mins gone, Lamps finds Ess in acres of space with a quick free kick which he shins up over Shay Given. A bit lucky but the domination deserved it. City get their first proper chance as Caicedo is found completely unmarked by Bridge but he drags his shot well wide. Ballacks having a better game for a change in an unfamiliar holding role. As the half draws to a close Anelka is clearly pulled back in the box but Onuoha but our good friend Mike Riely has another case of blue tinted myopia. In the final 10 mins, two cracking attacks come to nothing as first the Drog back heels to Ballack but his shot curls over and then Ess heads over from 12yrds out. That's it for the half though Deco hobbles off to be replaced by Belletti.

The second half gets underway much like the first with Onuoha forced into a last ditch tackel to stop the Drog doubling the lead and 5mins later, Bozzy again finds the Drog but this time Shay Given to brilliantly palms away the shot. We're starting to worry that this might be another one of those "one goal's not enough" days as Belletti hits the post with 20mins gone. We should be 5 up by now. We're in the last 15mins and the injured Drog is replaced by Malouda. Man City don't look threatening but its all a bit twitchy as we go into 3mins of added time and Lamps cracks a creamer from the edge of the box but it flys high and wide. Its the last action of the game and that's another win under the Guus man.

Come on you Blues

Juventus 2 - 2 Chelsea

2009-03-10T19:40:00.000Z

Its a huge night as Chelsea take a slender 1-0 lead to the Stadio Olympico to face the return leg against Juve. The big news is that both Ess and Anelka start in place of Kalou and Malouda. So not much in the way of width but a front 2 of Drogba and Anelka with a middle 3 of Balack, Ess and Lamps in front of the Jedi looks pretty imposing -lets see. Trezeguet and Del Piero start up front for Juve.

Juve have started brightly winning 2 corners in the opening 6mins but Nedved has been stretchered off twice already and is finally replaced after 13mins. With 15mins gone Anelka is put through by the Drog and is wrongly flagged offside - he shoots wide anyway though however 3mins later the Blues are behind. A fabulous through ball from Trezuget releases Iaquinta who pulls Cech wide and dills the ball home. Ballack, who's started really poorly, looses the ball in midfield 2mins later and Del Piero hits a drive from 30yrds that is tipped over by Cech. Its all Juve now but slowly Chelsea are getting a liitle more possession and look to have weathered the storm. Inside the last 2mins of the half, its a free kick on the edge of the Juve box and Drogba cracks a ball that Buffon seems to scoop out from behind the line but the goal is amazingly not given. Justice is done a minute later though as Lamps strikes a ferocious drive against the bar and Essien is on hand to tap home. The half ends 1-1 but we have the vital away goal.

No changes in personnel at half time but there's a change in approach as the Blues start with some good crisp passing. With 53mins on the clock, its a free kick from an almost identical position but this time its straight at Buffon. Belletti is waiting to come on but while play continues Cech makes an incredible reaction save from a header from Trezeguet. Finally, Belletti replaces Essien as Juve press higher up the park and start to threaten again. Chiellini lunges in on Drogba and gets sent off as a result and then immediately after that Del Piero gets a free kick on the edge of the box which hits Belletti on the arm, Penalty to Juve that is calmly slotted away by Del Piero. Its now 2-1 to the 10 men of Juve on the night and 2-2 on aggregate but the Blues have the away goal. Calm heads needed now with 15mins to go. Chelsea are hoofing balls to Anelka but he can't hold the ball up - they need to go to the Drog. It must be over now though. Ballack feeds Bozzy down the right on 82mins and his cross is slotted home by the Drog. Juve now need to score twice in 8mins with only 10 men on the park. With 2mins of normal time remaining, Guss introduces Rickey for Alex as the clock runs down but its of little consequence as the Blues comfortably see out the final few minutes.

So we're into the last 8 and who wants money on us being paired with the Scousers again ?

Come on U Blues !!

Google flexes its considerable muscles

2009-03-09T20:29:00.000Z

In a move that some would say smacks of an excessive show of strength, Google have pulled music videos from the UK version of YouTube as part of an ongoing dispute with the Performing Rights Society.

YouTube claim that the new charges from the PRS, following the expiry of the previous deal, are excessive and for their part the PRS claim that Google's actions to pull videos from YouTube came in the middle of ongoing negotiations.

Whatever the rights and wrongs here, this one looks like its gonna run for a while and, once again, the only loosers are the UK music loving consumer.

Come on - sort it out girls

Click here for the full article from The Guardian

Ashley Cole - Apoliogies 2 - 1 Goals

2009-03-08T15:56:00.000Z

Entertaining commentary on Ashley Coles drunken exploits in this mornings Sky Sunday Supplement. Apparently Ashely has issued more formal apologies than he has scored goals since arriving at Chelsea.

>> Watch the video

>> Sky Sports link

Well it made me smile

Coventry 0- 2 Chelsea FA cup 1/4 final

2009-03-07T14:39:00.000Z

Up to the Ricoh arena for an FA cup quarter final that Guss is taking very seriously despite the away tie with Juve on Tuesday night. Its a full strength side with Anelka and Deco still injured so the front 3 are the Drog with Maoluda and Kalou on either flank. The big news thogh is that Ricky and Ess return to the bench.

Its a bright start from the Blues and within the first 6mins a hoof up field from Cech sets Drogba through on goal but he scuffs his shot wide and then Ballack scoops a shot over the bar after some nice work from Kalou. Its all Chelsea and the reward comes on 15mins when a mistake by Scott Dann lets in the Drog who looks to have taken the ball too wide before he drills the ball home for 0-1. Coventry are really being stretched as Bozzy and Kalou combine well on the right but they are not lying down and are fighting for every ball. On 28mins Alex gives away a needless free kick which thankfully is struck high and wide - Heads up Chelsea !! Malouda is having another invisible game and when he is finally seen, he sky's the ball to waste some good possession. With 35mins gone, Westwood makes a fine save from a dipping and swerving LAmps free kick and in the last minute of the half, first Drogba and then Kalou shoot wide from the edge of the box.

Queresma is on for Kalou in the second half, presumably with Juve in mind as Malouda would have been the obvious choice to be replaced. Lots of possession in the opening 10mins but not much penetration and Coventry are coming back into this game. However a huge roar goes up on 62mins as Essien gets ready to make an appearance. he replaces the Jedi though frankly we all wanted to see the back of the ineffectual Ballack but .... Om 72 mins a hign ball into the Chelsea box results in a clash of heads between Alex and the Drog. Both go off as we defend a long throw with 9 men however from the clearance Quersma breaks forward in a lightening counter attack and finds Alex with a perfect cross and he side foots home - that's 0-2 and game over but 5mins later another quick break, this time from Malouda (yes he can do quick occasionally) releases Lamps but his shot is well saved by Westwood. Drogba makes way for Di Santo in the last few mins but it ends 0 - 2 and the Blues are on their way to a Wembley semi final.

Now the small matter of Juve on Tuesday - Come on U Blues !!

Portsmouth 0 - 1 Chelsea

2009-03-04T21:36:00.000Z

Had to resort to text updates from the Beeb for this vital away game (aren't they all now) at Fratton Park. By all accounts it was a "cup tie like" affair that was not helped by storm conditions down on the south coast. Thankfully it was settled with just over 10mins to go when the Drog connected with a whipped cross from Bozzy to steer the ball past David James.

Clicke here for Skysports match report

Chelsea 2 - 1 Wigan

2009-02-28T15:16:00.000Z

Down to earth with a bump after the Juventus game as we face Wigan at home. Mancienne comes in at right back for the suspended Bozzy but otherwise its Wednesdays team.

Its a really slow start from the Blues in a disappointing opening 15mins. The first clear chance of the game goes to Wigan as Scharner breaks free between Alex and Ash but his shot is screwed wide across Cech. Not good from the blues - we're clearly suffering from the midweek exertions. With 20mins on the clock Ash clears a Bramble header off the line and then JT blocks the follow up. Its all Wigan at the moment and Guss is rightly fuming. Finally a decent attacking spell when fisrt Drogba drives wide and from the resulting corner, Mikel tests Kirkland with a stinging volley from the edge of the box. That's got us going and on 25mins a lovely exchange of passes finds Lamps clear in the box, his cross is headed clear but only as far as JT who scissor kicks home a volley from the edge of the box. That's 1-0 and normal service is resumed. On 36mins Chelsea flood forward after a Wigan corner and a peach of a through ball from Kalou finds Lamps in the box but he delays his shot which is saved by Kirkland and Ballack is flagged offside when he heads the loose ball. Right on half time Drogba is fouled 25yrds out, picks himself up to take the kick, much to Ballacks displeasure, but his effort dips too late to trouble Kirkland so the half ends 1-0.

No changes at half time and Wigan start brightly again but on 50mins Lamps breaks free and slots Drogba through - his shot beats Kirkland but is cleared off the line by Bramble. Wigan wont lie down though and whilst its only 1-0 there's a nervy edge around the bridge. Ballack's done very little again and you have to think that Essien's imminent return will have to see him off. Bruce throws on Rodeaga in a move to 4-4-2 but immediately Lamps lifts a through ball for the Drog who feeds in Anelka but Bramble clears. With 15mins to go Belletti comes on for Kalou in what looks like our own version of 4-4-2 but again the Blues look like they're running out of steam. Guss makes another change with Queresma replacing Mancienne and Belletti slotting into right back but in the confusion a whipped cross from that side finds Kapo ahead of Anelka at the near post to head the equalizer. But wait for it, as the stadium announcer calls 3mins to go, Ballack heads on a hopeful hoof into the box and Lamps is on hand to head past Kirkland.

Relief all round the bridge but how many times will Lamps save our season ?

Chelsea 1 - 0 Juventus

2009-02-26T10:56:00.000Z

Big Guss gets his first home game and first taste of a European night at the bridge at the same time. Its the same team that beat the Villa apart from the return of Ash at left back. The Tinkerman gets a warm welcome back which is nice to hear.

The blues start brightly, as we did against Villa, and within 5mins Bozzy tests Buffon with a left-foot drive and 4mins later the Drog heads over from a Bozzy cross. On 12 mins, Kalou wriggles and then threads a ball through to the Drog who easily slots home. It should have been 2-0 just 3mins later when the Drog head wide from a Lamps corner when hitting the target looked much easier. Its all Chelsea but Cech is called into action to save from Del Piero with 22mins on the clock however on the half hour Ash tests Buffon with a 30-yard drive. The half ends 1-0.

No changes at half time but within 5mins Camoranesi goes off with what looks like a hamstring problem injury. On 53mis, the Drog is brought downb for what looks like a nailed on penalty but the ref waves away the protests. Its much the same as the first half with lots of nice football but few clear cut chances. An hour gone and a free-kick from Del Piero tests Cech and JT has to clear the fumble. Its all getting a bit scrappy now as time runs down but with 3 mins to go Anelka nearly doubles the lead with a 20-yard effort that is just inches wide. A big scare in stoppage time as Nedved shaves the post with Cech well beaten but it ends 1 - 0 to the mighty Blues.

Wigan at home next - slightly different challenge that one - Come on u Blues

Villa 0 - 1 Chelsea

2009-02-21T16:51:00.000Z

First games in charge dont get much togher than this - away to a resurgent Aston Villa but Guss goes with Anelka and the Drog but in a standard 4-3-3. No Ash through suspension so Ferreria slots in to left back.

Its a bright start and the Drog looks up for it as first Drogba and then Lamps threaten the Villa goal. Cech flaps at a Milner cross and the ball breaks to Heskey but his shot is high and wide and not too handsome. With 20mins on the clock, Lamps dances between Davies and Petrov before sliding a pass through to Anelka who lifts the ball over Friedel into the corner of the net. Its all Chelsea now and Friedel is called into action again to stop a thunderous header from JT connecting with a corner from Lamps. On 33mins a suspect freekick gives Ashley Young a chance to level things but his shot hits the bar and Heskey heads wide. The half ends 0 - 1 to the Blues.

Villa look more up for it as the second half gets underway but JT has the best chance of the opening minutes when he again connects with a corner from Lamps but Petrov clears off the line. On 54mins, Agbonlahor slips in behind Alex but Cech saves well from his cross come shot. Villa are much improved but much to O'Neils annoyance, the Blues keep slowing the game down to break up their rhythm. As the half draws to a close The Drog shoots over and a nice interchange between Bozzy and Drogba sets the defender free but Friedel saves from close range. So it ends 0 -1 to the Blues and Gus is off to a winning start. Now its just the small matter of Juventus on Wednesday.

Come on U Blues

Watford 1 - 3 Chelsea (FA Cup 6th Rnd)

2009-02-14T17:24:00.000Z

Ray Wilkins takes temporary charge for this FA Cup clash and its a pretty strange line up, even for a game against Watford. Not so much he choice of Drogba and Anelka up front (with Kalou) but its a back 4 that introduces Mancienne at left back (the boy's a centre half) with Alex and Ivanovich as the central two. At least Cech is back between the sticks and there's Quersma is on the bench.

Inside 20secs Mancienne breaks forward and releases the Drog and his cross is just ahead of the on rushing Kalou. On 7mins, Lamps feeds the Drog this time and he rifles a shot that is palmed away for a corner. Its a bight start with lots of neat possession anmd 5mins later another free kick this time reaches Kalou completely unmarked as the Watford defence fail to get out as a unit but he heads behind both Ballack and the Drog. Half way through the half another Lamps free kick is palmed away by Loach in the Watford goal but thus far its all been set pieces or long range shots - there's no real penetration or anyone capable of getting round the back. As the half progresses Watford continue to grow in confidence and threaten a few times but it ends 0-0. Over to Ray to make some changes ? Doubt it

So no changes (and probably no plan B) as we start the second half. A superb long ball from Ivanovich finds the Drog on 48mins but his shot is well saved by Loach and 2mins later Lamps hits a swerving 25yrd shot just wide. An hour gone and a skewed cross from Kalou is headed back across the goal by Anelka only for Ballack to miss from 3 yrds out in even worse fashion that JT last week - pathetic. On 68mins the inevitable happens, everyone's up for our 13th corner and with people only trotting back, a lofted ball reaches Thomas Priskin who looks well offside but he runs on to chip over the advancing Cech. Wilkins' response is to take off Mikel and introduce Stoch - looks like its 4-4-2 but is it too little too late. Fortunately not, because its two Anelka goals in 80seconds; the first from from our 15th corner with and overhead kick from 5yrds out and the second being a nudged header from am Ashley Cole cross. With 8mins to go Belletti comes on to replace the hapless Ballack. On 90mins its almost all undone as Jobi McAnuff almost steers on past Cech but the Blues got straight up the other end for Anleka to squeeze home his hatrick.

Trailing with 15mins to go, it was quite an effort to turn this one around. Its Villa next week so come on U Blues !!

Its so long Phil...... and welcome "the Dink".

2009-02-12T17:17:00.000Z

So Guss is the man - at least until the end of the season - and despite the stories of player power and dressing room discontent perhaps he's a big enough character to grab them by the scruff of the neck turn things around.
We hope so - Come on U Blues

Scolari sacked - its deja vu at the bridge

2009-02-09T17:05:00.000Z

OK, so the performances have been very poor but the injuries have conspired against him.

But hang on..... we were awesome at the start of the season ...... so what happened ? Steve Clarke left, that's what happened and as nice a Ray Wilkins is as a bloke who does a passable Uncle Fester impersonation, he lacks the training ground experience.

Its not Scolari's team (apart from Deco - remember that Bozzy was coming anyway), but clearly he's had problems in the dressing room and on the training ground. This is a huge mess and please tell me the rumours about Grant and Hiddink are just a joke.

Come on U Blues

Chelsea 0 - 0 Hull City

2009-02-07T15:22:00.000Z

A big home game this one after the disappointment of Sunday and it sees the debut of the on loan Queresma. Rickey is still out with a hamstring problem so Alex starts alongside JT but the worse news is that Cech is out with a back problem. So in comes Hilario (yes, that's right Hilario ,,,, because we gave Carlo to Tottenham ...... so we're left with a Calamity Jane and 12year old as cover).

It starts at a cracking pace with a chance falling to JT from a Lamps free kick in the opening minute but somehow he side foots over the bar from barely 3 yards out. Queresma is looking more lively in the first 15mins than Malouda has looked all season and the ball is being zipped around but as the half wears on Hull are starting to look more threatening and we're restricted to long range shots and free kicks - Ballack and Lamps go close .... but no cigar and the half ends 0-0 to mutters of discontent.

No changes at half time and a bright 10mins peters out and Hull nearly snatch a lead as Craig Fagin breaks clear but his shot is easily collected by Hilario. Scolari has seen enough so its Belletti coming on for the Jedi but Hull continue to grow in confidence - closing us down and moving the ball more effectively than we can. For the last 25mins it will be the Drog up front with Anelka as he replaces Queresma. It makes little difference and Dean Marney breaks free for the best chance of the game but his shot is driven wide. Kalou has a shot blocked by the hand of Andy Dawson - but a a clear penalty denied. Deco replaces Ballack as a last throw of the dice with 15mins to go. It would be harsh for Hull to not get anything from this as they've worked tirelessly to close down every inch of our possession. As we enter the last 10mins, Villa are still one up at Blackburn and if it stays like this we'll drop to 4th in the league. Kalou goes down on the edge of the "d" with 4mins to go but Drogba hits it wide. With 2mins to go Fagen and Marney break through for Hull but JT shepherds them away for a corner. Another scare survived and there are 3mins of added time but it comes to nothing. The game ends 0 - 0, boo's ring out around Stamford Bridge and we're down to 4th place.

What's going on !!

RIP John Martyn

2009-02-07T12:33:00.000Z

Sometimes a song just resonates with you and that's how it was when I first heard "may you never" by John Martyn who sadly died in Ireland on 29 January 2009. I cant lay claim to being a big fan but the hairs on the back of my neck always stood up when I heard that song.

Paying tribute to Martyn, BBC Radio 2's folk presenter Mike Harding said: "John Martyn was a true original, one of the giants of the folk scene".

Strangely I always thought is needed a harmony vocal so i was pleasently surprised to find this on You Tube - Enjoy

Liverpool 2 - 0 Chelsea (no small thanks to Mike Riley)

2009-02-03T15:08:00.000Z

A game that look destined for a goalless draw turned on a ludicrous decision just after the hour from Mike Riley to "straight red" Lamps for a tackle that was like a foul on him by Alonso. Despite throwing on Deco and the Drog (for the largely ineffective Malouda and Anelka) to stem the inevitable red tide following the dismissal the Blues finally scummed to a couple of strikes from Torres in the final two minutes.

That's the title chase over and it'll be a fight with Villa to avoid 4th place.

See the BBC match report here <<<

Chelsea 2 - 0 'Boro

2009-01-28T20:46:00.000Z

Home to the 'Boro and its the same line up as Saturday except that Alex comes in for Ricky who's out with a hamstring problem. The Drog is still warming the bench. ts a lively opening though from the Blues with loads of possession but as has been the case so far at home, no end product. Boro have 10 men behind the ball and we just aren't moving the ball quick enough or wide enough to be effective. Ash goes close with a header from a Bozzy cross but as the half goes on so the frustration grows. Lamps wastes 3 free kicks and as many corners and as we approach half time I can only remember the keeper making one save. As the whistle goes for half time the boos ring out and its not surprising - 75% possession and only 2 attempts on target.

For the second half, its the Drog on for Malouda but will it be 4-4-2 ? No such luck as Anelka drifts wide with his head bowed. Within 2mins Drogba is free but his shot goes out for a throw - yes a throw ! This game has the stench of a 0 - 0 about it. Boro loose the ball on the edge of our box and it takes 6 walking pace passes to reach the centre circle by which time there's 10 men behind the ball again - pathetic. On 54mins we finally swing in a threatening corner which is headed on by Ballack only for Kalou to head over from 3yrds out. Alex has a free kick on 56mins deflected for a corner which again is well delivered and the ball fall to Kalou who buries the loose ball to make up for the earlier miss. Now can we push on but not concede ? Southgate throws on Alves and Tungay in response.On 72mins, Lamps drive a free kick from 35yrds out which is spilled at the feet of Kalou who promptly slips over and the ball runs out for a goal kick. Bozzy cuts in and finds Lamps on 77mins but the shot is wide. With 10mins to go, its 2-0 as Kalou heads home unmarked from a Lamps corner and his reward is to be replaced by Deco. A huge cheer goes up as the news comes in that Wigan have equalised against Liverpool and that's the end of the excitement despite the introduction of Stoch and a late free kick from Deco.

Now on to Anfield - Come on U Blues

Chelsea 3 - 1 Ipswich (FA Cup 4th Round)

2009-01-24T15:11:00.000Z

A home FA cup tie and I'm depending on the BBC for some coverage. Its a strong side to face Ipswich but no Jedi (through suspension) or JT (through back injury) so Belletti holds the midfield and Alex continues alongside Rickey. The Drog is only on the bench prompting more speculation.

Its a bright opening from the Blues and on 8 mins Anelka finds Ballack 10yrds out but his effort is woefully tame and wide. It only takes another 8mins to go ahead as Lamps finds Ash out wide and his cushioned cross is stroked in by Ballack. That's 1-0 and lets hope we press on. Unfortunately that's not the case though as we've taken our foot off the gas and just past the half hour, defending from dead balls lets us down again. Rickey chooses to chest down a ball that should have been cleared and Alex Bruce (Steve's boy) nips in and drives home an equaliser. We simply can't defend any more !! Just appalling !! Now we're in for a tough battle. Maybe the Drog is needed for the second half.

No changes at half time and is depressingly similar. Kalou is charging around like a headless chicken and taking too many touches, Belletti is pushing up and leaving acres of space behind whilst Anelka looks completely disinterested. Malouda is giving the ball away every 5mins but finally the Drog is warming up. Its Drogba for Malouda on 58mins so Anelka needs to go wide right and, surprise surprise, he's having a bit of a strop. It might have woken him up though as 2mins later he breaks forward and is brought down on the edge of the box. Up steps Michael Ballack to drill home the free kick and its 2 - 1. Its a bit better as Kalou and Lamps combine on the edge of the box but Kalous shot is well saved. Rickey has a problem and is replaced by Ivanovich with 20mins to go. Kalou misses an absolute sitter from 3 yards out as Lamps stands a ball up from Anelka that even I could have headed home. If we keep wasting chances like that, we'll be made to pay. With 10mins to go, Deco comes on for Ballack but we're looking sloppy again and its nearly 2 -2 as Kevin Lisbie connects with a deep cross but fortunately he heads wide. Straight up the other end and the Drog looses the ball in the box and then charges back to win the ball. He wins a free kick which Lamps rockets home off and that's 3 - 1 but the scoreline masks a poor performance.

So we're into the last 16 but in very unconvincing fashion - I'll be back at the Bridge on Wed for the Boro game - Come on U Blues

Chelsea 0 - 0 Stoke

2009-01-17T15:21:00.000Z

Looking to build on the midweek FA cup victory so again no Drogba (he's not even on the bench) but the really bad news comes as we hear that Joe Cole had an operation on his knee this morning and will be out for the rest of the season. Worse still is that JT limped off during the warm up and is replaced by Alex. So its up to Malouda and Kalou to provide width for Anelka. No Deco either (calf strain) so its a very young bench with Di Santo, Mancienne, Stoch, Kakuta as 4 teens from the possible 7 subs.

Its a nervy start as an early Delap throw causes havoc in a strange zone come man-to-man hybrid. But from then on its all Chelsea as they park in the Stoke half. Lots of possession and half chances - Ballack hits a free kick straight at Sorensen and on 23mins Lamps whips in a free kick which beats the entire Stoke defence but Kalou knocks the chance over the bar. Kalou is brought down in the box 2mins later but the ref is having none of it. On 32mins, a lovely exchange of passes on the edge of the box breaks to Anelka but his snap shot is well saved by Sorensen. You believe a goal must be coming but again the Blues are denied on 42mins as a goal bound Ashley Cole strike is deflected over. In the last 2mins Lamps twice lets rip from the edge of the box but both times Sorensen gets his gloves behind the ball. Its been all Chelsea but the first half ends goalless.

No changes at half time and its the same pattern - first a driven free kick from Lamps and the Bozzy drives over. On 50mins a flowing move ends with Malouda floating a simple cross which Ballack somehow heads wide when completely unmarked. Apart from one Beattie effort its been all Chelsea but on the hour Beattie feeds Delap whop works his way into the box and lifts the ball over Cech. We're loosing at home to the team with the worst away record in the league and the response is to swap Malouda with Di Santo. With 63 mins its nearly 2-0 as Cech comes and flaps at a Delap throw but its scrambled away. A lovely exchange with Anelka a minute later sets Lamps free but he drags his shot wide. On 69mins the ball is fed out to Ash and his cross / shot eludes everyone. This is not our day (or season ?). Jedi, Ballack and Alex all blast over and this is looking desperate as first Belletti and then Stoch come on for Bozzy and Jedi respectively with 5mins to go and finally Belletti connects with a knock down from Di Santo and its 1-1.

So we celebrate an equaliser against the team with the worst away record in the league - hardly acceptable but ..... on 90mins Kalou picks up the ball in his own half and runs at Stoke only to be brought down on the edge of the box. The free kick is tailor made for Lamps but for some reason Belletti flicks it wastefully into the Stoke wall. On 92mins a fabulous cross field pass from Lamps finds Stoch and his drive is parried by Sorensen. With 30seconds to go and a shot from Anelka breaks on the edge of the box to Lamps whop drives it home - What a turn around. !! Unbelievable scenes as the team and bench go wild....

OK so its a well overdue home win but ....... it was against Stoke and incredibly lucky - just hope this is that start of something better. COME ON U BLUES

Man U 3 - 0 Chelsea

2009-01-11T17:59:00.000Z

No invention, now width, no hope ......

No comment

Go Spotify...

2009-01-07T12:40:00.000Z

A friend recently told me about a music service called Spotify .... and I love it !!

Spotify is an online and growing library of music which is streamed incredibly quickly and with excellent audio quality (160Kbps Ogg - equivalent to 192Kbps MP3). If you use the free service (why wouldn't you ??) you are interrupted every 20mins or so, but between tracks, by adverts, coming in the form of banners around the player, short audio clips etc You can pay £9.99 / month to go ad free but .......

Currently the service is supported by major labels like Universal, Sony BMG, EMI and Warner Music so there's plenty of content but perhaps the most surprising thing about Spotify is its performance. Its like bl**dy lightning. Compared to iTunes (yuk), its often quicker to play music on Spotify than it is to access and play music on your PC.

Try it - your ears will love you forever.

FA Cup 3rd Round Chelsea 1 - 1 Southend

2009-01-04T10:43:00.000Z

Another home game, another catalog of missed chances, heroic defending from the opposition and finally another victory thrown away in the dying minutes.

This is starting to occur with alarming regularity. We need a new plan (or 3) and maybe some finishing practise

Read it here > Southend Snatch Chelsea Draw
and here > Scolari rues goal-shy Chelsea

I just cant bring myself to comment further

Fulham 2 - 2 Chelsea

2008-12-28T14:27:00.000Z

Deco and Malouda come in for Ballack and Anelka in the West London derby but some better news is that Rickey at least makes the bench with those two.

Its an even start until on 10mins a Simon Davies's free-kick beats a static Blues defence to reach Dempsey who has an absolute age to control and flick home the opening goal. We're 1-0 down and not playing well. Deco is blowing hot and cold and crowd start chanting "there's only one Michael Ballack". Apart from a wide drive from the Drog which should have hit the target, its a very lack luster Blues. Things get worse as first Malouda goes off with a hamstring problem only to be followd by Alex who limps off with 10mins of the half remaining to be replaced by the hopefully fit Rickey C. Strangely, its looking better now; Anelka had a good drive straight after coming on and Lamps goes close from a nice interchnage between Anelka and Ash. To be fair to Fulham, they have pressed hard and not given us any space but that's no excuse. Scolari's got a lot to do in the break to extend the 19 game unbeaten away streak.

No changes but its a more positive start as both Lamps and Ivanovich test Schwartzer within 3 mins. The reward comes quickly as Joe chips in to Drogba who clashes with the keeper only for the loose ball to drop to Lamps and is 1-1. Its not before time as by my reckoning we've had at least a dozen goal attempts to their one.... which they scored from. Its all Chelsea as first Lamps and Drogs combine to set Joe Cole through but his shot is straight at Schwarzer and then 2mins later Joe is through again but again he's denied by Schwarzer who then clears the follow up from the on rushing Anelka. Its midway through the half and Kalou's getting ready to come on. He replaces Joe Cole at a time when he's been ripping into Fulham. Strange call but it matters not a jot as Lamps drives in a screamer of a free kick (once he'd got rid of the interfering Deco) to give us the lead. Almost immediately Scolari is up frantically waving 5 fingers calling for a more defensive set up - why? this is Fulham not Liverpool !!

Fulham make a double substitution with 12mins to go but its still all Chelsea though Fulham are still pressing hard. With 3mins to go the ball's played up to Anelka and again he looses out to a simple tackle much to Scolari's arm waving disgust. The resulting possession ends with a Fulham corner and once again we fail to deal with a simple set peice and Dempsey scores with an an unmarked header from the penalty spot. That's 2-2 and we go right up the other end and Ash drives at Schwarzer who parries to Lamps whose shot is also cleared. There's 3mins of added time but its not enough and Chelsea throw away another 2 points.

Kiss the league goodbye at his rate !!

Chelsea 2 - 0 West Brom

2008-12-26T18:20:00.000Z

Finally its Anelka and Drogba upfront, but its more of a 4-3-3 with Joe Cole given a broadly free reign in front of Jedi, Lamps and Ballack than the straight up 4-4-2 we'd been hoping for. No JT so Ivanovich plays alongside Alex. No Rickey on the bench either but there's a return for Malouda and a pretty packed Stamford Bridge is looking for a little Boxing Day cheer.

wasts a glorious move by blasting over and then Ash forces a double save from Carson (he should have netted at the second attempt but was wheeling away thinking the first one had gone in). Finally the lead is doubled as We get it within 3 mins as an opening onslaught results in a far post cross that is met sweetly by the Drog and loops into the back of the net. Thats 1-0 and within 10mins it could have been 2-0 as a Lamps free kick is sweetly struck but Carsoin gets his body behind it. Its all Chelsea as first Ballack the Coles combine - Joe plays in Ash for a mazey run - but the ball breaks free to Lamps who lifts the ball over Scott Carson. 2-0 and the half time whistle save WBA further punishment.

Second half sees Belletti on for the injured Bosingwa. The the pattern remains the same but the cutting edge seems to have gone. It dies even more as, after drawing a good save from Carson, the Drog is replaced by Malouda with 20mins to go. It all peters out from there to the sounds of the Shed end having a good old sing song. There should have been more goals but its a home win to break the awful sequence of unnecessary draws. Now on to Fulham for, hopefully, a return to winning away form in the West London derby

Come on you Blues

Everton 0 - 0 Chelsea

2008-12-23T10:14:00.000Z

A chance to go top again squandered after Liverpool dropped points on Sunday against Arsenal. Worse still JT sent off for a stupid high lunge in the firsyt half. Playing away with 10 men and getting a point would normally have been a positive result but if we keep throwing away chances like these to get our noses in front we'll never win the title.

The 100% away record is gone but truth be told we were lucky to get a point

Read it here from Sky --> SKYSPORTS
http://www.skysports.com/football/match_report/0,19764,11065_3073791,00.html

Chelsea 1 - 1 West Ham

2008-12-15T15:51:00.000Z

Points dropped again at home in a lame display that shows why 442 is becomming essential rather than an option. Anelka on his own is not enough and the "Ballack - Lampard - Deco" combination just doesnt seem to work.
The welcome for Zola was possibly the only highlight
This is pants !!

Read it here --> SKYSPORTS
http://www.skysports.com/football/match_report/0,19764,11065_3073788,00.html

Chelsea 2 - 1 Cluj

2008-12-10T19:52:00.000Z

Its a cold and nervy night at the bridge as the Blues go for qualification for the last 16 in a group that should have been won at a canter. Difficult to say this, but most of us would probably swap being here for an away game where victories have been more likely (though strangely not in the CL). The surprise is that Drogs is on the bench but happily Joe Cole is back but its a midfield five that looks weak without Lamps.

The nerves are justified as within 7mins Cech has to save a 25-yard drive from Pereira but 5mins later Alex heads a Deco cross down and over the bar. Its end to end stuff as an Alcantara attempt is cleared by the Jedi on the edge of the 6yard box. Its the 25th minute before we really threaten when Joe Cole drives just wide however 5mins later a Deco free kick is floated into the area and as JT is shoved to the ground foir what would ahve been a blatant penanlty Kalou is on hand to net he loose ball. The half ends 1-0 and we're a little lucky.

No changes at half time and our lack luster start is punished in the 55th as Cristian Panin is left with acres of space on the right to cross to the far post where Kone rose above Alex to head past Cech. Straight from the kick off we're up the other end but a Joe Cole drive from the edge of the area is well saved by Nuno Claro in the Cluj goal. Finally Kalou who's had a mare apart from the goal is replaced by the Drog and 6mins later we're back in front. Mikel strides out of defence to play in Joe Cole who lifts the ball over the Cluj defenders and right into Drogbas path. Without breaking stride, the balls in the net and its 2-1.

So, 2nd place in a group we really should have won and the possibility of a tricky opening game in the knock-out stages but at least we're through

Come on U Blues

Bolton 0 - 2 Chelsea

2008-12-06T15:25:00.000Z

Away to Bolton and on current form that should be a positive as at least we seem to be able to win on our Premiership travels. Alex comes in for Ivanovich at the back but otherwise its the usual line up with Mikel and Ballack alongside Lamps and Kalou, joins Anelka and Deco up top.

From the start, its clearly the 'away chelsea' that have arrived as they start the game with tons of pace and quick passing. Its 1-0 within 8mins as Anelka heads home a deep cross from Bosingwa. Its all Chelsea and its 2-0 with 15mins as Jaaskelainen saves a Kalou drive only for Ballack to pop the ball back into the box and Deco scores with a spectacular bicycle kick. Its nearly 3 within 5 mins as Jaaskelainen flaps at a cross and the ball falls to an unmarked Anelka who squeezes a first time shot well wide. The only downide so far has been some 'James-like' keeping from Cech which is worrying but apart from a Kevin Davis effort there have been no serious issues and the half ends 0-2.

No changes from the Blues at half time but this is now a much more even and end to end half. With 10mins gone Deco is clean through after a mix up in midfield but chips wide with only the keeper to beat. Just 2mins later another sweeping move sees Lamps break into the box but his drive from just 6 yards out is straight at Jaaskelainen. Up the other end Cech is forced into good saves from McCaan, Cahill and Davis but the half fizzles out for yet another away win. So that's 11 consecutive away wins which is a new record alongside 8 out of 8 this season. Now if only we were doing the same at home - we'll need to on Tuesday to qualify for the knock out stages of the Champions league.

Come on U Blues

Chelsea 1 - 2 Arsenal

2008-11-30T19:34:00.000Z

Home to Arsenal after a difficult and frustrating week for the Blues. Kalou comes in for Joe Cole who is injured yet again and Ivanovic keeps his palce alongside JT.

In a game that was billed as a must win for the Arse they started really slowly and the Blues bossed the opening 10 mins with Kalou denied an early opener thanks to a very dubious offside. Arsenal were growing in confidence and Cech had to make smart stops from Nasri and Fabregas. Its end to end stuff as Lamps and Deco combine to put Anelka through but the ball skips away. However on 30mins a whipped cross from Bosingwa following a crazy throw out from AlmouniaDjourou. That's it for the first half.

No changes in personnel and the second half starts much as the first as Lamps almost makes it two within 6mins from the edge of the box. Arsenal had done very little when just before the hour Van Persie latched on to a Denilson's pass and while we all waited for the clearest of offside flag to go up he smashed the ball past Cech. Mike Dean pointed at Bosi as if he was the one who played VP onside - clearly not but it was 1 - 1 and worse came 3mins later when AdebayorFabregas' free-kick in to Van Persie who swung a boot to scuff a shot past Chech. From 1 - 0 and cruising to 2-1 and struggling and the introduction of Malouda and Stoch did litlle to suggest we'd get an equaliser.

So fortress Stamford Bridge has been breached again - this is starting to look decidedly dodgy. We have 7 wins from 7 on the road in the Premiership but home its home form that's killing us .... and its the reverse in Europe.

I'm getting worried - COME ON U BLUES !!

Bordeaux 1 - 1 Chelsea

2008-11-26T20:18:00.000Z

Its away to Bordeaux in a vital matchday 5, following the disappointment of Saturdays 0-0 home draw with Newcastle. Drogs is on the bench as a result of an alleged clandestine meeting between him and Inter Milan officials on Monday. So its Anelka up front with Malouda and Cole on either side. Ivanovich lines up alongside JT and Ballack’s back in the midfield.

The opening 25mins is all Bordeaux with Cech having to make 4 vital saves and JT, Ash and Lamps all booked for reckless tackles. This is a very scrappy Blues performance, with Bordeaux closing down quickly and the omens don’t look good at present. It takes a full 35mins for Chelsea to string a decent move together but the balls squirms away from Lamps and Bordeaux are straight back up the other end winning a corner. Ballack, Lamps and Joe Cole have been largely anonymous and Anleka keeps straying offside. Fortunately the half ends goalless and the Blues can regroup - big team talk needed from Big Phil.

The second half starts with no changes and Bordeaux streaming forward . There's an hour on the clock and Drogba is warming up when the ball breaks to Lamps on the halfway line and he slips a through ball to Anelka that splits open the Bordeaux defence. Anelka carries the ball forward and coolly slots home. That's 1-0 and Anelka's reward is to be replaced by Drogs anyway. Joe Cole has the ball in the net on 67mins but its ruled offside and Joe's booked for his efforts for not playing to the whistle. Bordeaux seem to have lost their edge but on 82mins no one picks up Diarra from a Bordeaux corner and its 1 -1. Not one Chelsea player challenged Diarra's run which was criminal...... but it goes from bad to worse on 85mins as Lamps is booked for a loose challenge and he's off for a second yellow. It very nearly gets even worse as Cavenagi tests Cech from the edge of the box but his shot goes wide. The final whistle comes not a minute too soon and we trudge off thanking our lucky stars we're still in the competition.

A home win against Cluj next week (without the suspended Lamps) is now a must as Roma turned in an impressive 1 - 3 away win.

West Brom 0 - 3 Chelsea

2008-11-17T02:51:00.000Z

A perfect response to a pathetic display on Wednesday night, though to be fair for 30 mins it looked like this would be a struggle. All the pre match chatter was about Drogs and his midweek coin tossing and the expectation that he would start his last game before suspension. As it turned out, Anelka started up front in another injury disrupted lineup that saw Carlo remaining in goal, Ivanovich playing alongside JT; still no Ash, Ballack or Joe Cole.

West Brom started well with James Morrison going closed with a drive from the edge of the box and Ishmael Miller scuffing a clear chance wide of the post but as the half wore on we started to knock the ball around and Lamps and Malouda both tested Scott Carson in the Baggies goal. On 34mins Bosingwa cut in from the right wit consummate ease and drilled a shot into the top corner that took Carson completely by surprise - 1-0 to the Blues. Within 4mins it was 2-0 as Anelka collected a headed flick on ffrom Malouda and lifted the ball over Carson. Before the half was complete Anelka got his second and sealed the game when he picked up a pass from Kalou and squeezed the ball between Carson and his near post.

Pretty much game over and though the second half began with chances falling to Deco, Anelka and Malouda we simply eased off as time wore on to see out a routine away victory. Now we need a win against Newcastle to start rebuilding the fortress Stamford Bridge mentality - Come on you Blues

Chelsea 1 - 1 Burnley (Chelsea loose 5-4 on penalties)

2008-11-13T02:48:00.000Z

Pathetic - enough said !!

Blackburn 0 - 2 Chelsea

2008-11-09T14:05:00.000Z

It's more like a swimming pool than a pitch that Chelsea have to deal with up at Eawood Park and they have do it without either of the Cole as Joe's out again and Ash is still not fit. The opening 25mins are all Chelsea and Blackburn are penned back in their own half against an irresistable onslaught. We could be 4 up, with clear chances falling to Kalou, Lamps Malouda and Anelka - the latter being denied a stone wall penalty on 4mins. Robinson is having to have a good game in the Blackburn goal as on on 32mins Anelka is played in by Kalou and he needs firm hands to keep out another good strike. There's standing water everywhere and he ball is holding up badly in the wet - this might even get called off - however, on 35mins Lamps drives in another fierce shot that's parried for a corner. Its been all Chelsea but it takes a fluke to finally beat Robinson when a drive from Bosingwa is deflected in off Anelkas knee.... and that's how a soggy first half comes to a close.

Second half and Blackburn go 4-4-2 introducing Matt Derbyshire to try and respond on a pitch that is at least starting to dry out now. They're starting to cause a few problems but no real goal threats and on 61mins Belletti replaces the injured Kalou so Deco pushes out wide.We'd been looking a bit flat when Lamps pops up opn the edge of the box and nudges the ball to Anelka who lifts the ball over Robinson to make it 2-0. Last throw of the Blackburn dice as they introduce Fowler with 12mins to go. Two mins later Lamps rattles the crossbar with a free kick and Deco just chips over - still all Chelsea and that's how it ends.

That was a bit easy - come on U Blues

Roma 3 - 1 Chelsea

2008-11-04T20:34:00.000Z

Off to the Stadio Olympico for what turned out to be a disastrous night in Rome

Round two of our battle with Roma who set up with a front two this time as opposed to a back eight that they offered at the Bridge. For our part, its Bridge and Alex in for Ash and Rickey, Drogs is on the bench but Joe Cole starts alongside Anelkea and Malouda.The opening exchanges are pretty equal but the Blues are shooting on site with Deco, Malouda and Lamps all going close in the first 20mins. Deco and Lamps combine nicely on 29mins and Lamps draws a good save from Doni with a swerving drive. But the opening goal goes to Roma on 36mins against the run of play. Deco gives away a free kick that is simply pushed wide for Cicinho to cross in to the box and Panucci just walked the ball past Cech. Now we have a real game on. Mikel releases Maoluda on 39mins with a pass that splits the Roma defence but his shot is high and wide when Lamps and Cole were better placed but Roma are playing better now and not sitting back at all. The half end 1 -0 to Roma and there's work to do !

Changes for the second half with Belletti and Drogs on for Malouda and Joe Cole (cant believe that - Anleka has done nothing so far) but it looks like 4-4-2 with Belletti on one side and Deco on the other. It makes no difference as within 3mins its 2-0 as Vucinic buries one past Cech from the edge of the box. Roma set up with two banks of four as they defend their lead but there's no need as, on 58mins, Mikel losses out to Vucinic who runs half the length of the pich and then strokes the ball past Cech. Its 3-0 and game over as the Blues press forward but they are leaving themselves open at the back. Baptiste comes on for Totti on the hour and Kalou replaces Bosingwa at wide right as Belletti goes to right back in a return to 4-3-3 but it makes little difference as Roma soak up the pressure and then look to break. On 75mins we get our frst lucky break as a Deco shot looks to bounce back off JT's arm but nothings given so JT passes it into an empty net for 3 -1, surely no heroic come back ? Well not at this rate as on 80mins the ref books Deco for a second time for taking a quick free kick even though no advantage was gained - absolute refereeing insanity ! and fortunately the last meaningfully action on an awful night for the Blues.

So much for booking hotels in Rome :-)

Chelsea 0 - 1 Liverpool

2008-10-27T12:23:00.000Z

It was going to happen sooner or later but we really hoped it wasn't gonna happen against a big 4 side. After over 4 & 1/2 years and 86 games the home record fell to a deflected Alonso shot and a Liverpool defence that owed a lot to the way Roma set up earlier in the week. Without Torres up front, the omens looked good for the Blues, however it was the same front 3 of Malouda, Anelka and Kalou that were ineffective against Roma so it was unlikely to be a goal-fest

We started brightly and the deflected goal came against the run of early play but once they were ahead Liverpool set up a really strong defence. The rest of first half was all Chelsea but the final balls were poor and there was no real pemetration. Deco dispossed Gerrard with 9mins of the half to go but his shot went angonisingly inches wide.... and that was that. The second half was much the same and after an early Liverpool surge, it was all Chelsea again but apart from a possible penalty when Reina brought down Malouda, there was little to worry the Reds defence. Franco di Santo and Juliano Belletti came on for Malouda and Kalou but we had to wait until the 72nd min for a real chance when Cole latched on to a superb through ball from di Santo but he sliced wide. It was the last real threat of the half and we trudged away on the final whistle thinking that, although the record had to go one day, why did it have to go to Liverpool and in such a limp wristed fashion.

A major response is required away to Hull on Wednesday - come on you Blues !!

Chelsea 1 - 0 Roma

2008-10-23T16:45:00.000+01:00

After the demolition of Boro at the weekend it was hard to believe this would be as tricky as it looked - this was after all a worse Roma side than the one Man U put 6 past and they were coming to the Bridge off the back of a terrible run in Seria A. The Blues set up pretty much as they closed on Saturday with Deco starting alongside Lamps and the Jedi holding. Bridge came in for the injured Ashley Cole but still no sight of Joe.... and the start was pretty bright. Clearly Roma were here to defend with 3 holding midfield players but within 8 mins of the kick-off Lamps cracked a 20-yard volley but Doni safely pushed it away. Kalou latched onto to a cute Deco pass 20mins later but his shot was more like a back-pass. Lamps cracked a rolled Deco free kick against the crossbar but this was starting to look dodgy. Malouda was nowhere an Jedi was giving the ball away as the Blues continued to hit an 8 man Roma wall.

Second half and Big Phil replaced Malouda with Belletti and it seemed to inject some new urgency as a Kalou header brought a great save from Doni. Things were getting desperate as even Jedi tried his luck from Belletti range but it went high wide and not so handsome. On 67mins Anelka deflected another Jedi shot over the bar when it was way easier to score and at that point we we all getting worried. We shouldn't have bothered, with 12mins to go, JT powered his way ahead of his marker to connect with a Lamps corner to make it 1 -0. Lamps nearly cracked in a free kick to make it two in the 83rd minute but Doni tipped the ball over.

So the mighty Blues navigate a tricky tie and now all eyes are on Liverpool at home - come on u Blues !!