Archive for September, 2010

A Brief History of Chelsea – Chelsea v Arsenal 1969

To emphasise just how many legends filled this first team here is the line up from this fixture on the 27^th September 1969: 

Starting XI

Peter Bonetti,  Charlie Cooke, Eddie McCreadie, John Hollins, John Dempsey, Marvin Hinton, Charlie Cooke, Peter Houseman, Tommy Baldwin, Alan Birchenall, Peter Osgood

Sub: Houston

Some names may not be etched into the names of fans that were born after this golden generation disbanded, players such as Cooke, Baldwin, Bonetti and in particular Osgood should be players that any fan can admire.

The strength and history of the squad this season extended beyond those in the first eleven against Arsenal, players such as club record goal scorer included Bobby Tambling, record appearance maker Ron Harris, Alan Hudson and future caretaker manager at the club David Webb.

This really was a time when Chelsea were in the ascendancy for the first time since the Championship with this generation of players bringing attractive football and a swagger to the Bridge.

A time when the King’s Road was the heart of fashion and cool in London, rock stars and movie stars were a common site at the games and the changing rooms after the games. Fans from this time have stories of nights on the King’s Road where the players were no different from you and I enjoying a drink and living in the local area.  

 Enough talking here are the video highlights

Chelsea Player Ratings v Marseille

Petr Cech – 7 

Barely tested despite pressure in second half from Marseille, clean sheet and job done

Branislav Ivanovic – 6 Caught out of position regularly as Marseille counter attacked a worrying trend that threatens to cancel out the skills that the Serbian possesses, lucky we were not punished during the game.

John Terry – 9 Excellent little flick for the first goal and he performed well with Alex to prevent Marseille converting possession into goals

Alex – 8 His free kick that rattled the bar was worth the admission price on its own, also performed well defensively. Defenders and goalkeepers alike must worry when they here the chants of ALEX, ALEX, ALEX as he lines up a 35 yard free kick.

Ashley Cole -7 Effective but did not produce his usual world class brilliance, still impressive though

Mikel – 7 Much better from Mikel compared to the Manchester City game however Chelsea struggled in midfield second half.

Ramires – 6 Better than against Manchester City but improvement needed if he is to challenge for a place with the return of Frank Lampard

Michael Essien - 6

Congratulations to MarktheDog for noticing my incompetence, for that reason I have decided to honour his rating of a six!

Malouda -7

Good game for the Frenchman without being excellent

Yuri Zhirkov -5

Ok in the first half but terrible in the second, he asked for more game time, he needs to start performing if he expects his wish to be granted in the long term.

 Gael Kakuta – 7

Another start and an improved performance, still feeling his way into the first team, it was obvious that every fan was tracking his every touch of the ball with an air of expectation and hope. More to come

 Nicholas Anelka – 7

 Cheeky penalty and a solid performance from the Frenchman who rarely seems to have a bad game these days.

 Substitutes

 Daniel Sturridge – 6

Missed a screamer but was played out of position on the right rather than through the centre

 Josh McEachran – 6 Little time to make an impact

What Should Be Chelsea FC’s First Home Champions League Game Giveaway

Now the question on everyone’s lips for the Champions League home game is not whether McEachran will start or how Chelsea will fare against Marseille, no no no it is most certainly will Chelsea be giving anything away to fans visiting Stamford Bridge?

Previously there have been flags and last year it was scarves both of which were actually kind of cool, however this year if we are going to win the Champions League we really need to push the boat out and spend money on the fans to make it all the way to the Champions League final.

Free stuff is great, but it’s also a little bit insulting, we are endlessly mocked for these attempts to create atmosphere, therefore we need so we need to make this year’s something special, something that everybody will remember for years to go.

Here are my suggestions

Celery

It’s green its low calorie, can be part of your five a day and it makes a good missile to sing a dirty song to, what’s not to like? One bunch per seat please

Gold Plated Tickets  

Come on Roman share the wealth, don’t waste money on gimmicks just make the tickets properly pimping and well out of gold

A Beer Buddy

Never queue for a half time beer again, the club simply hires a butler for each fan to queue up and save them a beer at half time before melting into the background

Finally a serioius suggestion

A Proper Banner

Some of the banners at the Bridge are embarrassing, I am not talking about the John Terry or Osgood banners which are epic.  I am talking about the fake and literally made of plastic banners that seem to cover the Bridge at the moment, funded by the club no less they add nothing to the atmosphere and scream FAKE! How about some proper banners something designed by the fans

Which one gets your vote? I will be sure to be giving anything that is given out at the ground away should any fan want it, unless my gold tickets idea kicks off.

Four Potential Dangers To Chelsea’s Champions League Challenge

Artiz Aduriz- Valencia

The 29 year old forward was brought in to provide some sort of replacement for David Villa this summer and has started ferociously. He scored on his debut against Malaga and since against Atletico Madrid in the league, not to mention this goal in Valencia’s 4-0 thrashing of Turkish side Bursaspor in the Champions League.

He was part of Gregorio Manzano’s brilliant Mallorca side last season, firing the Islanders to a shock fifth place in the league with 12 goals. This form prompted cash strapped Valencia to pay €5 million to bring him to the club in the close season.

Whilst Valencia have lost Villa and David Silva, they are looking a well balanced side this campaign, having started relatively well under young manager Unai Emery. Aduriz is getting good service from both Joaquin and Juan Manuel Mata and will certainly cause problems for whoever he plays against.

He is the latest in a long line of talented centre forwards from the Basque region in northern Spain, having played for Atletic Bilbao until 2003 and again from 2006-2008. He has never been the most prolific scorer but in a creative team that could all change this time out. Man United beware.

Edin Dzeko- Wolfsburg (but not for long)

Whilst the Bosnian international is not playing in the group stages of the Champions League, there is every chance that he will be transferred to a club which is before the knockout stages. Most of Europe’s big clubs are keeping tabs on the Wolfsburg striker who has scored a remarkable 79 goals in 125 games in Germany.

There was much talk about a possible move to Manchester City or Juventus in the summer without a deal being done, something which the striker himself has declared his disappointment about. It seems the 24 year old is trying to engineer a move away from the Bundesliga.

But which Champions League clubs might he be heading to?

It is unlikely to be Barcelona, a team with an absurd number of attacking options who wouldn’t likely want to break the bank for the player having spent lots of Catalan Euros this summer. Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid are in a similar position.

Of course, there is still a chance that he could head to Man City or his favoured Juve, meaning he won’t be playing Champions League football this season.

On the other hand, he could potentially end up at either of the Milan clubs, though Inter would be more likely with AC Milan having settled their attacking woes with the signing of both Robinho and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Less likely but possible is a move to Bayern Munich, though with his apparent desire to play in Serie A it seems a long shot.

This player is one to keep an eye on for he is nothing less than a goal machine. Nine of his 16 international strikes came in the most recent World Cup qualifying campaign, making him the second highest scorer in Europe.

Oscar Cardozo- Benfica

Benfica will be looking to get out of a tricky group which includes French giants Lyon, Felix Magath’s Schalke and a nasty trip to Hapoel Tel Aviv in Israel.

If they are to reach the knockout rounds, this man will be key. With a stunning 150 career goals in 230 games, the Paraguayan has the knack for putting the ball in the back of the net. 20 goals in each of his three seasons since his move to Lisbon is simply deadly form and reason for Champions League clubs to take note.

At 6 foot 3 inches he could cause a problem for both John Terry and Alex in the Chelsea defence, but he is also quite skillful for a man with such height. If faced with the tough trip to the Estadio de Luz it is more than likely that Cardozo will be the man to undo a team.

Eduardo Da Silva- Shakhtar Donetsk

After the horrendous injury sustained whilst playing for Arsenal, it is a wonder that Eduardo is still playing football. However, having been deemed surplus to requirements at the Emirates, he could come back to haunt Arsenal who he faces in the group stages.

For the first time in a few years, Shakhtar have a real chance of qualifying for the knockout stages. With Partizan Belgrade and Sporting Braga in their group, one would have to fancy the Ukrainians to secure the runners up spot behind Arsenal.

Eduardo played in England for three years (though it was more like one and a half due to injury) and therefore many readers will know all about the Croatian international. Despite being let go by Arsene Wenger he has still netted a total of 132 goals in 205 career matches, a wonderful return for a player worth £6 million.

With new found confidence at his new club he could cause real trouble in this season’s competition. Donetsk, as with many of these European venues, is a very difficult place to go and a fully fit Eduardo will score goals. Watch this space.

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Who the hell are… Olympique de Marseille?

Hailing from the second biggest city in France, Marseille have been something of a sleeping giant in recent years. Their most glorious moment came in 1993 when they became the first and only French club to win the UEFA Champions League. Sadly for L’OM (as they are known locally), the club had to wait 17 years until lifting another trophy, last year’s French title.

The city of Marseille is one of the most ethnically diverse in Europe, with huge numbers of Italian, Spanish, Russian and African immigrants arriving at the Mediterranean port over the last century or so. It was estimated in the first half of the 20th century that 40% of the population of the city could trace its routes back to Italy.

The football club has reflected this ethnic diversity, with a history of having a large number of players with routes in Africa. Names such as the Ghanaian born World Cup winner Marcel Desailly and the Moroccan Larbi Benbarek (one of the first black stars and the first to be given the nickname ‘The Black Pearl’, later made famous by Pele) spring to mind.

Founded in 1892, the club only adopted the name Olympique in 1899 after flirting with various others in the early years. It is said that they settled on ‘Olympic’ to honour the Greek founders of the city of Marseille thousands of years earlier, and wear blue and white to replicate the Greek flag.

With 9 French titles and 10 Cups, they are one of the most successful teams in Western Europe’s biggest nation. This is much to the delight of the fans who have a fierce rivalry with Paris Saint-Germain who have just 2 league titles and are a club with differing traditions to L’OM. Some sections of the Parisienne club’s supporters are affiliated with far-right politics and this has lead to violence between the two in the past before, during and after the fixture dubbed Le Classique in France.

L’OM are managed by former Chelsea star and 1998 World Cup winner Didier Deschamps, who was part of the Blues first ever campaign in the Champions League in 1999-2000, scoring his one and only goal for the club in the competition. He was captain of the Marseille team which won the Champions League in Munich in 1993, also winning the competition with Juventus in 1996. The Frenchman also guided AS Monaco to the 2004 final but saw his team beaten 3-0 by Jose Mourinho’s FC Porto.

The return of Deschamps to the club has resulted in its first silverware since that famous victory. It seems the powers that be at the club are keen to bring back the glory days, giving the manager a huge amount of financial backing as they look to break the hold Olympique Lyonnais have had on French football for the best part of a decade.

Didier Drogba will be looking forward to the matches between the two clubs after he spent a year with L’OM in 2003-2004. He remains one of the most popular players in the club’s history after passionate performances and the Chelsea front man still talks of his love for Marseille. Chelsea supporters who remember him scoring a brace in the away Champions League fixture against Paris Saint-Germain might now understand why his subsequent celebration provoked such a hostile reaction from the home supporters.

The club is yet to find a replacement with the presence and goal scoring ability of Drogba, but having brought in strikers Loic Remy and Andre-Pierre Gignac from Nice and Toulouse respectively this summer, they might well have found a pair who can bring the goals back to the Stade Veledrome.

Those Chelsea fans making the trip to the away tie will get to see one of Europe’s most beautiful and unique stadiums. Built in 1937 and renovated for the Euro 84’ and World Cup 98’ competitions, the Stade Veledrome is certainly striking and differs from most modern day grounds. It has large, uncovered slopes on three of its four sides, meaning players and fans alike are at the mercy of the elements.

The recent success of the club means that they were averaging over 50,000 spectators each week last season, and have been over that mark in six of the last nine campaigns. This shows the huge levels of support for the team which plays in a league with an average attendance of just 20,000. That’s a total of six million fewer people watching French football each year than in the Premier League.

Chelsea should expect to take all three points against L’OM at Stamford Bridge, especially as they look to bounce back from a disappointing defeat against Manchester City at the weekend.

The away leg could prove more tricky, however, as there is a real buzz around Didier Deschamps’ side at the moment. Remy and Gignac will be a handful, but also expect the threat of goals from the midfield through Benoit Cheyrou and the rugged Lucho Gonzalez, both of whom are a danger.

One would expect Drogba to be fired up for the games against his old side and hence having money on him to score against his former employers is probably a wise move. He will miss Tuesday night’s encounter through suspension but will be back for the game in France. The Blues are as determined as ever to go the distance in Europe this season, meaning that victory in this fixture is paramount to Carlo Ancelotti and his players.

Marseille find themselves in a group which one would expect them to qualify from, and they need to bounce back from defeat in their opening game to Spartak Moscow. Deschamps will have his players ready for battle as they look to get points on the board and put French football back on the map.

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