SUPER...SUPER FRANK!

'Lampard is finished'.....'Lampard is no longer first team material for Chelsea or England'......' Fat Frank has lost it'.....'Lampard storms off after Swansea snub'.......These are just some of the b******t things that you may have been fed from the dimwits in the media as well as many individuals that have done nothing but criticise Frank for far too long, most notably after his recent exclusion in the home match against Swansea last week. However, the fact of the matter is Frank is a hard working individual, always giving 100% for the team, and when he has been faced with the harsh criticism, like recent times, how does he shut his critics up??.......The answer is by doing all the talking on the pitch and scoring 4 goals in the two games!! Yes thats right- the same Frank Lampard that is supposedly past his best and apparently cannot score, has just shown why critics do so at their own peril!!

His performance at Bolton, was certainly a top class performance, and by scoring a hat-trick along with his performance, he has simply put all his doubters in place and hopefully shut them up. However, be under no illusion, due to the bias nature of the media, it is very likely that the morning papers will focus more on how poor Bolton were rather than the performance by Lampard and the rest of the team in securing a 5-1 win. Lampard has, and in my opinion continue to be and integral part of the Chelsea team.  One can never forget the momentous day on 30th April 2005 (click here for clip of epic day in 2005), when he was responsible for sealing the first title win for us in 50 years.  For many, like myself who were not born in our previous title win in 1955, this title in 2005 will always hold fond memories.  Of course as Chelsea supporters, it is a day that we will cherish for years to come, and will always remember the part super Frank played in it. Yes, whilst it is true,that everyone ages, and with age performance can drop in many players, however there is no one as hard working as Frank, and he has without a doubt been the fittest and most consistent player in the team for the past decade.  Personally I think too much has been made about his exclusion last week against Swansea.  With games coming in thick and fast, AVB is wise enough to rotate the squad to keep the players fresh and ensure a top level performance.  Lampard isn't one to sulk and give up.  His answer is to work hard and fight for his place.  His hard work has certainly paid off and was evident at the Reebok Stadium.      

Super Frank celebrates the goal that sealed his hat-trick at the Reebok Stadium

Aside from Frank, the performance of the team in general has been improving over the past few games, and AVB's side seem to be gelling together.  I am not going to talk too much about the Bolton match, but one thing to take home from the game is the fact that another player that seems to be doing particularly well is Sturridge.  His loan spell at the Reebok stadium has done him good, and the young English striker is now stepping up to the mark.  With so many members of the squad improving as the games go on including Sturridge, healthy competition for places can only be a positive thing.  Danny has certainly been improving and it was good to see him get a couple of goals this weekend to add to the one he had up at Sunderland last month.  The only disappointment, is that astonishingly 'Crapello' has opted for Andy Carrol instead of Sturridge for the upcoming England game.  I would have thought that Danny has done enough to be in the England side but obviously Fabio Capello does not see that.  Nevermind, I am sure he will get a place in the England senior side very soon.    Anyway coming back to Chelsea, there are definitely promising things to come from this side, and without a doubt Sturridge and Lampard will have big parts to play this season.

So until next time keep the blue flag flying high! UTC!!!!

     

Taking the positives out of defeat

Well, so just as we had done in our previous two visits to Old Trafford at the tail end of last season we came away with defeat.  However, despite losing 3-1 it certainly does not feel like we have lost.  Whilst we may have fallen on the wrong side of the scoreline, our overall performance was decent. Perhaps we deserved to come away with at least a point, but the key factor in our defeat has to lie in the inability of us capitalising on the numerous chances we had while United finished off with the few chances they had to get their 3 goals.Football is a game that often relies on luck, and it is something we just didn't have today. 

I thought that we played reasonably well today and if we forget the result and just look at are overall performance we certainly will have a lot to look forward to for the rest of this season.  The only complaints that you can have is the fact that we failed to finish off good chances to find the back of the net, most notably the chance Ramires had in the first half and of course the sitter that Fernando missed in the second half that would have made the score 3-2 at that point in the game.  However, despite the shocker of a miss that is sure to make the back page headlines tommorow morning, I thought Torres had a good game and over the last few games he seems to be recapturing the form that promted Roman to part with £50 m back in January.  It was an interesting change that AVB made at half time when Anelka was brought on for Lampard, but this worked almost immediately as we increased the presence in attack, leading to Fernando's goal just after HT. On another day Fernando would have got a few goals, but it is good to see that he is improving and finding his form now, and I think that the new look squad with the likes of Merieles and Mata have a part to play in that.

I must say the feeling of defeat at Old Trafford is rather different from last season as there is a sense of optimism.  I have complete faith in what AVB is doing and judging by performance alone we should have a lot more to look forward to this season as we are still improving day by day.  Therefore, the overall picture does seem positive and we shouldn't worry too much about the loss.....after all it is still early days.  We will see who has the last laugh in May.....

Until then just keep the blue flag flying high!

Win or lose ....up the blues!

Who the f*** are man united??!

It has been a while since my last blog post, but here I am writing ahead of our trip to Old Trafford on Sunday.  It is a trip to the same ground which effectively ended our season in terms of both the Champions League and the Premier League, at the tail end of last season.  However this time we  face them 5 games into the new campaign, which I believe is good for us in the long run.  It is always an advantage to get a challengeing away day out of the way early on in the season, but one must not give in the the mass media hype over the 'exceptional' start that United have made to the season.  It seems as though we have already been classed as underdogs this season, with an awful lot of fuss being made over both Manchester teams. Yes, although it seems that they have started like a house on fire this season, one must not draw conclusions for the rest of the season purely from the first couple of games. Take for example the start of last season; we started with exceptional 6-0 and 4-0 wins, and some people were confident that the title was already headed to Stamford Bridge.  However, we all know that it wasn't to last long, as in spectacular fashion we faltered so badly with poor mid-season form that it effectively handed the title to United.  In other words only he who is a fool would already start drawing conclusions on how the season will end.  

So, whilst it is true that United, and also Citeh for that matter have made a good start to the season and may seem favourites in the eyes of the biased media, we will happily take the underdogs tag for this season's title race.  Ok, so far our start to the season hasn't been amazing, especially in comparison to last season's start, however, we have been getting the result and that's what matters.  Whilst United have been causing the media to get off on their large wins over the likes of mediocre opponents such as 5-0 against Bolton and a pathetic Arsenal side 8-2, we have been quietly grinding out our wins, with the exception of our opponing day draw at Stoke. At the end of the day, it is just getting the results that counts, and believe me we will improve as the season goes on as we are still finding out feet with a new look squad under AVB.  United on the other hand, may possibly run out of steam too early just as we did last year.  I think that whilst United are favourites, our squad definatley has the depth to challenge United and come Sunday at Old Trafford we are more than capable of getting a result.  AVB will ensure that the team are full of confidence ahead of the encounter and I have full faith that he will go all out to ensure we go for nothing but a win.  On Sunday we will see whether we come away with the 3 points or not, but one thing is for sure, we shouldn't fear them because we can definately match them and are capable.  A good start to the game will be key, and hopefully we will have that.

COME ON CHELSEA!

KTBFFH

Kunal Sapat (Chelsea Boy @SW17ChelseaSG) 

 

Welcome back Di Matteo!!

This morning Andre Villas Boas was officially unveiled as Chelsea's manager in a press conference, in which he also revealed his backroom staff.  The most notable addition to coaching staff is that of Roberto Di Matteo.  The former West Brom manager, a Chelsea legend will be returning to the club as AVB's assistant.  On hearing this news, I was quite pleased and I am sure that this will be the start of an exciting era for Chelsea. 

Di Matteo, spent a six year period playing in the blue shirt, before his early retirement due to injury in 2002 at the age of just 31.  He is most notably remembered from his playing career at Chelsea for his cup final goals.  As Chelsea supporters we can never forget his record breaking goal in just 43 seconds at the old Wembley in the 1997 FA Cup final, which helped us win our first trophy after many years.  Follwing on from that he also scored in the 1998 Coca-Cola Cup final (League cup) and scored the last ever cup final goal at the old wembley in the 2000 FA Cup final.  Unfortunately he had to retire early due to injury, but since then he has tried his hand at coaching and football management. 

Di Matteo started his managerial career at MK Dons, and after doing a decent job for them he was appointed West Brom's manager in 2009.  He led them to promotion to the premier league in just his first season in charge after finishing second place in the Championship.  However, he was sacked from as West Brom manager halfway through the 2010/2011 season, as the club were not happy with the performances.  However, in my view I think he did a very good job at West Brom by getting them promoted and by putting on decent performances in their first season back in the Premier League.  It is in my view that perhaps his sacking as West Brom manager was not justifiable.  However, what's done is done, and everything happens for a reason, and it is for this reason that we can welcome him back to Stamford Bridge!

In August 2010, when he returned to Stamford Bridge as West Brom's manager we would never have even imaged that he would reurn to work at Chelsea within a year.  At that time, we were still on top of the world after our double winning season and we wouldnt have even thought Carlo would be gone come what May, let alone Di Matteo returning as coach.  I believe that he will prove pivotal for success in the AVB era, and we can look forward to a promising season at Chelsea.  I for one was glad Di Matteo being given assistant role, rather than Emenalo being given that title.  However, I have a feeling Emenalo will still stay at the club under some capacity.  Additonaly, Steve Holland, the successful reserve team coach has been promoted to first team coach at Chelsea.

AVB has reinterated that it will not be a one man show, and it will be a group effort to bring success at Chelsea, and he is certianly right about that.  We have got the right people now in charge of the team, and I am certainly looking forward to the new season!

UP THE CHELS!

The Andre Villas Boas era begins!

After much speculation over the last few weeks, and after Andre-Villas Boas's resignation as Porto manager yesterday, he has been appointed as Chelsea's new manager.  This morning, an official club statement on the website said the following:

"Chelsea Football Club is delighted to announce that Andre Villas-Boas will be the club's new manager.

He has signed a three-year contract and will start work immediately.

Andre was the outstanding candidate for the job. He is one of the most talented young managers in football today and has already achieved much in a relatively short space of time. His ambition, drive and determination matches that of Chelsea and we are confident Andre's leadership of the team will result in greater successes in major domestic and European competitions.

Andre will bring his coaching experience back to a club he is already very familiar with, having previously worked here for three years. He has always been highly regarded at Chelsea and everyone here looks forward to welcoming him back and working with him."

At just 33, Andre Villas Boas becomes one of our youngest ever managers, and at the start of the season he will be the same age as both Drogba and Lampard.  In what is his second spell at the club, having previously worked under Mourinho as a scout, he joins after a hugely successful season with Porto, having won the treble in his first full year of management.  AVB is one of the brightest  prospects in football management, and hopefully he will be the right man to lead us to success both domestically and in Europe!

Comparisons have been made between AVB and Mourinho, which is hardly suprising as AVB learnt his trade under the guidence of Jose before taking his own posts in mangement.  However, Andre has been successfull in his own right, and despite him being dubbed the new Mourinho, we should move away from that as I am sure AVB will bring his own style of play and success which was evident at Porto.    


Could he be our 'new special one' ?.....who knows, but it is sure to be an exciting season!

Now that we finally have a manager in place, we need to get active in the transfer market and start preparing for next season, which pre season only 3 weeks away.  Roll on next season!


Welcome back to Chelsea Andre Villas Boas!!   

It all begins at the Britannia Stadium!

This morning the fixture list for the 2011/2012 season was released, and the countdown to next season begins now!  JT and the boys begin the season with a tough match away to Stoke on the opening day on 13th August.  This is followed by two home games against West Brom and newly promoted Norwich.  With our first few home games we will be looking to gain maximum points and will be hoping for a repeat of last season's opening day win over West Brom when we put six goals past the Baggies.

Our first big test of the season comes early on, with a trip to Old Trafford in September and this time round we will be looking to avenge our defeats at the tail end of last season, with the return fixture at Stamford Bridge in February.  Trips to newly promoted Norwich and Swansea come back to back in January, and personally I am looking forward to these as they will be new away trips for this season.    

The season comes to an end at home to Blackburn, when we will be hoping to see JT lift the title again, following on from a trip to Anfield in the penultimate game of the season.  This  has echos of the 2009/2010 when we all but won the title in the historic double winning season with a victory at Anfield in the second last game of the season.  If we do the same in May 2012, it will certainly be a good end to the season.

Our managerial situation may still not have been resolved, but with the release of the fixtures, we can safely say that the excitement for next season has begun.  Regardless of whatever outcome there is to next season, we are all eager for it to get started, and it is safe to say that in two months time we will be back in our blue shirts, in our usual pre-match boozers down the Fulham Road and in our seats at Stamford Bridge!

Roll on next season :)

For those of you that want to look the part for next season, the SW17 Chelsea Supporters Group T-Shirts will be available soon, for more information visit our facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/SW17ChelseaSG

Surprise...Surprise...Carlo is gone -

To no surprise at all, after our last game of the season, Roman has yet again pulled the trigger and sacked another manager! As Chelsea fans we have seen this time and time again, and since the Russian Billionaire took control in 2003, we have seen 7 different managers come and go in just 8 seasons.  The sacking of managers has become a common feature at Chelsea, and it seems that the policy that is in place is ' Win a trophy or your out!'

I mean I am all for the changing of management of the team, if it is the right decision, and it helps the club progress forwards.  However, I do not agree that changing managers is the answer each time.  It was only 12 months ago that Carlo Ancelotti, in his first season in charge brought us the double for the first time in our history, and now after a trophy less season, he finds himself out of a job.  Yes, I do agree that this season has been poor, and Carlo has made mistakes as well, but we have to bare in mind that some of the circumstances were not ideal for him at times.  Last summer, the club decided that it needed to trim the wage bill and decided to let 5 experienced players go, to instead rely on the younger up and coming players.  This did not matter as the season started just as we had ended the previous season, with nothing but goals galore and wins.  However, after a few injuries to key players, it became clear that our depleted squad could not handle it, as ultimately a mid-season dip in form cost us significantly.  Furthermore, Ray Wilkins was axed as Carlo's assistant as the board decided that he was no longer needed.  This is not something that Carlo had wanted, Carlo was very happy working with Ray and this was not his decision.  The departure of Ray and also injuries to key players all coincided with the poor run of games that ruined our season.  

However, OK fair enough Carlo did make mistakes, and a lot of the time this season it did seem like he had no plan B when things didn't go as expected, but given that this is the same man that made history with us, I believe the manner in which he has been sacked is disgraceful.  Although Carlo is partly to blame for the short comings this season, I think he should at least be given credit for turning the season around, because it was only few months ago that we were struggling to even get into the top 4 in a Champions League place, let alone challenging for the title, with Spuds and City both above us.  Therefore, to finish the season in 2nd place is actually a good achievement.  Yes, OK we didn't win any trophies, but it is not always about winning silverware, and it was Carlo who kept the team going and believing, otherwise we probably would have finished outside the top 4 and would have been stuck with Thursday night Europa League on channel 5. 

It is my belief that the club should have kept Carlo and let him rebuild the team for next season.  They should have kept him till the end of his contract in 2012, and given him the finances to restructure the squad in the summer.  The fact is that the below par season has not only been down to management decisions but also the fact that the current squad of players is reaching the end of its natural cycle and needs a revamp.  Some members of the squad need to move on and be replaced by fresh new talent.  That is why I believe that Carlo should have been kept and been allowed to reshape the squad, as well as been given another chance with regards to Roman Abramovich's obsession - the Champions League.  I mean yes Roman has pumped in billions into the club and we are all very grateful for that, but clearly whoever advises him does not know an awful lot about football.  Money does not buy everything, and Roman should see that it is not his playground where he can instantly get what he wants.  Long term success is built on solid foundations and constant changes in the manager every other year does not help the cause. 

If the club really felt that Carlo was not the right man for the job, I sincerely hope that the next man in charge is there for the long term and not just one or two seasons.  However, too be honest, after getting used to Roman's habit of sacking managers hastily, I won't be surprised if the next manager doesn't last long either.  Furthermore, the manner in which the club decided to relieve Carlo of his duties is disgusting to say the least.  After the final game of the season, where we lost to Everton, Carlo was sacked within an hour of the end of the match.  If he was to be sacked, he should have been at least given the dignity of having a meeting with the board properly rather than simply being told that he no longer has a job straight after a match.  A week earlier when West Ham had sacked Avram Grant in the same way, I thought that was disrespectful, but I did not for one second think that our club would treat Carlo in the same way as those pikeys.  However, throughout the last few weeks, hats of to Carlo for being professional and gaining the respect of many people for the way he has handled the whole situation, because he probably knew that he was a dead man walking ever since our defeats to Man- United.  What is clear is that second best simply is not good enough for Roman Abramovichpre-Abramovich days without the billions, just so that club is more 'ours' and without the same old bollocks of trophy obsession and instant success.  

THANKS FOR THE DOUBLE CARLO AND GOOD LUCK!

However, whether we think Carlo sacking is right or wrong we need to move on from here just continue to follow our team! The club need to get a adequate replacement for Carlo, which certainly won't be easy as there are not many better managers out there, and the club needs to instill some stability from now on with the right manager.  

As Chelsea supporters we need to remember, players come and go, managers come and go but the club will remain no matter who is wearing the blue shirt and who is in charge, and we will always be there following our team through the good and bad!
 

CTID

KTBFFH