The Official Thread of Chelsea FC

[Norf Tyrone]

No more bets on Scolari to go, say bookiesUNEXPECTED SCOLARI-TO-GO GAMBLE
AFTER seeing a flurry of bets which cut the odds for Chelsea boss Scolari tobe the next Premiership boss to lose his job, William Hill have suspendedtheir market.
'When you have punters wanting to bet £500 at 10/1 on something which was50/1 not long ago you have to ask yourself what they may know that youdon't' said Hill's spokesman Graham Sharpe.
Hills had quoted Scolari as a 50/1 shot to be the next Premiership managerto leave his job this season after Chelsea's draw with Southend. On Mondaymorning they took a few bets at 50/1, cut him to 28/1 at which odds theytook more money, shortened him again to 16/1 and to 10/1, but still hadclients - some brand new ones, some well established, coming on to ask forbets of up to £500.
'At that point we decided to suspend the market until we could discover whatthe motive for the gamble may have been' said Sharpe.
**HILLS were making Mark Hughes 10/11 favourite to be the next boss to gowith Tony Adams at 9/4; Southgate 13/2 and Kinnear 9/1. 'It might just bethat a whole host of punters decided Scolari was too big a price to go andall decided to back him at the same time. On the other hand, it might bethat there has been behind the scenes action of some kind at Chelsea' addedSharpe 'It doesn't bode well for Scolari's long term future at the Bridge!But then, he does have previous form - he allegedly accepted the England joband then changed his mind.'

[AFS]

You may be due a thread title change soon then Norf.

What do you reckon the chances are of him getting the boot/ doing a Keano?

[Norf Tyrone]

BIG day in the Premier League today. Any Chelsea fan who grew up through the 80s and most of the 90s will tell you that Chelsea's trait is losing to Scunthorpe, and the likes then travelling to somewhere like Old Trafford and winning.

The only thing I desire today is for Chelsea to be positive. If we play to our capabilities there is no reason why we can't collect something from TTOD (C). In that regard I'd like to see both Anelka and Drogba start. In an ideal world they'd start in a 4-4-2, but I don't think OT is the place to go and try that for a first time.

That would mean a 4-1-4-1 is the best that I can hope for, with Anelka and Joe Cole pushing on to assist Drogba, the on fire Frank Lampard and Ballack in the middle with Obi Mikel shoring things up.
The back four are as strong as we can field with the return of JT and Carvalho to the side. However, as in the CL final, I'd be extremely worried about our right back. Fergie is no mug, and I'd expect to see Ronaldo giving a left wing role to go at Bosingwa and expose his defensive frailties. With that in mind Ballack may need to pop across and help out when United have the ball. However with the speed of MU's breaks I can't see the German having the legs to cover EVERY time.

That's what I hope. However I fully expect Malouda or Deco to start in place of one of the strikers.

It's a long time that I went out to watch a Chelsea game where we are as keenly priced by the bookies, and few are giving us a cat in hell's chance.

The only question for me......... Have I got my Chelsea back?
Tell you at 6pm, but I have a funny feeling about today 

[Norf Tyrone]

Fergie continues the games...

Chelsea's players and staff were evacuated from their Manchester hotel at 0700 GMT this morning after the fire alarm went off. They spent around 50 minutes outside and in the lobby before being allowed to go back to their rooms.

That's the second time in three seasons that has happened pre a Man U away game, and in all seriousness I hope there is a police investigation this time.

[GalwayBayBoy]

Fergie continues the games...

Chelsea's players and staff were evacuated from their Manchester hotel at 0700 GMT this morning after the fire alarm went off. They spent around 50 minutes outside and in the lobby before being allowed to go back to their rooms.

That's the second time in three seasons that has happened pre a Man U away game, and in all seriousness I hope there is a police investigation this time.

Wouldn't put it past them to be honest.

[Norf Tyrone]

Utter rubbish. The beer means that I'll not bother analyse til the moro....maybe.

Basically It'll comprise.

* Drogba- Goodbye.
* Ballack- Past it.
* Scolari- SET f**king PIECES! DEFEND THEM.
* Bosingwa- A right backs job is to defend.
* Rooney- You are not the ref. HOW? How did he stay on the pitch.
* Chelsea- Too nice. Ronaldo rolls for 20 yards and Lampard gets booked.
* Ronaldo- Already booked at this stage rakes the studs down Lampard.... who smiles and shakes his hand.
* Rooney- Worked like a tojan.
* berbatov- Worked very hard....compared to Drogba.
* Park, Fletcher, Giggs- Not scared of the hard work. Credit to them.

[Clown]

im not a chelsea supporter but i detest united so i was supporting them today

i think its the end of that team, a few players are well past their best - ballack, terry, cech
drogba hasnt looked interested in the last 2 seasons.
anything that ray wilkins touches usually turns to shite!

united seemed the hungrier team, park rooney giggs and fletcher worked like mad whereas can anyone really say players like anelka ballack or deco really were bothered if they won today or not??


cudnt believe webb didnt hav the balls to book rooney for his swipe at bosingwa in the first half when he had booked lampard for an innocous challenge just before - but to still not show him a yellow when he petulantly walked away, gestured and told him to fck off at least 3 times was a disgrace. ashley coles actions against spurs last season werent as bad as that yet the media made out as if he had murdered someone!

finally, as a celtic fan who got beat 3-0 at OT earlier this season (albeit after 2 offside goals), it will be interesting to see if any so called experts (ie charlie nicholas or paul ince) come out and use terms like 'men against boys', 'gulf in class' or 'embarrasingly one sided' - as they did after our defeat at OT.

[new devil]

chelsea were beat on pens in champions league final last season.. They had a bad day
Celtic are just shit

[Clown]

yeah i know the result of last seasons champions league final

i was just pointing out the difference in the medias reaction when celtic get well beat at old trafford, and when most premier league clubs get beat there

[ONeill]

Premier League - Maradona's cigar sparks Chelsea alarm
Eurosport - Mon, 12 Jan 08:59:00 2009

Chelsea's preparations for their match against Manchester United were disrupted in the early hours of Sunday morning by a fire alarm reportedly started by Argentina legend Diego Maradona's cigar.

Luiz Felipe Scolari's side had to evacuate the Radisson Edwardian Hotel in Manchester after alarms sounded at seven o'clock, and players were spotted standing outside in freezing conditions, some wearing just towels and bathrobes.

An eyewitness told The Sun: "I saw most of Chelsea outside shivering. It wasn't the best preparation for a vital game."

Argentina manager Maradona was in Manchester to see United striker Carlos Tevez, although the 24-year-old played no part in the game as a lacklustre Chelsea side were beaten 3-0.

Greater Manchester Fire Service said they could not reveal what caused the alarm, a fireman said that Maradona and his associates were to blame.

"It looks as though it was set off by Diego and his entourage smoking cigars on the 14th floor," the fireman told The Sun.

Two fire trucks came to the hotel but they discovered no fire in the 263-room hotel.

Hotel manager Steve Miles said: "We followed procedure. It was a genuine alarm."

United suffered their own disruption before the game after their coach driver lost his keys.

The driver smashed a window to gain access to the team bus, but triggered an immobiliser and engineers had to be called to start the engine.

The broken window was visible as the United squad arrived at Old Trafford.

A club spokesman said: "It was accidental, there was nothing sinister about it."

[Square Ball]

 1 down to Southend, but a long time left

[Norf Tyrone]

Far, far more professional tonight. In the end up 4-1 probably flattered Southend with posession something like 78-22 and Chelsea having ~20 shots on goal. Drogba's absence may have been a postive!

In addition the youf are through to the next round of the youth cup with a 5-1 win. I think it might be Liverpool next.

And to cap off a good day....got a ticket for Anfield on the 1st in the Chelsea end.

[gawa316]

Are the drog's days numbered or whats going on with him?

[gawa316]

I see there is reports of Scolari putting the whole team up for sale.

Very sad indeed

[Norf Tyrone]

I see there is reports of Scolari putting the whole team up for sale.

Very sad indeed

gawa you are nearly a bigger contributor now than me  despite your spin doctoring.

A tricky encounter today, but probably the perfect fixture to answer any questions regarding Chelsea's spirit. If Chelsea match Stoke's spirit today the three points are in the bag. Wednesday past was definately a better night for the Blues with the players looking hungrier and more industrious.
Obviously everyone's focus today will be on set plays and no-one can punish you more in this regard than Stoke. I see BFS is going partly zonal, partly man to man which was a system that Liverpool had a lot of joy with in the 80s. Hansen and Lawro employed to mark, two on the posts, and Whelan on the edge of the six yard box. It's a strange time to be trialing systems!

Hopefully the big lad rewards those who did the business on Weds, with Kalou out left and Anelka up top. The rumour is that Joe Cole is gone for 7 months, which is a massive blow, despite the fact he ain't playing all that well. Reading between the lines it looks like no replacement will be purchased, as Miroslav Stoch, and Gael Kakuta are both in today's squad. Both are wide men (Boys), with Kakuta probably one that has definately the ability to be world class.

Finally... another rumour for you. The reason for Roman's prudence.. Chelsea are about to announce either a brand new stadium OR an extension of SB.

Chelsea 2 Stoke 0 (Anelka, Super Frank)