The Official Thread of Chelsea FC

[A Quinn Martin Production]

Ballack slapped Boateng in the face earlier in the game and later Boateng nearly crippled him and knocked him out of the world cup. Both should have got red cards.

Ballack will have plenty of time to reflect on his behaviour, he wound up the wrong guy at the wrong time and got injured in the inevitable act of retribution.
Meanwhile, Boateng has a World Cup to enjoy.

After Saturday, any team taking this plank to the World Cup will be struggling already...

Ballack has won:

1 English Premier League
4 Bundesligas
3 FA Cups
3 German Cups
1 English League Cup
1 German League Cup (OK I didn't know there was one either!!)

98 caps for Germany scoring 42 goals (not bad for a midfielder)

OK there are pleny of players who've won more but that's not a bad haul

Norf Tyrone...I think Ballack could do a job for Chelsea in the holding midfield role as he gets older...should Chelsea give him a two year deal or get rid now and pin hopes on Mikel (who hasn't quite lived up to his potential)??  PS Change the thread title!!

[Main Street]

Ballack slapped Boateng in the face earlier in the game and later Boateng nearly crippled him and knocked him out of the world cup. Both should have got red cards.

Ballack will have plenty of time to reflect on his behaviour, he wound up the wrong guy at the wrong time and got injured in the inevitable act of retribution.
Meanwhile, Boateng has a World Cup to enjoy.

To be honset with you Main Street that's a silly comment for you. If you had've watched the game- I can appreicate how the big games have little interest for you anymore  - Ballack had been cleaned 2/ 3 times prior to his reaction. Indeed there was a bad tackle on the German earlier in the game, and he got straight back up on his feet, possibly saving the aggressor a booking.

The incident where he slapped the fella, if you watch it again Ballack was victim of a flying hand first. When he retaliated- wrongly and he could've been red carded for it- whoever the Pompey player was threw himself to the ground like he had been pole axed.

Ballack will probably need the summer to count his medal collection. Boateng can spend his summer knowing he f**ked up his chance of a FA Cup medal.

I seriously doubt if he can find even a morsel of solace counting his medals while he spots Boateng on the World Cup stage, that is if he can bear to watch.
Ballack's post match whining is evidence enough of his character
On the other hand, re Chelsea, my character is impeccable and thoroughly professional  I do not have petty axes to grind which is a tiresome leading feature in the various EPL discussions.
Club affiliation is that strange place where one week a player for another club can be hated and the next week (after a 10% pay rise) he is loved by his new club and hated by his old club.  I have seldom seen or noticed Ballack for Chelsea but for Germany and Bayern I have noted him as a player who does not hesitate to dive to feign injury, scream at the ref, determined to get his fellow professional into trouble over imagined offenses.
I watched this game in which I have absolutely no interest in who wins.
My opinion, considering the pattern of actions in the game is that Ballack got what he deserved, a clattering, in the way that clatterings are dished out towards players who lose control of their arrogance.
It is regrettable for Ballack that his clattering has resulted in him missing the World Cup, as he is a fine player but that is the nature of the game.  Players make bad tackles and the same players receive bad tackles, not worthy of any comment until a split second difference in execution results in a more serious injury.

[quit yo jibbajabba]

i read somewhere that there was history between ballack and boateng; anyone any detail on this?

wont get involved in the argument other than to say ballack has seriously went down in my estimation since he hit the premiership....used to be a big fan..

[nrico2006]

i read somewhere that there was history between ballack and boateng; anyone any detail on this?

wont get involved in the argument other than to say ballack has seriously went down in my estimation since he hit the premiership....used to be a big fan..

Agreed

[Norf Tyrone]

i read somewhere that there was history between ballack and boateng; anyone any detail on this?

wont get involved in the argument other than to say ballack has seriously went down in my estimation since he hit the premiership....used to be a big fan..

Or another way. I used to like Ballack until he joined Chelsea.

Seriously lads..... 

[ross4life]

isn't Ballack the guy that's known as the Jimmy White of Soccer? getting to Major finals (Champions league ,World cup) but losing?

he was a fantastic player in the early 00s, IMO Chelsea got him when he had already reached his peak

Yeah, Ballack is a notorious loser  Wise up.
He single handedly dragged Leverkusen to a CL final and then done the same with a poor German team in taking them to the 2002 World Cup Final in the same year, sacrificing his own place in the final.  Countless medals with Munich and Chelsea hardly qualify him as a runner up.

Major finals i said  did you forget the 2008 final? & where did i say he was a loser BTW Jimmy White won loads outside of the World title

[Minder]

Great comparison Ross, a player in a team sport and a sportsman that plays an individual sport.

[ross4life]

Great comparison Ross, a player in a team sport and a sportsman that plays an individual sport.

Hmm how would you put it 



Missed the point spectacularly.



Again

[paco]

Anyone see John Terry's interview on Sky? Said that he would take the double over the Champion's League every season for the rest of his career, because they had never won the double in their history. Didn't make sense to me. What's the consensus from the blues on here?

[quit yo jibbajabba]

norf tyrone; not at all; a liverpool fan admittedly, but my hatred for utd far surpasses any hatred for chelski; so yous were lesser of the 2 evils this year;

a huge admirer of the german mentality and their football in general; i thought ballack was pretty much a complete midfielder; then he comes to engerland, and by and large has been a failure; fair enough he has a few medals; but dont think he would be making your first choice midfield;

that is all.

now, what about this history?  see boateng has apologised; but ballack still considering legal action.......

[Puckoon]

Ballack definitely has not hit his suggested potential in England.

[new devil]

Ballack,Ashley Cole and John Terry are 3 off the players i hate most but i don't mind chelsea...just a pity them other two didn't miss the world cup as well
I don't think United fans see Chelsea as rivals like Arsenal and Liverpool because once red Rom leaves with his money they will go back to just plain old Chelsea

[quit yo jibbajabba]

not often i agree with a manc, but thats sort of the liverpool opinion on them too (and before ye start i know were not terribly big rivals for anyone atm);
basically until chelski come close to 18 titles they can have their fun for a while; and while annoyin to see thon cnut terry with a smile on his face; well accept it through gritted teeth for a while anyway...

anyway, enough of the thread hijacking; away for an cup o tae....

[Norf Tyrone]

Anyone see John Terry's interview on Sky? Said that he would take the double over the Champion's League every season for the rest of his career, because they had never won the double in their history. Didn't make sense to me. What's the consensus from the blues on here?

I agree. Doesn't make sense.

now, what about this history?  see boateng has apologised; but ballack still considering legal action.......

It's actually his agent who is talking about the legal action, not Ballack as far as I see. Probably all hot air. There is no grounds for legal action. It was a bad tackle alright, but you'll see them type of 'letting you know I am there tackles' regularly.

Ballack definitely has not hit his suggested potential in England.

No arguments there. He has been just ok. I can think of very few games where he was the outstanding player. However he is useful in that deep sitting, holding role dictating the play. Personally I think he'd merit another 12 months at a greatly reduced wage. However it wouldn't be the end of the world if he went.

Ballack,Ashley Cole and John Terry are 3 off the players i hate most but i don't mind chelsea...just a pity them other two didn't miss the world cup as well
I don't think United fans see Chelsea as rivals like Arsenal and Liverpool because once red Rom leaves with his money they will go back to just plain old Chelsea

People have been talking about Rom leaving from the day he took over. I thought it was fantastic to see an owner living the game against Wigan. Kicked every kick and headed every cross. He looks like a man who is enjoying it as much as ever. Indeed his major 'gift' earlier this year substantiates that.

Onto that Chelsea are slowly getting themselves into a position where Rom's money is not as important. Take a look at the data to see where the money has been spent in the transfer market over the last three seasons, and you'll see Chelsea in 7th spot.

Chelsea's global support has multipied over the last few seasons as well, and IF (And it's a BIG if) Rom ever does decide to sell up, we'll be in a much stronger position than where we were in May 20004. And if we're not, sure it'll have a loc of yaers of quer craic. Also Arnesan's youth policy shows signs of delivery with Kakura, Brauma, Stoch and a few others being elevated to the first team squad next season.

People have looked at Abromovich as being 'bad' for the game. I can appreciate that view point, but from a balance perspecitive I think he has brought more good. For example breaking the duopoly of Arsenal and United in the Premiership. How boring would it have been with these sides dominating on their own for the last 10 years?

The Russian has also saved so many clubs with the 'new money'. When the spree of 2004 and 2005 took place, this went on players from Blackburn, Charlton, West Ham and the like. This was money over and about the street value of the player's sold. This money then filtered through the leagues as those sides reinvested.

There was an article in one of the broad sheets a season or two back where two club's existance was said to have been secured by Roman's money (I think Southampton was one of them). Roman has single handedly pumped ~ £200million into the pyramid structure of the football league it's believed.

On jibbajabba's point there about "basically until chelski come close to 18 titles they can have their fun for a while". We are having fun. However I think the point is being missed. I don't support Chelsea because they win titles. By geezus the first 25 years of supporting them told me that. So the craic is not the winning, it's more- and this sounds really cheesey- just being Chelsea. I suppose your team, is your team.

If you recall Liverpool and United didn't commence their historys with 18 to their name. They had to build foundations, and become what they are today. Without being too bitchy about the whole thing, Liverpool and United have a shameful love in that helped them avoid being relegated one season before all these trophies came along. Who knows what might've happened if that event had not occured? Match fixing something that fans of both teams never seem to talk about when recounting history.

On a final note, Chelsea were accused of playing boring football and 'buying the title' in the first two seasons. They have spent very little the last few seasons (Relativelly speaking) and scored 103 goals this season, playing some exciting stuff. Still the negativity and bitterness appears.

[A Quinn Martin Production]

Norf, you're letting the board down with all this research, facts and structured analysis.  Can we get back to wild speculation mixed in with the odd insult here and there?

I wonder how many of the MU and Liverpool fans on the board started supporting their team because they were successful??

BTW Chelsea have 6 League titles.  People forget the 2nd Div wins in 1984 and 1989, part of the glory years that included triumphs in the Full Members Cups of 1986 and 1990