Chelsea to offer Drogba player-coach deal

by Andy Brint Senior Writer

Chelsea are set to offer former striker Didier Drogba a route back to the club this summer, according to The Metro.

If reports from Le Sport 10 are to be believed, Blues boss Jose Mourinho is ready to offer the Ivorian forward a one year playing deal followed by a three year coaching deal with the club.

This would mean Drogba, who played his final game for the club in the Champions League final of 2012, would part of the Chelsea setup for the next four years

Drogba is regarded as a club legend at Chelsea, and is reportedly considering his future at Turkish outfit Galatasaray.

With Drogba possibly being offered a one year playing deal at Stamford Bridge, the forward could act as a short term answer to Mourinho's striker problems.

The likes of Fernando Torres, Demba Ba and Samuel Eto'o have all proved inconsistent throughout the campaign, and it appears that a striker signing is a priority for 'The Special One'.

Drogba may well be 36-years-old, but most Chelsea fans would be glad to see him back at the Bridge before the start of the 2014/15 campaign.
http://www.givemesport.com/462227-chelsea-to-offer-drogba-playercoach-deal?autoplay=on

Shouldn't they be more concerned about Mourinho upsetting their best player?

Jose Mourinho wants a new team of Chelsea 'untouchables'
May 4, 2014
Jason Burt

It was in December 2006, midway through his first trophy-laden spell in English football, that Jose Mourinho famously named his "untouchables". They were the players whose ability, form and mentality meant they were must-picks: Claude Makelele, Michael Essien, Frank Lampard, Michael Ballack, John Terry, Ricardo Carvalho, Ashley Cole, Didier Drogba and Petr Cech. Nine in all.

Now, as he confronts the rare prospect of a trophyless campaign, the Chelsea manager was challenged to name the 'untouchables' in his current squad. "No, that team was a special team," Mourinho said. "The players were in a special moment in their careers. This is different."

This is, indeed, a different Chelsea. They are a side lacking in maturity and also - to use the term employed by Diego Simeone to describe his Atletico Madrid players after their Champions League triumph at Stamford Bridge last week - cojones.

"A fan can call a player amazing if a player produces something amazing in this game, but for a manager, you want someone in your spine who is untouchable," Mourinho said.

There are players like that in his Chelsea squad and Mourinho did oblige with a handful of names. "(Gary) Cahill, Terry, (Branislav) Ivanovic and (Cesar) Azpilicueta were a spine and a strength all season," he said. "It was a pity that Ashley Cole didn't play so much. His quality is there. Every time I played him, his answer was fantastic so it's a pity he couldn't play more. And it was also a pity Tomas Kalas didn't have more chances.

"We had (Nemanja) Matic who can play in the Premier League but not in the Champions League, so you always play him here and never there. You protect Lampard to play here and not there. Ramires is a player who was suspended for eight matches in the Premier League, a gift of four plus a gift of three plus an accumulation of five yellow cards. Eight matches. So it was an area where it was difficult to establish real stability and foundation.

"With the strikers I was trying to go from moment to moment, from quality to quality, trying to choose this player for this game, and I think we were successful on that. Eto'o against Galatasaray, he scored. Torres in Istanbul, he scored. Ba at Liverpool, he scored. Against Atletico, we decided to play with Fernando and he scored. The structure, the base, is there, partially."

"Partially" is the critical word. "It was not possible to complete that puzzle for different factors," Mourinho said. "If next season we have a No.9 who we decide is first-choice, plus the stability that Matic and Ramires can give, hopefully we will have more stability." So there you have it. The new 'untouchables' are evolving: Ivanovic, Terry, Cahill, Azpilicueta, Matic and Ramires and, possibly, Willian whose attitude to hard work had, Mourinho said, been transformed.

Pointedly, Mourinho did not name Petr Cech - Thibaut Courtois is expected to return from loan at Atletico and challenge for the No.1 spot - or David Luiz, who is expected to be sold, probably to Barcelona. There was also not a striker he could depend upon, although Diego Costa's expected arrival for £31.5 million ($57 million) from Atletico should fill the gap that has existed since Didier Drogba left.

Apart from raiding Atletico - and maybe adding Paulinho from Tottenham Hotspur, if they are ready to give Spurs £30 million or Romelu Lukaku in exchange - Mourinho said that he had to get more out of his younger attackers: Eden Hazard, Oscar, Andre Schurrle and Mohamed Salah.

Beyond that there is Marco van Ginkel, Kalas and Kurt Zouma, the central defender arriving from St-Etienne. They will join Terry, Lampard and Cole - who are all expected to be offered new contracts, albeit on significantly reduced terms - in forming a new core of hard-working, Mourinho-endorsed players who will follow the coach's instructions to the letter.

Chelsea also need to increase their quotient of home-grown players, having been forced to name 23 rather than 25 in their Premier League squad because of a shortfall. Hence their interest in the Cardiff City midfielder Mats Daehli, who may be Norwegian but who could qualify as home-grown because of the time he spent at Manchester United's academy.

Judging by Mourinho's arguments and analysis ahead of the match with Norwich City on Sunday, a match they must surely win to keep alive any hope they retain of winning the Premier League title, then it would appear that the Chelsea careers of Hazard and Oscar are in the balance, along with that of Luiz.

Given that Chelsea are already set to commit almost £50 million in transfer fees for Costa and Luis, and potentially more on Bayern Munich striker Mario Mandzukic and Paulinho, then players will simply have to be moved on. The demands of UEFA's Financial Fair Play regulations and the club's own desire to balance the books will see to that.

Mourinho insisted that Chelsea would not be a "noisy team, buying and selling" but there is work to do if they are to reach the standards, and evolve in style of play that he and the club's owner Roman Abramovich are demanding next season.

Then a campaign without a trophy will not be one that can be mitigated against with excuses. Mourinho needs to find his "untouchables".

The Telegraph, London

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/jose-mourinho-wants-a-new-team-of-chelsea-untouchables-20140504-zr456.html#ixzz30nemEsY6

We require a dominant centre forward and central midfielder

I hear Heskey is free :-"

José Mourinho's end-of-term report will back Chelsea's experienced trio

The Guardian, Saturday 10 May 2014 07.30 AEST   

José Mourinho is to submit a written report reviewing his first campaign back in English football on Monday and will state his case for the retention of the team's experienced core of John Terry, Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole beyond the expiry of their contracts.

The Portuguese, who has been working on the report over the past few weeks, will also detail the tweaks he would like made to his squad in the close season and will argue for Thibaut Courtois to return to his parent club after three years on loan at Atlético Madrid. Mourinho expects to meet the club's hierarchy this month to discuss his suggestions as the Londoners seek to strengthen before another title challenge next season.

The three players are out of contract at Stamford Bridge on 30 June and Terry and Lampard are expected to miss Sunday's final-day visit to relegated Cardiff City through injury and illness respectively. Mourinho has said regularly this season that he wants the trio to be retained. "But it's difficult for me to speak in this moment about it," he said. "Clearly Chelsea had a fantastic team that lasted for 10 years. Some of these boys are still here but not many of them. And Chelsea are building their future.

"You could see this season these people were important to give some stability, some experience to the team, but obviously they're not the players for the next 10 years. Those have to be the Hazards, Oscars, Nemanja Matic … these young guys. I've been [compiling] this report for a long time. It's not something I've just turned to but I'll give it on Monday. I don't 'have' to, but I will. And after that we meet, we discuss and we address these cases."

The immediate futures of the young Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku, who has spent the campaign at Everton and may not feature in Mourinho's plans for next season, and Courtois will also be addressed. "Lukaku had a successful loan," said the manager. "By that I mean sometimes the players go on loan and we cannot find a positive reason for that loan at the end of the season. But Lukaku played all the time, had minutes of experience in the Premier League in a good team with a good coach, scoring his goals. So he's a successful case of loans and those are the ones we have to analyse. But I haven't discussed [his future] with the player or with my own club yet.

"On Courtois I've made a decision but I'm not the club. I'm the manager. I will inform the club about my opinion, not just with a simple comment made in a corridor … I like to do things in a proper way, to be committed with my opinions, so I will do it in writing. That's the proper way to do it officially.

"So my final report will have, in detail, this kind of case which you can compare with Lukaku. Courtois's was also a successful loan, a long loan in this case. I have my opinion very clearly. My job is to analyse things, to have opinions and make my decisions. After that the club is the club. Obviously I have to work for and with the club and respect the club's decisions. I have made clear my opinions."

The manager confirmed his intention to sign a striker this summer – "we have three at the moment, so normally one is leaving, normally one is coming" – as Chelsea hope to glean silverware next year after a trophyless season, albeit of progression. "I don't have 'security' here," added Mourinho when asked why he will be afforded time other recent Chelsea managers have been denied. "Nobody has that security. David [Moyes] signed a six-year contract at Manchester United and everyone was convinced he had stability, myself included, but at the end of the day he doesn't get to the end of his first season. So there must be something really special between manager and club, or the manager must be something really special to be there for five, 10 years. It must be a special situation.

"The Chelsea job is different than in previous years. Clearly. The team that won the trophies at Chelsea was a team with a certain structure, not just tactically but from a personality point-of-view, and that team is over. It doesn't exist any more. Chelsea needs to build another team with some similarities to that one. Not with the same profile of players, but similarities with qualify, personality, in a certain tactical approach. We're in a transition."

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/may/09/jose-mourinho-report-chelsea-terry-lampard-cole

Ashley Cole quits England after World Cup axe

DateMay 12, 2014 - 9:57AM

Chelsea left-back Ashley Cole has announced he is retiring from international football after being told he'd been left out of England manager Roy Hodgson's squad for the World Cup.

"I got the call from Roy and agree England team should be about the young players," the 33-year-old Cole told his Twitter followers.

"We have a great manager and team and I wish them only success. I will be supporting them like a true fan. Thanks to everyone for everything," the 107-times capped Cole added ahead of Hodgson's official squad announcement on Monday.

Cole's words indicated his failure to hold down a regular first-team spot at Chelsea this season, where he has been displaced by Spain's Cesar Azpilicueta, had cost him his England career.

His omission means that Everton's Leighton Baines is set to be confirmed as England's leading left-back when Hodgson unveils his 23-man squad for the World Cup finals, with Southampton teenager Luke Shaw providing cover for the 29-year-old.

"#Baines and #shaw are great players, proved this season, and are the future of this country, it was a pleasure to get #107 caps #eng," added Cole, who earlier on Sunday started in Chelsea's final league game of the season, a 2-1 victory away to already-relegated Cardiff, on Twitter.

Former Arsenal defender Cole made his international debut against Albania in 2001 and has been an England regular ever since, starting every tournament game since his finals bow against Sweden at the 2002 World Cup.

Back in March, Hodgson said he understood he might have to disappoint a "big name" player when it came to selecting his squad for Brazil.

On Sunday, Hodgson told the Football Association website that dropping Cole, who "in his prime" was the world's best left-back, had been one of the toughest decisions of his career.

"Among many difficult decisions I've had to make for my squad, not selecting Ashley was one of the hardest," Hodgson said

"He's been an incredible competitor for England, to amass over a century of caps is a truly staggering achievement and he deserves enormous credit for the desire and brilliance which has shone through over the years he has represented his country.

"There are few players who can be considered among the very best in the world, but Ashley in his prime was the best left back without question," added Hodgson, who said Cole had accepted his omission with "huge grace".

"Of course I must respect his decision to retire, he has been one of England's finest players, but I want to look to the future. It has been one of the hardest decisions of my career."

Now it appears that the 18-year-old Shaw is set for his first major tournament as an England player despite having just the one cap behind him.

Shaw received a glowing report from Hodgson after making a 45-minute substitute appearance during his England debut in the friendly win over Denmark two months ago, with the manager saying: "Anyone who has watched him play would not deny he deserves a place."

England will face Italy, Uruguay and Costa Rica in the group stages of the World Cup which gets under way on June 12.

AFP


Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/ashley-cole-quits-england-after-world-cup-axe-20140512-zr9vg.html#ixzz31VFjg1q0

Chelsea’s World Cup stars: Player-by-player guide to the Blues set to shine in Brazil

10:40 04 June 2014

Brad Pinard

With less than two weeks to go until we kick off the World Cup in Brazil it is time to let you know exactly who to look out for this month. Chelsea are not short of stars heading to South America and we take a look at each of them to see just what sort of impact they can make.

Ramires, Oscar and Willian (Brazil)

The hosts look strong going into their showpiece event and Chelsea certainly have a strong say in how they will play. This midfield trio all featured often for the Blues last season and individually showed their class. Oscar is one of the pin-up boys of the tournament and Brazil will surely make the most of his talent by making him a key man. Willian and Ramires may have to do most of their work from the bench but the strong Brazilian squad should go close with a decent group and run to the semi finals.

Predicted finish: Runners-Up



Cesar Azpilicueta and Fernando Torres (Spain)

Spain were written off a few months ago after stuttering in winnable games but since their squad was announced – the faith has returned. Azpilicueta was arguably Chelsea’s best player last season and looks to have not only pushed Ashley Cole out of the team but also the club and into international retirement. The 24-year-old will probably operate from right back for Spain but is capable across the back four. Torres had another disappointing season and was a surprise inclusion but he usually turns up in big international competitions. Despite having a tough group – the passage to final should be good if they win Group B and could even face England.

Predicted finish: Winners


Gary Cahill and Frank Lampard (England)

The main centre half and the vice-captain – Chelsea hold the key to England’s success in Brazil and hopefully the Three Lions can give a certain midfield man a fond farewell. Lampard has admitted he is leaving Chelsea after the World Cup and that will more than likely lead to international retirement. Cahill on the other hand has a long Blues and England career ahead of him and if he has a good tournament, so will England with a winnable group and decent looking knock-out stage opponents.

Predicted finish: Quarter-Final


Kenneth Omeruo, John Obi Mikel and Victor Moses (Nigeria)

Chelsea hold a strong force in the Nigeria squad and a lot rests with the experience of Mikel and attacking intent of Moses. Omeruo impressed on loan at Middlesbrough last season and could be fast-tracked into the Blues first team under Jose Mourinho next term. The Super Eagles will believe they can progress from their group and it looks to be between them and Bosnia & Herzegovina who finishes second behind Argentina. France are the likely opponents in the next round though and so success is tough to judge for Nigeria this summer.

Predicted finish: Group Stage


Andre Schurrle (Germany)

The Germans look strong and are second favourites behind hosts Brazil at present. Possibly the best balanced squad on paper – Germany appear to have defensive quality as well as attacking flair and Schurrle certainly comes into the later category. An impressive first season at Stamford Bridge is over and now the 23-year-old can set about making a spot in the German side his own. Plenty of competition covers the front three for Joachim Loew but even as an impact sub, Schurrle can thrive. Germany should go well and a semi final clash with Brazil looks to be set up nicely.

Predicted finish: Semi-Final


Thibaut Courtois, Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku (Belgium)

‘Dark horses’ has been a tag that has stuck with Belgium in the build up to Brazil and Chelsea are set to be the core as to what this impressive young side achieve. Courtois is surely on his way back to Stamford Bridge after three impressive years at Atletico Madrid and now is the time to shine on the biggest stage. We all know what Hazard will do and if he plays at his best Belgium could seriously mount a challenge alongside Lukaku who has been on fire in the warm up games and is their only main striker. A pretty basic group and then knock-out stage clash should be a certainty but they will have to step it up in the quarter finals.

Predicted finish: Quarter-Final

http://www.london24.com/sport/football/clubs/chelsea/chelsea_s_world_cup_stars_player_by_player_guide_to_the_blues_set_to_shine_in_brazil_1_3627971

Jose Mourinho says cutting Frank Lampard was a career lowlight, invites him back as a coach
Laura Williamson Daily Mail June 06, 2014 12:12PM

JOSE MOURINHO has invited Frank Lampard to return to Chelsea as his assistant manager after admitting that letting the midfielder go was one of the most difficult acts of his career.

The Chelsea boss praised Lampard in the highest terms, saying he was the best all-round midfield player of the past decade. He also insisted the 35-year-old’s move away from Stamford Bridge this summer is merely a ‘little break’, not the end of his career there.

Mourinho hinted that Ashley Cole’s time at the club may not be over, revealing he has yet to talk to the left back about his future. Cole, 33, is also out of contract but no official announcement has been made following the player’s comment on Twitter last month that he was ‘weighing up his options’ and ‘sadly it does not look like Chelsea will be one of them’.

Lampard, meanwhile, is considering a move to Major League Soccer in the States after leaving as Chelsea’s all-time record goal-scorer with 11 major honours, including three Premier League titles, four FA Cups, the Champions League and Europa League.

Mourinho said: ‘You can’t imagine how difficult it was. I think only Frank knows that, but at the same time I can feel some happiness about the process because, for sure, he comes back to Chelsea.

‘For sure. Everybody wants it. Mr Abramovich — the No 1, the most important person — wants Frank to be back very much, I want him to be back and the staff want him back, so he comes back for sure.

‘He can come back the way he wants. Mr Abramovich has left the door completely open for him on the understanding Frank can do anything he wants at this club. To repeat Mr Abramovich’s words, “He can come back the way he wants”.

‘He can be a coach, he can start at the academy, he can start being my assistant at the same time because he is doing his coaching badges, or he can start in a different role.

‘It’s not the end of Frank Lampard’s career in Chelsea. It’s just a little break.

‘He will be back, hopefully for many, many years, because he’s one of the most important players in the history of Chelsea.’ Lampard’s former manager acknowledged the midfielder’s determination to continue playing for two or three more years, but said a footballer of his calibre needs to compete in a league where he is the ‘top man’.

Lampard completed only 11 Barclays Premier League matches last season and Mourinho revealed he had advised him to give up international football after this World Cup, having already won 104 caps.

‘The World Cup is the perfect way for somebody with more than 100 caps to finish his career in the national team,’ said Mourinho. ‘I told him, “Don’t go more than the World Cup. The World Cup is the right moment to finish”. He accepts that. To finish around 110 caps is a crazy number for an outfield player. He’s not a goalkeeper that plays till 40 years of age.

‘He’s a man to play a major role in a team, not like what happened in the last year. I think for him, for his mentality, for his personality, it’s better to get a club and probably a competition where he is really the top man.

‘Lampard is a No 6, a No 10 and he wears the No 8, because he is the six and the 10 and he becomes the eight.

‘For me, he is the best No 8 I have managed, for sure, and I don’t see a better No 8 in the last decade. He was the best for 10 years. I don’t see another one.’ Cole retired from international football after being left out of Roy Hodgson’s squad for Brazil, but Mourinho said the defender was still in the ‘perfect condition’.

The left back started only five Premier League matches in 2014 after losing his place to Cesar Azpilicueta following a rib injury last autumn, but Mourinho said he pushed Cole towards the end of the campaign in the hope he would be selected for the World Cup.


http://www.foxsports.com.au/football/premier-league/jose-mourinho-says-cutting-frank-lampard-was-a-career-lowlight-invites-him-back-as-a-coach/story-e6frf4a3-1226945674090

Why a Break from Chelsea Is the Best Thing for Frank Lampard's Future
By Rowanne Westhenry , Featured Columnist
Jun 9, 2014

Chelsea fans were distraught when Frank Lampard announced last week that his 13-year spell at Stamford Bridge had come to an end. Having scored 211 goals in 648 appearances for the Blues, Super Frank is heading for pastures new, with the MLS the most likely destination, per The Telegraph.

As upsetting as it is to say goodbye to one of the greatest players to play for the club, this move is best for everyone involved.

Through no fault of his own, Lampard became a victim of age. At 35 years old, he cannot compete week-in, week-out at the level Chelsea need. While he certainly could have found a place within the squad and still been involved, it would not have been in the regular capacity that he is used to. Frank still feels he has a few years of playing left in him, so a move to the MLS makes sense.

Football in America is less intense than the European game, and he would be joined by several veterans from the continent. Thierry Henry has managed to extend his career with the New York Red Bulls, while Robbie Keane found some success at LA Galaxy. Both of these players had come to the same realisation as Frank: That they wanted to carry on playing at a high level, but staying in Europe was not an option.

This break in his Chelsea career will also benefit Lampard if and when he decides to make the transition into management.

According to The Guardian, Jose Mourinho said last week that he is welcome back at any time, in any role he wants. Whether he decides to work his way up through coaching in the academy or dive straight in as Jose’s assistant, Lampard has a future at Stamford Bridge. Spending a year or two away from the club will help that transition, preventing any problems that could arise from him becoming his teammates’ boss.

It also allows Mourinho to find a successor to Frank without stepping on the legend’s toes.

While the official Chelsea website was correct in noting that the club “have never seen his like in our midfield before, and we will be very blessed to again see his equal,” somebody will need to pick up his legacy of bursting runs from midfield and incisive, perfectly timed passes. It will surely be easier for a younger player to find his feet in that role without Lampard looking over his shoulder.

Saying goodbye is rarely an enjoyable experience, but in the case of Lampard’s departure from Chelsea, it promises a bright future for everyone.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2090771-why-a-break-from-chelsea-is-the-best-thing-for-frank-lampards-future

Chelsea salute Cesc Fábregas – the man José Mourinho calls maestro

Arsenal and Manchester United passed up chances to sign him but the midfielder could make the difference in the title race

The Guardian, Wednesday 20 August 2014 04.37 AEST   

Shortly before Cesc Fábregas set about reintroducing himself to English football, a couple of Chelsea fans in the old Cricket Field stand at Turf Moor unfurled a banner that seemed designed to get under the skin of any Arsenal supporters watching on television. “Cesc is Blue” felt like a declaration of ownership, referring to a player who had once declared he could never wear anyone’s colours in the Premier League apart from the red and white of Arsenal.

He is not an orthodox hero for his new club. His background is elsewhere in London and there is a history of previous with José Mourinho that had to be cleared up before he decided Stamford Bridge would offer him more job satisfaction than Barcelona. Yet Fábregas played like a man in a hurry to leave his mark and, in the process, his first competitive match for Chelsea reminded us of something that should not be overlooked when it comes to the art of controlling the ball.

It is that, in football, a pass can be every bit as beautiful as the 25-yard shot into the top corner that is immediately hailed as a goal-of-the-season contender. Fábregas’s touch for André Schürrle’s goal was in that category, weighted with such perfection it would have been almost impudent for the German not to supply the final flourish.

It was not only the deftness with which Fábregas caressed the ball but his anticipation of Schürrle’s run and the ability at high speed to take the sting out of the pass, so that when it did reach his team-mate there was nothing complicated about trying to control it. It was a great player’s pass, neatly summed up by the opening line of USA Today’s coverage. “Are you kidding me, Cesc?” their correspondent, Nate Scott, asked.

The word Mourinho used was “maestro” and there was certainly the clear sense from Chelsea’s manager that he intended to construct his entire team largely around the player who had grown weary of trying to break the Messi-Xavi-Iniesta stronghold at Camp Nou.

Barcelona, he said, had misused Fábregas, whereas he had studied him for years and knew precisely where he was at his most effective, providing he had a manager who fully trusted in him and understood his qualities.

Fábregas started from a deeper midfield position than the classic No10 role but with a licence to roam and the responsibility to dictate the side’s rhythm. He was, to put it another way, operating in the Xavi beat, whereas at Barcelona he had come to be regarded more as Lionel Messi’s understudy. “He was fantastic,” Schürrle said. “Always passing the ball, always running. A player like Cesc – every team would want him.”

Except, of course, we know that is not quite true. Arsenal had first option on their former player but nothing ever came of it and their supporters could probably be forgiven for feeling uneasy about whether that might eventually hurt them more than they would like to contemplate.

Likewise, it is tempting to wonder if Manchester United are already experiencing the ache of insecurity that comes from knowing they might have made a dreadful mistake. United spent a long time fluttering their eyelashes towards Fábregas and, for a good while, he returned the eye contact. Why they pulled out shortly after Louis van Gaal took the manager’s job has never been explained properly but United are desperately in need of some authentic class and one thing is for certain: they have been guilty of some dreadfully muddled thinking if they decided Fábregas was not, after all, an upgrade on what they already have.

Arsenal do at least already have a gifted collection of attacking midfielders to reassure them that they had more pressing areas of their squad to enhance. They cannot be doing too badly if there is also a debate at the moment about whether a player of Jack Wilshere’s refinement deserves his place and, between them, Mesut Özil, Aaron Ramsey, Santi Cazorla and their supporting cast should be able to soothe the nagging feeling that they might have missed a trick.

They did discuss Fábregas’s availability at length before Chelsea intervened and Arsène Wenger has always kept in touch with the player he brought into Arsenal’s first team at the age of 16. It was just that the old connection between player and club had been lost. Fábregas is not entirely popular with the people who run Arsenal, where they have not forgotten how he behaved to pressure the club into selling him in the first place. More important, his former employers were left with the impression that he did not really want to come back. Fábregas, with his understanding of PR, would later state it was Arsenal who did not want him, as if he had been obediently waiting all along for them to make an offer. “We talked with Wenger but he said that he would find it difficult to make a place for me on the pitch as Özil had my position covered.” Arsenal will argue it was not that straightforward.

In United’s case, it is complex again and not at all easy trying to make sense of how a club with their need for improvement could abandon a year-long pursuit of the player just at the point when Barcelona had finally decided to do business.

Last summer, Fábregas let them know through various middlemen, including Robin van Persie, that he found the idea appealing but the club went in too low with their bids and Barcelona, while willing to do business, had politics to think about. Fábregas was one of their own and they did not want to be seen ushering him out unless he went public and asked to leave. It became a staring contest between the player and club. Neither blinked.

Earlier this year, there was another attempt from Old Trafford to lure him to Manchester. Again, he was attracted to the idea. The problem is that Van Gaal was not as keen as his predecessor, David Moyes, and United went back for another Spaniard, the uncapped Ander Herrera, whose £28.5m fee from Athletic Bilbao was £1.5m higher than Chelsea have paid Barcelona at this stage for Fábregas.

Herrera has plenty of attributes but what a strange set of events when the team that finished seventh in the league last season should suddenly decide Fábregas is not for them, even though he is capable of performances like the one at Burnley on Monday.

Fábregas, to put it into context, set up more goals in his first 45 minutes for Chelsea than Marouane Fellaini, Michael Carrick, Tom Cleverley and Darren Fletcher managed for United throughout the whole of last season. He could have drastically improved Van Gaal’s team with his uncommon knack of seeing the pass and his ability, almost every time, to find a team-mate.

For Chelsea, of course, all of this is irrelevant. Too much can be read into one game sometimes, especially when this is the stage of the season that the sport tends to be rife with knee-jerk reactions. Equally, it does not feel as if it is presumptuous to say Chelsea already look a better team now Fábregas is alongside Nemanja Matic in midfield.

Their gain comes at the expense of two of their rivals – if United, in the current form, can be described in that manner – and that, one imagines, will only heighten Mourinho’s enjoyment now his new player is playing with such distinction in his change of colours.
http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/aug/19/chelsea-cesc-fabregas-jose-mourinho-arsenal-manchester-united

Petr Cech’s Chelsea future in balance after Thibaut Courtois starts

Andy Hunter and Dominic Fifield   

The Guardian, Wednesday 20 August 2014 07.30 AEST   

Petr Cech remains in the dark over his immediate future at Chelsea as he confronts life as a second-choice at the London club, with Thibaut Courtois the manager’s preferred goalkeeper for the start of the Premier League season.

The veteran, who has claimed three Premier League titles and a Champions League over a glittering decade at Stamford Bridge, has yet to speak directly to José Mourinho over his sudden omission from the team following the decision to retain Courtois at the club after three years on loan at Atlético Madrid. Courtois made his competitive debut in Monday’s 3-1 victory at Burnley and, while he admitted his own future would have been cast into doubt had he not started at Turf Moor, he urged the elder man to remain at the club.

Cech’s form has hardly wavered over recent years and he was one of the team’s most consistent performers last term. Yet he has been left surprised and confused by Mourinho’s decision to favour the Belgian and disappointed that the manager has not explained his reasoning face to face. The 32-year-old, who has two years to run on his current contract and is one of the most senior players at the club, will not make a hasty decision on his future on the back of one game of the league season but he has little desire to spend the campaign as an understudy and is conscious that the transfer deadline is looming large.

Mourinho suggested in the wake of the win at Burnley that Courtois’s promotion was not irrevocable and would be reviewed on a game-by-game basis, though Monaco may now test Chelsea’s resolve to retain the Czech international. The club’s stance is complicated by the reality that they have one too many foreign players in their 25-man first-team squad over the age of 21 to conform to Premier League and Champions League rules, so one is expected to leave before the end of the month.

Courtois’s contract, like that of Cech, expires in 2016 but the club have opened negotiations over extending his stay in London – as they have with his compatriot, Eden Hazard, who has also been offered a new five-year deal – and Chelsea hope to secure him to new terms within the next month. The youngster made an encouraging start against Burnley and concedes he must now repay Mourinho’s faith on a daily basis having dislodged Cech from the first XI.

“The manager said [he was starting]an hour before the game,” he said. “It was nice. I came here obviously to play. I know that Petr is a great goalkeeper so there is a lot of competition but, when you come back from a successful loan, you hope to play. Otherwise it would maybe have been better for me to go to another team.

“It is nice that he put faith in me and it is now for me to prove his faith is right. I need to work hard in every training session and game to gain the confidence of my team-mates and the manager.”Courtois revealed Cech has been a helpful ally since he returned from Atletico as a Spanish champion, despite the obvious rivalry between the pair, and believes it will benefit Chelsea for the veteran to stay and fight to reclaim his place. “Of course I want Petr to stay,” added the Belgian. “In training I can still learn from him because he has a lot of experience. He can give me good tips about the Premier League, things I might not know in the start. He is nice to me. We are training very well and he is still proving he is a great goalkeeper. For the team is better to have two good goalkeepers. I don’t have a problem if he stays. Hopefully I can play well and stay in the team.”

Courtois concedes that competition from Cech is not the only incentive to improve at Chelsea, with the club aiming for the Premier League title this season. He said: “Always when you are here you have pressure to perform because you are playing in a top team. There is always a pressure to win every game and to be important and I am trying to do that in every game I play.”

Chelsea had three debutants against Burnley - the goalkeeper, goalscorer Diego Costa and man of the match Cesc Fabregas - and Courtois believes the club’s swift transfer business this summer is an advantage over rivals who are still pursing targets in the final fortnight of the window. “It is good when you have your team done before the league starts,” he said. “It is important that everyone knows how everybody plays and you are already good. If you need to make a transfer at this moment now then you have problems obviously.”

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/aug/19/petr-cech-chelsea-future-balance-thibaut-courtois-starts-burnley

The thread title will be changed when we win the league this year

Bump. Still top of the table, solid 2-0 over gunners.

By John Brewin

Jose Mourinho losing control as Chelsea unable to stop slide vs. Saints

LONDON -- Jose Mourinho has lost control of Chelsea. Their slide has him cornered, forced to defend himself and even answer questions about his own future as manager.

In losing 3-1 to Southampton, Chelsea were unrecognisable from last season's Premier League title winners. The faces are the same, but this has become a team skirting a relegation place rather than sitting comfortably at the top of the table, as they were this time last year. And Mourinho himself has lost control of his own message.

The trademark confident swagger is lost, replaced by a shrill defensiveness that does nothing to explain why his team have dropped off a cliff. Mourinho himself is in uncharted territory and he betrays a vulnerability he does not appear remotely comfortable with.

Things never got nearly so bad at Porto, Chelsea the first time around, Inter Milan or even at Real Madrid, where he eventually cut an isolated figure at the end of his tenure. After four defeats in eight Premier League matches, he already feels forced to defend his own legacy as Chelsea manager.

"I am not running away," he said during the rambling monologue that followed Sky TV's first and only question of a seven-minute post-match flash interview. "If the club wants to sack me, they have to sack me. If they sack me, they sack the best manager this club has had.

"No way I resign," he said later in his news conference. "No way. Why? Because I have professional pride, and I know I am very good at my job. Secondly, I love the club. I want the best for my club, and the best for my club is for me to stay."

Such explicit statements threw down a gauntlet to the Chelsea hierarchy. Owner Roman Abramovich, sat in his high-security executive box on Saturday evening, may not take kindly to have been given such a public ultimatum. The pair's previous parting of the ways, back in September 2007, took place when Chelsea were fifth in the table and not 16th.

Such unfamiliarity with his predicament has Mourinho windmilling in self-defence, thrashing in the darkness. In the tightest spot of his managerial career, he refuses to accept full responsibility. Breaking previous practices, he even singled out his own players, with Nemanja Matic's form discussed openly.


Jose Mourinho has yet to see his Chelsea side respond to their historical fall from grace.

"He's not the sharpest, he's not making good decisions," he said of the Serb, who has descended from being the engine of last season's title to a one-paced plodder who Southampton isolated and exposed in the period when they surged to a 3-1 lead. "I don't assess individually," Mourinho said later, when asked about the performance of returned captain John Terry, forgetting he already coated off both Matic and Branislav Ivanovic.

It suggested a growing gap between him and his players, to follow the myriad hints made this week that all is not well behind the scenes. Mourinho's dissatisfaction with summer transfer business and the departure of club doctor Eva Carneiro were already signs of an unhappy ship, but the problems are most clearly revealed by repeatedly dreadful performances on the field, where attack, defence and midfield are all equally listless.

"I assume my responsibilities, I think the players should assume their responsibilities," Mourinho said. "And there are other people in the club who should also assume their responsibilities."

This fourth defeat of the season, a second of the week after losing in Porto, owed much to his team's discomfort and disorganisation. They played, especially in the second half, as if confused and looked utterly short of inspiration to rescue the situation once Southampton had taken a deserved 3-1 lead.

Mourinho's attempts to revive the situation came to naught. Subbing off Matic just 28 minutes after his arrival as a half-time replacement himself was a move that could well threaten team spirit, whatever may remain of it at Stamford Bridge.

"The message is again the message of bad results that the manager is guilty," he said, referring to the eight other managers who have sat in his chair since that 2007 departure. "This is the message these players got for a decade."

As is habitual, the usual fallback of questioning match officials was employed, but none too convincingly. Mourinho's suggestion that referee Robert Madley was afraid of awarding a penalty was mocked by Saints manager Ronald Koeman, who pointed to his own team having two calls turned away. "Maybe so. It would have been 5-2, then, even worse for them," said the Dutchman.

Suddenly, a prodigal son who was welcomed back with such glee in the summer of 2013 and celebrated for keeping his team top of the league for the entirety of last season, has lost his mojo. Mourinho at his best is unshakeable, impregnable, relentless. But this is a very different Mourinho. This one fears for his future.

http://www.espnfc.co.uk/blog/the-match/60/post/2646722/mourinho-losing-control-as-chelsea-unable-to-stop-slide

Such a long time ago :lol:

-PB

Consider me shocked that all of the massively hardcore Chelsea fans seem to have disappeared.

It's fuckin' hot today though, so as fate would have it I'm making prawn and/or cucumber sandwiches anyway. If any of you read this, feel free to come around.

Edited by Draupnir: 4/10/2015 02:08:52 PM

Jose's 7 minute post match interview was hilarious :lol:

-PB

:lol: Imagine any other manager asking the press to take it easy on them because they're playing shit :lol:

Don't forget the usual blaming of the refs :lol:

Jose Mourinho's extraordinary seven minute rant is up there with Kevin Keegan's meltdown... so how will Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich react?
By ROB DRAPER FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 17:52 EST, 4 October 2015 | UPDATED: 17:52 EST, 4 October 2015

It was a TV moment to rank alongside Kevin Keegan’s meltdown as Newcastle faded way in the 1996 title race.
Jose Mourinho was only asked one question – ‘Commiserations: what was assessment of the performance?’ – and launched into a seven-and-a-half minute monologue.

At first it seemed it was simply one of his all-enveloping conspiracy theories, one which would make Dan Brown blanche. The problem for Chelsea was simply that referees weren’t give them penalties, a pan European conspiracy it turned out because it included the Champions League.

But it turned into the most extraordinary ultimatum to owner Roman Abramovich and the board of directors almost inviting them to sack him.
Later, he would reiterate the point in a press conference and an executive summary would read: ‘Sack me if you dare but I won’t resign and you won’t find a better manager.'
Roman Abramovich was at the game and and there was indeed a degree of freneticism around the board room last night with one source reporting that there were executives scurrying back and forth as the full impact of a fourth Premier League defeat sunk in.
For Mourinho knows the history of this club and he knows the threat of the sack is real. Managers have gone with better records than this.
It seems extraordinary when just five months ago they were celebrating a famous title win, but when results are this bad the options boil down to changing the players or changing the manager. Abramovich has always gone for the latter.
'This is a crucial moment... if the club sacks me they sack the best manager that this club have,' said Mourinho

He dared Abramovich to do thing differently this time whilst seeming to accept this club always revert to type. ‘It’s a crucial moment in the history of this club,’ he said.
‘Do you know why? Because if the club sacks me they sack the best manager this club ever had. And the message again is that if there are bad results, the manager is guilty.
‘This is the message that people have got in a decade and this is a moment when people assume responsibilities, including me the players and other people in the club. We need to stick together, this is what I want.’
It already looked bad even before the intervention of Mourinho last night made it look worse. Chelsea look like a team not playing for their manager.

Everything Mourinho does seems to be working against him - and the fans are losing patience
His calamitous decision to criticise and demote Dr Eva Carneiro at the start of the season had already come back to bite him politically.
As is that fact that it lost him credit in the dressing room and amongst staff, Dr Carneiro having been a popular figure.
Executives at Chelsea always say they sigh when Mourinho launches one of his press conference offensives but they have learnt to live with them because they trust in the results.
Which is all well and good, but what happens when all you get is the aggravation and the results are no good? That is the question Abramovich will be pondering.

MOURINHO'S SEVEN-MINUTE RANT IN FULL
Look, I think you know me and I think I don’t run away from responsibilities. I think, first of all I want to say that because we are in such a bad moment I think you shouldn’t be afraid to be also honest because when we are in the top there is quite a big pleasure in put us down but when we are so down I think it’s time to be a little bit honest and to say clearly that referees are afraid to give decisions for Chelsea.
The result 1-1 is a huge penalty and once more we don’t get and a penalty is a crucial moment in the game with the result at 1-1, and I repeat that if FA wants to punish me they can punish me they don’t punish other managers but they punish me, it's not a problem for me.
But I want to repeat because I think that my players deserve it, Chelsea fans deserve it. I am a Chelsea fan too and I want to say it again. Referees are afraid to give decisions for Chelsea. Why? Because when they give there’s always a question mark from you, there’s always a question there’s always a critique.
So you are always punished, we are punished because Diego Costa is suspended with images, in other matches we see the same thing and it doesn't happen. Clear penalties are not given and it’s one and one and one and one and even in Champions League in a match you lose 2-1, even in the Champions League which is a game which is not three officials but with five you are not given a penalty in last minute and this penalty in this game today is more than crucial do you know why? Because for my team in this moment the first negative thing that happen, my team collapse.
The team mentally, psychologically, the team is unbelievable down it looks like good players are bad players and the first half was a game where we didn't show our quality but we were in control, we were more than in control, and one mistake and lack of concentration, one goal and when you are having a good time.
In normal circumstances you come to the second half and you do your game, I told the players at half time no panic we are not losing 4-0 it’s 1-1, no panic, the team comes out with a good spirit we have a penalty and the penalty is a giant penalty and he is afraid to give like everybody is afraid to give so no penalty and after that the team lost even more confidence and you know that their second goal is an individual mistake, their third goal is another individual mistake. The team mentally, they try, they try, they try, they are in such a low moment that they collapse.
I can also know what you are thinking, what you are saying in studio, what people imagine, what is is going to happen, what is not going to happen, I want to let it clear.
One, I not run away. Two, if the club wants to sack me they have to sack me because I’m not running away from my responsibilities from my team and from my convictions.
That, be champions is obviously very difficult because the distance is considerable but I’m more than convinced that we finish top four, and when the season is so bad if you finish top four it is OK.
Third even more important than first and second, I think this is a crucial moment in the history of this club.
Do you know why? Because if the club sacks me they sack the best manager that this club have, and secondly the message is again the message of bad result, the manager is guilty and this is the message that not just these players but the other ones before they got during a decade.
I think this is a moment for everybody to assume responsibility, I assume my responsibility I think the players should assume their responsibility and there are other people in the club that they should also assume their responsibilities and to stick together. And this is what I want.
The players they still have to play until the end of the season with the gold champions thing in their shirt and I want to work always, you know, I consider myself, I have a big self-esteem, a big ego, I consider myself the best, living the worst period of my career and worst results of my career, doing that as a professional hurts me a lot, doing it at Chelsea hurts me twice because it hurts me as a professional and hurts me because I like this club very, very much and was because of that that I come back so I want to carry on, I want to carry on no doubt, no doubt and I assume my responsibilities but I think it’s time for everybody to assume their responsibilities because when you go down to so many individual mistakes and fear to play, they have their responsibilities, they are players that are performing really, really bad individually, I can not come here and say you, and you, and you, and you, it’s not my job but I think it’s clear that we are being punished by too many individual mistakes and as I was saying sadness brings sadness, bad results they attract bad results, that first mistake is just the first because after that comes another one.
This team needs to win the first-half two or three nil with the fears disappearing coming to play in the second half and play with a free brain, a free spirit. This is what this team needs and unfortunately for them this is not happening and again I repeat so I want to make it clear again, because I not want to be offensive, I don't want to be none-polite I don't want to put in cause the dignity of the people, but I repeat that the referees they are afraid to give the decision when you are top you want to see people come down when people is down give us a break and be honest and be loyal with us because the penalty is clear and 2-1 is a completely different story, thank you.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3259253/Jose-Mourinho-s-extraordinary-seven-minute-rant-Kevin-Keegan-s-meltdown-Chelsea-owner-Roman-Abramovich-react.html#ixzz3nacXqhtb

Edited by Damo Baresi: 4/10/2015 08:29:24 PM

:lol:
He's a good pollie ol Jose, challenging Roman, either way just enjoy seeing you eat it you cocky prick !
Should be at manu - the perfect combo \:d/

Cue one month later....

Mourinho shouldn't get the sack.

Mourinho has to go. Clear he's lost the players.

Chelsea are doing a Leeds.

I am stunned with the patience Roman is showing.

Even more shocking: since I made my last post in here, 2 months ago, not a single Chelsea fan has posted in here.

Definitely not bandwagoners or the prawn sandwich brigade. Probably wearing Man City or Leicester shirts atm :lol:

Agree, new manager needs to come in now to save the season

TBF there are not too many Chelsea regulars on here, Joffa and 11.mvfc.11 are the only two I can think of. Most of the people on this forum aren't as plastic as the general public, which is why you see close to zero Man City fans.