The new Chelsea singings (or inclusions) this season, have been involved in some interesting interviews that reveal their personality very well. Glen Johnson, Tal and Sidwell have all spoken about their chances of playing for Chelsea, given the tight competition for places and the incredible names they have to compete.

[tag]Glen Johnson[/tag] is back and he is supremely confident. After a successful season with [tag]Portsmouth[/tag], he is happy to be back with [tag]Chelsea[/tag] at a time where the right back position is yet to be owned by anyone.

It is important for me that the manager has not made up his mind there because I want to come back and play. Nobody nailed down the position last year so everybody has a chance. The position seems wide open. I am only 22 and still a young man. There have been a lot of players coming in and out over the time I have been here but it is a close bunch of lads. The stability is good. After losing the title it makes everyone want it that little bit more so the lads will be fighting for it even harder. I’m just looking to make my mark.

I believe Jose has ideas of using Glen in the first team and that’s what Khalid’s loan to [tag]Sevilla[/tag] tells me. Even then I think Jose would still look out for another option. He may not want to have anyone play out of their position this season.

[tag]Ashley Cole[/tag] was very modest in claiming that [tag]Champions league[/tag] will be his priority next season, provided he plays. Ahead of the first match of the season, we have a very familiar situation of having no one for a certain position. Both Ashley Cole and [tag]Wayne Bridge[/tag] are currently injured. But we have the solutions at our disposal. [tag]Tal Ben Haim[/tag] is more than willing to play at anywhere in the back, though he prefers to be in the centre:

I like to do everything for the team so if Jose asked me to be on the right side or the left side, of course I give my 100 per cent, like I gave in Bolton. But Jose knows my favourite position is in the middle. Every manager wants the best players on the pitch. My job is to show I can play. If I play well the manager will be happy.

It is strange to know that he insisted on getting the No.26 jersey. Jose has refused him point blank, wouldn’t he already know that it is Captain John’s jersey? Really strange!

The new number 9, [tag]Steve Sidwell[/tag] has a truly wise head on his shoulders. In very plain terms, he spoke about his realistic chances of getting to ‘play’ but at the same time vowed to fight for his place. With our star-studded midfield, a player like Sidwell should know that it may not be that easy to get opportunities especially for the european nights, which is quite his dream. He said:

I spoke to a number of clubs, and knew coming to Chelsea was going to be a big challenge. But I guarantee when people put challenges in front of me I’m not one to lie down. Obviously it’s disappointing when people say: “It’s a fantastic move, well done, but are you going to play?”. All I can say is that I’m going to get a chance. There are players who have come, such as Scott Parker, and it’s not worked out. But I can’t go through my career not going to Chelsea, finishing my career and saying “I could have played for them”. I’d rather come here and give it a go, and if it doesn’t work out I’ll hold my hands up and say I wasn’t good enough, but at least I’ve got the bottle to do it. There’s been a lot of negativity, that I’m not going to play, but it’s down to me to get into the squad. If I don’t get into the squad, I’ll try even harder in training. I’ve got a strong mentality to do well.

He must be very smart. Did you see that he was referring to Scott Parker’s failure in Chelsea? When Sidwell signed for us, almost all of us were drawing parallels to Scott Parker and the fact that he is aware of the same shows that he’s very cognizant what can happen to him if does not make best use of those limited chances he might get.

He also seems to be a fan of [tag]Jose Mourinho[/tag]:

I’ve watched a lot of him since he’s been in the English game, and respected him,’ he said. ‘I like the way he goes about things, the way he talks to the media and sticks up for his players and club all the time. I sat down with the boss to hear what he had to say and there was only one decision I had to make, and that was to sign

[tag]Khalid Boulahrouz[/tag] has gone on a one year loan to Sevilla. I was hoping that [tag]Daniel Alves[/tag] would come this away but it looks like this is a stand alone deal. A year long loan is good for Khalid too. He arrived with a lot of hope and there were lots of expectations from the club, manager and the fans, but unfortunately it as not a best possible start for him at Chelsea.

Jose Mourinho made it very clear that [tag]Avram Grant[/tag] is the director of football, while he is the boss of the CFC team.

He’s here to give some support to different areas in the club and for me that is not a problem. From my point of view, he must not interfere with the power I have in relation to my job.

Sky Sports and BBC Sports call this as a warning issued by Jose to Avram. Knowing how Jose speaks generally, I would rather call this an honest expectation by him rather than a warning. Sometimes, Jose wants to cut the ambiguity and make things clear and in the process, sometimes he either sounds pretty direct or even rude.

There is a new development in your favourite soap opera ‘Who owns Carlos’. His advisor/agent/owner Kia Joorbachian has been reportedly given an arrest order. In a few week time, we should see a murder, rape and bomb blast – all connected to the Tevez’ transfer. Very good, it’s all very dignified and noble.

I’ve started pitying the [tag]Arsenal[/tag] fans. Having discussed and drooled over Ribery for more than a year, he went to Bayern Munich without batting an eyelid and now their target Ryan Babel says that it was not a difficult choice to sign for Liverpool. Similarly, Real Madrid signed Saviola when Arsenal were rumoured to bring him and Anelka has confirmed that he would stay at Bolton while the Arsenal blogs were reporting that it’s only a matter of time before he arrives as Ashburton Grove. Fergie, with his tongue-in-cheek, says that Arsenal would remain in top 4. I can’t match his wisdom but I think they’ll be out of top 4 this season, not because Henry has left but due to the fact that there are more strong contenders for No.4 than there were in the last few seasons.

And guys, may be you’ve already seen the ‘Chat’ tab in the menu at the top. I’ve installed a live chat program there and you’d need macromedia flash player compatible browser to use this. If you can fix up a time, we or you can get together at a fixed time and chat on all things Chelsea and more. I’ve said this before and let me tell you again – this blog is best viewed in Mozilla Firefox browser. If you haven’t introduced yourself, I suggest you do it soon as people in this blog have started to know each other well and don’t be left out.More news tomorrow on the first Chelsea match of the season, where Jose is planning to have the whole squad play for about 45 mins each. I won’t get to see the match on TV, so if anyone gets to see the match, your views are welcome. It’s 5:30 in the morning. I have to say bye.