What will happen to your social life now? The Barclays Premier League kicks off today. 14 of the 20 teams, including Liverpool, would be playing today while Chelsea, Man Utd and Arsenal start off their campaign tomorrow, Sunday that is. I know you’re keen about the injury news, oh well, the recovery news. But there’s nothing around in the official website or Chelsea TV. If any of you are in London, I suggest you make a trip to the Bridge, and let’s know the general talk on the status.

Forget about ‘Alex the Duck’. We’ve got ‘Alex the Tank’. He has signed a three-year contract which is shorter than normal, for someone of his age. Finally, the sky is pretty clear. He is a Chelsea player, in the true sense of the term. If you still have any doubts, this picture where he poses with a pen in his hand, with a big grin on his face, should clear all doubts.

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On this auspicious moment, Chelsea FC website carries a strange title for this news “Alex Ready To Go” (while I’m waiting for Sevilla to publish ‘Alves Ready To Go’!). Alex seems to be very enthusiastic about playing for Chelsea. Like us, he just can’t wait for the start of the season:

I had one week without training at all and once I have talked with the coach, I am going to see when I can start training. But if it depends, I will start straight away, even today. I hope to start very soon and to do a good job in this wonderful club. I am happy for the opportunity Chelsea have given me. It’s a wonderful club, I sometimes watch the games and I hear about the club and I hope everything goes well. I hope to adapt myself very quickly because Ricardo Carvalho and the coaches are Portuguese and they will help me with the language barrier. I hope I won’t have any problem to be on the team.

Peter Kenyon says all that I would say in this situation (as we sign Alex)

It seems like a long time coming this one. We had it agreed a long time ago but with the Copa America, he has joined us at the start of the season literally. He has kept fit over the summer and he is a good addition to the squad. He has got to be our biggest player and he could be quite intimidating. Last season we lost out when there was that crucial period where we had injuries around central defence. I think we’ve definitely strengthened in that position and Tal (Ben-Haim) has got other positions he can play so I think we are very well covered and with very good quality as well.

He is big and he is intimidating and that’s what I like about him. Just bully them around, Alex!

The Alves situation is still under confusion and Jose does not help us understand it either. He says that Chelsea ‘will’ make an offer. Is he talking about a revised offer or we have not made even the first offer?

There is truth in the picture, there is speculation. Where is the truth, where is the speculation? I don’t know very well. The only thing I know is that we want to make our squad even better, a right back is a position where we feel we can improve. To improve is not easy, you have to go for a good player and Alves is a good player.

What’s the offer I don’t know, what Sevilla demands I don’t know, even less. In the same line as Chelsea doing things in the last times, we will make an offer, a balanced offer not a stupid offer and if they accept good, we will try to get the player, if they don’t accept, they don’t accept.

One thing looks very clear. Jose certainly wants to sign a ‘good player’ for the right back position. So, it it’s not Alves, it could be someone else, a compromise somewhere. Going by Alves’ desparation and Jose’ preference for a good player at right back, I don’t see the deal falling apart.

News on Lampard’s contract is not worrying me anymore. It’s annoys me, of late. If the below is not sufficient, Frank should climb up the Big Ben, get hold of a PA system and shout to the world ‘I’m staying at Chelseaaa’.

I get asked about my contract whenever I speak really. I am a bit frustrated because I have said I want to stay at the club. I am contracted for two years and I want to stay for the rest of my career. I have made that clear but unfortunately when I speak to the press sometimes, what I say is then written the next day as I am refusing to sign deals and things like that. The truth of the matter is I want to sign the deal and the club want me to sign the deal.

I hear you say, ‘then what the heck, go ahead and sign it’. Well, there could be something really technical such as things to do with legal, his image rights, his tax or whatever. I don’t want to write anymore about Lampard’s contract until he really signs one.

In other major news, Bernie Ecclestone is closer than ever to take over Arsenal FC. Few weeks back when Bernie was asked if there is any truth in the rumours about him being interested in buying a Premier league club, he gave this shocker:

It’s good if somebody is saying that, because maybe I will be approached and maybe it will be cheap. I’ll buy anything if it’s cheap enough. If somebody offers me something that I think is good value, I’ll have a go.

You want something cheap? Please buy Arsenal, now they’ve got a cheap captain too. Remember, when Roman bought Chelsea, your mates must have joked about Chelsea being a play thing for Roman and he’d drop us in the ocean when he’s bored. Now, Man Utd is owned by someone who may not know the shape of the football, Liverpool with equally bad yankees and now Arsenal could be owned by a businessman who sees money, dollars, pounds, profits and nothing more. I know business is meant for making profits but anyone even with a lemon-sized brain would not go around saying things like this.

Quick roundup of matches lined up today. Villa to hold Liverpool, Bolton to beat the hell out of Newcastle, Pompey to sailthrough, Everton to crush Wigan, Boro to be beaten at home, Sunderland to hold Spurs and Man City to lose. The saddest thing about giving such mass predictions is to see all of them going wrong. Anyway, it’s fun.

I want to see Sunderland do well, because I like Roy Keane, because he was good Chelsea type player and also because he admires Jose Mourinho. He is a young chap (for a manager) with a mission. I’d love to see Sunderland beat the hell out of Man Utd at Old Trafford.

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That’s my team at the Blue Champions Club. All those who have created your fantasy league team in the Blue Champions Club, will have valid reasons to follow these non-Chelsea matches. Tonight, we’ll see how the scoring goes and we’ll have a leader in our Blue Champions Club table tonight. I’m planning to publish the leaderboard in the blog every week or something. It’s gonna be fun!

The preview for the battle of the Blues, will be up tonight . Till then, see ya.

[tags]Chelsea, Jose Mourinho, Premier League, Fantasy League, Fantasy Football, Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchested United, Alex, Rodrigo Alex, Lampard, Daniel Alves, Sevilla[/tags]