The scoreline is a bit of a disappointment, after scoring 11 goals in the last 2 matches. The highlight of the match was the very well taken goal by Anelka. That was his second goal in 2 matches in addition to the couple of assists that he has made. Good part of the credit for that goal should go to Joe Cole for that brilliant through pass. Anelka took the ball comfortably, gave no chance to his marker and positioned himself perfectly before that powerful but cool finish. I can be a moron and say that Anelka had a better option of passing the ball to Di Santo instead of attempting it by himself. If Anelka could finish it so well, I wouldn’t mind that.

So now Tal Ben Haim goes. That’s another must-go player. Scolari is doing the right thing by trimming the fat. Ben Haim could be a hit with Man City because he is at best a second tier player. No way, he’s going to be even on the bench for a champions league match. So why waste his time? The most popular moment of Ben Haim in his Chelsea career was when he openly criticised Avram Grant. He was the only player to go public about Grant’s competencies. After just few weeks since Scolari’s appointment, you see so many players saying that they are excited to play under Scolari, his methods are good, his techniques are good etc. When Grant was appointed, no player said anything about him, not even after weeks and months of his appointment. I had raised this question even then. It was so unnatural for the players not to talk absolutely anything about their new manager. And then this annoyed man comes up with scathing remark and gets fined for his behaviour. So, that was Ben Haim with his brightest Chelsea moment. Click Here To Read The Full Article

Chelsea are in Kuala Lumpur to play their third pre-season friendly today. The opponents are Malaysian Select XI from an under 23 category. Football is really big in Malaysia. I understand that their national league is very fervently followed over there. I’ve seen that their league matches draw crowds more than 80,000 fans. Today could be a big day for the Malaysian football fans. I’m sure they won’t mind get beaten by a team that has Cech, Terry, Ballack, Lampard, Essien, Deco etc.

Michael Ballack is back and has joined the team for the rest of the friendlies. The formation that Scolari chooses now would mean a lot. I don’t think he’ll keep playing two different teams for each half. He would slowly settle down to his first team and the probable formation that he is interested in playing. Just another high scoring clean sheeter. Click Here To Read The Full Article

This was exactly what Scolari ordered for. Last season we played in a more competitive MLS league right in the middle of their season. This time Scolari did not want a competitive friendly. He just wanted to try out certain things and also wanted the boys to run around a bit. In all this, he also wanted to win and play in such a way that the team’s confidence level go up.

Don’t let your expectations shoot up just yet. We were supposed to knock these Chinese teams out. As Joe Cole pointed out, in terms of physical skills and attributes, our opponents were way too low to pose us any kind of challenge.

Finally, Anelka has a very good match, few thousand miles away from the UK. Good for his confidence. I knew already that he is a team player and all. That’s never been my gripe on him. On the pitch, he should stop behaving and reacting like a want-away player. He should care more about the possession he loses, the mistakes he commits etc. Click Here To Read The Full Article

I’m happy about one side of the transfer activity this season. For every single Chelsea player that I want to get rid off, there is some attempt by the club to do the same. All the ususal suspects – SWP, Pizarro, Tal Ben Haim, Sidwell etc have all been either disposed off or surely all set to get disposed off. With these players, we had about half a dozen players in the squad who would not contribute much to the squad or in the match but still occupy the numbers. I think, this is exactly where the youngsters should step in. Any 20-year old striker would not have done any worse than Pizarro. Sidwell’s contribution or Tal Ben Haim’s presence last season is highly achievable even by a Chelsea youth team or reserve team. So, we should be looking at bright youngsters for the replacement of these outgoing players.

We have Obi Mikel in the midfield. We have our goal machine (!) Franco Di Santo up front. I’m sure we signed Gael Kakuta and he is playing for the reserves/youth. Chelsea seems to be checking out on few others like the Croat Kalinic.

I’m completely in favour of signing Tiger but I’ll tell you once again, Scolari needs to conclude his system. As it is Joe Cole must be wondering where he would fit in the first team. Malouda should feel lucky whenever he starts. These guys won’t get a sniff of the pitch unless there are injuries or such things. Click Here To Read The Full Article

Thumping start for the season. Though the Chinese team did not challenge us too much with their fragile defence, Scolari can be quite pleased with this performance. I didn’t get to see the match. I couldn’t even watch the highlights last night as I was trying to ‘upgrade’ my laptop from vista to xp. I did see the goals though.

I’m happy for Kalou. He scored the first Chelsea goal of this season. He is a hardworking lad but he has to really prove to Phil that he can play as a striker which was his natural position in Feyenoord. Today’s goal would surely help him. Just when I make up my mind about living without Lampard, he comes up with a goal like that. Oh, I loved it. If you haven’t watched it yet, watch it right now. He is one midfielder who simply can’t stop scoring. Few more goals in the next few matches and Chelsea FC would be under even more pressure. There are certain players with whose form directly influences the team’s fortunes. Lampard is one of such players. I can’t remember Chelsea losing a match where Lampard was brilliant. Thanks to England missing the Euro, Lampard has taken a nice long break. If he is fit and if he is in fine form, he’s gonna propel Chelsea on his own. All this only if an agreement is reached. Click Here To Read The Full Article