We are still on top of the league thanks to the goal fest in the Pompey which feels like a year before. The first match we won emphatically, the next match we struggled but we won, today’s match after all the huff and puff we could only draw. Any predictions for the next match? Worry not, this is not a doomsday post. I see only one problem – our apparent weakness up front. With one quality finisher, we could have won today’s match by a margin. In these type of derbies, you can’t expect to get a dozen chances. You get one and you gotta finish it.

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Forget about Robinho playing against the Spurs this Sunday, looks like he may not even join us. I must have checked the websites a million times last week. We got so close that it almost feels like Robinho is already a Chelsea player. When the rumour about Robinho first came up, I wasn’t too excited. I thought he was just trying to improve his Madrid contract. But when he rejected the multimillion offer from Madrid, I took notice. I was even more curious when Scolari said that he wants Robinho. Now I want only a happy ending for this whole episode. I won’t lose hope until tomorrow midnight. But if we don’t get him by this window, I don’t think he’d ever join Chelsea. Something like what happened with Dani Alves.

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Chelsea are drawn with Roma, Bordeaux and Cluj, in the group stage of the champions league. My first reaction is that of relief. In the group stage, all that you need is two beatable teams in the group and we’ve got three (arrogant, right?). The toughest group Chelsea could have got is, with Juventus, Atletico Madrid and Zenit. Now look at what we’ve got. Way way better, isn’t it? Simple conclusion – Chelsea and Roma will progress and there won’t be any upsets. Just impossible. Now let’s look at the other groups.

Group B has Inter, Werder, Panathinaikos and Anorthosis Famagusta. JM must be smiling. Inter will cruise even with the away results. Werder taking the second place. The team from Cyprus is there to give guaranteed points. Ibrahimovic has a good chance be the top scorer of the competition. Group C has Barca, Sporting Lisbon, Basel and Shakhtar Donetsk. The question will be, who progresses alongwith Barca and I think the answer will be Shakhtar, don’t ask me why.

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Some surprising transfer rumours involving Chelsea – David Villa & Luis Fabiano. These may just be stories manufactured by the Sun. David Villa could be a big money transfer. The Sun may not want to see a bumper transfer without a bit of Chelsea in it. With Luis Fabiano, there’s a stronger case. He is Brazilian.

Now you’ll start seeing every decent Brazilian footballer linked to Chelsea, because of Scolari. Looking at Scolari’s preference for 4-3-3, I wonder if he would really go for such world class strikers. Neither Drogba nor Villa/Fabiano would enjoy being a second choice striker. Moreover, if Villa was available, Benitez may not have gone for Keane. At 28, I can’t believe Fabiano’s prime is ahead of him. Don’t we know a thing or two about past-the-prime strikers?

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As we get to the final week of this transfer window, Scolari is busy finalising the Chelsea squad for this season. One thing about Scolari is that he has really made this Chelsea squad more lean and importantly, mean. He did the right thing in trimming the fat by letting go Pizarro, Ben Haim, Shevchenko, Sidwell, Makelele and Boulahrouz. He is still reportedly trying to offload SWP, which is a very good thing. I think he will get Robinho. If we get rid of SWP and buy Robinho, I think we are almost complete. Lack of options in Drogba’s absence is worrying but it is fair on Scolari’ part to expect a striker of Anelka’s stature to fill in for Drogba.

I see rumours that SWP is wanted by Man City for 10m. I think we should not waste time. He should have gone yesterday. I would even take anything over 5m. For all my love for the guy, my math tells me 5m is better than nothing. We don’t get anything from SWP. He is not in the first team. He is not an active and reliable back up for anyone. He is one player who has stayed fit in all the last three seasons but has played so little. That speaks volumes about how much we need him. He is a great professional though. He is very good boy, well behaved and level headed. I guess it’s impossible to hate SWP as a person but if you look at him as a player, we should take that tough decision. Click Here To Read The Full Article