Chelsea vs Portsmouth | 17-Aug-08 @ 13:30 UK

The first game is always the important game. Some managers might say that the next game is always the most important. I’m very particular about starting this premier league on a positive note. The match against Portsmouth would also be the first competitive Chelsea match for Scolari. Man Utd are injury-hit. Arsenal are transfer-hit. Liverpool wouldn’t know what hit them but they will be hit. Chelsea have a great chance of grabbing a lead in the first few matches. For that, we should win the first match comfortably, to set the tone. Our performance in the first match should put fear into the minds of our rival managers. Fergie should come out crying ‘Chelsea are older than me, they can’t win’.

The formation I’d choose would be 4-2-3-1. That is 4 defenders, 2 central midfielders (NOT defensive midfielders), 3 attacking midfielders and a striker. I’d choose the strongest possible eleven so that we start with a bang. While all our opponents are weak, we should make the best of this opportunity to race away with a lead. Remember, Essien will not play on Sunday. Bosingwa has recovered but I would not expect him to start. Deco might play. I’ve assumed here that he would play.

The reason why I think Deco would play is because he said this:

Yeah, I am excited because it will be a good experience. We have had many training sessions and pre-season games, which have been very good. I had a little problem last week but now I am okay. I want to start well at Chelsea, and make sure we win.

In defence, Terry, Carvalho, Ashley and Belletti. I’d love to give that starting place to Wayne Bridge but for all those crucial matches if I don’t want to take any chances, I’d go for Ashley Cole. Wayne Bridge is good in going forward and he is also a bit quicker than Ashley Cole but when it comes to the bread and butter of that left back role, there are very few better names in Europe than Ashley Cole. In central defence, when Terry and Carvalho are fit, we don’t need to have any further discussion. I feel sorry for Alex. It’s no fun being second choice to Terry/Carvalho. One is the captain and the other is our best defender. I’m choosing Belletti over Ferreira, purely on form, capability, consistenct and experience. I think I’ve made it quite clear. In my world, I’ll give Bosingwa the starting place only for him to prove that he is better than Belletti. In other words, unlike the left back position, the right back role for me is still quite open.

In midfield, I’ll have Mikel and Ballack as the central midfielders, Lampard as the left attacking midfielder, Joe Cole as the right attacking midfielder and Deco as the central attacking midfielder. The formation would 4-2-3-1. Deco should be the one who sits behind the centre forwards. I think he is the best suited for this role. He has adapted quite nicely into this league and also into the team. He has already shown us the glimpse of his genius. It’s better to put Deco where we can get the best out of him. Mikel and Ballack are in central midfield and not defensive midfield. I don’t want to see a defensive midfielder because by now, we should have one of the best defences in the premier league and a top goalkeeper. I don’t think they need additional protection from a holding midfielder. Moreover, Essien and Ballack always play for the team and they do chip in if required.

I want to see the free Frank Lampard after all his distractions are gone. Deco thinks that he can play alongside Lampard quite well and more than that he says how much he admires Lampard:

Frank is a symbol of the club – he is a great, great player. One of the best players in the world I think, and he is important for the club, and it is important for him. We can play well together; to play with him is easy. He is a great player, and that makes it simple.

Yup, he nailed it there. Frank Lampard is a symbol of the club!

Coming back to this match’s tactics, the attacks on the wings will have to be from the wing backs. I don’t expect Mikel/Ballack to charge down the wings. When the wing backs are attacking in the flanks, I expect the side midfielders (Lampard/Joe Cole) to guard the flank area unless the situation demands otherwise. Joe Cole and Deco will have to participate in each and every attack. Do you get this feeling that the best partnership Deco can have at Chelsea would be with Joe Cole? I think so. You read it here first. Deco and Joe Cole are gonna be great partners in attack. Deco might have a free role in terms of which side of the pitch he plays. It might change according to the situations. In short, Ballack and Mikel will be just midfielders while Deco and Ballack orchestrate the attacks with or without the help of the wing backs.

In attack, I’ll have Anelka. That does not mean he is my first choice player. I’ll play Anelka because Drogba is under rehab, Sheva is still injured, Kalou is in Olympics and Pizarro’s gone. I’m almost tempted to give Franco di Santo his Chelsea debut. Surely, if I were LFS, I’d surely bring this boy in the second half. Let Anelka play as the striker, a role in which he wants to play. So he is not at left or right, it is centre forward and the lone striker. With some fantastic attacking midfielders behind him and some exciting full backs charging down the pitch, Anelka must score. As a typical quality centre forward, he should score as soon as he gets a chance. I’m not even expecting him to convert half-chances into goals, like Torres does. When Anelka gets a genuine chance, he should score, no excuses.

I hope you know that from this season in premier league, teams can have seven substitutes (instead of five before) in the bench. The number of allowed subs is still three though. The seven subs that I’d name for this match are Cudicini, Ivanovic, Bosingwa, di Santo, Malouda, SWP and Sinclair.

Scolari said this about the upcoming match:

I saw many Premier League games in pre-season. If you say one team or two teams [can win it] I think you are wrong because I saw a minimum eight teams play very well. Sure not only Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool. Forget it. Tottenham and Portsmouth are strong teams. Many teams can play for first position until sixth position. Here it is a different challenge, all the games are important and difficult. Not in the other leagues where you play 20 games, 15 games you win. Here, never! One game you say I will win, I am not sure. This is the excitement. Every day, every game, every week you have a new challenge. This week Portsmouth play 4-4-2 and have six players 1.9 metres and above, next week the other team have four players who are very fast. England is different from other leagues.

Now, let’s talk a little bit about Portsmouth. They were deserved losers to Man Utd last week. They are a decent side but I think Crouch’s arrival is offset by Muntari’s exit. Defoe has been a better player since he moved on to Portsmouth. They also have a couple of ex-Chelsea names in Lassana Diarra and Glen Johnson both of whom missed the penalties in the community shield match. They might be a good team back at Fratton Park but at Stamford Bridge, there’s never been a struggle. Portsmouth would never scare me as they lack the quality or the cutting edge when they play against quality teams like Chelsea.

Prediction: I’ll go for a healthy 2-0 win for Chelsea. Let me be arrogant and say that we’d hardly be troubled by their attacks. We’ll be too much for Portsmouth to handle.

67 Responses

  1. avatar 1 | Banon 2ru blue Reply to this comment
  2. avatar 2 | BFDS Reply to this comment

    The punishment, your glories disappointment
    For all you done last year for all you stand for,
    Wish you that this taste off bitter will never fade.

  3. avatar 3 | Steve Clarke Reply to this comment

    that’s a good formation BC. even i was thinkin of 4-2-3-1. some may call it 4-5-1. im sure deco will start. if he starts it will be his debut. im sure he wants to debut at stamford bridge. any idea whats wrong wtih essien? pompey is little stronger that we think they are. remember, they’ve got crouch and defoe in attack. diarra and krancjar in midfield. campbell in defence and james in goal. still i fancy a 2-0.

  4. avatar 4 | Den Reply to this comment
  5. avatar 5 | IwasMissingJose Reply to this comment

    Raju Shribastab once said:

    “khud ko banao buland, aaur chadhao khudko upar aaise, ki khud khuda ne bande ko pucha,…ae ab utrega kaise?”

    i wish what you said above comes true.

  6. avatar 6 | Den Reply to this comment

    Essien will play believe me, anyways this is my team

    ———————Cech——————-
    —Ivanovic—Carvalho—Terry—A.Cole—
    ——————Mikel———————
    —-Lampard—————Deco———–
    –Essien————————–J.Cole—-
    ——————Anelka——————–

    Prediction: 3-1 Anelka 2 and Lampard

  7. avatar 7 | Den Reply to this comment

    ooooooooooooooopss essien wont play so this is my new team:

    ——————Cech—————-
    –Ivanovic–Terry–Carvalho–A.Cole-
    —————-Mikel—————–
    —–Ballack—Deco—–Lampard—-
    —————J.Cole—————–
    ————–Anelka—————–

    Subs: Cudicini, Alex, Malouda, Di Santo, Bridge

  8. avatar 8 | ravi Reply to this comment

    Why will Essien not play ? I am assuming that LPS plays den formation (6) – 4-3-3, but my guess is he is going to play Maluda instead of Joe Cole.

    I wish Di Santos is given a debut at Stamford Bridge.

  9. avatar 9 | Kevin Reply to this comment

    essien has a leg injury. he will not play for sure. it will be mikel. this season we’ve got oursleves fully covered. we can even cope up if there are key injuries. i’m not sure if ivanovic can play tomorrow? he was supposed to be lacking in match practice and fitness. after that he played a lot of friendlies and rserve matches. later on he wanted to move to milan. now that chelsea has not permitted him to move, he might not be in hest spirits. so no ivanovic on day one.

  10. avatar 10 | Kevin Reply to this comment

    by the way guys, he is not ‘di santos’ he is ‘di santo’. please correct yourselves :-)

  11. avatar 11 | blabliblublu Reply to this comment

    BC great article
    but how can u play belletti in th starting lineup
    and put him in the bench too???
    which one is ferreira/bosingwa?

  12. avatar 12 | Girie Reply to this comment

    I would go for this formation:4-5-1 or 4-2-3-1.

    ————————-Cech———————————–
    ——Belletti—-Terry—-Carvalho—- A.Cole—————-
    —————–Ballack——Lampard——————————
    —-J.Cole——————————————–Malouda—
    ————————-Deco————————————
    ————————-Anelka———————————-

    Sub:Cudicini,Santo,Alex,Bridge,Mikel,SWP,Ivanovic.

  13. avatar 13 | chelsea4life Reply to this comment

    Cech
    Belleti/Ivanovic Terry Carvalho Cole

    Essien, MIkel

    Cole Deco Lampard

    Anelka

    Essien to play in a box-to-box role,Mikel as a defensive MF,Deco,Essien and Cole to provide ammunition to Lampard and Anelka….Deco and Cole have skills to develop a menacing partnership….and add to it Essien’s power,I think we can have a very potent attack….Joe needs to learn to work in tandem with someone as creative as Deco other wise it will be all fuss with no result….defense must be wary of Defoe and Crouch…Defoe scored against us last time though it was a defensive mess up..Crouch always creates troubles with his height…
    most importantly we need to kill the game by first half or so…but for sure Scolari must be under tremendous pressure….we certainly need a win to ease out his nerves….

  14. avatar 14 | CF Reply to this comment

    Bridge quicker than Cole? Since when??

  15. avatar 15 | Arthur Reply to this comment

    since the beginning . . lol

    in fact bridgey is far quicker than cole. also he is a better dribbler than cole.

  16. avatar 16 | xerxesk Reply to this comment

    nice article, but Why do you have 4 defenders on the bench? where is malouda and sinclair and why not Ivanovic so he can make his debuet?

  17. avatar 17 | Den Reply to this comment

    guys bosingwa is available and will play

  18. avatar 18 | owonatty Reply to this comment

    My line-up and prediction.

    —————————–Cech———————————–
    ————-Calvaho———————–Terry—————–
    Bosingwa/Ferreira———————————AshelyCole
    —————————–Mikel———————————–
    ————–Essien———————–Deco——————
    JoeCole————————————————-Lampard
    ——————————Anelka——————————–

    Subs: Cudicini, Alex, Malouda, Ballack , Swp, Ivanovic and Di Santo.
    Prediction: 2:0

    The two wingback can attack as much as possible while Mikel can cover for them. Essein will be the power drive and Deco the playmaker. Lampard will be behind Anelka. Joe Cole will do his normal work. Ballack can come in for either for Mikel or Joecole that depends on the formation Scolari is swicthing to. Di Santo will be the standing striker, Shevy and kalou not available due to injury and national duty. Pizzaro is loan to Werder Bremen.
    I just cant wait till sunday and the Roman Army matching out. With this team selcetion and everyone stays fit and in good form then we can do the unthinkable.

    Up Blues

  19. avatar 19 | mike ayad Reply to this comment

    nice formaton BC!

    i would play this:

    ———————————-cech——————————————–
    bosingwa/belletti——-carvalho———terry—————————–cole
    ———————-mikel—————–ballack—————————
    ———cole——————–deco—————lampard———————-
    —————————–anelka————————————————–

    subs: cudicini,bosingwa/belletti,di santo, malouda, alex, SWP, bridge

  20. avatar 20 | k.drogba Reply to this comment

    ————————-Cech———————————–
    ——Ivanovic—-Terry—-Carvalho—- A.Cole—————-
    —-——————–Essien—————————–
    ————Ballack—-——Lampard——————————
    ——————Deco———J.Cole—————————
    ————————-Anelka———————————-

  21. avatar 21 | Alby Reply to this comment

    cech
    bosingwa-ivanovic-terry-cole
    mikel (if essien doesn’t play)
    lampard-ballack
    deco
    kalou/cole-anelka

    mikel,lamps,ballack,deco play diamond formation

  22. avatar 22 | Ravi Reply to this comment

    Deco did not train today – with something in knee and ankle..

  23. avatar 23 | bluefan #1 Reply to this comment

    who ever sais bridge is better than cole is stupid. cole is one of the best left defender in the world. he is fast and his tackles are great. he is the greatest. another great left defender (or will be very good) is gareth bale. that kid has great potentials.

    this is the team for tommorow. i will bet on it.
    4-3-3
    ———-cech———–
    ferreira-carv-terry-a.cole
    —deco–mikel—lamps–
    -j.cole———–malouda-
    ———anelka———–

    if deco dosnt play than balack will take his plays.
    subs: ivanovic,swp,bridge,di santo,balack,dudicini

  24. avatar 24 | Kevin Reply to this comment

    hold on blue_fan. no one here is saying bridge is better than a.cole. even if someone says so it’s their opinion. it’s brash and stupid to call someone else’s opinion as stupid. if you’ve been following the discussion you should know that we are only saying that bridge is faster than a.cole which is true.

  25. avatar 25 | Adam Mikhail Reply to this comment

    Good article. For my formation, I’ll stick with the 4-3-3 of last season with Bosingwa starting at right-back. Scolari’s English can be translated different ways but he did say, “Bosingwa is better this week”. So we’ll have to wait til tomorrow to see if he starts.

    Cech
    Bosingwa(Ferreira)-Carvalho-Terry-Cole
    Deco(Ballack)-Mikel-Lampard
    Joe Cole – Anelka – Malouda

  26. avatar 26 | Zola - Legend Reply to this comment

    No way in a million years is Bridge faster than Ashley Cole, its comments like that that put this website down, and their is many of them.
    @ 15 Arthur – you clearly don’t watch football or chelsea

  27. avatar 27 | Adam Mikhail Reply to this comment

    Bridge is faster on the ball, not in a foot race.

  28. avatar 28 | CFCIR Reply to this comment

    3:0 A GREAT STEP TO BE CHAMPION.

  29. avatar 29 | Kevin Reply to this comment

    what’s this argument about? of course, bridgey is faster than ashley. adam is right. bridge is faster on the ball while cole can chase the man with the ball faster than bridgey.

    @25 – what if i doubt if you watch football? let’s not be silly here. i too think bridge is faster than cole. so does that make me any less knowledgebale than you. don’t be so ridiculous. ask the non-chelsea fans, there are so many that say zola is just another player. while you (and I) seem to admire him. people can have opinions. learn to accept that in a matured manner.

  30. avatar 30 | Arun CFC Reply to this comment

    TMRW WE WILL WIN… No Doubt in that..

    Final Scores 3-0. (Goals by Anelka,lampard and Ballack)

  31. avatar 31 | Bookcengham Reply to this comment

    Well, seems like the formation would change a bit cos Essien is not playing tomorrow. Scolari might favorite 4-3-3 for tomorrow”s big kick-off with 2 wingers and a lone striker. Mikel starts as a holding midfielder meaning we definitely need someone back back there helping the defenders and freeing attacking players from defending role.If Deco not starts,Ballack could play full game tomorrow.Joe and Malouda gotta play well,provide some dead ball to Anelka who has been in fine form in pre-season friendlies.I know he has been desperate to play as a striker.I expect we win tomorrow.

  32. avatar 32 | Wisey Reply to this comment

    ________CECH___________
    BOSW__CARV__JT___COLE__
    ________MIKEL___________
    _____DECO___LAMPS______
    __COLE____________MALO_
    ________ANELKA__________

    Chelsea 3 – 0 Portsmouth
    Anelka, Cole, Boswinga

  33. avatar 33 | Den Reply to this comment

    since when did they expande the premier league bench to 7 players??? anyways deco will play

  34. avatar 34 | MourOfEssien Reply to this comment

    Glad kalou is coming back. Next week he slots right into the first 11.

  35. avatar 35 | ravi Reply to this comment

    @31 den – I think this was introduced this year , that a club can have 7 subs ..

  36. avatar 36 | BlueChampion Reply to this comment

    Xersesk @ 16 – Fair points. I agree. With the new 7 player bench, we should try to have 1 goalkeeper, 2 defenders, 2 midfielders and 2 forwards (incl wingers) so that we retain the balance. Currently we have 3 goalkeepers, 9 defenders, 5 midfielders and 9 forwards. So, contrary to our perception, we have less midfielders but whoever we have are all word class players and are worthy of a start. In reality, the 7 subs could be spread across as 1 goalkeeper, 3 defenders, 1 midfielder and 2 forwards, if you take a conservative approach.

  37. avatar 37 | chelsea4life Reply to this comment

    why is Essien not playing…and what abt Deco’s availability…

    BTW,media reports say that Drogba is still as much intent on leaving as ever….guys, is not our club cajoling too much that buffoon who is as selfish in his life as on field….it is too much from him…these players think Chelsea club is just made on money only…they forget that club gave them glory and name….Lampard is now ‘committed’ to club because he would be highest paid in English football now….what a mockery of word ‘commitment’….

  38. avatar 38 | BlueChampion Reply to this comment

    chelsea4life – You know what, I’d accept these kind of things nowadays. About 90% of the players are not really ‘committed’ in the real sense of the word. the truly committed players are the ones that stay with the club in the times of distress, a situation that Chelsea has not experienced of late. Among the stars of premier league, it’s really hard to find those genuinely committed players. Even Steven Gerrard, the flag bearer of Liverpool, wanted to join Chelsea a few seasons and after a revision of contract, he accepted to stay back at Liverpool. Now Man Utd fans have grudgingly accepted Ronaldo for the time being. Arsenal fans find Adebayor completely disgraceful and ungrateful. I don’t think Robbie Keane thought twice about joining Liverpool. Berbatov has supposedly submitted a transfer request. Didn’t Shevchenko leave Milan, didn’t Figo change loyalties, won’t Kaka be ready to move. It’s all normal these days.

    These players consider their club as their employer and have no attachment to the club. On second thought, not all of them need to think so. In my career, I’m in my second job and of course I’d be working under a different employer in the future. Lampard’s career would be shorter than mine. Whatever he wants to achieve, earn and experience, he’s gotta do it in that period. I love Drogba and Lampard. That’s because, for whatever they say or rumoured to have said or misinterpreted to have said or lied to have said, they give their 100% when they are on the pitch. For me, that’s commitment and that’s what I expect.

    That’s a lot better than saying just for the press “I’d die for this club” and not giving their best. We should retain such players. I don’t want Drogba to leave before his contract expires. The one reason why Chelsea has been successful is because of the spirit and unity of the players. That’s something money can’t buy. You can buy 20 expensive players but will they have a sustainable spirit and camaraderie? Drogba and Lampard belong to the core of Chlesea players who make their maximum contribution to this Chelsea spirit. That’s why it’s quite difficult to measure their worth in money terms. Well, that’s my opinion.

  39. avatar 39 | Girie Reply to this comment

    HI guys,did you all saw yesterday’s match ? M’borough were awesome.As i’ve mentioned in my previous comments Spurs are capable of surprising both ways.It was certainly otherwise yesterday.After all the Berbatov saga he came in as 65th min sub,on for Bent but couldnt really do much.M’borough on the other hand were very impressive just like last season.I truely was behind the Spurs but could’nt stop praising M’borough,infact the score line should’ve been 3-1 as a 32nd min header by David Wheater was disallowed.The culprit in the match was Bent,he couldnt position himself in the right areas being a lonely striker which i would say cost them the match.

    Anyways,i’m very eagerly waiting for our kick off today.I believe the score line would be 2 – 0.Lets wait and see what happens…..

  40. avatar 40 | chelsea4life Reply to this comment

    @36…I somewhere read that either of Scholes or Giggs doesn’t have an agent because they don’t need an agent to deal with ‘their’ club…Maldini is another example….anyways, having those sort of players nowadays is a dream…
    what is irritating abt these players is that what more they can get away from Chelsea…they are some of the highest paid footballers in Europre…club is vying for top honours…best players and manager/staff is being hired…best of facilities are provided…tell me what more a footballer needs ….if Lampard was so ‘keen’ to join Mourinho or was looking for ‘new challenges’ then no money could had stopped him…but now he has signed a new deal because he would be highest paid…this is plain greed….just assume Roman Abramovich hadn’t bought Chelsea and there were no such successes then who would had bothered abt Lampard…Drogba expressed wish to stay just few days back and now he is keen to leave..and he has been doing this for quite some time now…is it a joke or what…
    My stand is that club needs to get rid of this blackmailing…ok,we will take some time to adjust to new replacements but it will set a precedent….we need to start to look beyond these selfish players….

  41. avatar 41 | BlueChampion Reply to this comment

    @ 38

    Players like Maldini are an obscure minority in football. We can’t even expect to one such player in every team. Sometimes football fans can be complete hypocrites. See, I can work in the best organisation, I might be paid very well, I might have all the facilities but still I might want to leave. In white collar work, leaving for another employer for a higher salary is a norm but when it happens to footballers, we call it greed. That’s what I don’t understand. There’s nothing cheap or ugly about leaving for more money. Life does not stop. No one’s content with what they have. Everyone needs more and better. What’s more and better would depend on the person taking the decision.

    I left my earlier organisation for money. Of course I did. You can say what more you need that 140k pounds per week? What’s enough for me may not be enough for you. Recently, I visited a charity organisation in whose presentation they said that, to feed one child for one full year, they would require one thousand indian rupees. And that’s what I spend on lunch for a couple of days. I felt bad but I have a certain lifestyle or have been acquiring lifestyles as I move on, which I need to maintain. So we can never say he’s earning more and he is greedy and all that. If Lampard did not get that contract, we could have said he was greedy but now that the club has given him, that means that the club considers that he deserved it and hence he cannot be called greedy.

    In other words, Lampard got a better contract not because he was greedy, he got that contract because the club (or the wise, intelligent businessman Roman) thought Lampard was worth the contract. That’s economics. Even if Roman had not bought Chelsea, Lampard would still have become big, because he is the same man, same player. Aren’t there great players in the non-top four teams?

    If Drogba stays, I’ll be very happy, otherwise, we’ll get another striker. I won’t get too sentimental.

  42. avatar 42 | chelsea4life Reply to this comment

    ‘Everyone needs more and better’…I want to know this ‘more and better’…top salary…top squad…top manager….top facilities…a CL semifinal/final finish every season….what else for a footballer…and CFC is providing all this in a package…and then these players are not who r benched..they play week in week out..
    Lampard was going to Inter, a team which can’t go past EPL’s perennial loosers in CL….we just thrashed a major team of that LEAGUE 5-0…so it certainly can’t be for new ‘challenges’….

  43. avatar 43 | BlueChampion Reply to this comment

    Please don’t take offence. I’m not sure how old you are. There are certain things that can be understood only with age or experience. You can have everything and you can still want something else. For all this wealth Roman has not stopped making money. He was the king in oil business when he quit it. That’s life. And ‘new challenge’ does mean going for ’something better’, that means going for ’something different’. So if a top player from a top four from premier league club joins a Turkish club, it is certainly a new challenge. By challenge, I understand that it means the difficulty of achieving something, the freshness of the approach, the fun of trying something new.

    For the records, I don’t think Lampard ever said that he wants to go to Inter. He was in his contract negotiations with Chelsea. Inter made an official bid and it was rejected by Chelsea more than a week before his extension was signed.

  44. avatar 44 | BlueChampion Reply to this comment

    Guys! I just realised that the comment editing feature (which uses ajax) seems to be killing the site in terms of performance. I’ve turned it off for maintenance. Now we’re under the pressure of getting thing right, at the first instance itself!

  45. avatar 45 | BlueChampion Reply to this comment

    Chelsitos! BC Shout will be alive and kicking for today’s match Join BC Shout for the live match chat. If you didn’t know already, to participate in the BC Shout live match chat, you don’t need to have any logins. Just click, type and discuss. No need to bookmark the BC Shout link. It’s right there on the homepage now.

    Remember, it takes a couple of seconds to load. Sometimes your browser shows ‘Done’ but it would not have loaded. Just wait for a few more seconds.

    Match kicks off at 13:30 UK time. Be there at BC Shout!

  46. avatar 46 | sam Reply to this comment

    i think ballack should play in right wing insdide of joe cole becuase ballack is very good at scoring goals then joe cole should go in sub and essien should be beside mikel

    —————–cech—————— joe cole sheva
    –belliti–terry–carvalho–ashley cole– bowsinga and however else is good
    ———–mikel—-essein————- drogba
    ballack———deco———–lampard ivionack
    —————anelka—————— cucidini

  47. avatar 47 | bluefan #1 Reply to this comment

    ” 44 thats a wierd line up? its 11 players on the pitch not 111.hehe and who is ivionack.
    just kidding with you.

  48. avatar 48 | bluefan #1 Reply to this comment

    Deco and José Bosingwa both start their first league game for the Blues today as they line-up against Portsmouth at Stamford Bridge.

    Franco Di Santo finds himself on the bench as Nicolas Anelka takes up his role in central attack.

    Michael Ballack, John Mikel Obi and Frank Lampard all join in midfield in front of Ricardo Carvalho and captain John Terry, while Ashley Cole plays at left-back.

    Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech; Bosingwa, Carvalho, Terry (c), A Cole; Ballack, Mikel, Lampard; Deco, Anelka, Cole.
    Subs: Di Santo, Wright-Phillips, Bridge, Alex, Ferreira, Malouda.

    Harry Redknapp’s Portsmouth are expected to line up in a 4-4-2 formation, with Peter Crouch making his first league appearance. The starting line-up is as follows:

    Portsmouth (4-4-2): James; Johnson, Campbell, Hreidarsson, Primus; Kranjcar, Distin, Diarra, Diop ;Crouch, Defoe.
    Subs: Lauren, Utaka, Mvuemba, Cranie, Ashdown, Traore.

  49. avatar 49 | Blues_Godson Reply to this comment

    i think we should have a good game today and i hope we leave up to expectation…2-0 wont be a bad result

  50. avatar 50 | IwasMissingJose Reply to this comment

    hehe, till now is chelsea magnifico!!! very fluid, very attacking, and pompies haven´t even got a decent chance to attack!

  51. avatar 51 | IwasMissingJose Reply to this comment

    its already 2-0 now.
    1st joe cole
    2nd Anelka

  52. avatar 52 | Nick Reply to this comment

    Oh no, Ballack’s injured….I hope its nothing serious

  53. avatar 53 | IwasMissingJose Reply to this comment
  54. avatar 54 | IwasMissingJose Reply to this comment
  55. avatar 55 | IwasMissingJose Reply to this comment
  56. avatar 56 | BlueChampion Reply to this comment

    Guys! We’re all over there at BC Shout. Come over and join our live chat!

  57. avatar 57 | ilayathalapathi vijay Reply to this comment

    what happened to ballack? why he was subbed in 35 min?

  58. avatar 58 | ravi Reply to this comment

    Anything serious with Ballack ?

    Hopefully LPS gives a debut to di santo.

  59. avatar 59 | cap123 Reply to this comment

    oh my my my.

    we sure were something.

  60. avatar 60 | owonatty Reply to this comment

    We’re awesome in attacking and defending. something new about each position of each player on the field is each player change his position while attacking, this make it difficult for the opponent. terrific goal by deco. I am impressed. this is good for a start.

    Up blues

  61. avatar 61 | arian gashi Reply to this comment
  62. avatar 62 | bluefan #1 Reply to this comment
  63. avatar 63 | bluefan #1 Reply to this comment

    man utd 1 – newcastle 1
    great start

  64. avatar 64 | bcforever Reply to this comment

    @70 – I doubt Drogba will leave .. No club except Marsielle needs him .

  65. avatar 65 | Kobby Reply to this comment

    Its very sad the way nobody in chelsea gives essien his due praise,and this will cause his departure from chelsea.In my opinion he is the best player in chelsea,he does all the dirty jobs.Come on you blues! if essien was to play in midfield and midfield only,we know christiano ronaldo can’t be compared to essien. And i think its time we gave to ceasar ehat belongs to him,cos believe his departure will hurt as badly.We all know how badly morinho wants him.Come on you blues,come on.

  66. avatar 66 | mr supercool Reply to this comment

    when drogba and shev come in from injury this should be the best suited formation:-
    Cech

    Terry Carvalho A Cole

    Essien J Cole

    Deco Lampard Ballack

    Shevchenko
    Drogba

  67. avatar 67 | bluefan #1 Reply to this comment

    are u sure about this formation supercool. hehe. first of it was a long time agoo i saw any team playing with 3 def. and second why j.cole playing that position, he would be scratching his head not knowing what to do. he cant defend. and at last, i hope u know sheva is playing for milan know.