There’s the first of many trophies that I hope Chelsea win this season. We are the champions of the 2009 World Football Challenge. It’s a great name for running around on a football pitch against just four teams in a foreign country primarily for marketing reasons. World Football Challenge makes you feel like you’re the ultimate champion of a knock out tournament containing 512 club teams from all over the world. That’s how the Americans like it. They put the ‘world’ in front of everything (no political pun intended). Let’s not take anything away from Chelsea. They were super-fit , took these games seriously, they played very good football and they won four out of four. Very deservedly the champions of the World Football Challenge!

The best thing about the match against Club America was the fact that Di Santo and Malouda scored. I have a soft corner for both and with the arrival of Sturridge and Zhirkov, they need to show their worth to fight, compete and win their places. Malouda is just continuing from where he left last season. He was already growing in confidence and his new contract would certainly unleash the real Malouda that won the player of the season in Lique 1.

I’ve been waiting for a Di Santo goal for many months now. It was a very well taken goal. I was most certainly reminded of Hernan Crespo. I’m sure Di Santo will play more this season and will be a surprise package this season. I’ve gone on record to say that Di Santo has better off the ball movement than Anelka. I still stand by it. Di Santo moves intelligently and also is always busy in the zone. While Anelka can finish the chances created by others for him Franco can create chances by his movement and runs. For the second goal, it was a nice piece of skill and a superb assist by the Argentine. Kalou must be warned. I also read that Franco is set on a loan deal with Blackburn Rovers. On one side, I don’t want us to loan him because I want to see him play more often for Chelsea and for some reason I see that happening in this season. On the other side, I might be reluctantly okay for a half-season loan because we all would see more of Di Santo and he can come back with rich experience when Drogba is away on national duty.

In the last couple of days, so much have been written about John Terry in the press – from how he is still Mr.Chelsea to how he had to be persuaded by Roman Abramovich. JT has spoken to Chelsea TV after issuing his PR-advised statement. Read his short interview on the Man City offer and on the pre-season and preparations. Do read it as he elaborates further into what he had said in the statement. As far as I’m concerned, I’m standing by my pragmatic view.

Short post today. That’s it for now. Cheers!

This is what we have been waiting for. John Terry has finally broken his silence – with some good news. He has really put the whole thing to rest. He is not leaving Chelsea for any club. This is published in the official website. This is such a big boost for Chelsea FC. The Chelsea revolution had only begun when TSO won us those titles. We need strong characters such as John Terry to keep the dream alive and complete the true revolution as Roman envisioned. Now that’s another one of those snubs for Man City. Now Mark Hughes can start looking at a ‘poor man’s John Terry’ (football-wise, otherwise such an irony for Citeh).

Here is the verbatim of the statement from John Terry:

There has been a lot of speculation recently about my future and I want to clear this up once and for all. I am totally committed to Chelsea and always have been. Chelsea have also made it clear to me consistently that there was never any intention to accept any kind of offer. When you are linked with any club, or with a manager who I have huge respect for, it will always make headlines but me leaving Chelsea was never a possibility.

I know there has been comment that I should have made a statement earlier. However, throughout this period there have been numerous discussions between myself, the owner and the Chelsea Board and we all agreed that the timing of any statement would suit everyone involved in those talks, not any outside influences or agendas.

What is clear to me following those discussions is that Chelsea’s ambition remains as high as ever. This has been further proved by the appointment of Carlo Ancelotti. I am certain that he will take this club on to the next level. Another important factor was knowing that Chelsea would be securing key current players for the long term. The strengthening of the squad around this core is crucial to pushing us onto greater success. I am as committed as ever to helping drive Chelsea forward and I will be proud to lead the team for as long as I can.

I’ve gone through this statement in various emotions which have led me to different conclusions before settling down with a very reasonable one.

The Optimist in me says:

Fantastic news! JT stays! This is exactly the news I have been waiting for. And he has made it so clear that he is not leaving Chelsea. He’s also given some important hints like how much he supports the new manager and about strengthening of the squad. If he is not leaving at this age and stage, probably he is not going to think about leaving in future as well. He is totally committed. Totally.

The Pessimist in me says:

He has stated his commitment all right but there are some loose ends in his statement. Firstly, his rationale for his delayed response is pretty weak. It is very obvious that Terry, Roman and the board have had some discussions about his transfer status, which is something I don’t want to believe. He also says that those discussions have made him understand the status of Chelsea’s ambitions. I wouldn’t mind if Zhirkov had said this, but John Terry? Basically, I’m sad that he had to be convinced to stay. If you have the eye for the details, you’d notice a overwhelming ‘presentness’ about his stance than ‘futureness’. Do you know what I mean?

The Pragmatist in me says:

He is totally committed. That does not mean he ‘will be’ totally committed. The reality is, he is staying with Chelsea for the 09-10 season. Anything else is hope.

I rest my case.

I say Chelsea conquered Milan because we have beaten Inter Milan and AC Milan in the space of a week. What more they need to do to say they conquered Milan? We played in that new away jersey for the first time. It looked better on the pitch than on the Chelsea megastore website.

The unbeaten run in the pre-season friendlies continues. A three-match streak is long enough to be called a ‘run’ right? There I am learning from the football media. Having beaten the half-fit champions of Italy rather comfortably, you’d expect Chelsea to breeze past a Kaka-less Milan. It was a tougher match. Chelsea conceded the first goal of the season. But it was a match that Chelsea dominated and were more than deserved to be winners. The man of the match and the moment is Yuri Zhirkov. Having got his work permit only last week, he was given some playing time by Carlo straightaway.

He made his debut with a start. He was all that we have known for and expected him to be. He was very active and busy. And he scored a goal on his debut and that happened to be a winning goal against AC Milan. Not bad, eh?

One of the things I like about Chelsea and very proud about them is their no-nonsense approach in the final third and the instincts to go for the goal from distance. We have a team of long shooters and I love that. Zhirkov in this instance could have passed the ball to the D but instead he backed himself and went for the shot. That’s what I liked about the goal. Taking a shot from distance is not just about skill. It’s about decision making. It is a decision that you make whether to go for the goal or pass it around.

When you have a set of players who are leaders in their own right, who can think for the team, take a decision and go for it, you’ll see these long range shots. Arsenal does not score long range shots not because they always want to pass it around, the players are scared of taking a decision and pulling the trigger. Their game turns out to be indecisive and unending because no one takes a call. Whereas the way Chelsea play is exactly what I want and love. To be honest, even when I play pro evo on xbox, my playing style is very similar to that of Chelsea.

Earlier, Didier Drogba reaffirmed that he is back in form and that every bit of trust we place in him will be repaid very well. It was one of those Didier Drogba goals that you can call a scorcher or a stunner or a belter or again in football media terms, a piledriver. That’s what it was. All from 30-35 yards. I would think that the premier league teams would have closed him down better and may not have given him that unmanned circle with a 5 yard radius as well. And yes, we conceded a goal. Ronaldinho created it. Seedorf buried it from the D. To be honest, Terry could have positioned himself better for that goal. While he was blocking Cech’s view, he also let Seedorf take shot at the top right corner. By the way, did you guys see how Terry was reacting and celebrating to the Drogba goal? Man, he’s ours and he’ll stay so.

In other news, Ancelotti has made this very interesting announcement that Mikel would be our playmaker. Deep-lying playmaker, probably. That’s an interesting thing to say. As we know, Mikel started his career as an attacking midfielder and in a team like Chelsea, he needed to play as a defensive midfielder which he did superbly well. Now, probably, we will see the evolution of Mikel. He’s matured enough now to understand the game better, would read the game better in his current role and now should move to a more influential role. I’m not sure if he has the vision to be a good playmaker
but we will see.

Mikel himself thinks that he would take some time before he can be a playmaker as such.

It is a great honour that he sees something in me. He says I am a player with great qualities, but thinks I can be even better. It is going to take a bit of time, but I am going to work very close with him to make it happen. He likes the fact I am strong and can play with the ball, but says that I still need to add more things to my game — if I do that then he thinks I’m going to be fantastic.

As he said, he needs to add more things to his game. That’s the right way to put it. Him becoming a playmaker can come later. First up, he needs to have more weapons in his game that he can use. This might take some time but as a fan of Mikel, I’m all for waiting for him to blossom.

Deco now wants to play for Chelsea. The last I heard was that he was tired of Chelsea and was hoping that TSO makes him an offer, With Ancelotti coming in, that too suggesting a 4-man midfield, and no offer coming from Inter, Deco seems to have accepted that reality that he is a Chelsea play and as long as he is one, he needs to give his best. He does talk about the impact of his four injuries last season. I didn’t realise that he had four of them. Fair play to him, the last competitive match he played, he was just fantastic but he was injured after the match and returned only for the pre-season friendlies.

Latest in the series of ‘I’m very happy at Chelsea’ stories, we have Nicolas Anelka.

I am happy at Chelsea. I am very pleased about everything that is going on and also with things on the outside. I don’t need to move. My last season here was pleasing. It’s always good to score goals and more so to finish top scorer. So I’m glad to be here, to play for a big club like Chelsea and that I had a good season. When I first signed I thought I would play with Didier up front, but they only wanted to play one of us up front. It was a shame because we knew we could play together. When we play together, I look for him straight away when I have the ball. I want him to score and the same goes for him. When he has the ball he looks for me when I’m up front. We are capable of winning both titles. Last season we couldn’t do it but we will try to do it next season. Last year we conceded too many draws and lost games at home, this cost us the title.

It is very well documented that I was a cruel critic of Nicolas Anelka. Truth be told, I’ve started loving this man. Not because he got a golden boot (his was one of the meekest golden boot performances). It’s because he started caring for Chelsea and his colleagues. He started working hard on the pitch. He started covering ground to help his team mates (I’m still waiting for his first yellow card for a tackle). He started celebrating with his team. He even started smiling. Anelka is known as a cold-hearted assassin who never cared for his employer. He is known as the man who has never loved his club. I think that is changing. Within his ‘emotional framework’, I do see that he likes to play for Chelsea and likes working with his colleagues. He says ‘he is happy’ so he might just be ecstatic inside. I like this new Anelka. I really do.

Finally, my love for Ashley Cole has just doubled. Talking about Man City, Ashley Cole said:

I have friends there and I hope they do really well – and that they finish above Arsenal.

There are versions that he was joking but we all know how much he meant it. Ashley for President! Arsenal for europa cup! Chelsea for premier league, champions league, fa cup, league cup and community shield!

Transfer sagas are fun. I like them because there would suspense, there would be a lot of thrilling developments and more importantly there would be debates. Though some of them get really prolonged, the suspese may always remain until a final decision is made. Kaka to Man City was a classic. So was Ronaldo to Real Madrid. Henry to Barcelona was eventful too. David Villa and Ribery are unfinished sagas which have great potential to become legendary. I’m also very keenly watching what finally happens to Fabregas. So transfer sagas are fun. What I hate about transfer sagas are the ones that involve Chelsea. Quite naturally. The Robinho story was a heart breaking one last season. But we could move on. There are more such players and there is always someone who can replace players like Robinho. John Terry is not some Robinho.

The silent battle for John Terry makes me very uncomfortable. I’d surely say that Terry is weighing his options which means he is considering leaving Chelsea as much as he would consider staying here. Let’s not be blind to this and pooh-pooh the whole story. If Terry did not want to leave at any cost, he could have certainly handled this better. All our excuses that he is on holday and all that have gone out of the window. He back. He was at Stamford Bridge. He was at Cobham. He’s met the manager, staff and his fellow-players. He’s gone to the United States with the team. He’s played a pre-season friendly. He’s here among us. But he is silent.

Now it’s Lampard’s turn to talk for Terry. True to his name, he gives a very frank opinion on the whole issue:

I don’t know what he will do. I’ve been in John’s position, but everyone at the club wants him to stay. I had an option to leave last summer, to go with a manager who I love, but it came at a time in my life that, maybe, just wasn’t right. But the situation made me think an awful lot. It wasn’t an easy decision, either, and I don’t think people should criticise John. The fact is you can never take away what he’s done for Chelsea. He’ll always be a legend. I hope and I’m confident that, whatever happens, he will continue to be considered a legend here. People should respect his right to choose. When you’re a successful player this kind of thing is going to happen and then you have to make a decision. John’s a very honourable man and it doesn’t come down to money and things like that.

I know John. I know he’ll be thinking about what’s the right thing to do as a player and, in the longer term, for his career. No one should doubt that John Terry wants to be successful. No one should doubt that John Terry is a winner. This is not just about the money and people shouldn’t try to make it that black and white. It’s understandable because it’s Manchester City who have come in, but it’s up to John what happens. All I can say is that I’m very proud each time I play with him and, as a club, you want to keep players like John Terry. It’s as simple as that.

He can’t be more honest than that. He likes to compare his situation with that of Terry. That’s where I have a problem. When Lampard’s thing was going on he was in his last year of contract. He had an Avram Grant who apparently did not quite inspire him and an offer from Jose Mourinho would certainly have tempted him. I can understand that. Whereas, Terry has many years left in his contract. I don’t know what would be Terry’s rationale to move to City. I can understand if he is moving to a different league which will give him a different challenge. I can understand if he is moving to a top top club. Why would he consider moving to a club like City while the Chelsea revolution is entering a new phase?

What is that Man City offers that Chelsea does not? At Chelsea, he’s got respect, power, adulation, money and what not. He is a London boy and with Chelsea, he gets live in London. Now, that question again. What is that Terry would get at Man City that he is not already getting or may not get in Chelsea? I’m not talking about the M word here. Assuming that the M word is not the dealmaking factor (because Lampard said so), what else is? If Terry wants to go for a Barcelona or an Inter, you can certainly talk about the club prestige, new league, new country and a fresh challenge. But why Man City? Few seasons back, Gerrard was pretty close to joining Chelsea. At that time, the situation was pretty similar. At least, on Gerrard’s side he could have said that Tubby is going to win fuck all so I’m joining Chelsea who are successful under Mourinho. Still, Gerrard hasn’t touched the premier league trophy and I don’t he will ever unless he quits Liverpool. In Terry’s case, there is no reason to believe that Man City would be more successful than Chelsea. No way.

Finally, I have come to a conclusion that I need to believe some of the press reports that there is some irreparable relationship problem between Terry and someone at the Chelsea hierarchy. I refer back Terry’s response to Makelele’s accusation on him that he was behind Mourinho’s exit. Terry responded by saying that he never had that kind of power and if he had he could have changed many things at the club. Now I wonder what he was referring to. Who is he having a problem with? It can’t be with Ancelotti. Was it with Hiddink who punished Terry for a certain nightclub behaviour in March 2009? Is it with Roman? Is it with those bad elements around Roman that Mourinho once hinted about? I can keep looking for stories like a paparazzi. I know it’s not fair but if there are unanswered questions, that too such very fundamental ones, I’m bound to look for answers myself. Until and unless John Terry clears the air, in a very convincing manner (not like saying ‘I have a contract with Chelsea, I’m a Chelsea player today etc’) this is not going to die down.

Unfortunately, with every passing day amidst this uncertainty, the fans and supporters who adore John Terry as the symbol of Chelsea FC would feel let down and even if Terry decides to stay with Chelsea, he would have make do with lesser popularity than before. Because Terry has a few years left in his contract, Chelsea has no action to take if they want to keep Terry. The ball is in Terry’s court as he needs to submit a transfer request. There’s a rumour that Roman has flown to the United States to watch the pre-season friendlies and he’s going to speak to Terry. Okay then, now is the right time to run this poll. Go on.

Do you think John Terry will leave for Man City?

• Yes, he will leave


• No, he will not



View Results

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In pre-season news, Chelsea beat Inter 2-0 in a very convincing fashion. It was an irony that the two players that Mourinho likes, respects and admires the most in the Chelsea squad, scored the goals. Due respects to Mourinho, Inter are a weaker team when compared to Chelsea. Give him another chance, Chelsea would still come out trumps. We were fitter, sharper and more clinical and all of this at a surprisingly high level for a pre-season friendly. I always thought that Inter did not suit Mourinho’s style. I don’t think he’s enjoying there despite his success. I don’t think he would enjoy working in the Italian league itself. In fact, he is best suited for the premier league more than any other league. If he were managing Man City for instance, his team would have given a lot tougher fight. Anyway, this win must have pleased Ancelotti as he does have some scores to settle with Mourinho.

By the way, Ancelotti has announced that 4-4-2 diamond would be the formation for this season. The last time we played this for a season was in 06-07 when Ballack and Shevchenko had to be accommodated plus when we had numerous injuries to wide players which forced us go for this 4-4-2 diamond which is also known as the 4-1-2-1-2. I’m happy that we are playing a two-striker formation. Considering the type of players that we have an their abilities, I think Ancelotti has made the right decision of adopting this as the formation for the season. That also means that we will not try to sign any wide players. As it appears, the role we might be keen to fill is that of a back up or in particular an understudy for Lampard. Something like what Mikel was for Essien and Makelele.

In other news, Malouda has finally signed the 3-year contract. I was surprised that he was offered a 3-year contract but I’m not surprised that he has signed. He had some admirers from Germany and Italy but he has enjoyed playing for Chelsea and he wants to be a part of ‘this’ team. Very good news that one. Daily Mail says that Ancelotti also expects Drogba to sign a 3-year contract. While saying so he is reported to have said that he would play a two-striker formation. He’s gone on to say that Drogba is his No.1 and that Sturridge will be in the first team this season. This ties in nicely with his 4-4-2 diamond formation.

And then comes the news that had made my day! John Obi Mikel signs a 5-year contract with Chelsea. That’s a fantastic signing. Mikel is a superb player and someone that we cannot afford to let go. He is a player you can build your defensive system around. More importantly, Mikel belongs to the next generation and he would be at the heart of the Chelsea team in say, 2012-13.

Hope you’re getting accustomed to the new theme. I’m glad that most of you liked it. As you can see, as always, I’d build on this to add or resume those little features that you always liked. And don’t forget to tell us all about how your love story with Chelsea began in the (now up and running) Why Chelsea page. Cheers!