In Singapore, StarHub used to have the rights for premier league telecast until last year. Most of the hotels and service apartments happened to have the StarHub connections. This season though, Singtel have the premier league rights but these hotels etc continue to have the StarHub connections. This means, every time there is a premier league match I want to watch, I need to find a pub or settle for unreliable streams or at worst, follow live text commentary on BBC.

I like watching live football in pubs. That’s always a lovely experience. Having been used to 40-inch television screens at home for football viewing and football gaming, the smaller size TVs are not big enough for me. There are a few pubs that show live football on big screens but there aren’t any around where I live here. No matter where it is, watching Chelsea is always fun. These are great times for Chelsea fans. We’re still on top of the table as we enter the month of November, despite some key injuries. We’ve got Bosingwa back after a long lay off. We’ve got youngsters breaking into the team. Man Utd are weakening – not sure if this is short or long term. Chelsea’s blue flag is really flying high.

Blackburn is now part of a unique piece of history. They have become the first premier league club to be owned by an Indian entity. Venkateshwara Hatcheries have taken over the club and that seems to have infused new life into the club. Venkys have made it clear that they are not going shower millions but you can’t deny that the morale is on a high at Ewood Park. In any case, Sam Allardyce’s team do make it tough for the top teams.

Lazy journalists keep highlighting how physical and strong Chelsea players are. The fact is, it is teams like Blackburn Rovers that are truly physical teams. They approach every match as a fight, use brute force as their primary method of winning the ball or interrupting the play. They can be dangerous with their reckless attempts. I’m not running them down, I’m just saying what a really ‘physical and strong’ team can do. Jose Mourinho said that teams surrender to Barcelona and give away cheap points. Such an approach just can’t be seen in premier league. Every team plays to get something out of the match. Blackburn are a good example of how teams in lower positions play in the premier league.

Alex is back for Chelsea which means Ivanovic might have to sit out. Ivanovic has been brilliant in Bosingwa’s absence but when the latter is fit and back, I doubt if the serbian would get the nod. I see that Ramires has improved since his run of disastrous matches. Still I’d be a bit concerned to see him start against Blackburn at Ewood Park (he is out doubtful for this match though). If he bottles up, it could turn out to be too costly for us. I’d fancy seeing Josh starting the game. In a tough away game like this, it’s not a tradition to start youngsters as the value of experience is a bit of overstated. Josh has already shown that he is no ordinary youngster. He is highly skilled and also seems to have a mature head.

Remember, when Mikel started playing in the defensive midfield for us, he was 19. It’s never easy to break into a team like Chelsea and that too at the age of 19 and playing a difficult position like defensive midfield. Mikel could do it (read his interesting interview here). He is an important reason why we control the games so well. For a young player like Mikel to be able to play such a pivotal role in a team of Chelsea’s stature, it’s quite an achievement. He was able to do this because we persisted with him and grew him in this new league and this position. I think we need to do the same with Josh.

The match is today and Carlo Ancelotti has not announced his team yet. He seems to have this habit of naming his team well ahead of the match. I don’t know if it’s tactically helpful but certainly Carlo knows more about football than I do. We should play our best team and take this match really seriously. We should show some improvement from our Wolves performance. I know that was on the back of a long travel from Russia but in today’s match, we should not make it too difficult for ourselves.

I’d predict a 2-0 win for Chelsea. I haven’t simulated this in Winning Eleven 2011 yet. If I get to do, I’ll post that update and video as well. You all have a great weekend! Cheers!

Rooney loves Man Utd and that’s the best football club as far as he’s concerned. I’m sure you know it. If you don’t, read the papers. Read today’s papers and not yesterday’s okay? As of yesterday, Man Utd lacked ambition and his fellow players were cack though the manager was a genius. As of today, Manure is better than Brazil 1970 and he’s privileged to play with these cack players. This is modern football for you. I won’t blame anyone. Not even Wayne Rooney.

Probably, he wanted a better contract than what was on offer. He has a right to ask for more. His agent did his job in getting the best deal for the client. Fergie could have sold him or pushed him to the bench but did the right thing for his club by extending his contract. I don’t think this is one big drama to push Rooney’s transfer value. If that’s the case, they could have just had Rooney sign an extension without any drama and his market value would have still gone up.

I don’t want to be a hypocrite. Moving jobs, asking for a raise and all that is quite common in the corporate world and we do it all the time. Footballers are doing the same. But what would be sad is if Rooney comes out and says that his heart is of the shape of Man Utd logo. Let’s move on. It’s never going to be the same for Rooney with the Manure fans. One look at the Manure blogs you know how much he’s still a villain even after signing an extension. That’s the price he pays for a fantastic contract. One thing he has successfully managed is to have the press take their eyes of the recent disasters in his private life. All at the cost of alienating the fans. Footballers should know that they can kiss and make up with anyone – except fans.

Let’s talk about football. This could just be the perfect weekend of football. We play Wolves at home. Great opportunity to open up a bigger lead and watch Manure get another draw at Stoke tomorrow while we have this mouthwatering Man City vs Arsenal match also on Sunday. Drogba could be back for us. Lampard is still not ready. Anyway, it’s good to have at least one of them back. With Ramires, Lampard and Benayoun not being around, there could be another opportunity for Zhirkov. I’m sure that goal at Moscow would keep him in great morale for many matches to come.

I realise that I haven’t written much about McEachran. Josh looks like real quality. We may not hype him up like Arses do for Wilshere. But Josh is very good. More than anything, he is able to get a chance in a team like Chelsea and is able to play at ease. Wilshere is quality as well no doubting that but he wouldn’t have played so much if he were in Chelsea because to get a game in Chelsea is an achievement while at Arsenal you don’t need to fight for your chance. You just get it. What I liked about Josh was his composure in attacks. He seems to have a lot of time on the ball and he is so assured on his ball skills. I want to see more of him.

Josh is a bit different from Nemanja Matic, the other young midfielder that impressed me. While Matic could be in the Ballack mould, Josh could be a combination of Lampard and Scholes – not in stature but in style. With Matic on loan and several injuries in the Chelsea midfield, Josh can just have his name known. Kakuta struggled against Aston Villa but that’s probably a reflection of his experience than his quality. Players like Kalou, Kakuta, Borini, Josh, Matic, Aanholt etc are certainly the future of Chelsea. Fast forward a couple of years, I could see myself buying a jersey of Josh or Matic myself. The key is with Carlo Ancelotti and how he plans to bring these youngsters on while phasing out the legends. The worst way to do it is how Wenger did in 2004-05. That’s exactly what we should avoid. The transition will have to be smooth and I trust in Carlo to do his best for the club.

Back to the weekend matches. Man City vs Arsenal. This is a great match up. I don’t remember a match where I was as neutral as I am now. This is a great match because I’m happy with any of the three possible results. A win for Arsenal means the gap between Man City and Chelsea is widened. A draw means both lose points and we increase our gap with both these teams. Probably, a draw would would just edge it for me as my favourable result from this match. Meanwhile, a win for Man City means a defeat for Arsenal. Yippee!

Before I finish, one important piece of update. Adidas and Chelsea have renewed and extended their relationship. The contract now runs until 2018. Neither of the parties threatened to exit the contract. No teary eyed press conferences. No insults followed by apologies. Just pure business. I like out association with Adidas. I like Adidas as a brand and I like their kits design. So I hope this relationship goes on forever.

It’s Wolves at Stamford Bridge. There’s only one way this match is going. BBC predicts a 3-0 win. That’s a reasonably good prediction. I did my thing in Winning Eleven 2011. Chelsea won 4-2. A brace each by Lampard and Drogba. For Wolves, one was an own goal by Terry and Fletcher scored the other. All four Chelsea goals were scored in the first half while Wolves scored one in each half. Tough match but Chelsea were always in control.

Here are a couple of videos of Chelsea’s second goal by Super Frankie Lampard. It’s the same goal from two camera angles. Hope you like it.

The Aston Villa match was probably the best evidence of how important Lampard and Drogba are to us. Our attacks had no teeth. We hardly threatened them. Sure we saw lot of the ball but all the while we were looking attack without looking to score, if you know what I mean. There was no urgency in our play. Probably our objective was ‘not to lose’ than ‘to win’. Or they all tried their best and this is what they could produce at Villa park without Lampard and Drogba. It looked to me like we were playing a dead rubber in the champions league group stage.

Actually, to get a draw at Villa park is not such a bad result, considering the yet another slip-up by Man Utd. Talking of Man Utd, I don’t know if it’s prudent to keep checking the gap between us and them. Man Utd may not be the runner-up after all. Should we add Man Utd to the ‘harmless rivals’ list which already comprises of Liverpool and Arsenal? I’m not saying this just because they are drawing every other match. The Rooney story seems to be rocking the Manure boat this season. Make no mistake, it’s no small thing.

Wayne Rooney is a top top player. It’s a major blow for any team if a player of Rooney’s calibre is leaving. I’d say that Rooney’s leaving would have a bigger impact on Man Utd than Ronaldo’s exit. Top teams need their talismanic players. Chelsea has too many – Terry, Lampard, Drogba, Essien etc. Man Utd had Ronaldo, Rooney and Ferdinand. These are players that are too crucial for the success of the team and also the glue that hold the team together. They are their rays of hope. When Ronaldo left, Man Utd still had Rooney who became the new symbol of Man Utd, the player that the team can depend on. When Rooney leaves, there is a massive gap to be filled by Fergie and given their financial situation, he will find very tough to find a replacement for Rooney, not from his position point of view but from a stature point of view.

BBC has written a full article on what’s next for Rooney. It’s an interesting read. There are various views around why he would and wouldn’t choose certain clubs. Apparently, there is a reference to Chelsea as well. I doubt Rooney would want to move to Chelsea. If he wants success and trophies and peace of mind, he might want to come to Chelsea. If he wants more money and wants to piss of Man Utd and Fergie, he can go to Man City. I don’t see him leaving England. Real Madrid can move quickly and swap Rooney for Benzema. If they do that, they could begin an era of dominance in Spain and Europe. Real Madrid are already showing that they are a much improved unit under Jose Mourinho.

Would I want Cheslea to move for Rooney? Hell, yes! Both our strikers are past 30. Here is a top striker, a proven success in premier league, at 25 with his best is still ahead of him. Would Chelsea move for Rooney? I doubt because Man City would certainly start bidding for Rooney as getting him will help Man City in many ways (Dear Wayne! Welcome to Manchester). And Chelsea would not get into a bidding war with Man City. I’m 200% sure about that. In any case, a move in January is for sure as he could go for nothing to peanuts after that. Fergie might as well cash in on him as soon as possible. As a football fan, I’m very curious on Rooney’s next move. Let’s wait and see.

Okay, let’s get back to Chelsea. The downside of being in Singapore is the timing of the champions league matches. I’ve mentioned this a million times so far but it’s just so annoying for me that I’m not able to watch these matches. I know yesterday was an early kick off as it was in Russia. I still couldn’t watch it as I had to be in office quite early today.

That goal from Yuri Zhirkov! What a strike! This is not just another long ranger. The attack was a swift move and ball was not still and in comes Yuri like a train and smashes it on a volley. Great strike. I’ve seen it about 20 times and I still don’t get tired of it. I love this element of romance in football – in Moscow, it had to be Yuri Zhirkov! After the dreadful night at Moscow couple of seasons back, we had to win to exorcise some of those memories. I’d be lying if I said that night can be forgotten. We can win another 100 matches at Moscow but that hurt would remain. Anyway, the best we could do yesterday was to win and that’s what we did.

Wolves at the Bridge next weekend. Interesting match up on Sunday as Man City host Arsenal. Draw is the only result I would ask for. Okay then, I’m back to my Winning Eleven session. Catch you later.

If there’s one tricky game in the fixture, it’s this. Ever since the Mourinho days, Villa Park does not seem to leave us with good memories. We have managed to hammer the Villans at the Bridge but when we visit Villa Park, the form and the strength just disappears. We were beaten in the only tough away fixture so far. We then picked ourselves up to beat the two French teams – Marseille and Arsenal – just to show that the Man City defeat was just a blip.

If we manage to beat Villa today, the next ‘tough’ fixture is only in December against Tottenham. I’m discounting the Liverpool game as I think they don’t make a tough fixture even for Blackpool. In a way, I’m happy that the Liverpool sale saga is almost over. One reason is, it’s annoying to see football in the papers for non-footballing reasons. The other is, Liverpool are really a massive club. They deserve to be stable in terms of ownership and management. I wish they recover their pride on the pitch and become a real contender for the title soon. I want see Chelsea top a strong Man Utd, Liverpool, Arsenal, Man City and Tottenham. We don’t need any favours from anyone.

Back to the match – injuries! So many of them! Let me read out who we’d miss today: Drogba, Lampard, Sturridge, Kalou, Malouda, Benayoun and Alex. Most of these are first choice players. As long as we have Petr Cech and John Terry, I think we should not have a problem. Ancelotti has even announced his starting eleven: Cech, Ferreira, Ivanovic, Terry and Cole, Ramires, Essien and Mikel, strikers Kakuta, Malouda and Anelka.

What do we see? Petr Cech on goal. Couple of top centre backs, world class full backs, very strong and fluid midfield and this lovely French trio in attack. This team should be more than able to get a win at Villa Park today. The front trio combination is very interesting. I don’t know when was the last time we had all the front three from the same nationality leave alone being French. I’m very very excited to see Kakuta starting. I’ve been bigging him up for many months now but he’s not been given a run of opportunities to live up to the hype. With so many injuries at Chelsea, this is the perfect opportunity for Kakuta to put Kalou and Sturridge on their toes.

Kakuta’s success is very crucial for us because he is a different type of player. He is the kind of player we’ve been missing for seasons now. Ever since Robben and Duff left us, we’ve not had a skilful and pacy winger that can cause havoc. Malouda is excellent no doubt but he is more effective when he is involved in the team moves. I don’t expect Malouda to pick the ball up near half way line and take it to the box by beating a few men on the way. I’d expect that from Kakuta. He is capable of that. After Arjen Robben, I don’t remember a Chelsea player doing such things. Which is why I’m so excited about Kakuta’s talent and what he can bring to this Chelsea side.

The Chelsea website also confirms that Bosingwa would be on the bench and could even play for about 30 minutes. It would be great to see him. It’s a pity that Bosingwa couldn’t play a role in our title winning season. It’s strange that the Chelsea that he played in and the Chelsea that he will play today are different. My memories of Bosingwa was a lot around how tries to do the Lionel Messi impression. I think he really wants to score/set up a remarkable goal that he can show his grandchildren. But he is a bloody good player, no doubting that. Ashley Cole on the left and Bosingwa on the right – this is damn explosive. This full back pair could be so crucial in how far we get in champions league. The cruel thing in football – Paulo Ferreira – who has been brilliant in the right back, might have to make way for Bosingwa. That’s the way it is.

I did my old prediction trick. I booted up PES 2011 on PS3. I played Aston Villa vs Chelsea at (created) Villa Park in Professional difficulty. It was a 15 minute match. I selected the same Chelsea team that Ancelotti has picked for this match. And we won 2-0. The first goal was from Malouda – nice team move – in what was practically the last attack of the first half. The second goal was an own goal from intense Chelsea pressure by about the 60th minute. Villa got their chances but Chelsea controlled the match all 90 minutes. I’d be more than happy with this result in today’s match.

You know what, the last time these two teams played in premier league, one team scored 7 goals. Chill out and have a great weekend!

Sun rises from the east, earth keeps spinning, Chelsea beats Arsenal, Drogba scores to upset Wenger, day follows night and night follows day.

There’s nothing better in football than a Chelsea win over Arsenal. I mean it. We know that the collective arrogance of all things Arsenal is bigger than the universe. That’s why it’s extra special to knock them out time and again and sing ‘one team in london’ while they wonder what they need to do to get a draw, let alone a win. Not sure if you believe in previous births but if you do, that could be an explanation for Didier Drogba’s exploits against Arsenal.

To be honest, Arsenal’s show this time round was a bit better than the earlier efforts. They really wanted to give us a fight and lost 2-0. Doesn’t that say something? Plus, Chelsea didn’t play at their full potential. We played at a level that’s good enough to beat Arsenal with a clean sheet. For years now, they’ve been had by Chelsea. We exactly know how to play them, how to score against them, how to stop them and how to beat them with goals galore. That’s pretty sad from Wenger’s point of view. How can he allow us to walk over them, home and away, season after season? I know he’s a poor tactician but I’m really left speechless. Can I say that our premier league record against Arsenal is better than against teams like West Brom, Stoke City, Liverpool, Birmingham City etc.

Rodrigo Alex. What a goal! Every single season, he scores one such cracker and finds himself in the Chelsea goal of the season shortlist. Is he the only defender who gets into such halls of fame with this regularity? Even if Alex leaves Chelsea today, he is part of the Chelsea history and fans will never forget his contribution. That goal, that thunderous goal he scored against Liverpool at Stamford Bridge in the champions league had me jumping up and down like a mad man! I wouldn’t call him a centre back of the classical mould but he does display such moments of magic that can turn the match. That’s very typical of a Chelsea player. In Chelsea, our players do have an natural position and responsibilities each but they also have a hidden trump card that they can unleash every now and then – such as Terry’s headers, Cole’s left foot driven shot, Drogba’s centre back instincts, Ivanovic’s throw-ins, Lampard’s high success rate slide tackles, Alex’s free kicks etc.

So we stay on top of the league. We’re in a great position with Man Utd dropping points like they don’t want to win, Arsenal continue to be themselves and only Man City trying to catch us up but at a distance. It’s great to drub the bullishitters in the City derby and go on to the international break. Generally, these international breaks are such a pain because you’d miss Chelsea and you’d miss proper football. But then, this time though, it’s better. It’s better because Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 is out.

PES 2011 is brilliant. The Japs have cracked it again. PES 2011 is the closest you can get to football on a gaming console. It’s creepy realistic and amazing fun. And, you know what it PES 2011 online is even better. If you’re on PS3, hit me up in this community that I’ve created ‘BlueChampions’ and my PSN ID is Blue_Champion. I could play about 15-20 mins on weeknights and longer slots in the weekend. You wonder why I don’t use this time for blogging. The fact is, blogging demands so much focus and concentration than gaming. I don’t do poetry here but it’s quite an effort to write while gaming is just whiling away time with some light hearted kick about.

Never mind. As I’m settling down in Singapore, I’m still rearranging by body clocks and getting my schedules fixed. It’s not just the blogging routine, there are many other routines that haven’t yet fallen in place. I think it’ll take up to January for me to be at as much ease as I was in India. Anyway, enjoy this Euro break and if you’re on PS3, get PES 2011 and join me. I’ll leave you with this blockbuster. Cheers!