Sometimes, you receive and keep
Other times you pass, you share
At times, you take a shot, score a goal
And some shots can go awry
Often, you chase and get
Sometimes your run is futile
Sometimes you steal from opponents
While other times they are the thieves
Often you try to put it out of sight, fast
But it loiters and teases, it twists you
At times it bypasses you in a flicker
Worst, it hits you hard when least prepared
Run forward, backtrack, dribble, tackle
Take it on the head, take it on the chest
You take a shot, you block a shot
You are full of energy, you are tired
That is the way of the world
It can go over the head
In the same way
As Lampard can fire into the Shed
It doesn’t mean that he won’t score
The next time he shoots
We all play on life’s football grounds
We just wear different boots!

Today is Tuesday and it could be a bit too late to recollect anything from Saturday’s match. But I will try to present my little case of the match that we could have won. But at the end of the match I thought even if we tried to shoot at the empty goal, it would have stayed out for some reason! That was our fate at St. Andrews. One of my buddies (a gunner) said after we lost to Sunderland “whoever is the next opponent, Chelsea is going to thrash them”.

And yes, we were supposed to thrash Birmingham! Against Sunderland we lacked passion and the winning mentality, but at St. Andrews we showed both in plenty. And every statistics, except the goal, is in our favour but sadly it is the goal that counts at the end of the day. Here is from the BBC website:

Possession
Birmingham 39%
Chelsea 61%

Attempts on target
Birmingham 1
Chelsea 10

Attempts off target
Birmingham 0
Chelsea 15

Corners
Birmingham 4
Chelsea 16

Fouls
Birmingham 9
Chelsea 2

It is simply unbelievable to have such a great statistics and still lose a match!

Few points that I can smile over against Birmingham:

1. Mikel’s through passes are always improving;
2. Ramires, after an awful Sunday, played comparably well on the following Saturday;
3. Chelsea, as a team showed a lot of passion and desire and power.

Few ugly moments:

1. Referee was bad, knowing we are trailing, he wastes time acting to warn and lecture Carr. Moments later he blows the final whistle right on time! He also wrongly over-ruled his assistant and gave Birmingham a goal kick from a clear corner of ours;
2. One thick-skulled ‘Chelsea-hating’ commentator: “Great challenge by Johnson, did he get the ball first or the man?”

Anyway, figure shows how we played at St. Andrews and I regret to report that I would have really wished Drogba to roud the keeper off and slot an easy goal instead of taking it straight at Foster! Also Kalou could have squared it for his team mate instead of trying to shoot from a tight angle. Jamie Reeves summed it well: “Combination of not so good chances created by Chelsea and a great goal keeping by Birmingham”. Whatsoever, past lays in the past and let us look ahead.

Zilina at home is not a big match and we are rightly going to rest our star players. So it will mean that McEachran and Bruma will start. I hope this will be the chance for the youngters to showcase their talent, McEachran need not, we already know him! I would be happy for us to win this match because it would built up for our trip to St. James Park. Tonight this is my starting 11:

Sturridge……………..Nico……………..Kalou

Malouda………………………………..Ramires

………………………McEachran…………….…..

Aanholt…Bruma…Ivanovic…Bosingwa

………………………….Turnbull………………….

2:1 to us.

Back to EPL. We are still at the top of the table but merely by the virture of a +6 goal difference. So it means that we shouldn’t be as happy being at the top as we were. And on this note I would like to heartily thank Gareth Bale for keeping us at the top, he also fetched me good points in Fantasy Premiere League! As I have said before, I still consider the two Manchesters as our real rivals in the race for the title. And they have both won quite fascinatingly and the weekend ahead is quite predictable for the red half of the Manchester but we can have faith in Big Sam and his physically strong boys! And I think Stoke will do us a favour! But we must do our own homework because if we win then there is nothing to worry about. I want our players to show the same desire and determination against Newcastle but improve on our finishing. And we must do our best because the big December brings us Tottenham (a), Manure (h) and Arsenal (a) on a stretch!

And may be we can smile over the good news of Terry (that he could be back soon). Let us also pray for the swift recovery of, amongst others, Essien and Zhirkov.

I pray a lot for Chelsea and I feel it from the heart that Chelsea currently needs loads of true prayers. So, let us do our part and leave the rest to our heroes. Chelsea is the best and we are a part of the best.

Enjoy tonight’s match!

Let me start on a good note because I have lesser of it and please be ready, the floodgates of blames and personal attacks are on its way.

Cech is the only good thing of the night, and it is to his credit that we lost it at 0:3, it could easily have been 0:7/8! Kudos to Cech, you are simply the best! One more thing good is that Mikel is passing well.

Now the worst part is on its way and if you are not ready for rowdy langugae and raw emotion, please don’t read further!

To start with it is the ‘face-only-your-mom-will-love’ Ramires! He is awfully awful and a disgusting sight! He can never keep a ball or pass it, but we are not new to this. He loses balls and then concedes freekicks with his risky tackles. Even when he is alone to receive the ball, he chooses to head it out of play. I am just so disgusted with this wanker. Reminds me of a certain deco. Was even wondering if it is deco with too much tan and weight loss! We have seen him doing it week in week out, and I am amazed by his consistency in being so uselessly pathetic! Only thing he can do is run, run like a headless chicken. He deserved to play only the first 20 minutes, but I really don’t know what Carlo found in him that he got 70 minutes. He was taken off only after the damage was done!

Zhirkov was okay, just okay but things would really have been different had he converted that easy chance. He created well but failed to make it count. He could easily have hit the target or square it for Drogba who was really free.

And then Drogba had his quieter day. His freekicks were bad and his corners awry. I am sure the heavy weight of that priceless armband took all his concentration. He was more concerned being a captain than playing his football. Now he will know what Terry had been doing and doing it brilliantly.

Nico tried his best, but when most of your team mates are not willing to help, the laziness can easily get hold of you. He wasn’t better than his sun-attacked baldness!

Malouda too tried his best but more often his decisions were wrong. One fine example is that he copuld have easily pulled back for Ramires and Nico instead of trying to find Drogba amongst 3 red and white stripped shirts. And then he didn’t do us anything good when he walked off the ground. This guy seems to think that he is bigger than the club/team.

Ashley did well and yes I am considering even his lovely assist!

Ivanovic gave all he can but with a headless partner in the centre, the burden to keep the Sunderland’s attack away fell havier on him and he succumbed to it! He was lucky to be on the pitch but Chri Foy might have remembered Turner’s foul on him. Fair play!

Ferreira had been so modest and quiet and never-complaining. But if one’s performance is of this type then there is nothing really to complain about. Yes, he played in an unfamiliar centreback position but he cannot really be this bad. We are playing at home and it is Sunderland, not 11 Messis! The best for Paolo is to warm the bench and come on at around 80th minutes! Bruma could have done better!

Bosingwa surely marauded forward but he couldn’t find a single cross. He rather perfected hitting at his opponent and being happy with a throw in. His going forward proved to be futile but he played his part well in the first two goals!

All in all, this is one of the worst performances I have seen for last 8 years. The front men didn’t do well and created nothing but the worst is that our defence made it look like 4 Koscielnys playing against 4 Messis! Even Onuoha played like Messi, not that he really can but because he was assisted by our defneders. But kudos to onuoha, I love his goal! Kudos to Sunderland, they showed what it means to play with a passion.

We started very slow and we never changed a gear, I am sure we have forgotten our gears at Cobham! I am wondering if ‘the 9 consecutive clean sheets at home’ and the desire to make it 10 had any impact on Sunday. We seemed to paly slow and never showed any derire to score a single goal. But if we wanted to extend our home clean sheets, then the display of our defence was totally to make another record: concede the highest goals at home. This is not a defence who wanted a clean sheet. And after Onuoha’s LOVELY goal I was really expecting Chelsea to come back strong – for now the record had broken – but surprisingly we resumed our second half exactly from where we have left. Why? Because ramires was still there with his bags of flaws dangling. And it is not until the 2nd goal that we tried to show some passion, passion? Yeah, an iota!

Carlo fielded wrong 11 and to worsen it, his substitutions were wrong. McEachran should have come on at HT for ramires and Malouda should stayed longer. It should have been Kakuta for Zhirkov and Kalou for Anelka because Drogba and Kalou seem to click at times.

I am sure Carlo learnt his hard lesson and that he wouldn’t really trust as much in Ramires. Yes, he had a depleted squad to choose from, but he had many far better than ramires. Anyway we are still at the top. Aston Villa and Birmingham City are the consolations. Everton was spanked! As I said in my last poast I was sure that knowing the result (of your rivals) before you play your game would help us, and it was a good result for us to take advantage on but everything that I siad in my earlier post got totally the opposite. I predicted a 3:0 win for us!

Now we have to travel to formidable Birmingham City and I do not expect much from this ground. But I am sure Tottenham can hold Arsenal and do us a favour while manure seems sure of three points at home from a toothless Wigan. I fear the gap will close in on us this weekend and we have a needless International break midweek.

But we still can afford a smile because we are still at the top!

Yesterday was a holiday thus the delay and I am writing this only today morning because I expected one from BC himself.

And when I read the new comments on BC’s last post, I was taken aback by the news about Ray Wilkins! I thought I was dreaming and wasn’t able to believe until I saw it on our official website.

Ray Wilkins

I am a post-Wilkins (as a Chelsea player) Chelsea fan (TV came to Bhutan only in 1999, I could watch it regularly only from 2002) but I have read a lot about Ray and I have seen him on Youtube. But I don’t need anything else to love this guy, afterall I have seen him frequently at the touch line breathing life into the players if not in to the Chelsea. He is a living Chelsea legend and he was living a Chelsea life and we all loved it and wanted to live his life like that for long. Ray had served many bosses but he is the one who sustained Chelsea and assured continuity. He was the bridge, yes, the succesful Bridge!

But now everything had come to an end and I just don’t understand what was the reason and I think I won’t be able to accept even if there is one! I just want to know that it is a bad dream. I am feeling the same feelings that I felt when Mourinho left us unexpectedly. Yes, things will have to change or come to an end but there are billion ways to do it properly. I just don’t like Chelsea’s ways.

We have done well without TSO and we will do well without Ray because we are the mighty Chelsea but I think sometimes a single person can mean a lot to the whole organisation. I am just hopeful that Ray is not one such person because Chelsea had thought it so.

Now, we will need to fill Ray’s space and the first person that comes to my mind is Gustavo Poyet, he is a Chelsea legend and he had proved his credentials well. I avhe heard of Maldini too but I think he is not experienced but on the other side he had captained under Carlo and the two had hand-in-hand won so many things. So I would be happy if it is either Poyet or Maldini. Oh yes I remember Zola and Steve Clarke too! Zola learning under Carlo and finally taking over him when the number retires or go to manage Italia!

Best wishes to Ray, you will always remain in our blue heart. And like you did in the past, you may again rejoin us, door is always open, the doors of our hearts! And best wishes to Chelsea FC, you might need it in loads!

Now talking about football.

Fulham on Wednesday

About our match on Wednesday, i think Kalou was very wasteful, he was misfiring a lot! But yes his assist was beautiful! Easily he could have scored a hat-trick, and i think even i could have converted one of his misses! And to support and boost his morale, Drogba was always behind him patting and saying something uplifting.

Similarly, Essien also misfired and his shots were taken at the wrong time. But I am sure he didn’t deserve to see red and I agree fully to Carlo: “He went for the ball and it was the last minute of the game, it was an important ball to win so it was not a silly foul. But Essien out for three games will be a problem.”

But good enough that two wasteful and misfiring players brought us 3 points!

For me Zhirkov is the MoTM, he is a great slide tackler!

One thing which i really liked was Mikel’s offensive nicety! His great shot on target was very much Lampsy and Alex like! It would really have been a great way to start his goals account had Schwarzer not been equally brilliant!

Anyway kudos to the defenders and Cech! It is 9 clean sheets at a stretch and it will be 10 this Sunday!

I am thankful to Duffer too, he even tried to waste time in last 2 minutes by going down and playing injured ;)

Draws at Monileux and Eastlands are so nice!

Sunderland on Sunday

About this match I am sure that we will bag 3 points again. But yes Sunderland had played a day earlier than us and they must be high on spirit after thew drew tots at White Hart Lane but they know how it is at the Bridge!

We will miss Essien but I think Josh will get a nod and even start to score. I also can foresee a beautiful goal coming soon from Mikel. Don’t be surprised if he score one this Sunday, a long-range goal!

We are at the top with 4 points’ safety and we will already be knowing the results at Villa Park, Eastlands and Goodison Park before we kickoff. So it would be a plus point to start a match knowing how our rivals have done. If they have won, it would drive us to win as well to maintain the lead, and if they have lost, it would drive us even harder to win because it would mean we can distance the gap. I am hoping that Heskey-less Villa can do us a favour and who knows the defensive Birmingham can do one too! I am sure it would be an Everton win. But let us not forget that as long as we keep our winning ways there is nothing else to be bothered by. 3:0 to us, one each by Malouda, Drogba and Josh/Mikel!

My strating 11:

Malouda…………Drogba…………Nico (if it, if not Sturridege)

Lampsy (if fit, if not Zhirkov)……………………………………..Josh

………………………………………..Mikel……………………………………..

Ashley….………….Terry……………Ivanovic……………Bosingwa

……………………………………….Cech……………………………………….
Notes:

Kalou to replace Nico/Sturridge;
Ramires on for Zhirkov or Josh whoever under-performs.

Carlo got his first 11 wrong! I have always been advertising and it has always been successful: that Kalou is a super-sub! Whenever Kalou starts, he seems to fade but on the contrary he does very well if he comes on for last 20-30 minutes. I thought Carlo knew this truth but yesterday he made a blatant mistake by keeping deadly Drogba on the bench and starting with his younger compatriot. Nico was isolated up front and he cannot do as much on his own as Drogba can and Nico does well at the right flank!

And with Essien unavailable, Carlo’s starting 11 got worse! Ramires was very wasteful and he lacks a quick thinking. After seeing him till now I conclude that he is good at running after the opponent and conceding a foul. He lacks dribbling skill and his passes are more often than not awry! He takes ages on the ball and eventually loses it. I was anxious whenever he got the ball. With Essien available it would have really been a different game and result!

Then at the back Carlo could have started with Bosingwa to create offensive move on the right flank. Bosingwa is lot better than Ivanovic in marauding forward and I am sure in 30-40 minutes the Portuguese would have created few decent crosses! And if we by then lead the game, then we can bring in the Serb to defend! But Ivanovic did a decent job and may be his lovely brace against them in CL might have helped Carlo in starting him.

I want to really thank those Trueblues who travelled and made themselves heard against the reds. I love these kindred spirits. And by their drive Chelsea played really well in the second half, especially after 55th minute. We played with aggression and hunger and deserved at least a goal.

Up until yesterday, I have a great respect for webb and I was cheering for him in the World Cup. But he proved to be same like other Chelsea-hating referees; I am sure he loves Liverpool and Gerrad more! The two shared a light-hearted banter and I am sure that webb said something like “I will give you endless freekicks until you say enough”. And he gave every Liverpool freekick with a smile and a tinge of excitement and his decisions were mostly against us. Few of the countless decisions he made against us:
• Zhirkov’s merely a foul, forget the yellow!
• Lucas fouls Ashley and we are given advantage but instantaneously Ashely is been robbed of the ball meaning that the advantage had been nullified and that referee must give Ashley the ball back but tuppence webb lets Liverpool to play;
• Carragher clearly fouls Drogba but webb seems to think that Drogba is wearing the red kit!
• When we were running short of time, webb lets gerrad to snail in taking a corner!
• And kuyt can push and dash Ashley as much and hard as he wants to!
I ain’t complaining but these decisions, big or small, steer the game and its result. And for sure webb was liverpool’s 12th man! But all kudos to torres for his brace, hope he reproduces such beauty against manure and citeh!

Talking about manure, they deserved to lose but lady luck always comes to their rescue. But Wolves played really well and I was thinking that they were playing against QPR in manure’s kit! Wolves will come out well this Wednesday! And manure is toothless without Rooney, nani and even berbatov! And yes my otherwise painful weekend was helped to a certain degree by Andy Carrol!

Now, I am being served all the kinky dishes by loserfool fans and yes I am taking it all with a pinch of salt. But I tell them that a single win doesn’t mean much and that a real champion will be known only on the final day of the season. And I am sure the best loserfool can do is get into Europa League!

Wednesday is near and my pain would be reduced greatly by then. As I have said some time earlier, only the two Manchester teams are our real rivals so this Wednesday a draw would be a desirable result but a citeh win would be equally sweet. I would love tevez to score and celebrate in front of the red nose!

We are still at the top and that says it all!

And once more and for the umpteenth time: KALOU DOES WELL COMING OFF THE BENCH! Hark Carlo!