Birminghan 1 x 0 Chelsea

The only think I can do after the last performances is to take my eyes out so I don't have to watch it anymore...

More to come later, maybe, if I ever recover from this !

P.S. Mr Footy feels the same...

Blackburn 1 x 0 Chelsea - Very close...

Hello, sorry for neglecting the blog for a couple of weeks, as Mr Footy said bellow we were in Brazil. We did watch the games there but didn't have much time to write the blog...

Anyway, after that good win against Arsenal we had the following results:

Aston Villa 0 - 0 Chelsea : I was expecting that, always hard playing Villa away.

Chelsea 2 - 0 Wolves : Not the easiest of games in the end but an important win.

Now for the most recent one, Blackburn. I know Blackburn away is a hard game but I wasn't going to be happy with less than a win here. So it's not surprising the midway through the first half I got pretty upset. A strong header from Benjani put the Rovers upfront.

Gladly it didn't last long. After a very long and smart goal kick from Cech, Malouda crosses a ball to double marked Drogba, who beats his two defenders to nod down a ball to Anelka's feet to level the score.

I wasn't happy at all on half time with Blackburn playing slightly better than us. The second half started with opportunities for both teams but I though Chelsea started playing better and when Daniel Sturridge came in and almost scored on his first touch I was getting very hopefull that we could win this and we did. At 84 minutes of the second half Ivanovic put in strong header at the far post after Zhirkov cross, for my relief and happiness.



And that was it, a great and well needed result to keep us top of the league !!! A bit scary that we let Blackburn play for most of the game but we came back. Hopefully we won't do that against Liverpool on the weekend. I know they are in poor form this season but we are playing at Anfield and I think this is going to be a tough one !

At Wednesday we are playing Spartak Moscow at home and I think Carlo might rest some players but it shouldn't be much of a problem, I hope so.

See you all soon,

Mrs Footy

Arsenal 1 - 0 West Ham - Phew...

Firstly, apologies for the slackness of the blogging - Mrs Footy and I have been away in Brazil and we meant to write the blogs from there but we didn't get round to it..... (too much partying and caipirinhas...)

But on to the game, I'm sure that many other Arsenal fans like me are breathing a huge sigh of relief after Alex Song's 88th minute winner finally defeated a determined West Ham side. We started the game slowly and didn't have the attacking pazzazz of recent games, but still forced Rob Green into a number of good saves. West Ham were looking quite threatening from set pieces and crosses into the box but Fabianski did well with a couple of punches.

In the second half we came out with a bit more purpose and West Ham started getting more desperate. Nasri cracked a 35 yrd free kick against the bar (who knew he could do that?) and Walcott hit the inside of the post after latching on to a Fabregas through ball. But for all the pressure Rob Green was having a stormer and it looked like it was going to be one of those days. Then the ball fell to Clichy on the left and he dinked a great ball in with his right foot and Song stooped to head in a priceless goal!!

Overall the performance wasn't our best but we did more than enough to win the game - it's all about the result which keeps us within 5 points of Chelsea (who somehow managed to scam another win despite being outplayed again...). In terms of performances I think the defence did well and it was pleasing to keep another clean sheet, thats three in a row now and will do Fabianski's confidence no harm. Hopefully I won't jinx anything but the sight of Fabianski in goal is no longer as heart attack inducing as it used to be, if he continues the solid form of the last few games then we may not need to sign a new keeper in January after all - the problem is one mistake and its back to square one....

I think Fabregas was having a rare off day and Arshavin was getting in to good positions but not capitalising on them, but its always good to have options on the bench and the fact that we were able to bring on an in-form Walcott and Bendtner shows that we have a good sized squad. With the injuries starting to clear up I think we in a good position right now. I think with everyone fit we have one of the strongest squads in the league, for example who else has players of the class of Chamakh, Van Persie or Bendtner competing for one spot up front, or Fabregas, Song, Wilshere, Nasri, Denilson, Diaby, Rosicky, Ramsey, Lansbury and Eastmond for three midfield spots. Anyway lets not get too carried away, we know injuries could just be around the corner and we have some tough looking games coming up.

Enjoy the weekend, just sitting down now to see Spurs do their usual "roll over and die" tactic against Man United...

Mr F

Chelse 2 x 0 Arsenal - And the peace is back in the Mr and Mrs Footy house

The game is over and the peace has return to our house. Mainly for the reason that Chelsea won, as I'm less "forgiven" than Mr Footy.

It was a great game in my opinion. I was very nervous trough the whole game until that blast for Alex.

The game started very nervous and fast paced. Arsenal started a bit better and missed a golden opportunity when Koscielny headed a great cross over the bar. The game kept going with Arsenal attacking a bit more than Chelsea, but we defended well every time they got into our side of the pitch.

At the end of the first half the first goal was scored by of course, Deadly Drog! It could not have been different, he has scored 13 goals in 13 games against Arsenal and we won't want that to change now. A great pass from Ramires to Ashley Cole who fired across the goal to Drogba with a lovely finish, off the near post into the goal!



I was watching the game by myself as Mr Footy went to the pub (we can't watch Chelsea-Arsenal together) so I jumped up and down in happiness and relief ! The first half was over. And at this point I just wanted the game to over.

A bit more of the same at the second half. Arsenal had more of the possession but no clear goal opportunities. We were trying to counter attack them and it was working. Ashley Cole scored but it was offside and Anelka missed a sitter after getting around Fabianski. I though we were going to have a nervous ending but a fault on Anelka. We all though Drogba was going to take it but Alex did. Malouda created a space in the wall for Alex to smash a stunning powerful free kick in the top corner ! Beautiful ! So that was it, game over !

Chelsea played well and we defended superbly. Arsenal had a good game but it was not enough. The wasted opportunities, and could not find a goal. Possession is worth nothing if you don't create goal opportunities with it.

Great performance by Ramires and Ashley Cole. Also, solid defence job by Terry, Alex and Ivanovic. Of course, let's not forget Deadly Drog, deadly as usual !

Chelsea now leads 4 points of second place Man City and I can go into the international break with a smile on my face. I'll be nice though and I won't blag about it at home, just here ! :)

In other news, Man United drew with Suderland, which is brilliant for us and a big surprise (not that big actually), Liverpool lost to Blackpool at home? Who would at though? Any Liverpool fan want to tell me what is going on there?

Have a great week !!!

Mrs Footy (THE CHAMPION) :)

So we are playing Chelsea on Sunday after a good result in the champions league mid week. We won 3 - 1 away at Partizan Belgrade despite some difficult conditions (not least having no lights / electricity before the game!) Goals from Arshavin, Chamakh and Squillaci sealed the win in an eventful game.

Everyone seems to be expectng a comfortable Chelsea win on Sunday and with some bad injury news it's easy to see why. Fabregas, Vermalen and Almunia are all out in addition to the 5 longer term injuries. However I still think we can put out a strong side and could spring a surprise. I think Arshavin is our best bet for a goal as he seems to play better in the big games. However to get any result we are going to need 100% concentration from the whole team, and to not give away any soft goals. It's really going to test some players such as Fabianski and Clichy to stay swithced on the whole game. It will also be a big test for Wilshere who will be up against the usual packed midfield from Chelsea, who I'm sure will have no qualms about kicking and fouling him at every opporunity (as we saw from Spurs in the Carling cup). Drogba will be a threat as usual against us and I think Squillaci will have to have a big game to deal with him.

The key is to keep it tight and not concede any sloppy chances, and try to focus on our game. If we get into our flow I think we can outplay Chelsea and our quick passing could be too much for the lumbering centre backs Terry and Alex. It's going to be tough but who knows, Chelsea haven't been in the best form lately either. Anyway, thats it from me, I'm going to chat to Mrs F abaout our arrangements for watching the game! It might not be a good idea to watch it together so could end up heading to the pub for this one ; )

PS just seen a replay of an absolutely shocking tackle from Karl Henry of Wolves. The same player who nailed Rosicky last year, injured Zamora a couple of weeks ago and spent the game against Newcastle kicking Joey Barton around the pitch, much the hilarity of the MOTD crew. Isn't it time these self styled hardmen like Henry, Shawcross and Robinson are properly punished to stop them endangering other players on a weekly basis?? >: (

A good start in the Champions League - Chelsea 2 x 0 Marseille

Well, after a couple of bad results I was a bit nervous about the game against Marseille. The squad was looking a bit short with a few important players missing from injury and Drogba suspended.

The start line up looked strongish... We started Kakuta, which was a bit of a surprise for me, but it all worked out fine. Terry taped in a cross from Kakuta right in the start of the game, which made us relax a bit. The first half was solid and we were given a soft penalty when the Marseille player touched the ball with his hand inside the area. I thought it was a bit harsh to be honest, but I'm not the referee, I'm a fan so good for us. Anelka stepped up and took another cool penalty. It makes me a bit nervous the way he just looks relaxed and doesn't make a run, but as long as he is scoring I hope he keeps taking them.



On the second half we didn't seam to making much of an effort and Marseille forced us to do some good defending. I think we took the foot out of the accelerator in preparation for the Arsenal game at the weekend.

So, a brilliant start to the Champions League, let's keep going an maybe, just maybe... (I shouldn't even think about it yet, let's wait a bit more !)

Well, see you all at the weekend !
There will be war at Mr and Mrs Footy house as the preparations for the Arsenal - Chelsea game begins...

What a terrible weekend...

Sorry for the lateness of the blog but I'm still recovering from how terrible the game was on Saturday. There was a point when we were 3 - 0 down to West Brom when it seemed like we were at the lowest of the low. Most of the talk recently has been about the goalkeeping situation, which although bad, was not the only issue at the weekend. The whole team played poorly (with the possible exception of Nasri who seemd the only one who beleived we could get back into it). The frustrating thing is that now it would take a win against Chelsea to just make up for it, as 3 points out of the two games would have been a minimum. A loss against now Chelsea doesn't really bear thinking about and it would leave us with a huge task to overcome the points defecit even at this early stage....

But anyway, no point looking back now, and there is the small matter of a champions league game against Partizan Belgrade tonight. We really need a win to boost confidence going into the Chelsea game. No matter what we think about the keepers we have, theres nothing we can do until January so hopefully everyone can get behind them as much as possible. Personally I would like to see Sczeczny get a go - who knows he could turn out to be the Polish equivalent of Joe Hart! Anyway, first things first - lets hope Fabianski gets through the game tonight without any errors....

See you soon,

Mr F

Pele last goal for Brazil !

Hey everyone, I just though you might like to see this. Is a video produced in honour of Pele, I think is worth having a look !

Have a good week !

Arsenal 2 x 3 West Brom

Mr Footy is still recovering from the shock so for now I'm only going to put the game highlights here...

Oh Almunia...

Man City 1 x 0 Chelsea - Let's forget this weekend ever happened...

Well, I guess we should just forget this weekend ever happened. We lost, Arsenal lost, Man United drew, Liverpool drew... I'm just going to start my Monday like no game were played this weekend, but before that let's just try to figure out what went wrong.



With Kalou and Yossi injured we still put in a strong line up but our bench looked week and I wasn't sure we had anyone there who could make a difference in case we needed. But our strong line up wasn't strong this Saturday. We couldn't get passes right, our shots on goal were not on target and nothing went right. Man City on the other side played a good defensive game and scored a goal. We could not do the same. They looked stronger than us and like they wanted the result more than us, there are no other excuses.

A surprise was seeing Drogba getting substituted. To be completely honest he struggle that game, he couldn't keep the ball and I'm not sure it was a bad decision. I do believe we might be needing another striker in the bench, and now it's a bit too late. Don't get me wrong, I do like Sturidge, but I'm not sure he is quite ready yet.

I'm not going to pin point anyone for the bad performance. Everyone was poor. Our strikers could shot on target, the wings didn't come up with good crosses, the midfield didn't give any really good passes. We were wasteful ! For the first time I think we missed Lampard. Now let's put our heads up and be ready for the champions League game and for the Arsenal game on the weekend.

On the good side our loss went out unpunished. Arsenal had a incredible poor game against West Brom, and lost at home a game most people considered easy. Man United lost to Bolton, the pair of O'Shea and Evans is not working I believe and I hope it stays this way. Also, Rooney, oh Rooney... Thank you for keeping the poor form you are in !

Well, let's hope for a much better performance next game and that we can cope with the loss of Lampard, Kalou and Yossi.

Have a good week everyone !

Mrs Footy

Mr and Mrs are in Mourning

More to come after the shock has passed....

Man City 1 - 0 Chelsea

Arsenal 2 - 3 West Brom

Chelsea 4 x 0 Blackpool - And then it was 5

Our fifth successive premier league victory came this Sunday against Blackpool. Still without Terry and Lampard and with Anelka we delivered again a strong performance. The game could not have started better with Kalou scoring from a corner taken by Drogba in the first minute of the game. Not long after Drogba ran inside and passed to an unmarked Malouda to tap in. From there we knew this would be a hard task to Blackpool.

After the two goals, Blackpool had a few chances and even caused Cech to make an incredible save but it didn't last long. Ashley Cole who had an amazing game, passed to Drogba to hit a first time shot into the goal, with the help of a deflection. The half wasn't over yet. Kalou ran down the right to pass the ball straight into Malouda's path to score the fourth goal.



The second half was a bit disappointing and a bit boring to be completely honest, but we kept the score and the clean sheet. Malouda was the man of the match having scored now 6 goals and top scorer of the league. He is keeping the great form from last season. I would also like to highlight two other performances:

Ashley Cole - He run the whole pitch the entire game, he was unstoppable and had an incredible game.

Ramires - The crowd stood up and clapped as he was substituted. He had a really good game, with solid passing and holding of the ball, as well as a lot of energy. Can't wait to see more of him (also, we are both Brazilians).

I like Blackpool and I hope they stay up this season. I think Holloway is a very strong manager but sometimes his attacking approach goes against him. I just read something really funny and I though I would share it with you. These is what he said after the Fulham game:

“We put on a vast tray of lasagne for the Fulham lads after the game but it wasn’t a triumph. When I went in the dressing room afterwards, only one spoonful had gone,” he smiles. “Er, probably wouldn’t have been worth £15.50.”

Now we have a big challenge next weekend when we face Manchester City away. They are a very inconsistent but they can play very well on their day, and usually they have a day against the big teams. I'm a bit scared I must admit and winning that game away would make me a lot more confident. We'll have to see. Before that we have Newcastle in the Carling Cup, and I'm watching this one in Stamford Bridge ! Let's hope we deliver a good performance. Ancelotti seams to want to play a younger team on Wednesday.

In other news, Liverpool and Man United was quite an exciting one, but Liverpool let us down. When you think they are going to get back on form and do it, they don't.

Berbatov put an incredible performance and scored a beautiful overhead kick. Unfortunate for us as if that was a draw we would be a few more points ahead. But well, that's what happens when you count on Liverpool for something. What is going on with them? Only one win in the last 5. Torres doesn't seam to be scoring even though he did create both goals yesterday. I don't know what they are going to do, but they need to change something and quick !

Well have a good week and I'll see you all again after the Newcastle game.

Mrs Footy

Sunderland 1 - 1 Arsenal - 2 points thrown away

Arrrghhh...

The game ended one all yesterday after a poor display from Arsenal. In the first half we failed to get gong and it looked like Sunderland had more energy and shut us down effectively in midfield. Actually they could easily have taken the lead early on and it was only a poor final ball that let them down on a number of occasions. Despite being under pressure I think our defence held firm for the most part and Squillaci and Koscielny looked quite solid and won a lot of headers. However we struggled our get our passsing game going, and didn't create anything of note going forward. The goal came from a huge stroke of luck when Fabregas closed down Ferdinand's clearance and the ball looped up and drifted over the Sunderland keeper and into the net about 30 yards away! It was against the run of play and we were very lucky to go in ahead at half time.



Second half was going much the same way when Song got a second yellow card for a cynical block when Sunderland were on the break. He was already walking a disciplinary tightrope by that point after a number of first half fouls and should have known better, especially since we had plenty of men back in that situation. It was only when we were reduced to 10 men when we actually got into our rhythm a bit more and started keeping the ball much better. It looked like Sunderand had used up most of their energy in their good first half display. Nasri and Rosicky created a few half chances in midfield and then Chamakh was fouled in the area for a penalty. However Rosicky blasted the penalty over and from then on we started to look a bit more nervous. I was praying for us to see out the game but then in the 4th minute of added on time the inevitable equaliser came when Sunderlnad put a cross in, we failed to clear and the ball fell kindly for Bent to smash in.

Overall a win would have flattered us, and a draw is probably a fair result. But you can't help thinking it was two points thrown away in the circumstances. Also worrying is the injury to Fabregas, lets hope it he was just taken off as a precaution as claimed. Clichy is also worrying me - he's great 90% of the time but he has a tendancy to try to play his way out or trouble which is really frustrating. At one point yesterday he lost the ball in his own box when he could have just hoofed it away, and I think he also could have done better for the goal. Maybe its time to give Gibbs a run in the team.

Anyway, next game is away at Spurs in the Carling cup on Tuesday where we will get to see some of the talented youngsters. Have a good week,

Mr F

Arsenal 6 - 0 Braga - Champagne Football

So our first game in the champions league took place last night which ended with a great 6 - 0 win for Arsenal. I'm not going to go through all the goals, you can watch and enjoy them below here....



It really was an enjoyable game to watch, we showed a lot of cutting edge and out attacking 6 of Chamakh, Fabregas, Song, Wilshere, Arshavin and Nasri played out some breathtaking passages of play with quick passing that Braga just couldn't cope with. Remember this Braga team are no mugs, they beat Sevilla in the qualifiers over two legs so they must have something about them. The way we attacked had players interchanging positions with fast pass and move play which dragged the Braga defence all over the place - it was Wengerball at it's finest. I think we sometimes forget how lucky we are as Arsenal fans that we get to watch such exciting play on a regular basis. Compare it to watching Liverpool toil away trying and dirge out a win from somewhere and I think we can count ourselves lucky.

Anyway before getting too carried away, we have been here before. The main focus should now be on the game against Sunderland at the weekend. Sunderland are one of those teams that can randomly spring a good performance and surprise one of the big teams, and we lost there last season. Let's hope there is no complacency creeping in.

Anyway back to last nights game, a few things stood out for me:

Fabregas - looks like he is back to his best, he was everywhere yesterday and at the heart of everything good in our play

Wilshere - has slotted in to the midfield comfortably which is great considering his young age. He has a great touch and vision and is easily capable or playing the quick passing game. Provides cutting edge and on current form it could be difficult for Denilson to get back in the side.

Koscielny - very impressive at the back, I like his style of nipping in front of the attackers to steal the ball away. He also seemed quite commanding yesterday along with Squillaci.

Chamakh - very rarely wastes the ball, very unselfish and hard working. I like how he swaps positions with other players and comes deep or wide to get involved in the play.

See you again at the weekend, feel free to leave any comments...

Mr F

Zilina 1 x 4 Chelsea : Back with a Vengeance

A very good start to the Champions League. I know Zilina is our easiest opponent in the group, but an away game can be tricky. It wasn't that tricky in the end.

We started the game really well by scoring three times in the first half. Essien scored our first goal, only to be followed twice more by Nicolas Anelka. Nick was on fire yesterday. I'm not sure if you noticed, but Anelka's goal celebration was a bit different than usual. He put his hands together like in handcuffs. Apparently that was directed to the French Football Federation. He even commented afterwards: "It was just something for the French Federation about what happened at the World Cup". Funny, 18 matches game ban, really?



The second half was a bit different though. We started well, with Daniel Sturridge scoring his first goal in Europe followed by some funky dance moves ! Who said that only Brazilian and African players can dance? Nice moves... After that the picture changed. We looked a bit sloppy in possession and a bit too relaxed. There were some horror goalkeeping moments by Cech (which I forgive him for, just don't do it again).

Zilina's goal was a comedy of errors by our defence ! Cech punched the ball into Ivanovich's head and into the goal. That probably makes up from Kalou's goal at the weekend. We are even now, no more mistakes !

Overall, good performance, extremely please with how Anelka did in the absence of suspended Drogba. He had a fantastic game ! I was very happy to see our youngsters coming in as well. Sturridge had a solid game, didn't see much of Kakuta after he came in but I really hope he plays more this season as he looks very good on the ball. Didn't see much of McEachran either, only the fact that he has a slightly oversized head, and Van Aanholt didn't get much time on the pitch.

Now let's wait for the weekend and hope for another good performance against Blackpool ! Also, let's hope for a hack fest between Man United and Liverpool with a lovely draw as a result ! See you at the weekend !

Mrs Footy - Please leave your comments !

P.S. Keep your eyes on the blog's pictures next week as I'm going to Stamford Bridge to watch Chelsea and Newcastle ! Let's see if I get some good ones !

West Ham 1 x 3 Chelsea

Another weekend, another solid performance from Chelsea.

I was surprised when I saw the line up for the game with Lampard being left out due to injury and Malouda and Alex on the bench. The only upset about that was that I had both on my Fantasy Football team! I was really happy to Ramires in the starting line up though! I’ve been looking forward to seeing him play.

The game couldn't have started better when Essien jumped high after one minute and 20 seconds to head in a corner from Drogba. After that Chelsea were a bit flatter than usual, but still kept control of the game and defended well against West Ham chances that mainly came from Obina. The second goal came in the most of unusual and comic way. Drogba took a free kick which Green failed to grab it with confidence letting the bounce in front of him. Upson quickly cleared it, but not strongly enough as he sent the ball straight in to Kalou’s heel which sent the ball back lobbing Robert Green (you have to see this one to understand it).



West Ham looked more dangerous for the rest of the game with Obina having a few more changes. Chelsea seemed to be relaxing for the rest of the game and leaving the hard work to the defence. But as they failed to take advantage of their scoring opportunities, we didn’t. In the second half, with seven minutes to go, Ferreira sent and excellent cross to Essien to score his second header of the game. The game looked over now, but West Ham saw a bit of hope when Parker lobbed an incredible ball over Cech. And West Ham even made me nervous when a few minutes later Piquionne headed a sitter against the bar.

It was a good game, even though it wasn’t the most inspired performance I’ve seen from Chelsea. We did the job! I was very happy to see Essien smiling and scoring after spending most of last season in the sidelines with a knee injury. I thought Kalou had a superb game as well and proved that if we need him he can easily be in the first team. It was nice to see the team perform well without two of our most important players, Lampard and Malouda. Well done to Ramires who despite not having an amazing game, looked solid and make some important tackles.

I was very pleased with the result, even more pleased because I saw the way that Man United drew the game with Everton a few hours before. That was a beautiful game! Well done Everton, and it was nice to see Pienaar and Arteta having a good game, I really like those two players.

Now it’s on to the Champions League game against Zilina on Wednesday. Good luck blues.

Just to finish I wanted to wish good luck to Zamora on his leg operation today, let’s hope it’s a clean break and we can see him again in a few months. Now I’m off to see Liverpool and Birmingham. Have a good end of the weekend!

Mrs Footy

Arsenal 4 - 1 Thugs (Bolton)

So three wins out of four so far this season, and we are looking in good shape. We started the game with a high tempo and created numerous chances early on. One particular chance came from a fine through ball from Thomas "outside of the foot" Rosicky which put Arshavin through one on one. Unfortunately Arshavin fluffed the chance, as well as another couple of chances laid on by Fabregas. However it seemed just a matter of time for the goal to arrive as Bolton were playing a high line which was getting cut open repeatedly by Fabregas and Rosicky. In the end it was Wilshere who delivered a deep left footed cross which Fabregas got on the end of to square it across for Koscielny to bundle over the line for his first Arsenal goal.

However soon after Bolton got the equaliser from a long hoof which was headed on and Koscileny inexplicably headed into the path of Lee, who showed cood composure to chip to the back post for Elmander to head in. It was poor defending and frustrating to go in level after dominating the first half.



Second half we came out well and Chamakh got on the scoresheet after heading in a cross from Fabregas. Then came the moment of controversy when Song fouled Lee on the edge of the Arsenal box but the ref. waved played on leading to a breakaway down the left. The ball came to Chamakh who flicked it back to put Arshavin away only for Cahill to clatter him off the pitch with a lunge from behind. The referee brought play back and sent off Cahill for what was probably more of a yellow card tackle. It was game over from that point really. We were dominating the midfield at that point and the 3rd goal came when Song made a forward run into the box and took a great first touch past the defender and somehow squeezed the ball in at the near post over the keeper from a tight angle. Vela came off the bench and did his usual rounding off the scoring after a long chain of passes ended with Fabregas chipping another ball over the Bolton defence and Vela finishing smartly.

Overall a good solid display and we showed good strength in spite of some blatant thuggery from Owen Coyle's supposedly changed Bolton side. I'm surprised Bolton can have any complaints over the referee sending off Cahill considering the referee let two much worse tackles go unpunished. Kevin Davies, already on a yellow for a studs up tackle on Wilshere, launched into Koscileny as he headed clear with no intention of getting the ball. It was a stright red challenge in my opinion but the ref gave nothing. Then after the Cahill red card, Paul Robinson jumped in at Diaby clearly over the ball and smashed into his leg, forcing Diaby to leave the pitch having just come on. There really is no place for these type of tackles and it's shocking that they can go by unpunished. I wouldn't be surprised if Diaby is out for a long time after that one and you could see he was incensed by the tackle immediately after. Even more shocking is that these two tackles got no discussion after the game, there weren't even shown on match of the day, and I gave up on seeing any proper debate of the game on sky sports goals on Sunday when I saw who their special guest was - of course Owen Coyle. Instead all the talk will be on poor Bolton who got Cahill sent off unjustly, while Diaby is possibly facing the propect of spending months in recovery.

One good thing is that we didn't fold under Bolton's blatant spoiling tackles, and I think the defence held up well overall. Squillaci looks quite solid at first impression, he reminds me of a younger Carvalho almost. I think Koscielny could do with a few quiet games now to settle in, as in his first three games he has now scored a goal, been at fault for two goals, got a red card, been stretchered off and nearly knocked out! A word too for Fabregas too who was looking back to his best providing great through balls all game.

We now have Bolton and Blackburn out of the way, so hopefully we can look forward to some good games with opponents whose sole aim is not to foul/upset/inure anything in a red shirt. Its Braga in the champions league up next in mid week,

See you then,

Mr F

The England Return

So, after a poor World Cup England had quite an impressive game yesterday. I know I'm brazilian and I should be talking about my own national team but I couldn't resist talking a little bit about England. I've been listening for the past 3 months to the English press alwaysd criticising and slagging off Capello every single opportunity they have. The guy can't say anything or do anything without someone calling him a donkey or worse. So I was hoping for a good England performance so I could turn on Sky Sport News the next morning and wouldn't have to listen to same thing over and over again.



Did you notice that Capello has been playing the same system since he took control of England? But, when the team was winning he was brilliant, he was one of the best managers England has ever had. The second you had bad performances he was stupid.

Some other things really annoyed me as well. So Rooney had a very bad World Cup and whose fault is it? Not Rooney... Of course not Rooney, how could he? It has to be Capello... Come on, give the man a break. If I was him I would have left you without a manager a long time ago and you could go and look for and English manager like so many people want. I don't know who though... I can't think of one good English manager without a team at the moment. (or even with a team - Mr F).

So today I wake up and a hear on TV: Maybe the 4-4-2 works... oh, so it is that easy to get the press to change their minds. For you to have an idea how I found this subject annoying every time I hear the pundits on sky sport news talking about Capelllo I turn off my TV.

Another really annoying subject has been the Arteta story. Not sure you have noticed but most international teams have one or two players who aren't really from that country but have changed their nationalities and committed themselves to play for that team. Why is that a disgrace? So, every other international team is wrong? Shouldn't Boateng and Ozil be playing for Germany? Zidane and Viera should have never played for France? Deco has disgraced the Portugal team? I don't think so. So England would be lucky to have such a skillful player as Arteta, and you should be very happy if he accepted the invite to play for England, but unfortunately the FA has said that he can't since he played for Spain when he was young without an English passport.

Well, I just wanted to say something as these two subject have been bothering me for the past 3 months. I just hope that this last good performance from the team will shut the press up for a bit and we could all give Capello a break and that I can turn my TV on and not get angry at it !

Hope you all have a good weekend !

Mrs Footy

Chelsea 2 x 0 Stoke - Malouda continues his run of form !

So, another weekend has passed and another win for Chelsea. At the moment we are the only team in the League that has won all their games. Let's not get overly confident though as we have had easier fixtures than most teams but it is a really good start and if we keep playing this way we've got a chance of winning again.

The game against Stoke was harder though. We started th game better than Stoke and we saw Ashley Cole miss a very good chance in the beginning. We should have scored again after Shawcross brought Malouda down in the area, but Lamps missed again. It's 3 misses now from the spot but he is allowed.

After that we might have started thinking that today was not our day but a brilliant pass from JT and a stunning run from Malouda tuned into our fist goal ! After that we saw Stoke having a few good chances but our defence dealt very well with it. Alex has had a great start to the season and let's hope he keeps on the good form.

Still on the first half Ashley Cole hot the bar with a great volley. It would have been an beautiful goal ! Second half came and Stoke had a few good chances, the better one was Whelan who hit the bar with a 35 yards shot. But the day was ours... Drogba gave Anelka a precise pass that left him near to the goal. Sorensen came out and got none of the ball, only Anelka's foot. Penalty again ! With Lampard now off the pitch after being substituted for Kalou, Drogba walked to the spot and bang !!! Another goal for Deadly Drog !!!

Great result, I don't care if it wasn't 6 x 0 again, we have kept another clean sheet. It was great to see Ramires having his debut. He didn't have much time but I'm looking forward to seeing him again.



I have to talk about two players though. First I would like to say something about Mikel. He has been criticized a few times for not doing much but I think this season he's got it ! He has had 3 very good games and his passing has improved tremendously. I've been impressed and very happy that he is becoming a very important and reliable players for us. For last but surely not least is Malouda. What a run a form, really ! Even Ancelotti had to say something about it: " He's one of the best (in the Premier League). He's intelligent, he can score, assist and he's very strong, so he has everything". I agree with every word. I'm so happy to see him doing so well. Four goals in three Premier League matches, I can't wait to see what he is going to do next... He has for sure become a indispensable player for Chelsea.

Let us know what you think !!! Comment on our post...

See you soon,

Mrs Footy

Blackburn 1 - 2 Arsenal - Theo strikes again...

Great result today against Blackburn away which is always a tough place to go. Particularly pleasing was the second half display when after getting the goal we showed good maturity by keeping the ball and in the end there weren't too many hairy moments...

First half was a very end to end game with both sides creating chances. I thought we looked quite slick up front but conceded a lot of set pieces which led to an aerial bombardment at times. However I think we dealt with the high balls in quite well, winning quite a few headers and Almunia did some good punches / catches under pressure. We were playing quite a high line in defence which allowed Blackburn's wingers (the two Diouf's) to get in behind the fullbacks on a few too many occasions. However soon after a spell of pressure from Blackburn, a swift exchange of passes in midfield led to Van Persie sliding in a through ball for Theo, who took a good first touch and slammed in into the far corner at a tight angle. Great finish and good to see Theo put in good performances two weeks in a row. That was something that was missing last season, and now he has already scored more league goals (4) than the whole of last season!

However, the game was still fairly even at this point and after a few goalmouth scrambles at our end Blackburn came back into it with a goal from Miram Diouf. The other Diouf latched on to a through ball from Samba and beat Koscielny on the left wing, cut inside and pulled it back for the Man-Utd Loanee to tap-in. A bit poor from Kos there, it looked like he tried to nip in front and steal the ball but ended up getting shrugged off - but otherwise he had a fairly good game so perhaps I'm being a bit harsh there.

Onto the second half, we came out brightly and got the second goal after a Fabregas shot rebounded off Theo's backside and fell kindly for Arshavin to complete a smart finish. It would have been easy to hit it over the bar with the keeper in close proximity but Arshavin showed good composure to pick his spot and give the three defenders on the line no chance of getting in a block. After the goal was the most pleasing part of the performance for me, we kept the ball well and didn't allow Blackburn too many chances to get back into the game. Last season we had a tendency to panic after scoring and almost invited pressure towards the end of games where we held a narrow lead, but today was different and we saw out the game quite comfortably.

Overall a very pleasing result and a good performance. The only negative was the injury to Van Persie (although apparently it's not too serious). The international break is coming up next week so lets just hope that all our players come back in good condition. Looks like some of the England players are getting their excuses in early with Terry and Lampard pulling out of the squad, expect Rooney and Gerrard to follow....

The next blog from me will be on Tuesday to round up the transfer window activity, enjoy the bank holiday : )

Mr F

The Return of Eduardo....

So the champions league draw has been made and we are pitted against Shakhtar Donetsk, Braga and Partizan Belgrade. While not taking anything for granted I think we can say the draw has been fairly kind to us, the trip to Ukraine aside. Having said that Braga have put in some good performances recently having thrashed Celtic and knocked out Sevilla.

The highlight of the group has to be the return of Eduardo to the Emirates, where I'm sure he will get a great reception. I thought he was a great player, and was just starting to break through into the first team when he got that injury. I particularly remember a two goal brace against Blackburn away that got us out of trouble that day with the game ending 4 - 2 (actually we could do with some of that this weekend!). It was such a shame that he effectively had his Arsenal career finished by a reckless tackle. He did show some signs that he could get back to his best immediately after returning from injury, but then came the diving scandal which was blown up out of all proportion by this country's ridiculous media. Compare that to the reaction in the media to Defoe's handball against Young Boys (at the same stage of the competition) where they virtually laughed it off and you start to get an idea of the huge favouritism afforded to English players in the media. Anyway, after that Eduardo seemed to lose confidence and a yard of pace and in the end it was no surprise when he was sold on in the summer. It will be good to see him back...

In other news the signing of Sebastian Squillaci has been confirmed. He is 30 years old which is a good age for us and comes with experience of champions league and 20 caps for France. I think he will add a bit more depth to the squad which can only be a good thing. It remains to be seen if he will become first choice over Koscielny, but there are plenty of games in a season so I'm sure we'll see him feature soon. From what I have heard he is a ball-playing centre back who also has a few goals in him so should fit right in. His experience in Europe should be useful when playing tough champions league away games, where naivety cost us last season. Overall it looks like a decent signing at first glance.

Anyway, let's hope for a good result (and strong referee) against Blackburn, and someone to invoke the spirit of Eduardo to score a couple and grab us the win... that would set up the bank holiday nicely : ) The transfer window closes Tuesday afternoon as well so expect some frantic activity soon.... hopefully involving a goalkeeper........

Mr F

Boring, Boring Chelsea...

What can I say? 29 goals in our last 5 games in the premier league and since we conceded a goal, I’m starting to feel a bit cocky now to be completely honest. What a great result ! I must admit I was a bit concerned about playing Wigan away. I was even more concerned when I saw how we were playing in the first 30 minutes of the games but there was no need for it.

Drogba had a excellent performance again. He didn’t get the hat trick of hat tricks but did get a hat trick of assists. Overall the team played very well. In a game where Wigan had the majority of the possession we showed our efficiency.



The first goal came at 28 minutes. Ashley Cole played a ball to Lamps who shot hard. Kirkland made a save but only to Malouda to clip the ball into the empty net.

The second goal came with 2 minutes of the second half gave an amazing 60 yard pass down the right channel for Anelka to finish off with a lovely ball on the far corner. Worth watching it again...

After we go up 2 goals we usually relax and that’s what happened. A few minutes later Malouda controlled a clearance from Cech and crossed to Drogba who kicked the ball to Anelka who jumped between two defenders and headed into the goal. He was offside, but the ref didn’t see it, and me neither at first to be completely honest.


Picture from The Sydney Morning Herald

And now for the 4th goal. Drogba walked easily past the Wigan defence and gave an easy easy ball for Kalou to finish who kicked the ball into a empty net. That was just about time for the crowd to start singing “ Boring, boring Chelsea”, like people used to sing in Mourinho’s time when Chelsea used to score a goal and park the bus as he would say. I think it has changed a bit now...

And here goes Kalou again, who got substituted in at 67 minutes. Drogba and Cole exchanged passes and Drog crossed for Kalou to head in the 5th goal.

I though it was over by now, but I guess it was time for Yossy to score his first Chelsea goal. Ferreira delivered a cross to Benayoun to sweep in from 10 yards.

What a game again ! Brilliant performance again for Drogba who got three assists and from Anelka, who after being banned for 18 games for France showed that he is still a top player that they will miss. Malouda carrying over the great form from last season. Kalou doing a great job from the bench and putting a good fight for a spot in the first team.

Congrats to our defence yesterday as well, who handled very well the first 30 minutes pressure from Wigan and gave us time to get into the game. Terry and Alex delivered some good blocks. Mikel and Essien did a great job in the midfield and linked up some important passes. Lampard as always was very solid.

Now its important to focus in keeping the good form for next weeks game against Stoke. We might have Ramires in the bench, which I’m excited to see !

Well, I guess Mr and Mrs Footy home is a happy home today, with and final result of 12 x 0 we’ll start the week with a big smile on our faces !

Arsenal 6 - 0 Blackpool - Theo, Theo, Theo

See what a little optimism can do? ; )



A great performance by the team and a comfortable win in the end - I can't remember many more relaxing games to watch recently. I know people will put a lot of it down to the early red card but we were already 1 - 0 up and threatening more at that point. I thought the red card and penalty decision was harsh, it didn't look like the defender knew Chamakh just nipped in front of him and was caught. By the letter of the law it should be a red card but I think a yellow would have been punishment enough. It was also debatable whether it was inside the area or not.

But even so it was an accomplished performance. I think the main difference yesterday was the penetration in the final third, not only did we control the game with lots of possession (like usual), we made the possession count by turning it into chances. Walcott was the main threat early on and gave the Blackpool left back a torrid time, and ended up with a hat-trick, and it could have been more. I think Walcott gets a lot of criticism (even on Match of the Day last night after scoring a hat-trick!) and didn't have a good season last time round but I really think he can be a big threat for us this season. He's such an exicting player and even makes watching England bearable sometimes....



Good to see Arshavin have a good game as well. He has come in for a bit of criticism recently and there have been doubts about his fitness but I think he showed some of the quality we know he possesses. More of the same please Andrey. Also a word for Tomas Rosicky who has been in top form in the two games so far this season. He has had terrible injury problems in the past but seems to be coming back to his best and was at the fulcrum of much of the play yesterday. He's been out for so long to have him back on form is almost like an unexpected bonus - he could prove very valuable this season if he can stay fit.

Finally onto Chamakh, who had a mixed game. I blame that mainly on the fact that I put him in my fantasy football team.... but despite some suspect finishing I think he looks very promising. It takes time for new players to settle in but I think he looks a threat up front, and was very pleased to see him get his goal after those misses, to ensure his confidence is not affected. It was nice to see crosses coming in with someone trying to get on the end of them rather than fizzing across an empty box as was the case too often last season...

So overall a good performance, but lets not get carried away, we have a tough trip to Blackburn next week and that is likely to be a much stiffer test. No disrespect meant to Blackpool, who I am looking forward to seeing more of this season, they look to attack and play good football which is not always the case with newly promoted teams. I expect there will be some transfer activity this week so keep your eye on here and we'll update with any activity involving Arsenal (and Chelsea).

Have a good week,

Mr F

Squillaci, Schwarzer and Elvis...

Good evening all....

Not sure why but I'm in a strangely optimistic mood tonight... I've read a lot of Arsenal blogs full of doom and gloom and moaning about everything under the sun but I'm still looking forward to this season... The first game wasn't the disaster some people are making out, we played out an even game with Liverpool away even we were without a lot of first team players, and it looks like some players are ready to come back. Fabregas, Van Persie, Song, Djourou and Denilson could all be in the squad for Saturday.

There have also been strong rumours today of an Arsenal bid for Squillaci, the 30 year old French centre back from Sevilla. Everyone knows we need another centre-back, and he seems to fit the bill (not to mention he looks pretty tough!) He has experience in Europe and on the international scene and could provide good competition for Koscielny and Djourou for the spot alongside Vermaelen. Also there are stories coming out that we made a second bid for Schwarzer, and I get the sense this transfer will be wrapped up sooner rather than later.

The other news is that the club have re-named the stands and are planning an opening celebration before the game against Blackpool on Saturday. It will be great to see the crowd reaction and hear the return of the north bank / clock end songs. And also the entrance song has been changed, finally the least inspiring song in football has been given the boot and will be replaced with Fatboy Silm's "Right here, right now". Much better for building up a bit of adrenaline for the start of the game.

Finally commiserations to Nasri and the Frimpster who have picked up injuries and will be out for around a month and 6 months respectively. Lets hope to see them back in action asap...

Bring on Blackpool on Saturday!!!

Mr F

Liverpool 1 - 1 Arsenal

Phew...

An exciting game to start the season, overall not a bad result. I think we played well in the first half and poorly in the second half. We started with a lot of a possession but without really threatening the opposition goal and towards the end of the first half came the red card for Joe Cole. I'm just glad that Koscielny didn't pick up a serious injury to be honest. Kos went to clear the ball and Cole jumped in and caught him heavily below the knee. I think it was a reckless challenge which could have resulted in serious injury so I think the red card decision was correct. I heard the pundits after the game saying the usual "he's not that kind of player" and " he was just trying to block the clearance" but to block a clearance you should jump in front of the player and not right at him.

We came out very poorly in the second half, Liverpool seemingly revitalised by the red card and conceded an early goal to Ngog who hit a great shot in at the near post after some sloppy play by Clichy and Arshavin. I rate Clichy highly but he really frustrates me sometimes when he's under pressure on the ball in defence and tries to be clever instead of putting the ball out for a throw. I think Alumina could have done better with the shot as well as it was near post and even though it was a good strike you would expect a top class keeper to be saving those.

Picture from The Telegraph.co.uk

After the goal Liverpool had a sustained period of pressure and it almost looked like we were playing with 10 rather than the other way round. But as the half went on we came back into the game and Liverpool drifted deeper allowing us to exert more pressure on them. Theo and Rosicky came on and we started to dictate the play without really creating much. Then Rosicky picked up the ball and played a one-two, jinked past a defender and almost scored but for a great save from Reina. I thought that was our chance gone but then a cross came in from the left and Chamakh showed something we have missed for a few seasons by getting in front of Reina and it came off his hip, against the post only for Reina to carry the rebound into his own goal. In the last couple of frenetic minutes Koscielny got a second yellow for handball which seemed very harsh considering the Liverpool player was only about 2 meters away and he barely had time to move his hands away.

Positives

- Koscielny had a good game and showed good pace against Torres in the second half. Luckily his injury wasn't serious
- We showed good persistence to keep going until the end and get the equaliser
- Lots of possession against a good team away from home

Negatives

- Came out poorly in the second half, should have controlled the game more with the extra man
- Failure to convert possession into chances, there were two or three occasions where a shot was on but the player opted for a sideways pass instead

Overall it was quite a good result considering the players we had missing and that it was Hodgsons first game in charge. We will definitely need to improve though for the games ahead. Let's hope we get a new keeper and centre back in sooner rather than later...

Mr F

A Perfect Start

So, we couldn't have had a better start to the season. With a 6x0 win over West Brom, we showed we mean business and made a point to the rest of the league.


Video highlights from BBC Match of The Day

The game started well with Malouda scoring after 6 minutes. The pace seamed to slow down after the goal, and I was worried it was going to be a Chelsea classic. We would score the first goal, try to keep the result and West Brom would draw the game in the last minute. I couldn't be more wrong !!! Just before the second half Deadly Drog's free kick extended the lead. And we know... When we go up 2x0 lately, we score a few more goals. And that's what happened...

Second half started and after a scramble in the penalty area, Drogba tapped in his second. The fourth goal came from Lampard, after a good string of passes. Deadly Drog got his hat trick after a deflected long shot and Malouda ended this emphatic win with a lovely finish to make it 6x0.

In the after game interview Malouda said that this was a good response after a poor pre season, and it was. It was good to see the team so determined after the World Cup. Quite a few players from Chelsea had a horrific World Cup with England and France and had something to prove. And they did...



Drogba - What can I say? Started the season just like he fineshed the last one, brilliant !
Malouda - Was in impeccable form last season, and it seams like he wants to repeat it !
Lampard - After an injury to his ankle with England midweek had a very good game and scored our fourth goal.
Essien - Just getting back into the game, and I can't wait to see more of him this season.
Anelka - After a disastrous World Cup, he was back. He was unselfish and with Ashley Cole did some brilliant passing to create Lampard's goal.
Terry and Alex were strong and defended well.
Mikel had a good game and seamed to really enjoy all the celebrations.
Cech was strong and we are very happy to have him back from injury.

What can I say? This was a relief, and I can see that we are up for it and we are going to try to defend our title. We are bringing some extra help with the confirmation that we signed Ramires and that he will be ready for the game against Wigan next week (one to be concerned about if you remember our away game against them last season).

Come on Chelsea !!!!

Mrs Footy

Goalkeeper required....

The season is only a few days away and still no new goalkeeper - I'm left clutching at straws like the spurious* rumour about Mark Schwarzer handing in a transfer request and setting off a bizarre triangle of goalkeeper moves... The only thing is it doesn't seem like Friedel wants to go anywhere, and Fulham say they have no intention of selling Schwarzer, and I can't imagine anyone being interested in Almunia.... hmm. That leaves us with two possible choices for the number one slot for the start of the season: Almunia or Fabianski. Its a bit like having to choose between spending an evening with Craig Bellamy or Gary Neville. But seriously even if a new top class keeper was to magically appear tomorrow it's unlikely they could jump straight into the first team, so realistically we are looking at at least a month of highly probable mishaps. Is there any worse feeling in football than seeing your well earned lead fumbled away by a goalkeeping blunder? Arsenal fans should know as we have had more than our fair share over recent seasons. But surely Fabianski's shocking mistake to game ratio will mean Almunia will get the nod. I really can't see any reason why Fabianski should overtake Almunia, they both make mistakes: but Fabianski makes them twice as often.

With regards to signing a new keeper, it got to the stage where i'm not too fussy to be honest, anyone with half decent pedigree / experience would be more than welcome. I don't buy into the Shay Given rumours at all, but maybe something will happen with Schwarzer. I am actually a fan of big goalkeepers rather than the small athletic type. When small keepers fly out to divert a top corner shot away to safety it looks very impressive, but I often think a keeper with a long reach may have saved the same shot a lot more easily, and then not get noticed as much. Also there is a clear advantage in one on one's where the huge guys can spread out and make it very difficult for the striker to find a gap past them, plus the obvious benefit in dealing with crosses / long throws (it would great if we could play Stoke without conceding 3 set pieces per game!)

In other news Wilshere and Giibs got their first England last night so congratulations to them, and Theo had a good game too. Hopefully England games over the next few years won't be as mind-numbingly dull as the last few! And nice to see Walcott actually get some credit in the papers this morning rather than the usual getting slagged off for skinning 3 defenders then failing to find Rooney in the box with a cross (usually because Rooney didn't even bother to make a run...). Anyway I feel my Arsenal bias is kicking in a bit too much now so that's a sign I should stop writing for today ; ) I'll post something before the Liverpool game on Sunday, see you later.

Mr F

*how come only rumours get to be spurious? can anything else be spurious?.... strange....

Latest Tranfer News

Chelsea has agreed a transfer fee with Real Madrid for Ricardo Carvalho. The portuguese player will join ex manager Mourinho subject to a medical.

Carvalho will sign a two year contract with Real Madrid. We have been rummored to sign David Luiz from Benfica as a replacement. Well, we almost have their best player (Ramires), why not sign the second best ? ;) He would cost a lot of money but the 23 year old Brazilian defender will be more than welcome in Stamford Bridge.

So, give me your opinions on Carvalho departure.

Thank you Carvalho for all the hard work, we will miss you !

Not a good start...

First, I should tell you that Mr Footy is away this weekend so I'm taking the opportunity to be as bias as I can, which you probably noticed by seeing who the Top and Flop of the week are...
So, we got our ass kicked by Man United? Not a good start for the season.
The game started very open with chances for both teams, the difference was, Man United took theirs.
Valencia scored the first goal assisted by Rooney (did he had come back to form today?) after a brilliant pass from annoying Scholes. Van der Sar didn't have the best game in the first half but our lack of shot accuracy let the keeper get away with it.
On the second half we saw Hernandez come in, I'm going to be honest, he scares me a bit, I think he will be very good for Man United this season. We started very well the second half and we look energetic but it wasn't enough. Hernandez scored a funny goal where he kicked the ball into his head and scored, still a goal though.
Drogba came in a I saw some of the Deadly Drog there and I hope he stays fit for us !
When I was almost giving up, Kalou scored a nice goal assisted by Sturridge which gave us hope, only to be taken away by lazy Berbatov.
I'm not too upset though, I though we played well but just a bit rusty and I think we'll be ready for the game against West Brom. I though Malouda had a good game and Ashley Cole dealt well with Valencia. Sturridge seamed lively when he came in and Essien is coming back to form ! It will all be ok, it will all be ok, I'm trying to convince myself !!! Hopefully the arrival of Ramires will give us some more pace at midfield and will have a positive impact in the team.
I refuse to give a man of the match to a Man United player so my man of the match today goes to Essien, just because he is back and I can't wait for him to start getting those long shots on target !!!
Leave your comments here and let me know what did you think of the game and what Chelsea needs to improve so we can win again!
Have a good week !!!

Community Shield Preview

Hi again,

Well tomorrow we have the Community Shield against Man United. Last year we beat them and I'm hoping to do the same again. Last year we won on penalties and it was the beginning of a promising and successful season. I'm a bit concerned though after the pre season games.

This is supposed to be a friendly game, but I doubted it will be when is Chelsea and Man United.

So, what to expect? Ancelotti has already revealed the Chelsea line up with Drogba in the bench and Alex and Cech still injured the team will be:
Hilario; Ferreira, Ivanovic, Terry, Cole; Essien, Mikel, Lampard; Kalou, Anelka, Malouda. No surprises there, and I'm very happy to see Essien back in the squad, I think we really missed him last season.

I am worried though. When Chelsea meets Man United on the Community Shield it tends to be a draw and penalties, and Hilario's confidence is probably not too high after the pre season games, but he did well last season when we needed him so let's trust him tomorrow. But what was the deal with those pre season games anyway? I know they are not supposed to mean much but I was disappointed. I watched the games and Chelsea didn't look very alive in any of them like it happened a few times last season. Let's hope they wake up tomorrow. We have beat Man United 3 times last season, and I'm hoping to keep the good form !

Unfortunately Ramires is not in the squad yet, and he'll be playing for Brazil next week so I'm not sure when he will be available for Chelsea, that is, if the transfer really goes through , I haven't heard anything about it for a couple of days now.

I saw Ancelotti's interview and he looks very confident on the squad and that Ashley Cole is staying. I know they guy is no example when it comes to his personal life, but he is damn good left back and that's what is important to me ! And in Carlito's word the whole speculation is "totally rubbish", so let's focus on the game tomorrow !!!

Please leave a comment and let us know what are your expectation on the game tomorrow ! CHELSEAAAAA !!!

We've got Cesc Fabregas......

Fabregas has come out to say he is staying at Arsenal this season which is fantastic news...! Its great to see that despite using every cheap trick in the book (including interviewing his grandmother!) and sinking to the lowest of the low to try an unsettle fabregas, Barcelona have failed in their attempt to sign him. I'm not naive enough to ignore the fact that Fabregas wants to return there some day but its great that he wil play at least one more season with Arsenal. Hopefully he will have a successful season and if Barcelona come stalking him again next summer we can laugh in their face if they are offering any less than £60m...... plus if we do sell we should have the whole summer to re-invest...

Finally the most boring transfer saga in history is over, Barcelona have taken a big slap in the face from Arsenal and we can concentrate on the new season ahead.... good times : )

PS Let's hope that shuts up Barca players spouting their drivel about Cesc in the papers every day!!

Ramires to Stamford Bridge

So, what about Ramires? Looks like we are close to signing him. Just thought I'd give you a quick preview...



More to come, a lot more at the weekend !!!

Great Saves

Hey,

Just thought I'd share this video with you. It happened in the game between Flamego and Vasco yesterday in Rio de Janeiro.

Emirates Cup and thoughts on the new season...

Is it me or did the players look a little bit embarrassed picking up their Emirates cup medals and trophy after the game today? I think it was a bit over the top for a pre-season tournament! Oh well I guess since its been five years we probably needed some practise....

Anyway there were some positives and negatives to take from the two games...

Positives

Wilshere - what a great prospect, I really hope he stays with us this season and is given plenty of game time. I can't think of a many players in the squad I'd rather have coming off the bench this season if we are in need of a goal. The volley from the corner showed what great technique he has, reminded me of goals from Rooney / Shearer / Scholes in recent years. Plus he is certainly not afraid to get stuck in (remember against Salgado last pre-season as well as some meaty challenges today). Very excited to see him this year : )

Chamakh - I like the look of him, well not the greasy hair gel + mullet combo thing but who cares if he plays like that this season.. Good at holding up the ball, calm in possession, seems to be fairly fast and hard working too - very promising for the new season.

Koscielny - Looked good against Milan, a number of good interceptions and classy in possession.

Frimpong - Tenacious and decent in possession, may be called upon this season since we only have one senior defensive mid in the squad

Negatives

Defending! - Similar story to last season, we get to a point where we are comfortable in the game and then switch off. I know its only pre-season but 3 - 0 up against Celtic should be game over then suddenly we concede numerous chances and they score two and could have had more. It seems the concentration levels just drop off, and is a worry for the new season. I guess its a fitness issue so hopefully it can be rectified in the last two weeks before the season starts...

Crossing - Not much to say about this really, the standard of our crossing has been terrible for almost as long as I can remember... all the hard work is done to get into a crossing position then it's hoofed off for a goal kick or straight to the keeper. Its infuriating, is it that hard to clip one into the box? why do we see them ridiculously overhit so often? Maybe the arrival of Chamakh will encourage more crossing practise in training.....

Anyway, overall it was a good warm up and I think we played quite well over the two games. We stuck to the 4 - 3 - 3 formation for both games so it looks like that's what we'll be going with for the new season, and most importantly there were no new injuries. Here's hoping we get news of a new centre back and goalkeeper this week (Mertesacker & Stekelenberg will do nicely....)

Mrs Footy's New Season Expections

Well, I've just watched Chelsea v Frankfurt and almost fell asleep... I'm trying to tell myself it's ok, just a pre season friendly. I guess I had a chance to take a look at our youngsters: Van Aanholt looked quite good, and after not such a good season with Wolves Mancienne was quite solid. Borini hasn't really convinced me yet and I need to see the others a bit more before commenting...

I'm very hopeful on Kakuta and was hoping to see him today, but for those who do not know he just won the under 19 world cup with France and did very well so let's hope Carlito lets him play a bit this season.

I'm very happy Essien is back, I can almost see the reason for signing Benayoun but come on? Is that it??? What about Aguero, Ozil, Torres, someone? Not sure we have the squad to win again next season. Our midfield is looking a bit short of creativity and I'm not sure about our ageing forwards (still love Nick and Drog but they won't play forever). I'm going to keep my fingers crossed and wait for that amazing signing I've been hoping for.

About some other teams:

Liverpool - Do they still have any players? The thing got so desperate now that they had to re-sign Aurelio. If I were Torres I would be packing my bags (to London);)

Man City - That's an interesting one. With a One Hundred Man squad can they do something next season? I think they can, but they have to sell some players soon and try to keep a squad for more than 6 months.

Arsenal - Hey Mr Footy: Goolkeeper, centre back quickly !!! Curious to see what Chamakh can do.

Man United - Looking very scary on their pre season friendlies. Macheda is looking very good (and disgusting) and their new signing Hernandez looks like a very strong player.

Tottenham - Looking the same really, curious to see how they'll manage premier league and champions league.

I think that's it for now... Looking forward to the Charity Shield next Sunday and hoping that before than I can come back here to talk about our new signing !!! :)

Introductions part 2

Hello I'm Steve a.k.a Theo a.k.a Mr Footy (just to make it clear thats not what I usually call myself... was just the best blog name we could come up with!)

I am a lifelong Arsenal fan and met Mrs Footy about three years ago, we got married this year and decided to start a blog mainly as somewhere to vent out football spleens rather than just to each other in the house.....

I would say I'm somewhere in between the "Wenger knows" camp and the "Wenger out" camp. I think it would be a terrible decision to sack Wenger and I know he has taken the club to a completely new level, but at the same time I think he has made some big mistakes.

A few other things about me:

- I like good defensive mids
- I like players who take on defenders (this may seem a bit alien to some Chelsea / Liverpool fans but it's called attacking football)
- I try to be impartial but I'm not very good at it
- I hate the "typical english approach" as applied by Stoke, Blackburn, Bolton etc (of course I would say that being an Arsenal fan)
- I hate the English football media
- Above all at the moment I hate Barcelona and their constant blatant tapping up! >: (

Welcome !

Hi everyone,

Welcome to our new blog on the Premier League.

I think a bit of an intruduction is required so let start with the Mrs Footy.

My name is Leti and I'm a Chealsea fan from Brazil but living in England. As a good Brazilian, I'm addicted to football. When I first came to England I decided to watch a season before deciding which team I was going to support. After a lot of influencing from Mr Footy and watching a lot of Arsenal games and being deeply frustrated I decided to become a Chelsea fan, because let's be honest, we are just a lot more interesting. This was 3 years ago and after watching Man United win the league twice we have finally claimed the double and are hoping to do it again this season !

Some things you need to know about me:
I love Didier Drogba
I was never convinced about Joe Cole recent form
Wenger annoys me
I hate Man United
I have a bit of a crush on Adebayor
I think the sports media focus too much on players personal lives
Not convinced about Benayoun yet (hoping to be proved wrong)

So that's a bit about me, the rest I'll tell you as we go...