Out of the Red into the...
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13 September 2014
According to reports back from Bruce the report was well received by Roman Abramovich. Apparently they could tell it pains him that the core of the club he helped raise up has now been sold on but he understands why it had to happen. Soon enough it was time for our next game and one of our former players would come back to bite us.
We made the trip up to the City of Manchester stadium in good spirits after our good start to the season and a warm handshake with Pellegrini was had prior to the match. We started well and took the lead early on, Loic Remy hasn’t been at his best for us so far this season but he was on form here – getting on the end of a Willian through ball before slotting home to the right of Hart.
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Former Chelsea man Oscar though made sure our lead didn’t last long. Picking a up a square ball from Jovetic there didn’t appear to be much danger but all Chelsea fans know the what he can do from long range. So it proved as Cech, slightly out of position, couldn't scramble back across to the goal to get to Oscar’s drive that he ripped in at the near post. 1 all and game on.
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Minutes later disaster struck as Remy went from hero to villain, felling Fernandinho in the box. The Frenchman tried to get a toe in and failed when all he needed to do was stay upright and between the man and the goal…
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Yaya Toure stepped up and smashed his penalty into the top right corner of the goal. Cech guessed the right way, but there was nothing he could realistically do to stop the shot.
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Remy then turned hero again! He equalized after being played through by Cuardrado, toe poking the ball under Hart. 2 all and everything to play for.
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Given we were away I probably should have been happy with the draw. I wanted the 3 points though and I asked the guys to push on in search of a win. The gamble backfired though as we conceded with less than 10 minutes remaining in the match. Terry did a good job to dispossess Oscar in the area but the ball fell kindly to Nasri. He then somehow managed to scoop his shot through a sea of Chelsea players and over Cech, who will be disappointed not to have done better today, and into the goal completing the 3-2 victory for City.
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A disappointing way to lose but given it was away at one of the best teams we will face this season it is far from the end of the world.
13 September 2014
According to reports back from Bruce the report was well received by Roman Abramovich. Apparently they could tell it pains him that the core of the club he helped raise up has now been sold on but he understands why it had to happen. Soon enough it was time for our next game and one of our former players would come back to bite us.
We made the trip up to the City of Manchester stadium in good spirits after our good start to the season and a warm handshake with Pellegrini was had prior to the match. We started well and took the lead early on, Loic Remy hasn’t been at his best for us so far this season but he was on form here – getting on the end of a Willian through ball before slotting home to the right of Hart.
View attachment 238001
Former Chelsea man Oscar though made sure our lead didn’t last long. Picking a up a square ball from Jovetic there didn’t appear to be much danger but all Chelsea fans know the what he can do from long range. So it proved as Cech, slightly out of position, couldn't scramble back across to the goal to get to Oscar’s drive that he ripped in at the near post. 1 all and game on.
View attachment 238000
Minutes later disaster struck as Remy went from hero to villain, felling Fernandinho in the box. The Frenchman tried to get a toe in and failed when all he needed to do was stay upright and between the man and the goal…
View attachment 237999
Yaya Toure stepped up and smashed his penalty into the top right corner of the goal. Cech guessed the right way, but there was nothing he could realistically do to stop the shot.
View attachment 237998
Remy then turned hero again! He equalized after being played through by Cuardrado, toe poking the ball under Hart. 2 all and everything to play for.
View attachment 237997
Given we were away I probably should have been happy with the draw. I wanted the 3 points though and I asked the guys to push on in search of a win. The gamble backfired though as we conceded with less than 10 minutes remaining in the match. Terry did a good job to dispossess Oscar in the area but the ball fell kindly to Nasri. He then somehow managed to scoop his shot through a sea of Chelsea players and over Cech, who will be disappointed not to have done better today, and into the goal completing the 3-2 victory for City.
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A disappointing way to lose but given it was away at one of the best teams we will face this season it is far from the end of the world.
Bullardinho
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Just caught up with this, brilliant story mate.
I did a very similar story with Man City (albeit with much, much less detail haha) where by I played out a scenario where ADUG had left them in financial ruin, it was extremely difficult. I sold players like Aguero, Kompany, Toure and Silva and replaced them with Darren Bent and Simone Pepe.
Good luck mate, I will be following for sure!
I did a very similar story with Man City (albeit with much, much less detail haha) where by I played out a scenario where ADUG had left them in financial ruin, it was extremely difficult. I sold players like Aguero, Kompany, Toure and Silva and replaced them with Darren Bent and Simone Pepe.
Good luck mate, I will be following for sure!
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17 September 2014
4 days after the Manchester City loss we were scheduled to face to Galatasary at Stamford Bridge. When we got back from Manchester and into training though I could see that a number of the first team were struggling with fatigue already. I figured I’d need to make changes to avoid injuries so I called in Jody and Tore after training to get their thoughts.
“Alright gents? You guys have been out there and seen them training hard every day and taking the under 19 and 21 games – who is ready to step up in your opinion? We need to rotate the squad for the Gala match.” I started. Jody spoke first, “Kalas is the most ready, ****, he could almost play for Brana or JT now if need be. Boga and Loftus-Cheek are the other two for me who could step up today.”
“Up front then?” I enquired, turning to Flo. “Didier needs minutes too. Izzy and Dom just aren’t there yet. Put Dom on the bench.” He said, “the other one who needs to be given a chance is Christensen.” Ok, then if I play the young fit guys in Baker, Musonda, Zouma and Kiwomya who don’t look like they need any rest I only need a left back and a keeper. “Give Dasilva a chance,”Morris encouraged, “He’s very young,” I replied, “I mean really young, do you think he is up to it?” “Yep,” Morris shot back, “I’ll talk with him about it.” “You’d know," Flo said with a smile, “Blackman has been slightly better in training so if you want to rest Petr give him the run.” “Its settled then,”I said and pinned the team to the notice board for all the players to see upon their arrival the next day.
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Given our youthful side (sans Drogba) I actually arrived at Stamford Bridge in the evening before kickoff expecting to lose. Not that we’d get smashed mind you – I expected we’d put up a fight – but I wasn’t sure we’d have enough about us yet to match it on the European stage. Boy was I wrong. 9 minutes in and we should have had the lead. Musonda was desperately unlucky after picking up a half cleared corner kick he lofted his shot to the far post but it cannoned back off the bar.
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He didn’t have to wait long for another chance though as a clearance from our defence broke down the left to Boga, he dribbled past his marker before rolling the ball into Drogba’s feet. The big Ivorian still has a fearsome reputation so when he picked the ball up naturally most of the Gala defence gravitated towards him. This opened up a channel for Musonda to run into and Drogba, with a deft flick of the outside of his left foot found him and Musonda, without breaking stride, slotted the ball into the bottom right corner – great, great team goal.
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That was easily the high point of the match for us however as on 57 mins we were reduced to 10 men. Loftus-Cheek was already on a yellow when Emre Colak glided by him, our DM tried to get out of the way but Colak jumped into him, accentuating any contact and then successfully lobbied for the 2ndyellow to be shown to Ruben. I really wasn’t angry at the young Englishman. He will learn to deal with continental team who try that rubbish – I took it as a sign of desperation on their behalf as they seemed incapable of breaking us down any other way.
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From that point Gala were the dominant side but really struggled to create clear cut chances and most of their shots were from range. Given we were a man down we were happy to sit and conceded possession and the game petered out from there. I didn’t mind though – I was so proud that my young lions were able to battle away for the victory even after losing a man. Great result.
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After the match I was talking with Jody about Jay Dasilva’s performance. We had subbed him after the red card and brought Luis Filipe on to sure things up at the back but until that point he had played quite well. I was very surprised to find out that in fact that meant Jay had become the youngest ever player for Chelsea beating the previous record by 8 days!
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17 September 2014
4 days after the Manchester City loss we were scheduled to face to Galatasary at Stamford Bridge. When we got back from Manchester and into training though I could see that a number of the first team were struggling with fatigue already. I figured I’d need to make changes to avoid injuries so I called in Jody and Tore after training to get their thoughts.
“Alright gents? You guys have been out there and seen them training hard every day and taking the under 19 and 21 games – who is ready to step up in your opinion? We need to rotate the squad for the Gala match.” I started. Jody spoke first, “Kalas is the most ready, ****, he could almost play for Brana or JT now if need be. Boga and Loftus-Cheek are the other two for me who could step up today.”
“Up front then?” I enquired, turning to Flo. “Didier needs minutes too. Izzy and Dom just aren’t there yet. Put Dom on the bench.” He said, “the other one who needs to be given a chance is Christensen.” Ok, then if I play the young fit guys in Baker, Musonda, Zouma and Kiwomya who don’t look like they need any rest I only need a left back and a keeper. “Give Dasilva a chance,”Morris encouraged, “He’s very young,” I replied, “I mean really young, do you think he is up to it?” “Yep,” Morris shot back, “I’ll talk with him about it.” “You’d know," Flo said with a smile, “Blackman has been slightly better in training so if you want to rest Petr give him the run.” “Its settled then,”I said and pinned the team to the notice board for all the players to see upon their arrival the next day.
View attachment 237987
Given our youthful side (sans Drogba) I actually arrived at Stamford Bridge in the evening before kickoff expecting to lose. Not that we’d get smashed mind you – I expected we’d put up a fight – but I wasn’t sure we’d have enough about us yet to match it on the European stage. Boy was I wrong. 9 minutes in and we should have had the lead. Musonda was desperately unlucky after picking up a half cleared corner kick he lofted his shot to the far post but it cannoned back off the bar.
View attachment 237984
He didn’t have to wait long for another chance though as a clearance from our defence broke down the left to Boga, he dribbled past his marker before rolling the ball into Drogba’s feet. The big Ivorian still has a fearsome reputation so when he picked the ball up naturally most of the Gala defence gravitated towards him. This opened up a channel for Musonda to run into and Drogba, with a deft flick of the outside of his left foot found him and Musonda, without breaking stride, slotted the ball into the bottom right corner – great, great team goal.
View attachment 237983
That was easily the high point of the match for us however as on 57 mins we were reduced to 10 men. Loftus-Cheek was already on a yellow when Emre Colak glided by him, our DM tried to get out of the way but Colak jumped into him, accentuating any contact and then successfully lobbied for the 2ndyellow to be shown to Ruben. I really wasn’t angry at the young Englishman. He will learn to deal with continental team who try that rubbish – I took it as a sign of desperation on their behalf as they seemed incapable of breaking us down any other way.
View attachment 237982
From that point Gala were the dominant side but really struggled to create clear cut chances and most of their shots were from range. Given we were a man down we were happy to sit and conceded possession and the game petered out from there. I didn’t mind though – I was so proud that my young lions were able to battle away for the victory even after losing a man. Great result.
View attachment 237981
After the match I was talking with Jody about Jay Dasilva’s performance. We had subbed him after the red card and brought Luis Filipe on to sure things up at the back but until that point he had played quite well. I was very surprised to find out that in fact that meant Jay had become the youngest ever player for Chelsea beating the previous record by 8 days!
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Have you got a link to your City story mate? Would love to look over it sometime and steal some ideas, I mean, do some research.
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Bullardinho
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Have you got a link to your City story mate? Would love to look over it sometime and steal some ideas, I mean, do some research.
I would just like to point out a few things, firstly it was my first story so it's not the best and as far as detail and presentation are concerned it barely scratches the surface of what you have already achieved in your story. Secondly I got sacked in the second season after only a hand full of games, so I wouldn't steal too many ideas if I were you
http://www.fm-base.co.uk/forum/foot...236392-blue-side-manchester-left-turmoil.html
I would just like to point out a few things, firstly it was my first story so it's not the best and as far as detail and presentation are concerned it barely scratches the surface of what you have already achieved in your story. Secondly I got sacked in the second season after only a hand full of games, so I wouldn't steal too many ideas if I were you
http://www.fm-base.co.uk/forum/foot...236392-blue-side-manchester-left-turmoil.html
Fair play though! You were a lot more ambitious with your first story then I was!!!!
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21 September 2014
We returned to our full strength lineup for the match against Everton,who had been struggling this season and found themselves rooted in the relegation places coming into this one, with the exception of Charly Musonda who hadn’t bounced back as well from the Galatasaray game. In his place came in Charlie Colkett and the young Englishman almost had a dream debut after being played in by Remy but he flashed his shot to the left of the goal.
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The scores weren’t level for long though as Baker broke the deadlock with a delightful free kick. The ball kissing the inside the right hand upright as it nestled in the top corner. Robles had absolutely no chance, being beaten by a free kick that David Beckham would have been proud of.
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Just after half time we extended our lead. A Cuadrado cross from the right appeared to be easy to handle for the Everton defence but Seamus Coleman completely muffed his clearance and left Willian with the simplest of tap-ins to double our advantage.
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From there Everton were forced to push on and chase the game which played into our hands perfectly. Despite being perhaps at fault with some horrendous positioning for the first goal Robles certainly made up for things keeping Everton in the game as he first saved a searing Willian drive in the 56th minute before acrobatically tipping Jeremie Boga’s free kick over as time practically expired.
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Another solid win for the lad and most importantly we are now no longer sitting on negative points. Time to commence our push up the table!!
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21 September 2014
We returned to our full strength lineup for the match against Everton,who had been struggling this season and found themselves rooted in the relegation places coming into this one, with the exception of Charly Musonda who hadn’t bounced back as well from the Galatasaray game. In his place came in Charlie Colkett and the young Englishman almost had a dream debut after being played in by Remy but he flashed his shot to the left of the goal.
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The scores weren’t level for long though as Baker broke the deadlock with a delightful free kick. The ball kissing the inside the right hand upright as it nestled in the top corner. Robles had absolutely no chance, being beaten by a free kick that David Beckham would have been proud of.
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Just after half time we extended our lead. A Cuadrado cross from the right appeared to be easy to handle for the Everton defence but Seamus Coleman completely muffed his clearance and left Willian with the simplest of tap-ins to double our advantage.
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From there Everton were forced to push on and chase the game which played into our hands perfectly. Despite being perhaps at fault with some horrendous positioning for the first goal Robles certainly made up for things keeping Everton in the game as he first saved a searing Willian drive in the 56th minute before acrobatically tipping Jeremie Boga’s free kick over as time practically expired.
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Another solid win for the lad and most importantly we are now no longer sitting on negative points. Time to commence our push up the table!!
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24 September 2014
3 daysafter the Everton match we were due to face West Brom in the Capital One Cup 3rd Round. An even more youthful lineup than the one that took on Galatasaray was selected as we tried to keep the squad fresh and healthy.
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We started the match relatively well but a bad torn hamstring by Kasey Palmer in only the 10th minute was a precursor to what was to come. Less than 60 seconds after seeing their friend carried off on a stretcher in agony our young side found themselves also a goal down as a goalmouth scramble led to the ball falling to Berahino who made no mistake from 2 yards out.
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We tried to regroup and get the game back on track and appeared to be doing ok until a wonderfully weighted through ball from Brunt found Berahino and he slotted home when one-on-one with Beeney. There’s really not a lot I can complain about with this goal. Brunt lofted pass wasa thing of beauty.
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We sat down at halftime and planned our response and made two more subs quickly after the break. That decision would come back to haunt me as first Boga in the 56th minute and then Loftus-Cheek in the 64th minute were forced from the field with injury. Thankfully neither injury seems to be serious but, given we had already made the three subs, we found ourselves playing with only 9 men on the field. At this point we simply tried to keep things respectable but when Fletcher scored West Brom’s 3rd things really didn’t look good.
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At this point I really wouldn’t have blamed the team if they dropped their bundles and shipped another 2 or 3 goals but having a guy like Drogba around really helps in these kind of situations. At a break in play he gathered as many of the team together as he could and gave a rousing speech and the boys responded. Drogba himself scoring after being played in by Musonda after a miscued clearance from a corner fell to Charly.
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I took full responsibility in the sheds. I had picked the team and I had made all our subs early on that caused us to finish with 9. To be frank though the team seemed to be in high spirits after I told them I was happy despite the result.
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24 September 2014
3 daysafter the Everton match we were due to face West Brom in the Capital One Cup 3rd Round. An even more youthful lineup than the one that took on Galatasaray was selected as we tried to keep the squad fresh and healthy.
View attachment 237757
We started the match relatively well but a bad torn hamstring by Kasey Palmer in only the 10th minute was a precursor to what was to come. Less than 60 seconds after seeing their friend carried off on a stretcher in agony our young side found themselves also a goal down as a goalmouth scramble led to the ball falling to Berahino who made no mistake from 2 yards out.
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We tried to regroup and get the game back on track and appeared to be doing ok until a wonderfully weighted through ball from Brunt found Berahino and he slotted home when one-on-one with Beeney. There’s really not a lot I can complain about with this goal. Brunt lofted pass wasa thing of beauty.
View attachment 237755
We sat down at halftime and planned our response and made two more subs quickly after the break. That decision would come back to haunt me as first Boga in the 56th minute and then Loftus-Cheek in the 64th minute were forced from the field with injury. Thankfully neither injury seems to be serious but, given we had already made the three subs, we found ourselves playing with only 9 men on the field. At this point we simply tried to keep things respectable but when Fletcher scored West Brom’s 3rd things really didn’t look good.
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At this point I really wouldn’t have blamed the team if they dropped their bundles and shipped another 2 or 3 goals but having a guy like Drogba around really helps in these kind of situations. At a break in play he gathered as many of the team together as he could and gave a rousing speech and the boys responded. Drogba himself scoring after being played in by Musonda after a miscued clearance from a corner fell to Charly.
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I took full responsibility in the sheds. I had picked the team and I had made all our subs early on that caused us to finish with 9. To be frank though the team seemed to be in high spirits after I told them I was happy despite the result.
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27 September 2014
Our 3rd game in 6 days saw us travel up north to St James’ Park to take on Newcastle United. Kurt Zouma seemed particularly fatigued after the West Brom game so we held him out here and brought Kalas into the starting lineup.
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It was one of our longest away trips of the season and it showed as we started extremely flat. Despite my encouragement from the sideline we never really got going and I wasn’t that surprised to see us go behind just before the half hour mark. Jack Colback was played through by Moussa Sissoko and slammed home across Cech. Thumping finish.
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Things continued in much the same vein for the remainder of the first half. Despite some particularly choice words from myself at the break we came out the same way in the 2nd half also. A raft of changes, including bringing on Drogba for Remy,were made and from then we actually decided to play. Drogba was at the center of everything good we were doing and he scored from a Cuadrado cross in the 71st minute.
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From then on the game was very tight as Newcastle came out of their shells a bit as they chased a winner but neither club could find the breakthrough. Still a decent away draw at a tough place to play.
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27 September 2014
Our 3rd game in 6 days saw us travel up north to St James’ Park to take on Newcastle United. Kurt Zouma seemed particularly fatigued after the West Brom game so we held him out here and brought Kalas into the starting lineup.
View attachment 237747
It was one of our longest away trips of the season and it showed as we started extremely flat. Despite my encouragement from the sideline we never really got going and I wasn’t that surprised to see us go behind just before the half hour mark. Jack Colback was played through by Moussa Sissoko and slammed home across Cech. Thumping finish.
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Things continued in much the same vein for the remainder of the first half. Despite some particularly choice words from myself at the break we came out the same way in the 2nd half also. A raft of changes, including bringing on Drogba for Remy,were made and from then we actually decided to play. Drogba was at the center of everything good we were doing and he scored from a Cuadrado cross in the 71st minute.
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From then on the game was very tight as Newcastle came out of their shells a bit as they chased a winner but neither club could find the breakthrough. Still a decent away draw at a tough place to play.
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Can Chelsea Come Back???
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As difficult as Chelsea’s fire sale of key players to start this season has been to handle for its fans, the club’s path to financial solvency could prove even more challenging given its daunting debt load.
After a season in which manager Jose Mourinho compared his players to ‘little horses’, the team is fervently trying to get stud stallion prices for its players. Eden Hazard, Cesar Azpilicueta, Oscar, Ramires, Nemanja Matic, Cess Fabregas and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois — together thought of as the heart of the locker room — have all departed the club and moved on to new pastures.
By doing what it can and allowing top players to leave via transfer, Chelsea appears to be thinking purely economically in an effort to face its crippling finances head on.
View attachment 237477
CHELSEA’S BLEAK FINANCIAL PICTURE
Chelsea has racked up more than £500 million of debt thanks to the sudden departure of Roman Abramovich 3 months ago. Compare that with the approximately £26 million in profit the club made on approximately £319 million in earnings taken from its most recent financial statements and you can see why the club was galaxies away from paying off its creditors, barring a miraculous restructuring.
Chelsea has recently locked in partnerships with Adidas and Gazprom, which has helped keep it afloat, but the problems will likely persist for the cost-ridden club.
It is estimated over 80 percent of Chelsea’s annual earnings were being used to pay player and staff salaries. That wasn’t leaving much, if any, profit to service the debt or help make a dent in repaying the oan principal.
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THE ROAD TO RECOVERY
Going forward, it appears the club’s only shot at keeping the lights on is to keep doing what it has done recently: sell the best players to the biggest clubs in the world and bring though its young starlets.
To help the club is eyeing a deep Champion’s League run expected to add nearly £40 million to the top line through television revenue and prize money, despite this the club is still a long way from standing on firm financial footing.
That run started with a victory of Galatasaray at home in the first matchday of this seasons Champions League and continued overnight as Chelsea fought back from a goal down to beat Anderlecht in Brussels. Manager Rob York was visibly frustrated on the sideline as they comically conceded the first goal.
A long ball from the Anderlecht keeper Proto appeared to be posing no problems as Zouma and Mikel both jumped to head clear with no one around – Mikel though, inexplicably, headed the ball on towards his own goal and Matias Suarez accepted the gift firing past Blackman in goal for Chelsea.
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After the break (and presumably some harsh words from the manager) Chelsea came out a changed side and Loic Remy’s introduction proved to be inspired as he was the catalyst for an impressive comeback. First he finished from close range after Proto could only parry his initial shot onto the post following a Jeremie Boga free kick.
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Then he broke through onto a Lewis Baker through ball deep into extra time. De Medina, in an act borne of fatigue, simply ran through his back and referee Viktor Kassai had no hesitation pointing to the spot. Up stepped Lewis Baker and he, with composure that belied his tender years, held his nerve to fire past Proto.
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Chelsea now sit top of Group F after Galatasaray and Juventus played out a draw in the other fixture. It remains to be seen, however, if they can rise up from the depths of the financial cesspool the club finds itself in.
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Can Chelsea Come Back???
View attachment 237478
As difficult as Chelsea’s fire sale of key players to start this season has been to handle for its fans, the club’s path to financial solvency could prove even more challenging given its daunting debt load.
After a season in which manager Jose Mourinho compared his players to ‘little horses’, the team is fervently trying to get stud stallion prices for its players. Eden Hazard, Cesar Azpilicueta, Oscar, Ramires, Nemanja Matic, Cess Fabregas and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois — together thought of as the heart of the locker room — have all departed the club and moved on to new pastures.
By doing what it can and allowing top players to leave via transfer, Chelsea appears to be thinking purely economically in an effort to face its crippling finances head on.
View attachment 237477
Eden Hazard - Once the crown jewel of the Chelsea Squad
(AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
(AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
CHELSEA’S BLEAK FINANCIAL PICTURE
Chelsea has racked up more than £500 million of debt thanks to the sudden departure of Roman Abramovich 3 months ago. Compare that with the approximately £26 million in profit the club made on approximately £319 million in earnings taken from its most recent financial statements and you can see why the club was galaxies away from paying off its creditors, barring a miraculous restructuring.
Chelsea has recently locked in partnerships with Adidas and Gazprom, which has helped keep it afloat, but the problems will likely persist for the cost-ridden club.
It is estimated over 80 percent of Chelsea’s annual earnings were being used to pay player and staff salaries. That wasn’t leaving much, if any, profit to service the debt or help make a dent in repaying the oan principal.
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Cech, here pictured after winning the Champions League with Chelsea in 2012, could find himself leaving Chelsea soon
Photo Credit:Juan Aguado/MARCA
Photo Credit:Juan Aguado/MARCA
THE ROAD TO RECOVERY
Going forward, it appears the club’s only shot at keeping the lights on is to keep doing what it has done recently: sell the best players to the biggest clubs in the world and bring though its young starlets.
To help the club is eyeing a deep Champion’s League run expected to add nearly £40 million to the top line through television revenue and prize money, despite this the club is still a long way from standing on firm financial footing.
That run started with a victory of Galatasaray at home in the first matchday of this seasons Champions League and continued overnight as Chelsea fought back from a goal down to beat Anderlecht in Brussels. Manager Rob York was visibly frustrated on the sideline as they comically conceded the first goal.
A long ball from the Anderlecht keeper Proto appeared to be posing no problems as Zouma and Mikel both jumped to head clear with no one around – Mikel though, inexplicably, headed the ball on towards his own goal and Matias Suarez accepted the gift firing past Blackman in goal for Chelsea.
View attachment 237471
After the break (and presumably some harsh words from the manager) Chelsea came out a changed side and Loic Remy’s introduction proved to be inspired as he was the catalyst for an impressive comeback. First he finished from close range after Proto could only parry his initial shot onto the post following a Jeremie Boga free kick.
View attachment 237469
Then he broke through onto a Lewis Baker through ball deep into extra time. De Medina, in an act borne of fatigue, simply ran through his back and referee Viktor Kassai had no hesitation pointing to the spot. Up stepped Lewis Baker and he, with composure that belied his tender years, held his nerve to fire past Proto.
View attachment 237467
Chelsea now sit top of Group F after Galatasaray and Juventus played out a draw in the other fixture. It remains to be seen, however, if they can rise up from the depths of the financial cesspool the club finds itself in.
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4 October 2014
Upon returning from Belgium we set about preparing for a huge tussle against Arsenal in our first big London derby. As I was sitting in my officer putting together a plan my physio Stuart Vaughan raced in,I could tell by the look on his face that the news wasn’t good. “Weights room – now boss,” he gasped out and turned and took off down the hallway. I raced after him and as I slammed the doors aside I saw William laid out on the weights mat – the barbell still connected to his weights belt from where he was doing dead lifts.
“Farken ****,” I drawled out. “How bad is it mate?” I asked, Willian motioned to Stuart, “no good boss, he looks like he’s strained his back, hard to tell exactly how bad until I get to look further but he’s definitely out this week, probably longer.” Vaughan announced with trepidation.
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“Jeremie,”I shouted, Boga raced over. “You’re up mate – I know you’re up to it”. My mind was racing with concern of how exactly we would now handle one of the form teams in the competition. Soon enough though the game was upon us. The game itself was incredibly tight. I had asked our guys to be more defensive without Willian and the plan worked to perfection – we attacked time and time again on the break and had as many chances as they did the difference being that we actually took advantage of one of ours.
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The goal had come after a flowing attacking move down our right. Cuadrado cut inside and found Baker on the edge of the area, he in turn then found Musonda and his first time effort, whilst not simple, should have been easily handled by Thibault in goal for Arsenal. Instead he made a hash of things and the ball ended up in the goal. Courtois never got to wear the royal blue of Chelsea in a competitive game but he was certainly vociferously cheered around Stamford Bridge here!!
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We played out the rest of the game on the counter and ran out 1 nil winners. After the game I was seething though. Not because of anything my team did– but because of the grub-like behavior of the Arsenal players. I understand it was a derby match but it was clear from the number of fouls each player received that Wenger had deliberately sent his players out to target my youngsters in Boga, Baker and Musonda. Only Remy had anything approaching the number of fouls on them that each of the youngsters did individually.
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I was furious and let Arsene know what I thought after the game of those kind of tactics. You want to hold yourself up as a bastion of the beautiful game then you don’t get to be in charge of team that plays like that. At least Jose never had any illusions about how his Chelsea teams played. Wenger must have been pretty embarrassed as he even felt the need to apologize to his fans – an interesting move considering it wasn’t as if we smashed them so he must have realised they too weren’t happy with the style they had seen from their team.
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Whilst a win over our rivals like this was huge the biggest thing about today was that this win moved us out of the relegation zone for the first time since our points deduction. It’s onwards and upwards from here!!!
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4 October 2014
Upon returning from Belgium we set about preparing for a huge tussle against Arsenal in our first big London derby. As I was sitting in my officer putting together a plan my physio Stuart Vaughan raced in,I could tell by the look on his face that the news wasn’t good. “Weights room – now boss,” he gasped out and turned and took off down the hallway. I raced after him and as I slammed the doors aside I saw William laid out on the weights mat – the barbell still connected to his weights belt from where he was doing dead lifts.
“Farken ****,” I drawled out. “How bad is it mate?” I asked, Willian motioned to Stuart, “no good boss, he looks like he’s strained his back, hard to tell exactly how bad until I get to look further but he’s definitely out this week, probably longer.” Vaughan announced with trepidation.
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“Jeremie,”I shouted, Boga raced over. “You’re up mate – I know you’re up to it”. My mind was racing with concern of how exactly we would now handle one of the form teams in the competition. Soon enough though the game was upon us. The game itself was incredibly tight. I had asked our guys to be more defensive without Willian and the plan worked to perfection – we attacked time and time again on the break and had as many chances as they did the difference being that we actually took advantage of one of ours.
View attachment 237449
The goal had come after a flowing attacking move down our right. Cuadrado cut inside and found Baker on the edge of the area, he in turn then found Musonda and his first time effort, whilst not simple, should have been easily handled by Thibault in goal for Arsenal. Instead he made a hash of things and the ball ended up in the goal. Courtois never got to wear the royal blue of Chelsea in a competitive game but he was certainly vociferously cheered around Stamford Bridge here!!
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We played out the rest of the game on the counter and ran out 1 nil winners. After the game I was seething though. Not because of anything my team did– but because of the grub-like behavior of the Arsenal players. I understand it was a derby match but it was clear from the number of fouls each player received that Wenger had deliberately sent his players out to target my youngsters in Boga, Baker and Musonda. Only Remy had anything approaching the number of fouls on them that each of the youngsters did individually.
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I was furious and let Arsene know what I thought after the game of those kind of tactics. You want to hold yourself up as a bastion of the beautiful game then you don’t get to be in charge of team that plays like that. At least Jose never had any illusions about how his Chelsea teams played. Wenger must have been pretty embarrassed as he even felt the need to apologize to his fans – an interesting move considering it wasn’t as if we smashed them so he must have realised they too weren’t happy with the style they had seen from their team.
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Whilst a win over our rivals like this was huge the biggest thing about today was that this win moved us out of the relegation zone for the first time since our points deduction. It’s onwards and upwards from here!!!
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18 October 2014
Sitting at my desk watching a video of my upcoming opponent Saints' striker Jay Rodriguez my attention was diverted by another knock at the door. Stuart Vaghaun, my physio, was there with a face as white as a ghost. “Come on then I can tell by the look on your face the news around Willian isn’t good.” I said, waving him in. “Er, yeah it’snot the best,” he stammered out, “probably another 3 to 4 weeks sorry, that’s not what I’m here for though.”
I pried my eyes away from the screen in front of me and shifted my glare to him and noticed the fidgeting. “What is it now?” I demanded. “It’s JT boss, he’s gone down with a strained wrist.” ‘Deep breaths, deep breaths’ I thought myself as I got off my chair. “Ok, it is what it is, let’s go check it out.”
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With JT out for the foreseeable future that made things extra tough when picking the squad for the Southampton game. I ended up deciding on sliding Ivanovic in to play beside Zouma in the heart of defence and giving Kalas the start at right back. I gave the news to the squad on the bus trip to the south coast and they all agreed it was the best solution at this point.
The game started much in the same way our match against Newcastle had with Southampton probably the better side. They took the lead when Pelle slotted home in the 21st minute.
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This seemed to jolt us out of the slumber we had started in and we then took the game right to them. Eventually leveling when Musonda found some space on the edge and slammed home an absolute piledriver!
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From there it was only ever one side who looked like winning as we peppered the Southampton goal with shots. Unfortunately we couldn’t find the breakthrough and had to settle for the draw. Still not a bad result away against a decent team and it’s another point to help towards survival.
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The morning after the game we had all the players come into Cobham for the sports science testing. It is something I have continued that Jose had put in place. Stuart Vaghaun is a bit of a proponent of the testing and has been an invaluable resource in that regard. Today though the testing showed that Kurt Zouma is really struggling with fatigue. I will have to shut him down for the next match and look at ways to keep him fresh moving forward to avoid injury.
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18 October 2014
Sitting at my desk watching a video of my upcoming opponent Saints' striker Jay Rodriguez my attention was diverted by another knock at the door. Stuart Vaghaun, my physio, was there with a face as white as a ghost. “Come on then I can tell by the look on your face the news around Willian isn’t good.” I said, waving him in. “Er, yeah it’snot the best,” he stammered out, “probably another 3 to 4 weeks sorry, that’s not what I’m here for though.”
I pried my eyes away from the screen in front of me and shifted my glare to him and noticed the fidgeting. “What is it now?” I demanded. “It’s JT boss, he’s gone down with a strained wrist.” ‘Deep breaths, deep breaths’ I thought myself as I got off my chair. “Ok, it is what it is, let’s go check it out.”
View attachment 236457
With JT out for the foreseeable future that made things extra tough when picking the squad for the Southampton game. I ended up deciding on sliding Ivanovic in to play beside Zouma in the heart of defence and giving Kalas the start at right back. I gave the news to the squad on the bus trip to the south coast and they all agreed it was the best solution at this point.
The game started much in the same way our match against Newcastle had with Southampton probably the better side. They took the lead when Pelle slotted home in the 21st minute.
View attachment 236456
This seemed to jolt us out of the slumber we had started in and we then took the game right to them. Eventually leveling when Musonda found some space on the edge and slammed home an absolute piledriver!
View attachment 236454
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From there it was only ever one side who looked like winning as we peppered the Southampton goal with shots. Unfortunately we couldn’t find the breakthrough and had to settle for the draw. Still not a bad result away against a decent team and it’s another point to help towards survival.
View attachment 236452
The morning after the game we had all the players come into Cobham for the sports science testing. It is something I have continued that Jose had put in place. Stuart Vaghaun is a bit of a proponent of the testing and has been an invaluable resource in that regard. Today though the testing showed that Kurt Zouma is really struggling with fatigue. I will have to shut him down for the next match and look at ways to keep him fresh moving forward to avoid injury.
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xJamieWilliams
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Love this mate
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25 October 2014
2 games this week and 2 narrow losses - only one of which I was ok with though. The first was against Juventus. Given the match was away and we didn't stand much chance of getting a result I rested a number of first team regulars.
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The Youngsters gave an amazing account of themselves though. although Juventus were always undeniably the dominant side, only succumbed to a excellent Tevez header.
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We then traveled to the Hawthorns to take on West Brom. Given they had all rested during the week we fielded a pretty much first choice 11 with the exception of the injured Terry and Willian. It still wasn't enough though as a James Morrison goal condemned us to defeat...
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Not a good week and one we will be looking to put behind us as soon as possible.
25 October 2014
2 games this week and 2 narrow losses - only one of which I was ok with though. The first was against Juventus. Given the match was away and we didn't stand much chance of getting a result I rested a number of first team regulars.
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The Youngsters gave an amazing account of themselves though. although Juventus were always undeniably the dominant side, only succumbed to a excellent Tevez header.
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We then traveled to the Hawthorns to take on West Brom. Given they had all rested during the week we fielded a pretty much first choice 11 with the exception of the injured Terry and Willian. It still wasn't enough though as a James Morrison goal condemned us to defeat...
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Not a good week and one we will be looking to put behind us as soon as possible.
Love this mate
Thanks Jamie - its been a steep learning curve as this is the first time I've had a proper play with the editor for a story but I feel like it's coming along nicely.
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26 October 2014
It was 6.30am as I began my commute from Wimbledon out to Cobham. I had just stepped on the train and my phone vibrated in my pocket. ‘Meeting room 1 –7.30am’ the text from my assistant manager Jody Morris read. Thankfully the trip out isn’t long so I was able to get some work done in my office prior to the appointed meeting hour.
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As I walked into the room I was a little taken back. Seated already were my two trusty lieutenants Morris and Tore Andre Flo and also Jon Harley and scout Alf Blanford. “Alright Gents?” I asked as I sat and took a sip from my coffee, “whats this about then?”
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It was actually Flo who spoke up first. “Boss, the West Brom game got us thinking. The boys are getting a bit restless and want to change things up.” “I can see some value in that, whats your thoughts?” I inquired. “Look we are what we are, we need to get results and get them fast, and we need to get our best players on the pitch at the same time. I think we need to go to a 4-4-2 with Drogs and Remy together up front.” He offered.
I had to admit it was a good suggestion. “Done.” I said, “Tore, you’ve got the first session with them today, I want to see Remy and Didier playing as if they’ve been since birth. Lets use Didier in the Target role and Remy poaching off his shoulder. We’ll keep Mikel in the middle and Charly and Baker can split time as the other central midfielder.” There were nods of approval all around. “We’ll keep the 4 at the back as is and the wingers will push a bit wider and not be as encouraged to cut in as much.”
“Now Alf,” I continued without stopping, “I’ve seen you sitting there through this so I imagine you’ve got something you want to say.” Alf took a breath, “Up till now I’ve been mostly in charge of scouting the upcoming opposition. I’ve seen the domestic performances lately though and took it upon myself to look for some new players we might want to bring in if we make the sales we want in January.” “Don’t be daft man,” I scolded, “we’ll hardly be in any position to make purchases!!”
“Not purchases,” He said, putting me in my place, “free transfers Gaf.” Of course! Why hadn’t I thought of that! “Sorry,” I said rather sheepishly, “That a top idea, we are going to need some extra cattle if we move some of the guys on. Who do you have in mind?”
“Well l looked at what we are really losing,” Alf continued, “We are losing quality for sure, but what we are really losing is leadership. Fortunately there is plenty of that available.” He said,eyeballing the room. “I’ve taken the liberty of sounding out the agents of Daniele Bonera, Piotr Trochowski, Alou Diarra, Marcel De ong, Jack Collison, Mahamadou Diarra, Luis Ernesto Perez, Albert Riera, Alberto Rodriguez, Hendry Thomas, Timo Hildebrand and Kenan Hasagic,” Blandford ran down the list.
“All their agents indicated they would be available on circa 10k a week contracts. Additionally they are all keen to come here on trial so we can take a closer look.” “Good **** Alf!!” I exclaimed, he truly had done a good job. “Let get them in now so we can blood them in before everyone leaves.” “Already done Gaf, I thought you’d be keen to at least kick the tyres so I've already taken the liberty of getting the process of getting them here on trial started,” he said, with a grin that spread from ear to ear. “If I had any spare funds you’d have just gotten a raise mate!” I said grinning back.
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26 October 2014
It was 6.30am as I began my commute from Wimbledon out to Cobham. I had just stepped on the train and my phone vibrated in my pocket. ‘Meeting room 1 –7.30am’ the text from my assistant manager Jody Morris read. Thankfully the trip out isn’t long so I was able to get some work done in my office prior to the appointed meeting hour.
View attachment 236116
As I walked into the room I was a little taken back. Seated already were my two trusty lieutenants Morris and Tore Andre Flo and also Jon Harley and scout Alf Blanford. “Alright Gents?” I asked as I sat and took a sip from my coffee, “whats this about then?”
View attachment 236117
It was actually Flo who spoke up first. “Boss, the West Brom game got us thinking. The boys are getting a bit restless and want to change things up.” “I can see some value in that, whats your thoughts?” I inquired. “Look we are what we are, we need to get results and get them fast, and we need to get our best players on the pitch at the same time. I think we need to go to a 4-4-2 with Drogs and Remy together up front.” He offered.
I had to admit it was a good suggestion. “Done.” I said, “Tore, you’ve got the first session with them today, I want to see Remy and Didier playing as if they’ve been since birth. Lets use Didier in the Target role and Remy poaching off his shoulder. We’ll keep Mikel in the middle and Charly and Baker can split time as the other central midfielder.” There were nods of approval all around. “We’ll keep the 4 at the back as is and the wingers will push a bit wider and not be as encouraged to cut in as much.”
“Now Alf,” I continued without stopping, “I’ve seen you sitting there through this so I imagine you’ve got something you want to say.” Alf took a breath, “Up till now I’ve been mostly in charge of scouting the upcoming opposition. I’ve seen the domestic performances lately though and took it upon myself to look for some new players we might want to bring in if we make the sales we want in January.” “Don’t be daft man,” I scolded, “we’ll hardly be in any position to make purchases!!”
“Not purchases,” He said, putting me in my place, “free transfers Gaf.” Of course! Why hadn’t I thought of that! “Sorry,” I said rather sheepishly, “That a top idea, we are going to need some extra cattle if we move some of the guys on. Who do you have in mind?”
“Well l looked at what we are really losing,” Alf continued, “We are losing quality for sure, but what we are really losing is leadership. Fortunately there is plenty of that available.” He said,eyeballing the room. “I’ve taken the liberty of sounding out the agents of Daniele Bonera, Piotr Trochowski, Alou Diarra, Marcel De ong, Jack Collison, Mahamadou Diarra, Luis Ernesto Perez, Albert Riera, Alberto Rodriguez, Hendry Thomas, Timo Hildebrand and Kenan Hasagic,” Blandford ran down the list.
“All their agents indicated they would be available on circa 10k a week contracts. Additionally they are all keen to come here on trial so we can take a closer look.” “Good **** Alf!!” I exclaimed, he truly had done a good job. “Let get them in now so we can blood them in before everyone leaves.” “Already done Gaf, I thought you’d be keen to at least kick the tyres so I've already taken the liberty of getting the process of getting them here on trial started,” he said, with a grin that spread from ear to ear. “If I had any spare funds you’d have just gotten a raise mate!” I said grinning back.
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31 October 2014
We ended up bringing them all in. Certain ones you could see just wouldn’t be worth the effort. Despite them all having had substantial international careers Hildebrand, Hasagic, Rodriguez and Riera just don’t fit what we want to do here. We also offered a contract to Perez however the home office declined him a work permit despite his 60+ caps for Mexico. ****** government.
The others though were all signed. Dianele Bonera comes in having been released from his AC Millan contract at the end of the 2013/14 season after 150 appearances for the Rossoneri and 16 Italy caps. At 34 years old we don’t expect him to set the world on fire but he will prove a reliable stand in whilst we wait for the like of Omerou to come back from loan.
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Giant Frenchman Alou Diarra makes the move across London after his Charlton contract wasn’t renewed. With 44 French caps to his name he will provide further cover at the back and in defensive midfield.
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One player I was extremely surprised to see available was Piotr Trochowski. The Polish born German international winger has been available since his contract was torn up with Sevilla. Despite that issue still sitting in the courts he has agreed to come on. He will provide a great replacement should Willian and Cuardrado move on.
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Canadian international Marcel De Jong has been brought in also. Should Felipe Luis be sold Jay Dasilva is a long way from being ready and Nathan Ake has been out since the early stages of the season with injury so we really needed a left back who is up to the standard. Whilst he clearly isn’t as good as Luis he is a decent replacement.
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Mahamadou Diarra has also come in and will provide an amazing veteran presence in our midfield and be the obvious replacement for John Obi Mikel. Having played for clubs such as Real Madrid and Lyon at the absolute highest level we know we will be able to count on him to do a job for 6 months.
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The final player is one who I can actually see serving the club for a few years to come. Despite coming through the ranks at West Ham Jack Collison is a boyhood Chelsea fan. The Welsh international's career recently has been waylaid by injury so we will strive to help him overcome that and harness his passion for the club and put it to good use in the middle of the park as it appears we won’t have quite as many points come January as I was initially hoping for.
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31 October 2014
We ended up bringing them all in. Certain ones you could see just wouldn’t be worth the effort. Despite them all having had substantial international careers Hildebrand, Hasagic, Rodriguez and Riera just don’t fit what we want to do here. We also offered a contract to Perez however the home office declined him a work permit despite his 60+ caps for Mexico. ****** government.
The others though were all signed. Dianele Bonera comes in having been released from his AC Millan contract at the end of the 2013/14 season after 150 appearances for the Rossoneri and 16 Italy caps. At 34 years old we don’t expect him to set the world on fire but he will prove a reliable stand in whilst we wait for the like of Omerou to come back from loan.
View attachment 236106
Giant Frenchman Alou Diarra makes the move across London after his Charlton contract wasn’t renewed. With 44 French caps to his name he will provide further cover at the back and in defensive midfield.
View attachment 236105
One player I was extremely surprised to see available was Piotr Trochowski. The Polish born German international winger has been available since his contract was torn up with Sevilla. Despite that issue still sitting in the courts he has agreed to come on. He will provide a great replacement should Willian and Cuardrado move on.
View attachment 236104
Canadian international Marcel De Jong has been brought in also. Should Felipe Luis be sold Jay Dasilva is a long way from being ready and Nathan Ake has been out since the early stages of the season with injury so we really needed a left back who is up to the standard. Whilst he clearly isn’t as good as Luis he is a decent replacement.
View attachment 236103
Mahamadou Diarra has also come in and will provide an amazing veteran presence in our midfield and be the obvious replacement for John Obi Mikel. Having played for clubs such as Real Madrid and Lyon at the absolute highest level we know we will be able to count on him to do a job for 6 months.
View attachment 236102
The final player is one who I can actually see serving the club for a few years to come. Despite coming through the ranks at West Ham Jack Collison is a boyhood Chelsea fan. The Welsh international's career recently has been waylaid by injury so we will strive to help him overcome that and harness his passion for the club and put it to good use in the middle of the park as it appears we won’t have quite as many points come January as I was initially hoping for.
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5 November 2014
Our first game this week was at home to Burnley. They had been struggling and were sitting just above the relegation zone but their poor form meant we went into this raging favorites. And boy did we ever keep the punters happy. We started well and truly on the front foot and when Drogba was played in by Musonda after a nice run into the channel you knew there was only one outcome.
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Our second goal came in much the same fashion. Minutes later it was Musonda this time breaking into the channel after a smart Drogba run had dragged the defence away. He was found by a Mikel through ball and hit his shot first time on the turn that Heaton, although getting hands to it, couldn’t keep out.
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On the stroke of half time it was 3. Again the movement of Drogba created havoc for Burnley and Musonda made another smart run. Baker this time picked out the pass and Musonda, with supreme composure, curled the ball in around Heaton. Fantastic finish.
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Our final goal came after Drogba had picked up a square ball from Cuardrado in the Burnley box. Holding off the defense he turned and rolled it into the far corner with consummate ease. Too big, too strong.
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Given our strong position in this one we had no hesitation in giving Alou Diarra his first start after joining on a free.
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Our second game this week was against the return group match against Juve. We really want to capitalize on our good start to the Champions League and played a strong side here. Despite being the better side throughout our finishing let us down today and we had to settle for a nil all draw. Still not the worst result and it leaves us in a really good position to qualify for the knockout rounds – a result that I feel would be fantastic given the turmoil the club has faced.
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5 November 2014
Our first game this week was at home to Burnley. They had been struggling and were sitting just above the relegation zone but their poor form meant we went into this raging favorites. And boy did we ever keep the punters happy. We started well and truly on the front foot and when Drogba was played in by Musonda after a nice run into the channel you knew there was only one outcome.
View attachment 236096
Our second goal came in much the same fashion. Minutes later it was Musonda this time breaking into the channel after a smart Drogba run had dragged the defence away. He was found by a Mikel through ball and hit his shot first time on the turn that Heaton, although getting hands to it, couldn’t keep out.
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On the stroke of half time it was 3. Again the movement of Drogba created havoc for Burnley and Musonda made another smart run. Baker this time picked out the pass and Musonda, with supreme composure, curled the ball in around Heaton. Fantastic finish.
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Our final goal came after Drogba had picked up a square ball from Cuardrado in the Burnley box. Holding off the defense he turned and rolled it into the far corner with consummate ease. Too big, too strong.
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Given our strong position in this one we had no hesitation in giving Alou Diarra his first start after joining on a free.
View attachment 236091
Our second game this week was against the return group match against Juve. We really want to capitalize on our good start to the Champions League and played a strong side here. Despite being the better side throughout our finishing let us down today and we had to settle for a nil all draw. Still not the worst result and it leaves us in a really good position to qualify for the knockout rounds – a result that I feel would be fantastic given the turmoil the club has faced.
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