There has been so much written word circulating about our clash with Chelsea.  That tends to happen when two members of the “Big Four” play each other, but with the majority of the other “Big Four” being duds in terms of football excitement, the media really enjoys covering any match we’re a part of.  That’s not me being partial.  I’m convinced Arsenal v. any of the other three clubs are infinitely more intriguing game, on footballing terms, than any other match up.

So with that, the multitude of information to absorb, including the late breaking news that Robin van Persie is most likely finished for the season, I’m just going to free form the preview with a lot of points instead of a coherent whole.

- Wenger has stated that the “moment has come.”  He has used this type of language before, during the Champions League semi against Manchester United last year.  We know how that one turned out, as a Kieran Gibbs slip negated any chance of us progressing to the final.  He is saying it, because he thoroughly believes it.  We’re a point in the season where we’ve been devastated by injuries, suffered lapses of concentration, and in the process been written off.  Believe me, after today’s news, nobody will be pushing us for the title.  That is when you either take a stand or you shrivel up and die.  Make no mistake, this is at the least a “must not lose game.”  We must, as a team, as fans, refuse to lose.

- Fixtures between relegation candidate teams are usually referred to as “six pointers.”  All matches for Premier League title contenders are six pointers, especially so when facing a direct rival.

- We defeated Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last year with a shock Robin van Persie double, one of the goals being blatantly offside.  What we’ve seem to forgotten is that Chelsea humiliated us at the Emirates in the return fixture.  That match saw us concede the most goals we’ve ever conceded at the Emirates.  I have not forgotten.  Just like I have not forgotten that Nicolas Anelka refused to celebrate his goal against us.

- Which brings us to Nicolas Anelka, one of the few Chelsea players who I do not hate with a passion.  The other player I feel that way is Michael Essien.  Anelka has aged gracefully in all facets.  He’s truly a class player, and he will be a deadly link up outlet in the game.  The reason why the diamond formation has worked at all is not because Frank Lampard is a classic no. 10, it’s because Anelka makes the attack click.

- Michael Essien is the only player I really covet from any other team in the Premier League.

- Didier Drogba has played 10 matches against us.  They have won 8 times and drawn 2 times.  Some of this is down to Philippe Senderos.  Some of it is down to the fact that he’s a big time player, and he fancies playing against us.  Tomorrow will be the first time he plays Thomas Vermaelen.  We will see if Vermaelen is truly a world class defender or a class below that.

- It will also be the first time that Chelsea face us with Alex Song as our lockdown midfield enforcer.

- John Terry has been walking around with his chest out, feeling as though the team is back to their Mourinho days.  Well, the first year Chelsea won under Mourinho, they conceded only 15 goals.  They’re halfway there already.  They lost to Wigan Athletic, and no offense to Wigan, close call aside, Mourinho’s sides did not lose to sides like that.  But that’s fine by my book, I like arrogance as much as the next professional.  They’ve done nothing to merit their status as front runners, others have merely faltered.

- On good and bad luck, Chelsea were outplayed, fairly comprehensively in my eyes, by Manchester United and still got the three points.  We outplayed Manchester United and they snuck out with three points at Old Trafford.  That’s football.  Name another sport where you can dominate a match and lose.  There is none.

- A couple of weeks ago, I spoke about how Chelsea were having injury problems.  Well, Drogba and Lampard recovered and we lost van Persie and Gibbs.  I guess it’s my fault for tempting the gods.

- Carlo Ancelotti was not a good league manager in Italy.  He won a title, but his main accomplishments are in Europe.  From what I can tell, his European touch has rubbed off on their side.  We’ve yet to see if he’s carried over his league form, but methinks the funeral parlor man will have real tests in the upcoming months, starting with the next two weeks.

- The African Cup of Nations will not affect Chelsea while their players are away.  Look at their cream puff schedule.  They can easily handle those teams without the African quartet.  However, it will affect their side when they return.  Players have a difficult time coming back from that tournament, just look at Kolo and his malaria.  But likewise, we’ll be losing Song and Eboue when we actually need them and they’ll return fatigued.  Clearly, it’s worse for us than it is for them.

- Chelsea’s transfer ban will do nothing to the club, as Wenger categorically stated. All it did was bring attention to a young player who may or may not have been worth the fuss. With rumors that Chelsea will be signing Kun Aguero for 50 million pounds, just what was the point of the ban? Aguero, on his day, is a super player. Not sure that he’ll make it here, but at least his progeny will have super genes.

- William Gallas is a warrior.  And unless his eye is completely shut off, he will play tomorrow.  He relishes the big games, and he will want to play against Chelsea.  Kolo’s pot shot at him was both disrespectful and unnecessary.  How many ex-Arsenal players have to go down that route?  And where are all the pundits who were writing that Arsenal was wrong to sell him now?  Eating that nasty bird.  That’s where.

- Armand Traore struck me as being a useful player last week against Sunderland.  Despite words to the contrary, I felt as though he could be a decent understudy to Clichy.  That being said, Gibbs seemingly helped neutralize the left side of Standard Liege, so his loss will also be felt.  But let’s not forget that Armand Traore is a devoted professional and was once and still is a highly rated prospect.

- The diamond formation for Chelsea is far less effective when Frank Lampard holds the keys.  In that respect, maybe it is better that he has recovered.  Deco and Joe Cole can operate on the tip of the diamond, but Lampard is struggling with it.  That does not mean we can discount his work rate and his affinity for shooting missiles from middle range.

- Then again, clashes between the Big Four rarely come down to offensive brilliance.  They come down to the small moments.  I find it somewhat laughable that Manuel Almunia is talking about ensuring that “we” don’t make any small mistakes.  His rash throw 18 months ago during a match against Chelsea started an attack which led directly to a goal.  If he doesn’t make a mistake against United, we could have walked to victory.  He has been okay since he’s come back from his chest infection/family bereavement.  I suggest that he is the one who should not make a mistake.

- As much as I’d like not to see Cesc associate himself with Gerrard, I can’t help but think his statements about our club are 100% genuine.  Let’s never think about his future while his present is so thoroughly with Arsenal.

- Theo, I’m looking at you.

- A few months ago, we were deprived of having Gallas (through injury) and Arshavin (through ineligibility) in the Champions League semi.  Now, it looks as though Robin will miss out.  When will the stars align for us?  These injuries are taking a toll.

- With Robin van Persie’s devastating injury news, an alternate formation may need to be developed over the next few weeks.  I can’t say something like that for sure, but now, more than ever, somebody needs to step into that breach.  That player has to be Andrey Arshavin.  There have been numerous reports about his depression following Russia’s exit from the World Cup.  I sympathize.  But this is the moment where he proves that he can be one of the all time greats.  I believe he has that potential, and he must prove me right for our season to stay on track.

- I love this club, and I will support it until the day I die.  

Victoria Concordia Crescit.

This weekend our opponents are local rivals Arsenal and the fixture is probably the most important game we have played against Arsenal since a 1-1 draw in 2007 that ended our slim title hopes.

Arsenal like in 2008 have had an amazing start to the season, with the young players groomed by Arsene Wenger playing attractive attacking football and surging up the table.

In 2008 Arsenal buckled under the pressure and we narrowly missed out to Manchester United in the title race, it has now been 6 years without a title and patience at the Emirates can only buy so much time and the question is how this crop of players will react when the pressure mounts?

Despite defeat to Sunderland last week the match on Sunday brings the league’s two form teams together and gives us a chance to record 3 straight wins against last season’s top four sides.

Hopefully Carlo Ancelotti will have an almost full strength squad to pick from for this game with Lampard, Drogba, Ashley Cole all expected to be fit in time for kick off after recent injury problems.

The game itself should be quite open with plenty of chances with the leagues top scoring teams pitted against each other, the key however will be the midfield battle and Chelsea must ensure that Arsenal’s flair players are not given the time on the ball they crave.

On balance I think that Chelsea are stronger across all over the pitch and have a much more settled and balanced line up than Arsenal with or without the injuries, defensively we have the best defence in the league so far this season and the capabilities of our forward and midfield units are the stuff of dreams.

Ideally for me the Chelsea team to face Arsenal would be.

Cech  A. Cole, Terry, Carvalho, Ivanovic, Lampard, Essien, J. Cole, Mikel, Anelka and Drogba 

This is a fairly standard team for the players available however due to Arsenal’s attacking prowess I would give Mikel the nod ahead of Michael Ballack to provide the back four a more defensively minded midfield option.

Prediction: well I will let you do this bit, what do you predict?

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Tottenham’s staggering 9-1 win over Wigan at the weekend saw a number of records either broken or equalled. As well as being Spurs’ biggest top-flight win, Sunday’s one-sided clash at White Hart Lane also saw Harry Redknapp’s side become the second Barclays Premier League team to hit nine in one match. Jermain Defoe matched Andy Cole and Alan Shearer’s record of five individual goals in one Premier League fixture, while Wigan’s Paul Scharner got in on the act by claiming the ‘Thierry Henry slam-dunk of the week award’ as he claimed the Latics’ solitary goal.

Unsurprisingly, Defoe’s five-star performance helped him to earn the highest Actim Index score of the season, a sensational 87 points. The England striker’s mammoth score eclipsed that of Tottenham team-mate Robbie Keane, who held the previous highest total of 80 after scoring four against Burnley. Another Spurs star, Aaron Lennon, picked up 60 points this week to move back into the Team of the Season.

Despite the efforts of Wigan, Spurs do not have the highest number of players in the Team of the Week. That honour goes to London rivals Chelsea, who strolled to a 4-0 victory over struggling Wolves at Stamford Bridge. French winger Florent Malouda grabbed the Blues’ opening goal and picked up a healthy 39 points, while fellow goalscorers Michael Essien and Joe Cole also eclipsed the 30-point mark to book their place among the week’s top scorers.

Stoke’s televised victory over bottom club Portsmouth could politely be described as one for the purists. However, although entertainment was in short supply in a dire clash at the Britannia Stadium, the Potters can claim two of the week’s 20 highest scorers. Jamaica forward Ricardo Fuller grabbed the only goal of the game with 16 minutes remaining and earned 32 points, while Dean Whitehead claimed 26 points for his efforts in midfield. Stoke’s highest-scoring player remains highly-rated defender Ryan Shawcross. The giant 22-year-old, who captained the club for the first time at the weekend in the absence of the suspended Abdoulaye Faye, is in 44th position overall with 159 points.

Didier Drogba may not have featured for Chelsea this weekend due to injury, but the Ivory Coast striker has still moved to the top of the overall Actim standings after Arsenal skipper Cesc Fabregas endured a torrid time in his side’s clash with Sunderland. Fabregas led Drogba by two points ahead of the Gunners’ trip to the Stadium of Light and was expected to extend his lead at the Actim summit. However, the Spaniard went on to record a miserable score of -4 as Arsene Wenger’s side slumped to a 1-0 defeat, putting Drogba back on top. Arsenal forward Robin van Persie was another to miss the latest round of Premier League fixtures through injury and he has slipped from third to fifth in the overall standings as a result.

Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher has come in for significant praise in recent months, with many observers highlighting his importance to Sir Alex Ferguson’s side. And the 25-year-old Scot made another fine contribution as United eased to a 3-0 victory over Everton, opening the scoring with a sublime half-volley. Fletcher’s 29-point total sees him leap from 79th to 45th in the overall standings, making him United’s fourth highest-scoring player of the season.

Birmingham goalkeeper Joe Hart insists he still believes he can break into England’s squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. And the 22-year-old stopper, on loan at St Andrews from Manchester City, did his chances no harm with a fine performance in Birmingham’s 1-0 win over Fulham at the weekend. Hart picked up 21 points for his efforts – the highest score by a goalkeeper this week – and will hope to maintain his good form as the season progresses.

View the latest Actim Index >

We gooien er maar weer eens een VVV-tje tegenaan. Ook het trainersgilde kent haar veelplegers. En ons landje gooit daarbij hoge ogen. De Hollandse headhunter-huurling is een gewild object. Dat er vooralsnog slechts twee onzer oefenmeesters zeker zijn van deelname aan het WK, zegt dus helegaar niks. Wel heeft de reputatie een deukje opgelopen. Erwin Koeman kon de Hongaarse honger niet stillen, Beenhakker blies de aftocht met Polen, Advocaat wisselde een WK met de Aussies in voor Russische roebels. Zelfs Holy Hiddinks toverstaf deed Rusland niet in sprookjes doen geloven. En dan was er nog de grote verrassing dat Arie Haan met Albanië geen kwalificatie wist af te dwingen.

Maar denk nou niet dat Don Leo straks absent is als de camera’s volop draaien en de satellieten in de lucht zijn!  De Mexicaanse bondscoach Ricardo La Volpe wordt midden in de voorbereiding geveld door een mysterieuze griep en dus gaat Don Leo Leuter, uiteraard pas na enig zuchten, kreunen en steunen, naar alweer zijn 3e WK.  En Voetblah als advocaat van de duivel voorspelt dat mannen als Dickie en Louis niet vies zullen zijn van een parttime, desgewenst duo-vakantiebaantje en zullen reageren op – zo al niet zijn benaderd voor - de Vacatures Voor Veeltrainers.

Advocaat is persona non grata in Australië, dus Nieuw-Zeeland. Of een van de Korea’s. Van Gaal kan nog alle kanten uit. Een duo met Maradona zou geweldige televisie opleveren, maar is zoiets als Angela Merkel koppelen aan Sarkozy. Voor De Goddelijke Kanaries zou Louis fluitend tekenen, maar ook zichzelf verheffen tot goddelijke status. Althans zo vrezen de media. Wij denken eerder aan Frankrijk en smullen nu al van het défilé communiqué. En Guus Geluk? In Noord-Korea zit ie op een atoombom. Zuid-Afrika is voor het duo  Krol & Foppe. Brazilië of Argentinië? Het zou zomaar kunnen. Guus zou ook de VS in alle staten brengen. Maar wij gokken op Ivoorkust. Exotisch, eigenzinnig. Plus Drogba, Kalou, Eboue en een zwikje Toure’s!

Ps. Een knelpuntje is de populariteit van bondscoach Henri Michel aan de Ivoorkust. Echter, Domenech heeft bij Les Bleus zijn langste tijd gehad en wie anders dan Michel…
Louis D’Or kan nog alle kanten uit, toch?

So far, each teams in Spanish La Liga played 11 games. While Real Madrid is securing the top spot in Spanish La Liga, Madrid’s another big club, Atletico Madrid is currently on the relegation zone. They are now at the 18th place among 20 teams.

This team marked 4th place in the last season and was able to enter Champions League. But this season, it would be miracle if they achieve like what they did in the last season. In fact, this team only won one game in 11 games. At this point, they have to be worried about relegation, not the ticket for European club competition.

Biggest problem for Atletico Madrid is their defense. So far, they allowed 24 goals which is the worst record among 20 teams. Judging from the game that I have seen, their defensive line is too slow to defend fast attackers. They need fast defenders who can cover the back space and respond quickly to the ball movement.

Making the situation worse, there are rumors that Atletico Madrid’s Argentinian striker, Sergio Aguero, might leave the team in next winter. According to media reports, English giant Chelsea FC is the possible buyer. Chelsea need a striker since they only have Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka as a pure striker in their squad. In fact, Drogba will be absent from January due to the Africa Nations Cup.

If Aguero leaves, I know it is a huge loss for Atletico Madrid. But the good side is that they will get a big cash and with that money, they can rebuild the team. I will still suggest Atletico Madrid to keep Aguero, because he is the best attacking option that the team have. But if the team have to sell him, then they should buy new defenders and strengthen the defensive line. By that way, I think Atletico Madrid could minimize the loss of Aguero and promise better future.

What you missed while finding out that apoaequorin – a protein found in jellyfish – can actually help treat memory loss (which probably means that jellyfish NEVER FORGET SOMEONE WHO CROSSED THEM)…

• Authorities in Germany and Switzerland have arrested 17 people in connection with a match-fixing scandal; the probe uncovered that, amongst other things, three Champions League games and twelve Europa League games were involved.
• A senior French government official (although not French President Nicolas Sarkozy) and Thierry Henry himself have stated that FIFA should at least replay the match from Wednesday; FIFA, however, has refused the request.
• Roy Keane says that the FAI’s request for a replay shouldn’t be granted because the FAI and him don’t get along. Reading between the lines, I’m thinking that Roy Keane might be a little bit of a dick.
• After winning eight straight matches, Spain has displaced Brazil as the best team in the world (according to the FIFA rankings).
• Egypt is going to quit international football for two years to protest the fact that the Algerian national team was either attacked and pelted by rocks OR completely fabricated the entire incident (which would’ve included beating each other up).
• Who Ate All the Pies has a nice GIF of Drogba’s post-karate kick leg shake to welcome back Premier League action.
• Landon Donovan was named the MLS Player of the Year.

For those of us who watch Sky Sports Soccer Saturday, the news that Paul Merson has a blog will no doubt be a cue to erupt in fits of unrestricted glee. The man who brought you such verbal classics as “e’s ‘it the beans on toast, Jeff” and “it’s…Gonzalez…Gonzalo..Gonzalee…what’s ‘is name?”, amongst others, now continues his cockney water torture of the English language on the internets.

Merse, of course, blogs on the ‘Opinion’ bit of the Sky Sports football website. Right here. If you are curious enough to click that link you will be pleasantly surprised by the picture of Merson looking either a)scared by a football or b)confused by a football. I can’t quite decide which. Anyway, his most recent article (written on November 6th before Chelsea v Manchester Utd) proves, at the very least, that even super football geniuses need proof-readers.

Scare of the Drog

This is the headline. If it is a pun then the joke has passed me by. Googling “scare of the dog” proved fruitless.

Blues must win of they want to take title

Seriously, go and check, I’m not making this up. In fact, even if that was written correctly “Blues must win if they want to take title” isn’t the sort of sentence that would necessarily make people sit up and take notice. But who am I to judge? I just look forward to the day that Paul Merson guest-edits New Scientist magazine.

Nobody is going to win the league on Sunday

wat

…

Manchester United couldn’t be playing any worse right now

They could though, couldn’t they? I mean, they were 2nd in the table at the time. They could have been, like, bottom of the table and losing all their games. A more realistic sentence could possibly have been “Manchester United have been slightly underwhelming so far” or “Manchester United have been as predictable as everyone on Soccer Saturday laughing when I mispronounce Sylvain Ebanks-Blake’s name for the 790,000,0001th time”.

It’s no surprise to see Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka playing well together. I played with Anelka and he’s one of the best centre-forwards around – while Drogba is probably the best.

Anelka – one of the best

Drogba – the best (probably)

And so, if we add these two together we get the special footballing recipe known as “playing well together”. Paul Merson gets paid for this.

Joe Cole has come back into the side and has been like a new signing (which is useful if they can’t buy anyone in January!). I remember when he was at West Ham he was a showboater, he turned me inside out with a trick once, but didn’t have any end product.

Nothing much to say about this, except that “he turned me inside out with a trick once” is one of the funniest lines I’ve read in a while and I’m not even sure why. I think he should have ended the sentence with “needless to say, I had the last laugh”.

…

It’s vital that United defend well and the ball must stick with the strikers when it goes forward

I agree, no point giving it to those pesky defenders.

Just a few highlights there and, most satisfyingly, I still have no idea what “Scare of the Drog” means. In fact, Merson only mentions Drogba 3 times during the article and never in the context of Man Utd being scared of him. Cor blimey!

Well folks, it’s November. Which means it’s almost December. Which means it’s almost January. Which means it’s almost time for the transfer window to open once more. Which means it’s rumour time.

In the past week I have seen several articles detailing certain high profile clubs (English) monitoring the movements of a “new Kaká,” a “new Didier Drogba” and so on and so forth. I’ve heard rumours about Roman Pavlyuchenko coming to Roma in a swap for Julio Baptista, of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar going pretty much anywhere but Milan, and of pretty much every single pleasant surprise of this year being on their merry way out the doors of their respective clubs. Not to mention players like Nani, Guti and Phillip Lahm, who have taken nasty swipes (however accurate) at their clubs via the press recently; with rumours of Lahm to Real Madrid and the other two far from spectacular, could these be foreshadowings of events to come in the new year?

I’ll rattle off some other trade rumours: Juan Manuel Vargas to Real Madrid, Edin Dzeko to AC Milan, Marek Hamsik to Chelsea, Sergio Agüero to Chelsea, Angel Di Maria to Chelsea, (and so on and so forth), Raúl to Retirement, Cesc Fàbregas to Barcelona, and even Wayne Rooney to Barcelona (ha!).

Will any of these rumours come true? Eh, maybe one or two. For the most part it’s probably all just a load of crap; the unfounded conjecture and speculation that always precedes the opening of the transfer window. It will be interesting to see just what does materialize in the new year, and especially how much the transfer window will be affected by the Real Madrid-inflation that occurred over the summer. In the meantime, let the rumours fly; ’tis the season!

Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has matched his ferocity on the pitch by being aggressive in giving: He recently pledged 3 million pounds to a school in his native Ivory Coast: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1227047/EXCLUSIVE-Chelsea-striker-Didier-Drogba-pledges-3m-build-hospital-Ivory-Coast-homeland.html

Inilah top scorers sementara liga Inggris (english Premier League) 2009/2010

01.Fernando
Torres
(Liverpool) 10
gol

02. Didier Drogba
(Chelsea) 9 gol

03. Darrent Bent
(Sunderland) 8
gol

04. Louis Saha
(Everton) 7 gol

05. Robin Van
Persie
(Arsenal) 7 gol

06. Wayne Rooney
(Man. Utd) 7 gol

07. Robbie Keane
(Tottenham H.)
6 gol

08. Jermain Defoe
(Tottenham H.)
6 gol

09. Carlton Cole
(West Ham Utd)
6 gol

10. Cesc Fabregas
(Arsenal) 6 gol

11. Gabriel
Agbonlahor
(Aston Villa) 6
gol

12. Craig Bellamy
(Man. City) 5
gol

13. Kenwny Jones
(Sunderland) 5
gol

14.Hugo Rodallega
(Wigan Athletic)
5 gol

15. Graham
Alexander
(Burnley) 4 gol

16. David Dunn
(Blackburn R.)
4 gol

17. Steven Gerrard
(Liverpool) 4
gol

18. Frank Lampard
(Chelsea) 4 gol

19. Dimitar
Berbatov
(Man. utd) 4 gol

20. Emmanuel
Adebayor
(Man. City) 4 gol

Yuk intip medysept 91 di
www.alexa.com

I’m not underplaying the provocative international matches tomorrow. France v. Ireland promises to be an intriguing fixture, with Raymond Domenech’s head on the line. Portugal v. Bosnia-Herzegovina is a matchup ripe for an upset.

That being said, my head has been turned by the Chelsea players who will miss the match against us in two weeks time.

The players are Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba, Jose Bosingwa, and Ashley Cole. John Terry has a slight knock.

This is excellent news for two reasons.

The first, I don’t need to mention. We must not allow Chelsea to extend their lead over us, and they will be primed to be pounced on, especially without Drogba who nearly always scores against us.

The second reason is less important. Because Chelsea will be missing key personnel, I’m sure people will underestimate the importance of the win. That will allow us to fly under the radar, something I’d prefer.

So I send out thanks to the English FA for using a plane to small to accommodate English players and Jonny Evans for his kung-fu tackle on Didier.

That being said, fingers crossed that our own players make it back from their own intense matches.

Ściągnij osiemdziesiąty szósty odcinek

Redaktor Zawada biega w deszczu po mieście. Jose Maria Bakero ląduje w Warszawie. Wielka remontada w Madrycie. Cristiano Ronaldo jednak kontuzjowany. Real w derbach pokonał Atletico. Chelsea – Manchester bez fajerwerków. Ojciec Terry’ego dorabia na boku. Czemu wszyscy pragną faulować Drogbę? Szpilki Adama Musiała. Marsylia z Lyonem bez obrońców. Czy Boenisch będzie wybierał przeciwników kadry? Kłócimy się o redaktora Steca. Polonia Białogon gromi Wicher Miedziana Góra. Żegnamy Roberta Enke. Mały ucieka dużemu, czyli Wałujew po raz kolejny. Jak w bokserskim biznesie próbuje się kopiować tricki Kaufmana. Skra Bełchatów druga. Kubot wchodzi do pierwszej setki.

The wonderful people over at The Spoiler are reporting that Didier Drogba has donated 3 million pounds to build a hospital. Now I understand Drogba is no saint – he still dives, cons referees, complains about everything, and has shocking hair – but his act of giving back has opened up a soft spot in my heart for him. I really do hope other Premier League stars and athletes follow his lead. I know celebrities give back all the time, and I admire them for doing so. However, relative to the amount of money these stars are making, the amount of money they give back is hardly comforting. In fact, Drogba’s donation is far more than I’d ever expect any athlete to give. If an athlete is making 10 million dollars a year, donating 500 thousand of those dollars would hardly put a dent in their way of life. It would, however, make a huge difference in the lives of hundreds, if not thousands, of people. And that’s just one athlete. I understand they work hard for their money and can choose to do whatever they wish with it, but I also understand that 500k is 1/20 of their salary, which would leave them with 9.5 million other dollars. I can think of several things to do with that sort of money.

As long as professional athletes and other rich people are being advised accordingly, making a huge donation really won’t affect their lifestyles at all. Lets take a billionaire for example. If Roman Abramovich is worth 8.5 billion dollars, surely he could donate 1 billion dollars and do whatever he does on a day to day basis with 7.5 billion other dollars. He was reportedly seen eating a 47,000 dollar lunch the other day in New York. I eat fresh at Subway for $5.55 on a regular basis and leave feeling good.

The world is full of problems that could be helped greatly with the injection of huge donations. Drogba’s 5 million dollar contribution is a huge step towards that help. I really hope others take notice of his generous act.

Sunday’s match was a fierce battle pitting the English Premier League leading Chelsea versus third-place Manchester United; still tied 0-0, Chelsea’s star striker Didier Drogba went hard after a loose ball bounding towards the penalty box. Man U defender Jonny Evans was coming strong from the opposite angle and jumped in to corral the ball. While in the air, he led with his foot and (mostly) inadvertently kicked Didier right in the chest. No dive needed on this play, watch the replay where Drogba’s chest gets stabbed with a pair of cleats. Yowch!

What you missed while Darth Vader was being made into a cathedral gargoyle…

• Third tier Alcorcón lost 1-0 to Real Madrid yesterday in the second leg of the Copa del Rey; due to their 4-0 win two weeks ago they’ll still advance to the next round over the nine-time champions. This doesn’t phase Florentino Pérez, however: “Our dream is to build a spectacular team but it would not be a failure if we didn’t win a title.” What his exact definition of “failure” is has yet to be determined, but losing to a club worth about 1% of your transfer budget apparently doesn’t qualify.
• David Ngog isn’t a cheat…says David Ngog’s agent.
• Roman Pavlyuchenko will insist that he be allowed to leave Tottenham when he sits down with Harry Redknapp after the international break.
• Robinho is apparently unhappy at Manchester City because they got rid of all their Brazilians and wants out of town; however, he apparently isn’t going to Barcelona, who’re fresh out of cash for the transfer.
• Congratulations to the Suwon Bluewings, your new Korean Cup winners.
• Didier Drogba’s withdrawn from the Côte d’Ivoire national team’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers due to injury.
• China’s not messing around about sorting out their national team anymore. They should maybe consider bringing in Bob Bradley to sort them out…?
• Aston Villa defender Luke Young has retired from international football.
• Peter Crouch has vowed to stop clubbing so that Fabio Capello won’t drop him from the national team. The sacrifices these guys make for sport stun me.
• Sheffield Wednesday boss Brian Laws believes that it’s only a matter of time before a Premier League club goes bankruptLALALALALIVERPOOLCAN’THEARYOU!

Chelsea Meet Carlo...

The Borough of Chelsea and Kensington is home to a number of the wealthiest people on earth, the most sublime of gastronomic delights, and is a practically unrivaled locale for a shopper on the hunt for haute couture. Yes, Chelsea is undoubtedly one of London’s crown jewels, though its extra sparkle of late can be solely attributed to one man… and his influence over their infamous boys in blue.

Several years ago when ‘The Special One’, Jose Mourinho, left the club due to a prolonged and aggravated dispute with the powers that be, Chelsea was once again thrust into football limbo. Granted this limbo included a trip to the Champions League final in 2008, but it also included player dissatisfaction, off field escapades and falling short in their quest to win the EPL, the Carling Cup, the FA Cup, not to mention losing to bitter rivals Manchester United in the aforementioned Champions League Final.

It was obvious that Avram Grant was not the answer, and it became painfully obvious to everybody, except perhaps the man himself, that Luiz Felipe Scolari was not the man for the job either. Such dissatisfaction with the team’s management had Chelsea fans in London, England, and indeed the world over, clamoring for Chelsea’s billionaire sugar daddy, Roman Abramovich, to put aside his squabble with the gifted Portuguese. With typical Russian stoicism he declined their requests and delivered unto them a saviour that has footy fans who worship the blue and white asking… Jose Who???

He knows the stakes. He knows the odds. He knows his competition, and more importantly, how to dissect and frustrate them. He is the master of the four man defensive system. Champions League? He has won it 4 times… twice with his own two feet and twice with a pad and a pen. His name is Carlo Ancelotti, and Chelsea fans, you can thank Roman later.

Of course the majority of Ancelotti’s success came while at the helm of Italian giant AC Milan. He took one of the world’s true football dynasties and restored them to the glory of the star studded Milan teams of the late 80s and early 90’s. Chelsea  fans should be honoured that he has selected their club as his next project. That is not to say that he is charged with building The Blues up from scratch. On the contrary, this is a team that is far and wide unrivaled in its collection of talent. However, much like Milan, talent counts for little if the squad does not move uniformly towards one ultimate goal. The goal, the only goal according to Abramovich, is for Ancelotti to replicate his successes with Milan at Chelsea, and to become the Champions of Europe.

Of course, like all great Italian football strategists, Ancelotti focuses on building from the net out. In Peter Cech he has arguably one of the greatest keepers of the past decade, and in John Terry he has found a captain and defensive workhorse reminiscent of a certain Milanese defender of note. Paolo something I think his name is. To that end, the Milan comparisons are numerous. A midfield previously reserved for wide attack play has been substituted for more through the middle action, focusing primarily through the artistic conduit that is Frank Lampard (Kaka anyone?). Furthermore, strong play and deft passing from Michael Essien and John Mikel Obi has allowed for more freedom of movement on the wings and of course down the middle to the strike duo of Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba. That’s right, a strike duo.

For years, Drogba has patrolled Chelsea’s opponents’ 18 yard box on his own, the tip of Chelsea’s attacking spear as it were. However, upon reflecting on his ‘modest success’ utiziling Andrei Shevchencko and Filippo Inzaghi simultaneously at Milan, Ancelotti has decided that perhaps using two of the deadliest strikers in Europe in the same starting XI would increase the team’s killer instinct in front of goal.

Lets have a look the results thus far. EPL rivals Liverpool and Manchester United have come calling to Stamford Bridge and both have been turned away by scores of 2-0 and 1-0 respectively. Chelsea currently sits supreme in the Premiership with a mighty 10-0-2 record, both losses coming away from London’s west end. Moreover, it was not until last week that Chelsea allowed a goal in this Champions League season, again in an away match.

Cech Please...

Granted the scoring touch of Drogba and new pal Anelka is ever present as is the high flying wing play of Florent Malouda. It should be noted that many teams in the premiership have proven scoring capability. Take Arsenal for example, a team of  chock full of young phenoms who like nothing better than to find the back of the net, often rely solely on this ability in order to eek out wins in their matches. Their defense, however, has for some time been a point of contention, and this year’s incarnation has not put that unease to rest.

In this writer’s opinion, much of Chelsea’s early success this season can be attributed to the stonewall goal keeping of Petr Cech and Ancelotti’s movable fortress of John Terry (et al) manning the barricades in front of him. Together this defensive unit has amassed 6 clean sheets in 12 premiership matches, and 3 clean sheets in 4 opportunities in Champions League play.  All in all a considerable improvement on the campaigns of years previous. If Ancelotti can continue to find ways to mesh his Italian style defense with a traditionally opportunistic Premiership style attack it will be next to impossible for their opponents to knock them off track en route to perhaps the greatest season in club history.

Attention football clubs of Europe, Chelsea’s Carlo Ancelotti Era has arrived. Beware not only the fortress he has built at ‘The Bridge’, but also the heights his squad can reach once he irons out their away game and takes it with him on the war path.

Arsenal’s trophy cabinet may have been collecting nothing but dust in recent seasons but the plaudit cabinet at the Emirates Stadium is undoubtedly full-to-busting this term as their attacking exploits have earned them many admirers. Another fine display from Arsene Wenger’s men saw them destroy Wolves 4-1 and as a result three of their players reside in the top 10 of the Actim Index, with Cesc Fabregas, Robin Van Persie and Thomas Vermaelen featuring.

Despite Chelsea beating champions Manchester United at the weekend, Didier Drogba had a disappointing afternoon on the pitch. And on Sunday night Drogba may well have settled down in his expensive house to watch the Black Eyed Peas perform on the X Factor without knowing he shared the same fate as Fergie and co. That’s right, Sunday night saw the BEP dumped from the top of the singles chart by Tinchy Stryder and Drogba has also lost his place at the top of the pile, slipping down to number two mainly thanks to some impressive from by Fabregas, who takes his place at the summit.

Aston Villa dominate the Team of the Week – but they had the advantage of having played an extra game to most other teams. They lost at West Ham last midweek but made up for it in style with a 5-1 thumping of Bolton at the weekend. John Carew, who poses a huge threat to England’s World Cup chances if he continues to keep Emile Heskey out of the Villa side, had a marvellous afternoon, scoring once and having a hand in three others. He carded an impressive score of 60, which was only outdone by team-mate Ashley Young’s effort of 66. James Milner and Carlos Cuellar complete Villa’s presence in the select XI.

The fat ladies of Hull may well have been having a gargle in preparation for a song or two in honour of beleaguered boss Phil Brown before the weekend. But they will have stood down after the last-gasp victory over Stoke at the weekend. However, despite the win, Hull’s players are still struggling in the Index. Winger Stephen Hunt is their highest-placed player in 38th but you have to go well into the three figures to find their next player, with Kamil Zayatte weighing in at 110th. If there was an Index for most letters in a name, Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink would almost certainly top it, but Sunday’s matchwinner is out of luck and he will have to make do with a double nelson, sitting at 222.

Talking of Nelsen, Blackburn’s Ryan Nelsen is having an impressive season and is proving that there is much more to New Zealand than cult comedy duo Flight of the Conchords, Jonah Lomu and rain. Nelsen had a great time of it in the win over Portsmouth, grabbing his first goal of the season and as a result takes his place in the Team of the Week. He moved up 68 places in the overall Index and will look for further improvement as he currently sits in 158th.

Portugal are in dire straits ahead of their World Cup play-off against Bosnia-Herzegovina and are currently embroiled in a bitter row with Real Madrid over the availability of the ‘one man’ in their one-man team, Cristiano Ronaldo. And the Winker’s countrymen are not having a good time of it in the Actim Index this season. Chelsea’s Ricardo Carvalho is leading the way in 37th and even that is courtesy of a sizeable shift up the Index on the back of the win over Manchester United. Deco is doing what Deco does best and flattering to deceive in a disappointing 76th, while every Manchester United fan’s pet hate (apart from traffic on the M25 travelling up to home games) Nani is in a meagre 113th. West Ham’s Manuel Da Costa is at the bottom of the pile in 349th.

View the latest Actim Index >

Okay, okay. Before I am crucified let me first apologize for the lack of blogging as of late. I’ve been on the only two week holiday I’ve ever had in my life (two weeks straight, that is) and since my job is cricket orientated and I’ve been maxing out on football since the mister got DSTV installed I really couldn’t be bothered to write anything.

I won’t lie, I’m not even sure what’s going on in the cricket world at the moment. I do know that South Africa take on Zimbabwe tomorrow, though, and I am covering the game. Great. No better way to get straight back into work is there?

I know I promised to break the news about Arsenal being linked to a pharmacutical company – here’s the deal. Reportedky the North London club have cut a deal with a blood pressure medication manufacturing company. Apparently they are awarded a precentage of sales thanks to  Nicklas Bendter. I know that this sounds absurd but it’s a very feasible arguement…even  my mother who knows NOTHING about football managed to say: “wow, that guy is terrible”.

In other football news. It seems that the trophy is coming to London. We just don’t know which part of London yet. I know that I should probably have a go at Didier Drogba for his little leg twitch but I really couldn’t be f***ed to care.

I’ll be back tomorrow with some more bits and bobs and probably a rant about South Africa’s performance against Zim.

xoxox

Ms Print

Now playing: Placebo – Blind

Chelsea beat Manchester United and we are now 5 points clear of them at the top (the view from the top is spectacular!). The best bit was that it was our captain fantastic John Terry who scored the all important goal in a very hard fought out game of football. I can’t believe I finally got a prediction so right! Earlier in the day someone asked me who would score for Chelsea and I had said JT!  It would have been great if Chelsea had won by loads of goals but credit to Manchester United for playing very well. In fact, I think United played some of their best football of the season last evening, which probably isn’t saying  much especially since their form has been no where near  what it was during the sparkling win-all Cristiano Ronaldo days.  However, of all the clashes with the top 3, the match I enjoy the least is when Chelsea play Manchester United and it’s not because I am scared of Chelsea losing… I mean, c’mon the last time Chelsea lost to Manchester United was in April 2002!  Its because no matter how well you play against Manchester United to beat them, you are always blamed for cheating or getting lucky or both. The next days headlines are usually dominated not by the positive play of the team that won but by how poor a deal United or what Sir Alex thinks! I don’t care what Sir Alex has to say! He is the worst loser in the league. Don’t get me wrong, I understand that wanting to win every time is the mark of a champion. It shows your desire, your passion for the game and your commitment to excellence. But there is a difference between wanting to win every time and being a unsporting, blaming, bratty loser. Sir Alex has made being a bad loser something of an art. Whenever his team loses, there is almost always something wrong with the refereeing, or the referee or the weather and when United win, he shares a laugh and jokes with the same referees who have now remarkably become fit and worthy of his smiles and back-slapping!

He is a brilliant manager and one would forgive  him a lot but surely he must know that his attitude is adopted by his team. They look up to the gaffer and so when thing aren’t going their way, instead of focusing on their football, they start to focus on being bratty and on trying to influence referee decision like Darren Fletcher did when he waved an imaginary card at referee Martin Atkinson in an attempt to get Carvalho dismissed for a tackle on Rooney.

If Johnny Evans’  ill-tempered tackle on Drogba was not a case of a dangerously high-challenge, I don’t know what is. His studs caught Drogba in the chest full-force leaving the Chelsea striker wincing in pain and he was quite understandably in no position to jog off the field at lightening pace. The referee showed him a yellow for staying on the field, an incomprehensible and inhuman decision. Johnny Evans who deserved a red for the assault got away scot-free.

Sir Alex has pointed out quite a few things wrong with the goal that won Chelsea the game, starting from the free-kick which he felt was unjustly awarded to Chelsea; he feels Drogba was interfering with play from an offside position and also something about the referee not being in the right position. Next, he will be complaining about the colour of the referee’s hair or perhaps the effect Carlo Ancelloti’s raised eyebrow has on Fletcher’s concentration and how the chairs at Stamford are at a strange home-team advantage angle. Stop lying to yourself and cooking up excuses and blaming everything in sight. Admit that you didn’t make the most of the chances you had and the other team did, decisions in football have a weird way of evening themselves out and are never the reason a team wins or loses a game. The bottom line is Manchester United lost and Chelsea who haven’t by the way conceded at Stamford Bridge in 872 minutes, won.

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