Posts Tagged ‘eChelseaFC’

Wigan v Chelsea Preview

The first away game of the season is against Wigan who despite capitulating on the last day of the season defeated Chelsea at the DW stadium last time Chelsea were the visitors.
Chelsea will be hoping for a much improved performance on that 3-1 defeat this Saturday when the club is again the Saturday evening feature.

I would expect that Carlo Ancelotti will make few changes from the side that decimated West Brom with Paulo Ferreria and John Obi Mikel the only players whose place in the side is at risk.

After a poor performance against West Bromwich Albion, I would expect Ferreria to make way for the reliable Branislav Ivanovic at right back, whilst the arrival of Ramires may mean that Mikel misses out, although he may survive for this week at least.

Likely Team to Face Wigan

Cech, Cole, Terry, Alex, Ivanovic, Mikel, Lampard, Essien, Malouda, Drogba, Anelka
Wigan have had a poor start to the season with defeat to Blackpool on the opening day in a humiliating 4-0 defeat.

Although their manager Roberto Martinez likes to play attractive football he has little resource to get the players into the team to help him with this goal and his side faces an uphill battle with relegation this term.

It is likely that Wigan will play a defensive game despite being at home and it will be up to Ivanovic and Cole to provide the width that can allow Chelsea to break Wigan down.

eChelseaFC refuses to make predictions, but anything other than an away win will be considered a shock.

View from the Shed

Due to low attendances from home fans, Chelsea have received a large allocation meaning that the atmosphere is normally pretty impressive as everyone who wants one can get tickets.
The evening kick off makes it easier to get to the game without a ridiculously early start.

Chelsea FC Rout West Bromwich Albion on Opening Day

Chelsea FC started the 2010/2010 in style with a domineering six goal rout of newly promoted West Bromwich Albion to ensure they start the season as they finished the last, atop of the Premier League.

The result will have lifted the spirits after an unnerving pre-season that failed to inspire confidence or show the fitness of a post World Cup squad.

The game itself was a rout despite some of the goals being scrappy, Chelsea were dominant throughout with only Paulo Ferreira’s poor marshalling of Jerome Thomas to concern the home side as only a Chelsea victory looked possible after Florent Malouda’s opening goal.

Six goals is also an impressive statement to be making to the rest of the league on the opening day, Chelsea may be champions but have no intention of giving up their title in a hurry.

The season is long and this is no time to get carried away, West Brom were poor and some would say ‘lucky to get nil’

eChelseaFC player rankings

Petr Cech – N/A –  Unfair to rank this spectator who had little to do except remember to change ends at half time

Ashley Cole – 8 – Offered plenty going forward and looked composed in defence with some deft touches and sublime turns

John Terry – 6 – Little to do in defence but did whatever was asked, some frailties as shown in community shield exposed from long ball.

Alex - 7 – Same comments as for John Terry, however this understanding should improve with games and fitness.

Paulo Ferreria – 4.5 -Played poorly and was exposed frequently against Jerome Thomas, expect Ivanovic to replace him in the first team imminently.

Michael Essien – 7 – Great to see him back and his performance did not disappoint.

Frank Lampard -8 – Excellent performance capped off by a well worked goal as the England hangover was put to bed.

Florent Malouda – 8 – Two goals and a professional performance from the Frenchman

John Obi Mikel – 6 – Overall a good performance but clumsy in possession at times which will be punished by better opposition.

Nicholas Anelka – 6.5 – Performed well at times and is a perfect foil for Drogba, however he will have more of an impact on other days.

Didier Drogba – 9 – Free kick created the first goal and he got 3 himself even if the last one was fortuitous, starts the season as he finished the last in blistering form.

 View from the Shed (Well… Mathhew Harding Upper this time)

Evening kick offs are great as gives alot more time for pre-match preparation in the pub and it was great to see all my Chelsea friends around the Bridge again.

Like many fans I was caught out in a pre game downpour that soaked those queuing to get into the ground twenty minutes before kickoff, fortunately the weather was relatively warm and the rain was unable to dampen the fans pre-game spirits even if I did have to give up my coat to a friend in the front row.

After digging out some old Chelsea shirts the day before I elected to wear the 1993 away shirt to the game, as this was the first Chelsea kit I ever owned and I got nostalgic looking at the shirt I first wore when I was 7, I think I have stumbled upon a new first game tradition.

A great day and a fantastic result, next up Wigan away.

Ramires Deal Sealed

Position: Central Midfield

Former Club: Benfica

Nationality: Brazilian

Age: 23

Ramires has been confirmed as a Chelsea player after signing a 4 year deal with the club after completing a medical according Chelsea TV

The young Brazilian midfielder impressed in Benfica’s title winning side in Portugal last season. Having moved to Lisbon from Cruzeiro last summer, the ‘Blue Kenyan’ (as he was nicknamed in his homeland) has become hot property on the European transfer market.

Chelsea’s midfield has lost Michael Ballack this summer and with Michael Essien picking up more and more injuries; it might be time to invest in a midfield which has carried itself without major investment for practically five seasons.

Moreover, Frank Lampard is now the wrong side of 30, meaning that he will surely begin to miss more games as the strain of Premier League, Champions League and International fixtures keep racking up on his body. Not to mention the fact that Joe Cole has swapped Chelsea blue for Liverpool red.

Ramires has a knack of scoring goals with runs from deep, as well as an eye for a killer pass. The fact that he is just 23 means that the future of the midfield at Stamford Bridge could be secured for several years, as he will join the relatively youthful pairing of John Obi Mikel and Essien as well as the highly rated youngster Nemanja Matic.

Profile by Richard French

More to follow

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A Tribute to Ricardo Carvalho

Carvalho in his last game in a Chelsea shirt against Frankfurt

It seems now inevitable that the curtain is about to fall on Ricardo Carvalho’s illustrious six year career at Chelsea as the club and Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid have agreed a £6.7m fee for the 32 year old defender.

Arriving shortly after his new employer at Stamford Bridge from Porto he quickly ousted William Gallas as the preferred partner to John Terry in the centre of defence and earned a reputation as a cultured and talented defender. Always a danger from set pieces he scored a suprisingly low 11 times for Chelsea but doubtlessy created many more by the nuisance he caused in opposition penalty area.

It is with little doubt that Chelsea and in particular John Terry can attribute a great amount of their collective success to the defensive capabilities of Ricardo Carvalho and a tribute to his talent that he has became such a vital part of an incredibly successful Chelsea team.

He has earnt the admiration of the Chelsea faithful and whilst it has seemed inevitable for a long time now that he would at sometime rejoin Jose Mourinho, he will be sorely missed.

The only upside of this departure is that at 32 the defender is entering the twilight of his career and £6.7m represents excellent value to Chelsea providing Alex and Ivanovic can step up sufficiently to fill the Portugeuse internationals shoes.

Finally I would like to propose a toast to Ricardo Carvalho, a true Chelsea legend.

Ricardo Carvalho Stats

Appearances: 210

Goals: 11

Watch the last one with the sound off!

Is This The End for Hilario and Turnbull at Chelsea

Has Carlo Ancelotti Lost Faith in Hilario?

After some poor pre-season goalkeeping displays, it would not surprise me if Carlo Ancelotti has lost faith in his two back up options Ross Turnbull and Henrique Hilario.

A series of gaffes by both goalkeepers has left the Italian with a selection headache he could do without as Chelsea seek to retain their title.

The current transfer rumour is that former Portsmouth number 2 and Tottenham target Begovic will be coming to Stamford Bridge from Stoke to shore up what is normally one of the strongest areas of the Chelsea line up. [guardian article]

If as the rumours suggest, Ancelotti is now looking to bolster his options then surely this will mean the end of Henrique Hilario and possibly Ross Turnbull’s ambitions at the club.

Whilst being understudy to one of the top goalkeepers in the World is nothing to be embarrassed about, if you are unable to inspire confidence to cover 3 or 4 games a season, then as footballers these players must be wondering why they bother.

Sure not having any work to do and earning a large wage on the bench may suit some (infact to many this has been Hilario’s Chelsea career), yet if there is no possibility of breaking into the team, even as a back up, then you should be looking for a lower level to play your football and at least get games.

Sad but true it appears that Hilarious and Turnbull just aren’t making the grade despite some decent covering moments from Hilario at least in the past.

If the confidence is gone, the question is who should be Chelsea’s number two?

For the latest transfer news go to UptheChels.com