General Chelsea Stuff

[NikkiCFC 7,562]

Legend! 

Was about to post it in his thread but it is closed @Jason 

[Magic Lamps 11,445]

https://m.spox.com/de/sport/fussball/international/england/2004/Diashows/fc-cheslsea-schnellste-spieler-seit-2013-14/hazard-hudson-odoi-ruediger-pedro.html

 

Our quickest players ranked by top speed. All above 34 kmh which is already damn fast. 2nd place is a shocker. Apparently Azpi ran 35kmh in October 2019. not bad for an old man...

[Jase 43,479]

Doesn't look like the club are furloughing the staff.

https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/11968597/premier-league-clubs-furlough-pay-cuts-deferrals

All Chelsea players and staff are being paid as normal. Cesar Azpilicueta is involved in talks with other Premier League captains about setting up a fund to help the NHS.

Roman Abramovich is paying for The Millennium Hotel at Stamford Bridge to be used free of charge by NHS staff.

Chelsea's global charity partner Plan International is responding to the effects of Coronavirus around the world. It works in more than 70 countries.

[Laylabelle 9,292]

Good good. They can't. Smaller clubs maybe can understand as no so much of a income but for a huge club like Chelsea makes sense..and especially after how feelings been known after other clubs probably for the best.

[Jase 43,479]

 

[Vesper 27,282]

Chelsea hero and league record scorer Jimmy Greaves admitted to hospital 

https://www.chelsea-news.co/2020/04/chelsea-hero-league-record-scorer-admitted-hospital/

The former Blues, England, Tottenham and West Ham striker had a severe stroke some years ago, and is now “being treated in hospital for an unspecified illness.”

The Daily Mirror report that it is not known to be coronavirus related.

Greaves came through the ranks at Chelsea before a glittering career that saw him blast his way to fourth on England’s list of top scorers.

He won the World Cup in 1966, and is Tottenham’s leading ever goalscorer, as well as the top scorer in England’s top division ever – 357.

He got 124 goals for Chelsea alone, making him one of our most prolific players even just from the early days of his career which he spent at Stamford Bridge.

We wish Jimmy all the best, and hope to see him well again as soon as possible. It takes a great man to bridge the Chelsea Spurs divide, and he manages it easily.

[Vesper 27,282]

The Abramovich Takeover Story
This week, host Matt Davies-Adams and our resident Chelsea trio of Liam Twomey, Simon Johnson & Dom Fifield, reflect on the most significant moment in Chelsea's recent history: When Roman Abramovich bought the club back in 2003.

Mark Taylor, corporate lawyer and one of the key players involved in the deal, reveals his first impressions of Roman, how Ken Bates really felt about the sale, how close Abramovich came to actually buying Spurs and the importance of *that* game against Liverpool...

Unsurprisingly, Jesper Grønkjær is also revealed as this week's Cult Hero!

https://theathletic.com/podcast/139-straight-outta-cobham/?episode=21

[Jase 43,479]

 

[Vesper 27,282]

The end of Chelsea’s Brazilian experiment

https://theathletic.com/1734901/2020/04/11/brazil-chelsea-brazilians-oscar-ramires-wallace-luiz-david-piazon-kenedy/

At one point during a 5-0 win at Swansea on January 17, 2015, five of the 11 players Chelsea had on the pitch were capped Brazil internationals. As things stand, the figure next season is going to be zero.

Should Willian leave Chelsea as expected this year — he said in an interview with Brazilian media this week that he was off — it may not only be regarded as the departure of a dedicated servant, but also the end of an era in the club’s history.

Chelsea have had at least one capped Brazilian in their squad since Alex made his debut in 2007, but the love affair with talent from South America is in danger of fizzling out. Jorginho (who left for Italy when he was 15), and Emerson Palmieri (who moved there at 20) are still there of course, yet the connection to the land of their birth is diluted somewhat by their decision to represent the Azzurri at international level.

It is a remarkable turn of events. Stamford Bridge has danced to a bit of samba beat from the moment one of Roman Abramovich’s key advisors Piet de Visser met influential Brazilian agent Giuliano Bertolucci. The pair struck an accord, and Alex was signed by Chelsea in 2004. (He was instantly loaned out to PSV Eindhoven, where De Visser was working as a scout, due to work permit issues.)

As the defender’s representative, Bertolucci was obviously already in contact with Chelsea, but the sealing of a bond with De Visser helped him become rapidly accepted into the inner circle. He was developing a fine reputation for spotting gifted players back in his homeland. This in turn led to him setting up an alliance with Kia Joorabchian, a good acquaintance of another trusted Abramovich aide, super agent Pini Zahavi. Joorabchian, an Iranian businessman, had founded Media Sports Investments and formed a partnership with Brazilian football club Corinthians.

For all parties it represented an opportunity. Chelsea had a gateway to sign players from a country that had won five World Cups; for Bertolucci and Joorabchian, there was a wealthy European club where they could position clients, then reap the financial rewards. Some of Chelsea’s most important players of the last decade — Oscar, Ramires, David Luiz and Willian — all stem from the Bertolucci-Joorabchian stable.

Not that Abramovich relied on these two men alone. Zahavi was employed, albeit unsuccessfully, in the pursuit of Neymar from Santos in 2010, while striker Diego Costa, who led the line for Chelsea from 2014-17, is a client of Jorge Mendes.

But one by one, Chelsea’s Brazilian contingent has left and there were even reports last year, which Joorabchian denied, that his bond with the west London club had cooled markedly. There is certainly a question mark over whether Brazil will ever be so healthily represented again. Chelsea have spent in excess of £20 million in trying to find the next crown jewel among Brazil’s young players such as Lucas Piazon, Nathan, Kenedy and Wallace. The first trio have been loaned out on several occasions and have just 15 starts between them (Kenedy 13, Piazon 2, Nathan 0), while Wallace joined Figueirense last year after failing to make a single appearance.

Tim Vickery, a journalist who has covered South American football for the likes of the BBC since 1994, believes the quartet’s struggles may have led to a change of approach. “If that relationship is ending and you’re looking for reasons why, just look at the players Chelsea and England are producing now,” he tells The Athletic. “Maybe there is not the need to import Brazilians if you can have your own. Some of the recent signings from Brazil haven’t really come off. The hype around Piazon in Brazil was unbelievable but where is he now? (On loan at Portuguese club Rio Ave.) People in Brazil thought he was going to be world class. Kenedy is another.

“The way the market has gone if you’re 23 and still in Brazil, you’re considered a bit old for European clubs. They want them by 19-20. But if you buy at that age, it is such a lottery. Recently a French club came over, we don’t know who it was, but they left some notes. One of the things they observed was how poor football in the country has become. They also said the young talent may be good, but Europe is producing players just as good. Maybe that is something which is weakening the relationship — clubs like Chelsea have learnt to use their own.

“I think Willian leaving will be regarded as the end of an era at Chelsea among Brazilians. There is not the same connection anymore. No one else is coming through.”

Having spent seven seasons in west London, Willian has made a significant contribution to the winning of five major honours. However, his demand for a three-year contract has been given short shrift during negotiations and a free transfer elsewhere is now looking a certainty. In terms of who was the most successful Brazilian at Chelsea, Luiz comes out on top with six trophies. But in terms of popularity or who made the biggest impact back home, Ramires emerges as a leading contender.

Ivan Nolasco Jr is the secretary of the Barra Mansa Official Supporters Club, which is the only official one in Brazil recognised by Chelsea. He also runs the Chelsea Fans Brasil website. He states: “If I had to pick one Brazilian who will always be remembered by fans here, it would be Ramires. He was so important in the Champions League campaign in 2012, particularly against Barcelona. He played a big role in winning a trophy we had been chasing for so long.”

Rafael Franca, editor of the Chelsea Brasil website, adds: “The tragic 7-1 defeat against Germany in the 2014 World Cup semi-final ended up undermining Luiz’s reputation here. I would pick two key players: Willian, for his consistency, and Ramires, for his importance in key moments.”

Some of their other countrymen fared less well. For example, striker Alexandre Pato joined on loan from AC Milan in 2016 but made just two appearances, scoring once.

The biggest disappointment of all was also arguably the biggest arrival: 2002 World Cup-winning coach Luiz Felipe Scolari. He took over in the summer of 2008, but was gone by February the following year. What hasn’t been in doubt is the club’s training ground has proved to be a very lively place due to the presence of Brazilians, most notably Luiz and Costa. The latter is still a figure of some renown in Brazil despite defecting to Spain before the 2014 World Cup.

Willian, Ramires and Oscar were friends with them and would socialise, too, despite being regarded more as family men. Indeed, at one point they all lived on the same street near Fulham’s Craven Cottage. That was particularly helpful for wives and partners to also bond in an unfamiliar city.

When it came to organising social gatherings or making practical jokes then Luiz, who was at Chelsea from 2011-14 and 2016-19, was the main ringleader. His top floor apartment in Putney overlooking the River Thames was a regular meeting point. It helped that not only was there a great view over the English capital, but there were also an array of entertainment on offer including arcade games, a pinball machine and pool table.

Such get-togethers helped everyone improve their English as well as still enjoying the taste of food from home. However, despite being a popular figure at the club, Costa never showed any interest in learning English.

As far as Luiz was concerned, anyone was welcome at his home. On one occasion he even invited one of the groundsmen at the club’s training ground, who happened to be Brazilian, back to his place on Christmas Day to celebrate. Luiz and Costa, who was at Chelsea between 2014-17, may have been the biggest characters of all the Brazilian contingent to be purchased, but the stage had been set by right-back Juliano Belletti.

He is most famous back in Brazil for scoring the winning goal to help Barcelona win the 2006 Champions League final, yet his stay at Chelsea between 2007-10 helped raise the club’s profile. “At that time it was rare to see Brazilian players in the Premier League,” Belletti explains to The Athletic. “I was at Barcelona when I found out that Chelsea and Jose Mourinho were interested in me, but even then I knew that it was a big opportunity for me, both on a professional and personal level.

“It was incredible. The club, the fans, the city… they were great times. We went out together as a group sometimes and had family meals at each others’ houses. On rare occasions, we would go to a Brazilian restaurant. There was real friendship between us. The other players were always really interested in Brazilian culture. Music and football especially: they would ask about Brazilian players, the young guys coming through.

“Once, I organised a party for my birthday at my house. We had a Brazilian lunch: barbecue, beans, all the trimmings. Almost all of the players in the squad came. But they didn’t eat much. The next year I made Spanish food and they ate more! Didier Drogba, Florent Malouda, Ricardo Carvalho and Paulo Ferreira were always the most interested when it came to Brazilian music. We had samba on all the time. The best thing was to see the respect and admiration everyone had for Brazil.”

So could the potential absence of Brazilians damage Chelsea’s popularity in that part of the world? A survey conducted back in 2018 estimated that the club were the fifth most supported in Brazil with 320 million followers — only trailing Barcelona, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich.

Joao Castelo-Branco, who is an England-based reporter for ESPN Brasil, doesn’t think the forecast is quite so severe, although agrees the loss of Willian could have an impact. “Will Chelsea keep their Brazilian fans? Definitely,” he insists. “You still see Arsenal with a huge amount of fans in Brazil (from the Invincibles era, which included Gilberto Silva and Edu Gaspar). That was the moment when the Premier League was really getting big over there. They still have a massive following over there

“Chelsea’s wave came straight after that, so the Brazilians who got into watching the Premier League at that point followed them. They also had Scolari, who is a massive character in Brazil, had won the World Cup and then come to Europe, so a lot of people wanted to see how he was doing. A lot of people liked him and wanted him to do well.

“When he came to Chelsea it was huge, because he was the first Brazilian manager in England. We haven’t got a big tradition of Brazilian managers in Europe, so him coming to the Premier League, to a club like Chelsea, was massive.

“Whether they continue to get new ones is a different story — I’d imagine now the younger generation will be looking at Liverpool and Manchester City.”

There aren’t too many signs of pessimism among their backers based in Brazil either. Franca says: “There was a real boom after the Champions League win in 2012. I’m from Rio de Janeiro and it’s quite common to see Chelsea shirts there. The fact that Chelsea had four players in Brazil’s 2014 World Cup squad (Luiz, Willian, Ramires and Oscar) was good for the club’s popularity. But the expansion of Premier League coverage on ESPN Brasil was the real game-changer. Only the Champions League can compete with the Premier League on television here. This has created a real passion for English football.”

Nolasco Jr feels similar, although is watching events with a bit more of a heavy heart. He says: “We’ve seen more and more Chelsea fans in Brazil over the last decade. More games are on television, which has helped that growth. The presence of Brazilian players has helped the Chelsea fanbase grow in Brazil ever since Alex joined. And then we had Ramires, Luiz, Oscar, Willian. They are names that captured the attention of the public, and prompted the broadcasters to show more Chelsea games. It has been really great to watch. It was always great to see Brazilians wearing the blue shirt. Many of them represented our country really well and were missed when they left.

“Willian has been an important player for Chelsea and if he does leave, Brazilians will view that as a real shame. Hopefully we’ll sign another Brazilian soon.”

Chelsea could always dip into the market in future to keep the Brazilian connection alive. There has been speculation for over a year that they are keen on Philippe Coutinho, who is another client of Joorabchian’s, and talk of a loan deal from Barcelona has intensified in recent weeks.

But the days when five were part of a title-winning squad, as they were in 2014-15 (Oscar, Ramires, Costa, Willian and Filipe Luis), are unlikely to ever be repeated.

[NikkiCFC 7,562]

 

[NikkiCFC 7,562]

 

[Special Juan 27,093]

Extremly sad news.

[Jase 43,479]

The end of Chelsea’s Brazilian experiment

https://theathletic.com/1734901/2020/04/11/brazil-chelsea-brazilians-oscar-ramires-wallace-luiz-david-piazon-kenedy/

At one point during a 5-0 win at Swansea on January 17, 2015, five of the 11 players Chelsea had on the pitch were capped Brazil internationals. As things stand, the figure next season is going to be zero.

Should Willian leave Chelsea as expected this year — he said in an interview with Brazilian media this week that he was off — it may not only be regarded as the departure of a dedicated servant, but also the end of an era in the club’s history.

Chelsea have had at least one capped Brazilian in their squad since Alex made his debut in 2007, but the love affair with talent from South America is in danger of fizzling out. Jorginho (who left for Italy when he was 15), and Emerson Palmieri (who moved there at 20) are still there of course, yet the connection to the land of their birth is diluted somewhat by their decision to represent the Azzurri at international level.

It is a remarkable turn of events. Stamford Bridge has danced to a bit of samba beat from the moment one of Roman Abramovich’s key advisors Piet de Visser met influential Brazilian agent Giuliano Bertolucci. The pair struck an accord, and Alex was signed by Chelsea in 2004. (He was instantly loaned out to PSV Eindhoven, where De Visser was working as a scout, due to work permit issues.)

As the defender’s representative, Bertolucci was obviously already in contact with Chelsea, but the sealing of a bond with De Visser helped him become rapidly accepted into the inner circle. He was developing a fine reputation for spotting gifted players back in his homeland. This in turn led to him setting up an alliance with Kia Joorabchian, a good acquaintance of another trusted Abramovich aide, super agent Pini Zahavi. Joorabchian, an Iranian businessman, had founded Media Sports Investments and formed a partnership with Brazilian football club Corinthians.

For all parties it represented an opportunity. Chelsea had a gateway to sign players from a country that had won five World Cups; for Bertolucci and Joorabchian, there was a wealthy European club where they could position clients, then reap the financial rewards. Some of Chelsea’s most important players of the last decade — Oscar, Ramires, David Luiz and Willian — all stem from the Bertolucci-Joorabchian stable.

Not that Abramovich relied on these two men alone. Zahavi was employed, albeit unsuccessfully, in the pursuit of Neymar from Santos in 2010, while striker Diego Costa, who led the line for Chelsea from 2014-17, is a client of Jorge Mendes.

But one by one, Chelsea’s Brazilian contingent has left and there were even reports last year, which Joorabchian denied, that his bond with the west London club had cooled markedly. There is certainly a question mark over whether Brazil will ever be so healthily represented again. Chelsea have spent in excess of £20 million in trying to find the next crown jewel among Brazil’s young players such as Lucas Piazon, Nathan, Kenedy and Wallace. The first trio have been loaned out on several occasions and have just 15 starts between them (Kenedy 13, Piazon 2, Nathan 0), while Wallace joined Figueirense last year after failing to make a single appearance.

Tim Vickery, a journalist who has covered South American football for the likes of the BBC since 1994, believes the quartet’s struggles may have led to a change of approach. “If that relationship is ending and you’re looking for reasons why, just look at the players Chelsea and England are producing now,” he tells The Athletic. “Maybe there is not the need to import Brazilians if you can have your own. Some of the recent signings from Brazil haven’t really come off. The hype around Piazon in Brazil was unbelievable but where is he now? (On loan at Portuguese club Rio Ave.) People in Brazil thought he was going to be world class. Kenedy is another.

“The way the market has gone if you’re 23 and still in Brazil, you’re considered a bit old for European clubs. They want them by 19-20. But if you buy at that age, it is such a lottery. Recently a French club came over, we don’t know who it was, but they left some notes. One of the things they observed was how poor football in the country has become. They also said the young talent may be good, but Europe is producing players just as good. Maybe that is something which is weakening the relationship — clubs like Chelsea have learnt to use their own.

“I think Willian leaving will be regarded as the end of an era at Chelsea among Brazilians. There is not the same connection anymore. No one else is coming through.”

Having spent seven seasons in west London, Willian has made a significant contribution to the winning of five major honours. However, his demand for a three-year contract has been given short shrift during negotiations and a free transfer elsewhere is now looking a certainty. In terms of who was the most successful Brazilian at Chelsea, Luiz comes out on top with six trophies. But in terms of popularity or who made the biggest impact back home, Ramires emerges as a leading contender.

Ivan Nolasco Jr is the secretary of the Barra Mansa Official Supporters Club, which is the only official one in Brazil recognised by Chelsea. He also runs the Chelsea Fans Brasil website. He states: “If I had to pick one Brazilian who will always be remembered by fans here, it would be Ramires. He was so important in the Champions League campaign in 2012, particularly against Barcelona. He played a big role in winning a trophy we had been chasing for so long.”

Rafael Franca, editor of the Chelsea Brasil website, adds: “The tragic 7-1 defeat against Germany in the 2014 World Cup semi-final ended up undermining Luiz’s reputation here. I would pick two key players: Willian, for his consistency, and Ramires, for his importance in key moments.”

Some of their other countrymen fared less well. For example, striker Alexandre Pato joined on loan from AC Milan in 2016 but made just two appearances, scoring once.

The biggest disappointment of all was also arguably the biggest arrival: 2002 World Cup-winning coach Luiz Felipe Scolari. He took over in the summer of 2008, but was gone by February the following year. What hasn’t been in doubt is the club’s training ground has proved to be a very lively place due to the presence of Brazilians, most notably Luiz and Costa. The latter is still a figure of some renown in Brazil despite defecting to Spain before the 2014 World Cup.

Willian, Ramires and Oscar were friends with them and would socialise, too, despite being regarded more as family men. Indeed, at one point they all lived on the same street near Fulham’s Craven Cottage. That was particularly helpful for wives and partners to also bond in an unfamiliar city.

When it came to organising social gatherings or making practical jokes then Luiz, who was at Chelsea from 2011-14 and 2016-19, was the main ringleader. His top floor apartment in Putney overlooking the River Thames was a regular meeting point. It helped that not only was there a great view over the English capital, but there were also an array of entertainment on offer including arcade games, a pinball machine and pool table.

Such get-togethers helped everyone improve their English as well as still enjoying the taste of food from home. However, despite being a popular figure at the club, Costa never showed any interest in learning English.

As far as Luiz was concerned, anyone was welcome at his home. On one occasion he even invited one of the groundsmen at the club’s training ground, who happened to be Brazilian, back to his place on Christmas Day to celebrate. Luiz and Costa, who was at Chelsea between 2014-17, may have been the biggest characters of all the Brazilian contingent to be purchased, but the stage had been set by right-back Juliano Belletti.

He is most famous back in Brazil for scoring the winning goal to help Barcelona win the 2006 Champions League final, yet his stay at Chelsea between 2007-10 helped raise the club’s profile. “At that time it was rare to see Brazilian players in the Premier League,” Belletti explains to The Athletic. “I was at Barcelona when I found out that Chelsea and Jose Mourinho were interested in me, but even then I knew that it was a big opportunity for me, both on a professional and personal level.

“It was incredible. The club, the fans, the city… they were great times. We went out together as a group sometimes and had family meals at each others’ houses. On rare occasions, we would go to a Brazilian restaurant. There was real friendship between us. The other players were always really interested in Brazilian culture. Music and football especially: they would ask about Brazilian players, the young guys coming through.

“Once, I organised a party for my birthday at my house. We had a Brazilian lunch: barbecue, beans, all the trimmings. Almost all of the players in the squad came. But they didn’t eat much. The next year I made Spanish food and they ate more! Didier Drogba, Florent Malouda, Ricardo Carvalho and Paulo Ferreira were always the most interested when it came to Brazilian music. We had samba on all the time. The best thing was to see the respect and admiration everyone had for Brazil.”

So could the potential absence of Brazilians damage Chelsea’s popularity in that part of the world? A survey conducted back in 2018 estimated that the club were the fifth most supported in Brazil with 320,000 followers — only trailing Barcelona, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich.

Joao Castelo-Branco, who is an England-based reporter for ESPN Brasil, doesn’t think the forecast is quite so severe, although agrees the loss of Willian could have an impact. “Will Chelsea keep their Brazilian fans? Definitely,” he insists. “You still see Arsenal with a huge amount of fans in Brazil (from the Invincibles era, which included Gilberto Silva and Edu Gaspar). That was the moment when the Premier League was really getting big over there. They still have a massive following over there

“Chelsea’s wave came straight after that, so the Brazilians who got into watching the Premier League at that point followed them. They also had Scolari, who is a massive character in Brazil, had won the World Cup and then come to Europe, so a lot of people wanted to see how he was doing. A lot of people liked him and wanted him to do well.

“When he came to Chelsea it was huge, because he was the first Brazilian manager in England. We haven’t got a big tradition of Brazilian managers in Europe, so him coming to the Premier League, to a club like Chelsea, was massive.

“Whether they continue to get new ones is a different story — I’d imagine now the younger generation will be looking at Liverpool and Manchester City.”

There aren’t too many signs of pessimism among their backers based in Brazil either. Franca says: “There was a real boom after the Champions League win in 2012. I’m from Rio de Janeiro and it’s quite common to see Chelsea shirts there. The fact that Chelsea had four players in Brazil’s 2014 World Cup squad (Luiz, Willian, Ramires and Oscar) was good for the club’s popularity. But the expansion of Premier League coverage on ESPN Brasil was the real game-changer. Only the Champions League can compete with the Premier League on television here. This has created a real passion for English football.”

Nolasco Jr feels similar, although is watching events with a bit more of a heavy heart. He says: “We’ve seen more and more Chelsea fans in Brazil over the last decade. More games are on television, which has helped that growth. The presence of Brazilian players has helped the Chelsea fanbase grow in Brazil ever since Alex joined. And then we had Ramires, Luiz, Oscar, Willian. They are names that captured the attention of the public, and prompted the broadcasters to show more Chelsea games. It has been really great to watch. It was always great to see Brazilians wearing the blue shirt. Many of them represented our country really well and were missed when they left.

“Willian has been an important player for Chelsea and if he does leave, Brazilians will view that as a real shame. Hopefully we’ll sign another Brazilian soon.”

Chelsea could always dip into the market in future to keep the Brazilian connection alive. There has been speculation for over a year that they are keen on Philippe Coutinho, who is another client of Joorabchian’s, and talk of a loan deal from Barcelona has intensified in recent weeks.

But the days when five were part of a title-winning squad, as they were in 2014-15 (Oscar, Ramires, Costa, Willian and Filipe Luis), are unlikely to ever be repeated.
 

[Vesper 27,282]

12 minutes ago, Jason said:

The end of Chelsea’s Brazilian experiment

https://theathletic.com/1734901/2020/04/11/brazil-chelsea-brazilians-oscar-ramires-wallace-luiz-david-piazon-kenedy/

 

I already posted it (look 4 posts back on this thread)

cheers

[Jase 43,479]

3 minutes ago, Vesper said:

I already posted it (look 4 posts back on this thread)

cheers

Don't know. Don't care. 

[Vesper 27,282]

Just now, Jason said:

Don't know. Don't care. 

lol

well then

neither do I!!

[Vesper 27,282]

Steve Sidwell: ‘Mourinho told me I’d wear No 9 – I wasn’t sure if he was joking’

https://theathletic.com/1732297/2020/04/14/steve-sidwell-mourinho-chelsea/

Steve Sidwell had just climbed into his car after finishing training at Reading when he received a call from his then agent Eric Walters.

“Are you sitting down?” asked Walters. “You need to be for this.”

For a terrifying moment, Sidwell thought he was about to hear some awful news about a family member or friend. Those fears quickly gave way to pure disbelief.

“I’ve had Peter Kenyon on the phone — Chelsea are asking about signing you,” Walters added. The midfielder thought it was too good to be true.

“I was a Chelsea fan, my family were all Chelsea fans and we lived in the area. I thought he was taking the piss,” Sidwell tells The Athletic.

It was just the start of a year Sidwell will never forget.

---

The year is 2007 and Sidwell is coming to the end of his contract at Reading, who were on course to finish a remarkable eighth in the club’s first ever season in the top flight. He’d already decided to leave for pastures new on a free transfer and every side in the Premier League bar Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool had declared an interest at one stage or another.

West Ham United offered considerably more than Chelsea’s £50,000-a-week package, as did Reading when they made a late bid to retain the former Arsenal academy player. But once Sidwell realised a switch to Stamford Bridge was a genuine possibility, there was only one place he wanted to be.

To say the move took the football world by surprise is an understatement. Chelsea had developed a reputation for spending fortunes on some of the game’s biggest names, while one of the greatest managers, Jose Mourinho, was at the wheel and in his pomp.

Competition for places was fierce. Mourinho already had Frank Lampard, Claude Makelele, Mikel John Obi, Michael Essien and Michael Ballack to choose from in midfield, although the latter missed a chunk of 2007 with an ankle injury.

An initial telephone conversation, followed by a clandestine meeting at Mourinho’s house, eased any doubts. “I was taken into his living room and just sat there for 15-20 minutes,” Sidwell reveals. “Nobody came in. I could hear his wife cooking in the kitchen and his kids were playing somewhere. His little dog was running in and out. I didn’t know what to do, I wasn’t sure if they knew I was there. I didn’t want to scare anyone. He then came down the stairs in slippers, jeans and a casual t-shirt. I could hear him saying to someone, ‘WHAT? He’s here already?!’   

“He came into the room and was all apologetic. We ended up talking football for hours. He gave me a book and it had Chelsea 2007-08 on the cover — you have to remember this was at the back end of the previous season. It literally had a plan of what was going to happen day-to-day regarding training, recovery days and so on, all mapped out for the following campaign. 

“Jose said I would get game time. He had watched me a lot and liked what I’d been doing for Reading. He wanted to add to the British core and felt I would respond well to the competition.

“He asked me, ‘What do you want from football?’ And I explained medals first and foremost, but also for my family to be secure. He said, ‘Well you must sign for Chelsea because if you play you will win stuff and if you don’t, you can get a pay-off and go somewhere else. It’s a win-win situation.’ So I signed.”

Sidwell didn’t have too long to wait before Mourinho shocked him again. On the very first day, as the team headed to the airport to depart on a pre-season tour of the USA, the manager made an announcement as he boarded the coach.

He explains: “Mourinho was sitting there at the front and he says, ‘Steve, you’re going to wear No 9 this year.’

“Every player who joins a new club looks at the numbers available and I’d seen the numbers 9, 14 and others that went upwards from there. I just assumed I may get the No 14 at a push.

“I didn’t know whether he was just testing me. If I said, ‘No thanks’ it would look like I had a weakness in my mentality. If I say ‘Yes’, it may have been that he was only joking. But I thought at least I’d then show him I had the balls to wear it. So I said ‘Yes’ and it turned out he was being serious.

“When I told people, my mates and family, everyone was just laughing. Obviously the number has a lot of history relating to top centre-forwards and that wasn’t me. I went on to score one goal for Chelsea.

Sidwell celebrates his only Chelsea goal – away at Hull (Photo: Anna Gowthorpe via Getty Images)

“Looking back on why he may have made that decision now, I think he was sending a statement upstairs, to the board. That summer he had wanted more money to spend on transfers — but he’s brought in me, Tal Ben Haim and Claudio Pizarro on free transfers. The only big buy was Florent Malouda. Why didn’t he give Pizarro — a striker — the No 9? I reckon he was making a point by giving it to a free transfer from Reading.”

There were other things on Sidwell’s mind though as the squad departed for America. Seeing so many of the men he had idolised on a professional and personal basis meant he had to be careful when deciding who to sit next to on the long flight to Los Angeles. “I was so nervous,” he admits. “They were superstars in my eyes — what was I going to say to them for the next 10-11 hours? So I decided to sit next to the kitman.”

Training was an instant reality check, too. “It was like a computer game,” Sidwell adds. “The passing was so crisp, on the floor, first time, ping, ping, ping. It was like someone was playing FIFA. It struck me how this was the elite and I needed to buck my ideas up.”

While his new team-mates made an effort to make Sidwell feel welcome, there was one topic of conversation which dominated their opening exchanges.

Just nine months earlier, Sidwell had played for Reading against Chelsea in what proved a very controversial fixture. Petr Cech suffered a fractured skull following a challenge from Stephen Hunt and the goalkeeper’s replacement, Carlo Cudicini, was himself knocked out after colliding with Ibrahima Sonko.

“It was still fresh in everyone’s minds,” Sidwell recalls. “They were asking, ‘Did Hunt mean it? He could have jumped over his head.’

“But I just told them about the way Stephen was as a player, the way he acted afterwards and so on. It was an accident in my opinion. Whether or not they believed me, I don’t know.

“Petr asked me about it too. He was a clever and nice guy, he accepted it was just one of those things. He felt Stephen could have got out of the way, but concluded, ‘If he says he didn’t mean it, I believe him.’ That’s the kind of guy he is.

“A lot of them actually said the one with Carlo was worse — but that was just a freak accident too as far as I was concerned.”

---

It wasn’t long before Sidwell got to experience Mourinho’s man-management skills first hand.

He made a point of giving Sidwell 10 days’ notice before his first start at Stamford Bridge against Blackburn Rovers to help him prepare and as a reward for training well.

There were other examples too. He continues: “During the summer holidays, Mourinho said, ‘Tomorrow we train as normal but I want you to bring all your kids in so your partner can have a break.’ So the staff that helped players with various things were put in charge of around 30-40 kids and they had a great time. We could hear them laughing as we trained. It was a special touch but also showed how clever Jose was because it got the wives and partners onside too.”

However, on September 20, 2007, Mourinho and Chelsea parted ways. This was a much bigger story than the second sacking around eight years later when the team were sitting just one point above the relegation zone a week before Christmas.

There had been rumblings of discontent between Mourinho and the hierarchy since the start of the year and a dour 1-1 draw with Champions League minnows Rosenborg meant they had gone three games without a win.

Yet this was a man who had delivered five major trophies since taking over in 2004 and Chelsea were sitting in fifth in the Premier League, just a couple of points behind leaders Arsenal.

Sidwell didn’t see it coming. “I never felt that tension or thought he was in trouble,” he says. “There were a few games before, you could see things in the press and it really bubbled up. But you didn’t feel it on the inside. The players were all united, no one was turning against him, he hadn’t lost the dressing room. 

“The day he went, I was driving my wife to the airport and the news came on the radio. I just thought, ‘Shit, he’s gone. What’s going to happen?’ We were then all called into a meeting at Cobham.

“It was awkward when Jose came to say his goodbyes. You could have heard a pin drop. It felt like someone had died. When you see strong characters like Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard and John Terry either crying on the floor or certainly welling up… I got upset as well. It was really weird. 

“I called him later in the day to thank him for bringing me to Chelsea and to express regret that we didn’t work together for longer. He told me he had no doubts I would go on to have a great career, which was nice of him. Every time I’ve seen him since then, through football or socially, he’s been top drawer.”

Avram Grant, who had joined as director of football that summer, was named the new head coach, yet Sidwell claims it was the senior players, along with assistant coach Steve Clarke, who ensured the squad were in a position to still compete for major trophies.

Avoiding the ire of owner Roman Abramovich was another incentive.

“I saw Roman a number of times,” says Sidwell. “He used to come into the dressing room a lot after home games. He would come into the training ground too but that was usually not on good terms. He was a very shy and timid character, very humble. But after Jose you knew he pulled no punches when it came to big decisions.

“I remember after one game he came down to Cobham and said, ‘This is unacceptable. The run of form, the players we have, is not good enough for Chelsea. We are here to win things and if this carries on, we won’t.’ He said it in a calm voice, but when you looked into his eyes, you knew he meant business.”

As Chelsea’s challenge for major silverware stepped up in the latter months, Sidwell was no longer selected. The last of his 25 appearances — he was never on the losing side for the club — came in a February FA Cup tie against Huddersfield Town.

It meant he had to sit and watch as Chelsea lost the League Cup final to Tottenham, were knocked out of the FA Cup away to Championship side Barnsley, and fell short by just two points in a title race with Manchester United.

Of course Chelsea had a chance to avenge that last disappointment a couple of weeks later when they faced United in the Champions League final. Sidwell travelled to Moscow with the group even though he was no longer eligible to play — Chelsea had removed his name from the squad registered with UEFA in February, a fit-again Ballack taking his place for the knockout phase.

Chelsea booked out the top floor of their Moscow hotel for a possible post-match party. But Terry’s infamous slip in the penalty shootout ended hopes of that, although it is often forgotten that Nicolas Anelka’s effort being saved by Edwin van der Sar was the moment when the trophy was actually lost.

“I remember watching United celebrate in the pouring rain while wearing a suit, it was gutting,” Sidwell says. “Due to my circumstances, I was there more as a fan, really.

“Everyone had gone up to John after the match and in the dressing room to console him. John was gutted. You could see it in his eyes. Everyone had said their piece earlier and there wasn’t much more you could say to him that night. 

“Obviously there was no dancing. There were just people in their own little groups and people just dwindled off to bed. It was a relatively early night. The flight home was really quiet, it was horrible.”

That was Sidwell’s last outing of any kind with the club he adored. Luiz Felipe Scolari took over from Grant that summer and soon signed another midfielder in Deco.

Aston Villa came calling for Sidwell and a £5 million transfer was agreed. Despite not making the impact he would have wanted, he still reflects fondly on his spell at Stamford Bridge.

“I grew up as a person, and learned to be even more professional,” he concludes. “On the wall in my office I have the shirt I wore on my Chelsea debut in the Community Shield, signed by all the players. No one can take that away from me. Did I get the pay-off Mourinho talked about a year earlier? It was enough to pay the bills!”

[Jase 43,479]

Chelsea players hoping to negotiate wage cuts lower than Premier League's suggested 30 per cent 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2020/04/17/chelsea-players-hoping-negotiate-wage-cuts-lower-premier-leagues/

Chelsea are in talks with their players over wage cuts, with the squad hoping to negotiate a reduction lower than the 30 per cent suggested by the Premier League.

It is understood the players, who are negotiating through captain Cesar Azpilicueta, would rather take a cut of around 10 per cent to help save Chelsea money during the coronavirus crisis.

Premier League clubs agreed at the start of April to consult their players on 30 per cent cuts and deferrals, but players across the country have not been happy with that proposal.

Chelsea’s London rivals Arsenal are set to agree their players take a 12.5 per cent pay cut, with the proviso of a number of potential future bonuses.

Director Marina Granovskaia is handling the negotiations with the Blues squad, which are said to be taking place amicably and in an understanding manner on both sides even though an agreement is yet to be struck.

Chelsea’s players have already made what was described as a “sizeable” donation to the club’s foundation to go to charities to support the vulnerable during the coronavirus pandemic.

Head coach Frank Lampard could also take a pay cut once an agreement is reached with his squad.

In the latest accounts, it was revealed Chelsea’s wage bill had increased by 17 per cent to £285 million a year, which was the sixth highest in European football and the third largest in England behind Manchester United and Manchester City.

With no date set for a return to training or a restart to the season, Chelsea have moved to try to save money just over a month since the Premier League was suspended.

Willian, who is one of four first-players whose contracts are due to expire on June 30, is currently in Brazil after being allowed to travel back to his home country to be with his wife and children.

As well as Willian, Chelsea have Olivier Giroud, Pedro Rodriguez and Willy Caballero coming to the end of their contracts, which potentially puts them in a difficult position.

Fifa have recommended that clubs can give their players short-term extensions to complete the season, but national employment law means they can, in theory, walk away on June 30.

Chelsea have not furloughed any non-playing staff and confirmed they will help their casual employees by paying them in full for the fixtures that have been postponed, including matches against Aston Villa, Bayern Munich and Leicester City.

Those payments will be funded entirely by the club and will go to the support staff who help on matchdays, benefitting stewards, hospitality, ground staff and the raffle sellers outside the ground.

Former players and club legends who work in the premium seating areas, including the likes of Ron Harris, Gary Chivers, Paul Canovile, Kerry Dixon and Bobby Tambling, will also receive payment.

Chelsea have already given up their Millennium Hotel at Stamford Bridge to NHS staff, who are being provided with rooms and breakfast.

The club are providing 78,000 meals to the NHS and charities that support the elderly and vulnerable groups, and have teamed up with Refuge, the domestic abuse charity, to raise funds for those suffering during the pandemic.

Head coach Frank Lampard said: “I’m very proud to be the manager of this club with the way Chelsea have handled it. They were very quick to respond with the help of the hotel and there’s a lot more work going on with the foundation, with link-ups and with getting in touch with fans. There are a lot of people at Chelsea who have really stood up.”