Mohammed Seif

That is the key mate, well pointed out

Well thank you. Maybe I explained it poorly. My fault. I believe success like you correctly have stated is achieving the final goal or objective. But that is not the whole story. Achieving these steps that would eventually lead to your far objective is also a success. Like when you divide a task or a project into phases. Achieving each phase would be a success and a progress. By all means if we look at were we are right now and look at the long term objective then we are far off. But that is not the case. This season is a phase. a phase where have formed a backbone, have clear system ( that still needs tuning) and have a good future potential players. Hence this phase is a success and it is also a progress towards your long term goal. Makes more more sense?

The Muslim Brotherhood was found in 1928 Hassan El Banna, a junior high teacher at the time. The purpose of the brother hood was to bring back the fallen Islamic Ottoman Empire. Egypt was a monarchy at that time. Our country was controlled by Britain at that time too. During this era, Egypt was divided into social classes. Only certain classes would have access to education and good medical treatment and good jobs. One would have to be from a certain family, or of certain heritage or power to be able to go to college for example. My family was one of those who had access to education at college level. The majority of the population were not that fortunate and were poor. Suffering from the wounded pride of the fall of the Islamic Empire, the brotherhood seemed like a good dream and cause for Hassan El Banna and his followers at the time. Islam, (to people who actually bother and read about it with the purpose of understanding it) is a peaceful religion. Like any Christianity and Judaism (according to Muslims) come from God. So it would be no surprise that some of the few teachings would include helping the poor, the orphans, not stealing, no killing,....etc. That was how the Muslim Brotherhood started to preach for their cause. Doing good deeds for the people who were suffering. That way they would gain loyalty and also be able to preach for their cause without being suspicious. After all why would helping people in need, being a good person and wanting your country to be as strong as it was be a bad thing. As the followers grew, Hassan's power grew. Now remember that he was not a Muslim Scholar, he was a teacher who taught some non religion related subject to junior high students. The upper class in Egypt was liberal. Egypt was somehow secular, where religion was practiced only in Mosques or Churchs. Sure it formed a lot of the culture and tradition, but never in the ruling or law at that time. Egyptian law is more or less close to the French law. That was an obstacle in front of the dream of El Banna. We had pubs, we were one of the first countries to have cinemas, we were following Britain. For El Banna to realize his dreams he had to get rid of the western ideology in Egypt. We had a lot of British, French, and Greek in our country all who were there for different reasons. As he preached for his idea amongst the poor and uneducated ( the number of educated were increasing though but still formed the minority), his closest members would demand some physical action to achieve this dream. Hence, the bombings of pubs, theaters and nigh clubs and the atacks on British soldiers. They would start taking quotes from the Quran and put them out of contexts and misinterpret them to persuade people that they are doing would God asked them to. In 1947 a Judge called El-Kazendar carried out a sentence of 25 years in prison for the attacks and bombings. A few months later, they assassinated him and the ones in charge of the assassination were captured. As these acts grew, the King ordered an assassination of El Banna and he was shot and left to die in a hospital without any treatment in 1949. But that was not the end of the brother hood as a successor came in power called Hassan El Hudaiby. He was a moderate Muslim and had a more moderate approach, yet the same dream. He started attracting and preaching the idea to educated people. A key figure was called Sayyed Qodb. Qodb was well educated. He traveled around and got educated in the United States. For some reason he became obsessed and radical. He was the founder of the Jihadi Salafis (basically if you are not a follower of THEIR ideas, concepts and interpretations, you are an infidel and anything can happen to you or your family--------sounds familiar?Does it ring a bell like ElQaida:)). In 1952 there was the Egyptian revolution. The king was exiled and the British soldiers left our country. The Free Officers ( a group of military officers) led by Abdul Nasser where in charge of that revolution. However they did it with the help of the Brotherhood. The Bortherhood demanded to share power in the ruling of the new Republic of Egypt but were denied. The Muslim brotherhood did not take it will and carried out where they left when El Banna was assassinated. El Hudaiby lost control and the radical ideologies if Qodb took over the brotherhood. They felt they were betrayed and they had to retaliate aggressively with blood. In 1954, during the celebration of the revolution, and as Nasser was giving his speech in public in Alexandria, the Brotherhood carried an assassination attempt. Following that a lot of the people of the brotherhood were captured, including Qodb. Some were court martialed, in a very unfair trial, no witnesses, no lawyers, no appeals. It was more like a sentence hearing without a trial. Some executed, some sentenced to prison. Qodb was executed. By all means, it was unfair and there were many innocents amongs the executed and the ones sent to prison ( where they were tortured in a way that would make water boarding a childish act). When Nasser died El Sadat came to rule. He too was one of the Free Officers. One of the first things he did was to free all the political prisoners and " open a new page". That ofcourse included the members of the brotherhood. The peace treaty between Egypt and Israel made things bad. Not only did most of the Arab nations at the time suspend all their connection with Egypt, but the brother hood and their new division "the Jihadis" were enraged. (Ayman El Zawahri the one leading al Qaida now was on of them:)). They causes uprisings in Egypt. This time the ones caught in the act were fairly, publicly trialed and some were given prison time. Out of fear that they would face the same fate as the ones during Nasser's era, the decided to assassinate Sadat and this time they were successful. The ones who carried the assassination were captured and were not sentenced to death but where in prison for life (Only to be freed by Morsy). They people rejected the brotherhood. They got divided themselves into more groups. Salafis. Jihadis, Hihadi Salafis and others including HAMMAS, But all remain under main ideas put by the Muslim brotherhood. I am quiet sure there were many times you have heard or perhaps read in the media about racism in Egypt against the Christian Coptics and killings. That was in upper Egypt (on the map that would be south towards Sudan the perfect turf for their ideology and still is along with Sinai). Upper Egypt is the poorest part of Egypt. If you google the income level in these areas you would be shocked. Maybe you heard about Sharm El Sheikh bombings too. Or perhaps the Luxor massacre. All carried out by groups related to the brotherhood. You can only identify a Muslim brotherhood of you were a Muslim. It is because you would have to know Islam in order to see the areas where they misinterpret or try to change. You would have to be able to pick out the extremism and frankly if you are not a Muslim, you will be basing your evaluation upon your own beliefs, values and culture. With the rise of corruption of Mubarak, increase of poverty, injustice, disease, failing education system in Egypt, people would only become desperate. You recall in western history when the religious people of the church were in power. For example during the era od Henry 8th,Edward 6th, Elizabeth and Mary....etc That is the current situation now in Egypt. People have no hope. So they would turn to their savior, in our case it is God. But because they were not educated, don't have access to books, schools and where not taught how to think, analyze or try to scientifically or objectively to understand they would turn to someone whom they think would know. Usually it is a guy, with a beard, who recites versus from the Quran. They don't even try to question his knowledge or ask about his education or background. If anyone would think to question him, someone from his followers would say " He is a man of God". At that point, their only option is to shut up and either listen or walk away. Being desperate to find a way out of their misery a lot decide to sit and listen. The second revolution was started by Egyptians with no affiliations. People were asking for " Bread, Freedom and Social Equality". The brotherhood did not take part initially. Only when things started to go in favor of the demonstrators did they join. They have stated that during the first days of the revolution and after Mubarak stepped down. When we finally decided to have the elections it came down to either Morsy (member of the brotherhood) or General Shafik (Closely affiliated with Mubarak and was on of his ministers). When people had to choose, they decided to go for Morsy. It was 51% to 49% in favor of Morsy. People wanted to change and they thought that the Brotherhood was just a myth that Mubarak created in order to stay in power. But they were no myth. When Morsy and the brotherhood made their constitution and people were asked to vote, take a good guess on what basis people voted on:) YES you go to HEAVEN, NO you would go to HELL. Yes, you are a good Muslim and with Islam, No you are against Islam. Can you imagine what destiny will a nation face based on this approach? Furthermore we started allowing more Jihadists, Al Qaida members and other radical groups in our country. We freed their leaders who were in prison and we started giving them weapons. Ofcourse that was one of the major reasons Morsy was kicked out and is being trialed for. With so many people, poor, uneducated and indoctrinated talking is hard. Yet after the second wave of the revolution was carried out ( what the westerns call Coup) the Egyptians were still willing to accept the brotherhood as fellow Egyptians but would ask them to give up their radical ideas and help build the nation that has been in great devastation for decades under Mubarak. They refused and for the first 3 months not a single day would pass without any major killings or destruction. Nearly every day our military is in combat with them and other groups in Sinai. We breached the peace treaty with Israel, and allowed our military deep into Sinai. The Israelis are not complaining. They know the threat very well. But the western media doesn't report that and the Egyptian media is very ignorant of the world's public opinion. We do a bad job telling he world what happens too. These trials are no longer about the political affiliations. They are about the destruction, murders and criminal acts that resulted from this politica, religious division. I was trying to give you a brief summary and that is hard to do. The History of the Brotherhood so long and full of events that would be written in books. Feel free to ask about specifics I know a lot about this matter.

If you are wondering,@Fulham Broadway, why we have death sentencing for big numbers, it is because of acts like the one that happened today at Cairo University where three bombs went off. I don't know if the western media covers this or not. But practically this is what the Muslim brotherhood and its members have been doing on weekly basis. Either they destroy something, kill someone, injure many burn places or plant bombs. Only yesterday I read that Cameron has asked for an investigation regarding the presence of the Muslim Brotherhood in England. Don't be surprised mate at the number of death sentences. It will only increase they way things are going unfortunately.

Take it easy dude. Texting can seem hostile more than it actually is. I am quite sure nobody is taking things here personally. It is just a matter of opinion and the arguments that are being made for and against. People are just witnessing something that they haven't seen for a while AN IDENTITY of the team. A clear style with certain players forming the backbone of this team. By all means a team that needs work but is moving forward. Facing tough opponents, well established opponents with good tactics and actually beating them. I would personally be a liar if I say that this current form we are in is great. But it is satisfactory compared to what we have been. God willing we might be in the semis of the UCL. If not then we have made it to the top 8 teams in Europe, arguably the top 8 teams in the world. We still have a shot at the EPL title, if we don't get it then atleast with a new team, a new manager and a news system, we have beat the top teams in the STRONGEST league in Europe, we have a set of top youngsters and most of them will get better (giving us a stronger chance of winning a title next season), we have a clear system with Jose Mourinho (who makes mistakes like every human being) and that is by all means progress. People are happy with this progress. Does any Chelsea fan hate titles? I don't think so. But trust me, as you get older you will now that things don't just happen in a flash. You need a plan, with short term and long term objective to reach whatever you want to reach. For us to be the best club out there, to get more trophies more frequently, to have an identity, to build a legacy, have stronger fan base, brand equity......etc you need time and you need to be patient. It is always a success when you are moving towards your goal. It is by all means progress mate. Remember that things that come too fast, usually go away too fast. Again take it easy mate it is only an opinion based on some common sense and logic.

Good to you have you here mate. Looking forward to your posts

LOL. Come on mate you seriously don't really need to win a trophy to have optimism or be positive. It is just a matter of attitude towards things. That include your club

Just one thing though, you got it all wrong when it comes to experience mate. No offense at all. 18 yr olds playing against other 18 yr olds doesn't give you a fair assessment. They need to be tested physically as well as tactically and mentally. The reason Zouma and Salah were brought in is not by all means because they are superstars. It is because they have POTENTIAL. i.e they showed the good foundations as far as physicality, mentality and technicality. It does not guarantee them a starting spot. But they show promising signs of development and being future stars. For them to start they would have to take it to a higher level, and earn it. Again they will need time i.e FURTHER EXPERIENCE with the EPL, the system and the rest of their teammates. They will need to have playtime to prove themselves and they actually have to earn that right. Zouma did pretty well in Ligue 1 and Salah did pretty well in the Swiss league and UCL. Which will be more risky on your opinion, subbing in Zouma or Salah in a game or subbing in a youth who has no experience at all? Please don't tell me it is the same risk cause it ain't . I am quite sure that if a youth from Chelsea was loaned and shinned, the club will be wanting him on the team, but I don't think he will start, just like Salah, Zouma, Schurrle ( who actually has proved that he can be of use to the squad). Unless that kid shows EXCEPTIONAL attributes, I think he should be loaned, get to play for a higher level than the academy's level. Get to test his physicality and mentality in the way he adapts to a new system. What is there to worry about? If any of those youngsters are good, they will shine and will come back to Chelsea for a shot at the first team. Many other teams do the same thing, not only in football, but other sports too. It is basically minimizing risk (as far as the game and matches are concerned) and better financially.

Mate I have been reading your responses. With all due respect, though you are entitled of your own opinion, but that is a lot of negativity. You don't build the team's main spine in a blink. There is a great difference between Salah/Zouma and the youngsters at the academy. These players have competed at decent levels. Swiss league ain't much, but surely it is stronger than the youth competitions. You need to loan out youngsters. They need to get some contact and feel of the game. When you loan them you basically minimize your risks by letting them gain experience (though not extensive) and you get to test their adaptation without having risk on your team's results. The expectations of Chelsea are much higher than Everton's. You cannot compare both. No body, expects Everton to compete for the title every year, or be in the UCL every season. You have to take all things in consideration, not just from one narrow angle.

That is deep man

This might be a lame question for you, but I would really like to know the answer. I understand that the media praises United due to their success with Alex. Why doesn't the British media support Chelsea as much as one would expect? After all Chelsea represents England in the UCL like Manchester.

Someone mentioned in another thread that it will be by 5pm UK time

I think it would be interesting if we have also a voting on this topic.

LOOOL

I think we might witness a historic result today. I don't think it will be a day most manu fans would want to remember. I am not very optimistic when it comes to manu this season.

I agree with you about Cech but I don't think Hazard is going to be key in the usual sense. Most likely he will be marked very closely by more than one man since that right back is in bad shape. The rest of the midfielders need to step up and turn that to our advantage. Ofcourse that is based on the assumption that he would be marked by two men. If not then that should be good news for Chelsea if he and the rest of our offense show up.

So apparently some people think it is a failure because there is now silverware. Though I respect that but it just doesn't make much sense to me. Every team or goes through a life cycle with different phases. They develop and rise, reach their maturity and stability stage, then they decline. Everything in life has a cycle. I believe that in every phase, expectations are different, hence the targets to be achieved. So to fairly judge this season and say whether it is a success or failure, one must know which phase Chelsea is in and what is expected in that phase. Objectively speaking we are not at our peak nor our trough. Jugding on the past 2 seasons, I can say confidently we are doing better this year. So we are definitely in a rising phase ( call it recovery, transitional or anything else). We have a new manager, with a new system, and new young players. We are still going to buy new players by summer. Base on that I can say we are at the early stages of a rising phase. In such a phase, who really expects a team to win one more championships. Certainly not Mourinho or the board. Mourinho said that many times. And though he is not a GOD like some people make him seem to be and he makes mistakes and gets it wrong, but he is still one of the very best managers out there and has proved that many times. If a team in such an early stage wins a trophy, it will basically be a bonus. Next year I expect the board and Mourinho to set different objectives for the team. I doubt it will be winning more than one title, but I can guarantee that the objectives would be higher than this season's. Only when a team reaches high levels of cohesion and maturity, you would expect them to continuously win titles and silverware. If Manchester City does not win more than one trophy, it is failure. They have been building a team and heavily investing for a while now. Arsenal is just a total failure. No stable competitive team since the days of Henry, Berkamp, ljundberg, Pires, Overmars and others. If Manchester United does not manage to qualify to UCL it is a failure. Yes they are in a transitional phase, but they have the same set of developed mature players who won last season's EPL. If they don't qualify then they are definitely in a decline stage and they need to make some major changes to start recovering. If we were in the same position as United, then definitely we can argue that we have failed. I have a question for the people who think that we should win trophies this year. One what basis did you come to that conclusion? Is it on the basis that we have a JUST had one of the top managers this year? Or is it on the basis of the set of players we have who are young and still inconsistent? Or is it on the basis that we FAILED last year to do anything in the UCL, played against much lower teams in Europa and won it and BARELY qualified for this year's UCL? Don't get me wrong, I want us to still win the UCL and EPL this year, but if we don't I would hardly think of it as a failure.

But this is an English forum. I shouldn't need to keep going to translate. Pretty sure your would feel the same way in you PSG forum mate

Maybe a bit . Pretty sure most people would be if they have no clue what is being said

LOOL. You are not serious are you? . No but a few postings now were typed in french and I don't understand french. I had to PM one of the french people here to get to understand. I am not willing to keep asking him to translate. People should just type in English for the sake of others here. Right?

Now you have to translate what you said

I agree with you it will not an be an easy game for either side and both teams are capable of going through to the semis. No doubt the battle of midfield will be the crucial part of the game. If Chelsea sits, back too deep and gives freedom to your midfield to feed balls to your wingers and strikers, you will win. But as a Chelsea fan I hope we do what we do best an that is putting always putting high pressure on opponents and forcing them to play out of their comfortable tempo. Like most moderate fans said on this thread, it will be very competition with a slight edge for Chelsea based on the fact that we have faced strong opponents this year and we have done well while PSG's defense is yet to be tested. I respect you admitting that Ligue 1 is 2nd tier. I don't know why any person from France or who supports french teams should be offended by it. I wouldn't say it is 2nd tier though, but definitely weaker than the EPL. Again there is no shame in that, teams from 3rd tier teams have beaten world class squads before, all football fans and spectators know that. The team that shows up usually wins and the greatest treat to fans is when both teams show up. Well anyways I am pleased to meet you too, respect your loyalty to your team and hope Chelsea wins both matches Always a pleasure mate and you have a good day too

That is why the rest of the players need to step up. We look pretty bad when all players go down. Every player will have bad days, but the rest of the team needs to step up for their teammates. He has been under pressure the entire season.

Based in this season is it a very successful season. Teams in a transitional stage are always expected to show a lot of inconsistencies and not a lot of character. With young players we are adapting very well. We are facing a lot of challenges and we have failed to deliver sometimes but by far we have succeeded a lot. Not to compare, but the transition stage for Manu is terrible despite having only to change a manager and having a squad of well established players. We have a new manager, with very young players far from being consistent at the moment. Not to mention that we have no real threatening strikers like other teams do. But somehow we are still competing in for two titles. Looking at other teams in this league and other leagues, looking at the players they have and the money the spend and how they are performing, I believe we have established a good foundation for the next years to come. It is a very significant successful season in my opinion.

LOOL at the last few pages, Things really took a rather ugly twist. It is the right for every fan supporter to have a bit of arrogance when supporting their teams. Otherwise they will not be fans, they would be neutrals. No disrespect to the french league or to anyone who has sensitivity issues, but the EPL is just better. The difference is not that great as some people make it seem. As a Chelsea fan I believe we have met top teams this years. I think our defense has been tested very well and will be no walk in the park for Zlatan and Cavani but it will definitely be a challenge for them. And despite of our clear offensive deficiencies, but we have done a pretty decent job scoring against oppositions. Not the best job, but decent enough for us to be in the place we are right now in the EPL and UCL. PSG will have MUCH more pressure on them than our Chelsea team, after all Chelsea is in a transitional phase with young players, a new manager (for those players) and a new system. On the other hand, besides the FFP issue, PSG is a very expensive squad and surely they are expected to win more than just the french league. The only decent opponent they met were Monaco and they failed to beat them. Chelsea will be the SECOND real opponent they meet in this entire year and we are stronger than Monaco. If PSG fails then man what a waste of money that would be. I want to see a good game and I want Chelsea to win home and away. But anyways, my passion will not go beyond the GAME. I don't think PSG fans should be offended because Chelsea fans have confidence in their team, their manager and the league they are in. I don't think Chelsea fans should be offended by PSG's fans think they can win it. I still think we are the better team though