LDN Blue

Spot on. The only reason I see Bosingwa getting the nod over Ferreira because we play more counter attack football vs Arsenal more than any other team. Aside from that I see no reason why Paulo shouldn't play over Bosingwa (especially considering their attack)

Easy mistake

http://forum.talkchelsea.net/topic/8549-nathan-ake/

Not sure about this when I read it, considering it's the Daily Mail. I don't think we should take this years into account to be honest, because we've shaved a huge amount off the wage bill, plus we've got that lucrative sponsorship deal with Adidas & Singha Beer. Roman's got a tough decision to make. If they're right at the Daily Mail (..ha.) Roman's invested near £800million and lost £500million.

I think the whole world wide web has become a platform for 9/11 conspiracies (< that is a whole separate issue, which I'd love to go into some time ) As for the UFO stuff, I haven't seen anything about that since subscribing, and if I ever do, I'll hit "unsubscribe"

You couldn't be more wrong LOL

Yeah, I saw this. Already subscribed to Russia Today, they're one of the few media outlets that report some real news. It's one way to make a statement. I hope he was ok..

Here's an interview with Ramires (and Alex-ish) http://www.thenational.ae/sport/football/chelseas-toughnuts-from-brazil

A hangover

I guess it's time to say goodbye to Jack Cork.. The Clarets haven't ruled out the possibility of adding Cork to the books permanently themselves, with Chelsea thought to be looking for a fee of around £2million. "We've discussed a lot of things with Chelsea, but I won't go into figures," said Laws. "If any clubs are sniffing around, it means Jack is playing well. That is a good thing, because we've got him. "We have him until the end of the season, unless someone puts in a firm offer to Chelsea, which they agree to. "The simple case is there has to be a permanent move if Jack leaves this football club. "We can then counter that, or maintain what we're doing now, which is chipping away slowly, but surely. "One thing in our favour is Jack loves it here, and it would take some club to move him. "We're doing everything possible to make this a more permanent move. "We're being very patient and doing the right things. "Jack likes that. He sees a future away from Chelsea maybe, and it would take some club to take him away from us."

I've been told Fabregas & Van Persie will start for Arsenal on Monday. This will be a closer game now, we all remember the damage Van Persie did to us in the distant past..

Fixed that line for you

Rearranged to: Tuesday March 1st 2010

Haha fair do's people.. I can see the general consensus here is people didn't really like Joe Cole. I still think he was a fantastic player for us and gave us his all.. For me he's a legend for the 7years he was here.. Let's not forget this gem of a goal though http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ly1nUJgBffs - "Take a bow son"

I, personally, believe Chelsea fans are just bitter he chose to leave But I do understand this view :chelsea2:

I like the official website's new media player

Dare I say.. Our best XI?

Ah ok!

Surely those can't be right? According to wikipedia, in all competitions: 03/04 - 50 04/05 - 46 05/06 - 46 06/07 - 24 07/08 - 54 08/09 - 19 09/10 - 39 (< though most of those were late substitute appearances)

Agreed on that then LOL am I the only one who still believes Joe Cole is not as bad as people make him out to be. The line about him not being a hard worker is beyond me, he gave it everything last season when he got his chances, he got a vital goal against United, he got some assists too. Never stopped running. The comparison of Joe Cole to Kalou is ridiculous, Joe Cole's proved he's technically better, he's faster, his passes are better placed. You're right though, he's failed to demonstrate this in the last 2 season, I really hope 2011 marks a new time for him. I guarantee you, if he has an injury free year we'll see that touch and flare we once cheered through at Stamford Bridge. The last 2 season? He hasn't actually had a full season to establish himself. So okay, I will strike that comment then, but on form.. Between Bena and Joe, Cole wins hands down. We won't really know that for a while now with Yossi out till April. Yes 9 years in top flight football, 7 or 8 of those were fantastic. You've said so yourself, those years (especially 07/08) were his best.. I think there's much more to him than what we've witnessed in the last 2 seasons. Like I said, I hope by 2011 he'll re capture that form.

He's only failed to become a regular starter because he's just come back from an injury (so I believe?) As for the managers, I seem to remember Ranieri, Mourinho and Grant love to play him. Not sure about Scolari and Hiddink, but I think he was injured during their tenures (which were brief so.. ). Though it is worrying he didn't make an impression on Capello (despite calls from Gerrard and Terry to get him game time)

Can't agree/disagree about the payment and all that since it was never made public, just rumoured. It is true his wage demand was rather high but the point is still the same, for his career a move to Liverpool was better than Arsenal and Tottenham because it was easier to get game time at Liverpool. Right now that club is in a position where it can only go up (hopefully), it's a perfect time for Joey to show his real potential on the pitch. He's more saddened? Perhaps. But only because he played Ballack more than he did Cole. But the fact Carlo wanted to keep Joe at Chelsea shows he IS a great player, I don't believe his over rated, I just think he's hit by bad luck (with his injuries). In the period he was injured, a lot changed, players established themselves and Cole simply could not breakthrough. Carlo's comment about Joe being less intelligent than Yossi (in my honest opinion) was a charade. I think he only said that to justify his awful transfer of Benayoun. Joe Cole or Yossi Benayoun? You don't even have to be English to know that Joe is much better than Yossi. You keep referring to the fact people only rate Cole because he's English and homegrown. That though hasn't crossed my mind at all. You can't say Cole is on level with Kalou because he hasn't been given enough time to show his real potential (which we've seen). The key words you've used is "right now".. People are slated for saying Ramires isn't that great and in reply we say "give him time" "let him adapt". Why can't we do the same for Joe. I keep coming back to his knee injury because it's important! He was given the amount of time, say, Sturridge gets given today. Barely any. It's still too early to judge him at Liverpool because he's yet to settle with red cards and injuries hampering his time to settle. I say the same about Ramires, let's give him time to settle in and show us how good he is JUST like Cole. Nothing to do with nationality, just being fair.

Mourinho - The voice of reason. Mourinho believes that Benitez's outburst against Inter president Massimo Moratti earlier this week showed a lack of respect for what he did at the club. Benitez issued a 'sack me or back me' ultimatum after Inter's success at the FIFA Club World Cup, believing he needs extra funds in the upcoming transfer window to improve his faltering squad. The reigning five-time Serie A champions sit 13 points adrift of leaders and city rivals AC Milan in the table, albeit with two games in hand. "I don't want to know when or if Benitez is ousted,'' Mourinho added. "I am only interested in Inter, the president, my friends, the players, the fans who in two years gave me everything. "I want Inter to win everything apart from the Champions League, where there is Real Madrid. Rafa's words [after the Club World Cup]. They deserve no comment. I expected at least a thank you from the success that I gave him. Ask all the Inter fans what they think of me and him.''

Actually, ManUtd said they were not interested. Fergie said so himself. As for Tottenham, Arsenal and Liverpool, they each offered the same wage. It's obvious why he turned down Arsenal and Tottenham, they all have great players, much like we do. Liverpool were a club who were in trouble, they were looking for any players who could offer them a way out and Joe was the man, he was guaranteed first team football there. Most would make the same choice really. Just look at Michael Owen, he went to ManUtd but does he play? (when fit?) nope. Aston Villa were willing to take him, even Liverpool but he went on record to say he'd rather sit on United's bench. Disgraceful really. And in regards to Carlo's opinion, well.. Ask Ballack what he thinks about Carlo's influence on contract discussions. On your point of his intelligence, I strongly urge you watch Joe's performances in a Chelsea shirt prior to his knee injuries, you'll see a player who showed great intelligence on the pitch.. His awareness to pick out a pass was something we enjoyed. And let's be honest, is José Mourinho (one of the best managers in the world right now & a great admirer of Cole) going to endorse a player who's not intelligent? I personally was heart broken when Joe left. He's a legend in this club, much like Wilkins who left us for ManUtd as a player. When he comes back to Stamford Bridge with Liverpool he deserves nothing but a standing ovation for his part in our first ever Premier League title in 2005 & again in 2006.

Well I think you have to be a bit fair on him. In Jan 09 he'd suffered a very serious cruciate ligament damage in his knee, he didn't really make an appearance after that until November-ish and by then it was very hard for him to break through as it was. He was hardly ever given a start and when he did appear it was off the bench with a mere 10-15minutes to go. 2008 was his best year (in my opinion) for Chelsea. He'd been fantastic all season, he'd played and performed better than even Lampard. But he did have to miss the whole season after because of a knee injury. I always said, he deserved more chances than he got, but Carlo was unwilling, what else was he to do? Well how do you know that? From what I've read he left for more game time, which I actually understand. Nobody wants to be a bench warmer, especially someone who's as good as Joe Cole. Yes going to Liverpool wasn't the best move but to say he left for money is absurd, especially when (at the time) Liverpool were in as much debt as they were. He left to play more games, it's the reason he didn't sign a new contract.