EskWeston

Unfortunately i don't think you are going to get your wish. At the end of the day he has got better results than anyone thought he would do. He would turn round at the end of the season and say, we did OK last season - now give me the summer to bring my players in and prepare for the season my way..... I think he will be given next season no matter what.

Tis but a scratch..... would have carried on in my day

That IS the most important thing, and the thing that mostly gets missed out by the media. We are a disrace beacuse we are funded by one man and have no debts whatsoever. Wheras Man you and Arsenal are wonderfully run clubs yet have massive debts which they can only just manage to deal with - go figure!!!!

Not sure Grant would have the bollocks to do what is needed to be honest!And that goes for the rest of this season too, we need to either play a 4-4-2 or play SWP in the middle in a 4-3-3....... neither will happen i don't think!! Bottom line is that whoever is in charge there are changes that need to be made! Our defence is very very strong, Midfield is all wrong even though we have fantastic players and we need to upgrade our wingers....

Lol, sorry but you are living in a massive dreamworld! Jose is never comming back.... You can't say that we would never have lost that game under Jose either.... Jose did lose football games... Lets face it, Avram isn't the man to take us forward. We have done well up to now with everything that has happened, now he has a problem. We have a fully fit squad - how do you play them? We have a big end to the season and the first hurdle has been hit and we stumbled!

So when are we to have Eduardo's funeral??? The injury is terrible no doubt about it! The tackle? Seen far worse and any talk of a ban ect.. is way overboard. The absolute worst thing about this is the reaction! They really have been talking and reacting as if the poor f**ker has passed away!! It's not the first time it has happened and it certainly won't be the last! Don't remember this sort of reaction when Shearer broke Bridgeys leg...

We lack any sort of urgency in our play at the moment.... it is a real problem. Did he really get MOM??? Lol..... It was just typical really, about as flukey as you can get! Yup was a stonewall pen and Spurs were saved by the lino, much like they were gifted a chance by the lino earlier and saved at the end by the ref!!!

We worked better yesterday with a 4-4-2 which is what i think we should continue with now for the rest of the season. The only problem with it is the ammount of world class midfielders being dropped, but now is the time we have to focus on the team rather than the individuals... Robben and Duff are not a shadow of the players they were due to injury, but it is that type of player we need on the wings. I just feel the time has come to have a real good look at what we need, get the right players for the system, not the right system for the players... we played much better when our hands were forced, when we had to play SWP in the attacking central role we once again had that attacking force down the middle, and with Ballack doing the running and Maka holding we had the balance for the only time..

I disagree. The squad on paper is very very impressive. But the players together just do not work - and it is not because they are not good players. When you look at our most creative and impressive spell of football, we was playing with the perfect team for the 4-3-3 formation: .....................Makelele..................... ..........Lampard................................ ...............................Tiago............... Robben......................................Duff ......................Drogba....................... Robben and Duff did what forward minded wingers in a 4-3-3 have to do, they run at defenders and scare the s**t out of them to creat chances for themselves and others. We just don't get this from Malouda or SWP in particular, Tiago was always in an advanced position to bring others into the game and link the attacking play up. Maka was the one to hold and cover and Lamps does what he does best and bomb up and down the park. Now we have no-one natural for the Tiago role and we end up with in effect 2 Lampards and as a result our attack is slower to build, also the fact that Malouda and SWP and also Cole a lot are not keen to run and make things happen and are just looking for the next pass.

I am not going to go into the discussion on the manager on this thread because it has been covered in plenty of other threads and there are other things which also need to be addressed which can be covered here! I honestly feel that this summer there needs to be a massive change in personel, now i am not talking the number of players comming in but because there are going to have to be some big names sacrificed to make the team work. As we stand now the team HAS to play 4-4-2 because until we cannot at the moment opperate the 4-3-3 with any effect, and we should ditch it until we get that link up man in midfield to be a crative influence. We have too many central midfielders right out of the same mould and it just isn't working with 3 in there. We need a playmaker to play alongside a defensive midfielder and a box to box midfielder otherwise our build up is slow and unimaginative... Wingers. As far as i am concerned we have 2 who are worth keeping - Kalou and J.Cole. SWP is beyond poor on the wing and is becomming a hinderance to us and Malouda is innefectual for the majority of all games and doesn't offer us enough. We need wingers who are more direct and willing to run at defenders. Like i said there are some BIG players in our team but the balance is completely wrong and it is time to right that, but is going to have to take balls to do it!!

What an incredibly dissapointing game! We did not play well at all, what a shocking choice it was to play SWP, the man is completely inept out on the wing! Anelka couldn't get on the ball and Belletti to start with was run ragged. We did grow into the game though and got the goal which Didier took very well. Then comes the penalty! Which i felt was very very harsh, the ball was bobbling up all over the place and it wasn't deliberate and it also looked to me that Huddlestone also handled the ball in there! At that point we was in control and then we lost the control again for some time! Then just absolute bad luck with the deflection off the face of Woodgate! Only at this point did we start to create real chances of our own, none of which we could take. Then the awful call of the ref to blow when we are right in on goal........... Just a bad bad game overall - and utter dissapointment.

And if you look closely at this line We are still in four competitions it is clear that he also wants to have a foursome with Roman, Kenyon and Buck

Thats very true, loyalty will only take you so far. At the end of the day if he doesn't get given what he wants (and we have no idea that is the case) then he will leave. Given the fact he is getting older, i would think it could be the length of contract that is the issue here.... But you are right Misschief, the club want him to sign - if he is so committed then what is the problem?

No real suprise there! Everyone wants Lamps to stay! As far as we are told Frank wants to stay very much. So the only problem is either the money or length of contract on offer...

Oh dear!!! Please not another discussion about Grant!!!!!!!!!! The best thing Wise has done so far is to get Leeds relegated! But i do want to see more old faces involved with the club at a coaching level.

I am sure it isn't accurate at all, i know for a fact no-one asked me!!!! Still the figures are moving in the right direction, i am sure no-one expected us to make a profit this season anyway! Not sure what it all means in the general scheme of things though, taken on an individual basis it looks better. But what about transfer income? We made a nice profit there this summer....

This is one that is refusing to go away..... reports now are discussing a close deal worth £12m! And saying that a deal could be done in the summer. I see no reason though why the deals can't be done now and then the move made in the summer like what we did with Robben and Cech? I would like to see him here anway...

Actually the definition of a "core" fan is someone when asked who they supported without any prompting said - Chelsea..... bit flimsy but there you go

Didier Drogba is confident he will continue his golden run of cup final goalscoring form by firing Chelsea to Carling Cup glory on Sunday. Chelsea are set to face Tottenham at Wembley as the two sides compete for this season's first major piece of domestic silverware. And Drogba, who has scored four goals in cup final victories over Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United in the past, is confident that he will continue his impressive run of form at the weekend. "I want to score in the final again," Drogba told skysports.com. "I have scored in all finals Chelsea have played so far. "I am a big game player and I have scored against the big three in finals. "I want to do it against the team who is close to the big four (Tottenham). It will be a great final." And the Ivory Coast forward also believes that his partnership with £15million January signing Nicolas Anelka will help Chelsea, who are still chasing glory in the FA Cup, UEFA Champions League and Premier League, to success on four fronts. "He (Anelka) is a top player," Drogba continued. "I speak French like him and I think we can play together. "If we click as we all expect, we will be very dangerous for the remaining of the season. My club has a lot to play for. We are still in four competitions." Drogba, though, is wary of the threat posed by Tottenham and believes Spurs striker Dimitar Berbatov will be a danger. "I respect Spurs," Drogba added. "They have a world class player in Berbatov. I am a big fan of his and he is so skillful. "His technique is there with (Zinedine) Zidane, (Cristiano) Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and (Thierry) Henry." Source: Sky Sports

On the positive side though, lets hope this kid is worth the hassle!! Signing young top players like this as well as developing our own youth products is where we are looking. And it is working which is evident by our Youth and reserve team.

We made a loss of £74.8m for the year, which basically doesn't exist because Roman pays out of his pocket. All the "actual" loans we had have now been paid off and we are debt free. Obviously in the long term Roman would like to make some money from the club, and i think the "value" of the club has now reached a very very high level compared to when he bought us. Also very good to hear that they are commited to continued building of the academy to save on transfer spending, hopefully in the next 2/3 years that should really start to kick in..

So the bottom line is that we have done nothing wrong.... no big suprise there!!! And the Reggina boss is being a c**t and kicking up a fuss because they can't deal with their players very well it seems.

Chelsea FC plc today (Thursday) announced record group turnover and reduced losses for a second successive season. Chelsea FC also revealed a gross turnover of £223.3 million and independent research that indicated 90 million 'core fans' globally. Group results for the year end June 30, 2007, followed another year of success on the field with football, media, and sponsorship revenues all showing large rises on the previous financial year. The main figures were: - group turnover up 25% to £190.5m from £152.8m (2005/6) - sponsorship revenues up 89% to £32m from £16.9m (2005/6) due mainly to first year of adidas contract - football activities up 27% to £165.3m from £130.4m (2005/6) due to success on the field, FA Cup and Carling Cup winners, second in FAPL and semi-finalists UCL - cash spend reduced by 46% to £70.5m from £129.6m (2005/6) - matchday revenue up 29% to £74.5m from £57.7m (2005/6) due to increased box office/corporate sales and cup runs - media revenues up 13% to £59.6m from £52.6m (2005/6) - losses reduced by 7% to £74.8m from £80.2m (2005/6) - wages and salaries as percentage of turnover reduced by 5% to 71% from 76% (2005/6) - EBITDA down to £2.3 million negative from £8 million negative (2005/6) - gross turnover of £223.3 million (includes adidas and other merchandise and Chelsea Digital Media not consolidated in group results) The research into fan base was conducted by TNS and was taken in 14 major global markets. Also, following the end of the financial year Chelsea cleared our last remaining external debt by paying off the Eurobond under the terms of the bond arrangement. Chelsea FC chief executive Peter Kenyon said: 'These figures once again demonstrate that Chelsea is growing in strength as a business and as a club. 'I am delighted there has been such large increases in the major income streams. This has all been underpinned by our fundamental aim, success on the field, and this season we are looking to build on that again. 'Our long term target of operating profit break even by 2009/10 remains ambitious but we are determined to meet it or get as close as we can. 'In the meantime we have made good on our pledges of last year, hitting all of our aims. We have expanded globally as a club, we have reduced our salaries as percentage of turnover, we have continued to be successful on the field, we have increased sponsorship revenue and we continue to invest in our academy and reduce our reliance on transfers. 'With the company also being external debt free and our ownership clearly demonstrating continuing commitment to the long term, I am very confident about the future on a football and business level.' Source: Chelsea FC

Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck has told Sky Sports News that he does not expect Ronaldinho to arrive at Stamford Bridge over the summer. The Blues have been constantly linked with the Brazilian superstar over the past couple of seasons, but any move for the Barcelona forward would now appear to be out of the question. With the club keen to establish themselves as a global brand Ronaldinho would appear to have been the perfect poster boy for them to infiltrate the American and Asian markets. However, despite admitting that the possibility of bringing the two-time World Player of the Year to the club had been discussed in the past, Buck insists that the Blues have other priorities at present. "Ronaldinho? No, I don't see it being likely that Ronaldinho will be here next year," the chairman told Sky Sports News. "Anything was a possibility and certainly there had been rumours and discussions of that, but I don't see it happening." The immediate concern for the Chelsea board is tying England international Frank Lampard down to a new long-term contract and, despite talks being delayed until the end of the season, Buck remains confident that the midfielder will remain at Stamford Bridge. "We want him to stay and he has said he wants to stay," the American confirmed. "He also said he'd like to delay discussions until the summer, but I'm optimistic that we'll be able to sort something out. "It's only because he wants to concentrate on his football. "He's a wonderful player and a superb guy and we'd like to see him for the long-term at Chelsea football club." Source: Sky Sports

It is going to be a very intersting game and i definately feel it will be a game of a higher tempo than if we was playing Arsenal, Man you or Liverpool. The key for us will be what team is put out and that is going to be something that will not be easy.