Fulham Broadway

He should have done that a few months ago. Hes more interested in Dasha Zhokova taking him for a ride than Grant.

Not very nice to talk about SWP like that. I think its funny, it's probably on some Japs digicam somewhere. To be honest it's good to have Ten Cates being a bit of a disciplinarian, no player is going to be chastised by Grant, lets face it. I think him and Clarke could be a good team.

Thats just what we feared. With money and Grant learning the job 'as he goes along', there will doubtless be successes, just as the results since hes been there have been fairly good, and we will still be a 'top four' member But it will only be a shadow of what could be achieved with the right management

I genuinely believe the reason Grant is there runs deeper than many of us are aware. Theres a lot of Israeli/Russian politics and favours afoot. Who, or what team in their right mind would appoint Grant otherwise ? -let alone a World Class Club.

They couldn't deny anything because there was a fucking stadium tour going onat the time There is clearly unrest -with players having an emotional bond with Clarke, Ten cates the disciplinarian, and Grant 'the boss', scratching his head in the back ground. No wonder the players are confused.

Would say you're right, and they do trawl the forums to get the general zeitgeist of Chelsea fans. Guaranteed at the moment I would guess, from what I've seen of other Chelsea forums who are all fairly anti-Grunt , they're arses are tweaking, hence the 'crisis meeting'. Its not a deciding factor, obviously that'll be any silverware accrued or not come May, but they need to keep abreast of fans thoughts, and this bad publicity does Kenyons Publicity steamroller no good at all.

Lol thats what I thought. No substance to the title at all. Might as well have read ''Roman eats live Babies''

Top post there young man. When he arrived as ''Director of Football'' I remember posting that he's going to gently shove Mourinho out, like the proverbial cuckoos nest, sidling up to Abramovich with his pretend guffawing chuminess. Cunt of the Highest Order. I always remember 'Arrys first appraisal of him at Pompey -basically ''who the fuck is he? Whats he doing here? He just hangs about''. This view of him later changed , obviously after Gaydemarks strict instructions. Until hes out, any 'crisis meeting' or 'making friends again' will be papering over the cracks.

From This is London; Roman Abramovich continued his inquest into Chelsea's Carling Cup Final shambles on Tuesday by holding the third in a series of crisis meetings. The owner, who witnessed the bust-up between captain John Terry and assistant coach Henk Ten Cate at a Stamford Bridge training session in the build-up to Sunday's showpiece, called the warring pair together for clear-the-air talks. Point made: Henk Ten Cate (centre) talks to Roman Abramovich as assistant manager Steve Clarke looks on Manager Avram Grant and chief executive Peter Kenyon also had to attend the meeting. This followed his post mortem on Monday into the 2-1 defeat by Tottenham, where the club's board, coaching staff and senior players were asked to explain the debacle. Defeat had prompted Abramovich to enter the dressing room straight after the final whistle. The embarrassing flare-up between Terry and Ten Cate had also been seen by astonished members of the public who were on a stadium tour. Tuesday's meeting was the third time Abramovich has flexed his muscles in the wake of Chelsea's humiliation at Wembley. The billionaire was so dismayed at his side's capitulation that he was already in the dressing room to speak to the players before many had even left the pitch. Monday's inquest was at Chelsea's Surrey training camp and manager Grant was left under no illusions that he must deliver either the Premier League title, Champions League or FA Cup if he is to survive beyond the summer. Lonely figure: Avram Grant has had to explain his team's Wembley failure Abramovich's decision to take a much morehands-on approach will serve only to increase the pressure on Grant, chosen by the Russian to succeed double title-winning boss Jose Mourinho. As if to emphasise that Abramovich intends to keep far closer tabs on team matters, he even stayed behind at Chelsea's training ground to watch those players not involved on Sunday, including Ashley Cole, Andriy Shevchenko and Claudio Pizarro, take on an Arsenal youth team in a practice match. Those who played at Wembley took part in a light session yesterday having been given Monday off. Despite questions over Grant's tactics against Tottenham, there is also a feeling inside Chelsea that too many players simply did not perform on Sunday and that not all the blame should be shouldered by the manager. All concerned have the chance to make amends when they take on West Ham at Upton Park on Saturday, no doubt under the increasingly watchful eye of Abramovich. Talking again: Terry, Lampard and Ten Cate His greater involvement even includes Chelsea's pre-season plans, with a lucrative trip to Russia now on the agenda. Sportsmail can reveal that Chelsea are considering a proposal to fly to Moscow on their way back from their Far East tour to play in a four-team tournament on the weekend of August 2 and 3. After posting losses of £75million last year, Chelsea are aiming to join the global gravy train by becoming the first English team to play in Russia as part of their pre-season programme. It means Chelsea's players could spend nearly three weeks on the road as part of their pre-season preparation. A final decision is unlikely to be taken before the end of this campaign. CSKA Moscow are thought to be one of the teams involved in the project which will be run along the same lines as the prestigious Amsterdam Tournament. PSV Eindhoven have also been approached. PSV have strong links with Chelsea after Brazilian defender Alex was 'parked' with the Dutch club for three years before he finally obtained a work permit to play in England. Chelsea have yet to finalise plans for their pre-season tour and they are thought to be waiting on the increasingly unlikely prospect of playing in the Community Shield on Sunday, August 10 before they make a final decision. They have been investigating the possibility of a pre-season tour to China for the last 18 months, but club sponsor Samsung would prefer them to play three games in South Korea. The club's spin doctor once brilliantly claimed that 'threequarters of the world is already blue — now for the other quarter' but perhaps their ambitions should remain a little closer to home after the Carling Cup failure. Grant hit more trouble on Tuesday when he was warned he is in danger of missing out on the pro - licence he needs to continue as a Premier League manager after pulling out of the latest coaching class in Tel Aviv on Monday following the Wembley defeat because he was called on to explain his side's shortcomings to Abramovich. Israel's head of coaching Amnon Raz accepted his explanation but made it clear Grant would jeopardise his chances of finishing the course if he was absent again. Raz said: 'He called me to say he had a busy schedule and could not attend and I imagine he probably had a good enough reason. But he will have to be careful because if he misses many more, it will be the end for him. He has to be here for at least 70 per cent of the classes, or he doesn't get his licence.'

Good win -looks good for the future with the policy of Youth coming through maybe becoming reality in a few years.

I thought it was my central heating boiler after those cowboy fucking plumbers visited.

''Drunk, Naked, and walking round with plastic parrots'' We've all been there ? Havent we ? Am I on my own here ? http://www.mirror.co.uk/showbiz/latest/200...89520-20331941/

We need some fresh exciting wing pace, and Sinclair has that. Discouraging for him to be out on loan let alone anything else. I dont buy all this ''Oh it gives them experience'' malarky every time. Its good for the big four to do it, but not for the Premiership, and rarely for the player involved.

Good God can you imagine Grant being given £50-60 million pounds to spend in the Summer ?

From The Times -Matt Dickinson Whither Chelsea? The question can be taken as literal. The club are expected to decide in the coming months whether Stamford Bridge, their home for more than 100 years, can be their base for the next century. Their decision may tell us a lot not just about Chelsea's future, but about football's projected development. At a time when the game is looking to explore new frontiers around the world, with the Chelsea hierarchy keen to pursue the viability of the "international round", how much faith do they have in an expanding market closer to home? If they need a new stadium, how large? Is their market share growing in South Korea or South Kensington? They could try to expand the Bridge from 42,000 to 50,000 and many resources have been devoted to looking at how they might do so, including knocking the place down and starting from scratch. But as well as requiring Chelsea to borrow a home for a couple of seasons, it is thought to be hugely problematical for reasons of space and access and it would still leave them behind Manchester United and Arsenal, as well as Liverpool, who are pressing ahead with a 60,000 redevelopment. Arsenal and United make about £500,000 more than Chelsea for every home match — or £15 million a year — and, if the West London club are to fulfil their joint aspirations of becoming one of the biggest sporting enterprises in the world as well as breaking even, it is hard to see how that is possible with any 50,000-seat reconfiguration of the Bridge. There is also the albatross left by Ken Bates in the form of the hotels, restaurants and apartments at the Shed End that make reconstruction a logistical nightmare. The idea of having to buy out Bates's own penthouse, and the thought of what he would charge for moving, is probably a reason in itself to bring in the wrecking balls and the bulldozers. Reluctantly, but necessarily, Chelsea may have to look at other, bigger sites around West London and there have been a few willing partners. The owners of Earls Court approached Chelsea some time ago. Last year, Peter Kenyon, the chief executive, and Bruce Buck, the chairman, were spotted looking at large sheets of drawings in Imperial Wharf. There are thought to be other sites close enough to the Fulham Road — Vauxhall or Battersea, for instance — which would allow Chelsea fans to feel that they had not been shifted Dodger-style from Brooklyn to Los Angeles in Major League Baseball. To build a new ground would also allow Roman Abramovich to leave a tangible legacy of bricks, mortar and executive mini-bars; not that he behaves as though he needs a lasting monument to his own munificence. At the very least, it would allow the owner to install the directors' box of his dreams. But is there a demand for 60,000 seats at Chelsea, even after the trophies of the past few seasons? They sell out their Barclays Premier League matches but some games only with the help of the marketing department. And the difficulty in packing out group-stage Champions League matches would suggest that, while marketing figures show a huge growth in global impact, they are still working to establish a substantial local constituency. Yet they must make inroads if they truly are sincere about removing the dependency on Abramovich to keep writing the cheques; £74.8 million was the latest annual loss, despite a record turnover of £190.5 million. They have at least recognised the need to make themselves affordable by freezing non-corporate tickets for a third consecutive season, but nothing will attract a new audience like attractive football, which remains a tantalising dream for Abramovich despite spending £578 million. You might argue that a 25,000-capacity stadium will be more than enough if Avram Grant stays in charge beyond this season. Judging any manager on six months in charge is harsh, but the circumstances of his appointment — parachuted in by Abramovich despite a questionable CV — mean that scepticism was warranted. It has been amply justified despite a record of only three defeats in 35 matches. The three were against Manchester United, Arsenal and in the Carling Cup final loss to Tottenham Hotspur; ie, his biggest games. Throw in the turgid home draw against Liverpool and a pattern is emerging. Grant has been travelling to and from Tel Aviv in recent weeks for his advanced coaching qualifications, his Uefa Pro Licence, and his team selection at Wembley on Sunday, and his subsequent interventions — or lack of them when it came to addressing his players during the breaks — would have come back with a D- had he submitted it as homework. Managers like to call a big squad "a nice problem to have" but Grant was so spoilt for choice with players back from injury and the African Cup of Nations that it appeared to confuse him. All of which might be forgivable if Chelsea had started to play the expressive style of football craved by the owner, but they were neither the best nor most attractive team on view. That makes them London's third-ranked side when it comes to aesthetics — which is something to consider if you are planning to spend £500 million on a big new stadium. Perhaps Chelsea can pack them in, but not until a manager with real vision (Frank Rijkaard?) is running the team.

Have a horrible feeling he'll be given another season with th excuse ''he needs to build HIS team''. The Mancs and Arse are having a good old chortle at us I see ''Chelsea fans don't deserve this, but I know I speak for all Arsenal and The Mancs fans when I say, this is sweet music to us. Chelsea are no longer a force they are under Mour, and will never be under Grant''

Wankers. As you said we need some wingers atm.

From Port Vale NewsPort Vale coach Andy Porter says his young lions will show Chelsea's stars no respect when his side attempts to make club history tonight (7pm). Vale are aiming to reach the semi-finals of FA Youth Cup for the first time by adding the Londoners to their Premier League scalps of Bolton and Tottenham Hotspur. They are hoping for a crowd of more than 3,000 for the game, and Porter says supporters can expect the same approach which carried them to a 1-0 home win against Spurs in the last round. He said: "We gave Bolton too much respect, but we got at Tottenham straight away, the crowd got behind us, and the lads took it all the way. "After that 20 minutes when we closed down, we got the ball down and passed and played. "We are not a kicking side, we like to get the ball down, it is what we do all the time. It is based on the way John Rudge used to like to play football here. "We have to get at them and make it uneasy for them. I think they will come here and think they will stroll through. Hopefully it won't be like that." Chelsea's squad includes France under-17 international midfielder Gael Kakuta, Danish under-18 striker Morten Nielsen and Italian under-16 striker Fabio Borini. Their England youth internationals include midfielder Tom Taiwo, who cost £5m from Leeds with fellow midfielder Michael Woods. Porter added: "Not many of the clubs from the Football League with centres of excellence go this far. "It is mainly academies where clubs spend millions on them and get players in from here, there and everywhere. On a small budget, we have done very well." The youth team's progress has brought optimism in a season in which the first team has struggled at the foot of the table. Porter added: "It is a disappointing time, but this has given the crowd a lift. Hopefully we will have three or four thousand here." VALE have been allocated 1,600 tickets for their derby match at Crewe Alexandra on March 11. The tickets, which went on sale today, are priced £19 for adults, £15 for senior citizens, £8.50 for 12-16s and £4.50 for under-11s.

Its beyond, beyond daft. All that fucking trouble to get him from Bristol Rovers. Whos wanky decision is this Arnesen ? Grant?

He should fuck off and go pick Fantasy Football teams. I would play these; .......................CECH......................... BELETTI....TERRY.........CARVALHO........COLE .....................MAKALELE........................ .......BALLACK...................LAMPARD........ J COLE............ANELKA..........MALOUDA I would have Drogba to come on round 60 mins regardless of whether Anelka had done the business, and SWP and Kalou as ammunition to open them up if struggling. Again would bring on Kalou 70-75th minute replacing Malouda regardless of how the game is going. Essien or Mikel to replace Ballack/ Maka as required. Job fucking done.

Sounds a pretty daft move really.

Definitely an important result. We're either in a bit of a freefall, that West Ham will try and exploit, or we're going to bounce back with a vengeance. Either way will be a few cards and tackles flying about. Team selection/omissions will be interesting.

Its what fans sang to Andy Goram when he was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Dont think Gazza's schizo tbh, just always trying to prove himself.

Obviously the media are going to milk this, but there must be tension around at the moment, and as long as Grant remains hovering, brooding, doing fuck all, it will escalate. To me it is tragic that there is a huge well of talent not being utilised to its potential. We need more cohesiveness as a team, and more will unravel unless a top unifying coach is brought in