thejolta

I think to start the season our formation is going to be solidified with frank at the top of the pyramid, mikel at the base, malouda on the left, and essien on the right with a heavy rotation at LM of Malouda/Zhirkov/J Cole, and a rotation at CAM of Lamps, Deco, J Cole. CDM will be a mix of Mikel Essien and Ballack with Essien Ballack and J Cole rotating at RM. To be honest guys this is a great problem to have. Granted it's frustrating to have world class midfielders sitting on the bench, but if anyone goes down we've got 2 backups that are world class at the least. I think Joe's going to be one of the first guys off the bench for us because he's capable of playing 3 of the 4 midfield positions. I'm just hoping Joe hasn't lost much pace after the major and minor knee surgeries. ACL take a long time to heal and to have on top of that some issues with the MCL just doesn't sound promising that he'll be 100% in 3 week/a month as they've been saying he'll be ready. We could definitely use his skills though, so let's hope Joey heals fast.

Here, fucking here! Get fucked Beckham. I don't want to see him in blue ever.

Seeing as there have been rumors of them struggling to sign Crouch for just 9 million, I doubt that they could afford Joey. I don't think we'd consider getting rid of him for anything below ~18m and I don't think Tottenham has that kind of cash to spend on a winger. If they're going to spend money like that and Arry's smart they'll use it for a defender or a dominant striker, not a skillful winger. I hope this last injury on Joey's MCL is the only one he has this season. We really need a healthy Joe Cole on the right side making runs and getting behind the opposition's left back along with Bosingwa.

LET ALEX TAKE THE FREE KICK

Ahhhh sturridge. Nice play by Sinclair. Tough bounce.

Nice little run by Mancienne.

Carvalho captain

Don't you dare criticize Alexi Lalas!

This is going to be one match where we're seriously outnumbered in terms of fans. Expect a LOT of Club America fans given this game is in Dallas.

It's gotta be Essien or Riccy.

This should be fun to watch given the lineup. Wish Turnbull would get the start though. I'll be excited to see Sturridge, Sinclair and Mancienne get a good 45 minutes at least.

Yeah from the match against Milan I saw a bit ago their keeper impressed, but a 6 foot mexican is almost unheard of.

It's not that I think they're going to be more talented, I just expect them to put forward a stronger effort than either of the Milans. Also I expect the squad to be their first team squad. Lastly Mexican squads have a lot of pace and skill so we'll see. I just don't think this one's a given. I expect Drogba to be dominant though because I doubt Club America has any real size at the back.

I expect this to be the biggest challenge thus far in the preseason.

Anyone have any Chelsea blogs they read on a consistent basis? I've got one in my bookmarks right now (thechelseablog.org), but the guy who writes for it I tend to disagree with on everything and it's not very insightful. I'd compare that blog to listening to your uncle complain and put in his two cents that you know is bullshit. Anyways I really haven't found anything on the net. I know there's cfcnet, but that's not much of a blog. So does anyone have a Chelsea blog that they read daily and that is quality? Thanks

How silly. The captain always has to be the player who's the best possible captain whether raised in London or halfway around the world in Guam.

I think the order of captainship should be 1. John Terry 2. Frank Lampard and 3. Michael Essien/Petr Cech. To be honest I think Essien's gotta be the captain of the future. Perfect attitude and amazing work ethic.

I've met two guys from Ghana at my university. One of them was a reluctant Arsenal fan, the other watched the Liverpool champions league games with me last spring. True fan and was very complimentary of my Essien away kit. I think if Obi Mikel reaches the level of superstar that Essien is at we might be able to make a foothold in Nigeria too. I think Mikel's going to have an incredible year.

Modric is who I'd want 10000000000000x more than Niko. Modric is a beast and he'd give us another option on the right side of midfield with a bit of pace and skill for when Essien is holding, cole is hurt, or Ballack is being a ballack.

Not to ruin anyone's appetite but from everyone's most beloved source of information: http://goal.com/en/news/9/england/2009/07/...orm-for-Chelsea After a torrid season with the Premier League big-boys, Deco claims that he is looking to turn things around in his second season with Chelsea. And despite a prolonged flirt with a move to Inter, the Portugal international looks determined to perform under new boss Carlo Ancelotti. "I'll be here because I have a contract. I just want to play. I will do my best wherever I am on the pitch," The Times quotes the 31-year-old as saying. "The last season was difficult for me, I had many injuries and only played a few games. "I’m happy to play. Every player needs to play and wants to play. I hope this season I don’t have the injuries and can play the way I know." The Stamford Bridge outfit suffered as a whole due to a host of internal problems that saw Luiz Felipe Scolari sacked, with Guus Hiddink seeing out the season for the Blues. Deco feels that a combination of the administrative problems within the camp coupled with his catalogue of injuries contributed to his poor performances last term. "It wasn’t just the injuries, but when you have four injuries in the same year it is difficult," he went on. "You recover and get fit again and, straight after, another injury. It’s so difficult. I don’t like to make excuses, but I hope to work hard and start this season playing well. "All I want to do is to play and do my best for Chelsea."

Shit I didn't realize they were playing tonight. Any idea if Gooch is gonna get a cap anytime soon?

Hey ChelseaUSA what time is the game starting EST?

If only you could give some lesson to Yuri now.

You mention quality defensive play... I think he's a good stopper in midfield simply because he will slide tackle the shit out of anyone making a run just to stop the attacking motion of the team. I don't think there's anything particularly special about Ballack's defensive abilities, just the fact that he's willing to go to ground and sacrifice a yellow card for himself to allow the team to get back to shape. My biggest issue with Ballack is watching him play for Germany then watching him play for us. Maybe it's the fact he's not playing at the top of the diamond because of Frank, but he's absolutely world class when he plays for Germany. When he plays for us he's a decent distributor, but during some games last year he really made some dumb passes and his finishing and free kicks have been pretty poor this past year. Originally I wanted him to leave, but I think he's going to provide some excellent depth and hopefully not at the expense of Mikel (who does a far superior job in the holding role than Ballack). For me, my hatred of Ballack has more to do with who's being kept on the bench than his actual play. Although Ballack is a slow turd.

Charlize Theron ---> http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000234/ Lots of people in Hollywood came out to support Chelsea.