CHELSEA WEB NEWS

Chelsea need to have back-up plans and we understands Allegri is one of them

2015-12-22T03:24:00.001-08:00

The Juventus coach has impressed the Stamford Bridge hierarchy with his work in Turin after leading his team to the domestic double last season, as well as the Champions League Final.

Guardiola, who will leave Bayern Munich at the end of the season, and Atletico Madrid coach Simeone remain the preferred candidates of owner Roman Abramovich to succeed Jose Mourinho. At this stage, Allegri is an outsider.

But with Guardiola also wanted by Manchester City and Simeone unsure about whether to leave Atletico, Chelsea need to have back-up plans and we understands Allegri is one of them.

Allegri has won the Italian title with both AC Milan and Juventus and has impressed again this season.

Despite losing key players Carlos Tevez, Andrea Pirlo and Arturo Vidal, Juve have recovered from a poor start to win their last seven matches and move to within three points of Serie A leaders Inter Milan.

Allegri, 48, signed a new deal at Juventus last season, earning him £5.1million a year until the summer of 2017. Simeone’s salary at Atletico is closer to £9m annually after he agreed a new deal earlier this year, while Guardiola earns even more at Bayern.

If neither Guardiola nor Simeone moves to Stamford Bridge, Allegri could find himself fighting for the Chelsea job with the man he replaced at Juventus — Italy coach Antonio Conte.

Conte is thought to be keen to return to a club job after Euro 2016 and sources in Italy indicate he has a tentative agreement with Roma to take over before next season. Yet Conte is also understood to be learning English and is fascinated by the idea of working in the Premier League.

The 46-year-old will make no decision on his future at least until March, when he meets Italian FA chief Carlo Tavecchio. Tavecchio is keen for Conte to continue until the 2018 World Cup.

Conte has a yearly salary of £6.5m and the Italian FA hope he will continue if Italy perform well at Euro 2016.

Yet it is believed he would prefer to return to the club game, after winning three consecutive Serie A titles as Juventus coach.

He has become disillusioned due to numerous rows over player availability during his time with Italy

News : Standard Sport .

January Shopping List

2015-12-22T03:05:00.002-08:00

Diego Costa's time at Chelsea appears to be up following the fans' reaction to the Brazilian-born striker at the weekend.
It seems that the Spain international faces a hard task to turn things around in west London and could be open to a move away ASAP.
This morning's rumour will delight him if that is the case. For Costa is rumoured to be heading back to Atletico Madrid with Jackson Martinez coming this way.

Chelsea are in desperate need of firepower and the Colombian is the exciting option the struggling champions need.
Martinez has been a long-standing target of Arsenal's in the past, but that was before he moved to Madrid.
The 29-year-old, however, has struggled to settle in the Spanish capital and could well be up for a fresh challenge.

Martinez has only scored three goals in 16 games this season but it hasn't damaged his reputation as one of Europe's top strikers.
Despite being linked with a move to either Arsenal or Manchester United, Guus Hiddink wants to make Real Madrid's James Rodriguez his first signing.
Hiddink has returned as caretaker manager at the Bridge again and has already identified the players he needs to turn their slump around.

Rodriguez reportedly tops that list and, according to Spanish outlet Fijaches, Hiddink has told Chelsea officials to go get his man.
The Colombian is said to be unhappy with life at the Bernabeu and despite other clubs being linked with him, Chelsea have the financial might to beat their rivals to his signature.

Another player edging closer to the exit door by the day is Cesc Fabregas.
Fabregas, like Costa, has been targetted as the players to have let axed manager Jose Mourinho down, and has a tough job on his hands to turn public opinion around.
Real Madrid coach Rafa Benitez has been watching the situation closely and would love to work with the Spain international.It remains unclear whether Fabregas would be so keen on the switch given his connection to Barcelona, a club he left to join Chelsea but one which remains close to his heart.
Finally, Chelsea want to sign 18-year-old Troyes goalkeeper Paul Bernardoni next month.
Reports in France say Chelsea would look to sign him in January before loaning him back to his current club for the rest of the season.

Hiddink came into the training ground on Sunday to check on the form and fitness of Falcao

2015-12-22T03:02:00.000-08:00

Guus Hiddink hopes he can coax Colombian striker Radamel Falcao back into something approaching his pre-January 2014 form as the Dutch coach now in charge of Chelsea tries to widen his selection options ahead of their Boxing Day game against Watford.

Hiddink came into the training ground on Sunday to check on the form and fitness of Falcao and speak to him, while the rest of the squad had a day off following their win over Sunderland. Falcao’s loan move to Chelsea this season has so far not been a success with only one league start and one goal, and he had been overlooked in recent weeks despite having returned from injury.

The striker had a longstanding calf injury which initially ruled him out from the start of November. He last featured as a substitute in the defeat by Liverpool at the end of October. Jose Mourinho, the former manager, had a good relationship with the 29-year-old, and they shared an agent, Jorge Mendes, but no longer felt he was able to trust him as results deteriorated.

Kurt Zouma to play as a makeshift right-full back

2015-10-13T21:32:00.001-07:00

Jose Mourinho will consider asking Kurt Zouma to play as a makeshift full-back in Chelsea’s must-win game against Aston Villa because of the hamstring injury Branislav Ivanovic suffered on international duty.
Right-back Ivanovic was injured in Serbia’s Euro 2016 qualifier against Albania and had to withdraw from the squad for the next game against Portugal.

The defender has undergone tests at Chelsea’s Cobham training ground and could be out for around three weeks, prompting Mourinho to consider his options ahead of Villa’s visit to Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
The most obvious solution would be to bring in £21million summer signing Baba Rahman at left-back and move Cesar Azpilicueta to the right in place of Ivanovic.

But Chelsea manager Mourinho still has reservations over whether Rahman is ready to make his Premier League debut, having so far only appeared in the Champions League against Maccabi Tel Aviv and Walsall in the Capital One Cup.

When questioned why Rahman had not replaced the out-of-form Ivanovic for the Southampton game, which Chelsea lost 3-1, Mourinho said: “Baba Rahman arrived in the last day (of the transfer window) and he doesn’t know what it is to play in this kind of championship. He had no pre-season with us. He needs time to learn and adapt.
“At the same time, every team except Maccabi Tel Aviv is a team of giants. If you don’t have a minimum of five tall players good in the air, you are dead on set-pieces. When I play Azpilicueta on the right and Baba on the left, I have only three. So we have to think about all the details.”
Rahman has had extra time to try to prove he is capable of facing Villa after a mix-up over his visa meant the 21-year-old could not travel with Ghana to face Canada in Washington and, instead, remained at Cobham this week to train with his Chelsea team-mates.

Zouma is naturally a central defender and is already competing with captain John Terry and Gary Cahill for a place in the middle.
The Frenchman has previously proved his versatility by playing as a holding midfielder and has appeared at right-back earlier in his career, and at left-back for Chelsea during pre-season. His physical presence may be attractive to Mourinho for the Villa game, with Rudy Gestede posing the greatest threat for Tim Sherwood’s team in the air.
If Mourinho decides Rahman is not ready, Zouma could either directly replace Ivanovic on the right, or come in on the left and allow Azpilicueta to move over to the right.

Zouma played the final half-an-hour of Chelsea’s pre-season friendly against Barcelona at left-back and afterwards said: “It is a new position for me, I played there only one time when I was at Vaulx-En-Velin, but I have to help the team and the boss put me at left-back and it was not a problem.”
Confirming the fact he can also fill in at right-back, Zouma said: “I play mainly as a centre-back and I like the physical part of the game. I’m very good in the air, with a big leap, which I would say is probably my biggest quality. I can also play at right-back. I’ve played there occasionally.”

Other than facing a potential dilemma at right-back, Mourinho is expected to stay true to his word and find a place in his team for young midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek for the Villa game and will have striker Diego Costa available again from suspension.
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich and the club’s players have publically backed Mourinho since the Southampton defeat, but he knows he cannot afford another embarrassing loss to relegation candidates Villa.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek is in contention for starting against Villa
Mourinho spent Monday night watching Azpilicueta and Cesc Fabregas in action for Spain in Ukraine, where Chelsea play Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League next week.
The fact the Portuguese appeared to attempt to disguise his appearance by wearing a hood has also resulted in speculation that he was watching transfer targets ahead of the January window.

Chelsea are in pole position to sign Lyon forward

2015-02-05T20:35:00.002-08:00

The French media has suggested that Chelsea are in pole position to sign Lyon forward Alexandre Lacazette.

The young Frenchman is labeled as ‘new Karim Benzema’ is his country. He has scored 21 goals in 22 league appearances so far this season, being called-up by the national team of France. Number of English clubs, including Man United, Man City and Liverpool are keen on the player, who could be available for £30m. Chelsea are thought to have agreed personal terms with him.

Cesc Fabregas could miss Chelsea's next two matches

2015-02-05T20:30:00.000-08:00

Cesc Fabregas could miss Chelsea's next two matches against Aston Villa and Everton, according to newspaper reports.

The Guardian and the Daily Telegraph both claim Fabregas is still struggling with the hamstring injury he sustained in Chelsea's 1-0 League Cup win over Liverpool.

The Spain international sat out of Saturday's 1-1 draw with Manchester City, along with the suspended Diego Costa, and could face a further two matches on the sidelines.

It is reported Fabregas may be back in contention for the Champions League meeting with Paris Saint-Germain on Feb. 17.

The 27-year-old has been in excellent form since signing for Chelsea from Barcelona last summer, recording 15 assists in 21 Premier League appearances.

With Fabregas potentialy missing, manager Jose Mourinho could turn to new signing Juan Cuadrado, who arrived from Fiorentina on transfer deadline day.

Artificial crowd noise will NOT be put into practice

2015-01-20T00:48:00.002-08:00

Chelsea have moved to ease fans’ fears about plans to potentially use artificial crowd noise to improve the atmosphere at home games after the club confirmed the idea will NOT be put into practice.

Blues chairman Bruce Buck revealed that the west London outfit will not be using the measure to increase noise levels at Stamford Bridge despite manager Jose Mourinho complaining about the issue in November.

The Portuguese tactician blasted the atmosphere during some home matches after saying playing at Chelsea’s ground was ‘like playing in an empty stadium.’

However, Buck has refuted the notion that Chelsea could record noise and play it out during games in a bid to try and solve the problem.

‘Our manager, for some reason, decided a few months ago to say that the fans were quiet at moments,’ Buck said.

‘One of the problems is it’s very difficult to get tickets when the stadium is sold out every week. It’s difficult to get young people to visit because it’s hard to buy tickets.

‘Every club is looking to improve the matchday experience, but we can’t have recorded fan noise — our fans just wouldn’t accept that.’

He added: ‘We don’t have cheerleaders; we have to do what’s right for our home environment. You have to understand your market place.’

Salah can’t leave Chelsea

2015-01-19T00:27:00.000-08:00

Egyptian has been linked to a move away from Stamford Bridge as he has struggled to get game time with the Blues this season. With the first XI performing brilliantly at the top of the Premier League, the back up players have found it hard to get in to the team.

Clubs such as Serie A giants AS Roma have been rumoured to be interested in the winger, and talk of a move had grown in recent weeks. However the Portuguese manager has quashed talk of a transfer away from the League Cup semi-finalists, claiming that he doesn’t have enough players to allow him to depart.

“He can’t leave, I have 20 players today with Didier [Drogba] a bit ill and [Cesar] Azpilicueta injured,” the manager said. “I had all my players here today, just [Nathan] Ake in the stands.

“I have a very short squad, I need everybody. For Salah to leave someone has to come, and I don’t think we are going to let Salah go on loan and then spend some money to bring somebody else in. So I don’t think so, unless my club comes to me and says Salah goes on loan and we are going to buy a €65 million player,” he added.

The Blues are yet to have been affected by a lack of players so far this season, with the squad doing well in all competitions so far. They are top of the Premier League, in the Champions League knockout rounds, semi-finals of the League Cup, and in the fourth round of the FA Cup. The Stamford Bridge outfit will hope that this form can be continued until the end of the campaign.

Young English footballer is in talks with Chelsea

2015-01-19T00:24:00.000-08:00

According to the British media, Queens Park Rangers star Charlie Austin is in talks with Chelsea Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho.

Blues boss has mentioned in interviews that he always wanted to buy 25 year old forward, but he had some trouble talks with Queens Park Rangers directors. ” Now I think, it’s time for them to sell their key player, he needs world class team, I hope Loftus Road will take me this talented guy and one of the most promising star of England ” – has declared Portuguese manager.

Young English footballer is belongs to queens Park Rangers from 2013 after he left Burnley and scored 30 goals in 50 matches with QPR shirt.

I'm okay to play if Jose Mourinho needs me to play more games

2015-01-14T22:37:00.000-08:00

Chelsea midfielder Ramires is confident he has put his injury nightmare behind him and is ready to help the team's bid to win four trophies this season.

Ramires has barely featured this term due to a painful thigh injury. He has started just three Premier League games, the last of which was against Liverpool two months ago.

But the Brazil international has finally made a full recovery and played his first full 90 minutes since August in the 3-0 victory over Watford in the FA Cup last week.

Chelsea have shown signs of fatigue in recent weeks as their pursuit of four competitions takes its toll, but Ramires says he is now in the right shape to aid their cause.

He said: "I am happy. I have been playing just five or 10 minutes before, but against Spurs I played for 45 minutes and Watford I played the full 90.

"I'm more confident because now I'm okay to play if Jose Mourinho needs me to play more games. I'm in the condition to do that.

"I have had to be patient. I stopped playing regularly for a long time and now for me it's very good to be playing more.

"I need to do more work to feel more well, but now I can help the team and I'm happy about that.

"It was a muscular injury in my abductor. It is a difficult area to get injured because all your movement depends on this. It was difficult for me because one day it felt very good, others not so good. But I try every day to help the team in games."

Ramires sees the fact that Chelsea have been able to cope without him so easily as a reason to be positive.

They currently lead the title race by two points, are in the semi-finals of the Capital One Cup, the last 16 of the Champions League and the FA Cup Fourth Round.

He added: "It's definitely a good problem to have, when the team has a lot of quality. A team that wants to win competitions and be champions can only gain from knowing that, if you change the players, you see others coming in who you know are not going to lose the momentum.

"The standard isn't going to drop because everyone in the squad has a lot of quality. It's very good for the coach and the squad to have that healthy competition among the players for positions."

Chelsea were only ahead of Manchester City in the Premier League on alphabetical order before the weekend, but the latter dropped back after drawing at Everton.

The two sides meet at Stamford Bridge on January 31st and Ramires, who has not won the title since moving to Stamford Bridge in 2010, feels Chelsea are better equipped to be crowned champions this time.

He said: "Last season we were okay but this season we have improved a lot compared to the last few seasons - everyone can see that.

"We were behind on points trying to catch teams in the past and now we're at the top of the League, even if Man City are right there with us. At this moment we know we only depend on ourselves.

"We have to make sure we get the three points in our home games and then we go to our away games trying to get more points and fight for the title. We are in a good position."

Enrique has spoken out about Lionel Messi’s future

2015-01-14T22:20:00.000-08:00

Lionel Messi’s future has been up in the air in recent weeks, with reports of a bust-up between Barcelona’s star player and the Catalan club’s head coach Luis Enrique.

The Argentine attacker stated that he was dedicated to the Blaugrana cause in the aftermath of the Camp Nou side’s 3-1 victory over Atletico Madrid on Sunday, but the media continue to speculate over where the South American will play his football next season.

Enrique has spoken out about Messi and the four-times Ballon d’Or winner’s future in a press conference ahead of the Copa del Rey clash with Elche.

The manager has admitted Messi’s importance to the side and claims that the club are not preparing to lose their prize asset.

"We all think that Leo Messi is going to be here for many years to come,” Marca report Enrique as saying.
“That’s what all of us at Barca want. We're not even considering the future without him.”

Messi has scored in his last two games for the club since being benched by Enrique for the shock 1-0 defeat to Real Sociedad earlier this month.

The South American playmaker was beaten into second place in the Ballon d’Or prize by perennial personal rival Cristiano Ronaldo earlier this week.

Mohamed Salah could be under serious threat from youngster Thorgan Hazard

2015-01-14T22:17:00.001-08:00

Chelsea winger Mohamed Salah could be under serious threat from youngster Thorgan Hazard for his place in the Chelsea squad next season.

The Belgian winger, brother of Chelsea first team star Eden Hazard, has reportedly done enough in the Bundesliga for Borussia Monchengladbach this season to force his way into Jose Mourinho’s first team plans for next season.

That would give Chelsea fans the salivating prospect of watching two Hazard brothers in one team in West London. The prospect is also believed to be one the brothers dream of for club and country, with the duo yet to play together for Belgium as Eden missed Thorgan’s one and only appearance so far for the senior international side in May 2013 against the USA.

Salah and fellow winger Andre Schurrle are the two players most at danger of the axe during this January’s transfer window, though Chelsea assistant manager Steve Holland has claimed the club are not keen to make any changes to the playing squad this month.

Should an opportunity to sell one of the players come up, or should Chelsea need to clear space in their squad or finance a deal, they would be most likely to go. With Hazard a seriously good alternative to Salah, there may be little reason for Chelsea to hold on to the Egyptian winger.

we aren’t going to lose such a talented striker as him : Jose Mourinho.

2015-01-12T20:38:00.001-08:00

Chelsea starlet Islam Feruz will continue his career as a member of Blues.

According to some sport media sources, Chelsea 19 year old rising star was under the watchful eye of Cardiff City and his childhood Scottish team Celtic. “I think, we have to maintain him, because he’s going to be a real star, we aren’t going to lose such a talented striker as him” – has announced Chelsea Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho.

Young naturalised citizen of United Kingdom and Scottish international is on loan to OFI Crete now, his Blues career started last season, but he has never been in lineup yet.

- See more at: http://offsidefootball.com

New Star : Diego Costa ( DC )

2014-09-15T00:03:00.000-07:00

As Diego Costa continues to plunder goals, we`ve a few statistics to share with you with regards to the Brazilian born Spanish international.

• Diego is the first Chelsea player to score in each of the opening four league games of a season since Chris Garland back in 1972-73

• Diego is only the second player to score in each of his first four Premier League games, the first being Micky Quinn.

• Diego, surprisingly, is the tenth player to net in the first four games of a Premier League season - Olivier Giroud and Daniel Sturridge both managed this feat last season.

• Diego is the first player to score seven goals in his opening four Premier League games.

• Diego`s start to the season has only ever been matched, in Chelsea`s history, by a certain Jack Meredith, way back in 1928.

Costa’s goals against Swansea saw him take his tally to seven for the season, already more than Demba Ba and Fernando Torres managed last campaign, and just two behind Samuel Eto’o.

After the game, Jose Mourinho suggested that Diego had surprised but then again he hadn`t, remarking,

"Diego has not surprised me - but seven goals in four games has surprised me."

"That is not normal and maybe it is too much. We cannot expect him to have 14 after eight matches."

"He might score two in the next four games and that would be good."

"But the way he is playing, if the team plays well, he has to score goals. He`s so comfortable in the team."

"The team was building in a way where we were waiting for a certain type of striker."

"I think everyone knows why Chelsea did well to wait for him rather than buying someone in mid-winter last season, just to buy a striker."

As they say - patience is a virtue! Let`s just hope Costa can keep it going!

Chelsea vs Swansea

2014-09-14T23:53:00.000-07:00

The match between Chelsea and Swansea City saw two teams coming together with a 100% record so far this season. Chelsea have the stronger team on the whole, but Swansea have a real togetherness and play with a certain style that stops other teams from playing.

Chelsea lined up with the 4-2-3-1 formation and Swansea City also started with the same formation. The Blues were playing at home and this gave them an immediate advantage and it showed their intent when they began to dominate possession. Cesc Fabregas as usual orchestrated play in midfield and Swansea often found themselves pinned in their own half. The Spaniard successfully made 74 out of 79 passes and this gave Chelsea a real threat in the final third.

Chelsea had 56.4% of possession and this is where the game was won for them as Swansea found it difficult to really get hold of the ball and play their slick style of football. With this possession, Chelsea made a total of 471 passes and their link up play helped them to attack with a purpose.

Defensively, Swansea let themselves down when it came to tackling, making only 17 successful tackles out of 35 attempts. This figure would have given Chelsea the edge and with Diego Costa up front, the hosts always had that threat of scoring. All three of Costa’s goals came from inside the box, which shows that Swansea City allowed Chelsea too much space and time on the ball to get into areas that could cause danger.

Chelsea were a real threat in every sense of the word and whilst the game was dictated from midfield by Fabregas and Nemanja Matic, the game was won in attack and this showed with the three goals Costa added to his tally and the goal scored by new signing Loic Remy.

Former Spurs ace thinks Chelsea will win this year

2014-09-11T01:06:00.002-07:00

Former Spurs ace giving his verdict on who he thinks will win the title this time around.

25-year-old believes the trophy will go to London this season, it is not Tottenham - nor north London rivals Arsenal - that he thinks will go all the way.

"I feel Chelsea will win this year,” Bale told BT Sport.

“They’re very strong, so I reckon they’ll win this year.”

On the Premier League more generally, the Real Madrid star explained: “Obviously the Premier League’s very, very good and Spain’s very good but it’s slightly different, I think.

“If you’ve been playing in the Premier League and you go to Spain you can learn a new type of football - and different things about your game that maybe you wouldn’t learn if you just stayed in the Premier League.

“For me I think it’s enhanced my game, it’s made me a better player and made me learn more about football which is only a positive.”

Chelsea host Swansea City at Stamford Bridge this weekend, while Bale's old side travel to Sunderland a couple of hours earlier on Saturday afternoon.

26 players out on loan from Chelsea.

2014-09-04T20:58:00.001-07:00

Story: http://ble.ac/1qWMlUJ pic.twitter.com/SUsF9ivjru

Zouma is "Happy"

2014-09-04T20:53:00.002-07:00

Chelseas Premier League - Squad List 2014/15 Announced

2014-09-04T07:51:00.002-07:00

1.Petr Cech (F) - CL+PL
2.Branislav Ivanovic (F) - CL+PL
3.Filipe Luis (F) - CL+PL
4.Cesc Fabregas (H) - CL+PL
5.Kurt Zouma (U) - CL+PL
7.Ramires (F) - CL+PL
8.Oscar (F) - CL+PL
10.Eden Hazard (F) - CL+PL
11.Didier Drogba (F) - CL+PL
12.John Mikel Obi (F) - CL+PL
13.Thibaut Courtois (F) - CL+PL
14.Andre Schurrle (F) - CL+PL
17.Mohamed Salah (F) - CL+PL
18.Loic Remy (F) - CL+PL
19.Diego Costa (F) - CL+PL
21.Nemanja Matic (F) - CL+PL
22.Willian (F) - CL+PL
24.Gary Cahill (H) - CL+PL
26.John Terry (H) - CL+PL
28.Cesar Azpilicueta (F) - CL+PL

23.Mark Schwarzer (F) - PL
6.Nathan Ake (H) - PL
31.Andreas Christensen(U) - PL
32.Jeremie Boga (U) - PL
33.Mitchell Beeney (U) - PL
34.Lewis Baker (U) - PL

CL - Champions League, PL- Premier League, H-Home Grown, U-Under 21

Chelsea - Under 21 players (Contract and Scholars)
1 Abraham, Tammy
2 Aina, Temitayo Olufisayo Olaoluwa
3 Ake, Nathan Benjamin
4 Ali, Mukhtar Abdullahi
5 Baker, Lewis Renard
6 Bamford, Patrick James
7 Beeney, Mitchell Ryan
8 Blackman, Jamal Clint-Ross
9 Boga, Jeremie
10 Bolkiah, Faiq Jefri
11 Brady, George
12 Brown, Isiah Jay
13 Chalobah, Nathaniel Nyakie
14 Christensen, Andreas Bodtker
15 Christie-Davies, Isaac David
16 Clarke-Salter, Jake-Liam
17 Colkett, Charlie
18 Collins, Bradley Ray
19 Conroy, Dion John
20 Cuevas Jara, Cristian Alejandro
21 Dabo, Sheik Mohamed Fankaty
22 Dasilva, Jay Rhys
23 Davey, Alex James
24 Feruz, Islam
25 Hazard, Thorgen Ganael Francis
26 Houghton, Jordan
27 Kalas, Tomas
28 Kane, Todd Arthur Lucien
29 Kiwomya, Andrew Alexander
30 Loftus Cheek, Ruben
31 McEachran, Joshua Mark
32 Mitchell, Reece Steven
33 Muheim, Miro Max Maria
34 Musonda, Charles
35 Musonda, Tika Kafusha
36 Oliveira Dos Santos, Wallace
37 Omeruo, Kenneth
38 Palmer, Kasey Remel
39 Pasalic, Mario
40 Perica, Stipe
41 Piazon, Lucas Domingues
42 Rodriguez Gonzalez, Jhoao Leandro
43 Sammut, Ruben
44 Scott, Kyle
45 Solanke-Mitchell, Dominic Ayodele
46 Swift, John David
47 Tomori, Fikayo
48 Traore, Bertrand
49 Wakefield, Charlie Mark
50 Wright, Kevin
51 Zouma, Kurt Happy

Loic Remy has passed up the opportunity to take up Chelsea’s ‘cursed’ number nine shirt

2014-09-04T07:23:00.001-07:00

The Frenchman, who joined the Blues for £10.5m, has instead opted for no.18, despite Fernando Torres freeing up the classic strikers’ shirt.

Torres departed Chelsea on a two-year loan move to AC Milan last month, after a torrid three-and-a-half years at the club. But the Spaniard isn’t the only player to struggle in the no.9 shirt at the Bridge.

In recent years the shirt has been worn by

Franco Di Santo, Steve Sidwell and even centre-back Khalid Boulahrouz, as well as Hernan Crespo and Mateja Kezman –

none of whom have gone down in Chelsea folklore. In fact the last no.9 to be a success with the Blues was Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, who departed a decade ago.

A nine goal thriller

2014-09-01T04:34:00.001-07:00

A nine goal thriller at Goodison Park saw Chelsea move back to the top of the table with three wins out of three.

It was an excellent start for Chelsea as they went two up in three minutes. A brilliant run by Diego Costa was met with a perfectly weighted pass from Cesc Fabregas and the striker made no mistake rifling the ball through Tim Howard’s legs. Moments later, Branislav Ivanovic was on the score sheet after he latched onto Ramires’ through ball.

On the 16th minute, Everton thought they had equalised when Romelu Lukaku’s header hit the cross bar and Sylvain Distin prodded home the rebound only for him to be deemed offside. On the stroke of half time, Kevin Mirallas met Seamus Colemans cross with a powerful header into the top corner.

In the second half, Costa had an opportunity to extend Chelsea’s lead when he was through on goal, but Howard dealt with the danger well. However, half way though the second half, Eden Hazard beat James McCarthy and his cross was put into the net by Coleman. This was the first goal of five in 11 minutes.

Moments later, Everton were back in the game when Steven Naismith scored with the outside of his foot after calmly collecting a pass form Aiden McGeady. It was Nemanja Matic’s turn to score for Chelsea as his shot managed to get through and find its way to the corner of the net. Everton pulled another goal back with former Chelsea player Samuel Eto’o, who was making his debut, scoring with a superb header from a Leighton Baines’ cross.

Chelsea didn’t stop there and they extended their lead once again when Ramires scored from a tight angle. In the 81st minute, Everton came close to pulling one back when Mirallas effort was saved by Thibaut Courtois. To round the day off, Chelsea capitalised on some poor play from Muhamed Besic and John Obi Mikel back heeled the ball into Costa’s path for him to score his fourth of the season, helping Chelsea to a 6-3 win.

Back-Up Striker completed his move to Chelsea

2014-09-01T04:18:00.003-07:00

Loic Remy completed his move to Chelsea , after the club agreed to meet the release-clause within his QPR contract.

Remy will provide Jose Mourinho with a back-up source of goals and ease the work-load on Diego Costa. The French forward is, as he showed at Newcastle last season, one of the most elegant, composed finishers in the Premier League, and he also offers a level of mobility and pitch-stretching pace that Didier Drogba obviously no longer has.

There are positives to this for both parties, but it just feels like a slightly awkward fit. Remy is in a strange position: he’s too good a player to stay at Loftus Road, and yet he’s not quite right for Stamford Bridge. He’ll never properly challenge Costa for his place, because he’s just not balanced enough to do so – and he can’t really play any of the wide-forward positions within Mourinho’s formation.

Yes, at Newcastle he periodically started from the left-hand side, but the defensive requirements in that system were far less than they are at Chelsea and Mourinho is unlikely to trust him as a wide-forward – so his only route into the first-team is going to be as a number nine. Remy needs to be mindful of his age and realise that, at twenty-seven, he is already in his prime and has two or three years left of operating at the extent of his physical capabilities. This is not really the time to play a supporting role, and as such you can only really imagine his stay in South-West London lasting one or two seasons at most.

MVG and NANDO to AC milan

2014-09-01T04:16:00.000-07:00

Chelsea look set to allow another midfielder to leave the club on loan, following the departure of Fernando Torres, with midfielder Marco van Ginkel set for a season-long move to AC Milan according to De Telegraaf.

The former Vitesse Arnhem man was signed from Vitesse Arnhem 12 months ago, but has struggled to break down the door to the Chelsea first team since, whilst also being frustrated by injury.

He is expected to take his medical with Milan, who got their Serie A season off to a flyer with a 3-1 victory over Lazio, with Fernando Torres in the stands, ahead of a deadline day move.

Mourinho will not attempt to justify himself to either Cech or Courtois

2014-08-20T20:33:00.001-07:00

Belgium international Courtois has the chance to make the Chelsea goalkeeping position his own and end Petr Cech's 10-year grip on the club's gloves.

Chelsea are braced for a flurry of bids for Cech, whose situation is being closely monitored by Paris Saint-Germain, Monaco and Real Madrid.
Cech will not accept sitting on the substitutes' bench for long, but Mourinho will not attempt to justify himself to either the Czech Republic international or 22-year-old Courtois.

"If they need to speak to me individually, obviously I never refuse that," said Mourinho. "But I never give individual explanations."

Courtois is likely to be given a run of games to establish himself, despite the fact Mourinho has promised that the door is not closed on whoever misses out against Burnley.

"My number one will be my number one," said Mourinho. "Not forever obviously because I cannot kill competition. I cannot close the door for someone into the team. I cannot give any player a guarantee that he is in the first team forever if he doesn't perform.
"Obviously, you don't change a keeper if he makes a mistake, but you can change him if he makes five. What is my first-choice today might not be my first-choice tomorrow. But if the goalkeeper gives stability to the team I don't feel I need to change or to play one in one competition and one in another.
"I must support the keeper, the one that is not first choice. Support him is not to give him a Capital One Cup game. It is to show him my trust when no one is expecting that he plays. I remember I did that with Cech and Cudicini. I played Cudicini against Betis in the Champions League in the first game of the group, not in the sixth when we were qualified.
"I also played him in one league match when we were not champions, not after being champions. The best way to show a player that you trust him is to play him when nobody expects it and in games where there are responsibilities, and with these two goalkeepers I can do that when I want."

Mourinho believes he has two of the best goalkeepers in the world and is delighted with the strength of his squad ahead of Chelsea's first game.

"We have an improvement in the goalkeeper group," said Mourinho. "We have in defence also because we got Zouma and Filipe, and that gives us balance. Filipe is a pure left back which allows Azpilicueta to play on the right and Ivanovic can play in the centre, so that gives us more options.
"Cesc is the kind of player that we didn't have. We had a box-to-box, a runner, a stable player. We never had this kind of football brain, so that has improved. Costa has the power, mobility and technical quality that improves the team. Didier is still a player with important qualities and he has a special feeling in the group to persuade people to work hard."

Mourinho admitted his team selection for the first two or three games will be influenced by the fitness of his players following the World Cup.

"The final group was back very late," said Mourinho. "Are they ready individually? No, but we have to be ready as a team for Monday. Probably the first two or three matches will be more about the team that is ready than what I have in my mind as a first-team choice."

It was beautiful : Mourinho

2014-08-19T21:53:00.001-07:00

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was delighted with his side’s performance following a 3-1 win over Burnley at Turf Moor.

Burnley stunned Chelsea when Scott Arfield scored inside 14 minutes, but the visitors shortly equalized from Diego Costa’s goal and went on to dominate the game, with goals from Andre Schurrle and Bransilav Ivanovic earning them three points.

Mourinho said: ‘We had a good reaction. The first part of that reaction was that we were not emotionally affected by the goal we conceded. We kept playing according to the way we are training and the way we want to play. The players were very calm and never lost their composure. They never lost the football idea.

‘After that we had a fantastic 20 minutes with three goals. The second goal especially was a fantastic goal. Plus there was the penalty that the linesman decided not to give.

‘In the second half we had control of the game. I was a bit afraid because I know my players are not in the top physical form ready to give the same kind of performance for 90 minutes, so we lost a little bit of attacking appetite, but the control of the game and of possession was always there. I think we clearly deserved these three points against a side that is going to give a fight to everyone that comes here.

‘It was difficult. They played to their strengths, very direct with two strikers close to each other. The wingers have lots of intensity. They are a very well-worked side so the coach has to be good.

‘They have to play against teams with a different dimension of players in the Premier League but I think with the potential they have they will give a difficult match to everyone that comes here.’

Chelsea could have scored four goals if Costa was awarded a penalty, but was instead booked for diving.

Mourinho added: ‘Costa last season had a fantastic season and I think in the Spanish league he got five or six yellow cards all season. We all explained to him what people like and don’t like in the Premier League, and what people want at Chelsea. He presented himself here today with a fantastic attitude, a competitive attitude, but clean and polite.

‘He had a clear penalty but he got no penalty and he got a yellow card. He was obviously frustrated so I hope he doesn’t get more unfair decisions. [Michael] Oliver had a very good game and unfortunately his linesman didn’t support him well in that situation.’

The Portuguese coach was delighted with Cesc Fabregas’ performance in his debut for Chelsea.

‘The team played very well but I agree with Cesc being man of the match. Him and [Nemanja] Matic controlled the game and dictated the intensity of the game. They were choosing how to play – increase the pace, decrease the pace, play deeper, play with control,’ said Mourinho.

‘I know clearly the player Cesc is because we have spent so many years together in the same league, both here and in Spain. I know exactly what he will bring to my team. He is giving exactly what we need: that stability, that quick-thinking in midfield, that right decision. He brings other people in the same direction – you could feel Matic was playing different from last season.

‘Everything was fantastic for the second goal: the movement, the quality of the pass, the vision, the understanding between them. It was beautiful.’

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