Mike O

You're in - drop me a PM giving me your name / email address/ mobile etc. That goes for all other team members - pls send me your details asap Mike

Mike, I'll wait for 5th June to buy the kit. Presuming we are entered, can the chaps involved give me an idea of colours, stripes, hoops etc that they would prefer. (probanly NOT green and white hoops though I suppose the obvious will be all royal blue, but I guess CFC.net or BAWA will go for that !!! I'd go for something like this... Classic!

Latest news.... The good news is we definitely have a place at the tournament. The bad news is that our team is way under par in terms of numbers. I have put the call out to mates of mine who play regularly and are CFC fans and so far 3 have said yes. If you're a local as well and want to do the same, feel free. As it stands , I will definitely be entering a team so get those travel plans in order. We are looking very old as an outfit so younger legs will be welcomed with open arms (as opposed to younger arms being welcomed with open legs). Coombsie - very generous offer on kit. Lets take a view on the 5th as to how many people we've got. I don't think we're going to get over 20 folks and we can swap shirts around accordingly. I'm guessing we may need a disproportionately high amount of XXL sizes...!

Top man - I'll go left back to accommodate you (albeit I have absolutely no left foot). That's the kind of guy I am ...

Team developments are going backward............ .........................................Ethical strategy.......................................... Mike O..................Mr Chelsea.........................xxxx...........................xxxx Coombsie..............xxxx................................xxxx.................. ............Alan ..................................xxxx.................Coco..................... .................. Physio: Gem I'm going to start laying on the pressure on a personal basis now..... Why haven't I heard from Just Glory55 Tea Bar Boy Star (and star's son)??????? I know you all and reckon you're all competent enough to be in the team (well, you've all got two legs). Furthermore, you all know me and can probably gauge how completely f*cked we're going to be if I can get to play! Come on people. Stick those hands up!!!!

Yeah i know mate, wasnt really addressing you, only the people who keep bringing money into the debate. No offence, but we get it off others without our own going on about it. I've not taken part in this thread Coco to date, but if I had you'd definitely be refering to me as one of those people. I think we're all allowed a view as to the way Roman splashes his cash about - and wastes huge amounts - for a couple of very good reasons. 1. Money is money and wasting huge amounts of it, either in the market or as compensation for dead contracts is - in my books - pretty sick. I'm not going to go on about world poverty and the like but you have to have lost your moral compass entirely not to balk at the millions that have been squandered. 2. As a businessman, albeit about 1000 divisions behind RA in terms of net worth, I just think the way the board have acted of late makes them look like 2yr olds, not the sort of people who make you feel comfortable about running 'our' club. 3. If those don't get you, then try this one. I gave up my ST after 15 years because I couldn't afford to keep it on and also bring my lad. SB has a capacity of c. 40,000. That means for every £4m that gets wasted in the market etc, ST prices could have come down by £100 / seat (I now it's not all STs but you get the point). For all RA's wealth, Chelsea fans - who actually go to matches - are still some of the most financially exploited in the country. So, roughly for the cost of Sheva, Veron, SWP, Grant's pay off etc etc, ST prices could have been halved, ticket prices across the board could have been reduced by 50%, loyalty for long-term fans could have been truly rewarded etc etc. So when we go on about RA's generosity, it works a lot better for armchair fans than it does for the for those that go I don't think we're ever going to agree on this mate, that's just how I see it. Mike

Right, team so far............ .........................................Ethical strategy.......................................... Mike O..................Mr Chelsea.........................xxxx............................dkw? Coombsie..............xxxx................................xxxx.................. ............Alan ..................................Quizgod...............Coco.................... ................... Physio: Gem I'd say we need another 8 people, preferably with a few who can bring our average age down a tad (which is currently at about 44, I think!). Come on, let's be having you (Loz, I'd be happy to put you up if you wanted to make the big trip down). Mike

Right, so sign up here boys.... So far we've got.... Mike O / Ethical / Coco / Alan Just another 18 required - you will be particularly welcome if you're under 40 and can actually play football! PM me if you're interested Loz - can you put some sort of banner announcement on the front page of the forum? We're running out of time for getting our entry sorted

Would there be room in the same team for two of us? Now you're talking... What we will need though, is approx 9 other decent footballers to make us look good

And me - as long as there's a need for a 43 yr old overweight goal hanger. Seriously, I live not far away so I'd be happy to manage our team or even play (if we're really desperate)

I think I disagree with you on this one Dorset (though I certainly do not align myself with Pleat!). I think Roman is bad for the game as a whole, and that the only way we could say that he is good for the game is if we agreed that football clubs are there for the benefit of patrons and not supporters. By pouring money into the club so wantonly Chelsea pushes up player salaries and general costs, in turn pushing up prices for supporters (even non-game going supporters who have to either pay astronomical cable fees or even more expensive beer at the pub that subscribes to Sky etc etc). This in turn means that the culture around football changes and is no longer a local, working class phenomenon which gave it its original flavour: witness the strange fanaticism of some fans in Oceania, Africa, the Middle-East, East and South-East Asia who do not have a whiff of the cultural importance that clubs have to their local communities, and just like to see the 'best of the best' go head to head in some colour or other (or, in their defence, sometimes it's the only chance to see their own best players who have been creamed off local leagues). Now I, as an Australian supporter of Chelsea now living in England, have no high horse from which to judge others. All I can say in my defence is that it is the culture surrounding English football that primarily appeals to me and not the 'battle of the titans' aspect, and that I feel that no matter how dedicated I am now, or how many games I go to, I will never be an organic part of CFC in the way that those whose parents and parents' parents supported the club. Maybe if I had kids that I brought up here they would have that natural connection. Of course the organic supporter is not necessarily a better person, but without this kind of local inheritance the game would be sterile. In the same way the international kick-boxing circuit is completely boring, but kick-boxing in Thailand, with all its cultural acroutrements is fantastic. Of course this isn't Roman's fault, it's the way things are (sigh). But he represents the (now much imitated) avant-garde pushing football towards franchiseedom. It is this trend towards overbloated consumerism in football that led Chelsea to the precipice of administration in the first place, so in a way we were saved by the thing that was killing us. If I were the fan of a club close to going into administration, I don't think it would be hypocritical to say Roman is distorting the game even if I would be willing to accept his patronage if the opportunity were there. It would mean that the reckless pursuit of profit in football would give me no option. It's only hypocritical to suggest that the club and its supporters, who had no option and were already seeing their football club imperilled by the way things are, are somehow in the wrong. I'm a supporter of the club but definitely not Roman Abramovich and all that he represents. Can I just say that that is another genius post and to have at least 2 in one thread is a wondrous thing to behold (the other one, natch, being Liam's point about Callista's tits). Seriously Heckel, genius stuff and I'm definitely on your page. This thread really underlines why, for me, this is probably the greatest forum in football. I'm very proud to cross swords with all of you guys...

A happy distraction but riddle me this.... Has he actually donated anything to the club? I ask because the last I saw in the press, we were showing debts of £800m. I genuinely don't know the answer, hence the question. Has he 'given' us anything (in terms of cash) or is all an interest-free loan?

Manager: Mark Hughes ............................Cech............................ Bosingwa.........JT..........Alex..................Cole Bentley.........Essien.......Ballack...............Cole ..................Anelka.......Kalou...................... Subs: Cudicini / Mikel / Di Santo / Makalele / Sinclair / Bridge Out: Drogba / Lampard / Carvalho (all to Inter)

Thanks for that Bristol Chick (great name btw). JT is a living legend in the eyes of most people on these boards and most of us are stunned at the negative reaction the media have been giving him. Nice to hear some support from a red corner for once. There are truly only a handful of players in the country who have the passion of JT (and none of them play for Arsenal) of which you have a couple (I'd actually single out Scholes and Hargreaves vs your choices). Outside of the off-pitch shenanigans, we should all applaud the levels of commitment these guys give...

May I direct you to this 'ere thread? http://www.theshedend.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=7900

So if it is to be Mancini then we might be hearing something sooner rather than later ... If it is to be Mancini, then is he 'the man we want' or 'a man who is available'? I could be wrong but it doesn't sound like part of a deliberate game-plan.

Pity. As you're a Chelsea fan, obviously intelligent, an excellent writer, and with a good job - if you had big tits you'd be the perfect woman. Can't believe you wrote that!!! All hail the new unreconstructed man.

Saw it with the kids on Monday and loved it. Can't believe that it's been slagged off by people who should know better. Sure, it's got flaws (the first half hour is fairly needless) but through most of the film, the cinema I saw it in had one big smile on its face.

I think it's a tricky question because someone needed to take us over otherwise we could easily have done a Leeds or died altogether. For that alone, I'm grateful to RA (as well as the success that employing JM got us). However, for my money, I would have prefered someone / some consortium to take us over who: 1. Approached the club as a business, not a plaything 2. Had a long-term vision for the club and a road map for how to get there (and didn't keep it to themselves) 3. Didn't completely f*ck up the European transfer market with some of the most ridiculous deals ever seen 4. Didn't engender a philosophy that we could do whatever we damn well wanted and sod everyoe else (Sven-gate / Cole-gate / Mikel-gate / Ranieri etc) 5. Didn't employ an egomaniac as chief exec with all the PR skills of Gerald Ratner 6. Didn't want to get involved in team affairs 7. Actually sorted out our initial debts (c. £80m) instead of giving us a loan 8. Didn't then increase our debts to c. £800m (do correct me if I'm wrong here...) 9. Didn't let friends have a stake in running things etc etc.... I know I'm going to get throttled for saying all this. However, when RA first came along I posted some serious worries in 2003 that, above all, we ran the risk of losing a lot of dignity as a club by becoming a dodgy billionaire's plaything. I think today, as far as the upper management of the club is concerned, that we are now in 2008 a totally 'dignity-free' zone.

And that, my friends, is a) The post of the year B) The reason this forum is singlehandedly wrecking my business (because the debate is so damn good....)

It's a bit like that moment in Gladiator when Joachim Phoenix is in the Colliseum about to pass sentence on a hapless gladiator and all he can do is listen to the crowd to hear what they want before giving the old thumbs down. Or is it? I'm confused... PS Sparky for me please

Shivers down my spine...top choice man - not exactly easy listening though!

I hope so too mate. But.... It was Roman who undermined JM's position with appointments of Arnesen / Grant etc It was Roman who foisted Sheva on the team It was Roman who fell out with JM (yes, I know it takes 2..) It was Roman who stuck a very strange stopgap option in his place (AG) It was Roman's team who then gave AG a long-term contract It was Roman's team who then sacked him after a penalty slip in arguably our biggest European night If we were a publically listed company, shareholders would be looking at 3 changes of management in one year, erractic corporate behaviour, shocking PR etc etc and be asking all the questions some of us are today. In many markets, CEO's would be sacked for less...

Look Coco (and anyone else on his page), Let's start by reaffirming that we all love the Blues, we all love JT and the boys and we've all enjoyed many of the achievements of the last few years. Right? Having seen your photo as you prepped your front room for the CL final, I'd say that you and I are peas in the pod - we look the same, we're the same age-ish and we've got the same sort of front room. I think you've got a family, as have I, and I'm sure we'd get on lovely over a few pints of the black stuff. My point about the character of the club's upper management is this. It's not like you and I - it's not a cheery, family type guy. It's not the sort of person who understands that you need to work to get results, who knows that you have to put in to get out, who knows that flowers only bloom after some loving nurturing etc etc. In my eyes, the character of the club, in terms of the behaviour of the upper management, is that of a spoilt princess. By that I mean some idiot girl who never worked hard at much at all because all her life plans revolve around finding Mr Right. The trouble is, because she's never had much of a plan outside of that, every Mr Right becomes Mr Wrong within a short while because all the other girls seem just that little bit happier than her. She's destined to be perenially unhappy because she wants it all now, now, now and because, ultimately, she is dependent on getting someone else to give it to her. And all the while, she works her way through a parade of hapless husbands who she gushes about to the world on a Monday, and divorces on a Friday. So ask yourself, who do you want for a manager in 08/09 and what must he achieve in one season to keep his job? Then, who do you want for a manager in 09/10, who in 10/11 etc etc.? Then ask yourself one big scary question. If all this seemingly petulent behaviour is refelective of RA and his 'I want it now!' philosophy, then how long will it be before he throw his hands up in the air, says 'f*ck it' and storms off leaving us with £800m worth of debt?

Yeah but were just voicing the fact that we think,the club is being run badly. Got nothing to do with results and league tables.