morris

If Roman is mad enough to keep Grant on , then it will only further my belief that Roman is making the decisions and Grant is just his puppet who plays who he is told to play.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sp ... 045670.ece

I wanna puke.

lol are you watching the match ? Boro are getting absoutely battered , not a chance in hell.

Steve Clarke, Chelsea’s assistant first-team coach, has become so disillusioned with life at Stamford Bridge that he wants to pursue his own managerial career at the end of the season, The Times has learnt. Chelsea’s managerial team could be in for quite a shake-up because the rumblings of discontent felt towards Avram Grant, the first-team coach, are such that several other long-serving members of the coaching staff will also consider their positions if Grant remains in charge next season. Clarke was given a huge pay rise to £900,000 a year to convince him to stay after the departure of José Mourinho in September last year forced the Scot to consider his future, but the improved contract has not eradicated all his concerns. It is understood that he is ready to end his association with Chelsea, which stretches back 21 years, by allowing his name to be circulated among Coca-Cola Championship clubs at the end of the season. Such is Clarke’s desire for a fresh start that he is willing to accept a substantial pay cut to secure a manager’s job elsewhere. Clarke’s renewed case of itchy feet will represent a considerable blow to Chelsea because he is well respected by all the senior players and is the only member of the management team to be genuinely popular with the fans. The former Scotland defender joined Chelsea from St Mirren in 1987 and went on to make 421 appearances, the fifth highest total in the club’s history, later acting as a scout and youth-team coach before he was appointed assistant manager by Mourinho. Related Links Although Clarke has no personal problem with Grant, the appointment of Henk ten Cate as joint assistant first-team coach alongside Clarke has not helped the situation and he has yet to develop a close working relationship with the Dutchman. Clarke will remain loyal to Grant until the end of the season, despite misgivings over some of the Israeli’s methods, which are shared by others at the club. There is a widespread belief that training sessions are too often conducted on the hoof, whereas in the past they were planned several weeks in advance, while others have criticised Grant’s team meetings for lacking detail, in contrast to the meticulous preparation of Mourinho. Grant has also had to put up with his authority being publicly questioned by senior players, with Michael Ballack and Frank Lampard indulging in mild shows of dissent after being substituted in the matches against Middlesbrough and Fenerbahçe in the past week, but he was in a defiant mood yesterday before Chelsea’s Barclays Premier League match away to Manchester City today. Grant has begun preparing for next season, although his plans are likely to be radically altered if Chelsea are knocked out of the Champions League next week by Fenerbahçe, who lead their quarter- final 2-1 after the first leg in Istanbul on Wednesday. “What assurance can the club give me?” Grant said. “A contract for ten years? I need to do my job. On the football front I can tell you what I’ll do at Chelsea next week, next season and in two years’ time. Maybe even more. I have my ideas and my plans, but in my private life I don’t know what will happen tomorrow. We’re planning for next season already. There is a vision for the club and it’s very clear. We want to get better over many years.” Grant did concede that his team are more vulnerable than Mourinho’s Chelsea, although he was adamant that he would not abandon his attacking principles, despite the defeat in Istanbul. “Maybe we’re more vulnerable, yes,” Grant said. “I’ve not done the statistics about how many leads were lost last season, but when you go to a different way sometimes you pay for this. But I prefer what happened on Wednesday. It was not the time to close the game as we were dominating, so I will not close the game to win 1-0. We looked like scoring a second goal so it was not the time to close down the game. Most of the times we did that this year we won the games.” http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/ ... 686030.ece

Was feeling confident about this one until I heard hleb , fibreglass , and van persie are back. I think a draw would be a good result now.

Outspoken Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has sensationally revealed Michael Ballack got it wrong in joining The Blues. Ballack joined the then Premier League champions in the summer of 2006 on a free transfer from Bayern Munich, however, his first season was largely disappointing. Drogba believes that Ballack has struggled at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea rely more on individuals, whereas the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal have balanced sides. "It is hard for Ballack - Chelsea is special," he told the Sun. "I'm convinced he would have had an easier time at Manchester United or Arsenal. "They benefit from a well-balanced team - he would have been a better fit there. "Here, we depend on our individuals so maybe Chelsea is not the right club for Ballack." http://www.sportinglife.com/story_get.c ... 75052.html

Jt out for 3 weeks , asheley cole 4 weeks. Just been on ssn. The good news just keeps on coming , sighl.

omg we have the Israel version of Sammy Lee in charge , this is a f'kin nightmare.

Just watching sky sports news and chelsea have released a press statement saying "the players looked very sharp in training and stayed on afterwards to practice attacking situations". Is this meant to be positive spin ?

17000 empty seats at stamford bridge tonight. Unbelievable

Yes - we have been saying that since he joined us.

Just on sky sports news - drogba and lamps definitely out for the blackburn game although they may on the bench for the champions league next week.

0 shots on target in the second half. that is just not acceptable.

I take it you have never torn your thigh.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/footbal ... 973572.stm

mmm don't really know what to say about this. http://www.arsenal.com/article.asp?this ... ana+Diarra

torn thigh muscle - he will be out for 4-6 weeks.

Unlikely Essien will even be on the bench due to his injury. Agree about bringing cm back though.

"Claimed" according to TalkSport. I understand you don't want him to leave but it's done. Will be officially announced tomorrow.

Confirmed on ssn , and real have also signed Royston Drenthe.

Jose Mourinho has welcomed Avram Grant to Chelsea but told him not to interfere in his affairs. Former Israel manager Grant was appointed as Chelsea's new director of football late last week. A statement from the club said Grant, believed to be a close friend Roman Abramovich, would be responsible for 'liaison on, and co-ordination of, football matters across the various areas of Chelsea FC'. Grant has flown out to Los Angeles with the Chelsea squad and Mourinho is adamant he can work alongside him. However, the Chelsea manager admits there are certain areas Grant must not meddle in. "I think the club was very clear in the statement they put out," said Mourinho. "If you want to know more about his work ethic, you'll have to speak with him. "He's here to give some support to different areas in the club and for me that is not a problem. "If the club wants to bring people to make the club better and to create a job for somebody to support those different areas in the club then fine. "From my point of view, he must not interfere with the power I have in relation to my job. So, welcome, and I will try to help him with what happens at a club like Chelsea."

One thing is for sure - everyone will be picking Barcelona in pro evo 7 / fifa 2008 online , the swines.

No one can question Frank's love for the club , so why should he not get the same money as ballack and sheva ?

So does anyone know how long it will be before Sheva can start training , maybe a slim chance he could make the bench as the final is nearly 2 weeks away