Butch

I honestly believe Chelsea got him to say that to get Milan to seriously "up" their offer. I believe he's already agreed personal terms but the two clubs have yet to agree a fee. Cheers, Butch

Eto'o and Deco are interesting situations. Eto'o in particular completely hated our guts. Now you have to wonder, did he hate Chelsea or did he hate Jose Mourinho. And Inter (and us) are in for him? How ironic! The Deco situation I am not as surprised about because I think it was more heat of the moment than intense hatred (did you see the footage of an injured Eto'o watching the Barca-Chelsea game on a closed-circuit TV and practically falling off his chair with rage when Drogba scored?). I think Deco does tend to get under your skin as a player and JT reacted, understandably. You have to remember that JT kicked the ball at Deco pretty hard (also understandably), so he isn't completely without fault. To be honest, as long as we keep JT, Frank and Joe, whatever else Scolari wants to do, I will just sit back, relax and enjoy the show. I'm getting that excitement factor back for Chelsea again, something I lost early last season. Cheers, Butch

I, like many of you, am relieved that it's been done and dusted and we can now move on to other matters. Big Phil was not my first choice, but that was because I simply did not feel he'd get along well with Roman. He does strike me as Jose-ish, in that he is brash and direct and is not afraid to get under people's skin. I actually like that, and miss that about Jose. True, I loved that Jose was methodical in the way he prepared the team, but my biggest impression with him is that of a winner coming into town and standing toe-to-toe with the likes of Fergie and Wenger. From this perspective, I am quite happy with this appointment. Regardless of how well Avram did, his hang-dog looks and constant praising of Fergie really made me feel very negative about us actually winning anything. The other reason, and I guess this is somehow related to my first reason, for not considering Big Phil as a leading contender is that I fail to see how this could be a long-term appointment. I can't get over the fact we let Jose go, particularly when you think about how young he is for a manager and the possibility of building a dynasty around him. With Big Phil, I wonder how many years he will last here, given his personality, Roman's needs/wants, the pressure, the press hounding his (and is family's) every move, etc... But the more I think about this, the more I am warming to his appointment. I know at least in the short term the entertainment value is going to be very high. My old friend Gee Bee always craved Brazilian-style football, and while it may be naive to expect this simply because we have a Brazilian coach, I think the blank cheque-book may be a big help for him to go out and bring in the type of player he wants (or Roman wants). Ronaldinho, anyone? So I'm basically going to throw caution to the wind and enjoy this ride while it lasts. Cheers, Butch

You must mean the Brazilian Ronaldo who can't walk! Cheers, Butch

You certainly aren't mate. He may not be my first choice, but he certainly is a much more possible choice than the others. Cheers, Butch

I myself find this hard to believe. I actually think we have a very good chance of signing him, partly because I reckon the two likeliest bets for our new boss are Scolari and Rijkaard, and both of them have worked extensively with Ronaldinho; not to mention Roman wants him and the pretty style he would bring to Chelsea. It's all a bit of a mess at the moment, but that is what I make of it. The longer we wait, the more inclined I am to believe it will be Scolari. Cheers, Butch

Cheers, Butch

If true, I bet the one Chelsea player Jose is after is one of either Drogba or Carvalho. I'm not surprised Kaka is not for sale, although I wonder if we made our desire public how he would react to Milan not allowing him to move. Afterall, they aren't in the Champions League. Drogba wouldn't be for sale either if he didn't want to move, but he does and so we have to find a solution that suits us. As for Sheva, well, it was inevitable wasn't it. I'm not sure I see this as Milan shoving us about, although I guess we could be a bit firmer if we wanted to swap Drogba with Kaka. Cheers, Butch

Does he speak English? Cheers, Butch

You know what...if we really signed Hughes as manager, I would look at it as an attempt to take the long-term outlook for the club, meaning that we put faith in a promising manager and stick to our guns for the long term, even if it means we don't garner success immediately. I personally would be very patient, provided we showed some signs of going in the right direction, e.g. challenging in all trophies, playing good football and creating a positive image for the club. Cheers, Butch

I just wanted to say something about Lampard - he's going to sign an extension with us. I am certain of it. He is just as blue as Terry and he knows where he is appreciated. These stories with Jose is just crazy speculation. Lampard fits the EPL to a T and is the heartbeat of Chelsea. Jose will want to establish his own heart beat at Inter. To a certain extent, signing Lampard would be a little bit of a disappointing reflection on Jose's abilities. I strongly feel that what he did with Lampard was part of the Chelsea project. He's on a new project and should be concentrating on what he's got. I'd be impressed if he tried to build an Italian backbone at Inter. But that is what I am expecting of a manager I consider to be one of the best in the world. We'll see. Cheers, Butch

The longer we wait, the more likely it is one of the managers who are involved in the Euros, i.e. Scolari. That is the biggest likely reason why we're waiting. Other than that, the management probably haven't as yet decided who to bring in as the new manager of Chelsea FC. On the one hand, I don't want us to dilly dally and miss out on signing players, but on the other hand I most definitely want the best manager we can get (more important than the best players we can get as we already have good players). So, please let's just calm down a little. Cheers, Butch

Fee being insignificant has nothing to do with it, in my opinion. We shouldn't be signing anyone without the consent of the manager. Obviously, none of us know for sure and are just going on Star's "info" as well as what we can gather in the press, but even if we don't sign him it could come down to many possible reasons rather than Star's information "being off". Depends what you personally want to believe. I myself trust Star and enjoy what information he brings to the Forums. Cheers, Butch

Star said we're very interested but are waiting to hear from the new manager himself if he's interested, so I think (1) sure, Spurs are interested or maybe his father is just trying to drum up interest to get things sorted quickly - basically, Spurs have to wait until we decide if we want him before they can finalize a deal, and (2) we might not be interested in signing him in the end if our new manager doesn't fancy him. Either way, Gem's assessment that we're a bit disadvantaged by not having a manager in place is spot on. Making signings without the manager's approval is just a bad way to start isn't it? The Bosingwa signing just didn't make sense. Cheers, Butch

The thing with Frisk really, for me, is an issue with Frisk. If he allowed Rijkaard to (a) speak to him when he shouldn't have done, and in so doing (2) influence him, then he really deserved to be pushed out of refereeing because integrity really is the name of the game in this job. Though of course in a them against us kind of viewpoint, Rijkaard as the opposing manager probably stepped on some nerves, but in actual fact, all managers try to garner their clubs the advantage. I believe Fergie's been doing it for eons. I'm not so sure I hold it against Rijkaard. I am certain a LOT of opposing fans absolutely loathed Jose Mourinho, and probably still do. BUT, can you say with any certainty that any of them wouldn't want him managing their club, except for a very few clubs who don't need a new manager. I really don't want all this chopping and changing to go for nought here. If what we want is beautiful football, as we've been led to believe, then we should go for someone who has delivered that, along with some measure of success. As for Hughes, I haven't been at all impressed with the way Blackburn have played, but he does have the playing pedigree, is a Chelsea boy, and has "done well" on limited funds (thus has the potential to do very well with unlimited funds). I was going to say he was a striker so probably has an attacking philosophy but I am brought back to my thoughts of Blackburn's style of play and it packs more of the fighting spirit than the beautiful aspect to it, which is why I say I rate Rijkaard higher. Cheers, Butch

What do these numbers mean? 20% happy? What is that? Let's just say I'd be ecstatic to have Jose Mourinho re-sign with us. I'd settle for one of Frank Rijkaard, Guus Hiddink or Mark Hughes. Carlo Ancellotti would not disappoint me. I'd be a little skeptical of Scolari or Ericksson, though I'd be optimistic that they would be able to do something positive. I've be disappointed with either Mancini or Deschamps. I'd also like to say that the elder statesmen (Hiddink, Scolari and Ericksson) don't strike me as long-term appointments. I'm not sure how long they would be with us. I would really like us to look for a long-term appointment. I know nothing is certain in football, but I'd really hope we are looking to build on Jose's work and think long-term (I'm thinking 5-10 years, as unlikely as it is). Cheers, Butch

I'm for the trophies. We've not established ourselves as one of the elite teams yet. Yes, we've won trophies recently, and yes we've risen to the top of the UEFA rankings, but we need sustained success. Three seasons of it is not enough for me, and we've now dropped to the "nearly men" category. The Madrids, Barcelonas, Milans and Liverpools can live on their histories to a certain extent, but as soon as we drop a level, we become just that rich team who can't buy success. That is why I am so disappointed we parted ways with Jose so quickly. I think we needed 5, 6, maybe 7 years of the Mourinho brand of winning football, even if it didn't win many friends. We needed that winning dynasty to kick start a new elite club with a winning history. So, I believe we need to win, win, win. The beautiful football is secondary. Now, this has nothing to do with the mentality of amassing the runs, so the speak, so the opposing team cannot hit us on the counter in the dying moments to snatch a draw or win. That's not the beautiful I'm talking about, and yes I would like to see that. Cheers, Butch

Considering how highly he obviously rates Hiddink, that endorsement for Rijkaard is probably ringing in Roman's ears. The fact he covets Barca's brand of football would only help solidify the appointment, me thinks. Cheers, Butch

To be honest, I'd be happy with either Hughes or Rijkaard (I like Hughes more but rate Rijkaard slightly higher). Jose won't be returning and Hiddink has ruled himself out. The rest, I simply don't rate that highly (e.g. Mancini) or like (e.g. Scolari). I just have this feeling that some of our non-British players might not respect Hughes as much as they would Rijkaard. Cheers, Butch

To be sure, a lot of us would wish this scenario to be true, Kenn, and I have to admit I am a little puzzled as to why his appointment hasn't already been announced at Inter (out of respect to Roberto Mancini?). You'd think that they wouldn't have such difficulties in finalizing things. A while back, I raised this "ego versus ego bet theory" concerning Jose and a less than impressed Roman, and while on the one hand it seemed a bit far-fetched, such is the character and eccentricity of the two me that you (I) could never discount it completely. At this point, provided Roman has been able to swallow his pride (which I'm sure wouldn't be any easier than Jose doing it), Jose must be seriously considering the possibility. Ultimately, however, I think his pride will win out and he will move on. Unfinished business at Chelsea indeed (read Champions League), but he must have already started planning his future the minute he was given the boot. He had always wanted to manage in Italy so this is his chance. It is an interesting situation, and maybe we are reading into this more than is actually there, but I think an announcement at Inter is imminent (today?). Chelsea only sacked a manager we were always going to sack, and an assistant manager who is not well liked within the player ranks. Inter sacked a manager who has guided them to 3 scudettos. Mancini may not tick all the right boxes at Chelsea but surely for Inter if they did not have someone better lined up they would be shooting themselves in the foot. Cheers, Butch

I think they fell out towards the end didn't they? I still feel it will be Frank, and from all the options available (Jose doesn't seem to be, nor Guus), this seems to me to be the most exciting (for me personally). Cheers, Butch

I think Mike has a point. Roman, and I'm appreciative for what he's done, isn't going about this as well as he should. Obviously, I think he initially did all the right things, e.g. hiring Kenyon to look out for the marketing side and Jose to look out for the footballing side, etc..., but his meddling simply is too much. He's basically spoilt a good thing that he was in the process of building, which is a shame. There is indeed an element of the spoilt child in him - he wants what he wants and he'll get what he wants without caring for any of the consequences. I find it a bit ironic that he confronted Drogba to tell him in no uncertain terms that he let the team down, as if to say his stupid decision to slap Vidic cost us the CL title, when someone should be telling him that his stupid decision to sack Jose really was the beginning of a lot of our troubles. Anyway, as a Chelsea supporter, and this is where I maybe differ from Mike, I crave success for my club over other things and so as long as the football team (my real heroes) are given an environment in which they can realistically compete for all the trophies available, I can just about overlook the circus surrounding the club. Don't get me wrong - it does get to me. But I'd rather the situation we're in that the eternal mid-table mediocrity, however enjoyable it may have been before. I do wish I could have my cake and eat it too, but... Cheers, Butch

The thing with Lippi is that he supposedly doesn't speak English (at least not much of it) and I think that is important in many respects, i.e. English-speaking league (press) and English-speaking players (many of them). I think he'd have a hard time getting players to understand him and "playing the press". Of course, I'm not saying he can't learn the language, but this does count against him, I think. My personal opinion regarding the other names, at this moment in time, is that Rijkaard is probably the favorite. He has the pedigree and his former team played in a way that Roman wants Chelsea to play. I'm not so sure it will be easy to change the way we play without significant changes to the playing staff but I guess the manager has to want it first. He also has a certain profile in dealing with the press; I know us Chelsea fans don't like him, but I have to say in general he has a "smooth" image about him that will likely not get on UEFA's (or the English FA's) nerves. He also speaks English and is available, not to mention he has the backing of Arnesen. Hiddink, my personal favorite, seems intent on distancing himself away from the job, and understandably so with preparations underway for Russia's involvement in the EURO tourney. His agent has been probably the most vocal about his client NOT wanting to manage Chelsea, so I don't have a particularly good feeling about this. He does have all the right attributes though, except that age may not be on his side. Hughes is an interesting option. However, he doesn't really have any European managerial pedigree. The Champions League is almost a prerequisite in terms of challenging for this every season (at least until we win it once - and rather soon too). For that reason alone, I think Roman may decide elsewhere. And there-in lies the problem with Mancini as well. While Hughes is an unknown, Mancini has failed to deliver despite having one of the best squads in the world. I see almost nothing to give me any excitement here. Even Grant has reached a Champions League final. Scolari? He's a prickly individual - not sure he'd have too many friends at UEFA (if we're comparing him to Jose). There is also this thing with him managing in the EUROs and thus not being available for a while yet. I admit that one the one hand, we should wait and get the best man we can, but on the other hand we need someone to come in and have time on his side to prepare. The Bosingwa signing was certainly interesting from the stand point that Scolari manages the Portugal national side. Could it be him? I would also have been okay with Sven, although he hasn't met with much success for a long time now. He does have the right credentials and Roman was interested a while back. I fail to see why we wouldn't be interested again. I also wonder if the Mexican national team rumors aren't to force Roman's hand. Which I was kind of hoping would be the case with Jose to Inter rumors, although I am not accepting that those dealings are probably too far advanced (kind of like Zola to Cagliari a few seasons ago). I'll stop dreaming when he signs on the dotted line there, but to summarize, I am thinking it will likely be Rijkaard. Cheers, Butch

Dear Friends, As the football season comes to a close, so too does another BPL. CONGRATS to Loz for winning the regular season, winner's circle, long-term predictions (joint with Liam), and ultimately the overall BPL competition for the season 2007-2008. CONGRATS to TT for pipping me to the Highest Score competition with that performance for the Champions League final. CONGRATS to Ossie13 for winning the Highest Average score competition and well done for pushing Loz all the way. And thank you one and all for participating and for your kind words. It is a pleasure running the competition every year, and hopefully with the tweaks out of the way (for now), the competition can settle into a consistent format from now onwards. Please see the Regular Season standings for the average scores competition (20-game minimum). The top three were: 01. Ossie13 164 points 02. Loz 162 points 03. TT 154 points So, Ossie13 wins the 100-point bonus. As for the Long-term Predictions Competition, here is the final standings: [table=Long-term Predictions 2007-2008:3u47b8rb] ------------------------------ Rank Name Points ------------------------------ 01 Liam 100 Loz 100 02 Butch 85 TT 85 03 Nick White 80 04 Chippy 70 05 Pauly 65 06 Ossie13 60 07 Crystalballs 40 MadMac 40 08 Mike O 20 ------------------------------ [/table:3u47b8rb] So, Liam and Loz win the 100-point bonus. For the Winner's Circle competition, here is the final standings: [table=BPL Winners’ Circle 2007-2008:3u47b8rb] ------------------------------ Rank Name Wins ------------------------------ 01 Loz 13 02 Ossie13 12 TT 12 03 Butch 8 04 Chippy 5 05 Coombsie 4 Crystalballs 4 06 Nick White 3 07 Pauly 2 08 Daffy 1 Daniel 1 Derek Dove 1 Lukasz 1 MadMac 1 Murdoch 1 SergeyMS 1 TimW 1 ------------------------------ [/table:3u47b8rb] So, Loz wins the 100-point bonus. For the Highest Scores competition, here is the final standings: [table=-BPL Top-10 Scores 2007-2008:3u47b8rb]- -------------------------------------------------------------- Rank Score Predictor(s) -------------------------------------------------------------- 1 268 TT (Man Utd – neutral – CL) 2 265 Butch (Schalke04 – home – CL) Chippy (Fenerbahce – home – CL) Loz (Fenerbahce – home – CL) Ossie13 (Fenerbahce – home – CL) 3 263 Coombsie (Birmingham – away – EPL) 4 259 Loz (Rosenborg – away – CL) Ossie13 (Rosenborg – away – CL) 5 256 Crystalballs (Liverpool – home – CL) 6 253 Chippy (Sunderland – home – EPL) 7 248 TimW (Man City – home – EPL) TT (Man Utd – home – EPL) 8 245 Butch (Portsmouth – away – EPL) 9 243 Ossie13 (Blackburn – away – EPL) 10 240 Butch (Liverpool – away – EPL) -------------------------------------------------------------- [/table:3u47b8rb] So, TT wins the 100-point bonus. So, taking everything into account, here is the FINAL STANDINGS: [table=-------------------------------------------Butch’s Prediction League Standings 2007-2008------------------------------------:3u47b8rb] -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name GP Rs Winner Bonus Points Cu Av Rt RS LT AV WC HS -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 01 Loz 60 9728 100 100 0 100 0 10028 167 227 02 Ossie13 57 9372 0 0 100 0 0 9472 166 223 03 TT 61 9405 0 0 0 0 100 9505 156 217 04 Daffy 01 211 0 0 0 0 0 211 211 212 05 Butch 61 9173 0 0 0 0 0 9173 150 211 06 Crystalballs 61 8447 0 0 0 0 0 8447 138 199 07 E Benson 01 198 0 0 0 0 0 198 198 199 08 Daniel 01 191 0 0 0 0 0 191 191 192 09 Chippy 18 3052 0 0 0 0 0 3052 170 188 10 Coombsie 47 6556 0 0 0 0 0 6556 139 186 11 Liam 05 772 0 100 0 0 0 872 174 179 12 ZMAAJ 01 176 0 0 0 0 0 176 176 177 13 Derek Dove 54 6518 0 0 0 0 0 6518 121 175 14 Terje S 02 335 0 0 0 0 0 335 168 170 15 Idris 01 168 0 0 0 0 0 168 168 169 16 Dan Harkin 43 5363 0 0 0 0 0 5363 125 168 17 Murdoch 04 656 0 0 0 0 0 656 164 168 18 MadMac 41 5115 0 0 0 0 0 5115 125 166 19 Nick White 22 3128 0 0 0 0 0 3128 142 164 20 Pauly 14 2054 0 0 0 0 0 2054 147 161 21 Gean Biz 01 160 0 0 0 0 0 160 160 161 22 Amidu Lawal 01 154 0 0 0 0 0 154 154 155 23 Oluseun A 01 150 0 0 0 0 0 150 150 151 24 SergeyMS 07 978 0 0 0 0 0 978 140 147 25 Ishola K 01 145 0 0 0 0 0 145 145 146 26 Tim W 11 1458 0 0 0 0 0 1458 133 144 27 Achese 01 143 0 0 0 0 0 143 143 144 28 A Suraju 01 143 0 0 0 0 0 143 143 144 29 TrubishBob 09 1187 0 0 0 0 0 1187 132 141 30 Kwadwo Anane 01 138 0 0 0 0 0 138 138 139 31 Rahul 01 138 0 0 0 0 0 138 138 139 32 Timothy A 01 137 0 0 0 0 0 137 137 138 33 Lukasz 05 658 0 0 0 0 0 658 132 137 34 Kalpit Vora 11 1377 0 0 0 0 0 1377 125 136 35 Sam 01 134 0 0 0 0 0 134 134 135 36 Akinkunmi 01 133 0 0 0 0 0 133 133 134 37 Mod 03 381 0 0 0 0 0 381 127 130 38 Ray 02 253 0 0 0 0 0 253 127 129 39 Ilesanmi A 01 128 0 0 0 0 0 128 128 129 40 Kentish Blue 01 128 0 0 0 0 0 128 128 129 41 Emmanuel 01 126 0 0 0 0 0 126 126 127 42 Jumat Tobi 01 126 0 0 0 0 0 126 126 127 43 Justin 01 126 0 0 0 0 0 126 126 127 44 Ogunyale A 01 125 0 0 0 0 0 125 125 126 45 Wyclffe N 04 475 0 0 0 0 0 475 119 123 46 O Emmanuel 01 120 0 0 0 0 0 120 120 121 47 Harshad 01 118 0 0 0 0 0 118 118 119 48 Sangir 01 118 0 0 0 0 0 118 118 119 49 TeaBarBoy 03 343 0 0 0 0 0 343 114 117 50 Shaharyar A 03 341 0 0 0 0 0 341 114 117 51 Yogic 03 339 0 0 0 0 0 339 113 116 52 A Donnelly 03 335 0 0 0 0 0 335 112 115 53 Nadoo 01 113 0 0 0 0 0 113 113 114 54 Mike O 02 222 0 0 0 0 0 222 111 113 55 Kelvin M 01 111 0 0 0 0 0 111 111 112 56 A Oluwaseyi 01 108 0 0 0 0 0 108 108 109 57 Kenny Bolton 01 108 0 0 0 0 0 108 108 109 58 Footiemadman 01 106 0 0 0 0 0 106 106 107 59 Oke 01 106 0 0 0 0 0 106 106 107 60 Olayinka 01 106 0 0 0 0 0 106 106 107 61 Raphael O 01 106 0 0 0 0 0 106 106 107 62 Peter Odogba 01 105 0 0 0 0 0 105 105 106 63 Ridwan 01 105 0 0 0 0 0 105 105 106 64 B Mudashiru 01 104 0 0 0 0 0 104 104 105 65 Desmond 01 101 0 0 0 0 0 101 101 102 66 Egzon A 01 98 0 0 0 0 0 98 98 99 67 Amax 03 284 0 0 0 0 0 284 95 98 68 Aziz 01 91 0 0 0 0 0 91 91 92 69 Benjamin 01 90 0 0 0 0 0 90 90 91 70 O Oladimeji 01 89 0 0 0 0 0 89 89 90 71 Christan A 01 88 0 0 0 0 0 88 88 89 72 O Odeyemi 01 88 0 0 0 0 0 88 88 89 73 Ali 01 86 0 0 0 0 0 86 86 87 74 Evan 01 86 0 0 0 0 0 86 86 87 75 Kayode 01 86 0 0 0 0 0 86 86 87 76 Chaze C 01 85 0 0 0 0 0 85 85 86 77 Jude 01 85 0 0 0 0 0 85 85 86 78 Qinisani 01 84 0 0 0 0 0 84 84 85 79 Unni 01 84 0 0 0 0 0 84 84 85 80 Usman A 02 161 0 0 0 0 0 161 81 83 81 John Berry 01 81 0 0 0 0 0 81 81 82 82 Ben Ross 01 78 0 0 0 0 0 78 78 79 83 Olaolu 01 78 0 0 0 0 0 78 78 79 84 Aina Moses 01 76 0 0 0 0 0 76 76 77 85 Oyebanji S 01 76 0 0 0 0 0 76 76 77 86 Temidayo K 01 76 0 0 0 0 0 76 76 77 87 Embassey 01 73 0 0 0 0 0 73 73 74 88 Yemi O 01 73 0 0 0 0 0 73 73 74 89 Elias 01 70 0 0 0 0 0 70 70 71 90 Tam Z 01 69 0 0 0 0 0 69 69 70 91 Emmanuel O 01 68 0 0 0 0 0 68 68 69 92 Sola 01 68 0 0 0 0 0 68 68 69 93 Xavier 01 68 0 0 0 0 0 68 68 69 94 Busayo 01 64 0 0 0 0 0 64 64 65 95 Shegun S 01 63 0 0 0 0 0 63 63 64 96 Raul Sanchez 01 48 0 0 0 0 0 48 48 49 97 Daniel 01 46 0 0 0 0 0 46 46 47 98 Aminu 01 44 0 0 0 0 0 44 44 45 99 Taiwo T 01 24 0 0 0 0 0 24 24 25 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [/table:3u47b8rb] Here are what the abbreviations above mean: GP = games predicted Rs = regular season points RS = regular season win bonus LT = Long-term predictions bonus AV = High average scores bonus WC = Winner's Circle bonus HS = High Scores bonus Cu = Cumulative points total Av = Average number of points Rt = Ranking total Cheers, Butch

Hi fellas, Congrats to all of you for finishing above me ; I gathered I shouldn't win my own competition as I'd never be accepted as champion anyway Wretched grapes... Cheers, Butch