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The Return of The Special One? I love conjectures when it comes to the football business and I’m now going to indulge myself in this one. As remote as this may seem now, I am now increasingly thinking we are going to witness the shock return of The Special One to the Bridge. Obviously, all the papers and pundits are solidly claiming he’s going to Inter and the sacking of Roberto Mancini would seem to more or less confirm this view. Indeed, amongst all the names being peddled for the Chelsea job, Mourinho’s is conspicuously missing. But, as I’ve implied above, I’m reading the situation differently. From all I can see in the press, there’s no new information on the Inter move, but with the sacking of Henk Ten Cate and the continued retention of Steve Clarke, I think the deck is being cleared for Mourinho’s return. To me, the sacking of Ten Cate indicates to me that Rijkaard won’t be coming. As much as Roman Abramovich is reputed to be yearning for free-flowing attacking football, Rijkaard’s magic has waned in the past couple of years and his reputation for not being able to rein in big egos would not appeal to the Chelsea hierarchy that needs a strong character for the dressing room. Besides, Roman is too proud to want to jump at the opportunity of employing a Barcelona reject. Indeed, I have a feeling that no sacked manager or anyone whose position is presently threatened will get the Chelsea job; so those who think Mancini or Sven-Goran Eriksson are in the frame should think something else. In Mancini’s case, the fact that he made no headway in Europe in his time with Inter further rules him out. Chelsea are not only looking for a coach with proven European success, but I think they’re also looking for one with a record of winning the Premiership. Chelsea are not looking to Mark Hughes or Roy Keane. The reported interest in these people is manufactured by the British press. Didier Deschamps wants a job badly and he’s an old boy; so he’s let it be known he’s available. But he was overlooked for Mourinho four years ago and I can’t see Chelsea going back to him. Guus Hiddink is too old by Chelsea’s standard and Big Phil Scolari is too eccentric and untested in club football in Europe. What all this means is that the job is only for one man. That man is Jose Mourinho. Reports have claimed he’s got back in good terms with Roman and the Chelsea hierarchy and he himself has confirmed it in a series of interviews. There are even reports that Roman gave him a gift of a special Ferrari model recently and so on and so forth. When all is said and done, there is nobody on the list of possible appointees with a better record than Mourinho. There’s none with his charisma and there’s none with the ability to energize the supporters worldwide than him. There’s none that can sell the Chelsea brand better worldwide and yes, he stands head and shoulders above everyone purportedly in the frame. So, what is the problem? I think what is happening is that Mourinho has probably reached some kind of pre-contract arrangement or understanding with some other club (possibly Inter) before the present development at Chelsea and would rather Chelsea sort it out with the club before he can return. He could also be playing mind games with the Chelsea hierarchy, considering the nightmare they put him through in his last year and half at the club in terms of hamstringing him. Mourinho wants full control of football affairs and is possibly driving a hard bargain behind the scenes while letting the impression be created that he isn’t going to wait for Chelsea as he has another job lined up. I think the battle now is between Inter and Chelsea for Mourinho’s signature. I won’t be surprised if there are talks now behind the scenes between Inter, Chelsea and Mourinho to get the latter back at the Bridge. Inter sacking Mancini could just be a gimmick to up the ante with Chelsea, while Chelsea sacking Ten Cate and leaving Clarke could be a message to Mourinho that the people brought in as part of the now failed reorganization at Chelsea have been cleared. Mourinho and Ten Cate obviously have a history from the Frisk-induced Battle of Nou Camp and the Chelsea hierarchy are clearly aware that he’d be the last man Mourinho would want to work with. So, my little theory is that the card shuffling going on in the European managerial circles may shockingly return Mourinho to the club that has given him the biggest profile of his career and to fans with whom he still has a love affair. I will therefore hang on to the faintest hope that The Special One is returning until Chelsea actually appoint a new manager. Stranger things have happened in football.

Abramovich, All is forgiven! Bring back The Special One!

The earth did not move on Sunday, but Avram Grant slept a little easier that night. The sight of the man who’s patented the hangdog expression donning a faint but clear smile at the post-match circuit must be a welcome relief to everyone at the Bridge. From a close shave with self-combustion to self-satisfaction in ninety minutes, Grant could be forgiven for thinking every monkey has scampered off his hunched back. Since his banishment to the doghouse, Easter Sunday was that day he possibly began to feel that a dead chicken may yet still get the chance to eat some sweet corn. Sure, he must have resurrected something in the minds of not a few doubting Thomases with that defeat of Arsenal at the Bridge. Okay, it’s just one game, but it is one game and one stone that killed several scary birds. With this victory, Grant answered some of our questions – not all, but some big ones. We said he couldn’t win the big games; he has now won against a title-chasing Arsenal side at the Bridge and is still keeping our home-invincibility record going. We said he couldn’t make substitutions that turn games; he did with the introduction of Nicolas Anelka and Juliano Belletti. Okay, the goals were scored by the Arsenal-defying Didier Drogba who put in another Man of the Match performance and who, if reports are to be believed, cannot exactly be tagged a great fan of Grant the manager. But even that shouldn’t take away much from Grant’s moment. Since cynicism rightfully installed itself in the minds of most fans with his appointment as manager, every kind of reason has been given for our apparently surprising good performances, but none has ever been adduced to Grant’s managerial ability. Popular wisdom has been that the team perform well when they do in spite of the man, not because of him. On the other hand, the gaping holes in his CV and his questionable personality have been assiduously and overwhelmingly championed as causes of our failures. We therefore shouldn’t be surprised to hear people say this is a case of Drogba raising his game to prove he’s earned his right to criticize the coach or that this is the result of him kicking up Chelsea’s backsides after a series of lacklustre displays and substitutions that had him moaning at the bench more than most. Perhaps, we’ll still hear some claim that this is simply underlying his currency to summer suitors, having reportedly made up his mind to leave Chelsea as part of the messy post-Mourinho fallout or, in relation to the whole, it could yet be interpreted as the old Mourinho team just playing from memory and desperately adopting a self-help approach to redeem their reputation, having realized that Grant cannot lift them. Whatever the truth though, one thing I know is that we can’t have it both ways. If Grant is not good enough when we’re losing the big games or embarrassingly drawing easily winnable ones, he must be good enough if we suddenly begin winning the big ones, like this one against Arsenal at the Bridge. Yes, this is just one big game and a few more are due to come, but it’s only fair that the man be given credit for a good Chelsea performance as we give him stick for bad ones. Indeed, the importance of this win cannot be over-emphasized. Apart from going a long way to exorcize the ghost of Mourinho and his uncanny ability to deliver in most big games (as opposed to the timid Grant), something stirred in the heart of all true Chelsea fans on Sunday at the final whistle. Of course, no one sang Grant’s praises to high heavens, but some of us who fear we’re back to the days of being glorious losers are actually beginning to think the unthinkable, which is that we may actually stumble upon some silverware this season after all! The fact that we are second in the league, five points behind Manchester United and with no team in-between us means we have been put in a great position to chase them down the finishing line. This victory underlines our resilience and may just have reminded the rest of the Premiership why they used to fear us. The multiplier effect of such confident display in our preparation for the continuation of our Champions League campaign cannot be overlooked as well. So here’s the news - some of us in great doubt are about to start believing again, albeit on the strength of one game. However, this is one huge game! I personally have no qualms hosting a huge feast of freshly-baked humble-pies if we win any of the two silverwares now still available. Whatever happens with Grant, whether he stays or goes, is of lesser importance to me than us winning silverware; but if we win it, I’d be ready to wave him goodbye with grudging respect or look forward to his further reign with less trepidation. Yes, if winning any silverware this season will solidify the position of the unpopular Grant, I can live with that and even learn to love him! But if from this point, we still go on to end the season empty-handed, Roman must be forced to deliver his head on a platter. It’s a harsh world at Chelsea nowadays and I suppose the Czar of Stamford Bridge will have it no other way. But, for today, Grant must be granted his due. In fact, I think at this stage, he’s earned the right to be supported till the end of the season by every true Blue. Those supporters openly ridiculing him must now back off. He and the team need us solidly behind them to catch Manchester United and get our trophy back. They need us with them to push farther than before in Europe. We must decide what we want and what price to pay and right now I’d think easing off on Grant in exchange for some silverware (or the real possibility of it) is small price to pay for the rest of the season. With my fingers firmly clipping up my nostrils, I’m getting on with it. I suggest all true Chelsea fans do the same. Okay, it’s not yet Avramania up my alley, but stranger things have happened in football.

Even without a football job, this man still fears him: http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Sto ... 60,00.html

Imagination has been in short supply in crucial matches. We have been unsettled by Grant not keeping faith with a steady team. Why must he change players for so many games? Why does Grant also not put Anelka and Drogba in tandem for most of the matches? He has shown he CANNOT play the 4-3-3 as Mourinho could. It is sad that we are slowly creeping back into the pre Mourinho days. We now have a reincarnation of Claudio Ranieri. That's an insult on Claudio Ranieri....

Are you sure? Perhaps, I’ve done more Abramovich-bashing than Grant-bashing; but even that was in the days immediately after the knockout….

Loz & Phillip, Sometime in September, Abramovich knocked me out with his left hook! I just had to sit there and take the count. I’m still not feeling better, as you can imagine... Well done, guys! You are the real Blue and White Army!

Jack, You’ve said everything. The main problem with the team right now is Grant himself. When a manager or coach cannot show leadership or inspire players, this is what you get. But my fear is that we will suffer more heartaches of this sort before the Czar realizes or admits he’s made a mistake. From what I can see, we are effectively back to the pre-Mourinho days, to the days when we were always overshadowed by Man U and Arsenal with us accepting our lot with equanimity. Worse still, even Tottenham is now threatening to eclipse us! A team, most often than not, reflects the character and ambition (or lack of it) of its coach or manager. The Chelsea fear factor that Mourinho instilled in the team is gone and I do not think giving Grant a free hand to buy players for next season is going to change that. He’s clearly a below average coach and this is increasingly being seen in the games we lose and how we lose and the games we win or draw and how we win and draw. Not only is sexy football now a long-forgotten fairy tale, effective and winning football can no longer be associated with us. Our positive post-Abramovich legacy to English and world football is quickly being defaced in one season! Well, Roman may have all the money in the world and he’s possibly now looking to bring the biggest and best players to the Bridge in the summer. But all that will come to nought with a man like Grant in charge. It’s not about the players we have; it’s about the management and leadership. Of course, there are those who would be quick to tell us the man has a great record, having only lost three games since he took over. But what any true Chelsea fan and informed football follower needs to ask is this: do we really look like winning any trophy or honours under a man that wilts on the big stage? All you have to do is to think of those games the man has lost and you get the idea. CHEERS!

Just, You?re absolutely right. It was a fiasco appearing there to sit amongst the supporters ? an obvious advisers? gimmick to give the impression of a fans-loving, listening, approachable Roman as a counter to the fallout of the Mourinho affair. But what happened? It became a missed opportunity, because the contrivance was just plain obvious. It was just too tacky to say the least. What he should have done was to establish a condition precedent ? a simple thing like writing in the Programme for the Fulham game, addressing the fans directly (even if vaguely and briefly) about what has gone on. Tell them you feel their pain, because as they know, you?re a fan of Jose Mourinho as well, especially for the great things he?s helped us achieve as a club. But, things happen in business and changes have to be made. He?d use the opportunity to rally everyone behind the Chelsea dream, pointing out that Mourinho is gone doesn?t mean the dream is dead. Tell them one day you Roman will be gone too (hopefully when he?s old and wrinkled) and the dream would be carried on by our children and new generation of fans. Promise the fans you are rededicated to Chelsea and you?re committed to see the club take its rightful place at the top. That?s enough! He doesn?t even have to mention Avram Grant! He can then follow this up by sitting with the fans, pumping hands and patting backs! Football culture is about human communication and contact not the stage-managed political outing of the nature he engaged in. Yesterday was a day Roman should have dominated the Programme rather than Buck!

In life, it sometimes happens that those we love deeply embarrass us in ways that we find absolutely impossible to defend their actions. But while in almost every other aspect of life, you can make the conscious decision to withdraw your love or affection (depending on the nature of the slight); in football, it?s not quite that easy. It is actually wired into the DNA of every true fan to have that unrestrained tendency to rise above all sorts of human-induced disappointment in support of their beloved football club. Yet, supporting your beloved club and supporting idiotic policies by those in charge of running your beloved club are two different things. Any discerning fan knows that in spite of the fact that Roman Abramovich owns Chelsea, he does not own their soul. In other words, paying for Chelsea does not mean he?s bought your independence of thought or power of good judgment. Indeed, for those who eternally want us to worship him for ?saving? Chelsea, I say I?m as grateful to him as I am to my local pub landlord for making available to me my favourite brew. The day he serves me stale beer or appoints some not-so-market-friendly bartender to serve me, I?ll let him know what I think without reservation. And while I can take my beer-buying custom elsewhere, in Chelsea?s case, no matter how disgruntled I am as a customer, I remain loyal, because it?s actually more than business for me. It?s my life colours! It?s therefore a privilege that he?s allowed to buy into it. He may be a billionaire, but wealth and wisdom do not always walk in tandem. Yes, rich owners of clubs make mistakes and when they do, true fans should let them know; not hush up everyone for fear of annoying Croesus so much as to make him sulk or bolt away with his bag of precious gold. Well, Chelsea and the fans have been here long before Roman Abramovich, Frank Arnesen, Peter Kenyon, Bruce Buck and Jos? Mourinho and we?ll still be here when they?re long gone. But, history will only vindicate those who stood for truth and reason when it matters, not poodles! People who?ve read my writings on the issue of Mourinho?s exit would know that from the very moment the news came out, I?ve been one of the very first to call for calm, including asking that Abramovich and those who run the affairs of our club be given the benefit of doubt. Yes, Mourinho was and still is well loved by the fans, but I do understand that if he couldn?t get on with Roman, there was little chance he?d last. Of course, the divorce has been expected for sometime, but having resumed the new season with the man in charge and with him and everyone else at the helms singing a new unity hymn, how can anyone justify a divorce in mid-September when we?re still celebrating the breakout of the much-needed peace? How can we justify this when we know that despite the injury problems of last campaign, the boardroom troubles played their part in costing us an extra Cup or two? Or didn?t we all learn our lessons from last season? Nonetheless, it?s happened. Whatever the merits or otherwise of the divorce, who?s right or who?s wrong, as Chelsea, we simply have to move on. And right now, for me, that is where the problem is. How do you move on from an embarrassment when the whole process of moving on is an extended embarrassment in itself? Naturally, after deliberately inducing such a huge shock on the Chelsea system, the last people that should act unprepared are those who?ve foisted it on the rest of us. Abramovich and his claque of advisers and board members have been preparing for this eventuality for several months. Yet, every post-Mourinho action they?ve taken has made us more into a laughing stock. The insult is not that they appointed Avram Grant (a man obviously brought in by Roman to undermine Mourinho); the insult is to tell us and the world that it is a permanent appointment and that this represents progress for Chelsea! Yet, when we place this whole scheme in the context of the man not having the requisite qualifications to manage at the Premiership level, you begin to wonder why Abramovich spent all this time parachuting him from Israel, ?parking? him at Portsmouth, before finally planting him on Mourinho?s bench. Why didn?t they spend all this conspiratorial time getting his qualifications in place since everyone seemed to have known what the game is? Again, Bruce Buck and Peter Kenyon insist they?ve spent a great deal of time talking to Grant and assessing him before his permanent appointment. So, what were they talking about that never bordered on his qualifications for the job of managing Chelsea in the Premiership? In fact, Chelsea are not even denying that he doesn?t have the qualifications, but are merely restating that he has a 12-week period of grace to get these! Are we so desperate to give Avram this job when he is evidently not qualified by the standard of the Premiership? Are we happy to see every Tom, Dick and Harry derogatorily and condescendingly discuss our manager?s lack of qualifications to the extent that Howard Wilkinson reckons what he has is only good enough to manage in the Championship? Are we now that reduced in football circles that we need the favours of others to allow our unqualified manager to lead world-domination-chasing Chelsea? The point is whether this is a temporary or permanent appointment is not the issue. The appointment of Grant to the managerial position for any tenure should have been avoided at all cost following what had happened. He was already a disruptive influence in the dressing room. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink testified that while he was there training at the beginning of the season, he noticed that everyone was watching their back. He needed not tell us who they were weary of since we all know that Grant was the new man who came into the erstwhile happy dressing room. Some were already calling him Abramovich?s Mossad agent, especially with his penchant for pulling players aside and asking them questionable questions and trying to plant ideas in their heads. What was quite obvious was that he was not liked and as soon as Mourinho?s exit was announced, most suspected him immediately as playing a role. So, to appoint such a figure to lead the club in the name of progress is truly a joke! Of course, they tried to pander to Chelsea fans by leaving Steve Clarke as Grant?s assistant; but what they should have done, if Mourinho?s exit was truly in the interest of the club, was to appoint Clarke in a caretaker capacity while they search for the right candidate (many of whom are out there, some even jobless at the moment) to take over permanently. While most Chelsea fans would still possibly have protested Mourinho?s departure, I doubt any would have gone against Clarke?s appointment. That would have ensured minimum fuss from the fans; minimum fuss from the players and less disruption of our season (as Clarke had been Mourinho?s right-hand man and would have easily gained the players? trust to continue with the campaign as originally planned and with the same mental commitment). Appointing Avram is an unnecessary and expensive joke. Even his coaching ideas are reportedly outdated! Anyone who needs to know how low we have fallen only needs to look at our outing at Old Trafford. I?m not talking about the match or the result, because Mike Dean has ensured that discussions about the game should only be about his abject incompetence. I?m talking about Messrs Abramovich, Kenyon and Grant walking into an opposition ground and being booed for the first time by a combination of opposition and Chelsea supporters. And right there on those grounds Jos? Mourinho?s name and banners ruled the waves as the travelling fans showed with songs and gestures what they think of the club?s decision to let the most successful and most charismatic manager in our history go at a time we stood another chance to challenge for more honours with him. The worst part of the show was Grant?s post-match interview. Watching him wilt under the spotlight throughout the game was pathetic enough. In fact, watching him after the match roaming on, shell-shocked, apparently forgetting the protocol of having to shake hands with the opposing manager (yes, Sir Alex actually walked a considerable distance to catch up with him to shake his hands) I knew he was over his head in this one. But by the time of a post-match interview, you?d think he?d have collected himself and be prepared for what follows. Okay, he does not have Mourinho?s media savvy, he does not have his charisma, but even now I?m beginning to doubt his intelligence as well. Asked whether he has the support of the dressing room in the post-match interview, he responded that he doesn?t know! How could he be saying that after Kenyon and Buck had spent the major part of the press conference unveiling him as manager two days earlier stridently telling us that everyone in the dressing room supports Grant? While some may think his response is honest, it calls to question the decision to put him there, because it reveals that he?s not one capable of thinking on his feet. Being a bumbling presence in front of television cameras isn?t another burden we need of a Chelsea manager at this stage of our history! Whether we like it or not, he represents us. And every fan must ask himself or herself whether someone hanging on to a job he isn?t qualified for simply because he?s kinsman and friend of the boss deserves to be the totem or on-field leader of the club he loves. Meanwhile, to rub salt on injury, elsewhere in that city of Manchester, old Sven-Goran Eriksson was having the time of his life denying ?a new link? to the Chelsea job! Who?d now blame Martin Samuel for his new crusade to ?confirm? that Chelsea are really a small club pretending to be big? For those Chelsea fans who think we should shut up and lump it because there?s nothing we can do, I say yes, we will ultimately. But one thing is clear - none of us (including them) can now go out there in the comity of fans to convincingly defend Abramovich or Grant before true football followers or before discerning Chelsea fans. In fact, when Buck, with a straight face, began to say Grant did indeed ask for a guarantee of non-interference from Abramovich and got it, I almost puked! Now, why would Grant be asking for such a guarantee if it was there in the first place and if it was not an issue before now? The wind is blowing and everyone, Chelsea or not, is clearly seeing the chicken?s rump. The Emperor has lost his clothes and all we can do is sigh powerlessly until he gets back to his senses. Before then, we can only hope and pray, supporting our beloved team through thick and thin, showing the indomitable Chelsea spirit and keeping it blue as always. But anyone who wants to go worship Abramovich?s folly can do so. It?s a free world.

A rich man?s fart can be equally expensive; Roman Abramovich has proved this with his latest gambit. In a pique, he let Jos? Mourinho walk out the Stamford Bridge gates and left some little others to carry the can of such monumental mess. Indeed, I watched the so-called Avram Grant?s first press conference as Chelsea manager and it was nothing but a bad dream. In historical terms, it?s like being thrown back into the Middle Ages after lapping up the Renaissance. Bruce Buck, Peter Kenyon and the new manager all looked every bit like men facing a bone-breaking ordeal and, somehow, you can?t help pitying them. They kept talking about Jos? and ?the club? reaching a breakdown in their relationship and how they mutually agreed to go their separate ways, but it was just too obvious that by ?the club?, they meant Roman. Unlike some of our ever suspicious fans, I do not have any hesitation in saying that Kenyon really liked Jos? and enjoyed a good relationship with him, but unlike him or Buck, Jos? is no yes-man. Of course, it?s easy for men like Buck and Kenyon to be yes-men because of the work they do, but for Jos?, that is akin to professional suicide. Now Grant, a man already dead on the job has nothing to lose being the manager of a club that Martin Samuel described as a rich man?s plaything. In fact, Grant seems a genius at going through the motions. Yes, time was when I used to have all the answers to the Martin Samuels of this world and all the Abramovich critics out there, but that was when Abramovich was God. Now that he?s showed the devil in him, I?m really struggling. For example, a Liverpool-supporting friend who?s eternally suffered terrible ignominies in his attempt to undermine my support for Chelsea has had his best days against me since Mourinho?s exit. Apart from celebrating as though they?ve won the league already, he?s been busy making jokes, at my expense. ?Congratulations for appointing Tubby as your new manager!? he crowed. For the first time, I found no repartee to take him down, so he bravely continued. ?But, you know, this is impersonation, don?t you? Your Tubby has no Rafa?s record and he looks like a man permanently constipated!? When I found my voice, I said something to the effect that this is just a self-imposed handicap to show that we can win the league blindfolded and with one hand tied behind our back. Or doesn?t he know that such stunts only make our ordained victory sweeter? I quickly dropped the phone before he said anything else. Another friend, this time a Manchester United supporter, called later to inquire if Roman was going to be in the dugout on Sunday. ?Who would he be choosing to partner Shevchenko upfront?? he asked. ?Ah, Roman our new manager is itching to pit his great wits against Sir Alex?s, no doubt; but the FA, Premier League and League Managers Association are refusing to grant him the dispensation to sit in the dugout apparently because he?s yet to complete any of his coaching badges and the UEFA Pro Licence needed to manage in the Premiership?, I protested. ?Anyway, he?s got his assistant (Grant) in there to do the job. Our game at Old Trafford is a doddle, you know; so the big masquerade himself need not be in the dugout to get the job done,? I concluded. The man graciously laughed off my tiresome humour; but later in the night, the same fellow called me and dropped a message saying he?s just read in the news that Grant does not have the UEFA Pro Licence as well. I didn?t return his call. Make no mistake, Abramovich has made the job of those Chelsea fans who stridently defended his takeover of the club and his conduct ever since more difficult with his actions over Mourinho. If, as Kenyon claims, there were no clashes over players (including Shevchenko), transfer targets or how and who to play, what then was the reason for the divorce? Was Mourinho caught winking at the new woman in Roman?s life? Has a new security report commissioned by Roman fingered him as part of a big plot to pinch Roman?s choice cigars? Did they find him with his hands in the Megastore till? There can only be one reason, the details of which are immaterial - Mourinho has refused to do Roman?s bidding where the team is concerned and Roman, exercising his unbridled power as the owner got his board together to throw him out, all expenses paid. And, of course, complete with confidentiality clauses, so we plebeians are left in the dark where we belong. But we really can?t argue when a rich man farts, can we? Even a gesture of self-preservation such as quickly covering your nose can be misinterpreted as disrespect. So, we?ll have to sit here and see it out. Luckily, even the worst of farts take only a few seconds of our breath, nothing more. Avram Grant is Roman?s fart ? if he doesn?t smell, no one would be the wiser. We?ll celebrate his victories as we always do and hail Roman as the Wise Emperor we know he is. But if he smells, will Roman be humble enough to wipe out the embarrassment from his benign bum by bringing back The Special One? The man has said he didn?t close the door and, of course, the fans will never close the door. The club has said they?ll always accord him his pride of place at Stamford Bridge and that he?s always welcome. Roman has to begin reciting his mea culpa, because for our sake and for his own personal redemption in our eyes, he may just need it a few months or even years down the line. Stranger things have happened in football. C?mon Chelsea!

I don?t think it would make a great difference what the fans want at this moment in terms of who we?d want to take over. The reality of the business is that once the owners and those who run the club make their decision we can either support or, for the sake of the club, reserve judgment (if in truth we instinctively disagree). Roman and his tinkermen constituency have earned the right to act like spoilt little dictators. Football is possibly the only business where their kind can have such luxury. But as fans, we aren?t exactly powerless. No matter who buys or owns Chelsea, lock, stock and the damn smoking barrel, the soul of the club has no price! The real democracy is therefore embedded in that idea ? the idea that a piece of the soul of the club resides within every single fan of the club where Roman?s shekels make no blinking difference. Yes, he?s in charge now making all the decisions, we the fans are the sentinels of the soul of the club waiting at every gate! But we must be realistic. Our primary role as fans is to ensure that any type of disruption (be it self-induced or imposed from the outside) must not be allowed to compromise our hunt for glory (yes, in a way we?re all glory-hunters!). No matter the rights and wrongs of Jose?s leaving, one clear thing it says is that the club demand and want instant success on all fronts. If we sacked Ranieri after coming second in the league (after years of underachievement) and then now severe ties with Jose after winning the league twice, the Carling Cup twice, the FA Cup and twice almost getting to the final of Champions League ? all in three years, what that tells us is that whoever is taking over now has to do better. The Chelsea job is the most lethal job in world football and anyone is welcome to it as far as they can improve on what Jose has achieved in three years. Okay, Roman has played his dangerous hand and we have ?mourned? the loss of The Special One, but now we have to be as clear-eyed as we were when he took over. We have to give him and those who?ve thought up this coup an opportunity to prove they?re right, which means we have to give them time. They have set such a high standard for themselves and all we can do is hold them to it. As for Jose, a piece of him, like the piece of every great manager in any club, will always remain with us ? no matter where he goes from hence. But such is the nature of things that we must move on holding fast to our colours and our banner even as our General stands down! Thus, whether they appoint Avram to the job on a temporary or permanent basis, while he?s in charge, he must have our full support. We are not supporting him because we don?t love Jose anymore, we?re supporting him because we love our club and hope that whatever is happening at the boardroom level does not have much negative impact on our fortunes on the field. These times call for fans with spirit and character. We should stand by the team as we face our biggest challenge of the season at Old Trafford. That is the best place to show that the news of the death of the Blue Army has been hugely exaggerated. So, while some of us protest privately or publicly the loss of Jose, we should be calm and supportive of our great club as we get more news of exactly what went down. Avram Grant or whoever is in charge, all we ask is that you lead us to glory! CHEERS!

I am a little disheartened by the result, but I don?t want to make too much of the goal disallowed or the fact that we were playing after the international break. The bottomline is we need to begin to win now, no matter how! I knew it was always going to be difficult against a strong Blackburn side without Lampard, Drogba, Carvalho and Pizarro. They are better organised now than last season; they are in form and every team in their position and with their mentality will always want to come to the Bridge with the aim of being the team that put an end to our record of unbeaten runs at home. Chelsea fans therefore really have to be prepared for harder games at home than away as far as that record stands. I?m happy with Belletti, he looks to be adapting very well and Alex seems comfortable playing alongside Terry as well. From what I see now, it seems Mourinho has sorted out our back; what he now has to do is sort out the front. Drogba and Kalou wouldn?t be around for a long stretch during the African Nations Cup, so Sheva needs to step up now. I love the way the fans were behind him today, hopefully his confidence would come back and he?d pick up. Though, he needs to be making the runs better than he?s doing now, a lot would also depend on the service he gets from the midfield and that?s where Mourinho will have to earn his pay. Chelsea players are slow bringing the ball forward and there is not enough variety to the play and probing. There?s certainly no pace and fluency and all this cannot be just down to missing players. I?m also not a fan of starting Kalou and SWP at the same time, especially against a physically strong side like Blackburn. I believe these players are simply too lightweight and even if we need their skills, two of them at once leaves a gaping hole in the team power-wise. I think we have very good covers and the whole idea of having good covers is that they should be able to do as good a job as the regulars in the short time they?re called upon. Right now, I don?t think I?m getting that feeling. We also need more leaders on the pitch beside Terry. Some of the more experienced players ought to shoulder more responsibility when they?re out there. We?ve dozed enough; it?s time to wake up! I?m not worried about Arsenal or Liverpool (the Scousers were lucky today to leave Fratton Park with a point). I maintain that the title race is still between us and United. So, I?m not happy that in the last two games, they?ve made extra five points than us and have therefore caught up with us. Of course, Everton was unlucky not to get a penalty when Ferdinand was almost tearing off Yakubu?s shirt in the box, but that?s the way it goes sometimes. As far as I?m concerned, the CL game against Rosenborg on Tuesday is now a distraction. I can?t wait for us to face United at Old Trafford next Sunday. Anything less than a win will not pacify me. We need to lay down that marker now and an in-form United in their own backyard should be worthy victims of our angst. The Chelsea Lion must roar! Mourinho and the boys should sort things out asap so that we can begin to enjoy our league campaign. I?ve suffered for too long!

Youlots, I do not need to brush up on any Russian history to discuss the issues here. What happened to Shostakovich?s relatives and friends as a consequence of his differences of opinion with Stalin and the Soviet Communist Party of his day has no bearing on the matter of whether or not Simon Hattenstone?s comment about Abramovich is libellous. Of course, you can see that I?m not a great fan of Hattenstone?s comment; but that does not mean every unsavoury or stupid comment made by a crackpot is justiciable on the defamation front. It does not mean every senseless or ?unfair? insult hurled at us in a newspaper calls for action in libel. If it were so, the courts would be overwhelmed by such cases. Having said the above, I also wouldn?t say you?re wrong to believe that Hattenstone?s comparison of the supposed Abramovich walkout with Stalin?s is libellous, especially as libel cases are complex, uncertain and the judges definition of defamation are by no means comprehensive. Indeed, as things are, there is no definition covering every case. Thus, my claim that there?s nothing libellous in Hattenstone?s comment in question is only an opinion based on what I?d want to think is an informed view of how a libel court would look at it, based on the facts of this case. Of course, it?s quite stupid to say the supposed walkout of a fan or the owner of a football club from a game his club were losing reminds him of walkouts by some of the political world?s vilest figures, but, in my opinion, that?s all there is to it ? stupidity. I believe that questions of opinion which are neither true nor untrue can be defended on the basis of ?fair comment?, even though in non-legal circumstances the statement itself could be uncharitable, irresponsible and indeed unfair, as in this case. Based on this comment, I do not think Roman would waste his time thinking legal action against Hattenstone. CHEERS!

With his beloved team a goal down and the players looking deflated as the clock runs down, if Simon Hattenstone had shot up in the 88th minute at Highbury and stormed out in a huff, no one would have noticed. If he?d dramatically seized the microphone to grandly announce his angry exit because Man City were losing their first game in the brave new Shinawatra dawn, no one would have batted an eyelid. And that is the problem. Mr Hattenstone is a frustrated Man City supporter who thinks his pathway to fame is through madcap criticisms of Chelsea. I don?t think he?s qualified to join the queue yet, because on this evidence, he?d first need to hire a ghost writer to help out. Reading him is the ultimate out-of-reason experience. Like the poor copycat he is, Hattenstone, in this piece, is trying to intellectualize the senseless sobriquet coined for Roman by his slimy constituency. In one of their most enlightening moments, the press dubbed Abramovich ?Red Rom?. From thence the bolshevization of the man took a life of its own. After all, he always has that vacant, cold look in his eyes, moves around with a herd of scary bodyguards, hardly talks to the press, is dangerously quiet, calculating and, most importantly (and this is the clincher), he is from Mother Russia! So, making a Stalin of Roman is all red-romantic. It?s the proud contribution of the dregs of the fourth estate to the war effort - a supposedly timely warning to the rest of us uninformed lot (ungrateful inheritors of a post-cold War victory against the Red Army) that we need not fall into dreary complacency, believing that this Russian isn?t dangerous while he amasses nuclear points against all other competitions as he compromises our national football security. We can see that he?s pretending to be the poster boy of western capitalism only to smuggle himself into our confidences - following in the dreaded footsteps of a long list of communist spies that once built their nests on these shores. His real red nature is the one we?ve seen at Villa Park. To put it another way, Chelsea is the Russia that glasnost and perestroika couldn?t destroy! It would have been funny if it isn?t this sad. Hattenstone is paid by the newspaper-buying public, yet he consistently comes up with such putrid prattles in the name of sane commentary. On this one, his editor should have tasked him with sorting out his own confusion first before feeding the public such garbage. Yes, someone should have told him that this attempt to make a literary correlation between ?walking?, ?walking a couple of strides behind?, ?walk out? and ?walkout? has fallen flat on its face once again. Walkouts do not happen two minutes before the end of the show. They happen at the beginning of the show or sometime almost after. The idea of a walkout is to supplant the planned action or spectacle. It is to show that you aren?t interested in what is to be offered, having been given an idea of what is to follow. You don?t do walkouts in the 88th minute of a 90 minutes match. In that case, you?re merely walking away or walking out because the match is effectively over. No drama. Those calling for Roman to sue should save their venom. Simon, even in his stupidity, has not written anything libellous. He has a right to be reminded of Stalin, Hitler or Napoleon the Pig by merely seeing Roman?s frustration at watching his beloved Chelsea lose a match at Villa Park, just as we have the right to declare him bonkers after reading him. CHEERS!

I?m not surprised that normal services have resumed in the press over Chelsea as Roman Abramovich?s public show of disaffection with the Villa Park result has seemingly given the rowdy rotters something to bleat about. The muted whispers that greeted the match-day Observer report that there?s trouble at the club (because Roman reportedly chased after Ronaldinho without Jos? Mourinho?s consent) have now ballooned into loud celebratory guffaws. And the bookmakers, no slouches in reading the telltale signs, have shortened the odds against Mourinho facing the chops. While I do not begrudge the frothing commentariat what is after all their usual dose of fleeting happiness over Chelsea?s momentary misfortune, I really sometimes wonder about the quality of some of our fans who joyfully hitchhike on their bandwagon each time they ride through town. Time was when we as Chelsea fans used to take defeat with the equanimity of the rejected stone. But two league titles, three Champions League semi-final finishes, two Carling Cups and one FA Cup later, any sign of defeat is now a signal for mass suicide. Everywhere you look now, the overreaction is suffocating - an angry nation of knee-jerkers, fickle fans and fantasists falling over themselves to pick the team for the next Chelsea game while calling for the manager?s head! The pessimists have won the bragging rights, but I just wonder for how long. Frankly, there is no use telling anyone foolish enough to think Chelsea are out of the title race in the first week of September that they wouldn?t have long to wait to wolf down their wacky words, but it?s important to let them know that Abramovich is no fool. The man has a right, like every lover of his team and hater of defeat, to feel bad about the result; but to begin to read into his demeanour at the time a brooding cloud over Chelsea must be just plain silly. Abramovich did not storm out of the ground as some would have us believe. He actually went down to the away dressing room to console Mourinho and his men! Oh yes, he wasn?t happy; but he didn?t blank Mourinho or the players because they lost a game they dominated and should have won on another day. He was just being a fan ? he was sitting there and watching his beloved team being beaten and he, like every true blue, found defeat hard to take! Of course, we can come up with all sorts of excuses for this loss - Lampard?s near-sudden absence disrupting our original gameplan; the clear penalty against Shaun Wright-Phillips, which, if it had been given, would have most possibly changed the direction and outcome of the game; two new defenders coming into the side in such a historically difficult away tie; Mourinho?s new hairstyle and mellow mood being harbingers of bad luck. But when all is said and done, games like this where the underdogs perform as if on pills and the favourites unproductively batter their heads against the wall is standard fare every season. That?s why it?s football - essentially unpredictable and once in a while to be enjoyed by neutrals and those who root for the underdogs. Liverpool, Arsenal and any other team dreaming of the title know they will come up against their Villas sometime before the end of the campaign; but their prayers would be for such stumbles not to be at a decisive point during the season. I think our own prayer has been answered, because our stumble (like that of Manchester United at Manchester City) has come early. Thus, we need not adorn our sackcloth. Rather, the coaching crew and players should be as clear-eyed and unsparing as possible in dissecting what went wrong. I believe this defeat has its benefits, not least the fact that it brings the team down to earth and makes everyone concentrate hard on the task at hand, instead of assuming they just have to turn up on a pitch anywhere and claim the points. But while I do not underrate the threat posed by Liverpool and Arsenal, I still cannot see beyond Chelsea and Manchester United for the title. So, as far as we?re still above United after five games, I don?t think we should be calling in the undertakers. It?s Blackburn next at the Bridge. I look forward to seeing a proper reaction from the boys to this defeat.

This is sad, sad news. I mentioned him as one of my favourite characters at the old CSR forum mostly because of his uniquely funny handle. And I?ve always imagined him as a cheerful and bubbly fellow, because even though I didn?t read much from him on the forum, the little I?ve read points to this. My thoughts go out to his family and loved ones. May they find the strength and fortitude to bear this loss. May his soul rest in perfect peace.

Are you sure it's ?5m we paid for the guy? Frankly I have no idea. As Lofty says there have been lots of figures. ?4m and ?5m seem popular. Well, when the news broke in Spain, Cadena SER and AS reported 5 million euros (?3.39m). Later reports from Marca, http://www.goal.com and http://www.sports.es talked about 5.5 million euros (?3.73m). By the time the British press was reporting it, The Times and The Sun said it was ?3.75m; The Telegraph, ?3.7m and The Guardian and The Mail, ?4m. No report anywhere, as far as I know said anything about ?5m or above. If we work with the reported prices, I think it?s a good deal, considering that Cicinho, another right-back I rate lower than Belletti was sold by Madrid for over 8 million euros to Roma. CHEERS!

Are you sure it's ?5m we paid for the guy?

Oh dear, I think it's time to press the panic button..

Okay, okay, guys and gals, let?s set the rules for the competition! Loz and Toby, people like me who belong to both ?parties?, what are we to do? Would I be blindfolded, taken to a dark room, to make my pick of which forum to represent? Or, would I be playing one half here and one half there, weeping and gnashing my teeth with the losers in their corner and running over to the winners on the other side to celebrate with choice wines and canap?s a few minutes later? Jakelele, Cfcnet and Chelseaforum.com are two of a kind, even if operated differently, in terms of moderation requirements or lack of it. I contribute to both and I know that people behind them deserve our appreciation, understanding and support. Like every other fans? site on the web, it?s a labour of love. So, give them a chance, even where you feel they aren?t being very nice to you. You can afford it. If you send Toby a note to say let?s be friends and still keep it Blue, I?m sure he?d understand and restore your posting rights. Even if you really don?t want to return to the forum, still seek to sort it out with Toby and Peter. We?re all one!

I know this is the silly season, but never would I have thought that any Chelsea fan with a genuine sense of history would let its silliness infect them. Some of the most irresponsible comments anyone can get against the club are now being spouted by supposed fans, who, deluded in the comfortable knowledge that they don?t have to foot the bill or sit through nail-biting negotiations with other clubs over players, now want everyone in the Chelsea hierarchy to be lined up and shot for signing Juliano Belletti whom they?ve uncharitably dubbed a ?Barcelona reject?. To them, having salivated expectantly all summer at the prospect of signing Daniel Alves, being presented with a 31-year old down-the-pecking-order-at-Barcelona alternative is akin to being force-fed faeces. They just can?t understand why our billionaire godfather didn?t give Jose Maria del Nido whatever he wanted to get our trophy signing. Now, Jos? Mourinho?s stock has plummeted in their estimation and our poor old Chelsea are a disgrace! Obviously, the complaining Chelsea fans have forgotten how to count their blessings. Four years ago, we were on the brink of administration when Roman Abramovich strolled in and saved our blazing butt. When he came in July 2003, the transfer window was already a month gone and in a bid to put us in a position to compete with the big boys immediately thence, selling clubs took him to the cleaners. Indeed, it seemed the whole football establishment and the bow-wowing press entered a conspiracy to send him out of the game and straight to the poor house. At the time, I wondered why anyone with his stash would want to incur this giant trouble of owning a football club. If he was doing this for merely business reasons, there were less migraine-inducing ventures to take on, I reasoned. But Abramovich genuinely loves football and it was the love that made him persevere. Apart from the unprecedented spending on players, he brought in people who understand the business and invested huge amounts off-field as well. He brought in a manager that knows his onions and has gone about ever since trying to make Chelsea a truly global name. We?ve all sat there and reveled in it all; but now that the management is beginning to soberly remind us through their transfer dealings that first and foremost this is a business, we kick and scream, asking that poor Roman lie prostrate for the Sevilla Shylock?s greedy cut. Another important point these contrarians seem to have forgotten is the fact that transfer dealings are off-field competitions for on-field success. When you look at the transfer seasons? spending patterns of clubs, naturally, they?re aimed at achieving success on the field. One huge part of that is to seek an edge over your competition through the way you buy and sell. Chelsea are particularly targeted by all, especially the big clubs because they consider the club as occupying a unique position in the market. While the Abramovich revolution has since seen more billionaires come into the market, none of them so far have showed the kind of love and enthusiasm he?s showed for the game and none of them are investing as much as he?s doing. It?s also quite clear that he has global ambitions for the club and isn?t prepared for Chelsea to play second fiddle to any club. So, when we come asking for a player anywhere, especially amongst the big clubs, the tendency is to deny us the player first and then do things to frustrate us getting alternatives elsewhere. Therefore, there?s always more than a whiff of football vulture politics involved whenever Chelsea are negotiating for any player. The twists and turns of the Alves negotiation have a lot to do with this negative politicking. Of course, like most fans, I too was expecting us to sign Alves; but, having heard from the grapevine that for some days now Sevilla have been telling Chelsea behind the scenes that they?re no longer interested in selling, I had to begin a reassessment. Naturally, my first reaction to the information was to think it was another in a series of tricks being deployed by the notoriously foxy Jose Maria del Nido to force us to increase our bid. But when it was reported again that he?d rejected two fresh bids, I began to really take seriously the possibility that Sevilla may just be stringing us along, while in truth they?re really not ready to sell their star player. Sevilla may have been seen as a selling club before, but they certainly have compelling reasons to review such a policy now. They?re no longer a small club in the shadows of their big neighbours, because they have indeed grown in global proportions within the last two years. They are today competing in the Champions League for the first time in their history on the back of two consecutive UEFA Cups and recognition by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) as the number one football club in the world, based on statistics of wins and trophies since 2006. Sevilla have a right to change their mind about selling us their biggest playing asset in the light of their own ambitions too! And, if this is the case, as I believe it is, it is therefore no longer a question of how much Sevilla were/are asking for, but whether or not they are really willing to sell. Jose Maria del Nido?s maniacal game of constantly increasing their asking price (the latest being 40 million euros) gives enough indication that he?s really not willing to sell. In such circumstances, I would have thought Chelsea?s decision to sign Belletti makes sense. Despite the stories making the rounds, he isn?t exactly a bad player. For four years (up till 2005), he was a member of the Brazilian national team and was part of the squad that won the 2002 World Cup in the Far East. Knowing how spoilt for choice the Brazilian national team really are, it?s no surprise that it took an exceptional performer like Cafu to keep him on the bench. Balletti joined Barcelona three years ago and immediately established himself as the first choice right back in a team that was widely acknowledged as the best in the world up to the time they won the Champions League in 2006. Belletti lost his first place in the team last year due primarily to injury and the arrival of Gianluca Zambrotta from Juventus. In other words, if not for the extraordinary events that led to the splitting up of the then Juventus team, Belletti would still have been Barcelona?s first choice right-back today. While in Barcelona, he won two La Liga titles (2005, 2006), two Super Cups (2005, 2006) and a Champions League title (2006). He?s a very attack-minded defender whose defensive game isn?t bad as well. He?s stable, reliable and extremely energetic. For a thirty-one year old, he?s looked after his body very well. So, it isn?t exactly that Chelsea have gone on to sign a geriatric as right-back; after all Zambrotta who replaced him as first choice at Barcelona and who?s highly rated is just a few months younger. Chelsea fans have to learn to appreciate situations. We cannot always approach every issue with sentiments. For three seasons now, every opposition supporter has rubbed our nose in the notion that we bought the title or are trying to buy the title with the way we?ve spent in the transfer market. Even though this is all hypocritical tosh, there comes a time we need to be throwing these barbs back at them by showing that we can pass through a transfer window without outspending everybody and yet still win the big things. Okay, we?d have loved Alves to join the team, but we didn?t have to pay extortionate price or feel sorry for ourselves if Sevilla aren?t selling. Instead, we took the option of getting another very experienced right-back with a great pedigree at about one-tenth of the Alves price. Whether his acquisition is a mere stopgap or whether it?s a long-term measure, only time would tell. But at least we certainly look better now in the right-back department than we were last season. The team has a better balance and our balance sheet for the first time during a transfer window looks very healthy. Now, all that is left is for every fan to get behind every player that puts on our colours and prove our own worth to the cause. We are on course to reclaim our title! We are on course to push further in Europe! And we are on course to prove to all doubting Thomases that the Kings of the King?s Road are the true Kings of the game! It?s Portsmouth next at the Bridge and we need all the points! Get out there and do your bit! C?mon Chelsea!

Beauty!

Yeah, an interesting article indeed. One of the best I?ve read from Martin Samuel. It?s an issue we all should follow closely, especially when you consider that not everyone taking over the big clubs have the interest of the game and its underlying balance at heart. It?s one thing to want to make profit; it?s another to seek to kill the business outright through unhealthy practices.

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