lol at mutu, good for him! love a good mr bean gag on the manager

Yossie Benayoun is set for QPR.

Seems about right.

What a waste of £5m he turned out to be. 

Oh god. I completely forgot about Yoss-less Benayou-seless. Now I remember how frustrating it was seeing him being the only attacking option (bar Ba (black sheep)) on our subs bench. Sad times.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/25316206

 

Sounds about right.

Crap player, crap team and crap fans. They all belong together.

Looks like Anelka may be in some hot water after his goal for WBA today.

 

His celebration is seemingly an Anti-Semitic salute, called a "quenelle."

 

Although some claim that it is an anti Zionist and Anti Establishment salute, and not anti Jewish.  However, a French comedian who has been fined for "hate speech" in the past when it comes to Jewish people, has been seen doing this "reverse Nazi" salute often, including once on twitter with old Nico.  https://twitter.com/benoitconta/statuses/416925649425534976

 

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/news/premier-league-anelka-accused-antisemitism-39-quenelle-39-144749922--sow.html

Fabio Borini, substituted at half time in the Cardiff v Sunderland game, has collapsed and is being rushed to hospital!

 

Hope that he is ok

Anelka is an idiot and I hope WBA don't do a Liverpool and carry on supporting his gesture, they must condemn and speak out against their player. Anelka may not realise he is making an anti-semitic gesture, he may think he's just supporting his mate, but his mate is a far right sympathiser, a nasty piece of work and whatever his sympathies a salute that glorifies the Nazis is not funny or clever and inappropriate during a football match

Anelka is an idiot and I hope WBA don't do a Liverpool and carry on supporting his gesture, they must condemn and speak out against their player. Anelka may not realise he is making an anti-semitic gesture, he may think he's just supporting his mate, but his mate is a far right sympathiser, a nasty piece of work and whatever his sympathies a salute that glorifies the Nazis is not funny or clever and inappropriate during a football match

 

If he really is as close to that comedian as the WBA manager suggested then it's pretty likely Anelka is aware of the connotations of the gesture. 

 

WBA has a big chance to act responsibly here, hopefully they don't drop the ball. 

From this interview: http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/perthglory/news-display/GALLAS-INTERVIEW-EXCLUSIVE-TRANSCRIPT/77789

Daniel Garb: William – you have a bit of a reputation as an outspoken player. Someone who’s not afraid to share their opinion in the changing rooms and maybe that’s got you in to trouble a couple of times. Is that true, is that a true reflection of who you are?

William Gallas: You know what – I was not the troubled player. People have to understand that. I was not the troubled player – I was one of the guys who was not afraid to said what was wrong. Sometimes in football, people do not like to hear so that is my personality but I will go to my new club and see how the people, so I won’t go there straight away to said that was wrong, no, no, I just go there, like I said, to play football, to go on the pitch, to have a good communication with my team mate and that’s it, so maybe after we’ll see what happens.

And then this gem just after:

Daniel Garb: William – your time in the Premier League was such a successful one. You played for three of the biggest clubs in the league – Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham. You won titles. What memory stands out the most for you for your time in England?

William Gallas: I will say Chelsea. When I was with Chelsea because I won some trophies there. The squad was amazing, we had a great manager, a manager who has lot of personality, who is very strong. For him, it was very important to be 100% at training so you can imagine if you train very well on Saturday then you would be ready for your game so that was very important for us. The people at Chelsea was great so for me, Chelsea was the club I can’t forget, but after, like you said, I played for Arsenal and Tottenham and it was different but I didn’t have any problem with them. Always I tried to give one hundred per cent on the pitch. It’s true, I had a little problem with the players of Arsenal but the people know why. At this time it was about respect but now everything is behind me so I’m looking forward and for me is to be with my new team.

I didn't get why he was so desperate to leave Chelsea when he did, sure he was playing LB alot but Jose gave him plenty of games at CB. Can't help thinking with all the defensive issues we had the season he left we'd have won the league had he stayed.

Lille club president Michel Seydoux has warned off Premier League interest for Ivorian attacker Salomon Kalou, 28, by saying a £71m (87m euro) bid for him would "maybe" be considered.

 

I almost pissed myself laughing.

He isn't even worth 8.7 million!

I didn't get why he was so desperate to leave Chelsea when he did, sure he was playing LB alot but Jose gave him plenty of games at CB. Can't help thinking with all the defensive issues we had the season he left we'd have won the league had he stayed.

It was all about money. He was a crucial player for us, and incredibly versatile, and he'd been absolutely phenomenal since we signed him. Apparently he was on a significantly worse contract than all the other ever-presents, and he and his agent kept pushing for the improved contract his contribution had earned. He kept getting knocked back by the club/ Kenyon, and it allegedly all blew up before the FAC SF at Old Trafford, where he supposedly refused to play in protest at the club's stance. José persuaded him to take the field, but he- and we - played crap and we lost (Graham Poll had a bit to do with that).

I think the club realised that - however brilliant a player he'd been - he was trouble and were not willing to improve his contract. José was desperate to keep him, but eventually agreed to let him go to Arsenal as part-exchange for Ashley Cole on deadline day. Not long after that Bruce Buck told the world he'd threatened to score an own goal if we picked him to play, Gallas threatened to sue, but never did.

Personally I think the club treated him badly. At a time when inferior players were at the club on post-Abramovich wages, they should have recognised his huge value to the team and given him a big pay rise. Yes, Gallas deserved the slagging he got, and his subsequent career has not exactly been glittering, but the club should have avoided his very bitter exit.

I think it was no coincidence that we didn't win a hattrick of titles the season after he left. We splashed £8m on Boulahrouz who Arnesen said had the ability and versatility to replace him, but he was a total waste of money

Feeling nostalgic about Salomon Kalou. Really liked that guy, despite his limitations

Feeling nostalgic for all the team players 68  69  70  71  72

Former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba looks set to become the latest high-profile player to move to America's Major League Soccer when his contract at Galatasaray expires.<br />Drogba's contract at Galatasaray comes to an end in the summer and the Ivorian is unlikely to extend his stay in Turkey, with reports suggesting he is having talks with two MLS clubs.<br />The striker, now 35, is believed to have held talks with New York Red Bulls and Seattle Sounders – according to the Turkish Daily News.<br />Drogba joined Galatasaray in Janaury 2013 after a short stint in China at Shanghai Shenua, where he linked up with former Chelsea team-mate Nicolas Anelka, who has since returned to England with West Brom.<br />Having helped the Turkish side to the knockout stages in the Champions League, he is set for a reunion with his old side in the last-16 stage, seeing him return to Stamford Bridge for the first time since his exploits in the 2012 Champions League final – when he equalised and scored the decisive penalty against Bayern Munich to win the trophy for the Blues.<br />Should he opt for a move to the North American league, it will most likely be the last time Drogba will be seen at Stamford Bridge, and it appears that the forward, who netted exactly 100 Premier League goals for Chelsea between 2004 and 2012, is keen on seeing out the final years of his career in the MLS.

Yesterday at the Emirates - Joe Cole taking the piss out of Arsenal supporters by lifting a pretended trophy.

 

 

Class!

I LOVE Joe Cole.  Always have done.  Always will.

Looks like Damien Duff has played his last game in the Premier League. He's confirmed that he's leaving for the MLS at the end of the season, and has already been ruled out for the rest of this season with a knee injury. Sad to hear, a truly class player in his day.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/27053477

Aww loved Damien Duff........... Good luck to him.  Big part of my Chelsea memories.

My favourite chelsea player of the mid 2000s. Superb for us.

@mactheknife

Always defended Kalou staunchly, despite some of his terrible misses. He was a good player. If he had played centrally instead of you know who, I'm sure he would have gotten plenty of goals. In fact, I'd say he is a good option to have alongside Costa and Lukaku. A different style of forward with plenty of experience. BRING HIM BACK!

It was all about money. He was a crucial player for us, and incredibly versatile, and he'd been absolutely phenomenal since we signed him. Apparently he was on a significantly worse contract than all the other ever-presents, and he and his agent kept pushing for the improved contract his contribution had earned. He kept getting knocked back by the club/ Kenyon, and it allegedly all blew up before the FAC SF at Old Trafford, where he supposedly refused to play in protest at the club's stance. José persuaded him to take the field, but he- and we - played crap and we lost (Graham Poll had a bit to do with that).

I think the club realised that - however brilliant a player he'd been - he was trouble and were not willing to improve his contract. José was desperate to keep him, but eventually agreed to let him go to Arsenal as part-exchange for Ashley Cole on deadline day. Not long after that Bruce Buck told the world he'd threatened to score an own goal if we picked him to play, Gallas threatened to sue, but never did.

Personally I think the club treated him badly. At a time when inferior players were at the club on post-Abramovich wages, they should have recognised his huge value to the team and given him a big pay rise. Yes, Gallas deserved the slagging he got, and his subsequent career has not exactly been glittering, but the club should have avoided his very bitter exit.

I think it was no coincidence that we didn't win a hattrick of titles the season after he left. We splashed £8m on Boulahrouz who Arnesen said had the ability and versatility to replace him, but he was a total waste of money

Kind of reminds me of Makalele at Real Madrid, they wouldn't give him a better contract so he left for us.

Tbh I find the own goal thing abit hard to believe, I think some of the players would have done something had he done that.

Boulahrouz looked great against Barcelona then he turned to sh*t.

It took us years to finally get rid of Kalou, I think I'd kick something if we signed him back.