Torres loses

Fernando Torres was non-existent.

Chelski lost despite playing at home and a three pronged attack featuring Anelka, Drogba and Torres.

Liverpool seems to have picked up a dogged revival, most likely influenced by their manager Daglish.

A new goalscoring hero emerges in Raul Meireles.

Chelsea have lost their title bid.

Ancelotti I think will lose his job at the end of the season, and I suspect strongly that there will be a big clearout at Stamford Bridge.

Dizzy end to the transfer window

Desperation drives people to do desperate things.

January's transfer window is always full of melodrama and this season's proved the same.

The biggest involved the 50 million pound transfer of Liverpool's Fernando Torres to Chelsea and the ridiculous (in my opinion) 35 million pound replacement Liverpool bought in Andy Carroll.

Paling in comparison, even though they are huge sums of money too, are the deals in excess of 20 million pounds each for Luis Suarez to Liverpool and David Luiz to Chelsea.

This signals the intent of Chelsea and Liverpool, who are not having the best of seasons.

Well, this is football. Roman Abramovich is starting to throw his weight around again, while Liverpool's owners are sadly just desperate.

Chelsea bought themselves a crocked Fernando Torres really. I don't think he is as good as when he first came to the BPL. I too can't see how you can pair Anelka or Drogba with Torres.

Liverpool bought an unproven striker in Carroll... yes, he scored a few goals this season, but I don't think he is worth more than Berbatov or Darren Bent who moved for 24 million to Aston Villa, for the matter. He is too raw to be worth that much money. Newcastle got themselves a fantastic deal in my opinion, but will they get relegated due to a lack of goals for the rest of the season and wanting money instead? We shall see.

Well, this makes for great entertainment. We will see how it all pans out. But too much stupid money going around for now.

Joe Cole to OT?

Believe the rumors at your own peril.

But this is one I will like to believe and I believe will happen soon.

Joe Cole is set to snub Chelsea and sign for Man Utd. He is set to join Michael Owen as talented English players who had long injury layoffs and admired in their youth by the best manager in England, Sir Alex Ferguson.

And I think it is a rumor that is spinning the right way. He is on a free transfer, he gets to go to the biggest club in England, and he fits the bill at Man Utd who is looking for a talented and footballing winger to replace an ageing legend in Ryan Giggs.

Usually rumors turn out fake, but I got a good feeling about this one.

Will Torres go?

The conquest of Chelsea for 09/10 has yet to settle and there are already plenty of rumors spinning in the transfer market.

Question of the pre season before the next BPL season starts: Will Fernando Torres go to Chelsea, the newly crowned English champions?

Well, the naysayer will tell you its highly unlikely, given the animosity between the blues and Merseyside, and Torres's professed loyalty to Liverpool.

But the reasoning will tell you Torres is sick of no silverware, poor tactics, lousy club management and low finances. All of these will supercede his loyalty and point him to the exit door. Where else but the English champions Chelsea?

Based on Torres's valuation, only a handful of clubs will dare pick up the tab. Real Madrid, Man Utd, Chelsea and Man City. Real is obviously out of the question, since Torres childhood club is Atletico Madrid, Man Utd will not fork out a 100 million for any player. Man City is not at the highest pinnacle of footballing achievements yet even if they have all the resources to lure him. So the next likely destination --> Chelski of Roman Abramovich.

Liverpool fans, keep your fingers crossed, and your hearts ready for the defect of one Spanish cult hero to London.

Jose wins.

In the battle of Jose vs Chelsea, note that I used Jose, not Inter, Jose won. The game was clearly the old boss against his old team.

And of course, the expensively assembled team at Chelsea can never outsmart their commander and chief, whom I presume with certainty knows them inside out. He set out to deny the Blues a win, and he did one better, he won at Stamford Bridge. This is proof that Jose Mourinho is one of the best tacticians there is in football if you want to win a match and a tournament for the matter. He is a brilliant tactician and more so, an incredible motivator. How else do you expect Inter to come to Stamford Bridge, the stronghold of Chelsea and bring them to their knees.

Sure, there were controversial moments and Drogba will complain about mistreatment again, but the Ivorian only has his own reputation to blame. He is a pathological diver, referees think twice about awarding him penalties and free kicks.

Looks like Roman Abramovich will have to take drastic measures next season to seal himself a Champions League trophy. Not only does he need to rid himself of the team which Jose built, he will need to give Carlo Ancelotti financial muscle to build a team worthy of doing just that. The Chelsea of today is too familiar to their nearest opponents and as long as Jose is around, they will never outdo him with his own team.

Sorry Roman, I still think you made the biggest mistake by letting Jose go. If all I wanted was to win a Champs League trophy, Jose Mourinho will have to be my top man for the job.

Not another sex scandal...

Looks like the millionaires in professional sports today just cannot get themselves out of the news for the wrong reasons. First, it was David Beckham who was alleged to have an affair under Victoria Beckham's nose, then there was footballer Ashley Cole, the latest hoo ha was obviously golf phenom Tiger Woods "eighteen hole" escapades away from the golf course. Now, the next high profile sex scandal set to rock Chelsea and England football team, the soul of their team fabric, captain of Chelsea and England the man of all men, John Terry...

For all his macho displays and alpha male authority in the dressing room, it seems John is just a plain ol man afterall... he was secretly lusting after his own teammate's girlfriend. Last I heard, Wayne Bridge is his good friend. For heaven's sake, she is the mother of Wayne Bridge's son. I wonder whether Wayne Bridge will ever see John Terry the same way again... I mean its hard to respect a captain and chief while he was secretly having a rendevous with your girlfriend. Geez... its harder to think whether the rest of his English and Chelsea team mates will ever look at Terry the same way again. I mean, an improtant character aspect in a captain is his integrity and honesty with his team mates. This is one guy who used his money from his soccer paymasters to put a gag on the media who caught hold of the news... heaven knows whether his wife was aware of it, likelihood is not. The father of twins has much to answer to his children.

JT might just have crossed the limit of his "transgressions" with Fabio Capello, the strict father (ala Mafia style) of the England football team. The man is no saint off the pitch. It is not the first time he is involved in some sort of controversy. He was involved in some heavy gambling controversy while under Jose Mourinho. He apparenty took unauthorised fees while hosting rich businessman fans on private tours of the training ground in Surrey. The latest scandal won't just go away, and he will regarded in the same category as Tiger Woods, a cheating husband and a rich athlete who thought he could pay his way out. Too bad for all those financial concerns JT was seemingly more worried about in his court hearing regarding this latest sex scandal... I think he should start thinking about how he could salvage his marriage and his family, something I think is CLEARLY more important than his sponsorship deals and image with the footballing world.

And I thought England had a chance at the World Cup.... David Beckham for captain anyone?

Man Utd vs Chelsea

The big match of the season so far. With Liverpool far from being a title challenger now, the heavy favourites Man Utd and Chelsea, barring the likelihood of a Arsenal revolution will be going head-to-head at the Stamford Bridge this weekend.

Both teams are equally matched to say the very least. Chelsea has maintained it squad depth while Man Utd traditionally stronger, has lost Ronaldo and Tevez which has had an effect on their season thus far. Chelsea and Man Utd this season however will be I reckon more interesting than previous seasons. The main reason is the attacking style of Chelsea brought about by the Italian maestro Carlo Ancelotti. Chelsea has stabilised under his management and has re-found the confidence in their team play and that overwhelming team spirit that has saw them conquer the BPL during the Mourinho heydays.

Man Utd is patchy in recent matches. The loss of a confident goalscorer like Ronaldo definitely hurt the goal ratio but Rooney, Berbatov and Valencia has since stepped up to play major roles in winning games this season. Man Utd will be expecting a colossal fight in defence, a physical one with the mercurial Drogba keen to destroy the makeshift defence pairing of Brown and Evans. Man Utd will also find it hard to break down the defence and midfield of Chelsea, especially at their home ground.

I wonder who Man Utd will play in the match. For one, I am definitely expecting the midfield scrambler Darren Fletcher and the big match experienced Ryan Giggs. I am also expecting Rooney and Berbatov plus the in-form Valencia leading the attack. Right-back will be big John O'Shea and left back definitely Patrice Evra. I think they key is in defence as I have my reservations about Wes Brown's defence capacity at the centre. For Chelsea, I expect Ballack to be placed alongside Lampard, Essien and Joe Cole to try and win the midfield battle. The defensive roles are pretty much self picked: Terry, Carvalho, Ashley Cole and Bosingwa/Ivanovic, with Drogba and Anelka likely to be unleashed together.

The first to win the battle at the top will no doubt have the psychological edge for the rest of this year. Man Utd will hate to lose again to another Top 4 team following Liverpool. Chelsea meanwhile will like to prove that they are worthy title holders.

All these makes for an exciting match and the likelihood of drama in 90 minutes. Don't miss it for the world.

Charity Shield 2009 Match Analysis: Chelsea

Even though The Charity Shield is only a pre-season friendly before the season starts officially next week, the game between Chelsea and Man Utd suggests anything but friendliness.

Both sides are renowned for their competitiveness and their thirst for silverware, so a Charity Shield still makes a tasty match between two of the closest rivals in English football. In the end, Chelsea won on penalties but the post match analysis will draw more attention than the victory itself.

With the experienced Ancelotti on the side of Chelsea, it was interesting to see the kind of football Chelsea will adopt under the Italian tactician who guided Milan to two Champions League wins. Adopting the "diamond" formation as has been widely reported these days, Chelsea looked tight in the centre of the park but evidently was much weaker on the wings. With no cover on the wings, the Chelsea fullbacks were under immense pressure from a Man Utd side that always had and has more than capable wingers with intelligent offensive play. I seldom see Ashley Cole play a bad game for Chelsea or England, this was one of his worst to date... but to be fair, the diamond formation has inevitably added more defensive pressure on him than when Chelsea played a 4-3-3 formation.

A new formation will take time to settle into and especially at Chelsea where they have played Mourinho's 4-3-3 for so long. The key Chelsea playmaker Frank Lampard looked out of sorts in the first half. He got lucky in the second with a goal that should not have happened in the first place. Referees like Chris Foy spoil an otherwise entertaining game with questionable double standards by failing to stop play when Man Utd left back Evra was clearly in distress (he stopped play earlier with Man Utd in an advantageous position when Chelsea man Ballack was laying injured on the ground) The subsequent counter attack saw Chelsea score a cheap goal in a three to two situation. That sort of redeemed Lampard's non existence in the first half, but he returned to anonymity again... soon after.

Lampard is no Kaka as Ancelotti will love him to be in the diamond formation, and frankly his best position is deeper in midfield, linking play and spreading long passes instead of being just behind the front two of Anelka and Drogba. To play Lampard in such a forward position like Gerrard with Liverpool is clearly making the same mistake when England did the same thing with him before Capello took over. The close scrutiny of the opposing defensive midfielder and the tight spaces in front of the centre backs meant that Lampard has little space to make those late runs into the penalty box where he scores many of his goals. Its fair to say that Lampard's dribbling and running with the ball is inferior to Kaka which made Ancelotti's diamond formation looked class and dangerous. At least from this match alone, I seriously think Lampard will have it hard and Chelsea might suffer some disorientation if he sticks to that position on top of the diamond in midfield.

With Essien and Malouda on the two sides of the diamond, what you have are the roles of Gattusso and Seedorf for Ancelotti's diamond at Milan. Is it smart for Ancelotti to make Chelsea adopt his style of play? Perhaps time will tell. Essien looked less than his usual combatative self except for a header at goal in the first half. Malouda was not all too effective playing deeper in midfield with Anelka also looking overwhelmed with his partner Drogba again hogging most of Chelsea's play when they revert to the direct style that they are always more comfortable with since Mourinho first instilled it. They will always have a part of Mourinho in their play and Ancelotti will have his hands full to get the players' heads around his style of play.

If I am a Premier League manager watching Chelsea, I will think there is a chance to beat Chelsea if I deploy wing play- get in the face of the fullbacks and try to stop them from linking play on the wings, pressure the defence by popping balls in from the wings. By stifling Lampard in the role behind the strikers, you basically kill Chelsea's supply line and goal ratio. Drogba is a menace but he can be dealt with by more experienced centre backs now. Chelsea's main threat will still be their set-pieces with physically gifted players all round the team posing aerial threats but I presume Stoke City can also give them a go at set pieces too. With Chelsea playing a diamond formation, only having one player for defensive cover in midfield can and will catch their own central defence flat footed when being splitted through opposing runs down the middle, Giggs's run and clean through pass for Rooney's late goal in this match proved that the one midfielder covering the defence might work in Serie A but in the BPL, you are courting trouble.

Chelsea might have won the Charity Shield, but I am not sure if they have won pre-season bargaining rights to the English Championship. There is plenty of work to be done and I think Carlo Ancelotti knows that.

Transfer Activity

Chelsea going English? Man Utd building a strikeforce to attain Ronaldo's goals ratio? Arsenal to sign a new Vieira?

Just as the world has been been distracted and still in amazement at the glut of signings made by Real Madrid, the fans of the BPL has also been dissapointed at the lack of a big signing from other leagues to the BPL this season. Manchster City promised much when the season ended, but it looks increasingly likely that Mark Hughes has got his transfer policy grounded to homegrown or proven talent in England. He is eyeing a domineering captain of Chelsea in John Terry to add on to his recent acquisitions of Barry, Santa Cruz and most likely Tevez who have already proved their worth in the BPL.

Man Utd is looking to consolidate the number of goals for last season by signing a fourth striker in Huntelaar who is unsettled at Real Madrid. He will join Michael Owen, Rooney and Berbatov to make up for the loss of chief goalscorer Ronaldo. Couple that with 2 new prospects in wingers Valencia and Obertan, and it is a season of testing new grounds for Sir Alex and co. No Ronaldo and Tevez will mean more chances for others like Nani, Valencia and the surprise package Michael Owen. Will they live up to the expectations?

Liverpool looks strangely quiet on the transfer market, probably burdened by the heavy club debt and the crazy figures clubs are asking for their prized players (everything is going for twice the money as prevous years because of Real's indulgent spending) Other than a 17 million pound Glen Johnson, Liverpool looks more likely to be selling some of their first team players in Arberloa and Alonso before making a bid for someone else. Selling hard man Javer Mascherano however will be a huge blow to their title chances.

Chelsea while fighting to stave off the coveting interests of Man City on their club captain is looking to do a bit of business since capturing Russian winger Yuri Zhirkov. While hoping Mourinho will pay for Deco and Cavarlho, they are still eyeing Porto's Bruno Alves, Milan's Andrea Pirlo and Alexandre Pato, while also crossing their fingers that Ribery or Sneijder will swap Madrid's Mediterranean weather for the depressing one in London. Perhaps the recent signing of striker Daniel Sturridge and new interest in England Under-21 winger Adam Johnson shows a stark change in Ancelotti's transfer policy. Going for English talent could be the "in" thing for Chelsea this season. But English players other than the current Ashley and Joe Cole, Lampard and Terry seldom succeed at Chelsea, do they? Steve Sidwell, Scott Parker, Wayne Bridge, Glen Johnson and Carlton Cole came and left, while having found some success at other clubs.

Arsenal is FINALLY getting into the transfer market after years of signing youth players. Arsene is definitely looking to rebuild a part of his fractured midfield last season by looking to sign a hard man in Matuidi. Likened to the legendary Patrick Vieira, he could be the answer to adding some steel to a midfield that boast the creative genuis of Fabregas, Rosicky, Nasri and Arshavin. If Arsene don't win something major this season, it could well be the end of their captain, Fabregas career at Arsenal.

The rest of the competition is trying to catch up with the top 4 and a certain cash rich Man City. Tottenham under Harry Redknapp could be one to watch. Van Nistelrooy will be a huge capture even though he is nearing retirement. Sunderland's Steve Bruce will capture Spurs' Darren Bent if the Nistelrooy deal goes through. Aston Villa is hoping Stewart Downing will make them the priority destination for his England career. Other than that, there hasn't been that much of good excitement in the rest of the league to suggest the emergence of a club with bigger ambitions than mid-range parity.

Well, at least we know the English clubs still got their heads screwed on, knowing they are caught in a whirlwind of price inflation in the players' market despite the rest of the world still deep in a financial crisis.

The FA Cup

The FA cup final is the one match all Liverpool fans will shun, because there will be no happy ending for them whichever team wins.

Will it be Everton the Merseyside rival or Chelsea whose feud with Liverpool is well reported in recent years?

Well... whoever it is, expect some electrifying atmosphere and good fun in the final of the oldest cup competition in England.

Who will be the next manager of Chelsea?

Million dollar question: Now that Guus Hiddink is gone, who will be the next manager of Chelsea?

We all know the fickle-mindedness of Chelsea club owner Roman Abramovich, When he first came in, he sacked Claudio Ranieri when the Italian has been doing well, and consequently sacked 2 more world class coaches in Jose Mourinho and Luis Felipe Scolari. Frankly, with Roman at the club, expect a few more sacks in the next few seasons... the owner has no sense of what it means to run a successful football club. If all he needed was an obvious clue, just look at the current BPL champions Man Utd, Arsenal not so long ago, and the Liverpool of the 80s. Dynasties are built into a club from the youth system, and longevity of the manager is crucial in seeing the vision of the club come to past. No prize for guessing why Sir Alex and Arsene Wenger have been 2 of the more successful managers in club history; they were trusted to do their job.

Even though it looks increasingly likely that Carlo Ancelotti is the top pick for the Chelsea job, I highly doubt he will do a good job. Why? Because Chelsea is a players' club; John Terry, Frank Lampard, Michael Ballack and Didier Drogba have too much say at the club. A manager who cannot communicate in English, lest motivate this gang inherited from Mourinho cannot succeed in getting the best out of them. Look at Scolari, his English wasn't that bad, but he couldn't get along with the players and that cost him his job. Hiddink did relatively well because he probably is the most affable and likeable man in football, look at him motivate and guide his moderate players from all over the world to greatness in World Cups, from South Korea to Australia to now Russia.

No manager will succeed unless his players back him up. IF Carlo Ancelotti signs eventually, he needs to rid the players who are still stuck in the age of Jose Mourinho and bring in his trusted subjects. Sell Drogba, exchange him for Inter want-away Ibrahimovich. Sell Ballack, bring in Pirlo. Sell Malouda, bring in Kaka. Revive the magician in Deco, bring out the best in Bosingwa, Essien and Anelka. Build on the respect of Terry and Lampard, recognize they are indispensable and club motivators, command the tactics to be used but trust the execution with them. Hire a proven footballing mind to be the director of football; who is solely responsible for building the youth system.

But the hardest part of it all? Getting the clueless owner to leave you to do your job. Unless Abramovich retains his powers to just signing chequebooks for the club, Chelsea will forever be stuck in the group of has-beens and rich owner football clubs. Their fortunes will end with Abramovich's short-lived and shallow interests.

"Magic" Money not the way for true Champions.

Despite being a Liverpool fan, I do salute Arsene Wenger's strong belief in not using money to build a champion worthy team. It has always been the style of the Arsenal's manager to develop players rather than buy well established players. This contributes to the wealth of tradition at Arsenal and makes them a side to be respected. The influx of money into the Premier League turned clubs like Chelsea and Manchester City into playgrounds for their wealthy owners as they bid for players just as if they were antique artifacts in an auction.

People like Arsene Wenger needs to be applauded as he identifies promising youths and develops them into stars for Arsenal. It is comforting to know that Theo Walcott is staying under the tutelage of Arsene Wenger and I believe he will blossom into a fine young gentleman if not, a great athlete.

Man City despite splurging so much on Robinho, is a far cry from being hailed as Champions. One day, the financial tap will run dry and clubs like Arsenal will triumph and survive through the test of time to emerge as eventual Champions in the hearts of everyone regardless of their achievements.

Champions are not bought. Champions are grown.

its a f***king disgrace !!

Ugly scenes at Stamford Bridge erupted after the final whistle. Didier Drogba (who else will you expect anyway...) shouted profanity down the camera, allegedly accusing the referee who in all fairness did had a poor game, to a live audience consisting of millions of viewers worldwide.

And yes, while I appreciate the passion and fighting spirit of Chelsea, I can't help but notice that this is the 2nd time the issue of referee abuse has happened with the Blues. The eventualities of the last one with a pretty decent referee Anders Frisk; including persistent death threats to him and his family from "overtly" passionate fans resulted in his decision to retire from refereeing. Looks like the Norwegian referee, Tom Ovrebo who officiated the last semi-final is not going to have it easy too, his home address is already going public in Facebook pages that are calling out for his blood.

I can understand that things can get really frustrating when referee decisions don't go your way, but what the Blues exhibit time after time; verbal abuse, physical threats and gangsterism by players and fans is really unbecoming and unfitting for a club who claims to be an elite representative of world football. Whatever happened to sportsmanship and basic courtesy? Surely there are better avenues to voice out unhappiness and dissastisfaction. The club and manager can mask all the ugliness displayed by Drogba behind a veil of passion and love for the club, but such ungentlemanly behavior did the club reputation no good among its peers.

Lets hope some sense prevail in all of these, sometimes the line between soccer and common sense gets blurred when passion overrules the mind. We just saw the death of an Arsenal soccer fan because of the club's loss in the semi finals. Let's hope no referee or any human being's life is under threat just because the game of soccer has superceded even the value of life itself.

And really... to Didier Drogba, your foolish behavior just made you the disgrace in all of this...

A Clash Of Styles???

Soccernet describes tonight's match between Chelsea and Barcelona as a "Clash Of Styles". What Style?! Chelsea has no style...! Barcelona's the one with the style and all Chelsea have is the theatrics of Drogba.

Watch the match for an entertaining night of diving by Drogba and be mesmerised by Messi's clever plays. If Chelsea is to win this, I believe they'll have to resort to plays without gamesmanship or sportsmanship, which is most probably their "style".

Barcelona to WIN!