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Chelsea unstoppable at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea began the Premiership season with a thumping 4-0 win over FA Cup holders Portsmouth at the Bridge, with new boy Deco scoring an early contender for goal of the season. This after Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson had written them off pre-season by saying they were too old and couldn’t get any better. His reverse mind games seemed to have had an effect on the Chelsea players, just the not the effect he was looking for.

But what is the secret to Chelsea’s incredible home form? During the Special One’s tenure at the Bridge, Chelsea didn’t lose a single home league game. They were unbeatable at home, the team that just refused to accept defeat.

However it’s not the just the fact that Chelsea play well at home, have a great team with world class players throughout, or rely on the fanatical home support of their London crowd. No, Chelsea make the whole process of visiting the Bridge as difficult as possible for the away side. The away dressing room for example is a fraction of the size of the home dressing room, and devoid of any of the same mod-cons such as Aircon and fancy equipment. Even the display board the teams use to workout tactics is situated around a bend in the away dressing room, so the players can’t see it from their benches.

It’s made difficult so that the away team at Stamford Bridge is put on edge from the start. They’re not given time to settle, and then when they get on the pitch it’s difficult to perform.

I wonder how many other teams start the mind games with the opposition in the dressing room?

Berbatov demands United move

Tottenham’s Bulgarian forward Dimitar Berbatov has apparently requested a transfer to Manchester United, this after starting Spur’s opening league game, a defeat to Middlesbrough, on the bench.

United’s pursuit of Berbatov so far has seen a £20.5 million bid refused from Tottenham, who do not want to part with their star player, especially after losing Robbie Keane to Liverpool already this summer.

Berbatov stated:

I’m now in Tottenham but no-one can disagree with me wanting to follow my dream.

It is thought that Berbatov handed in a transfer request at Spurs after he was omitted from Tottenham’s opening game.

Emil Dantchev, Berbatov’s agent, stated:

We have two more weeks until the end of the transfer window and I think this will be the most important week.

I read Alex Ferguson’s statement that he wants another striker and I hope that this striker is Dimitar Berbatov.

Berbatov cost Spurs just £10.9m two years ago, so they would stand to make a decent profit if they do sell for United’s offer.

Spurs were looking at the Russian striker, Andrei Arshavin, who excelled at Euro 2008, but their interest in the player seems to have cooled.

Keegan just loving United point

Manchester United dropped two points on the opening day of the season for the second year in succession as they battled out a one all draw with Newcastle.

Kevin Keegan’s side have been the subject of much media speculation over the summer, and the Toon certainly look to have not really added anything meaningful to their ranks since the end of last season. This has led many to believe that the legendary gaffer has fallen out with owner Mike Ashley as he believes that progress cannot be made without investment – and to be fair you can see his point.

Yet, the heart and determination which the Geordies played with yesterday would have filled Keegan with so much pride. Never once did they sit back and defend their unlikely point and they got their just rewards at the final whistle.

Martins even put Newcastle ahead mid way through the first half after what seemed like a cast iron penalty decision was waved away. Yet thirty five seconds after the restart the defending champions were level courtesy of a Darren Fletcher strike.

Although both sides had chances to increase the scoring, a draw seemed a fair result and would be one which Keegan would have taken with open arms – in fact he would have loved it!

F A launches “Respect” scheme

The FA have introduced a new programme which is designed to promote respect in all levels of football and embodies players officials and fans taking part in matches. Over recent years there has been an influx of cases which seem to suggest that anti social behaviour is infiltrating the game at all levels.

The “Respect” programme aims to address this issue and find a mutually beneficial way in which everybody can keep the passion but lose the abuse and harassment which is commonplace in the game.

It has been suggested that one in three matches last season saw some type of disorder, whether this be on the pitch or from within the terraces and it is thought that this is having a profound affect on attendance levels – particularly within the lower leagues. Families are said to be put off by the foul and abusive language which is common within the stadiums and it is this large section of the country which the FA are targeting to experience live football in the future.

With today’s technological breakthroughs, it is all too easy for people to reject going to watch their local team and switch on the television instead and this new FA initiative hopes to entice more families through the turnstiles.

The main features which are being introduced are making the teams shake hands with each other before the kick off in every match in the Football League, and also restricting the amount of access which the players have to the referee by placing more importance on the captains.

The success which this will have is debatable though – especially on crowd attendances where I would suggest that capping the admission prices per league would yield a much greater reward.

Barry plays, he scores, he ends hope of move to Liverpool

Gareth Barry looks to have put pay to any chance of his dream move to Liverpool by playing in Aston Villa’s UEFA Cup qualifier against FH Hafnarfjordur. Not only did Barry play, he scored, and after just 3 minutes!

His appearance in the game means if he were to move to Liverpool, or any club for that matter, he would be ineligible in the Champions League until February and unable to play in the UEFA Cup for another team this season.

By playing Barry, Villa look to have signalled their intent to hang on to the player, as playing him has reduced his value to any potential suitor, Liverpool included.

Even after playing the England international tonight, manager Martin O’Neill is still unsure of whether he’ll hold on to his star player:

I wouldn’t be sure until the transfer deadline passes what will materialise.

I had a talk with him beforehand. He was in the right frame of mind and wanted to play and there was nothing that would have stopped him which was very pleasing.

He wanted to play and he knew the consequences so the decision was very much his.

It really does look as though this saga is over.

Mutu’s coke habit cost him £13.68 million

Adian Mutu, the Romanian striker who snorted more than he scored, has been ordered by FIFA to pay former club Chelsea £13.68 million in compensation. Mutu was sacked by Chelsea in 2004 after testing positive for cocaine, and receiving a seven-month ban from football.

Mutu had cost Chelsea £15 million just 12 months earlier, so the sum he has been ordered to pay makes up for the remaining years of his Chelsea contract. Chelsea of course didn’t recoup a penny from the player, who joined Juventus in 2005, and then onto Fiorentina.

Chelsea are said to be delighted with the ruling from FIFA. Chelsea FC said on their website:

This is a very significant decision for football.

Not only did the Dispute Resolution Chamber make us a very significant monetary award, it also recognised the damaging effect incidents involving drugs has on football and the responsibility we all have in this area.

Mutu is expected to appeal the decision in the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Lampard signs five year deal with Chelsea

The Frank Lampard saga of whether he’ll stay with Chelsea or move to Inter Milan and reunite with Jose Mourinho has come to an end with the announcement that the England international has signed a new five-year deal with Chelsea.

Lampard’s new contract will keep him at Chelsea until 2014. Lampard’s refusal to sign a new deal during the summer led to speculation that he would leave the club, but he was merely holding out for a longer contract. Now the player has what he wanted it would seem.

Lampard signed for Chelsea in 2001 from his boyhood club West Ham in an £11 million deal. That seems like good business for Chelsea now after the success he has helped them to. Lampard, now 30, will be at Chelsea until he is 35 and expects to end his career at the club.

I see it as my final big contract and I will play out my days at Chelsea. I want to finish my career at Chelsea.

It is something I’ve said many times and, after signing this contract, I am very happy and positive I will finish as a player here.

I’ve had seven great seasons here and now I can have many more.

It’s been a difficult summer for many reasons and that was one of them. A lot of things were said that were untrue, some things were said that were slightly true… and that was frustrating.

Mark Hughes to be the first managerial casualty of the season?

The Premier League season is still a few days away from the big kick off, and news of the first Premier League casualty could be just as close. Manchester City manager Mark Hughes, who has yet to take charge of a league game with the club after joining in the summer from Blackburn, looks like he might be on the way out.

Hughes took over from former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson after the Swede was sacked despite leading City to one of their highest league finishes in years, and completing the double over bitter rivals Manchester United. Clearly the City hotseat isn’t one to get too comfortable in.

Now news has emerged that Sparky Hughes may not be making all of decisions after the clubs sold a player without his knowledge. Add to that the fact that the City owner, Thaksin Shinawatra, has apparently skipped court and has had a warrant issued for his arrest in his home country of Thailand.

Just what is going in at City? The season hasn’t even started yet and they’re in complete turmoil.

However, Hughes has dismissed reports that he’s on the verge of walking away from City, speaking on the club’s website:

There’s been a lot of rumours flying around but I am not going anywhere.

There is a job to do here and I am looking forward to it.

There is speculation around the club and that has been prevalent since I joined the club.

From my own point of view I am very focused on what I am about and what I aim to achieve here and that means success on the pitch.

Nothing whatsoever has changed in that respect and the football operation hasn’t changed since I signed for the club.

Nor has my relationship with Garry Cook and his team. We get on really well and continue to speak on a daily basis.

I am the guy that makes the decisions in relation to the football, and they make the decisions in relation to the running of the club.

There’s always a lot of betting on the first managerial casualty of the season, get your money on Sparky now I’d say!

Silva says no to Manchester United

David Silva, one of the stars of Spain’s victorious Euro 2008 team, has turned down Manchester United’s offer of joining the European Champions. United are desperate to bolster their attack with both Rooney and Ronaldo out for the start of the season, and Silva is the sort of attacking player that Sir Alex would dearly love at Old Trafford.

However Silva’s current employers, Valencia, have turned down the offer from United. According to reports, the £20 million rated striker would rather stay at Valencia, and would only consider leaving for either Real Madrid or Barcelona.

Julio Llorente, Silva’s agent, stated:

United made an offer for David Silva, but this has been turned down by Valencia.

Silva doesn’t want to play in England because he is happy at Valencia. His family are settled and if he was to move it would only be to another Spanish club, like Real Madrid or Barcelona.

David Silva will start the new season at Valencia.

Silva has been linked with a host of clubs during the summer since his performances in the European championships. However he looks unlikely to move on as his current contract has another five years to run. Valencia don’t have to sell him, so any team wanting to prise him away would have to come up with a very big offer.

United win the season curtain raiser

Manchester United triumphed in an uneventful opener to the Premier League season by defeating FA Cup holders Portsmouth 3-1 on penalties.

United had much the better of the game, dominating Pompy at times, but couldn’t make the most of their chances. In the shootout in was Portsmouth who faltered in front of goal, missing three penalties, handing victory to the Premiership champions.

For United, both Darren Fletcher and Carlos Tevez missed gilt edged chances for United, with David James in fine form. With Rooney and Ronaldo both absent today, and from the first game of the season next Sunday against Newcastle, it was clear from today’s performance that United need more firepower upfront.

Giggs was partnering Tevez in attack, but made little impact on the Portsmouth defence. Creating chances wasn’t United’s problem; it was finishing them they were having trouble with.

Nani looked impressive the whole game, but all too often his work lacked an end product.

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