Regular Readers

Hey, Everyone. Well I've been doing this for almost 2 months and I am curious how many readers I have. I want to see if it is worth it to keep writing in this blog or not, because it takes about an hour a day just to update all the news. So if your a regular reader or just like my blog please comment below.

Thanks,
John

Middlesbrough v Chelsea: Preview

Premier League
10:00 ET - The Riverside Stadium
Middlesbrough v Chelsea


Team Stat Comparison
Middlesbrough Chelsea
Matches Played 9 9
Table Position 15 7
Points 8 15
Goal Difference -6 0
Goals for* 1.8 0.8
Goals against* 1.5 1.2
Last 5 L-L-D-L-W W-D-L-D-L
Last 5 home D-W-D-L D-D-W-W
Last 5 away L-L-L-W-L W-L-L-D-W
* goals per match - home matches for home club and away matches for away club
· Club Stats: Middlesbrough | Chelsea
Club Leaders
Middlesbrough Chelsea
Goals Stewart Downing 3 Frank Lampard 3
Reds Didier Drogba 1
Yellows George Boateng 3 Ricardo Carvalho 3

Last Five Matches in Competition
Middlesbrough Chelsea
@Man City 3-1 @Bolton 0-1
@Everton 2-0 Fulham 0-0
Sunderland 2-2 @Man Utd 2-0
@West Ham 3-0 Blackburn 0-0
Birmingham 2-0 @Aston Villa 2-0
· Club Results: Middlesbrough | Chelsea
Next Five Matches in Competition
Middlesbrough Chelsea
10/20 Chelsea 10/20 @Middlesbrough
10/27 @Man Utd 10/27 Man City
11/3 Tottenham 11/3 @Wigan
11/11 @Bolton 11/11 Everton
11/24 Aston Villa 11/24 @Derby

Squads
Middlesbrough (from): Schwarzer, Young, Taylor, Wheater, Woodgate, Boateng, Rochemback, O'Neil, Downing, Tuncay, Mido, Lee, Craddock, Jones, Steele, Davies, Riggott, Hines, Owens, Cattermole.

Chelsea (from): Cech, Cudicini, Hilario, Ferreira, Belletti, Alex, Ben-Haim, Obi, Lampard, Essien, Kalou, Shevchenko, Sidwell, J Cole, Malouda, Drogba, Pizarro, Wright-Phillips, Carvalho, Sinclair.

John Terry out 3 weeks

John Terry will miss 3 weeks with a knee injury that will require surgery. Terry was injured in the 2-1 loss to Russia in an England Euro 2008 Qualification game.


Avram Grant Spoke to the media bout the injury. Saying:

"John Terry had an operation today and will be out for two or three weeks," said Grant.

"John had a problem and tried his best to be available for the national team

but in the last moment of the training, he got injured again.

"He had the operation today and I hope everything will be well. Ashley Cole is

injured as well.

"I want all the players to be fit, especially John Terry. But we have a big

squad and we need to handle this.

"Chelsea are not a one-man team but John is important. But it has happened and we need to play and win games without him."

This is a huge blow for us. We are already missing Ashley Cole for 3 months and now we are missing another defender for a lengthy amount of time.

Scholes is a believer!

With all the "non believers" out there right now, it is hard to find someone who still thinks we have a chance. But Paul Scholes in an interview has talked about how Chelsea are still a good team and can still challenge for a title. Saying:

'Having big names like Drogba and Lampard back will make a massive difference to Chelsea,' he said.

'They both have a big influence, which is why Chelsea struggled to win without them.

'One they are settled in the team again, I am sure they will be up there challenging.'

Even though he is Manchester United player, I agree. Once we have gotten our feet back under us we will be challenging for the title.

Essien Speaks!

With Didier Drogba wanting to leave and disorder in the dressing room, we have at least have on player who still believes, and thats Michael Essien.

Michael Essien spoke about Chelsea's title chances, Jose Mourinho and the team. saying:

'Of course we can. We have the players and the team to do it, but we also know how hard it will be,' he said in this week's Sport Magazine.

'We were all very shocked to see Jose go, and I felt very sad about it, both personally and professionally,' added Essien.

'He was the manager who brought me to Chelsea and to the Premier League - he helped me a lot to develop as a player, so it has been difficult.

'But it's been a difficult few weeks for the team. We have to back our new manager, though, and go out and win games - for him, for us and for the fans.'

It's nice to hear that someone at Chelsea still believes, and who knows maybe more do then are expressing it. I think it was a good time for Essien to step up and speak, because right now with all the news about Drogba and all the other story's right now about how Chelsea have a bad vibe and have ruined the dressing room. It's also nice to know that he is happy at the club, because he was one of the players who was upset about Jose Mourinho leaving.

Ballack 'a few weeks' away

Michael Ballack is still a few weeks away from returning to Chelsea according to his docter. Ballack has been out since April with an ankle problem.

Muller-Wohlfahrt (Bayern Munich and Germany team doctor) has said:

'In close agreement with the English doctors, I think he will be training again in the foreseeable future.'

When asked to clarify 'the foreseeable future', Muller-Wohlfahrt added: 'I think it will be a few weeks.'

Although Chelsea club doctor Brian English admits that Ballack's return to full training is still some way off, he said: ' We are in constant dialogue with the German medical team and every stage of Michael's rehabilitation has been and will continue to be with the full co-operation between club and country.

'There is still some way to go before Michael can return back to full training and we will continue to monitor his injury situation on a daily basis during these final weeks of his rehabilitation.'

Florent Malouda Interview with ESPN Soccernet

Disturbed and upset by José Mourinho's departure from Chelsea, Florent Malouda, the Blues' main target last summer, logically questioned his future at Stamford Bridge.

But after a slight dip in confidence, the former Lyon winger has recovered to become a key player for Chelsea. The France international talks exclusively to ESPNsoccernet about his experiences at the Premier League club.



After Chelsea's last two wins against Valencia (2-1) and Bolton (1-0), can we say today that the club is back on track and not in crisis anymore?
No, we cannot. We can still get over the trouble we have been through but we have to work hard and give ourselves the tools of our ambition. There's no doubt about the quality of the players. We need a few wins in a row to close the gap in the Premier League and consistency is the key. Because we can beat anyone in one single game.

We have lost some confidence, we are still looking for the best chemistry. I feel now like we are on a kind of pre-season process and only good results will help us.

Can Chelsea still win the championship? Isn't it too late already?
No, it is not. But it won't be easy. I remember with Lyon we were once ten points behind Monaco and we ended up being champions (in 2003-2004). But it was the French Ligue 1 and I'm not sure we could have done the same here, where it is much different. It's very hard to come back from behind when you have around eight or ten points difference. We're not allowed any more mistakes and we can't rely on our opponents' eventual failure.

Honestly, right now we can't pretend we can win the Premier League considering our level. Even if we won in Valencia and Bolton, we are not dominating and we didn't really control the game.

How did you cope with Mourinho's departure?
His departure saddened me. A lot. For a while I even was very, very upset. He is the one who signed me and trusted me. I respect him a lot. But as a player, I need to respect the decision which has been made, try to forget about it and get back to work and be good on the pitch. What has been the most disturbing is the way Mourinho left his position and how I've been informed about it.

The night before, we were all at the screening of the movie (Blue Revolution) on Mourinho's time at Chelsea and what he has brought to the club. And the following morning I get a text message on my cell phone telling me he isn't the coach anymore. I felt like an orphan. Especially as I've just arrived in a new club in a foreign country and he was the one that made me come to London. I really felt like his departure was more a personal issue than anything else, the club wanted him out.

When you see Mourinho leaving and Drogba questioning his future at Stamford Bridge there are some reasons there to be worried no?
I asked myself many questions indeed. Mourinho was the main reason I came to Chelsea. Would I still be wanted after he left? I did wonder and I went to ask some questions to the most appropriate people at the club. They convinced me they are happy with my performances so far and I want to focus 100% on my job now. Although I'm a bit frustrated as I had the luck to enjoy Mourinho's coaching, but not enough.



What is so special about Mourinho's coaching?
He has this ability to be relaxed all the time, very confident about himself and the team and that has a very positive effect on the players. With him you feel stronger. He prepares everything from A to Z and knows how to stimulate you when needed. He is a special man.

Avram Grant's promotion has been a radical change, no?
It's different. He observes a lot and is more discreet.

What have you learned since you've been in England?
In Lyon, I was used to a more calculated game, slower. Here it goes faster and we have to take more risk. The physical involvement is total and we don't calculate as much as in France. Even when you're leading 1-0 you keep on playing to score another goal. When you go and play against the worst ranked team, in front of you they're ready to die on the pitch to beat you. It took me a while to adjust my game but I still always finish the game with pain somewhere in my body.

Have you already thought: 'I should have come earlier to England, I wasted a precious time in Lyon'?
I would have loved to come before but I didn't get the opportunity. I think I left France at the best time. I had played four years in Lyon and those were fantastic moments. I needed to live that. Without this experience I wouldn't have been able to play in a team like Chelsea now. I wouldn't have arrived there with the same confidence, the desire to exist in such a changing room and to contend for a starting spot.

Even if you have been elected best player of the French league, when you arrived in England they don't care about that. You start from ground zero and need to prove. Here, the French league is unknown anyway. Here you are more viewed as the player that did cost €20 millions, like Didier (Drogba) and Michael (Essien). But I deal with it, it's fine.

Drogba Wants To Leave

Didier Dgorba has voiced his frustration with the departure of Jose Mourinho in the past weeks, but today he has told he has told France Football that he wants to leave Chelsea saying:

"I want to leave Chelsea,"

"Nothing can stop me from leaving now. Something is broken with Chelsea.

"The damage in the dressing room is big because we know now what happened and who caused Mourinho's departure."

"I know that Ronaldinho and Kaka are linked to come next season but even that won't change my mind," he continued.

Well there is nothing really to speculate. He was pretty straight forward with saying that he would leave Chelsea next year. Now instead of bringing in a midfielder like Kaka, or Ronaldinho, we should start looking for a replacement striker.

Chelsea admit wrong doing at Old Trafford

On the 2-0 loss against Manchester United on September 23, the charges rooted form abuse towards Mike Dean after John bi Mikel's red card and Steve Clarke. Steve Clarke admittedly called the official "abusive and/or insulting words" after the 2-0 loss.

I remember watching this game and I thought that there behavior was disgraceful and they deserved to be punished. John Obi Mikel's red card may have been over reacting a bit on the officials part. But how the players all crowded around him and tried to pull the card out of his hand was terrible.

Blues News - 18.10.07

Skin by Wills and The Willing featuring Didier Drogba and Michael Essien

Skin by Wills and The Willing featuring Didier Drogba and Michael Essien


Michael Essien spoke to Chelsea FC.com about the song, Racism, and the team:

Michael Essien's versatility is well-known, but he has lent his talents to an altogether different cause, joining team-mate Didier Drogba as a backing vocalist on an anti-racism single released next week.

The two players, both of whom share a love for music, were alerted to the opportunity to work on the song, entitled 'Skin', with musician Ian Wills and his band The Willing, and promptly took up the offer.

'We recorded it some time last season,' Essien said, pleased that his musical talent is seeing the light of day. 'It was very good fun, my first time in the studio, and when I got there I was a little bit nervous, but they made me feel comfortable, and as I read the lines I felt better and we had more jokes.'

The inspiration for the song though is little laughing matter, and Essien knows how it feels to be the victim of racism, having suffered earlier in his career.

'It happened to me a few times in France, at my first club Bastia,' he recalled. 'I don't think these kinds of things affect me, I don't care. It's very stupid for some people to do that, but I just let it go and got on with the game.

'When people are angry they can say anything without thinking about it. I just let it go, and try to control myself.

'It's not a good thing, we are all human beings. It's only the colour that changes. If I can help fight against racism, why not?' he asked.

Essien hopes the song will get the message across about racism, and has not ruled out further involvement, both with the cause, and in the studio.

When asked if he would fancy another shot at being a vocalist, his answer was a positive one.

'Yeah, why not? If there is something happening and they call me I will do it,' he said, but did rule out the idea of an Essien solo track, saying: 'I don't think so, but if I can help I will!'

Back on the pitch, it has been a frustrating opening to the 2007/8 season for Africa's most expensive footballer, as he has struggled with a series of niggling injuries that have kept him out of three games already, including our most recent match, the 1-0 win up at Bolton 12 days ago.

In the time since, Essien, known in France as 'The Bison' for his trademark powerful displays, should have been on international duty with Ghana, but for various reasons he has been stationed at Cobham while many of his team-mates have been off across the globe.

Ghana were due to play an international friendly with Jamaica in London last week, but policing issues meant the game was switched to Essien's native Accra, before being called off altogether.

'I don't really know what happened,' he admits. 'I had a call saying the game has been moved from London to Ghana, and then secondly they told me it had been canceled. I didn't ask why, because I wasn't going to go as I was injured. I think there were some problems.'

This means Essien hasn't played since the win in Valencia over two weeks ago, but he has been keeping a keen eye on developments while his team-mates have been away.

Speaking prior to the midweek internationals, he said: 'I watched England at the weekend and I think they did really well, got three points, and had a good game.'


While watching the game, he was mystified as to the treatment dished out to one of his team-mates.

'I didn't like it when the fans booed Frank Lampard when he came on. I think Frank has been a fantastic player for club and country for so many years. He's been consistent for both. I don't know why, he's one of the best players in the world. He deserves better than this, and it's not going to help him or the other players, so people should stop,' Essien complained.

'England still have a chance to qualify for the European Championships, and Frank is a strong guy, very tough in the head, so I don't think it will affect him.'

Naturally, Michael has also kept an interest in the French team, especially as he has two Chelsea team-mates in the squad, and he isn't too sure why they have not had qualification sewn up just yet.

'I didn't see the game, but it was very bad for them to lose to Scotland,' he said, speaking on last month's Scottish victory in the Parc des Princes.

'Scotland played very well, and had six points off France, so have a chance. We joke sometimes, when we come back from the national teams, we'll talk about it for a few minutes and then concentrate on the club side.'

It has been an unusual and well-documented few weeks on the club side, with a change of management and slump in results followed up by two away victories, and Essien believes bright things are around the corner.

'It's been very interesting, so far so good,' he said of the new management. 'We've been unlucky sometimes, and we've drawn a couple of games. We can do better, and we have that belief. We have the players to do it, so hopefully things will be better soon.'

Of his own form, Essien is equally confident. Fit again after injury, he promises the Michael Essien we all know is ready to return.

'I've been out injured for a few games, but I'm ok, fit again, and hopefully I can stay fit. I'm not used to these injuries, so no more and I'll be back to my best,' he defiantly said.

Last season's Player of the Year will again be hoping to show the kind of form that won him such accolades, and if he does, he might just be singing again.

Skin by Wills and The Willing will be released on CD single, limited edition signed blue 7" vinyl and download next Monday (October 22), during a week of action by football's anti-racism and inclusion campaign, Kick It Out.

In the meantime, if you want a taster, you can watch the music video on YouTube.

The hope is to send this song to the top of the charts, raise money for the UK's largest children's cancer charity and make everyone aware that racism in today's society is completely unacceptable, all at the same time.

You can pre-order the CD from Amazon or pre-order the CD and limited signed blue vinyl from HMV.

New Feature added

I have added a helpful feature to my blog by adding a self updating league table. It can be seen at the bottom of the blog. This will be a lot better then copying and pasting it every week like I did for awhile there.

Ashley Cole Cole out for 12 Weeks

During a Euro 2008 qualifier Ashley Cole suffered ligament and muscle damage to his ankle and had to be carted off. Doctors have said that he will about for about twelve weeks.

I think this is a huge loss because we already have a lot of injuries to our defensive players and now we've lost one of our better defenders for three months.

Hiddink "Very Unlikely" to join Chelsea

Guus Hiddink has been in a lot of rumors about being the new manager of Chelsea, but for the first time he spoke to reporters about the subject. saying:

'I have met him five times: four times in London and once at the PSV (Eindhoven) training complex. As for all those stories about me being a candidate for the Chelsea job, we never discussed it.

'I know that you can never say never in football, but that option would not have made sense.

'We have a project to reshape Russian football by 2014, with the 2010 World Cup as the first phase. Given Abramovich's long-term commitment and vision, it seems very unlikely that he would try to disrupt that process.'

Hiddink, whose Russia side face England in a vital Euro 2008 qualifier in Moscow next week, believes the Chelsea shake-up of recent weeks is part of Abramovich's desire to see his side play attractive football.

'At Chelsea, Abramovich has invested a lot of money in players and not so much in longer-term development,' he added.

'And you need to be able to show the world that with the players that they have, you can get results, but that you can also play attractive football. I think he felt that the latter was missing.'

I really don't seem him wanting to come here as the manager. He knows that he would pretty much be Romans puppet. But don't get me wrong I would love to seem him here.

Makelele Speaks on Jose

Claude Makelele spoke about Jose Mourinho and said that it "destabilized" Chelsea.
Claude also said:

"When I extended my contract last summer, I had an agreement with Mourinho - he would play me for the most important matches but not every three days," he told L'Equipe.

"His departure has messed everything up. The team was suddenly left to itself.

"Coach Grant needed my experience, that's why he has played me often.

"Mourinho has created stability for three years. His departure has destabilised most of the players, especially the youngsters.

"It was very difficult. We had to be self-managing to rediscover Chelsea's fighting spirit - we had lost that a little."

Ten Cate to Sign with Chelsea.

Chelsea FC are expected to sign Henk Ten Cate from Ajax. He is expected to be the Assistant head coach. An official statement from Chelsea said.

"Chelsea... has reached agreement with Ajax for the release of Henk Ten Cate," the Premier League club said on their Web site (www.chelseafc.com).

"We expect to finalize his contract with Chelsea FC in the next 24 hours as assistant first team coach."

It seems like he will be good for us. Even though he had trouble at Ajax, but he was the mastermind behind Barcelona.

Chelsea 1 Bolton 0

It has never felt better to win a game. It seems like it's been forever since we won and we played a great game. I am really happy and it seems like having Frank Lampard helped us.