West Ham vs Chelsea highlights

It's getting ridiculous...

Snaps From History Part III

This Saturday Chelsea will take on Arsenal. Since their first encounter in1907 Chelsea and Arsenal have maintained a healthy rivalry. October 1935 is a perfect picture of this rivalry In honour of this I thought I would post this quick snap of Stamford Bridge circa 1935. The attendance of the match was 82,905, the biggest Stamford Bridge had seen! It was also the second highest attendance for a First League match at the time. In Fact to put it into context our lowest attendance of the season was 11,701 when Evert on paid a visit.

For those interested the matched ended Arsenal 1 Chelsea FC. Lets hope for better this time!

 82,905 crowd at Chelsea v Arsenal, 1935

One of the most interesting facts I've found about the stadium at the time is that, as a result of the diversification of stadiums of the time Stamford Bridge was also home to a greyhound kennels behind the North Stand. Some sources I've found even say that some players were employed in the kennels!

Snaps From History Part II

Ted Drake's Influence

In 1952 ex-Arsenal centre forward took over the reigns of management at Chelsea. Drake not only helped to guide the team to their first ever league Championship but also oversaw the construction of a totally new Chelsea FC.

Ridding Chelsea of the pensioners crest and the nickname that accompanied it, Drake turned Chelsea FC from a relatively amateurish institution into Championship winning material.

Drake, for the first time, introduced scouting reports and new training regimes focusing on fitness and ball work. The clubs tendency to spend erratically on big names was also halted and Drake's knowledge of the lower league players was put to good use. Lesser known, more reliable players were introduced. The likes of John McNichol, Frank Blunstone, Derek Saunders, Jim Lewis and Peter Sillett bought some consistency and by 1953 Chelsea FC were experiencing there most successful period in history (Until Jose!).
 
Looks like we have one thing to thank Arsenal for!

1905-1952

1953-1986

1952-53

Oscar vs Juventus

Given his brilliant debut I've done some searching and found a video of his highlights...here it is Oscar vs Juventus.






Feel Free to comment, love to see your preferred starting line up since this sensational debut!

Chelsea Vs Juventus Highlights

szólj hozzá: C2-2J www.fasthighlights.com

Snaps From History

Being a history graduate I've felt pretty bad about totally neglecting my degree subject over the past few months. Thats why I've decided to start uploading some snaps from the history of Chelsea FC. Every week or so I'll try to get a new one up (until I run out of pictures). Hope you guys enjoy them!

The 1939 North Stand (Pre-war development), demolished in 1975. The East stand was demolished in 1993. Looks a world away from the stadium today!

Chelsea Fifa Ratings

Just found the full squad rating for Chelsea FC on FIfa 13. Can't wait for the release though I really don't understand some of the changes. Ivanovic and David Luiz being downgraded really stumped me. 

There are still some adjustments that might be made and some that will be made e.g. Meireles will be removed. 

GK

Hillaro-GK- 72-Downgraded

Ross Turnbull-GK- 72-Downgraded

Petr Cech-GK- 84-Same

Jamal Blackman-GK- 58-Not included previously

DF

Branislav Ivanovic-RB- 82-Downgraded

John Terry-CB- 84-Downgraded

David Luiz-CB- 79-Downgraded

Nathan Ake-CB- 59-Not included previously

Ryan Bertrand-LB- 71-Upgraded

Billy Clifford-RB- 57-Upgraded

Gary Cahill-CB- 79-Same

Paulo Ferraria-RB- 73-Downgraded

Ashley Cole-LB- 84-Same

Daniel Pappoe-CB- 56-Not included previously

Cesar Azpilicueta-RB- 76-Same

M

Oscar-CAM- 80-Upgraded 

Frank Lampard-CAM- 83-Downgraded

Oriol Romeu-CDM- 72-Downgraded

Jon Obi Mikel-CDM- 80-Downgraded

Ramires-CM- 81-Upgraded

Juan Mata-CAM- 86-Same

Eden Hazard-LW- 87-Upgraded

Marko Marin-CAM- 78-Same

Florent Malouda-LW- 81-Downgraded

Victor Moses-RW- 75-Upgraded

Daniel Sturridge-RW- 78-Downgraded

Lucas Piazon-LW- 61-Upgraded

ST

Patrick Bamford-ST- 61-Upgraded

Jhon Pirez-ST- 59-Not included previously

Adam Coombes-ST- 58-Not included previously 

Fernando Torres-ST- 85-Upgraded

Players on Loan according to ChelseaFC.com

Romelu Lukaku-ST- 74-Downgraded

Thiabaut Courtois-GK- 79-Upgraded

Thorgan Hazard-CAM- 61-Upgraded

Tomas Kalas-CB-72- Upgraded

Sam Walker-GK- 60-Upgraded

Archange Nkumu-CB- 56- Not included previously

Rohan Ince-CB- 57-Upgraded

Amin Affane-LM-61- Not included previously

Nathaniel Chalobah-CB- 60-Upgraded

Ben Gordon-LB- 62-Same

Connor Clifford-CM- 60-Same

Ulises Davilla-Cam- 67-Upgraded

Milan Lalkovic-ST- 65-Upgraded

Jeffery Bruma-CB- 72-Same

Patrick Van Aanholt-LB- 69-Downgraded

Gael Kakuta-CAM- 69-Same

Sam Hutchinson-RB- 63-Upgraded

Josh Mceachran-CM- 71-Downgraded

Kevin De Bruyne-CAM- 78-Upgraded

Michael Essien-CDM- 82-Downgraded

Yossi Benayoun-CAM- 78-Same

Check out the stats for yourself here : http://www.ea.com/uk/football/creation-centre

Turnbull Cam

It's pretty well known that Man City have some of the best PR videos online. However, Chelsea's aren't half bad either! I love seeing these behind the scenes videos and hope you enjoy them too, although I'm not to crazy about Ross Turnbull's cameraman skills, I guess that's one of the main things we will miss without Kalou!

David Beckham on Chelsea

Chelsea TV interviewed Beckham after the match last night and I've managed to track down a bit of that interview. The MLS star only had good words to say about us!

MLS All Stars vs Chelsea Highlights

Prior to the match Roberto Di Matteo let the Chelsea fans know he had planned to use this match to give some of the more experienced players a run out. Barring Cech, who had the match off, he stuck to this. Although Chelsea didn't perform to their best Roberto and Chelsea seem happy with their performance as the match was seen as a way of refreshing some player who hadn't yet played. Hopefully we will be seeing more of the younger players again soon.
 Here are the respective line ups:

MLS All-Stars (4-4-2 Nielsen (Kennedy h-t); Beitashour, Collin (Valdes 35), DeMerit, Morrow (Corrales 55); Beckham (Farfan 21), De Rosario (c), Alonso (Beckerman 55), Donovan (Pontius h-t); Henry (Zusi 55), Wondolowski (Johnson 59).

Goals Wondolowski 20, Pontius 72, Johnson 90 


Chelsea (4-3-3): Hilario (Turnbull h-t); Ivanovic, Cahill (Chalobah 74), Terry (David Luiz h-t), Cole (Ferreira h-t); Essien (Mikel 60), Lampard (Meireles 60); Ramires (Hazard 60), Marin (Piazon 60), Benayoun (Malouda h-t); Lukaku (De Bruyne 74).

Goals Terry 30, Lampard 57

Referee Baldomero Toledo





Chelsea vs MLS - www.EUROSOCCERWEB.com by TenMillionSlaves

 OR 

 

Chelsea Vs PSG

Chelsea's second pre-season friendly came to a close last night with new boys and old boys alike getting a good run out. As the rumor mill of Oscar's transfer continues to churn it was his young Brazilian counterpart; Piazon, who stole the show last night.

It goes to show how good PSG were in the first half that even I, an enthusiastic Chelsea fan, can admit they were by far the better of the two teams in the first 45 minutes. Within 3 miniutes Lavezzi had managed to fire a clear goal opportunity straight at Cech. Lavezzi was once again let through, this time opting to knock the ball past Cech but stumbled in the process. was  It was by the 29th minute that Pastore managed to latch onto a stunning backheel and strike Cech's right post, this deflected into the path of Nene who fired into the knees of David Luiz and then into the net.
 
The second half was much brighter for the blues with both Hazard and Ivanovic seeing decent chances go begging. On the 82 minute, after several changes to both Chelsea and PSG, the all brazilian duo of Ramieres and Piazon combined nicely on the edge of the box. Piazon playing the ball to the right for Ramieres to take in his stride and play the ball back into the box to Piazon who'd continued his run and was able to slot the ball into the bottom left of the net.

This was only Piazon's second game for Chelsea's senior team and although the game was only a friendly his movement off the ball and vision to calmly finish is evidence that Piazon could be a great prospect in the next few years.

Chelsea (4-2-3-1):
Cech (Turnbull 62); Hutchinson (Chalobah 62), Cahill (Terry 62), David Luiz (Ivanovic h-t), Ferreira (Cole 62); Mikel (McEachran 62), Lampard (c) (Essien h-t); Kakuta (Ramires h-t), Hazard (Malouda 62), De Bruyne (Marin h-t); Lukaku (Piazon 62).
Goal:
Piazon 82.
Booked:
Mikel 58.

PSG (4-1-2-1-2):
Douchez; Jallet (c), Alex, Sakho, Armand; Bodmer; Chantome, Pastore; Nene; Gameiro, Lavezzi.

PSG second half (4-3-3):
Douchez (Areola 80); Bisevac, Lugano, Camara (c), Tiene; Chantome (Rabiot 63), Verratti, Maxwell; Pastore, Hoarau, Luyindula.
Goal:
Nene 29.
Booked:
Lavezzi 7, Sakho 40, Verratti 59.

Referee: Edvin Jurisevic.
Attendance 38,202.

Oscar and Chelsea

As several media outlets (including Sky Sports) begin to report a deal between International's Oscar and Chelsea to be nearing completion there are two main questions I would like to dissect; 'How will he fit the system?' and 'Is he needed?'

Firstly how will he fit? 

With Oscar's general positioning for club and country being slightly different it is already clear to most his potential to play many different roles within the Chelsea setup. In terms of general AM play, Oscar's composure on the ball and eye for the killer pass make him just as likely as Hazard, Mata, Marin and De Bruyne to start matches. I would argue that although he played a similar role to Mata this season for International, his real potential for Chelsea may lay in an ability and desire to drop back to receive the ball deep, this he displayed in his last 4 matches for Brazil.

Most pundits and journalist I've come across are predicting Chelsea to start with a 4 2 3 1 formation. Assuming this is correct the obvious line up would would see Oscar starting behind the striker with Mata and Hazard playing tight on the flanks. The two DM positions to be filled by Lampard, Meireles, Mikel, McEachran and, assuming he is fit, Essien; leaving De Bruyne and Marin as squad players. Although strong, to my mind this could still lack creativity in the midfield with the 3 most creative players pushing up leaving gaps between the lines. The lack of creativity combined with the age of Lampard and injury prone nature of Essien leave the position of DM lacking real quality. Oscar's natural ability and composure on the ball could see him dropping back to be an effective deep lying creative option. Much like Modric, Pirlo or Xavi, if Oscar can develop his physic (which there is plenty of time for) he could be the missing player Chelsea's midfeild have been looking for. Playing a more deep lying role this would leave players like Lampard and Essien as becoming more squad and utility players, given their age this should not have be a surprise to anyone.

Whatever is decided about Oscar's postion and however he may develop it is clear that Chelsea now have a wealth of creative talent in the AM and wide positions, all of whom should be able to link and swap roles fluidly given the nature of their styles. 

Is he needed?

Much like the last, this question is one more of opinion and 'time will tell' than fact. If Oscar is able to develop into a deep lying creative player, we may look back on his purchase and claim it to be one of the most important Chelsea signatures of the last few years. However it is tempting to look at the team sheet and argue that if he doesn't play as a creative DM then his ability may be going to waste as a squad player, regularly being rotated. Both Hazard and Mata can play the AM role just as well as Oscar and some pundits may look at the signing and say Chelsea should have signed a right back, especially if players like Sturridge, Lakaku, Piazon, and Kakuta are not loaned out. 

There is no doubting Oscar is a talented and versatile player, capable of becoming key for Chelsea or simply drowning in a squad of extreme depth. My hope for Chelsea and Oscar is that he can develop into the creative DM Chelsea need and that some of the fringe players (Kakuta, Piazon, Lakaku) are loaned out to develop their skills until they can realistically fight for regular positions.