Luiz Felipe Scolari will be formally announced as Chelsea’s new manager on 1st July – will this mean sweeping changes, including a new captain? [Read the rest of this entry »]

John Terry might have captained Chelsea during the managerial years of Jose Mourinho, yet [Read the rest of this entry »]

While John Terry gets most of the defensive plaudits from UK-based newspapers, who like to describe the whinging toddler as a warrior, hero and lots of other ridiculous things, one of the main reason why Chelsea are so stout at the back is down to Ricardo Carvalho, his partner in crime. The Portuguese defender might be a bit dirty, but he sure is effective and it’s little surprise to see Jose Mourinho over at Inter Milan declaring an Interest in Ricky.

The Guardian report that the pair are close and that the centre-half has expressed a desire to play under his former manager in Italy. Which would come as a crushing blow to the Stamford Bridge club, despite some papers having you believe that ‘JT’ could cover two positions!

“I would love to play for Mr Mourinho again,” the defender said in Switzerland as he prepared for today’s Euro 2008 encounter between Portugal and the Czech Republic. “The majority of the trophies I’ve won in my career were with him.

“Sometimes a player needs a new challenge,” said Carvalho. “Having said that, I have a contract with Chelsea and I am happy there. I will talk to [the chief executive] Peter Kenyon after Euro 2008 and we will see what happens.”

Interesting words from Carvalho, who cost the Blues nearly £20million when he arrived from Porto four years ago. They have certainly got their money’s worth from the defender, although the signs are that he’s interested in jumping ship, leaving a yawning chasm in the Chelsea defence.

Is Michael Essien the most underrated player in the Premier League? He certainly deserves more of the credit for Chelsea’s recent success, compared to Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard and John Terry. The Ghanaian will hope that his being deployed as a right-back has come to an end, now that Bosingwa is on the scene, why else would he have signed a brand new deal at Stamford Bridge?

Sky Sports report that Blues fans will be relieved that speculated Interest from new Inter boss Jose Mourinho has come to nothing, and that one of their most important players will stay put.

“I will go back to Chelsea for the next season and expect to have a great season,” he said in the Sunday Mirror.

“We have shown as a club that we can handle disappointments, and I think we will be able to bounce back next season a better side.

“Most of the guys have gone on holidays and they will put the disappointment of the last season behind them.”

With Cristiano Ronaldo umming and aahing over a move to Real Madrid, Manchester United may no longer be a one-man band next season and they’d be considerably weaker as a result. Are Chelsea the favourites to win back the Premier League and perhaps even land the Champions League with their bottomless pot of cash?

Or does it not really matter whether a football club is prepared to bung a few extra quid in your pay packet when you’re positively rolling in it anyway? The Daily Mirror report that desperate times call for desperate measures and the Blues, fearful of a certain Portuguese football manager in charge of Internazionale, have offered Frank Lampard a whacking great salary to stay at Stamford Bridge. Will it be enough to keep a roof over the midfielder’s head?

Frank Lampard has been offered a new £130,000- a-week contract by Chelsea.

The Stamford Bridge club made the offer in a desperate bid to keep the England midfielder.

The new deal would put the 29-year-old’s pay on a par with John Terry’s, although the Chelsea captain has a longer contract.

Ultimately, while money talks in some instances, Lamps might have already made his mind up to leave London and join his old chum Mourinho in Italy. He’s been at Chelsea for a good few seasons and, after winning the Premier League a couple of times and featuring in a Champions League final, a change of scenery might be required at this stage of his career.

Fabio Capello has adopted the role of generous grandfather ahead of England’s crucial and desperately important friendly against the footballing superpower that are the United States of America. The BBC report that the Italian is going to allow the likes of Frank Lampard and John Terry the opportunity to open a whole can of ‘whup-ass’ on their opponents in a bid to help them forget their woes at missing out on the Carling Cup, Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League this season. What a kind-hearted old codger he is!

“I’m very happy to see Lampard in the midfield because I think he’s a very important player for us.

“For Chelsea players it is very important to play and forget the last game in Moscow.”

Meanwhile, he’s also revealed that Wayne Rooney will be getting a partner in crime up front against the States, rather than playing the Manchester United striker in a lone role. Who will be the lucky one out of Peter Crouch, Dean Ashton, Jermain Defoe or Gabriel Agbonlahor that is going to terrorise the most powerful nation in the world?

“It is very important for me to see Rooney not as the first but the second striker,” Capello told BBC Five Live.

It will be just typical of an England team that hasn’t qualified for Euro 2008 to go out all guns blazing on Wednesday night and beat USA 5-0 or something. Or will it just be the customary struggle to a 2-1 victory?

It appears that crying gets you everywhere as far as international football is concerned. Despite being involved in a number of unsavoury incidents this season (on and off the pitch), it appears that John Terry could be leading out the England team against Trinidad and Tobago on Saturday.

The Times reports that the Chelsea skipper was nothing short of distraught after his penalty miss in the Champions League final and the Italian manager of England (a contradiction in terms) might look to boost his morale by giving him the armband. Sympathy vote or what?

Fabio Capello, the England manager, is leaning towards giving John Terry a badly-needed lift after his Champions League final trauma by naming him as captain for the friendly against the United States on Wednesday. Capello is concerned that Terry is still suffering a crisis of confidence after the penalty miss that cost Chelsea the biggest prize in European club football.

It’s unclear as to whether Capello is a big fan of ‘Have I Got News For You’, where the quizmaster is rotated on a weekly basis. However, it doesn’t appear to be doing anyone any favours with this crazy policy of ‘guest captains’ for each match. It’s also questionable as to whether Terry is in a sound enough mental state to be captaining his country after the events of last week.

For the minority of people who actually feel a degree of sympathy for John Terry after hitting the post with his penalty on Wednesday night, perhaps this footage might sway things a little. It appears that the Chelsea captain, who’s been described as a man’s man (whatever that means), decides to get up close and personal with Carlos Tevez. Yet again, this colossus of a man truly does lead by example!

The Daily Telegraph report that while Terry denies that he spat at the Argentine, there could be trouble ahead for the defender with UEFA investigating the matter. It had all kicked off when Tevez kicked the ball out of play rather than knock it back to Petr Cech, and culminated in Drogba slapping Vidic and getting himself sent off.

Terry said: “There was some pushing and shoving, I admit that.

“But no spitting, that is not my style. No way would I spit at another player.”

TV pictures appear to show Terry raising his arm and spit in the direction of Tevez, but Chelsea are demanding proof from Tevez in a bid to clear his name.

UEFA spokesman William Gaillard said: “The procedure is that we must wait for the report from the referee and UEFA delegates.

“If the referee says he saw the incident and that the player did not spit, then that will be the end of the matter.

“But if he says he did not see the incident, then we will go back to the video images.”

It’s truly hard to judge whether Terry did indeed spit at Tevez, although once again the former England captain has landed himself in a spot of bother. Yes, he may be a decent player but he’s also something of a bully and a thug, especially when a situation calls for calm heads.

Goodness me, there’s having a little cry and there’s letting it all hang out in front of roughly half the world’s population. As REM sang ‘everybody hurts sometimes’ and John Terry must surely still be reliving the moment when he slipped on the Moscow turf, hit the post with his penalty and saw Chelsea’s Champions League dreams disappear into thin air.

We all know that it wasn’t Terry’s fault that the Blues lost out and he really shouldn’t be beating himself up so badly. After all, Nicolas Anelka missed from the spot and he’s a striker, not a central defender. However, it’s going to take a while for the man people call ‘JT’ to get over this miss, perhaps it’s a good job that England aren’t featuring in Euro 2008, where a shoot-out is always likely.

The Guardian report that Terry has received some comforting words from none other than Sebastian Coe. The double Olympic gold medallist is urging the skipper to consign Wednesday night’s events into the past and look to the future, it’s only just begun apparently.

“If I could tell him one thing it would be to forget it,” Coe said. “It’s over, it’s history, and just be relieved that it happened for your club rather than in a World Cup final for England. To all Chelsea supporters the guy is a total hero and nothing will have altered because of last night. I’m just sorry it had to happen to him.”

Nevertheless, they say what goes around comes around and Terry’s previous altercation with Tevez did not exactly endear him to the hearts of neutrals. Many people with no allegiance to Manchester United appear to be deriving joy from ‘Mr Chelsea’s’ miss and Didier Drogba’s red card, with the pair both involved in many unsavoury incidents this season.

Or are you still laughing after John Terry missed from the penalty spot in Moscow last night? Although it also took a missed kick from Nicolas Anelka to ensure the spoils went to Manchester United, it was the central defender who had the opportunity to win the Champions League for Chelsea. Oh boo hoo hoo John! The Daily Telegraph report that Avram Grant is refusing to lay the blame squarely at his captain’s feet – which is fair enough as Penalties are always something of a lottery anyway.

“Terry is the main reason we are here, it is a difficult time, he is part of the team,” said Grant. “The team played excellently, I am very proud, he was great all season, great in the semi-final and this game. He is the reason they didn’t create any chances – I feel sorry for him and the team.

“John didn’t say anything – he was very sad, he cried. Whenever we need him as a captain this season he took responsibility. He slipped, it happens.”

So much for the proud warrior that is John Terry. Last night, he amounted to nothing more than a big girl’s blouse by blubbing his way through the ceremony and getting Peter Kenyon’s expensive suit even wetter than the rain had. There can be little sympathy for a team who have not always played the game in the right spirit this season and have some of the most despicable players in the Premier League.

Sir Alex Ferguson claimed it was fate that saw the Premier League champions stuff even more silverware into their trophy cabinet on Wednesday evening. It is exactly 50 years after the Munich air disaster and it was rather fitting that Sir Bobby Charlton was involved in the presentation ceremony, a true Manchester United legend that none of the team have yet come close to emulating.

However, were the Red Devils really the best team in Europe this season? They were second best for much of the final against Chelsea, eeked past a sub-standard Barcelona team in the semi-finals and struggled at home to Roma in the last eight stage. The Press Association reports that Fergie is sticking to the fate theory.

Ferguson said: “We had a cause which was very important. People with causes are difficult to battle against and I think fate was playing its part. I feel very, very proud.”

He added: “We’re delighted. It’s my first victory in a penalty shootout apart from the Charity Shield. I’ve lost three with Aberdeen and three with United so this is seventh time lucky.

“The slip by (John) Terry gave us an opening and I thought we would win it then.

“We were fantastic in the first half but the goal gave them an impetus and they were the better team in the second half. But in extra-time I think we were the better team. It was tight and there were some fantastic moments.”

Were United the better team in the final? While they could have been out of sight by half-time, especially if Carrick had found the top corner with his shot, the Blues were much stronger after the interval, hitting the woodwork twice and looking the likelier winners before the penalty shoot-out.

A penalty shoot-out is the sort of thing that separates the men from the boys. As a player, do you put your name forward as someone who can beat the keeper from twelve yards, or do you instead hide behind Frank Lampard and hope nobody notices you?

It appears that there were a few shirkers on Wednesday evening in the Chelsea camp. Setanta report that John Terry was not in the original list of penalty takers for the Blues and, while Drogba’s red card saw the captain shunted up the pecking order, there may have been one or two players that should have been stepping up to the plate first.

“John was not in the first five but when it comes to take them, somebody might say ‘I don’t feel well, I prefer somebody else take it’,” said Ten Cate.

“John was not in the first five to take a kick but things change during a game.

“Some people feel sick and the sending off of Drogba made us change it.

“It’s unbelievable this should happen to him though. We practiced Penalties so much all last week and he was very confident. We were all confident.”

Ballack, Belletti, Lampard and Ashley Cole were the first four spot-kick takers, before Terry smashed his shot against the post. One might have expected Saloman Kalou to have been involved before his captain, while Michael Essien is renowned for having a powerful shot. Aside from the Ghanaian, there was only Carvalho and Cech who didn’t step up to the plate, with Drogba having had his marching orders in extra-time.

Avram Grant, John Terry and Michael Ballack are all confident that Wigan are going to try their level best against Manchester United on Sunday. Or at least they have stated this in public. Why shouldn’t Manchester United be asking the same of Bolton Wanderers, who now travel to Chelsea knowing that they will be playing in the Premier League next season?

Nevertheless, the Daily Telegraph report that Wigan boss Steve Bruce has cited two million reasons for his team to beat the Red Devils on Sunday. It’s hardly convincing as an argument, especially when put up against the motivation for their opponents to land the three points.

Bruce, who helped United to win three Premier League titles during his nine years with the club, said: “We’ve got to be professional and we will be. The difference between finishing two places in the Premier League these days is almost £1.5 million.”

Wigan were floundering in the lower reaches of the top flight when Bruce took over and he’d certainly have bitten your hand off if you’d offered him Premier League safety at the end of the season. Therefore, while there may be a couple of million to play for, it’s only the same as what the Latics manager might expect to receive for keeping the Lancashire club afloat. We should also remind you of Sir Alex Ferguson’s tendency to phone his former player earlier in the season.

Chelsea will be hoping that Wigan deliver a similar performance to that which beat Villa 2-0 last Saturday, although the six matches between the two teams have yielded the same result every time and it’s extremely difficult to see any other outcome on Sunday.

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Read a newspaper, watch a TV channel or talk to a random in a pub and you’ll hear the same talk about whether Avram Grant will stay on as Chelsea manager by the end of the season? Where did this speculation start? When the Blues lost the Carling Cup final to Tottenham in February? Has it been fuelled by some of the Israeli’s recent substitutions during a game, despite many of them helping to change the match?

It appears that ever since Grant decided to give some ill-advised monosyllabic responses to the press pack after his team had drawn 1-1 with Wigan (imagine if they had won that match!), the talk has been of Mourinho’s replacement not being able to handle the pressure of managing a big club. Ireland Online reports that captain John Terry is baffled by the rumours.

“Avram plays a massive part along with the players, Steve Clarke, Henk ten Cate, the fans and everyone at the club. It is a credit to ourselves and the way we have dealt with things this year because at times it has not been easy.

“I think he (Grant) deserves respect and rightly so. It is the first time in the club’s history we have got to a Champions League final – it has never been done by any manager or set of players before and he does deserve it.

“To get to where we are and still question the manager’s role at the club is unbelievable. But it is not just the manager, it is the players, and Henk and Clarkie, who have a big role to play behind the scenes. They keep players motivated. We have got such a big squad of players and they manage to keep those not playing motivated and that is a credit to them.”

Tabloid journalists aren’t dumb and it’s clear that many are changing their tune to cover previous comments about Grant being out of his depth as Chelsea manager. Readers also easily forget previous criticisms made by hypocritical reporters, who are bordering on racist with some of the things that they have said about Avram Grant. Sure enough, he may not be a smooth talker, a snappy dresser or have charisma in abundance. But he’s worked damn hard to get this Blues team on the verge of Premier League and Champions League success this season.

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Especially the decision to not include a single Chelsea player in the line-up? After all, this is a team which could still quite feasibly win the Premier League title, while they are favourites to beat Liverpool and make it to the Champions League final.

Team: James (Portsmouth); Sagna (Arsenal), Ferdinand, Vidic (Man U), Clichy (Arsenal); Ronaldo (Man U), Gerrard (Liverpool), Fabregas (Arsenal), Young (Villa); Adebayor (Arsenal), Torres (Liverpool).

Are there any glaring omissions from the XI selected? Naturally, these things are always subjective, although it’s difficult to argue that any of the above haven’t stood out for their teams this season. Chelsea’s Frank Lampard and John Terry might have had more of a look-in if they hadn’t been injured for chunks of the season, while the likes of Joleon Lescott, Gareth Barry and Glen Johnson have all performed extremely well for their respective clubs.

Who would feature in your team of the season?

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