On May 3rd Last season Chelsea lost 0 v 2 at home to a rampant Newcastle (and two fantastic goals from Papiss Cisse). Now, less than four months later, normal service has been resumed.

When I saw the team sheet at the start of the match (with Terry, Lampard and Ramires out, and Luiz, Meireles and Bertrand in), I will admit to being a tad nervous. But as it turns out I needn't have worried, as (in the first 45 minutes at least) Newcastle were sluggish in the extreme, due to having played in the Europa League just two days before.

Chelsea duly took advantage of this lethargy by scoring through a penalty from Hazard (from a foul on Torres). And - just on the stroke of half time - Torres went one better and scored himself from the edge of the area (after a terrific back heel from...you guessed it...Hazard).

As in our last match against Reading, we were playing some really nice football against Newcastle, and I expected us to really go to town on the opposition in the second half to kill them off. But, just like against Reading, after going ahead against Newcastle we got stuck in second gear, and from that moment on, barely had a shot on goal.

Seems to me that when Hazard tires (as appears to happen about the 60 minute mark), Chelsea lose their spark, along with any semblance of creativity. And this is something that will come back and bite us on the nether regions if we are not careful. The great Man Utd and Arse teams of recent memory (okay, not so recent in Arsenal's case!) used to hammer opponents when they got the chance. Something that really helped their goal difference come the end of the season. Whereas we seem to think one or two goals is enough. Not really sure why this is except to say that it's a very Jose type of tactic to sit back and try to hit them on the break, once we've gone in front. And to my mind all it does is invite pressure.

Still, I guess I shouldn't complain, as we've played 3, won 3 and scored 8 goals. Of which Hazard has scored 1, won 2 penalties, and has 4 assists! Now I'm trying not to get carried away about the lad, as the season is long (and tiring), and great players can fade (Mata last season for example). But by gum this is the most excited I've been about a player we've signed in a long, long time.

Other things of note from this game: Ivanovic was looking much more solid after a dodgy game against Reading. Ramires is still looking well off the pace, and needs to rediscover his form of the end of last season, and quick. Or he'll spend most of his time on the bench. Torres is looking that little bit better as each match goes by. Luiz and Cahill worked well together. At least when Luiz wasn't doing his 'controlled by a 10 year old on playstation' impression, and charging up the field every two minutes (will he never learn?).

It was also nice to see Ryan Bertrand get another game, as he adds some solidity to our defense when he backs up Ashley Cole. But he needs to work on his crossing a lot more in training, as it was poor today.

KTBFFH!!! :)
Brian M Logan
ThatActionGuy.com
SEONorthSydney.com.au  

"Chelsea is delighted to announce the signing of Victor Moses from Wigan Athletic," read a statement on the club's official website. And well they might be!

21 year old Moses really caught my eye when we played against Wigan at the end of last season, but when I heard we were looking to buy him in this off-season I was a little conflicted. Not because I didn't think he was an excellent prospect, but because I thought (and still think) that if we bought Moses (cheap) we wouldn't buy Hulk (err...not so cheap). And I wanted us to get Hulk to add to our Samba revolution.

When we played Wigan at the DW Stadium last weekend, I made a point to watch him closely whenever he got on the ball, just to see how good the lad actually was. And the pros, let me tell you, certainly outweigh the cons. Sure, he has a tendency to run with his head down. But he consistently beat the last man (both Ivanovic and Cole were left red faced whenever he ran at them with the ball), he has a fierce shot from distance, and - THIS IS THE IMPORTANT BIT - he has a natural inclination to hug the wing. 

I point this bit out because all of our new creative players have a predisposition to coming inside. And a lack of width was one of our big problems last season. So having Victor Moses coming off the bench to run at tired defenders late in the game, will give us a dimension we've been sadly lacking.

Moses should, on talent and temperament, move above Sturridge in the striking / attacking midfielder, pecking order. So here's hoping Sturridge realizes this and pushes for a move before August 31st.

KTBFFH!!! :)
Brian M Logan
ThatActionGuy.com
SEONorthSydney.com.au  

Chelsea have signed Spanish right back Cesar Azpilicueta from Marseille for a fee of £6.5m. So that's one more box ticked before the end of the transfer window. (Here's hoping a right winger and a centre forward join him in the next six days!)

Azpilicueta, 22, who started his career with Osasuna, has played for his country at various youth levels (including at this year's London Olympics) and is probably being bought as a back-up to Ivanovic (who has scored 5 goals in the last 8 premier league games, by the way!), rather than as straight up 'competition'. 

For some reason Chelsea have not revealed the length of the Azpilicueta's contract, but we can expect it to be 5 years, given his age, and the fact Chelsea are buying his potential at this stage more than anything else.

A statement on Chelsea's official website read: "Chelsea is delighted to announce the signing of Cesar Azpilicueta. The 22-year-old right-back, who recently represented Spain at the London Olympics, arrives at Stamford Bridge following a two-year spell in France's Ligue 1 with Marseille."

Azpilicueta joined Marseille in 2010 from Osasuna, and made 69 appearances for the French team. He would have made more except he suffered a serious knee injury in his first season with them. But don't worry too much about his knee, as he came back from that injury and quickly established himself as Marseille's number one right back.

Azpilicueta is now Chelsea's fourth Spanish player, and with the help of Mata, Torres and Romeu, should bed down quickly. 

KTBFFH!!! :)
Brian M Logan
ThatActionGuy.com
SEONorthSydney.com.au  

Second game of the season and again Chelsea came out of the blocks like Usain Bolt. No wonder Roman is smiling! With some terrific interplay in the first fifteen minutes between our uber skilful front men, culminating in a great bit of individual trickery by Hazard winning us another penalty (which Lampard duly dispatched), we found ourselves 1 v 0 up within 18 minutes and looking like we were going to run away with things.

But then, out of nowhere, the game turned on its head. Pogrebnyak (who was giving Cahill and Terry a torrid time) scored a terrific header reminiscent of Chris Sutton's goal (yes he did score one, I didn't dream it!) back in 1999 against Man Utd (where, trivia fans, we ended their 29 game unbeaten run by thrashing them 5 v 0...but I digress...). And, four minutes later, a Cech howler from a Charlie Guthree free kick, and Reading were 1 v 2 up. A score that didn't remotely look like changing until Cahill fired in a speculative (and lucky) long range effort on 69 minutes to draw us level. By this stage RDM had made some very attacking substitutions and we were really going for it, and were either going to win the game, or be on the end of a hiding by throwing caution to the wind.

Then on 81 minutes, a terrific Chelsea move culminated in Cashley laying on a sweet ball that even Torres couldn't miss (yes he was off-side, but let's not get bogged down in the facts!) and we were 3 v 2 up. And then, in extra time, with their keeper up the field for a corner, Torres knicked the ball, passed it to Hazard (that man again) and with the goal at his mercy he PASSED THE BALL TO IVANOVIC so he could score instead. And in that moment, the Chelsea fans collectively fell in love with Hazard, and I found myself yelling at the screen, "That's how football's played, Sturridge. You PASS the damn ball you selfish twat!".*

Make no mistake, we didn't play well enough to win this game 4 v 2. But we did play some really nice, flowing football (albeit intermittently). So I'm taking a lot of positives out of this game.

Top of the table, for the first time since November, 2010. Long may it continue!


*Because not long after Sturridge came on mid-way through the second half, he again refused to pass to a teammate (Mata, who was in a much better position) and instead shot himself (and of course missed).  And quite frankly Sturridge is the most selfish player you'll ever see, and I for one can't wait for us to sell him (and I know most Chelsea fans feel the same way about him).

KTBFFH!!! :)
Brian M Logan
ThatActionGuy.com
SEONorthSydney.com.au  

So Chelsea have loaned out Josh McEachran to Middlesbrough until the end of the season? This after Romelu Lukaku was loaned out to WBA for the same period of time. 

Now, with our bloated midfield the loan of McEachran was inevitable, as his game time was going to be extremely limited if he'd stayed. But loaning him to a Championship side? Was that really the best option Josh could get? Sure he had an unsuccessful loan spell at Swansea last season, but dropping down a league will mean the players he's up against week in week out, aren't of the quality to really test him or help him get better. The flip side of this of course being that with 'Boro he should actually play week in week out, and that playing one league down should 'Toughen him up' (due to the physical nature of the Championship). Something that will help him when he comes back to us (as we hope he does).

All Chelsea fans (especially the British ones), love seeing home grown talent breaking through into the first team. But after initially bursting onto the scene, Josh's form (in the limited games he played) never really progressed. And the more you saw him play, the more you became aware of the areas of his game that needed work. Sure he's got a great eye for a pass and is assured when he's on the ball. But his positional sense is lacking and he gets dispossessed way too easily. Something that is disastrous if he's playing the role of a deep lying midfielder. 

But what of it I say? The kid's got bucket loads of talent and he's only 19. So here's hoping Josh returns a man rather than a boy. Because far too few British lads break through from the academy into the Chelsea first team, and Josh is one of the brightest prospects we've had in quite a while.

As for Lukaku, he was probably 6 feet tall and looked like a man when was 12, so that's not the issue! No, the issue with him is his inability to read the game (and make intelligent runs), and the fact that he's got an absolutely shocking first touch. 

Now I didn't see him play before he came to Chelsea, but five'll get you ten that he scored goals because he was so much bigger and stronger than kids his own age, rather than because he was a 'great' striker. But in the EPL brute strength can only get you so far, as central defenders are used to playing against that old fashioned 'Built like a brick sh*thouse' type of number 9. 

All that being said, Lukaku's a life long Chelsea fan, trained for a year with his idol (Drogba), and has bucket loads of potential. So let's hope he comes back next season bigger (is that even possible?!) and better than before. If anyone can get the best out of him it's Chelsea legend Steve Clarke.

KTBFFH!!! :)
Brian M Logan
ThatActionGuy.com
SEONorthSydney.com.au  

Now that's what I call a start! 

Within seven minutes of the first match of the new season Chelsea were up 0 v 2 against a sleepy Wigan team that were obviously suffering from early season nerves. The first goal was a terrific finish from Ivanovic, the second from a (slightly lucky) penalty from super Franky Lampard.

Ivanovic's lung busting run got him in the perfect position to get on the end of a defence-splitting pass from Hazard (who had spun his marker brilliantly). And it was also Hazard who was bundled over in the area to win us the penalty. So it's fair to say that Hazard looks well up for the EPL!

When you remember that the Latics have endured 6-0 and 8-0 defeats by Chelsea in recent seasons, the home fans at the DW Stadium must have feared the worst after Chelsea went 0 v 2 up so early on...but unfortunately those fears were unfounded, as our two goals were our only two shots for the rest of the first half. And, truth be told, the second half wasn't that much better. As Chelsea decided to stay in cruise control, rather than step it up a gear (or two) to finish off the game. (Have we learnt nothing about the importance of goal difference come the end of the season?)

The take out from this game is that Hazard ISN'T our new Robben (as many had hoped), but instead looks more like our new Joe Cole. Which is another way of saying he's a tricky player with a GREAT turn / turn of pace, rather than an explosive skillmeister who will take on (and beat) half a dozen players, ten times a match. Plus, he looks very unfit, and faded noticeably as the match wore on.

Other things that stood out in this match are that Oscar looked very comfortable in the traditional number 10 role (we've an embarrassment of riches in this position it seems), when he replaced Hazard mid-way through the second half. And that I see now why we're linked with Victor Moses. Because he popped up on both wings for Wigan today, looked comfortable with either foot, and made a COMPLETE MUG out of both Ashley Cole and Branislav Ivanovic ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS. So expect him to be a Chelsea player by the end of the next week. 

Prior to watching this match, I've always seen Moses as a 'Poor man's alternative to Hulk'. But on this form he could prove a whole lot more than that. Sure, he's still got a fair bit to learn, and his distribution leaves a lot to be desired. But eight to ten million pounds for a 21 year old with that much natural ability will be viewed as an absolute steal when we look back on the deal in years to come (so long as he lives up to his potential of course).

Where that leaves the Hulk deal, I've no idea. Because I can't see us buying both of them.

KTBFFH!!! :)
Brian M Logan
ThatActionGuy.com
SEONorthSydney.com.au  

Okay, so we had the Euros and the Olympics and a tour of the US to keep us occupied in the summer, but come on....let's be honest here. It's not the same as the footie season, now is it!

When Chelsea won the Champions League in May, many pundits suggested that Roman would rapidly lose interest in all things blue. But, with £65,500,000 being spent on transfers in the summer so far (with a couple of weeks of the transfer window still to go), Roman's interest in Chelsea is obviously alive and well.

Chelsea FC - 2012 / 2013 TransfersTo get a better idea of how Chelsea is going to do in the coming season, let's first take a look at our transfer dealings leading into the new campaign:

As you can see from the above graphic, it's very much a case of 'Out with the old, in with the new'. But, as exciting as some of these new signings are, two of them (Thorgan Hazard and George Brady), are 19 and 15 respectively. So are not going to feature in the first team for quite a while. And of the three players we are left with, all are (very) slightly built attacking midfielders with zero experience in the hustle and bustle of the premiership. Which is another way of saying: all of them are unproven in England and are likely to take a while to settle.

The other take out from our transfer dealings so far is that we have lost the two strikers who started (and helped us win) the Champions League final...and have not replaced them. This leaves us with just two forwards who, last season, scored 17 league goals between them. And, if the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting a different outcome, then RDM must be certifiable. Because Torres (who everybody likes, despite his lack of goals) will probably only get 10-15 goals next season if we're lucky. And Sturridge...well, he'll only end up with 10 or 12, due to the fact that none of his teammates want to pass to him (because he's a greedy, petulant, twat), and the fact that RDM doesn't rate him, and probably won't give him much game time (so expect him to be sold in January, if not in August). Which begs the question: where will the goals come from?

To answer that, let's have a look at the squad as it stands:

Chelsea FC - 2012 / 2013 Squad

The short answer is, 'The goals will come from midfield'. The long answer is, 'The goals will come from midfield...if we're lucky'. And as I said in the 2012 - Chelsea Season in Review, there's not a one of us who expects the luck we had last season to continue through the next 38 games. Not unless Roman or RDM has done some kind of Faustian deal with the devil! In which case, we should have the league won by Christmas...

All joking aside though, it's blatantly obvious that Roman needs to get out his cheque book again and pronto, if we're going to have any hope of winning back the league title (let alone defending the Champion's League). 

Here's what I believe we need to do before August 31st.

Chelsea's Outstanding Transfers - In and Out.

In attack we need at least one new centre forward. Ideally a big target man with a great first touch, lightening speed over 10 yards, and a shot like a howitzer.

The paper talk throughout the summer has been that we're after Porto's Hulk. And, while I'm all for signing him to shore up the right of midfield with some much needed muscle (as all our signings so far are VERY SMALL in stature), Hulk is not a natural centre forward. And we're hardly short of options on the wings. So I'd rather we got another #9 to challenge / push Torres, than buying another winger. (Though both would of course be even better - especially when you consider the strikers Man Utd and Citeh have at their disposal!).

We also need to buy a right back who knows how to bomb down the wings (and cross the damn ball properly!) - but who also knows HOW TO DEFEND.

Aside from that I'd love us to sign a hard man to play in the Makelele role. Because I just don't rate Mikel (too prone to costly mistakes), Romeu (turning circle of a stranded oil tanker) or Essien (Chelsea legend, but two knee operations past his best).

If I had my way I would sell Romeau, Essien, Benayoun, Meireles, Sturridge and Malouda (I would personally pay the taxi fare to the airport for those last three!), and promote from our youth set-up to make up the numbers. Because I don't believe any of those players mentioned are good enough for us. But...we all know that's not going to happen!

Chelsea FC - Robbie De Matteo's Preferred Starting 11Below is what I believe to be RDM's preferred starting 11, based on the teams he's selected in pre-season, (and the players currently at his disposal as at August 18, 2012).

Note: this is not my preferred starting 11, as I'd have Cahill in ahead of Luiz (who'd be on the bench), Mata in the hole behind Torres (Oscar on the Bench), Ramieres in Mata's position on the right, and Mikel alongside Lamps in the centre of midfield.

So in conclusion, I believe it is vitally important that we buy before the transfer window slams shut (especially a centre forward and a right wing-back). And that we off-load the older, bit-part players to lower the wage bill (with the exception of Paulo, who I'd keep as an experienced squad player for old time's sake).

The other thing to keep in mind is that I expect Man Utd and Citeh to get off to a FLYING START. And it's imperative that we keep within a couple of games of them, to have any chance of mounting an attack on the title come May. And as the old saying goes: nothing breeds a winning mentality like actually winning games!

KTBFFH!!! :)
Brian M Logan
ThatActionGuy.com
SEONorthSydney.com.au  

I won't lie to you. I was very conflicted at the end of the last English Premier League season. On the one hand, Chelsea won the FA Cup and the much coveted Champion's League. And on the other we finished closer to the middle of the table than we did to the top of it. Which, for a team of the stature of the mighty Blues, is nothing short of a disaster.  

Last season, AVB, a manager with all of the The Special One's ego, but only a fraction of his ability, was fired, and his number two, RDM, was duly promoted to the top job until the end of the season. Then, due to the dual cup wins, RDM was offered the job full time. At least when a certain ex-Barcelona manager ruled himself out of the picture. 

And this, dear readers, is something that is going to come back and haunt us in the coming season. Because, while I have extremely fond memories of RDM as a player; as a manager I find him to be pragmatic at best, and naive and incompetent at worst.

I know, I know, you're going to throw the CL win in my face, and say, 'How can a manager who wins a CL be incompetent?'. To which I will reply: 'Because the Ghost of Mourinho and the will power of the senior players won us the CL, not him'. And that's the truth of it. RVB's greatest skill in the back end of last season was to realize that the best way to turn things around was to feed the senior players' egos by reinstating them into the first 11, and getting them to play the same way they used to play, back when the team wasn't eight shades of sh*t with a ninth on standby. And, against all odds, it worked. Don't ask me how, but it did. Maybe it was nigh on a decade of close-but-no-cigar CL moments that caused the Fates to smile on us? Maybe it was the incredible bad luck (and dodgy refereeing) from all those semi-finals that caused the Universe to flip, end over end, and make our opponents hit the woodwork, time and again, on our way to Champions League glory? Or maybe it was just that the Beast of Drogba refused to go quietly into the dying of the light? But - whatever it was - it certainly wasn't because RDM had done anything beyond show up to training and keep out of the senior players' way.

And therein lies the rub. Because, while it's always better to be lucky than right (and boy is RDM the luckiest manager in world football), I suspect there's not a one of us who believes that luck will stay with us through an entire season. 

Oh, I hope I'm wrong. I really do. Nothing would give me greater sporting pleasure than for us to win back the premier league and defend our Champions League title. But let's be honest here, 4 loses on the spin in pre-season under RDM doesn't exactly fill a guy with confidence.

That said, nothing's ever won in August*, so it's all to play for.

ThatActionGuy.com
SEONorthSydney.com.au 

*except the Community Shield (which we lost, and lost badly) and the UEFA Super Cup...