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SOUTHGATE NEEDS A CAPABLE MIDFIELD

Few years after the golden generation of John Terry, Rio Ferdinand and Paul Scholes retired and left behind unfulfilled collective potentials at the international, Gareth Southgate’s current side appear not to be faring better either.


On the back of the disappointing Euro 2012 overseen by Roy Hogdson, Sam Allardyce’s scandal-terminated run and Southgate’s takeover, the Three Lions appear to be different from the so called golden generation in terms of personnel and at the same time mirror challenges that befell such era.

Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney remains the last piece of leftover from star studded era. An era that saw a group of talented English professionals thrive seamlessly at club level yet struggled to gel together once converged for a major tournament.

Since taking over mid last year the 46-year old has managed to forge a new identity on the Three Lions and although they have managed to pick up decent results in their 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign, the perennial inability to measure up to the A-grade teams of Europe and the rest of the world persists. Continue reading →

COSTA DROPPED AFTER DISPUTE OVER FITNESS WITH COACH

Spain international Diego Costa won’t be facing Leicester alongside Chelsea squad on Saturday after a dispute with his coach over his fitness.


The striker has not undergone any training this week and also failed to travel for the Premier League leader’s match with the defending champions.

Costa, 28, with 14 goals and 5 assists this season has an offer to move to China worth £30m a year. Chelsea refused to respond to the comment due to reasons unknown. We were made to understand that the Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich does not want to release him for the contract which is to expire by 2019, as he sees a better future ahead with the Spanish striker and won’t subscribe to the idea of being forced to release him. Continue reading →

Antonio Conte Unhappy with the Referee Performance against Swansea

Chelsea boss Antonio Conte was extremely disappointed with the performance of referee Andre Marriner in the 2-2 draw with Swansea City.


Gary Cahill appeared to be clearly fouled by Swansea striker Leroy Fer, but the referee waved away any appeals for the move that directly led to the second goal scored by the home team. The goal from Swansea came just minutes after they had equalised through aSigurðsson penalty. Chelsea opened the scoring in the 18th minute through Diego Costa, who has scored more goals against Swansea than any other Premier League team.

The goal by the Spaniard took his league tally to three goals in four games. However, the five minute spell in the second half lead to Chelsea going down and once again needing to the chase the game. Chelsea came into the game with a 100% start to the campaign, but two of those victories came in the final 10 minutes. The blues looked destined for another such victory when Costa came up with his second goal of the evening, but it was not a fairytale finish. Chelsea had to settle for just one point and losing the 100% record in such a manner was extremely difficult for Conte to accept.
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VALENCIA REJECT CHELSEA’S BID FOR GOMES

Spanish outlet Valencia has rejected Chelsea’s bid for Portuguese talented player Andre Gomes.


The 22-year old has been in emphatic form at the Euro 2016, contributing his quota as they breeze into the semi finals. The player is a top target for incoming Chelsea coach Antonio Conte.

The former Juventus coach submitted a bid of £40 million for the player but Valencia have rejected the bid, based on reports from The Mirror.

The Portuguese international is poised to leave the Mestella this summer because the club wouldn’t be playing in Europe this campaign. Juventus are also keen on landing the player but the Blues have submitted their bid. Gomes’ performance was inconsistent in the last campaign but he has been doing well at the continental tournament in France. He is believed to be one of the most energetic yet young midfielders at the moment, hence the interest from Conte.

Former coaches of the national side have compared him to former Chelsea player Michael Ballack for his box-to-box abilities. Gomes has however shown he is comfortable playing wide in a team.
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Chelsea might be interested in signing Antonio Rudiger

There is news that Chelsea might be going after Roma defender Antonio Rudiger and might be prepared to make a bid of £23.2 million for the German defender.


Chelsea, who will be managed next season by Antonio Conte, are keen to build a team that will allow them to challenge for the title as from next season itself.

Antonio Rudiger has been on loan from Stuttgart last season and has certainly impressed the Italian side. They have made the deal permanent only this week, but they now might be interested in selling the player to the highest bidder. At the moment, it is believed that there is a host of European clubs that might be interested in signing the defender. Borussia Dortmund, Liverpool, and Paris Saint-Germain are the other clubs that might be interested in signing the German international.

Some media have reported that Chelsea are currently the most interested club and that discussions have reached an advanced stage. Indeed, the London club is keen to find a successor to John Terry. Continue reading →

Paris St Germain dismisses Jose Mourinho Appointment

Paris St Germain have dismissed rumours that the club are looking to appoint Jose Mourinho as their next manager.


The Portuguese is free for appointment after leaving Chelsea a few months ago. He has a reputation as being one of the best managers in world. PSG are thought to be grown tired of manager Laurent Blanc’s inability to make the club successful in Europe. Due to the vast amounts of money spent on players like Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva, it is expected that PSG will dominate the French league. The real test for the team comes in Europe where they have floundered under Blanc.

Blanc’s stock was high when he had just beaten Chelsea in the last 16 of the tournament. However, PSG were unable to get past Manchester City in the quarter-finals. Even though they have already sealed the league title with several weeks left in the campaign, it is seen as a disappointment. Recent reports suggested that Mourinho was being prepared as the replacement for Blanc in the summer. Nasser Al-Khelaifi, though, insisted that Blanc has the support of the club so much so that PSG are even ready to offer him a new two-year contract. Continue reading →

Guus Hiddink confirms that few Blue Players are not playing to Strength

Guus Hiddink has not totally rubbished the opinion that a few of the Blues players are starting to be a bit reserved in their efforts because they are looking to save themselves for the Euro Cup which is pretty nearby.

The media reckons there is no point for players to be wasting too much of what they have got in the tank as not a lot is there for Chelsea to achieve this season , there is not even a particular position in the standings that they are targeting. They are probably just completing the formality of turning up for games.

According to Hiddink, he can’t quite make out what might have been going inside the players because it’s not possible for somebody to know what the other person is thinking. So, he can’t back this “go-easy” thing with extreme certainty, but, it’s something he would not disagree to either.

Some of the ex-Chelsea stars are very annoyed with the approach of the current lot. Losing matches is one thing, but, not even having the appetite to win matches is completely another. The lack of will from the players to win for the pride of the club is something they are really feeling very bad about.

Hiddink has, however, hinted that all the players have been scrutinized by the management and there would be a discussion when the new coaching staff comes and takes charge and a mass offloading might be possible. Continue reading →

Cesc Fabregas says that Chelsea can think about retaining the title only

Cesc Fabregas says that Chelsea can think about retaining the title only if they make a fast start to the season like they did last time around. The blues were quick off the mark last campaign and it proved to be the difference in the end. However, they started the season poorly after a 2-2 draw with Swansea at home on the opening day. Fabregas played in that game and he was less influential than in the 3-1 win against Burnley on the opening day of last season. The form of the Spaniard will be a little worrying for Chelsea, as he has been on the downhill for the last eight months.

The team will have to recover quickly because they travel to the Etihad stadium in order to play against Manchester City, who have begun the season in the best possible manner after a 3-0 victory over West Brom. Even though new signing Raheem Sterling has not yet been on the scoresheet, there is a lot of promise from the existing stars like David Silva, Yaya Touré, and Sergio Aguero. They are expected to be the dominant force when Chelsea are the visitors next week. Fabregas will have to come in with a big performance if the blues are to get the first win of the season. Continue reading →

Leicester City gives thanks to their fans by giving them free beer

Leicester City finished the Premier League season on a high note as they secured a 5-1 victory against Queens Park Rangers. Even if Leicester City had lost their last match of the season, they still would have had more than enough points to ensure their Premier League survival.

This season has truly been an outstanding one for Leicester City as the club was located at the very bottom of the English League for a number of successive weeks but they managed to escape those dreaded spots after managing to seal important points and have now guaranteed their safety for another season.

As a way for the owners to repay and give their thanks to the supporters of the club, the Thai retail billionaires Vichai and Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha bought the first round of beer at the King Power Stadium on the last day of the season.

The Vice-Chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha said: “We want to say thank you to our fans for their incredible support this season. Even during the most difficult times of the season, when everyone thought we had no chance, our loyal fans continued to believe and continued to get behind the team.” Continue reading →

A contract extension is at the horizon of Jose Mourinho and is well-deserved

Jose Mourinho has a contract with Chelsea that runs until 2017 but after the Portuguese manager lifted the Premier League title in a very convincing fashion, a contract extension is believed to be on the verge of being completed.

The season is still not over but Chelsea has already been crowned as the champions of England after managing to snatch 83 points in 35 matches, there is no way that any of the other remaining clubs of the league are able to catch up and this is a very impressive feat taking into consideration that Chelsea had not won the English League in over 5 years.

The return of Jose Mourinho has given Chelsea a breath of life, a new reason to aim for all the major titles and not only the Premier League. A contract extension for the Portuguese manager will put Chelsea into an even higher stage of Europe’s elite as Mourinho is just beginning as winning the Premier League for a 3rd time is not enough for him.

Mourinho is hungry for total success and he has all the tools needed to accomplish this mission.

After having won the Champions League with Porto and with Inter Milan, Mourinho is eager on lifting it once again but this time with Chelsea. Continue reading →