Rumour roundup: Ben Haim to Man City, Belletti to Benfica, Maka to PSG

Yay! First comment.

want to see Deco in action. (by the way Used to be mike)

Goal.com's at it again: Chelsea Launch Mega Kaka Bid. LINK

It's entirely possible there's an element of truth to these stories. Then again.

Makas leaving for PSG according to SSN.

We want Kaka and this story seems more confident than previous reports:

LINK

Better value than Ronaldo now Robinho's staying.

Oops a bit late on my link.

Maka's departure for PSG isn't really a surprise given the amount of speculation over the past few weeks. It's understandable too. Sad to see him go but hopefully the up side will be more games for Mikel Obi.

Way to go Spurs. You won't hear me say that often.

LINK

It's about time someone pulled Sir Rednose and Tubby on their amazing levels of hypocrisy and sheer brass necks. Both these fuckwits have incessantly complained about approaches from other clubs for their players, specifically Ronaldo and Torres/Gerrard, and then have the temerity to circle 3 Point Lane hunting down Berbatov and Keane. Spurs might be fucking idiots, but even there surely not fucking idiots to such a degree as to sell both their lead strikers? I hope Manure and Liverscum both get censured but something tells me the FA/PL will bottle it yet again.

Now if it was us........

Oh, one more thing...

LINK

Can some please explain to me exactly what jurisdiction the FA have over a groundsman? Surely, if you're a groundsman you can just tell them to fuck off? Do groundsman have to sign up the FA Code of behaviour? Does this apply to anyone who works for the club?

On Maka, good luck if he's going. If he stays then surely it has to be as a bench player and not first choice?

So it's Maka and Sidwell who've left before the games in Asia. Only 5 more to go. Harry will surely bid for SWP soon, TBH could sign for Man City at any time during pre-season as it looks like he's somehow negotiated his way onto the plane in hope of impressing Phil despite us having 7 centre backs: Ricky, JT, Ivanovic, Mancienne, Alex, TBH, Boulahrouz. He's gotta go. Belletti is searching for a club. My bet is that he'll end up at Panathanaikos with Henk. As for Boulahrouz, no-one seems willing to buy him. Another one of those famous Chelsea loan deals of a failed import who ends up getting forgotten like Veron and Crespo look slikely. And finally there's Pizarro! He still looks hilariously overweight. Must be on the Wayne Rooney regime of a ciggy and a kebab before every training session as he must have failed to impress our great leader whilst training. A mystery injury found on the eve of the flight to China? Something tells me that our new PR Officer isn't much of an improvement if he's leaking these types of stories.

I'm loving the Kaka story as it seems quite certain of a possible deal. On paper everything adds up. Roman wants a star name, Phil wants a star attacker, Kaka loves Phil for giving him his debut, Roman's got a spare €100m and Milan are in debt. What's the hold up? The only problem is no star name EVER wants to come to Chelsea. We wanted and have been rejected by Kaka, Messi, Aguero and Torres. But whilst there hasn't been a denial i can live in hope.

Although you know silly season's begun when you read this:

LINK

Would love it to happen but compared to this, the Kaka story seems like 100% fact.

And on Spurs, we all hate them but well done for telling Rafa and Fergie to fuck off. They think they can compain to Fifa about tapping up one day and then do the exact same thing the next. At least we have the class to openly admit that we go behind club's backs to poach their players!

This sums of the hypocrisy of their tapping up:

LINK

"A less scrupulous way is to set up a clandestine meeting with the player (and of course his agent), and arrange a deal behind the back of the club to whom he is contracted. The player, duly unsettled by the riches on offer, then becomes disaffected enough with his employers to make the move virtually inevitable. This method is known as “tapping up” or “doing an Ashley.”

"Nor was the Hargreaves case an isolated one. United have a bit of previous, as a recap of the unsettling tactics they employed to secure the signings of Jaap Stam, Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick would reveal."

But as we all know Fergie will get away with it. Just like Rio did for kicking our staff and Fergie did after unleashing a tirade of abuse against the Ref when Pompey knocked them out of the Cup last year. But for the only time in history... come on Spurs. Tell Fergie where to stick his bid for Berbatov!

Habs - Do you ever sleep?

Anyway, the Kaka story is headline news in the Guardian too. LINK

There must be something to the rumours. Kaka as a replacement for Lampard? I can live with that.

Completely off-topic: I just watched Neil Marshall's Doomsday (he also directed Dog Soldiers and The Descent, both pretty good). Doomsday is probably the stupidest film I have ever seen, a really bad pastiche of too many films to mention. I don't know, give an independent film-maker a big budget and they produce garbage...

Time for bed.

I also just read the Guardian/ Great news for Kaka with quotes drom his agent:

"Real Madrid offered €90m last summer and Milan did not even think about the bid," said Kaka's personal assistant and closest adviser, Diogo Kotscho. "This time is different. This is the first time we feel that a deal will definitely happen. Because of the [financial] situation Milan are in at the moment, the deal is good for all parties involved.

"The move would represent a significant increase in Kaka's salary, on top of the 10% transfer fee that goes straight to the player anyway - some €15m. Chelsea are the club to be at right now. They are building a team to win everything."

Kaka in the no. 10 position would finally be the hier to Zola. Could it result in the return of the real Sheva?

I meant heir...must be the need for sleep resulting in errors.

Also just seen on SSN about Maka leaving for PSG. They say he's going for a medical on Saturday (do they mean today?) and will leave on a free transfer..As NICK says, his departure will hopefully mean more starts for Obi Mikel but i will miss him loads all the same...it's the end of an era at CFC!!! LOL.. I wish him the very best of luck x x

Regarding McFergie and Fatty Benitez, i agree..it's outrageous how they're behaving. It's only when you sit back and take into account Ferguson's recent comments regarding Horse Face and Real Madrid, that you realise how much of a hypocrite the man is! Well done Spurs for reporting them both, not that anything will get done about it! Fergie is the original "untouchable"..any more untouchable and we'll have to star calling him Elliot (Mc)Ness!!!

Pleased to see that tw*t Evra got charged as well after behaviour at the Bridge. The only suprise there is that it took so long!!

I knew it! I knew it! I've commented many times that Roman would go for Samba boy Kaka...

Roman says, "I know what I want and I want it now!"

Kaka is such a good-looking man too, like a super male model! Hopefully he will come to Chelsea, then I'll have another idol to worship! :-)

I really don't agree with comment #7 where it says that no star player ever wants to come to Chelsea. How do mean that? Ballack, Drogba, Carvalho, Terry and so on aren't star players? I mean c'mon, we have a bloody allstar team. I'm living in London for 2 years now and one of the reason why I started supporting Chelsea was because it was the first time I could watch such a worldclass selection of players. Given the fact that from this blog I have really learned how underachiving Chelsea was in the past I think Chelsea is the "creme de la creme" of the Premiership. Of course, Messi and Kaka are massive names but not bigger than some of players we already have.

From Milan's official website:

MILAN - With regard to statements published today by English daily "The Guardian", Vittorio Mentana, director of communications rossonera, reaffirms "Kakà is absolutely not for sale".


But don't worry, in ten days I'm sure we'll be on the verge of signing him. Again.

So apart from Ferreira and Deco swapping numbers, nothing much happened for the last 5 days. Where are the new signings?

Hello all! Kaka is not coming....

Wow, real empty today.... Was it something I said? ;-)

Oh Dear.... Steve Sidwell OG on debut for Villa in the Intertoto! Good way to introduce yourself to the fans.

LINK

Kaka rumours seem a bit more believable this time around..... If Milan are as hard up as they say, then it would certainly help to pay for Ponaldinho.

LINK

Ballack can fill in the Lampard goal gap

SSN just reported that Drogba will not be travelling to China,he's staying behind to continue his rehabilitation on a knee injury.
This is also on the Chelsea website.

This has been kept very quiet,you have to wonder if it's the same injury that's stopping Pizarro travelling also.
Doesn't leave many options upfront,perhaps Scolari is trying to see what life would be like without Drogba.

It's also being reported that Kalou will probably be playing for the Ivory Coast in the olympics.
The final is on Aug23rd,so if they went all the way,he would miss a few games at least.
Hope the backroom boys have a new face or two in mind,would hate to start the season short of a few attacking options.

Dider's now got the same 'injury' as Pizarro to rule him out of the pre-season tour. It's the 'i need to stay with my agent to try and negotiate a deal to go to Milan' injury. Maybe this will help us. Chuck Didier into the Kaka offer and anything will happen. Even if he stays, by missing all of our pre-season games, he's gonna be shit this seson. Don't expect anything like his 30 goal season which still looks like a happy coincidence that he managed to score that many goals. Even Jose though it a surprise that he scored 30 goals and not his more usual 15.

With Kalou at the Olympics as well as Robinho if we sign him, Didier now injured, and no-one being signed, the home game against Pompey looks very tough. Their side's looking pretty good against our potential line-up:

James
Johnson Campbell Distin Hreidarsson
SWP Diarra Muntari Kranjcar
Crouch Defoe

Cech
Bosingwa Ricky JT Cole
Essien Lamps
Cole Deco ?
?

Who's going to play on the LW. Kaka? Only a 1% chance of that happening. Malouda? Please Phil, do not play him. Arshavin? More likely than Kaka. Kakuta or Sinclair? Phil does like blooding youth.

Could this possibly be true:

LINK

With Malouda, Pizarro, SWP and possibly Didier all going, and Kalou at the Olympics it looks like Sheva's going to be leading our attack with either Sinclair or Kakuta being given a chance.

@7 haberdashers - loved the 3-way chain story. I see the Sunday Times is touting a 3-way domino story today if we get Kaka but it strikes me the complete-the-circle chain idea is much more fun and could see us through some of the duller bits of the transfer window, so:

who can come up with the longest length complete chain of swop transfers, all plausible by sports journalist standards - with bonus points for involving as many different countries too, I'd suggest?

To get us started here's a 4-way conversion of the Sunday Times story:

CHELSEA buy Kaka from AC MILAN who buy Adebayor from ARSENAL who buy Roque Santa Cruz from BLACKBURN who buy Pizarro from CHELSEA .....

cech
ferreira jt ricky a. cole
obi
ballack lampard
deco j.cole
drogba

*if lamps and drogba stay

A few more players didn't travel.This is from The Mail online.

While Didier Drogba, Claudio Pizarro, Tal Ben Haim and Juliano Belletti were left behind, Lampard headed to China ahead of Wednesday’s meeting with Guangzhou Pharmaceutical, the opening match of a trip which will move on to Macau, Kuala Lumpur and finally Moscow for the Railways Cup.

Almost certain to be on their way out of Stamford Bridge are Ben Haim, Pizarro and Belletti. Ben Haim should seal a £5m move to Manchester City this week if he can agree personal terms, with the defender anxious to maintain the £60,000-aweek salary he currently enjoys.

Belletti is a target for Benfica and Pizarro may join former team-mate Claude Makelele at Paris Saint-Germain.

Looks like Scolari has started his pruning of the squad already.

It's nice to see all the crap being left behind to negotiate their future clubs, but how did SWP manage to sneak on. Did no-one notice him sitting next to all the first-team stars like Essien (well done on getting another new contract, despite signing one last season! While Frank's struggling to get one, in the same time Essien's got two!)?

It'll be interesting to see who starts up front for these games in preparation for Pompey, as we'll be without Kalou, Didier, Robinho (Olympics if we get him). By the time we get to Russia we may see Samuel Eto'o put on the blue shirt after making the short trip from the other side interested in him - Uzbekistan side Kuruvchi. Don't be surprised if we miss out on Kaka, Robinho, Arshavin,Villa, Silva and end up with Eto'o.

'Portsmouth clear-out to bring in Shaun Wright-Phillips'. LINK

Essien isn't greedy and accepted a new £80,000-a-week contract, unlike Lampard who wants almost double that a week.

I wasn't in any way criticising Essien. He must have a really good agent to get him a new contract so quickly whilst Steve Kutner continues to 'negotiate'. On Lamps there does seem to be a greater chance that he'll sign. He'll definitely stay on for this year and as Inter say they are looking for alternatives (Alonso or Marek Hamsik), Lamps and his agent could be left with no option but to sign on for a stingy £140k/wk with us. That's the plan anyway.

On Essien i do think that his loyalty could be rewarded soon. IF Lamps does decide to leave, why not give Essien the vice captaincy? In the long-term Ballack and Didier are too old to be made VC's and i personally don't like goalkeepers as captains. With JT finding new injuries every few months, it would be nice to see Essien lead the side out.

The Telegraph reported:

Last week, more than 3,000 Inter fans turned up at Inter's training ground to watch Mourinho's first session in charge of Inter. The extent of the fans' passion made their mark on Mourinho.

They chanted, "Mourinho, bring us Lampard!... Mourinho, bring us Lampard!..."

----------

Again, I feel ashamed being a Chelsea fan... All I hear from many Chelsea fans are just heavy criticism on Lampard labelling him as greedy, money grabber, etc.; they would rather save Roman's money than keep Lampard at Chelsea.

If you love Supa Frank, stand by the man and tell the ruthless businessmen of the broad to give him the 5 year contract he rightly deserves. Show some passion and appreciation for Lampard like the Inter fans did!

Maka to PSG ... what will become of A Real Makelele Fan Called Sara???

Petr Cech has also signed a new deal today, according to the Press.

Let's hope it is the Petr Cech of 2 years ago, and not last season's version that signed the new deal.

@ SimonT.... I read that Mourinho article too and my reaction was to wonder whether the Italian fans are really that keen on Frankie, or is it just a case of Jose being seen as the Messaiah.

Whilst we at Chelsea have always appreciated his value, I can't see Mancs, Scousers, Spuds or Gooners vigourously clamouring for his signature! I still can't help but feel though, as much as he has been a class act, that if 140 grand a week for 4 years isn't enough, it might be time for a change.

So, no Drogba on the plane to the far east. I guess that means no goals in pre-season for us then.

Why on Earth do half the posters think that Sheva is going to come good this season ?? He's done pretty much naff all in the time he's been at the club, under JM who is a great coach and AG who wasn't. Why is there a belief he'll excel in a team of Scolaris when he's been anonymous in the reserve games hes played ??

I have nothing against him, but he's had his chances. He just doesn't look up to it any more. Although he looks about 100 times more threatening up front than Pizarro. I'm all for the kids to be given a chance (I presume Sinclair and maybe Di Santo have boarded the plane) but whether DD stays or goes, at this moment, I'm really, really worried about the state of our attack for the new season. If DD has his injury problems again, I just can't see us scoring many goals. Particularly as Lampard will have gone.

And let's give the Kaka story all the credibility it deserves. By ignoring it.

Makalele has left CFC today after 5 years of service. I assume its PSG, but the club haven't said anything as yet other than he's leaving.

A big thank you is due to Claude Makalele. Under Jose our defence was tighter than a duck's proverbial, and the credit for that goes to Maka. As much as anyone our back-to-back titles were down to him.

Age has begun to catch up in the last year, but I am certain he leaves with the best wishes of everyone....Especially Sarah!

Well this looks more promising on the transfer front of a certain Brazilian.
LINK

Huge thanks to Maka for his years with us. Even though I know it was inevitable, it still feels like a kick in the teeth. I always felt more relaxed knowing he was playing (except last season!). At least he went with dignity and respect for the club....good luck Maka! I know he'll always get a great reception at the Bridge if we ever come up against him....

i quote you wholeheartedly Dez. sad sad day.

Just on the BBC's football gossip column:

Chelsea to smash world record transfer fee with a 150 million Euro offer for Kaka

LINK

@35 Fifty - "And let's give the Kaka story all the credibility it deserves. By ignoring it" - I'd be with you on that sentiment except possibly the 2 biggest liars in football have spoken on the matter in the last 2 days: Galliani claiming we've made a bid [again] and Kenyon denying it - so I'm starting to wonder which one of them has broken habit of a lifetime?

Also see Alexander Hleb revived the badge-kissing season the other day at Barca...

Tony,

Can we have a Claude Makalele appreciation thread here on this blog? I really think all the Chelsea fans should pay him respect for his enormous contributions to our success for the last 5 years and bid him a good farewell.

@BBD,

I was just about to mention Hleb had been chalked off in the 'new signings unveiled in traditional manner' book I've been keeping. Disappointed at the lack of pen-based photos of new signings.

I'm wonderring if Maka will display a similar trait on the return to his homeland.

I'd side with Galliani lieing on the Kaka front. Anything to bring a bit of attention to a side that's 'only' in the UEFA Cup and has just taken a risk on a buck-tooth Brazilian has-been. Again.

I'd go so far as to say it's more likely we'll see Claude Makelele playing for Chelsea next season than Kaka. And you can all quote me on that.

Because, lets face it, if I'm wrong, I'll be very happy.

Also, anyone know the actual list of who boarded the plane yesterday ?? Can't see anything on the official site and I'd be interested to know who's gone.

Prospective of having Robinho seems to me more real than Kaka. Frankly speaking I do not want us to pay some crazy amount of money for any player even for Kaka!

If we do sign Robinho then I should imagine there might be "squeaky bum time" quite early in the season for Utd and their supporters with regard a certain player.

Thanks for everything Maka. Amid the lunacy of Roman's first summer, that was the one that stood out as actually being halfway sensible.

Afternoon all,

Back at the coal face after a week wandering over hills (towards public houses, mainly).

Adieu then Maka - a very fine servant to the club who goes with my very best wishes; many great memories but his performance against West Ham at the Bridge when we were 1-0 down and reduced to 10 men stands out for me - rarely seen a better individual display from anyone in a Blue shirt.

How much have we offered for Kaka now then? Surely we're reaching the point where buying a small South American country and all of its footballers, gems and rough diamonds alike, would work out slightly cheaper?

@44 Fifty - I came across this list on one of the chat sites - not read anything anywhere that suggests this is wrong - other than that Ballack is joining up late rather than travelled with the squad:

List of those who travelled apparently:

Nicolas Sebastien Anelka,
Jose Bosingwa Da Silva,
Michael Ballack,
Wayne Michael Bridge,
Ricardo Carvalho,
Petr Cech,
Ashley Cole,
Joseph Cole,
Carlo Cudicini,
Anderson Luis De Sauza [Deco],
Franco Matias Di Santo,
Alex Rodrigo Dias Da Costa,
Michael Essien,
Paulo Renato Rebocho Ferreira,
Henrique Hilario,
Branislav Ivanovic,
Saloman Armand Kalou,
Frank James Lampard,
Florent Malouda,
John Obi Mikel,
Andriy Shevchenko,
John George Terry,
Shaun Wright Phillips.


And those that didn´t:


Drogba
Makelele
Belletti
Pizarro
Ben Tal Haim

They've taken Malouda along? To sell as panda feed, presumably?

Guessing that Ballack got a slightly longer break due to his extended participation in the Euros.

will we get KaKa this season?

I think he would be a great signing for the future of the Bridge. Now that AC have acquired Ronaldinho, him and KaKa do not set well.

and it appears SimonT has a little thing for him!!!!

Looks like Belletti and Ben Haim are next on the list to leave. Departures so far: Sidwell to Villa for 5m, Boulahrouz to Stuttgart for 5m? and Makalele on a free transfer. Thats 3 players. So i presume theres about 4 more to go.

And i did prefer Kaka over Robinho or we should seriously try for David Silva. Among the 3, Silva is cheaper and Robinho is more realistic though Kaka is the obvious choice. But i dont want us to make the right choice and not regret in the future. So choose carefully Scolari. All 3 players are bloody good. My first choice would be Kaka and Silva followed by Robinho though.

@BBD,

Thanks very much. I wonder if Sinclair will be joining up now Englands participation in the U19 Championships in the Czech Republic is over.

Di Santo's an interesting one - not sure if he's being taken along for the 'experience' or because he figures firmly in Scolari's plans. Time will tell.

Sorry to sound all 'Lolli about Lampard' in my admiration for that Spanish striker, but the rumblings I heard this morning appear to be true : "Valencia will sell striker David Villa and winger David Silva in order to balance the books. (Marca and Las Provincias, 1334 BST)"

We could probably get both for the astonomical price we're being touted for Kaka.

Lets get it done. A goal-scorer is definitely required for the new season, if not the Railways Cup in a few weeks. Unless Di Santo becomes the surprise package.

I hope we get a chance to see Maka back at the Bridge some time so the home fans can make it clear how much we appreciated him. In the two title-winning seasons it was (as usual) other players that grabbed everyone's attention, but, especially in 05-06, there's really no doubt that he was the standout player. I doubt we'll ever see that position played as well again. Even last winter I kept noticing him popping up in the right place, always always exactly where an extra man was needed, and somehow you could never quite see how he'd got there so fast. The art of keeping possession in tight spaces is something we hardly ever see in the Premiership, and it was a joy to watch it being done so well. Wonderful player, and along with Franco probably the only truly irreplaceable genius we've lost in recent years.

As for the who's-coming-who's-going stuff, just remember the golden rule: They Have To Write Something. ("Injured Player In Not On Plane Shock!")

I hope both Maka and Zola turn up at the Bridge in coaching roles in the not to distant future. I believe the contract Maka's been given by PSG is for two years playing, two years coaching, so you never know.

What several of the transfers in and out of Chelsea so far have told us is that there's often a grain of truth to the rumours in the press; it's just a case of sorting the wheat from the chaff.

The Deco transfer was all over the papers long before the club declared an interest in him. Sidwell was linked with Villa almost as soon as last season ended. Likewise Maka and PSG. Hopefully this indicates that the rumours that Ben Haim is off to City, Belletti to Benfica, Malouda on-loan to Roma, Pizarro to wherever are true.

And one or more of Robinho, Kaka, Villa etc. will end up at the Bridge before the end of August! ;-)

Clutching at straws? (Too many idioms.)

Who you calling an idiom?:)

@56 chelseablog - it's the cynical use of the media by agents/players to tout for new clubs/ get an improved contract with their current club that gets tedious - on which, seems like we've served our purpose with Robinho who suddenly says "I want to stay at Real Madrid for a long time" again today:

LINK

Relax Dezmond - have you got a chip on your shoulder?

Well that went down like a lead balloon.

Only another 163 to go LINK+english.html

As you can see I'm at a loose end

I'd like to join everyone here in wishing Maka the very best of luck..he's an absolute star in my eyes and i will miss him SO much, especially that little "I didn't do anything wrong, Ref!" smile of his....GOOD LUCK CLAUDE!! x x

Also, congratulations to both Essien and Petr for signing new deals. I was very pleased with that news when i heard it this morning. Well done boys..

@ 35. FIFTY

Spot on! My thoughts exactly..
P.s. If it was a contest between you, me and SimonT on our appreciation societies, i reckon you'd win by a mile with your "Spanish Striker" infatuation..don't you? ;))

I hope Maka was misquoted in this interview.

New Paris Saint-Germain signing Claude Makelele has fired a parting shot at Chelsea, saying he wanted to leave for a long time.

Makelele revealed that he had wanted to leave Chelsea since last year as he gradually slipped out of the first-team picture.

"My desire was so strong that Chelsea gave me the possibility to finish my career in France, first of all, and at Paris Saint-Germain," he said.

Hope Maka has a good time in France,thanks Claude.

@56. blueboydave - To be honest I find most transfer speculation a bit tedious. I'm not sure if it's because I'm getting older and more cynical, or because it's not as exciting now that we can now afford to buy practically any player in the world. Probably the former. :-)

It looks like Robinho's agent achieved his goal, to double his client's wages. It wouldn't be a surprise to me if Kaka's agent is angling for an improved deal for his client. Maybe Ronaldinho is earning more? See, a cynic.

@62. Lolli - Looks like you will get to drool over Lampard for another season. Mourinho's willing and expecting to wait until next season before Lampard moves to the San Siro. LINK Reports in Italy say Inter are close to signing Pompey's Sulley Muntari in place of Lampard.

@ 64. NICK

If true, you would've made me the happiest girl in England tonight.
Have i ever told you that i love you?!

West Ham fans have been doing their bit to further the appeal of 'soccer' in the States. LINK

@65. Lolli - Steady on. :-)

@ NICK

LOL..

I heard about the Wet Spam fans this morning on SSN. They never fail to give English fans a bad name do they?
Ar**holes!!

They're an embarrassment..and should be ashamed of themselves.

What Maka supposedly said @ 63 ..... I guess he would have spoken in French so the tone etc in translation would come out different.
It is a testament to his skills that whenever the TV pundits speak about a defensive midfielder, they always use the term 'the Makalele role'.

@Mark25 #60

At a time where we are becoming ever more cycnical about the quality of information in the media I feel it was a masterstroke to draw our attention to the website you are currently mining for its nuggets of exemplary english usage, where one complete howler stands out, namely Buggles Turn.

As I live and breath I nearly choked. Some wires have been seriously crossed here and tend to suggest that the origins of this site lie not within this sceptered isle.

Buggins' Turn is of course the phrase they are looking for.

The Buggles, if memory serves me right, were a rather irritating pop combo fronted by Trevor Horn. They were responsible for "Video Killed the Radio Star".
As execrable a piece of work as has been produced in the annals of human endeavour.

Goodbye Maka and thanks. Its been a pleasure. I wish you the very best.

and even better, Boula has gone to Stuggart.

@69. BlueBayou - "They were responsible for "Video Killed the Radio Star".
As execrable a piece of work as has been produced in the annals of human endeavour."

I beg to differ.

LINK

Genius. ;-)

I loved it when it was released. I was eight years old.

The lyrics were inspired by the J.G. Ballard short story The Sound-Sweep... or so says Wikipedia. My something new for the day.

Morning fellow bloggers...

I see since I have been away that no much has happened on the signings front other than more ridiculous runours... 100M quid for Kaka... give me a break please.

Also the lack of 'action' has resulted in bloggers resorting to defining and using idioms and then talking about truely awful 80s pop songs... Please RA and PK give us something juicy to bog about !!!!

I will also pay my respects to Maka. I too loved his cheeky "who me" grin every time he chopped down an opposing player. In his role there is noone who comes close and probably no player will ever have the same influence on a game again. He is unique and before Maka noone talked about the holding midfielder role (well not in recent times anyway). He will be missed as even though he got a little slower he could still play his part.

@ Lolli.. hopefully your asleep now but had a fantastic time over the weekend and just sorry to come back and find no more progress on Frank's part, although it is promising he went to China! I think the true story will emerge soon from the man himself and we can put all these rumours to bed.

KTBFFH

Mmmmm... just read my post and realised I made a fraudien slip... "give us something juicy to 'bog' about"... Probably sums up some of the shyte reported in the media...

This 'story' seems to indicate that Zenit and probably Arshavin's agent is now fishing for bids...of around 15M or more. Can't believe he would choose to go to Spurs but if they do end up selling Berbatov and Keane they may have the money....

While he did shine for two games in the Euros I don't believe he is worth that much at 27... around 12M would be a better valuation...and the real question is can he perform in the EPL when not many others from his neck of the woods has made any impression.

LINK

@ Mark25,

Great stuff! I tried to come up with a suitable riposte but keep drawing a blank.

O.k, so this is taken from the piece about RA entertaining the guys from AC Milan :

"I was on Abramovich's boat," Galliani is quoted as saying in Marca. "I wanted to talk about Shevchenko and he wanted to talk about Kaka, but in the end nothing happened"

Now call me simplistic but surely a 'you can have Sheva and £'x'm in exchange for Kaka' type offer should be what we're looking at.

I guess it's good we're flogging the rotten bits of the deadwood, in some cases even making a profit (as much as £10m if TBH goes to Man Citeh) and then you realise how chronically awful some players were when we sell The Cannibal at a £6m loss. He's not even worth £6m.

As it stands, at not long after 9.20 a.m on 22nd July, I hereby give notice of the Fifty promise that Chelsea Football Club will not, I repeat not, sign any further players before the season starts. I will guaran-damn-tee it.

Everyone's signing up for 5 years LINK

I think I'll buy a 5 year season ticket to publicly declare my commitment.

I think I'll buy a 5 year season ticket to publicly declare my commitment.

Mark - just don't let them fob you off with an offer of 4 years; they need to be aware that quality (ahem) football is available at Craven Cottage and Loftus Road and that you're keeping your options open.

Has the Institute for Fiscal Studies passed any comment on the economics of our alleged Kaka bids yet? Every other bugger seems to have an opinion on the subject so I'm surprised they've been so quiet.

Today I've reached the point that I reach during every close season; the realisation that the whole thing, silly speculation and all, is actually mind-numbingly dull beyond description. Can't we just get on with playing Portsmouth now?

@76 Fifty - I fear I may need treatment soon for my growing obsession with the ever-changing pearls of nonsense emanating from Galliani's lying mouth. I may even need to learn Italian as I'm sure I'm missing some of the subtleties in his constant torrent of public statements. He seems now to agree with Kenyon that we haven't made a bid for Kaka in the article you mentioned but right at the end of the version I read it says:

He added: "I can say that Madrid have again asked about Kaka. "We will never sell him. Even if we received an offer of €300million (£238.4million). The only way we would ever consider letting him go is if it was his desire."

So it seems it just need LGF to convince Kaka to ask for a transfer and he's ours...

I add my tribute to Maka who I'd have been happy to see move toward a mentoring/coaching role with us - and in the rather truncated version I saw of his unveiling at PSG came on to the pitch rather theatrically through a curtain but then simply gave an exaggerated version of his innocent smile as the badge went unkissed and pen unpoised - a class act to the end!

He added: "I can say that Madrid have again asked about Kaka. "We will never sell him. Even if we received an offer of €300million (£238.4million). The only way we would ever consider letting him go is if it was his desire."

So it seems it just need LGF to convince Kaka to ask for a transfer and he's ours...

Or on the other hand Milan have named their price, and if you have more money than sense he's yours Mr.A

Just heard on reasonably good authority that Lampard has signed a new five-year deal.

Interesting if so. Wonder to what extent the new offer was driven by the desire to keep him away from our old chum at the San Siro?

Also, Drogba's not going anywhere.

I'm sure the desire to spite JM was involved somewhere down the line.

SimonT and Lolli will explode with glee.

Anything to do with the five-year contracts given to Cech and Essien?

Not that I'm cynical or anything.

If that Lampard story is true, then Wayne Bridge must be devastated. He 'only' signed a 4 year deal.

Poor lamb will be getting an inferiority complex. Although I'm sure the £80k a week will soften the blow.

Galliani is officially madder than a hat at a mad hatters tea party if he thinks he'll be receiving an offer of €300m.

"The only way we would ever consider letting him go is if it was his desire."

No mention of how much for if Kaka wanted to leave. A gentle bit of tapping up as is par for the course these days, a few million in signing on fees, £150k a week and he should practically be begging to leave.

More possible exits with Malouda and Didier:

LINK

I know that it's great that we're getting rid of the crap players like Belletti, Boulahrouz, TBH, Sidwell, Pizarro, SWP and Malouda but if Didier leaves then our squad will look pretty bear. Especially considering that the chances of signing any quality replacements like Robinho or Kaka look slim/ If we can replace them with the likes of Kaka, Arshavin, Villa then the squad would have improved but losing 8 or 9 players and bringing in 2 doesn't seem to add up.

Why did i type bear? I meant bare.

@ 84. NICK

I haven't yet..as far as i'm aware!
I'm waiting for it to be announced officially....THEN i'll explode!!!
In fact, you'll probably hear it! :D

If it turns out to be fact, then i'll officially propose to PETEW for spreading the good news!


Agree with JD. When all the rumours first started, it was really exciting to try and guess which of the listed new names was going to be joining us. As it's turned out though, none of them have bothered to turn up!
It's getting boring now..
It's draining my energy, so it is!!

@81 PeteW - I'm already on a sugar rush from just eating a triple chocolate ice cream cone so don't tease us - is this a "SSN sources close to the deal"-type authority or might it have some shred of accuracy, and when might we expect an official confirmation? We need to know more....

@PETEW
Can you give us a clue as to where you heard about Frank and Didider?

There was nothing about Lampard on SSN when I had a quick look at lunchtime.

If it's true my guess is the club will sit on the news until tomorrow at least, announce it before or after the game against The Pharmacists.

Who's watching the game? I'm going to try to watch it online, make use of my Chelsea TV Plus (Online) subscription. Hopefully the connection I'm on tomorrow will hold up.

***

YouTube videos of Maka's goals:

Penalty against Charlton: LINK

Happy about Frank( If it is true...), but it does raise some questions about how we will play next season( formation wise). Read about a 4-6-0.

----------cech---------
-------riccy--JT-------
Jose--------------Cole
------Obi----Essien----
--------Lamps----------
--Joe-------------Deco
---------Ballack-------

Retarded, aint it?

By the way, We need a new post in tribute to Maka.

@ NICK

Keeping everything crossed..i'm on edge now!! I keep turning SSN on, hoping to hear something!!

I'll be at work when the game is on, so i will miss it, unfortunately..

I'm hoping LYNN will do one of his running commentaries for me so that i can read all the details of the match when i get home!! :)

Maka will be missed but its proberbly the right time for him to go and let Mikel fullfill his potential. Belletti and Ben-Haim look like leaving this week. I dont believe that Lamps has signed a new deal but I would be very happy if he has done. Just cant wait for the season now, Every week seems longer than the last one lol.

Guangzhou Pharmaceutical

I have a vision of lots of bespectacled Chinese fellas crouched over the work bench pipette in one hand, test tube in the other, developing yet another version of EPO (with the best of intentions for those in need of it) that will be used by Ricardo Ricco et al to get up the mountains a bit faster and will remain undetected in the urine of thousands of Olympic athletes (and perhaps courset untested in the blood of a few footballing types as well...).

A hooter goes... off come the lab coats, they race down to the company leisure complex...time for a quick tea and a fag 'round the back of the changing rooms then on with the kit and boots, out onto the pitch...bit of stretching..coach hands out the numbered shirts...away we go

Time to give these Chelsea fellas a bit of a sorting out.....

I'm going home now (no not to the home)

does anyone know where else i can watch the game?

@ Komatosed

Go to Myp2p.eu and from there there's a lot of information on how you can watch live soccer and they're showing the chelsea game

@ Luca1

Thanks alot APPRECIATE it man

liverpool got a couple youngsters in their line up agains heerenveen or hertha berlin
not entirely sure who

thanks again LUCA1

but they still don't look ready

@ 91. ChelseaBlog

Explode?... It's more likely that I may expose myself (to Lolli)...

I'll get my rain coat...

I meant... @ 84.

For those mystified by the ever more outrageous sums being demanded for Kaka the answer lies in the fact that Mr Galliani is still talking in the old unstable and inflationary lire and not euros. At 300 million lire I've calculated, based on some basic reasearch into equivalent values, that you could buy Kaka, treat yourself and the missus to a fish and chip supper, have a couple of pints of stout and still have enough change from £20 for the tram fare home.

Mystery solved. Next question?

104. BBY

Good finding!

Maybe he was talking about 'caca', not Kaka!

About the Lampard situation. Why do you think its true? I havent seen a link or anything and its not been on any websites or SSN

There's no proof that it's true. We'll have to wait and see...

Here's a link to the Lampard story: LINK I don't know if it's believable but if it's true then it's great news!

So they claim that hes been offered a new deal? We dont even know if thats true let alone whether he will sign it or not.

Great news on Frank. 5 year contracts are all the rage now. Maybe our new PR officer likes giving us positive contract news everyday to divert us from the total lack of real transfer activity. First it was Petr, then Essien and now Frank. "Roll up, roll up if you want a 5 year deal!"

It's great, if true, that Frank's got his contract for 5 years at £39m. That's £150k/wk and appears to have blown any idea of a wage ceiling out the window. Roman must have swallowed some pride to give in to that bastard Steve Kutner, although we all hope that he's taken a liking to this swallowing of pride so that he can finally give Milan what they want, the return of Sheva plus a €100m in exchange for Kaka. It's also good that Frank won't have to experience any Gareth Barry-esque booing. He'll always be our SUPERFRANK!

Although, as noted earlier, all this contract talk seems to have covered up the fact that our search for the 'final piece in the jigsaw' according to Kenyon, an attacking star, seems to have stalled. Kaka can't be bought unless he asks to leave and we give them Sheva, and now Robinho seems to have evaded us:

LINK

The article may say that if Ronaldo arrives we can still get him. But the fact that he's signed shows that Ronaldo's staying and Robinho's staying. So who else is on the market for us. Kenyon has said that we will DEFINITELY sign 1 more attacking player. So will it be Arshavin, Villa, Silva or some randomer more on Pizarro's level? Being left with the same ageing front line of last season: Anelka, Didier, Sheva, with Deco, Lamps and Ballack in midfield won't last us 70 games across 4 competitions. Losing 8 players and bringing in Bosingwa and Deco looks like an unfinished plan. Hopefully we'll end up with some amazing player and not another summer of bringing in rejects like last year. Please no more Pizarros.

If Didier leaves then our attack is fucked.

My bet is still on Arshavin to arrive

@ LUCA1... that has to be the shortest rumour.. eh I mean story I have ever read in a paper...even shorter than some public appologies about misprints in brochures you see in papers...

Ah well if its true, lets hope Super Frankie can live up to the price tag and stay fit and keep playing top drawer football and I suppose it's a much better use of 40M than paying 100M for that baby faced brazilian...

Still have this sense of one player holding the club to ransom for one more year... as much as I admire Frank as a player I would be dissappointed if the club caved in to his agent's demands for a fifth year and at 150k per week as claimed by the story... the likes of Essien must wonder whats makes 70K per week difference between him and Frank ?

I can't quite fathom someone being paid more in a week than I get in a year....

Here's the full story:

LINK

That does look promising for the player, not sure it is good for the club but then again RA does have deep pockets so not surprised players and their agents think they can hold out for such mega deals. Will this mean Frank will move into a playing/mentoring/coaching role at the end of this contract ?

Should also mean the final major signing will be Robinho to replace Malouda...

Lolli... wake up your dream is coming true...!

Fergie may just be saying this because he IS worried at our threat...:

LINK

...but our squad is too old unless the likes of Sinclair, Kakuta and Mancienne are given a chance.

"With the key figures of Ricardo Carvalho, Michael Ballack, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba already beyond their 30th birthdays, Chelsea's squad compares unfavourably, in terms of youth, with Ferguson's pool of players."

Add to that Sheva and Deco and our squad really does look like the Chelsea Pensioners.

That's why we're desperate for our 3rd and final signing to be a Robinho or Kaka, i.e. a world class player who we buy BEFORE they've reached their peak.

@ Habs.. your up late or do you live outside the UK?

It would make more sense to be Robinho and PK has said as much. Buying Kaka makes no sense given our riches in central midfield besides even RA would not be stupid enough to finance AC Milan's revival by paying a ridiculous transfer fee. Robinho would be an ideal replacement to replace Malouda who has been an abject failure. I can't see how Kaka can get any better and at 26 has reached his peak, whereas I don't beleive we have seen the best of Robinho yet, although it remains to be seen how he would fair in the EPL.

I do agree on the age of the squad for those players mentioned however the likes of Mikel, Kalou, Essien, Jose, Cech, the Coles and even Terry will be around for a good 5-6 years of top class football and along with the 'ageing' stars will offer a strong stable squad where the young up and coming players from the reserves and academy can be blooded gradually. Beside TSSO has already stated this will happen so I reckon Fergie is getting nervous that his team won't be able to match us in the next few years as the new Chelsea will rise even higher than a few years ago...

5 more!

LINK

Anyone know what time kick off is against the Chinese Chemist's XI is today?

1300 GMT according to CFC website that makes it about 6 hours from now so about 9pm Melb time me thinks...

At least I assume that is GMT and not local time in China !

@113. PETERTHEGREAT

Oh! I really, really hope so.. Just heard it on SSN and then read HABS' link. Would you believe i've got tears in my eyes? How sad is that?! I just want it to be true. One thing's for sure. I'm going work with a smile today!!!

Agree with HABS about Ye Olde Purple Nose. He's obviously worried to come out with his latest bulls**t tirade. He reckons Uncle Phil won't be able to carry on with the standards set by T.S.O. Also, our club is "too old" to win anything. Now, when you take into account that the average age in our squad is 28 and the average age in Man Ure is 27 and a half, it sort of makes you wonder.. "what the f**k are you on about, you old git?!!!"

It's official..McFergie's lost his marbles!!!

GOOD LUCK TODAY CHELS!!

Morning Lolli... off to work eh.. hate to say it but I am about to finish work:-)) Have a good day and hopefully we shall all finally hear the good news officially... IF its true.

Still silly season then.

Although this time not 'Chelsea willing to swap stadium for Kaka' type stupid transfer stories, but this time everyones favourite drunk Scotsman.

"Chelsea are an experienced side and I don't see outstanding progress coming from a team in their 30s" Pray-tell, oh Rednose genius, what happens with the likes of JT, Cech, Bosingwa, Ashley, Joe, Malouda, Sinclair, Kalou, Essien etc who aren't 30?? Or aren't they allowed to play.

"I'm not concerned about Chelsea, I just don't know how far that team has got to go," stated Ferguson, who saw United beat Orlando Pirates 1-0 in Durban on Tuesday, thanks to a goal from Lee Martin.

Good, we're not concerned by your bunch of thugs.

But more importantly, how the hell is Lee Martin still playing. Thought he disappeared after that Wembley own goal over a decade ago. And he has the cheek to moan about our ageing squad.

I hope that at some point in the season Scolari stays true to form and smacks Fergie.

With our keeper, back line, obi and essien all under 30, it's safe to say SAF is talking nonsense. Good luck cracking through those 7 players (bring the stretcher, you will need it). There's a reason for our undefeated streak at the Bridge.

We placed 2nd in the top two competitions last year with a worse injury crisis than many teams ever face. If Chelsea doesn't improve this year, it's only because we were already World Class at several positions.

God, here come the mind games. Even more boring than a summer of made-up transfer stories.

We're only left with speculation as to whether Rafa has made any amendments to his amusing facial hair experiment to keep the summer interesting.

David Silva or Van der Vaart. Come on Roman! Kaka's too expensive.

Not sure I agree with the sentiments attributed to PK from this story :

"We have got a fantastic squad and that has been strengthened with [Jose] Bosingwa and Deco and I think the coach was just looking for one more to complete what he thinks is the perfect squad."

Only one more? We need strikers, which Robinho is not. Nor is Pizarro, or Sheva. We can't go a season relying solely on DD who, lets face it, will be wanting away as soon as the season starts again. Robinho, yes, to challenge / beat Malouda as a wide man, but we still need at least one more forward.

JD - I'm wonderring if he'll use the pic on your signature as his inspiration.

LINK

Don't tell me he is not scared :-) Season not even started yet, but he has already started mind games! It will be interesting to see Big Phill response.

Drogba, Anelka and Kalou is a decent strike force, with Shev on the bench. One more world class forward is all we need to turn a potential weakness into a definite strength.

Especially given the goals from midfield we should expect from Lampard, Ballack and an off-the-leash Essien.

@PeteW - can you offer any more news on the Lamps new offer rumour - says at the bottom of this article the club have denied it, though doesn't say where:

LINK

Christ !!! I'd forgotten we had Anelka.

I hope he gets a decent run next season, definitely him as back up to DD. Not Pizarro or Sheva.

Van der Vaart would be an ideal signing, as would Silva and Villa. The figures being quited for others are just stupid.

Just read this from todays Guradian about yesterdays training session :

"Among the reserves drilling at the other end of the pitch here was Franco di Santo, the 19-year-old forward signed from Audax Italiano last season. Indeed, the Argentinian looked rather more convincing in front of goal than the 31-year-old Andriy Shevchenko."

Says it all. Bye bye Andriy.

Hi,

Me again. Talking to myself. Anyway, silly season won't officially get any sillier thatn this, on SSN :

"Real Betis are hoping to persuade Claudio Pizarro to leave Chelsea and join them in a move that would make him the Spanish club's star signing of the summer."

Star signing ??? God forbid being a Betis fan then.

I can't really say - the source wouldn't be bullshitting so although nobody is 100 per cent reliable, i'm pretty confident it'll come to pass. but i won't be sticking money on it either.

1-0 to us at the moment but I've no idea who scored. maybe 'Ishin' 'Rampar' or Kolau' ;-)

Interesting to watch though