Some Chelsea Blog news

No questions Nick.. just a vote of thanks for all your hard work (along with the others) for bringing this excellent forum to the true blue fans. I used to blog on the 606 blog on BBC but got sick of the stupid mediators putting their two cents in for no good reason. Also got sick of the losers and tossers who used to invade the Chelsea blog from other teams and write inflamatory dribbe. Some of those 606 bloggers setup another site like this one but to be honest I found it a little awkward to use and not som much fun.. then a friend sent me your url earlier this year.

It has been very refreshing to share my passion for the mighty CFC with other true fans on a blog that is simple to use has no real restrictions and yet is very informative and often very funny !

My only comment which you have already alluded to.. is please resist any attempt to stifle comment or control peoples desire to say exactly what they think (as long as they don't get personal and offend others on the blog). Also keep the formal as simple to use as it is now.

The mighty blues are entering a new era... so it is timely the best CFC blog follows suit !

KTBFFH

Thanks for your support, Peter. The blog wouldn't be what it is without commenters.

You have my word that there will be no attempts to stifle people's opinions and comments. I made sure of this before agreeing to join up with OleOle. They just provide the platform for fans to discuss their obsessions - they even make it clear that 'Nothing is censored by OleOle' on their homepage.

The site and format will remain almost identical to how it is now - it was another of my many stipulations. You will still be able to comment without signing in etc.

Hopefully we'll have our own forums in the future too.

I second all of Peter's comments: thanks for everything, Nick. Since discovering this blog almost two years ago, I've become a regular visitor and a one-off contributor, and I plan on sticking around for quite some time yet because this is simply one of the best Chelsea sites out there in terms of atmosphere and content.

Here's to what's to come! :)

@Nick Bedingfield

I have never commented on the blog though i have been reading all the comments and the posts.
Your work is outstanding and it's delightful to see a blog where the bloggers and the commentors post with such maturity.
keep up with the good work.
I henceforth will start commenting on the blog and i will like to introduce myself as a guy aged 18 from india who is crazy in love with chelsea.

@Everyone

Additional information is that i am shifting from bluechampions.com another wonderful blog run by a fellow indian.
I chose to shift the blogs due to lack of decent commentors in there.

Nice work Nick, and if you feel it is the right thing for the blog, then who are we to argue.

I hadn't heard of the OleOle site before, but a quick look shows it is full of content and a welcome addition to my regular web football fix.

Just one quick question..... Will we need to re-register the usernames at OleOle in order to keep blogging, or will the names continue to be recognised?

The Sun is suggesting that Chelsea have told AC Milan that Drogba will not be leaving this Summer..... Now the dust has settled on the Champs League Final, I will be pleased if this turns out to be true. He is far too good a player to let go on the cheap, and lets face it.. If Adebayor is worth 24 million, DD must be at least the same (he would be worth more if it wasn't for his age).

Papers also suggest that Jose has cut short his holiday ( what???? 9 months not long enough!) to personally get the signature of Lampard, after the club turned down a 6.6 million bid. Well done Chelsea.... It is about time we stood up for ourselves in the transfer market and didn't get walked all over because of Roman's wealth. If we are paying Barca 10 mill for Deco, again Lampard is a similar player , of similar age, and should be worth at least as much.

Great negotiation skills Nick, this transfer has been kept off the back pages and out of the gossip columns all through the summer.

No rumours about ChelseaBlog joining this or that organisation. No need for ChelseaBlogs agent to be pimping him arounds any host that would be interested - unlike every single player at the Euro's.

The only slight reservation I have is : does it mean 'our' blog is more likely to be invaded in the days after games we lose ??? At the moment we're pretty good at dissecting defeats ourselves and, barring one or two, rarely see WUM's spouting drivel. Will this be the onslaught of more, how can I put it, losers ? Idiots ? Binners ? *insert own term*

Anyway, a minor point. Just wanted to pass on my thanks to not only you Nick but JD, Tony, Kenn, Mark and other 'authors' of posts but also my fellow posters.

I seriously doubt I'd cope at work without each and everyone of you.

Nick
Would just like to echo the earlier comments, as far as I’m concerned this has always been the only site worth visiting where CFC is concerned. All the bloggers are passionate about CFC and the comments have always been informative, constructive and even if not everybody agrees with them, at least their opinions are respected.
I’m sure that you and the other bloggers will continue to do a great job and keep the integrity of the site up to its high standards

We are all here for the same reason: Our beloved Chelsea Football Club! Sometimes we may disagree with each other over players, managers, tactics and transfers etc but i believe every true blue who visits this website wants the best for the world's biggest club at the end of the day. =)

And a random and some what bizzare piece of news:

teamtalk.com:

Ex-director wages war on Chelsea

A former senior figure at Chelsea takes the club to an employment tribunal on Tuesday in a dispute over alleged "unlawful wage deductions".

Paul Smith, formerly group business affairs director, will be at the central London tribunal "to pursue the club" for deductions "amounting to a significant six-figure sum", according to a spokesman for his solicitors.

They added: "The money relates to salary, benefits and bonuses unpaid since the beginning of Mr Smith's employment and agreed upon in February 2007 between Mr Smith and Peter Kenyon, Chelsea's chief executive, who will be among those testifying at the tribunal."

Mr Smith is also pursuing a claim in the High Court for damages for his notice period and other sums due which would take the total value of his claim to seven figures, the spokesman said.

Chelsea conceded unfair dismissal earlier this year and an employment tribunal ordered the club to pay the maximum compensatory award for a claim of its type, £60,600, he added.

Harriet Bowtell, solicitor at Russell Jones & Walker, said: "My client has been very unfairly treated by Chelsea. From the start of his employment he was not paid the remuneration promised. He worked extremely hard for the club and delivered excellent results.

"Having finally reached agreement with Chelsea in February 2007 on the sums due, he was subsequently sacked without notice and the money never paid.

"Whilst Chelsea have admitted unfair dismissal they have yet to accept liability for the monies due."

Mr Smith said: "I worked tirelessly for Chelsea Football Club and delivered clear results.

"I am confident that the tribunal will ensure that I am rewarded for the work that I did according to the agreement between myself and Peter Kenyon."

A spokesman for Chelsea said: "As a result of the restructuring of Chelsea's marketing strategy during the middle of 2007, Chelsea decided that the role of group business affairs director, held by Paul Smith, was redundant. Paul Smith left Chelsea as a result.

"Chelsea has always accepted that the dismissal was technically unfair and has been fully prepared to compensate Paul Smith for this according to the relevant statutory redundancy procedure.

"Chelsea has agreed to accept a finding of unfair dismissal and to pay full compensation for this to Paul Smith."

Now, WHO IN THE BLUE HELL IS PAUL SMITH?!

LINK

If your news means that the site is easier to run and maintain, Nick, then I'm delighted. Long may it last.

Well done Nick.
Because of you I have been able to share joy,depression,anger and happiness with Chelsea fans all over the world.
This blog gives everyone the chance to voice their opinion on everything Chelsea.This is the BEST place to debate what means so much to all true Blues fans.Many thanks for all your hard work,without you I wouldn't be typing this now.

This is a wonderful next step Nick. Congratulations to yourself and the core team for taking it this far. For me, this blog is a necessary read first thing every morning and several times throughout the day when it becomes a guilty pleasure. Some of the comments are pure bonkers but the articles and chief regular posters always make interesting, cultivated and most importantly Chelsea-supporting sense. As we square up to Manyoo for another season with Big Phil in charge, their influence and the general animosity towards us throughout the media, will be cranked up to levels we haven't even imagined yet. It will mean we will need, more than ever, an 'official' unofficial forum of intelligent comment to come to air views and share our feelings for our growing community of Blues fans. Thanks again for providing it.

I agree with Fifty. The only thing I am afraid is that this blog can turn to this BBC Muppet show blog 606. That would be sad. This blog used to be, at least for me, sanctuary of sanity.

As is Peregrine (Chris), I too am a daily visitor - not only to check on new postings but to catch up on the comments. I have only posted a few times but, at the risk of appearing obsessive/compulsive, I couldn't get through a day without checking the site.
Chelsea Blog is well laid out & easy to read and because of that we all feel that we know the contributors quite well. It's a fantastic mixing of so many different opinions and for the most part, intelligent, well-thought out comments. Even the knee-jerk reactions are always welcome (although sometimes ripped to pieces!).
Excellent work Nick and plaudits also to Tony, Jonathan, Mark and all who contribute. I'm sure we'll follow wherever Chelsea Blog goes....

Sounds good Nick, well done you deserve the peace of mind.

But second to any concerns we'll get invaded by idiots after every game. Perhaps we should all make it our policy to ignore any obvious wind-up merchants and they'll quickly get bored.

Been reading the blog religiously for quite a while now but haven't commented before as only been a fan since ranieri days and don't want to show my ignorance. But great stuff, and will definitely be following you to the new site.
Keep up the good work ...

I have now bookmarked LINK

Keep up the good work, Nick! Roman might recruit you one day! :-)

Thanks, everybody.

After the move the blog will look and function almost exactly as it does now. OleOle's web developers have done a great job maintaining the current look and functionality.

As for being invaded by idiots after every game, that is something that has always been beyond my control. I have never censored the blog or prevented anyone with a semblance of sanity from posting. We'll probably still attract the odd nutter, like we do now, but Peter's idea to ignore them is probably best.

Rest assured that we will not be turning into the 606 forums!

6. @Greenlight

"Will we need to re-register the usernames at OleOle in order to keep blogging, or will the names continue to be recognised?"

Nobody will be forced to register with OleOle to post a comment - you will still be able to enter any name you wish in the comment form.

I'd like to add my thanks to everyone involved for making this such an enjoyable and [mostly] intelligent blog that I'll certainly stick with.

Nick - does this mean you'll have more time to share your stunningly accurate football betting predictions under your suggested new username "Nick (The Bookies' Friend) Benfield" ;-)

20 @BlueBoyDave

You really don't want to know my football betting predictions! ;-)

Croatia and Italy gave me a good run for my money, but I don't want to see another effing penalty shoot-out! Of course if I was clever I would have played the book on Betfair and come out at least all square, but I rarely bet enough to worry about such things.

I worked for an on-course bookmaker for seven years in the nineties so I should know better.

Congrats and good luck. Does this mean more work now?

Quick question, will I need to update my RSS feed?

Seeing as conversation has turned vaguely in the direction of the Euro semi-finals, who does everybody think will make it all the way?

Germany are shoo-ins to beat Turkey, but Russia and Spain looks like it'll be much more difficult to judge. The former do not look like a team that got thrashed 4-1 in their first game and they definitely won't be going down so easily this time around. A Germany - Russia final would be a dream for me; Ballack has the chance to finally receive a winner's medal that his career so richly deserves, and the underdogs can potentially cause a mighty upset two tournaments in a row which is always great to see.

I'm not going to be able to watch the final on Sunday because I'll be at a Radiohead concert in Manchester. Needless to say how thankful I am that VCR is still around!

So if I understand the technogoolies aright, as a humble serf eeking out my daily existance in blogland, I pay my rent as always, my life is unchanged. I can still look forward to m'lord Benfield riding by and booting me in the head as he passes, but when I look at the castle walls in the distance there is a different flag flying.

God is in his heaven, I am content and grateful as always that there are those who understand this internet m'larkey.

Regarding the Arshavin business, does anyone know why the Russians seem to have favoured Spain and Portugal as destinations over the years? Or am I imagining things.

Semi final wise I have a horrible feeling that both of them may be really dull.

The majority if games up till now have been really exciting, so everything points to a bit of dull football.

I suppose for the potential of a spectacle I want a Germany v Spain final, but Russia are looking very good. And how can you write off the Turks ?? Ahead for all of 2 and a half minutes of the 390 they've played. What a story it would be if they were to progress.

Bayou - not sure about the Russians and Spain / Portugal. Maybe to do with the climate, it gets a bit Siberian here now and then. Maybe they're bored of cold weather. Have there been that many in the Premiership ?? Smertin was decent if not much else. They certainly dont need to move for the money, by all accounts some are paid better than players over here.

@ Nick Benfield
definately good news Nick. we appreciate your hardwork and we are going with you there with the assumption that you have given deep thought to this, which i believe you have.

its a sign of our own growth as a group of bloggers and commenters. and the right time is now, as we are preparing to also take the Blues to another level

however much as we think this is all for the better i would hasten to wonder, doesnt going to OleOle mean that we would be found out by some goons from somewhere who would completely over-run this blog with their meaningless dribble? as you know, this blog is the most reasonable and intelligent around, we would not want some idiots (especially non-blue) to come in here and spoil our discussion with a lower level of reasoning.

Congrats Nick!

Maybe you can take over from Peter Kenyon;-)

At least you're sane...

22. Robbie

"Quick question, will I need to update my RSS feed?"

I will do my best to ensure that the RSS feed remains as it is. At the moment a WordPress plugin forwards LINK to our FeedBurner URL LINK We intend to keep the FeedBurner URL as our main RSS feed and continue to forward LINK to it - if that makes sense. If you use LINK you should be fine.

23. Peregrine (Chris)

I cannot believe you're choosing Radiohead over the Euro 2008 final! They haven't made a decent record since 1997's OK Computer! Only kidding. I've seen them live numerous times over the last 15 years, including at Glastonbury. I saw them support R.E.M. at the Milton Keynes Bowl in 1995 - I nearly died of heatstroke that day so I remember it well. :-)

24. Blue Bayou

"... life is unchanged ... but when I look at the castle walls in the distance there is a different flag flying."

Yes, great analogy.

great job.

The best and only Chelsea blog I read so hopefully it will stay the same.

Regarding the blog, so in effect everything will remain the same except we will be the Chelsea Blog side by side with other blogs under one overall banner?

Nick, thanks for all your hard work running this blog. This blog is always available thanks to you maintaining the system unrewarded in the background. Even when everyone decides to precede their username with Blue you've been there day and night moderating!

This blog has given me the platform to post football comments mixed with sexual innuendo. Next season I'm contemplating throwing some food analogies into the mix and then I'll have covered the three topics I think most about.

Thanks

P.S. How does it feel now you've become a .com millionaire?

OLE OLE!

Great news that the blog is following the ever greater heights being reached by the team on the pitch. Looking ahead to the future i only have one very slight concern like everyone else. I feel like at present this blog is a little chelsea secret, providing the perfect insight into what it means to be a chelsea fan. Whether it's the anger, joy, tears or frustration of supporting Chelsea, you were always able to come on to the blog and express those feelings amongst fellow Chelsea fans. On the 'new' blog, i just hope that we don't see an invasion of Spurs or Liverpool supporters turning up if we happen to draw or lose a game. I know that the growth of the blog can only be good news but i just hope that our little Chelsea secret doesn't become overrun by rival teams.

On a brighter note, i see that the wave of Arsenal blogs have a nice image summing up their club like that weird cannon thing. So what should our image be?
A chelsea hero like Zola, JT or SuperFrank (assuming he's still here), the image of Frank after scoring that Penalty against Liverpool, or should it be the reason why Chelsea are the powerhouse we are today, Roman Abramovich.

KTBFFH

Nick,

Just wondered why you didn't sell up to Football 365?

Think of the benefits. You make a killing (a reward for all your hard work) and Tony Glover gets to spend all his time on his favourite website. (realises no tin hat strong enough has yet been invented and runs..)

30. Dio

"... so in effect everything will remain the same except we will be the Chelsea Blog side by side with other blogs under one overall banner?"

That's pretty much it. I believe OleOle wants to attract what they consider to be the best blogs for each club around the world. We will be the featured Chelsea FC blog.

31. Mark

Thanks, Mark. I'm looking forward to seeing how you get food references into your posts. ;-)

"How does it feel now you’ve become a .com millionaire?"

I wish.

33. Habs

I wouldn't worry too much. I don't foresee a problem with rival fans ruining the blog for the rest of us. I will maintain 100% control over all content and user moderation and will do my best to stop the idiots from ruining the asylum. :-)

34. Blue Bayou

What a horrible thought. I'd be careful if I were you - Tony's armed with golf sticks so your tin hat might prove inadequate... although currently he's hitting a little white ball round a few acres of Spain, and probably drinking too much sangria. ;-)

@ 28 (Nick)

I ordered the ticket at Christmas when they were first released and had no clue when the final would be, so it's all an unfortunate coincidence. It's definitely more expensive than sitting at home watching the final (£50!) but I haven't had a chance to see Radiohead before and I think it will be a more memorable experience.

Besides, I've made a worse mistake in my recent agreement to go to Spain with my family this summer after months of nagging on their part without considering the implications: I'm going to miss the Portsmouth game, or the opportunity to go to it at least as I've been planning. After all, a new manager doesn't come every day... It isn't the same watching it in a dodgy bar in Alicante. I could always go missing on the day of the flight!

Nick

On a serious note it has been noticeable over the years how football sites, message boards etc. get taken over and change character completely to meet the requirements of the new owners, generally the lowest common denominator in terms of content and appeal.

This seems to be a different model and hopefully we can all maintain the character and personality of this corner of the football world.

Thank you for the work in making this blog available. I have been read-only mostly but I enjoy reading comments from people who know more about football than I do; humour and a 'moderator light' approach.

Well that's reassuring news, thanks Nick. Maybe the new blog will start getting famous. We may even be quoted on TV or in newspapers if the blog's views start influencing club policy. Well that's the dream. Just wait a few years until you here Kenyon say:

"We've listened to the fans on chelseablog and we're going to agree with their plans. That's why we're going to sign Messi and Kaka and bring back Zola as our new coach..."

After this huge news of the blog's growth, there seems to have been a lull in the transfer rumours. No news of Deco, Schweinsteiger, Villa... Maybe that means Kenyon's continuing his quiet work behind the scenes or everyone's on holiday whilst Roman's in Switzerland, quietly tapping up Arshavin.

KTBFFH

I think Kenyon is in stealth mode. Dont be surprised if we sign someone out of the blue real soon.

@40

I can see the headlines: " Blues sign new player, for the Blues, out of the Blue."

LINK

Could this man be a Chelsea boss in waiting? Certainly a Chelsea legend, it was such a shame to see injuries end his career early.

Nick, happy that you have found a solution that works for you. I've always enjoyed this blog, both for the comments and the excellent game reviews. If this makes your life easier, then I'm all for it.

I must say I like the 2000 character limit. Should keep things flowing...

On the Euro side, I don't care who we play in the final, I just want my Spanish brethren to finally win it. It would do wonders for the mood of the country- but it would put a ridiculous price on David Villa's head. (Not that he wants to come to us anyway)

That said, did anyone else notice that the Italians (who I otherwise hate) displayed a masterclass titled "How to Stop Fernando Torres: An example in 85 minutes"? The astute manager may have a fighting chance against 'pool next year.

Well I see it's up and running Nick and it looks good. Well done on your negotiating skills, I'm sure the blog will continue to evolve for the benefit of all Chelsea supporters.

Aaarrrgghhhh,

No more numbered comments.

And for early morning posts, I found it easier to know the date someone posted something. 'About 19 hours ago' means I actually have to engage brain to work on my response.

As you can tell, I never bothered engaging it for any comments I made....

From football365: Felipe, please

Luiz Felipe Scolari says he "will not allow anyone in England or anywhere else" to change his name to Big Phil.


The new Chelsea boss is in for a rude awakening when he realises that he cannot stop the English media referring to him as 'Big Phil' rather than the less-catch Felipe.


"I might find it hard adapting to the ways of football in England, to the rain, and maybe to the food. But I will do it," Scolari is quoted as saying in the Daily Telegraph. "But one thing I cannot adapt easily to is when they call me Big Phil.


"I don't want to see my name spelled with a 'Ph', I want to see it spelled with an F. It is Felipe, not Phil. I will not allow anyone in England or anywhere else to change my name."


Good luck with that Phil.

"As you can tell, I never bothered engaging it for any comments I made...."

Bit like me then Fifty mate, and probably we're too old (well me anyway) and stubborn to change our ways

He isnt officially unveiled yet as Chelsea manager and he's starting his nonsense. LOL

all seems okay so far... just found this decent site. good way of keeping up to date with which of your youth players are going on loan to QPR.

LINK

Nick (or anyone else).

Is there a reason that links posted in comments dont 'work'.

For instance the link in Peter's post just appears as text (for me at leaat) and I cant click on it as I could in POO (Pre Ole-Ole. Definitely not a phrase I'll be saying out loud).

And seriously, what you gonna do about it 'Big Phil'. Hunt me down ???

To register your username has to be > 4 characters so Mark is invalid. No worries, I'm now Mark25.

Bonjour all,

So far, so good...! Thanks to Nick for seamlessly taking us into the new era - very pleased about it all, I have to say.

Laid up with man lurgy for a few days - what's been occuring? Who are we giving a gilt-edged pension to now, Roger Milla?

@ Fifty/ Clive - agree about the loss of numbers and date/time - it took me ages to find where I'd got to last time I logged on!

I could do without the reading lesson every time I post [and the green and red arrows which I can't use] - unless I sign up for an account.

Nick - is it possible to get internet links to format as hyperlinks like they used to - I'm having to cut and paste them now?

Perhaps all the football journalists not still at Euro 2008 have gone on holiday - there seems an amazing lack of new rubbish rumours about us in the papers this week...

Hello, everybody.

I've not heard from the OleOle since the switch over. I'll keep you posted.

The comments were numbered in the test site they showed me - I'll do my best to get them numbered again.

I'll also enquire about clickable URLs.

I expect there'll be a few wrinkles to iron out. Thanks for being patient.

Cheers.

Just a quick one to the readers/contributors worried the site would change dramatically - all I'll say is that my readers had similar concerns but the blog/comments/forums etc have remained as is (bar the odd bit of teething trouble here and there).

There's no reason why it'd be a 606 shitfest. The lads will have the same control over their site and its content as always.

And as a welcome to OleOle I'd love to offer you all a present - his name is William and apparently he's a centre-half. You can have him for free. Seriously. Please take him.

Arseblog,

Thanks for the welcome - here's to some mature banter.

On behalf of Chelsea, I'd like to repay the offer of a present.

Please pick a name from the following list. You wont be disappointed. Honest.

Andrei
Claudio
Shaun
Tal
Saloman
Florent

Sorry Nick, but while we're all whineing like little girls - any chance of the 'edit' function making a re-appearance ??

An absolute God-send in the POO days, I make too many spelling mistakes so it was good to re-read and be able to correct the errors. Now I just come across as Jose Musumba ;-) (only joking Jose. If you're here.)

And - boo-hoo - I can't create an Ole-Ole account as 'Fifty' already exists apparently.

How very dare they. I'm torn between creating a new account with a different name, or just going through the rigmarole of keying my user-name, email address and the 'code' every time.

Oh, and by the way, once I've done all the above and hit 'submit comment' the box greys out but nothing refreshes so I can see what I posted - I have to click on another link and come back to the comments section to see it. Anyone else having this problem or is it more evidence of my complete lack of IT nous ???

You're too kind. I'll swap you one Shaun for an Emmanual (Ivorian, not Togonian).

Same problem with the comment submission too.

Fifty - I'm not sure about the edit function. I had to do a bit of code hacking to get that to work in WordPress, the blog's previous content management system. I know the web developers at OleOle are working on bringing in a few improvements in the future, comment editing could be one those.

OleOle set up accounts for the current blog authors using the 'CB' prefix, so if you wanted to sign up you could be 'cbfifty'. It would keeps things simple.

Having to type in the random letters before posting a comment is an easy way to prove you're a human being and not a computer intent on spamming the blog! I used plugins to do this but they would eat perfectly legitimate comments all the time.

I'm also having the same problem with submitting comments. We'll get it fixed. The OleOle web developers are based in New Zealand so it'll probably take a while to iron out the wrinkles.

Arseblog - Thanks for the welcome. You can keep that William bloke.

@Fifty - I want the edit function back too as my fingers are like the monkeys long before they managed to write the complete works of Shakespeare - and the "submit comment" hiatus is weird.

I guess you could be a Tourette's like "FiftyFifty" or take the Mark route to "Fifty50" as a name. Apart from avoiding the posting rigmarole and getting to attach a picture to your username is there any real benefit to signing up?

While we're on names - "Not Big Phil" obviously doesn't speak English too well after all when he encourages people to start his name with an "F" - can we come up with something for him suitable for family-friendly viewing?

On football matters, i was just reading how Stalin disbanded an entire Russian football club after their players failed to win the Olympics for him. Given Roman's stranglehold over Russian football and the fact he is, as we are often reminded, as evil a man as has ever meddled in our previously honest and innocent sport, couldn't he threaten to do something similar if we don't get Arshavin at a knock-down price?

Fifty, I agree with most of your offers to the Arseblog but Sheva and Kalou?!

I've had to abandon some of my old name in making an account but I am definitely still Chris. It's less clunky this way anyway.

@ BlueBoyDave: the most simple transition to make would be to 'Big Fel', but I think innuendo like that is something we're trying to avoid!

Okay, I have signed up, ditched the 'r' and taken up a controversial capital 'W' for my new user name.

I am astounded that Arseblog will keep Senderos but ditch Gallas, whinging little sausage that he is (Gallas, not Arseblog).

How about:

Large Luiz
Full-sized Felipe
Statuesque Scolari

Sweepstake on first 'Big Fool' headline in the tabloids?

Two brief points (as we only have 2000 characters now)

I don't want to be the person to tell Mr Scolari that the game is called Phootball in this country.

I am taking the Spanish origins of the new website name as a positive omen that I will be trousering my £30 (see blogs passim) come Sunday evening

@ Fifty

This may strike you as rather juvenile and pointless, which runs counter to the serious and purposeful nature of this blog but as you are having problems with opening an account in your current name why don't you adopt a new nomenclature in honour of the arrival of our new manager.

I refer of course to Phifty

So this is the future of blogging then!!!!

Site looks fine, miss the numbering of messages, but I am sure we will all get used to it.

@ Arseblog.... Will happily swap you Willy for Tal Ben Haim and Steve Sidwell, but I'm afraid you can stick your Emmanuele up your Eboue!