See what I did there? Inspired by Spurs (don’t worry, I’ll wash my mouth with soap afterwards) making good use of the 5-1 scoreline against Ar5ena1, I came up with this little gem of a title. Genius.

*ducks to avoid the dozen or so rotten tomatoes and eggs*

Now that we have the pleasantries out of the way, allow me to present my first match review after a very, very long time. Of course, you may ask what is there to review? The scoreline of 7-1 says it all, really. Well, that is technically correct.

Still, I want to write something and a something I shall write. Yesterday was a match that was billed as one of those which could make or break our season. But after the initial hiccup when Villa equalized through John Carew, it was Chelsea all the way. Scoring 7 once in a season is noteworthy. But twice? That, my friends, requires something special. And yesterday it was special. We had Malouda terrorising the Villa right-back all game and bagging 2 goals for the second successive game. And Yuri Zhirkov too decided to join in the attack twice, earning 2 penalties for each foray into the opposition box.

Super Frank was at it again, taking his season’s tally past the 20 goal mark yet again with 4 (yes, four) goals against a hapless Villa side which came into this game as the only unbeaten team in 2010. I guess they had it coming.

Salomon Kalouless came on later and he too chipped in with a goal which must have made Martin O’Neill wish the earth would open up and swallow him. It didn’t.

So 7-1 it was in the end. Chelsea were seemingly on seventh heaven while it was a hellish nightmare for Aston Villa. After a few minutes at the top of the table, Manchester United went back to the top after beating Bolton Wanderers 4-0. And if you’re not aware, we’ll be visiting them in Manchester next week for a game that is billed as the title decider.

I’ll leave you with the comment made by a Villa fan that I happened to read on a forum today. Till then, take care and Keep The Blue Flag Flying High!

Villa Fan: Woken up this morning by my girlfriend saying ‘Get up, it is 8′. I thought, ‘Oh no, they’ve not effing scored again have they?’

No, it's not Chelsea vs ManU

I never actually expected to be able to watch the match, having been deprived of my weekly dose of the Premier League since the past three months. However, in a surprising turn of events, a couple of friends took over the common television that hangs by the poolside right after dinner and switched the channel to ESPN. A handful of protestations were swiftly silenced after a few more people joined in to watch the big match at 9:30 PM. Now the stage was set – we had 3 Chelsea fans, a couple of ManU fans and an Arsenal fan who was hoping for a draw, in addition to a few neutrals.

The match began in a cagey manner, typical of such encounters. Every tackle, shot on goal and piece of skill was greeted with oohs and aahs by our enthusiastic bunch of football fans. And we also had the obligatory discussions about the best players, how much ManU are missing Ronaldo and will Fergie blame the ref again if ManU lose. After the opening 45 minutes had produced a 0-0 scoreline, we awaited the second half with bated breath, hoping to see a genuine goal-scoring threat from either team ( preferably The Blues).

The second half was almost a carbon-copy of the first one, until a controversial decision to award a freekick to Chelsea resulted in John Terry putting the Blues ahead with a headed goal. 1-0 to Chelsea it was, and the ManU players on the pitch were fuming. What folowed was more than just a football match, with loads of shirt-tugging, tripping the opposition players and time-wasting being more prominent than the football itself. But inspite of United’s continued protests and frustration, as well as the referee’s erratic decision-making, Chelsea hung on to record yet another victory. We are now the league leaders with a 5 point advantage over the second-placed team.

Okay, so the game wasn’t a classic but it was my first experience watching a match with friends and foes (of course, with regards to allegiances only). And I gotta say, it was bloody awesome! Taunting the rival fans when we’re playing well and appreciating the opposition players when they play well is something that is usually restricted only to message-boards, forums or the stadium. But here, we enjoyed every bit of it and had a great time. And of course, the 34″ LCD TV had a big part to play as well.

So a great ending to the weekend and I managed to have a good night’s sleep, which is why this blog o’ mine is alive and kicking once again.

Ross Turnbull - Boro to Chelsea

Chelsea FC have announced their first signing of the season – goalkeeper Ross Turnbull on a free transfer from Middlesbrough. The 24-year old goalkeeper will contest for the substitute goalkeeper spot with Hilario who has also signed a new 2 year deal. And maybe Turnbull could even push Cech for his starting place in a couple of years.

The addition of Turnbull means another English player in the Chelsea ranks, which would prove handy with regard to the 6+5 rule in Europe. Here’s wishing Ross all the very best and a very warm welcome to Stamford Bridge.

Read the official announcement here.

ManU lost to Fulham earlier and had Rooney as well as Scholes sent off. Chelsea could and should have taken advantage of their slip-up. But we didn’t and the gap still remains at 4 points.

As things stand, we’re 2nd in the table but could be overtaken by Liverpool if they win tomorrow. Oh well, let’s just wait and watch. And pray a little, maybe.

“You said you’re serious this time. You said you’d take good care of me. What happened to your promises?”

Without saying a word, I click on the ‘New Post’ button, as if overcome by a deep sense of guilt. Words usually don’t come easily, but this time it’s different…

A lot has happened since I last sat down to utter my frivolous thoughts on these pages. So what better way to reignite the flame, than by updating what’s happened in the past few weeks? Here we go, then:

• In the world of football, or more accurately the Barclays Premier League, Chelsea sit pretty at the top with Liverpool hanging onto their blue coat-tails, separated only by goal-difference. At third are Arsenal Manchester United Manchester City…. Hull City!! No, that is NOT a typo.
• The PC game FIFA 09 released in Europe with great fanfare, but was leaked onto the bit-torrent network at least 1 day before its official launch.
• My days as a bored, employed but not yet called up graduate should be coming to an end soon. Yes!!
• Speaking of bored, I learnt that the Internet is a great way to spend your time. Or rather, waste it.
• The international break is quite a pain in the neck. No football on the telly.
• My room has undergone a mini renovation of sorts.
• My computer still loves me and refuses to let me stay away from it for more than an hour.

And all is well with the world!

Lampard scores to make it 2-1 to Chelsea.

My apologies for being horribly late. Now that you’ve forgiven me, let’s get on with it already:

● Liverpool beat an average-looking Manchester United 2-1.

● Arsenal hammered Blackburn Rovers by 4 goals to nil.

● Fulham edged Bolton Wanderers 2-1 in a relegation six-pointer.

● The madhouse that is Newcastle United crashed to a 1-2 home defeat at the hands of Hull City.

● Portsmouth defeated Middlesbrough by 2 goals to 1.

● West Bromwich Albion narrowly beat West Ham United by a scoreline of 3-2.

● Wigan Athletic drew 1-1 with Sunderland. Titus Bramble on the scoresheet… for Sunderland. Yup, own goal.

● Everton beat Stoke City 3-2.

● Tottenham Hotspur remain rooted to the foot of the table with a 1-2 home loss against Aston Villa.

● Manchester City were brought back to earth with a 1-3 humbling by Chelsea.

A quick look at the table:

Team standings after Week 4 of the Barclays Premier League 2008-09

So, Chelsea reminded the noveau-rich Manchester City that ‘one swallow does not a summer make’ and that it takes a ‘team’ to actually do the business on the pitch. The win was however marred by a stupid red card to John Terry, which has now been rescinded.

That’s it, then. Champions League updates shall follow after all groups have completed their first round of matches.

Juliano Belletti celebrates his goal against Tottenham

Okay, so I haven’t been able to post anything in midweek, not even about Paul Scholes’ shocking but utterly hilarious handball incident in the UEFA Super Cup. Call it my lack of interest or my laziness, but I just coud not get myself to post anything meaningful here. All that is about to change though, because the 3rd week of the Barclays Premier League has just ended. This weekend, 18 teams were in action while Manchester United were busy embarassing themselves in Monaco and hence their fixture has been moved to a later date.

A short and sweet wrap-up is right here:

● A stylish Arsenal team swept aside Newcastle United 3-0. Robin Van Persie scored 2 goals before he hobbled off, injured again.

● West Ham United thumped Blackburn Rovers 4-1.

● Yet another own-goal scored by a Middlesbrough player almost cost them two points, but Tuncay Sanli saved their skins with a late goal, as Boro beat Stoke City 2-1.

● Hull City were hammered 0-5 by… Wigan Athletic!!! Wigan’s new Egyptian recruit Zaki scored a brace in that one.

● Everton crashed to a 0-3 defeat at the hands of Portsmouth.

● Bolton Wanderers and West Bromwich Albion played out a drab 0-0 draw.

● Aston Villa and Liverpool were also involved in a 0-0 borefest.

● The prodigal son returns… That’s what they’ll be thinking at Manchester City, as Shaun Wright-Philips returned from his misery at Chelsea and scored 2 goals to inflict a 3-0 defeat on Sunderland.

● Finally, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur drew 1-1, with both goals coming from defensive errors and mistakes.

A look at the table then:

Team standings after Week 3 of the Barclays Premier League 2008-09

So that’s about it, then. No change at the top, with Chelsea leading Liverpool on goal difference. Spurs get their first point of the season, so do West Brom. There’s an international break coming up for the World Cup qualifiers, so there’ll be some time before the next update.

Till then, I’ll be hoping to post something useful over here!

2 games, 2 goals!

So another week, another round of matches done and dusted. Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither will the title be decided after 2 rounds, but early form suggests that Liverpool’s luck might just be an added advantage to them. Despite being second-best for most of the game and going down by a goal, the Reds somehow managed to nick all 3 points in the end. The big four except Arsenal, all won their fixtures this week. Here’s how it all went:

• Fulham shocked Arsenal with a 1-0 victory over the Gunners. Arsenal look very lightweight in midfield and their defense isn’t in great shape either. Arsene knows?

• Everton beat West Bromwich Albion by 2 goals to 1. Despite being very, very good in the Championship and being tipped as the most likely candidates to survive in the Premiership, the first two weeks of the season haven’t exactly given a reassurance to WBA.

• Same old, same old. New faces, same disjointed performance. Tottenham Hotspur lost again. This time going down 1-2 to Sunderland. French stiker Djibril Cisse scored on his debut for Roy Keane’s men.

• Stoke City turned the tables on Aston Villa by beating them 3-2. Villa were coming on the back of a good win against Manchester City, but the newcomers swiftly brought them back to earth.

• Newcastle United beat Bolton 1-0. Michael Owen scored, so apparently he is not injured. Yet.

• As mentioned earlier in this post, Liverpool rode their luck to win 2-1 against a spirited Middlesbrough side that went ahead thanks to the new leaner, meaner Mido. An incredibly lucky deflection brought Liverpool level and Steven Gerrard scored in the dying seconds with a good half-volley to win it.

• Blackburn and Hull City drew 1-1.

• Manchester City bounced back from their on-field and off-the-field problems to hand out a 3-0 thrashing to West Ham United.

• Manchester United beat Portsmouth 1-0. Darren Fletcher on the scoresheet. That tells you a lot, doesn’t it?

• Finally, Chelsea beat a plucky Wigan side 1-0 thanks to a sublime freekick from Deco.

Here’s how things stand at the moment:

Team standings after Week 2 of the Barclays Premier League 2008-09

Here are the highlights of the Wigan vs Chelsea game. Don’t miss Deco’s freekick!!

Anoher week gone by. Chelsea on top. Can’t wait for the next round!

AC Milan legend.

British record transfer.

Chelsea flop.

Now back to AC Milan for one last hurrah.

These lines efectively sum up Shevchenko’s career during the past few years. He arrived at Chelsea from AC Milan for a hefty amount and a massive reputation as Europe’s finest striker. He left yesterday with his reputation diminished and his confidence shattered. Not to mention being branded the Premier League’s most expensive flop ever.

The good old times...

The terms of the deal have not been disclosed, but it appears to be a regular sale rather than a loan move. Whatever it is, it’s definitely something which will benefit both parties. Chelsea seem to have offloaded one of the highest earners at the club, thus significantly lowering the wage bill, Shevchenko on the other hand, will be hoping to rediscover his old form on the familiar hunting grounds of Italy.

Like most others, I had pretty high hopes from Shevchenko when he arrived at Stamford Bridge. But he failed to live up to the expectations. Injuries and the team’s unfavourable playing style hindered his game. But no one can point a finger at him for not trying. The man gave his all when playing in a Blue shirt. It wasn’t lack of effort by any means. His first season in English football didn’t go too well, and injuries took their toll on his second. I waited 2 years for him to finally come good and silence his critics, but guess it just wasn’t meant to be. Although he scored some cracking goals, most notably the one against Sp*rs, he just could not justify his price-tag and age was also catching up with him.

Did ya see that? Did ya? Did ya?

Anyways, he was one of my favourite players at the club. Never whined, nor complained about how he was treated at Chelsea. And if there’s one thing that’s missing in today’s footballers, it’s dignity. Sheva may not have shown his true ability, but he carried himself with dignity, unlike a few others at the club (Drogba, I’m looking at you). And now he has left in a dignified manner, without uttering anything against Chelsea, instead just expressing his delight (or was it relief?) on his return to Milan.

Here’s wishing him all the very best for his future and hoping that he’ll be remembered as an AC Milan legend, rather than a Chelsea flop.