Win pleases Kalou

Salomon Kalou marked his return to fitness with a goal in the 6-0 win over Manchester City on Saturday, the first time he has scored for us in consecutive league appearances.

A hamstring injury kept Kalou out of the previous two matches against Middlesbrough and Schalke, but he made a goal scoring return to action on Saturday from a left-wing position in the famous 4-3-3 formation.

He was thrilled to follow up his winner at Bolton with the fifth goal at Stamford Bridge against City.

“I loved it. It was a good game to play, and I hope people enjoyed it,” he smiled, in customary Kalou fashion.

When asked whether Avram Grant had given him specific instructions to help unlock the visitors’ defence, he responded: “Not much, just that I needed to run behind the defence when Didier has the ball and that’s what I tried to do.

Drogba wants to leave Chelsea

Didier Drogba has been quoted by a French newspaper saying, “I want to leave Chelsea.”Nothing can stop me from leaving now. Something is broken with Chelsea.”

It was said to have been the result of a broken morale to a big extent among the players following the departure of Jose Mourinho.

He added, “The damage in the dressing room is big because we know now what happened and who caused Mourinho’s departure.”

Even given the rumors of superstars coming next year, Drogba still claims that will not change his mind.

“I know that Ronaldinho and Kaka are linked to come next season but even that won’t change my mind.”

Chelsea Football Club issued a statement to deny the rumors.  It said: “Didier Drogba signed a new four-year contract last year. As a top professional we are sure Didier is committed to Chelsea and intends to honour that contract.”

Carvalho determined to stay

The player who was brought by former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho from Porto has destroyed rumours about him leaving during the January transfer window.  The manager’s exit has caused speculations that the player will follow him too.  However, Ricardo Carvalho denied this and instead reiterated his desire to stay with the Blues.

“At this moment I’m not thinking about leaving Chelsea, but how to improve as a player,” explained Carvalho.

“The Chelsea players are prepared for everything and I’m convinced that we can have a successful season this year.

“I have not changed, I am always the same. Mourinho’s exit is in the past and now it’s important to live in the present.”

Five in for FIFA honor

A shortlist of players has just been released by FIFA for the World Player of the Year award and out of the 30 players, 5 are from Chelsea.  Put together by FIFA’s technical committee, John Terry, Frank Lampard, Petr Cech, Michael Essien and Didier Drogba were name.  The Blues become the 2nd best represented team, following Barcelona with 7.

Voting will be done by the coach and captain of each nation, with the restriction of not being able to vote for anyone from their own nation.  This means JT and Drogba will be able to participate in the votation on December 17 in Zurich but cannot vote for Lamps and Essien, respectively.

In 2005 Frank Lampard finished second behind Brazilian Ronaldinho and Andriy Shevchenko placed third a year before.

Manchester United have 3 in Rooney, Ronaldo, and Tevez while Liverpool have 2 in Gerrard and Torres.  Arsenal surprisingly have none.

Nevin looks for team spirit.

Remember the good old days when a couple of wins were greeted by a gleeful roar of approval as opposed to a massive communal sigh of relief?

The satisfaction at the Reebok Stadium was mixed with relief because a draw or a defeat up there would have, to put it mildly, made the league table look less than pleasing to anyone with blue tinted specs.

Valencia in eastern Spain and then Bolton in eastern Lancashire may appear as alike as sparkling wine and brown ale, but both of the single goal victories were just as highly commendable, just as important and just as potentially difficult in the circumstances.

The side had a reassuringly familiar look about it in both games, particularly when Frank Lampard finally appeared back on the scene on Sunday. That comfort of having the usual suspects available would have been a great help to everyone.

Cech ranks fifth in Chelsea all-time GK

Following a clean sheet last Sunday against Bolton at the Reebok Stadium where we won 1-0, Petr Cech has climbed up the ranks in Chelsea’s all-time top goalkeepers. Moving one spot up, he climbed past Ed de Goey who served the Blues from 1997-2003 and accumulated a total of 72+1 clean sheets in 178+1 games. Cech’s record stands at 73 clean sheets, representing over 52% of his appearances for the Blues.

Immediately above Cech are Jim Molyneux (1910-22) and Sam Millington (1926-32) who kept 77 and 78 clean sheets in 239 and 245 games, respectively during Chelsea’s early times. On the second spot is now second-choice keeper Carlo Cudicini who got 85+4 clean sheets in 189+5 games.

It will surely be tough to take over the all-time top goalie Peter Bonetti who accumulated a massive 208 clean sheets in almost2 decades he spent with Chelsea.

JT: We’re developing.

 Before departing for England duty, John Terry has discussed his pleasure with the new coaching setup at Stamford Bridge, praising the work of Avram Grant and his support staff.

The Chelsea captain has played the last two games in a protective mask to prevent damaging his fractured cheekbone, and his willingness to put himself on the line is a great tribute to the new management, and Terry’s commitment to turn things around.

In that time, we have achieved two important victories, with wins away at Valencia and Bolton, and Terry believes to pick up the three points at the Reebok Stadium was vital.

Despite his injury, Terry is determined to continue playing for both club and country, and insists he is happy just to be on the field, following a frustrating 2006/7.

Ten Cate moves to Chelsea

Chelsea will now have to fix terms with the Dutchman for a move to become Avram Grant’s assistant manager.  The Dutchman is understood to have been offered £2.1 million a year.  Before coming to Ajax, he was part of the Barcelona’s coaching staff that help win the Champions League in 2006 and was assistant to current manager Frank Rijkaard.

In a statement released by Ajax, they said: “Following talks with Chelsea, Ajax have agreed the direct transfer of Henk ten Cate to Chelsea.

“Last week, Ten Cate informed the club he wanted us to negotiate with Chelsea after he had been approached personally.

“Ajax discussed it internally and it is now down to Henk ten Cate to discuss his own contract with Chelsea.”