As we proceed, to buy what we need.

Diddy knows what is up. As you should have already heard, the Court of Arbitration for Sport has agreed to freeze the two-window transfer ban on Chelsea, as well as the four-month playing ban on Gael Kakuta. These bans, imposed by Fifa's Dispute Resolution Chamber, are temporarily lifted until the club's appeal has been heard and ruled on.

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Via the official Web site...

Tell us your background as a player in Scotland.
My footballing background goes back many years. I was a player in my younger days and I had a number of trials around some of the local teams, but never really made it onto the big stage. I was a big fan of football as well.

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Via the Guardian (of course), following our 5-0 demoltion of Blackburn on the weekend ...

"The oversimplified reading of a diamond formation* suggests that any success is significantly dependent on the excellence of attacking full-backs. Yet Chelsea were without Ashley Cole and Jose Bosingwa when they obliterated Blackburn at the weekend.

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Less than a month ago, we approached a Premiership game away at Fulham with the goalkeeping position in disarray. Almunia had been struck down for over a week with a chest infection, and with Fabianski also out with a long term injury, young Mannone had been thrown into a Champions League game in Liege.

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With the first quarter of football almost over in most leagues around Europe, now is a good time to measure the current progress of some of the giant clubs on the continent. Actually, analyzing the success or failure of clubs in general won't be nearly as exciting as identifying a more specific object of analysis.

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Robin van Persie's new role at the tip of the Arsenal front three is sought to bring more variety to side's attacking play.
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Few would have had Thomas Vermaelen as Arsenal's top scorer in the early stages of the season, not least because he is a defender but the Belgian had also yet to kick a ball in the Premier League before his £10million move from Ajax and who others decided against signing because of his height.

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Chelsea announced today Peter Kenyon will resign his role as chief executive of the club at the end of next month. Following his full-time departure on Oct. 31, Kenyon will remain with the club as a non-executive director for an unspecified amount of time.

"I am extremely proud of my time at Chelsea and of the friendships I have forged with everyone here," Kenyon said.

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God. Not again.

It's that time. Time for the Champions League - and all the frustration it brings with it.

Today not only represents the beginning of Chelsea's march toward Madrid with a home date against Porto, it also marks the 10th anniversary of the club's debut in the famed European competition.

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Discuss.

I'm banned for four f****** months?!

Points you may want to touch on:
1. Why Chelsea is the only club singled out in this bogus monstrosity.
2. Will this ban hold up?
3. Why isn't anyone talking about the player, Gael Kakuta, and how his ban, a worldwide one of four months, may turn out to be the most severe?

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Wondering who Andriy Shevchenko won't play against in this season's Champions League? Or, are you intrigued by who Chelsea might be drawn against in tomorrow's CL group stage draw? Never fear.

Check out the seedings below, then make your prediction. I'll banking on an Inter, Fiorentina, Standard threesome to join us.

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Arsene Wenger has traded the 4-4-2 with the 4-3-3 for the new season in order to reinvigorate his side but what is different about the new system?
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The problem facing Chris Barnard, the first surgeon to successfully perform a human-to-human heart transplant was rejection whether the patient's body would accept the new organ.

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I don't know about the rest of you, but when it comes to sports, I'm a numbers guy. I love statistics! It could be as simple as how many points Manchester United is away from winning their fourth Premier League title in a row (that number should be three points lower after Wednesday, but Burnley really messed with that stat) or as complex as what Everton's home record is when Yakubu scores with his right foot opposed to his left.

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Betting companies fascinate me, partly because I have a propensity for number crunching, and partly because the people involved have to be lightning quick, reacting with incredible speed to the most innocuous looking story, hidden in an unnoticed column on a newspaper's website.

Because these days, you can bet on anything.

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Very short of time this morning so I'll be very brief suffice to say I'm over-excited today. The talking is over, the excessive analysis of strengths and weaknesses is done, and the usual wild media predictions have been made (and guess what half of them are tipping Liverpool for the title, as they do every year).

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One thing has struck me while reading all the pre-season predictions from supposedly neutral commentators and columnists, and that is how wildly opposed they are in their foretelling.

Broadly, we are either going to challenge hard for the league, or fall out of the top four entirely. Great, or terrible, nothing in between.

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Estadio Azteca, Mexico - Thin, smoggy air, and an intimidating venue for away teams

Soccer fans and pundits have analyzed the CONCACAF qualifying performances to near death, but have we all missed the point?

Of the eighteen Round 4 World Cup qualifying matches in CONCACAF (so far), how many matches have home teams lost?

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Two days to go.

After getting last night's pointless international friendly with Holland out of the way, it is time to get to the real action this weekend the Premiership finally returns. It seems like forever since that final day victory over Stoke, meandering through transfer rumours and over hyped warm up games, but we're back.

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I don't know if you heard, but there was this small announcement a couple of weekends ago from England's Brave John Terry. JT committed himself to the Chelsea cause after minor flirtation which he denies for some odd reason with the idea of joining the Manchester City empire.

Now, former Blue Mateja Kezman has chimed in on the subject via an exclusive interview with skysports.

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The internet is dominated by teenagers. If you doubt it, go to Yahoo, look at any sports story, and take a look at the comments. Those that are decipherable (why do people use text speak when space isn't limited?) are almost exclusively the extreme views of the fickle, the black and white majority that see either unprecedented success, or unmitigated disaster on the horizon.

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GAME - Chicago takes the win 2-1 ending the Rev's Superliga run. The Revs didn't deserve a loss, but couldn't make their opportunities count. Chicago, on the other hand, had few chances and their stars were mostly silent, but made a difference when they did strike. I didn't see much from Blanco all game, but his well placed free kick proved too much for the Rev's to overcome.

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John Terry will take part in his first training session of the preseason today. This with his future at the club still largely uncertain.

The Chelsea captain has been the subject of persistent interest from Manchester City this offseason, with at least one bid already being rejected. These approaches follow a similar pursuit of Terry from City during last season's January transfew window.

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It was ugly, the USA losing to Costa Rica 3-1, and some say the goals against the USA could have been much worse if Costa Rica did not let up.

Let's face it, a team without a solid defense is pretty hopeless. USA fans will want to love their players, but some realism is needed: do we have a back 4 that is up to the task of playing World Cup soccer?

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With European competition being revamped for 2009/10, the focus has been heavily on the dreadful looking Europa League (in which Everton or Villa would need to navigate 17 matches to win the competition, Fulham 19 as they have an extra qualifying round), but lost amongst the insanity has been the gross complication of Champions League qualification.

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I never got around to discussing Frank Lampard's omission from the list of nominees for the PFA Player of the Year an award Ryan Giggs oddly won. This week we learned that Stevie Gerrard had been named the FWA Footballer of the Year. ... Rubbish.

Our boys over at the EPL Offside Rob and Wayne have asked who we (the royal we) think is the best player in the Premier League.

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Here's a look at how Chelsea has fared against Woolwich Wanderers at their two latest home grounds. Overall, since 1964, the Blues are 9-25-10 when visiting the Arsenal. Ewww.

Date Day Competition Result
26-Sep-64 Sat Division One W, 3-1
04-Sep-65 Sat Division One W, 3-1
04-Feb-67 Sat Division One L, 1-2
30-Dec-67 Sat Division One D, 1-1
23-Nov-68 Sat Division One W, 1-0
17-Jan-70 Sat Division One W, 3-0
03-Apr-71 Sat Division One L, 0-2
14-Aug-71 Sat Division One L, 0-3
02-Sep-72 Sat Division One D, 1-1
20-Mar-73 Tue FA Cup L, 1-2
17-Nov-73 Sat Division One D, 0-0
26-Dec-74 Thu Division One W, 2-1
26-Oct-76 Tue FL Cup L, 1-2
26-Dec-77 Mon Division One L, 0-3
16-Apr-79 Mon Division One L, 2-5
25-Aug-84 Sat Division One D, 1-1
29-Apr-86 Mon Division One L, 0-2
25-Oct-86 Sat Division One L, 1-3
03-Nov-87 Tue Division One L, 1-3
17-Mar-90 Sat Division One W, 1-0
15-Sep-90 Sat Division One L, 1-4
05-Oct-91 Sat Division One L, 2-3
03-Oct-92 Sat Premier League L, 1-2
16-Apr-94 Sat Premier League L, 0-1
15-Oct-94 Sat Premier League L, 1-3
16-Dec-95 Sat Premier League D, 1-1
04-Sep-96 Wed Premier League D, 3-3
28-Jan-98 Wed FL Cup L, 1-2
08-Feb-98 Sun Premier League L, 0-2
11-Nov-98 Wed FL Cup W, 5-0
31-Jan-99 Sun Premier League L, 0-1
06-May-00 Sat Premier League L, 1-2
13-Jan-01 Sat Premier League D, 1-1
18-Feb-01 Sun FA Cup L, 1-3
26-Dec-01 Wed Premier League L, 1-2
01-Jan-03 Wed Premier League L, 2-3
08-Mar-03 Sat FA Cup D, 2-2
18-Oct-03 Sat Premier League L, 1-2
15-Feb-04 Sun FA Cup L, 1-2
07-Apr-04 Wed Champ League W, 2-1
12-Dec-04 Sun Premier League D, 2-2
18-Dec-05 Sun Premier League W, 2-0
05-May-07 Sat Premier League D, 1-1
16-Dec-07 Sun Premier League L, 0-1

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Now, this one? This one I didn't see coming.

French and Barcelona defender Eric Abidal was given a straight red card for apparently tripping Chelsea forward Nicolas Anelka, who was through on goal, midway through the second half of Wednesday's Champions League second leg at Stamford Bridge.

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Sure, I'm angry. Yes, I'm pi**ed. But, really, what can you do?

Chelsea left it all on the pitch Wednesday, coming within seconds of a second consecutive appearance in the Champions League final. Those who wanted football got it; the Blues, for large portions of the match, toyed with the Barcelona defense.

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On Wednesday Manchester United play the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals against FC Porto and this is your invitation to play Sir Alex Ferguson and pick their starting 11.

Porto is a very strong team and arguably looked the better side in the first leg at Old Trafford which ended in a 2-2 draw.

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Our resident professor, Frank Lampard, spoke candidly regarding youth players a little over a week ago. Here's what he had to say:

"There are good young pros out there but nowadays it's made much too easy for them.

"We're all lucky to be where we are, leading nice lifestyles, but that lifestyle is coming earlier and earlier.

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pI am still tabulating up some info on the fouls analysis, but I can provide some interesting insight into home field advantage, and how it may work to United's benefit this season. If you a href="http://www.dcunited.com/press-release/dc-united-dcsec-sodexo-partner-rfk-concessions"read the press releases/a, you know that United has recently signed a new concession contract with a href="http://www. Click to continue reading...

pPerhaps I am incorrect to do, but I sometimes get the impression that Tom Soehn believes you can evaluate the toughness of a team by how willing they are to foul. Now, I am somewhat skeptical of this idea, but my skepticism should not be taken as Truth. So I'd like to examine this question in a little more detail. Click to continue reading...

pAs promised, I give you the wonderful innovation that shows you concisely how to map the depths of your despair. See, when analyzing United, it's helpful to remember that there are two dimensions to the nihilism that threatens to overwhelm any football fan. There's the depths of the abyss to which you've fallen at any given moment. Click to continue reading...

pI'm thinking there should be a good way of separating one's feeling while watching a game, and figuring out the breaking point of fandom at any given moment. To that end, I will debut the "DCenters Angst-O-Graph" in the next day or so, maybe even later today depending on how things go./ppThe problem I am attempting to factor is this: How does one properly direct the feelings of antipathy that a moment may evoke. Click to continue reading...

When Philippe Senderos left for Milan in the summer, it seemed like the loan move was but a formality before he left the club on a permanent basis. Having arrived from Servette touted as the next big thing, his form had been up and down for years following a couple of serious injuries early in [...] Click to continue reading...

Pretty much the only thing I've heard since yesterday's match ended in a goalless draw was how United had missed a golden opportunity. How United should see this as a loss. How United will struggle at home against this Inter side. Jesus Christ, let's put this in perspective.

I will concede that Manchester United are the Champions of England, Champions of Europe, and Champions of the World (an easy thing to concede, as it is fact).

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