While the big news of the day is that Chelsea is free to go after a fifty year old child manager of the utmost ability, it's backup keeper Ross Turnbull's son Josh who is stealing the show. After the final match there were some festivities on the pitch. Josh didn't care. All the boy wants it to score goals.
After crashing out of the group stages in the Champions League and subsequently failing to defend their title, coupled with a third place finish in the English Premier League, some Chelsea fans may look at this season as a disappointing one. The Blues did come away from the campaign with a Europa League title, earned direct berth into the UEFA Champions League and cut the point margin between third and second place Manchester City to just three points.
The future of Fernando Torres has been called into question many times this season, and with Chelsea wrapping up their Premier League third place finish, Roman Abramovich may axe the Spaniard. The Blues have already brought in Demba Ba whom is still in the process of adapting to the Chelsea way; however, Torres seemingly is ready to welcome any additional striker that signs for the Blues this summer according to ESPN FC.
Chelsea finished off their Premier League season strong with another win at the Bridge yesterday to finish a strong third place and automatically qualify for the Champions League group stages. Credit goes out to the players and also to Rafa Benitez - more on him in my next post.
It wasn't the best performance we have ever seen and Chelsea weren't exactly at their best but at the end of the day a win is a win and we delivered the three points when it was needed.
It's a day of goodbyes today on the final day of the 2012-13 Premier League season. Farewell to Sir Alex Ferguson, Paul Scholes, Jamie Carragher, Wigan Athletic, Reading and Queens Park Rangers.
It's also a goodbye to FOX Soccer, who'll be televising their final Premier League games today on US television before they shut down in late July or early August.
After a long and, at times, difficult campaign, it all comes down to what we do today. It's in our hands and we all know what's required. Win and we have at least a qualification game for the Champions League; draw and as long as Sp*rs don't win we've got the same; win, and Chelsea lose, and we finish third.
It's a Saturday night in the United States, which means we get to scour all of the British Sunday tabloids for Premier League news. And boy there are a lot of BS stories tonight!
First up isThe Sunday Peoplewho say that Manchester City have agreed a record £54 million transfer fee for Atletico Madrid striker Radamel Falcao.
Wayne Rooney and Sir Alex Ferguson embrace (Image via MUFC official website)
Transfer rumors continue to fly hot and fast for Manchester United star striker Wayne Rooney. As of May 18, 2013, the want-away forward has been linked all over Europe and continues to increase the amount of speculation around his future in England.
There is a growing buzz and expectation among the Arsenal players and fans that next season could be the start of a new period for the club. All the timings seem to be going our way, after eight years without a trophy. Arsene Wenger has worked miracles to keep the Gunners within the top four while having to sell the best players and pay off the debt from building the Emirates stadium.
According to TalkSport on May 18, 2013, Chelsea star striker Fernando Torres has been linked with a move away from the club this summer.
Despite having done his best to prove himself to Roman Abramovich and the Chelsea fans, Torres has never truly re-captured the blistering form that he had in this Liverpool days.
Future Manchester United manager David Moyes (Flickr Commons)
On Sunday, Chelsea will host Everton in the final round of fixtures in the 2012-13 Premier League season. An interesting caveat about the match is that both sides will likely be markedly different next season Everton manager David Moyes has already agreed to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United while Chelsea will part ways with Rafa Benitez at the end of the season.
Aston Villa's Villa Park has been selected as the venue for the Premier League third-place playoff match, if the game will be necessary after Sunday to determine which team will finish third in the league this season.
If after Sunday's Premier League matches Chelsea and Arsenal find themselves level on points, goal difference and goals scored in the Premier League table, a third-place playoff match – the first time in the history of the Premier League will be necessary.
Arsenal have been in a three way tussle with Chelsea and Tottenham for what seems like ages now. There has never been such a close run race for the final two Champions League places and it is all going down to the wire. Chelsea are definitely in the top four, although the Gunners could go above them into third.
It's more or less certain now that Jose Mourinho will make a dramatic return to Stamford Bridge this summer. Personally, I cannot wait for that to happen. We look at our Chelsea team and see the fantastic quality we have. The current squad has won the Champions League and Europa League but has failed in the Premier League and we find ourselves a long way off challenging for the title.
English Premier League Matchweek 38 Betting Odds and Predictions
So this is it. The last week of the season. Hope everyone had a somewhat profitable, if not, enjoyable time in your English Premier League endeavours even if you just read this column this season for fun.
Arsene Wenger has had a fair bit to say recently about the short term thinking displayed by a lot of football clubs these days, while trying to end the speculation about his own future as the Arsenal manager. We know that the Frenchman is a man of principles and will stick to them, although the Arsenal fans wish he would be a bit more flexible sometimes.
We've discussed before on SWOL how Chelsea's midfield has experienced a tactical shift from big and powerful to small and mobile in recent years. Though Frank Lampard still plays a role at the west London side, gone are the imposing figures of Michael Ballack and Michael Essien. The larger and stronger names in Chelsea's midfield have now been replaced by the likes or Ramires, Juan Mata, Eden Hazard, and Oscar.
While they'll no doubt be question marks over the defence's offside trap, Ross Turnbull's wee sprong scored a slaloming, solo stunner at Stamford Bridge as his old man celebrated Chelsea's sort-of successful season on the grass at Stamford Bridge; charging half the length of the pitch and steering the ball across the line from close range.
Rafa Benitez's eventful reign as Chelsea's 'interim' boss finished at Stamford Bridge with a win which saw the Blues secure automatic qualification for next season's Champions League.
Juan Mata opened the scoring early on, only for Steven Naismaith the level the scores soon after.
When we think about modern football, we think of the advanced formations from the ever-present 4-4-2, to the introduction of the inside forward, and to the extremely popular 4-3-3 variants. Football is an ever-changing scenario and with the likes of Guardiola / Mourinho / Laudrup – all young, aspiring, technical managers, new formations and systems will arise as quickly as others are dropped.
Chelsea host Everton at Stamford Bridge on Sunday in their final match of the Premier League. The match will bring to an end a season that saw the Blues play an extraordinary amount of matches across multiple continents. From the Champions League to the Premier League to the Europa League and more, Chelsea have certainly had a long, but entertaining season.
The Football Association has introduced a minimum five-match ban for those found guilty of discrimination.
Set to begin next season, the move was met with shock and confusion by a number of prominent anti-racism figures.
Reading striker, Jason Roberts, a leading voice in the fight against racism on the field, tweeted his frustration, "The last 18 months regarding equality at the FA has seen bad decisions, lack of will, lack of consultation and lack of leadership.
It is widely expected that Chelsea are set to welcome José Mourinho for his second spell at Stamford Bridge in the summer. During his first spell, Mourinho spent huge sums of money on several players like Didier Drogba, Arjen Robben, and John obi Mikel. They went on to become important players for the club.
The action never stops for Chelsea as at the end of the season we will be travelling to America for a double-header against Manchester City, and Chelsea TV will be bringing you LIVE coverage of both games FREE TO VIEW! • Chelsea v Manchester City - Thursday 23 May, Busch Stadium, St Louis, kick-off 7.
England manager Roy Hodgson says that Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur have "scotched" England's friendlies by scheduling post-season friendlies in the United States and, in Tottenham's case, The Bahamas.
Here's what Hodgson said:
"My thinking, which is based a lot on having been a club manager, is that they'll probably want a few days after the season ends, they won't want to go straight from the end of the season to us, so let them have a week and then we'll keep them a week and then they're free.
Earlier this week, we ran a contest to give away two pairs of free tickets to next weekend's friendly between Chelsea and Manchester City at Yankee Stadium in New York City.
We received a ton of entries, and last night we went ahead and selected two of the contestants at random who correctly answered the two questions.
It was the final day of the Premiership season last night, an event traditionally billed as a 'family affair' of sorts over the years.
And naturally, after a long and highly memorable season, the likes of Steven Gerrard, Luis Suarez and Fernando Torres all took the chance to soak in the atmosphere of the fans and allowed their little ones to run amok all over the pitch!
Chelsea vs Everton 2013 Highlights 2-1 Mata Naismith Torres Goals Video is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter
Chelsea vs Everton 2013 Highlights 2-1 Mata Naismith Torres Goals Video is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter Chelsea vs Everton 2013 ( CFC Everton VIDEO BELOW) Final score and result:- Chelsea vs Everton 2-1 ( Mata, Torres/ Naismith) Stamford Bridge, London- 19 May, 2013- 16.
Obviously Chelsea are extremely happy that they have won yet another European trophy this season, despite the fact that they were only in the Europa League after being knocked out of the Champions League in the Group Stages.
Wenger thinks that this should not happen, and the teams that are given another chance in the Europa League are basically being "rewarded for failure".
Chelsea interim manager Rafael Benitez will accompany his team immediately after the season ends on Sunday on the club's United States post-season tour where they'll play Manchester City in two friendlies — in St Louis and New York City.
Benitez's contract with Chelsea expires at the end of May, so he'll be managing Chelsea for their matches against Manchester City in St Louis on May 23 and in New York City on May 25.
On the day that Rafa Benitez suggests an unusual bare-bottomed salute for the Chelsea fans from the Europa League open-top bus celebration, Friday Football Special (FFS) brings you the Football Dictionary, more from Ray Winstone and a song from the legendary Jim Daly. Have it.
And don't forget to vote for the Best Video Show of 2012-13 in the EPL Awards at http://epltalk.
A young Liverpool fan desperate to meet hero Fernando Torres ended up becoming part of Chelsea's Europa League trophy presentation. Louis Kearns, aged 11, had been at the match with his dad. As Chelsea's players made their way past Louis' seat, he was desperate to get up close and personal with Torres and former Liverpool [.
Despite being the victim of a lot of hate from Chelsea supporters during his seven months in charge as manager of Chelsea, Rafa Benitez has overcome adversities from his own supporters to lift the Europa League trophy and end Chelsea's season on a high with the club's home game against Everton on Sunday, where the club needs just a draw to finish in third place.
What a cheeky young scamp 11-year-oldLouis Kearns is. The Liverpool fan had watched the Europa League final with his old man before decided to get closer to two of his heroes, Fernando Torres and Rafa Benitez. And in doing so, he ended up slap bang in the middle of the Blues' celebrations, even finding himself face to face before a bemused Michel Platini at the medal-giving ceremony.
Mark Worrall and the Gate 17 boys have kindly put together some videos for YOU the Chelsea fans all over the world to watch and feel the atmosphere in the ground last Wednesday in Amsterdam.
Chelsea are Champions of Europe again - Are you watching White Hart Lane!
It certainly gives the Arsenal players something to think about as we approach one of the most important final days of the Premier League in years, at least as far as the three teams involved are concerned. After City snatching the title from United in the most dramatic fashion last year, this year will be all about the battle for third and fourth place.
One may have thought that the off-season was a difficult time for the footballer's WAG. With little interest in football, you have to put up with your significant other cluttering up the house, playing FIFA with his mates and counting his money in a vastly expensive onesie. That certainly seems to be the opinion of [.
