A few notes from around the club today, including the signing of another young talent (as seen
below).
Window shopping
Mikel to be fit for Saturday, Lampard likely
• After some seven weeks on the shelf, John Obi Mikel is finally ready to resurface.
Big game at the Bridge on Super Sunday. Personnel decisions are likely to play a significant
role in the outcome. So, let's channel our inner Andre Villas-Boas and sort this one out.
Cool? Cool.
I see you.
Andre Villas-Boas faces all kinds of issues entering our match against Manchester United.
To the Liberty Stadium! Huzzah!
What could have been
By all accounts, this is going to be a difficult fixture. Face facts, we're playing poorly at
the moment, and unfortunately hung up on numbers. Despite our medical staff's best efforts, we're
shorthanded and facing the very real prospect of losing another face or two come Tuesday night?
Liverpool is reportedly considering a January raid on Chelsea midfield target Fernando Reges.
The 24-year-old FC Porto star has emerged as one of a number of players in the position who is of
interested to the club, according to The Daily Mail, with Celtic's Beram Kayal another player on
the club's transfer radar.
Liverpool is reportedly considering a January raid on Chelsea midfield target Fernando Reges.
The 24-year-old FC Porto star has emerged as one of a number of players in the position who is of
interested to the club, according to The Daily Mail, with Celtic's Beram Kayal another player on
the club's transfer radar.
Like Gerard Pique and Cesc Fabregas before him it seems that Oriol Romeu is already flirting
with a return to his boyhood club. Despite only signing for Chelsea in the summer of 2011, just a
few months ago, his rise has been well noted. Last season he was in the Barcelona B side and this
year he is a first team starter for Andre Villas-Boas' Chelsea side.
There are three reasons as to why Chelsea's form has improved in recent weeks and they are:
- Picking a settled side
- Playing a deeper defensive line
- Oriol Romeu
I guess it's always difficult at a big club like Chelsea to keep everyone happy. We have some big
names here that would walk into other Premier League sides to command regular first team starts so
it's always going to be hard and it would be easy to rotate players.
Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech is dumbfounded by the heavy criticism heaped at manager Andre
Villas-Boas in the wake of the club's recent struggles, arguing that the manager cannot run on the
pitch and prevent errors made by the players.
Cech's teammate Florent Malouda made the same assertion before the disappointing 2-1 defeat to
Bayer Leverkusen last night but Villas-Boas maintained that he must take the responsibility on his
shoulders.
In the wake of their widespread criticism in the press following their 2-1 defeat at home to
Liverpool, Chelsea's visit to Germany to take on Bayer Leverkusen tonight has much more attention
than their manager would like, and a result will prove crucial for a boost in morale.
The Blues have not won since their 5-0 smashing of Genk over a month ago, and though they
currently lead second-placed Leverkusen by 2 points, another defeat would give the Bundesliga side
and Valencia (in third spot with 5) hopes of topping the group themselves, and make the rumors
about Guus Hiddink's potential arrival a bit louder.
Chelsea 1-2 Liverpool: Johnson's late strike sinks Blues
In a game where ex-Reds Fernando Torres and Raul Meireles were tipped to cause their former club
problems, it was ex-Chelsea defender Glenn Johnson who proved to be the match-winner as his late
goal gave Liverpool maximum points.
Chelsea vs Liverpool 16.00. 20/11/2011
Glen Johnson's struck a late winner at Stamford Bridge as Liverpool offered fresh hope
to qualify for the Champions League.
Chelsea's dismal Premier League run under manager Andre-Villas-Boas continued- they have lost
three of their last four games in the league.
Glen Johnson and Charlie Adam dedicated Liverpool's 2-1 victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge to
Reds goalkeeper Brad Jones.
The visiting players wore black armbands during Sunday's Premier League encounter in memory of
Jones' young son Luca, who died on Saturday after a battle with leukaemia.
As much as Andre Villas-Boas and Kenny Dalglish would prefer it not to be the case, all eyes will
be on Fernando Torres, with a few glances towards Raul Meireles, when Chelsea host Liverpool on
Sunday.
Torres and Meireles both left Anfield within the last 12 months under respective clouds having been
seen by many on Merseyside to have forced their transfers to Stamford Bridge.
They say a picture is worth a 1,000 words. Case in point:
Road warrior
Battered, bloodied, and fairly rubbish. No matter. Chelsea still manage to hold on for a
much-needed win at Ewood Park, 1-0, over a Blackburn Rovers side that probably deserved a
point.
Didier Drogba's tackle yesterday that earned him a straight red card for me was scandalous. It's
because he deserved it, I said it as soon as he did it and replays showed that even Frank Lampard
knew it.
I simply cannot get my head around why he did it, especially after knowing that Jose Bosingwa had
already been sent off and we were down to 10 men!
As the English media continues to scrutinize Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas for reducing
veteran Frank Lampard's role in team, all eyes will be on the Blues' team sheet when they face
Valencia in the UEFA Champions League tonight.
However, regardless of who Villas-Boas prefers to choose, midfielder John Obi Mikel is convinced
that the manager's arrival has sparked a healthy competition for places and for that, he must be
lauded rather than criticized.
Chelsea begin play in the Carling Cup on Wednesday night at Stamford Bridge.
It's round three, and we open with a West London derby against Fulham. Second-rate competition
against second-rate competition, eh? Not so much.
Will not play
It would make sense for Andre Villas-Boas to make this competition a priority, similar to the
way another Portugese did in his first season with the club.
Argentina disposed of Nigeria 3-1 in Bangladesh on Tuesday. Among the highlights was a certain
Lionel Messi robbing a certain John Obi Mikel at midfield, and turning said theft into a supreme
goal for the La Albiceleste (via Angel Di Maria).
It's all good, John. We still love you.
Bojan at AS Roma playing in second leg of UEFA Europa (Photo: Paolo Bruno/Getty Images)
With La Liga finally about to begin after a long summer, I wanted to commence with what I hope
will become a once a week article covering some of our wonderful players playing abroad in Europe.
I am open to suggestions on players who will feature in these articles but to start with I will
follow Nolito (Benfica), Oriol Romeu (Chelsea), and Bojan Krkic (AS Roma).
Images: Getty; AP.
We are thrilled to be able to share the news that John Obi Mikel's father Michael has been
freed after Nigerian police located the kidnappers who had been holding him since 12th August.
The Chelsea midfielder's agents tweeted the news that Michael had contacted his family yesterday
afternoon and confirmed that they would be releasing further information in a statement
today.
The Chelsea midfielder's father who was kidnapped in Nigeria more than a week ago has been
rescued by the Nigerian police. Michael Obi was found in the northern city of Kano and six of his
captors were arrested. His face bore the marks of a number of beatings that he said he had to
endure at their hands.
The kidnapped father of Chelsea's John Obi Mikel has been freed by his captors.
I assume that, like us, you've been patiently waiting for some new developments in the abduction
of John Obi Mikel's father. Well, we have received some great news today: Michael Obi has been
recovered, a bit battered but alive and well after police raided the kidnappers' den Monday.
Michael Obi speaks for the first time since his abduction.
Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel's Father has been found alive after a 10 day
kidnap ordeal in Nigeria.
Michael who was last seen in the town of Jos on August 12 was found by Police alive and well
after his nightmare ordeal, his kidnappers are believed to be in Police custody having demanded a
£78,000 ransom three days after Michael was last seen.
Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel's Father has been found alive after a 10 day
kidnap ordeal in Nigeria.
Michael who was last seen in the town of Jos on August 12 was found by Police alive and well
after his nightmare ordeal, his kidnappers are believed to be in Police custody having demanded a
£78,000 ransom three days after Michael was last seen.
Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas has praised the mental toughness of
midfielder John Obi Mikel in the wake of his father's kidnapping.
The marvelous news is that John Obi Mikel's father, Michael, is indeed alive after several days
missing in his native Nigeria. The bad news: He has in fact been abducted, with a ransom set by
kidnappers on Wednesday.
Michael's abduction was confirmed Tuesday when a pair of calls were made from the kidnappers to
the Mikel family.
Kidnappers in Nigeria have demanded a ransom of £78,000 for the safe return of
Chelsea midfielders John Obi Mikel's Father who has been missing since Friday.
Police became suspicious after Michael's car was found abandoned in an un-disclosed
location in Nigeria on Friday and despite his Dad's disappearance Obi Mikel kept strong
and togged out for Chelsea against Stoke on Sunday with only manager Andre Villas Boas knowing of
his family grievances.
Kidnappers in Nigeria have demanded a ransom of £78,000 for the safe return of
Chelsea midfielders John Obi Mikel's Father who has been missing since Friday.
Police became suspicious after Michael's car was found abandoned in an un-disclosed
location in Nigeria on Friday and despite his Dad's disappearance Obi Mikel kept strong
and togged out for Chelsea against Stoke on Sunday with only manager Andre Villas Boas knowing of
his family grievances.
All I would say to the people who have him is please let him go. He is an old man. He has
not done any harm to anyone. I am devastated by this situation.
-John Obi Mikel, on his father's disappearance
We are devastated as well.
Image: Getty Images/Daylife.
Anyone who saw John Obi Mikel's shot skim the crossbar midway through the second half of
Chelsea's 0-0 draw with Stoke on Sunday would be forgiven for thinking that the player was totally
in the zone. Sadly, he was not.
It has been reported that Obi made the decision to play in the fixture, despite learning shortly
before kick-off that his father had been abducted in Nigeria.
No ransom yet Chelsea star John Obi Mikel took to the field for his side's season opener against
Stoke City before being told before kick-off that his father had been kidnapped in Nigeria.
Transport firm owner Michael Obi disappeared in the city of Jos last Friday. His son played 90
minutes at the Britannia Stadium [.
Typical Mirko, it was inevitable wasn't it? A big game player by design, scoring against one of the
titans of modern day English football on the greatest club stage in the world. In fact, nearly
every facet of that goal simply oozed of the Montenegrin, an epitome of the way he played. It was
his second of the night, and Roma's third.
It's always nice to hear from all members of our squad rather than the main established players
such as JT, Lamps, Cech and Didier. Don't get me wrong, it's important that these four have their
say during pre season and the season, but at times it's nice to hear from the others.
Today I get to blog about comments made by Branislav Ivanovic, John Obi Mikel and Salomon Kalou.
Chelsea midfelder John Obi Mikel says life under new manager Andre Villas-Boas "has been great"
and believes his boss has made an excellent first impression on the Blues' players.
Article published in today's Mirror Football section.
Do not believe the hype about any kind of clear out at Chelsea now AVB has taken over. According to
the Mirror, the likes of Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba, Florent Malouda, Michael Essien,Nicolas
Anelka, Salomon Kalou and John Obi Mikel's futures at Chelsea are all under threat!
I begin with a warning and an observation. First, I do not want to dwell on American soccer
troll topics. This post is not meant to gauge the "effectiveness" of the college soccer system in
producing elite players as compared to European youth academies. Rather, I want to focus on the
intangible. I also want to grapple with a topic that has long ached at my soul: does our
consumption of top-level European soccer foster child labor exploitation in Africa and
elsewhere?
No flying wing in sight, but this is no doubt going to be a back-alley fight. Prepare for a
scrap, people.
As you can see above, there are ways to rattle Nemanja Vidic. Bite that motherfucker.
Who: Manchester United
What: Premier League, Round 37
When: 8 May, 4pm local time (11am EST)
Where: Old Trafford (75,957)
How: Fox Soccer Channel (DirecTV 619, Dish 149)
Why: Why the hell not?
John Obi Mikel has spoken of his intention to build on his resurgence in the Chelsea side of late
that has taken us on an impressive run of results and within the summit of the Premier League. He
said:
"I just want to help this team win trophies, that is my aim and as long as I am playing
and this team is winning games and trophies then I am happy.
Sometimes you have to ride your luck. Sometimes you make your own luck.
Today, we did a bit of both.
Comedy hour
The Rundown
• We won.
• We won without scoring a legitimate goal. Bonus.
• We're three points off the pace with United yet to face the Arsenal.
