Extended highlights from the 2-1 win. For archival purposes.

Not too bad a game at the Bridge today. Good fare I say.

Bench? Please.

Yeah, that was fucking awesome. Anyone else in need of a new set of vocal chords after that final 30 or so minutes? I sound like Emma Stone right now, and that's not sweet. Not at all.

Andre Villas-Boas attempts to shake off the haters, as well as an unforeseen run of truly shit results, on Tyneside. This isn't go to be easy. Four defeats in five? I can't go for that (no can do).

Not available

Who: Newcastle United (est.

Raul Meireles is aware of the challenges confronting Chelsea after the West Londoners lost their second match at home to his former club Liverpool in a span of nine days but the Portuguese international is happy to be in the English capital.

Meireles followed in the footsteps of Fernando Torres to swap Anfield for Stamford Bridge and even though the departure of both men drew an almost equally severe wrath from the Reds' supporters, they have had different reactions to life in London.

He'll be needing the toilet after Liverpool are done with his side on Sunday...Liverpool make the trip down South on Sunday to face Chelsea in the first of two clashes this month with the London side. This game has had enough spice sprinkled over it in the recent weeks, the factors of Torres and Meireles will surely add to the already predictable atmosphere and both clubs could seriously do with a big win.

Mighty big match at the Bridge on Sunday. Could be described by some as a must-win. Others, like me, reckon it's only half a must-win. Yeah, I don't know what that means, either.

What I do know is that our tactical approach of late has been heavily flawed, and thus criticized by any and all comers some with a genuine argument, others not so much.

For archival purposes.

Anyone looking to discuss the fallacies of the Champions League group stage needn't look any further than Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night.

Reborn

One could also look toward Arsenal's trip to Marseille a truly wretched match I was forced to freelance for evidence of the problems with the CL group stage, but that's a discussion for another blog.

Our biggest test of the Champions League group stage arrives Wednesday in the form of a trip to the Estadio Mestalla. Valencia not only bring forth a heavy test for the Chels, but they also eagerly await the return of a departed son.

Homecoming

Matchday 1 was particularly special to Chelsea supporters for, aside from a win over Bayer Leverkusen, the return of Michael Ballack to Stamford Bridge.

Fernando Torres loses his fucking mind. Chelsea, meanwhile, don't miss a beat.

God dammit, Fernando

The Chels slash four past Swansea at the Bridge despite playing with ten men for the better part of 50 minutes. It was pretty much an excellent performance aside from the wretchedness that was Torres' fist-half, studs-up lunge on Mark Gower at midfield.

This guy is happy to be back in the mix. We're happy to have him.

We shall be even happier if he can assist in a comfortable win.

Team news and the like from 9:45am EDT.

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Forget about it is like if you agree with someone, you know, like Raquel Welch is one great piece of ass, forget about it. But then, if you disagree, like a Lincoln is better than a Cadillac? Forget about it! You know? But then, it's also like if something's the greatest thing in the world, like mingia those peppers, forget about it.

Sure, Swansea are coming off of a 3-0 victory and Chelsea just lost 3-1 in the league and then failed to score in 120 minutes of football at home against Fulham on Wednesday in the Carling Cup. Last year at ... Continue reading →

Be warriors today, gentlemen.

Team news and the like from 10:45am EDT.

Waiting is for pussies.

Just five weeks into the new season, Andre Villas-Boas' sexy is set to invade the Terrordome. Football's equivalent of Cary Grant brings with him 450 minutes of competitive managerial experience with the Chels. Surely that's more than enough to match wits and tailors with one of the greatest to ever grace a sideline.

A walk in the proverbial park. The boys mixed it up well for the most part at the Stadium of Light against a Sunderland side well, let's be fair here that was shit. Asamoah Gyan off to the oil fields, too? Steve Bruce. Man, the guy's in trouble.

Making a point

Improvement.

Is the pursuit of Luka Modric finally over? Reply hazy, try again later.

I initially loved the idea of adding the Croatian to our midfield during the close season. That idea soured as the summer continued. Missing out on Modric at £40 or so million was proper business for Chelsea.

Mostly for archival purposes. Good to hear the man speak, albeit briefly here, nevertheless.

Soon to appear on a Premier League pitch near you. Finally.

Yeah, no words

Great news out of Cobham today. both Petr Cech and David Luiz returned to full training ahead of the weekend's trip to Sunderland.

Cech was initially ruled out for around a month with a medial ligament injury suffered in a training ground collision.

Hope everyone has enjoyed a festive Labor Day. News on the Chelsea front continues to be slow during this international break, but we do have footage of newest signing Raul Meireles taking part in his first training session. Check it out below.

Pay special attention to the pleasantries at 21 seconds.

I apologize for the delay in getting past the first team transfer summary. We are using the international break for a nice rustic vacation in Maine. I've been trying to generally stay away from the internet, email, and the other things that I tend to use for both my day job as well as staying up with current events in the Premier League and posting to the blog.

Chelsea new boy Raul Meireles has moved to quash widespread suggestions that his departure from Liverpool was inspired by a more financially lucrative contract at Stamford Bridge.

Despite becoming a fan favorite within a short period of time due to his consistently impressive performances over the course of the Reds' troubled last season, the Portugal international fell down the pecking order at Anfield.

Shut the fucking door. El mercato has finally ceased, meaning we can finally get down to the proper business of actually focusing on the football. I, for one, am ecstatic.

That's not to say the summer wasn't enjoyable. A tad chaotic and frustrating at times, yes, but it certainly was an intriguing one for the club.

I stole this image from We Ain't Got No History. I'd apologize, but this is just too damn good. I had to snatch it. They'll understand.

This is not a furry wall.

Do your worst. Or best. Whatever.

The transfer deadline day this summer has seen some shock moves for the big...

Well, it's hard to refuse when a team like Chelsea comes knocking at your door. Even harder when possibly the best Portuguese coach in the business wants you. Extremely irresistible when Chelsea can offer you first team playing minutes and Champions League football. Thus, Raul Meireles weighed up his options and decided to join the Andre Villa-Boas Chelsea evolution.

Phew! It was that time again, and as per usual things were manic. We at In The Stands struggled to keep up with all the kerfuffle and constant will-he-wont-he debacles. However, after much journalistic endeavours, we have managed to finally pin down the most significant transfers on a thoroughly exciting last day of the transfer window.

Liverpool concluded a productive transfer window with a late surprise when they...

Reckon Andre broke this out after he secured Meireles at the eleventh hour, leaving Daniel Levy with a great big pile of misery in the form of Luka Modric. Kick it.

Chelsea have clinched a sensational 11th hour transfer coup as they've announced the official signing of Liverpool midfielder Raul Meireles. The Portuguese central midfielder surprised many pundits today by handing in a transfer request at Anfield, and Chelsea have revealed on their official website that they've signed the 28 year old.

Raul Meireles has joined Chelsea in dramatic fashion late on deadline day.

The midfielder handed in a transfer request to help push through the move. It's always quiet disappointing when a player forces through a move, I guess contracts mean very little these days when trying to hold onto a player.

It was about as late as they come, but, in the end, we've added some exquisite tattoo work to the first team. Nicely done, Chelsea.

Moving in

Chelsea left it late really fucking late. It hardly matters now, though, as they have pulled off quite a coup in my mind.

Breaking news coming in at the close of the transfer window with Chelsea confirming the signing of Raul Meireles from Liverpool. Chelsea had a late £40 million bid for Luka Modric rejected by Tottenham Hotspur and seemingly turned their attention to Meireles, who has been unhappy at his role as substitute for Liverpool so far this season.

Chelsea were planning to make an improved offer for Raul Meireles on Monday...

Is this highly tattooed Portugese midfielder about to be pseudo reunited with Andre Villas-Boas?

Year of the Dragon

The Telegraph among other sources newspaper, Twitter and the like have reported throughout the day that Chelsea have had a bid of around £8 million plus Yossi Benayoun for Raul Meireles rejected by Liverpool out of hand.

A run-through of the news from ESPNSoccernet. More as it becomes available. Cech set to return for Man Utd clash The article isn't quite as definitive as the headline, but Cech is quoted as saying that, ""The rehabilitation is going according to plan," Cech told his personal website. "I don't want to jinx anything but it seems that I should be ready to return to action inside the original

With a fee agreed between Valencia and Chelsea believed to be in the region of £24 million, Spanish international Juan Mata is expected to make a switch to the west of London. But will he make an impact similar to Arjen Robben? Welcome to Arsenal. Ha, who would go there? The Chelsea of old where [..

There are growing speculation that Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas is keen on...

Funny thing about this transfer window is that teams have seemingly stocked up on redundant players rather than addressing clearer needs. Also, we've seen a further concentration of players at the top as the biggest clubs fill out their 25-man rosters with full internationals while clubs below them are looking to academy and youth players to play a larger first-team role.

Quick Reminder, Real Life What a crazy season it was for the Reds. To do it justice you'd probably have to write a book (and I hear Jeremy thinking to himself that this preview is entirely likely to turn into one the way I write). In the quick version we find the first half low-lighted by poor performances, the disasterous Joe Cole signing, Roy Hodgson being in over his head, a contentious