₦airaland Forum

Wait for the new season now. Wetin be the rush?

Don't worry, she has already apologised. Signs of desperation. Her story is over. Obama is already focusing on McCain. Yes we can!

hehehehehe . . . . . . lmfao . . . . . . preach Viva, preach!

savanaha:
Well an eye for an eye leave the whole world blind but if I have to be blinded you best believe you have to learn to walk with a walking stick as well.

nateevs:
So why do we route the ball to Drogba to get to attack? Well!!! because we have a very poor midfield. We have a midfield that doesn't provide chances. . . the chances are most times created by the strikers themselves. , What happens when the striker does not trun up? We lose one more trophy!!!! A midfield that cannot move the attack through well defined, calculated and appealing moves to attack is no midfield. Crosses, Freekicks, Cornerkicks. . . are very important to winning games. If we do not have players that can convert these chances into goals. . we have to find them.

Secondly we need mifielders that can run, dribble and pass with their eyes close. Decent on goal as well. Midfielder that do nothing but wacth the movement of players on goal and get the ball to them even in tight conditions.

Nateevs you are SOOOOOO wrong on this one. Firstly, European football writers have acknowledged that the best team lost. Secondly, Lamps and Ballack TOTALLY dominated midfield. I believe we have the best midfield in the world. BAR NONE except maybe Arsenal. Ballack created a clear chance for Lamps and Lamps created a clear chance for Malouda. I don't remember Scholes or Carrick creating ANY chances.

You seem to have this romantic idea that midfielders are there to create through balls with fancy passes. Well, the days of Carlos Valderama are over. Modern midfields are packed with no chance to play the incisive passes you are talking about. How can you play through ball when Drogba has two of the Worlds best defenders on his ass. And they are both faster than him. You also have wingers who cannot push up beyond their full back.  Infact, watch the match again and you will see that Ronaldo created all their chances with Wes Brown creating one from a cross.

Therein lies the problem. WINGERS!

For the midfield to create chances, the wingers have to pull the opponents wide, creating space for midfield to start playing passes. Unfortunately we had two wingers who offer no threat. Our midfield is SO good that we dominated the game simply because of them regardless of the fact that they had no one to pass to most of the time. I saw Ballack and Lamps playing head tennis in a very congested midfiled without losing possession once. Their ball control was impeccable and frankly, out of this world. They were reduced to playing passes amongst themselves, thats how bad it was because no one was offering for the pass. Maka was very often surrounded by two to three players and he would still wriggle out of the tight situation using his favourite skill - the Kanu underfoot drag. Man, do you have any idea how good our midfield is?

Try this -

Man Utd defence = Chelsea defence

Man Utd strikers = chelsea strikers

Man Utd winger  = 10 times better than Chelsea wingers

So who bridged the gap and kept us in the game, even to the point of dominating it? Our midfield!


OK, if this team:

                                                       Cech

Essien                      Carvalho                            Terry                Cole

                                                   Makalele

                               Lampard                        Ballack   

Cole                                                                                          Ronaldo

                                                    Drogba


plays against this team:


                                               Van Der Saar

Brown                      Ferdinand                       Vidic                          Evra

Hargreaves             Carrick                             Scholes                  Malouda

                               Tevez                               Rooney


What do you think the score will be? I bet nothing less that 2-0.

That is the difference our midfield made on wednesday. If you put Man Utd wingers with our midfield, we will conquer the world easily. That shows you where the balance of power lies - with the wingers, not the midfield.


Bleep it, bring on Robinho, even if he is expensive. Bring on another winger like Ribery or Quaresma - you will see our midfield in action.

Some further news on the Mourinho front to cheer up Somze and Ako . . . . .

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich and former coach Jose Mourinho have shared three "cosy chats" in the last six weeks, but Frank Rijkaard remains favourite to replace Avram Grant. (The Sun)

Hehehehe . . . . . . fingers crossed eh? Not for me sha.

Hoooooooorrrrrraaaaaaah! Nateevs is still alive . . . . . . . . but he seems a little worse for wear . . . . . . sotay he is even asking himself question 

Well, if his mother is Dutch, he must be calling his father a black baboon.

[center]Roman Abramovic chose Putin as Russia's president[/center]

Hmmm . . . . if this guy is hiring Presidents, then it is no surprise that he finds it easy to hire and fire managers without blinking. The report also says that the FSB (KGB) may make attempt on his life if he gets too powerful.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article3987790.ece



Millions watched as Roman Abramovich suffered the agony of defeat alongside Chelsea fans. They knew him from the gossip, sport and news pages, in which he regularly crops up spending millions on art or enjoying London's nightlife, with his beautiful girlfriend on his arm.

Yet the Russian billionaire remains an enigma. Little is known about where his vast fortune came from, or about his complex relationship with Russia's rulers, and in particular with Vladimir Putin, the former President.

Today The Times can disclose that Alexander Litvinenko, the spy poisoned in Britain in a suspected Russian plot, made the astonishing suggestion that Mr Abramovich effectively vetted Mr Putin - on behalf of Russia's powerful oligarchs - to succeed Boris Yeltsin as President.

Litvinenko also told The Times that the football-loving billionaire controlled so much of Russia's economy that he was in danger of being killed by the Kremlin's special services.

He said in his broken English: “Mr Abramovich have good contact with Putin before Putin was President. Russia oligarch select people who will be President. In 1997-98 Mr Abramovich was the best person who is check these candidates to be President. Now Mr Abramovich has good relationship with Putin.”

Mr Putin took over as acting president in 1999 and won the post in an election the following year. Mr Litvinenko added that the football chief helped to fund his campaign.

Mr Litvinenko, a former KGB man and an outspoken critic of Mr Putin, died of radiation poisoning in London in 2006 after being contaminated with polonium-210.

His words are given an intriguing new significance by a Commercial Court battle in London between Mr Abramovich and the exile Boris Berezovsky over $4 billion (£2 billion) of Russia's oil and aluminium riches.

Mr Litvinenko met Mr Abramovich through a business club run by Mr Berezovsky. Mr Putin was summoned to the Kremlin in 1996 to serve in high office under President Yeltsin at a time when Mr Berezovsky was the President's close aide and Mr Abramovich, in turn, was an ally of Mr Berezovsky.

In an unpublished interview two years before his death, Mr Litvinenko said: “I know Putin's team since 1991 in St Petersburg. I know who Mr Putin is. I have meetings with Putin 1998. In 1999, my way and Mr Abramovich were different. Mr Abramovich stayed near Mr Putin. Who has stayed near Mr Putin for five years?”

According to a biography, Abramovich: the Billionaire from Nowhere, Mr Abramovich interviewed the candidates for Mr Putin's first Cabinet in 1999. But the claim that he effectively vetted Mr Putin too goes farther than any previous account.

Mr Litvinenko believed that the Chelsea boss was in danger from a corrupt mafia around President Putin. “Mr Abramovich in the future 100 per cent have a lot of problems from Russia special service,” the spy said. “Maybe killed, maybe put in prison. Maybe push under contracts.”

Mr Litvinenko made his remarks in a telephone interview with The Times, which at the time was investigating the sources of Mr Abramovich's £12billion fortune.

Only businessmen tolerated by the security services could survive in Russia, he suggested. Others, such as the billionaire Mikhail Khodorkovsky, found themselves prosecuted for corruption and jailed.

“Abramovich is not political. He is not philosopher. He is fortune,” Mr Litvinenko said. He added that Mr Abramovich may have become too powerful a businessman for the security services to tolerate.

“[He] took a lot of Russian commercial company under himself,” he said. Mr Litvinenko gave warning that Russia's special services would remove Mr Abramovich by killing or imprisoning him or taking out a contract. If he tried to flee, they would get him back by seeking his extradition on some crime charge.

“If Mr Abramovich escapes from Russia and takes his money, if he is like control his money, Russia special service send crime case to this country where Mr Abramovich stayed.”

In the event, a more peaceful solution was found. Mr Abramovich went on to divest himself of Russian assets, selling his oil business Sibneft to the Russian State for £6.6billion in 2005.

The Times put the allegations to Mr Abramovich's spokesmen but they declined to comment.

Mr Litvinenko's own downfall came after he antagonised Mr Putin, at the time head of the FSB, the successor to the KGB, by staging a televised press conference in 1998 amd announcing that the FSB had ordered the assassination of Mr Berezovsky.

After being jailed and freed several times, Mr Litvinenko fled Russia.

[center]More news from the London paper. (I have boycotted the National papers until this Man Utd furore dies down)[/center]

The cream of Europe's sports writers are in agreement that the best team lost on Wednesday night. La Gazzetta said the Blues were "unfairly punished".


[size=13pt][center]Frank Lampard losing it?[/center][/size]

Frank Lampard has been spotted in a bar drinking and telling clubbers that he is going to carry on drinking from tonight. He also said "Bleep this life." The rants of a drunken man or should we be worried?

http://www.thelondonpaper.com/cs/Satellite/london/news/article/1157151917293?packedargs=suffix%3DArticleController


In other reports, Kenyon was supposed to travel to Hong Kong for a club function. But he was detained on club business. Could this business be the Robinho signing or possibly the sacking of Grant?

[size=13pt]
[center]
Times Journalist blames Terry's technique[/center] [/size]

They had, after all, four out of four when Terry stepped up to take the kick that would win the European Cup. JT! John Terry himself! Who could doubt that he would prevail? The great leader, the man you can rely on; it was like dad coming in to make sure that everything was all right. Rest easy, Terry's here.

But no. He slipped on impact, his standing foot sliding away and the ball ballooning wide via the outside of a post. Neither he nor anyone else wearing blue could believe it had happened. Surely it was the cruellest luck.

But it wasn't. After all, no one else fell over. Terry was leaning back as he struck the ball, his weight all behind him instead of being over the ball. He fell because, at this defining moment of his life, his technique failed him. Which is another way of saying that his competitive nerve failed him. We will have to review our notion of Terry as the man of iron, the ultimately unflappable professional, Mr Dependable, the human rock. With sudden, dreadful frailty he turned triumph into sporting disaster. It is a revelation of his fallibility that will come as a shock to him.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/columnists/simon_barnes/article3987767.ece

He is correct.

Hmmm . . . . . tings dey happen o! I just came back from wplaying football to find a whole lot of news on Chelsea:

Ako is right. In that interview with Anelka:

For in an extraordinary interview with L'Equipe today, good old team player Mr Anelka admitted that he bottled taking one of Chelsea's first five penalties in the Champions League final shoot-out.

"I was asked to take one of the first five kicks," he said.

"But I said: 'That is out of the question, I have come on basically as a right-back and you want me to take a penalty.'"

In the London paper, it even added:

The Frenchman eventually stepped up for Chelsea's eighth penalty in sudden death, only for Edwin Van Der Sar to save and Anelka added: "Good for him. That's the game."

Anelka is a punk



As for Drogba, these transfer reports are reaching epic proportions. According to London paper:

Chelsea are already plotting a rebuilding campaign after the Champions league final . . . .

And Didier Drogba is set to be the first one to go. As good as the Ivory Coast striker can be, Chelsea fans and club representatives alike have long tired of his attitude - and Wednesday's display was the last straw.





On the transfer front:

Chelsea are reportedly in talks with Robinho over a £28m move. I saw it on Sky Sports News just now. Apparently Real are willing to let him go and have accepted the bid. Personally, I am not sure if he is worth £28m. I just dey one side dey look Chelsea with all these reported signings.



More to come . . . . . .

@ Somze,

Agree with all your statements except the one about Drogba.

I don't think Drogba is victimised because he is black. He is being victimised for his general attitude this season. He has personally stretched my patience to the limit with complaining about this and that, saying he wants to leave every week and acting like a prima-donna with his ego-driven petulance. Such a player cannot be relied on for 55 games a season. He'll probably show in only 20. The other 35 he will be rolling around and sulking about this and that. I am also black. My brother in-law don't like him and he is black. Colour hgas nothing to do with it. Drogba is just not very professional.

Put it this way - if Kolo Toure missed penalty, nobody would blame him. But if Gallas missed penalty, the press and Arsenal fans would slaughter him. Why? Simply because Toure's attitude is better than Gallas'.

John Terry has rolled up his sleeves and pulled the squad together whilst Drogba has been bitching all season like he is the only one missing Mourinho. No, I am tired. Good riddance.

BBC Gossip:

Chelsea have decided to sell striker Didier Drogba, with the club's patience snapping with the petulant star after he was sent off in the Champions League final. (Daily Mail)


Ako, check this funny thing:

Malouda is first choice target for Barcelona on the left wing. They are even willing to pay 20m Euro's. We're having a laugh.

Joe Cole is completely off form. He needs to be demoted to the bench.

Mr Grant was unlucky as you say. But whether he is the coach for next season, I don't think so. But I would rather keep Grant than hire Rijkaard or Mancini. I want Grant to leave - but only if we get Hiddink or any of the up-and-coming managers such as Pellegrini, Laudrup, even Mark Hughes sef. Rumour has it that Grant may be replaced this weekend if the newspapers are correct.

Mikel cannot complain. He has played almost all the Premiership games. If he can stop recieving red cards then he might have a chance to establish himself. But looking at Maka's performance, I can tell you that Mikel is a long way away from replacing him. Mikel does not have the energy level to close the gaps when he is playing that defensive midfield position. I am dissapointed that Mikel has not improved his fitness since he came to Chelsea. At the same time, he knows how to control games with his wonderful passing.

Ten Cate must stay. I am a big big fan.


Where is Nateevs? Nateevs, you dey OK?

Mpele's mother is also a 'black baboon' as he calls it.

Self hatred in its most extreme form.

Africans no get any business debating this Israel issue.

As a Christian, I have been raised with a love for Israel and I also claim all the blessings of Jacob for myself.

At the same time, my rational mind also questions some of the hardships faced by the Palestinians. Something Africans are used to. You could easily swap their story for the Black South African story - a land grab by European settlers (not my opinion, but some would say so). At the same time, the Jews have historic claim to the land, going back to the time of Joshua.

Really, I have to be blind to my core human values for me to jump on any side of the debate hence I always abstain from this debate.

The debate itself is endless sef so I don't know why Africans waste their time on it.

Big B1, you are outdoing yourself on this one o! Put kindly, I think your view is widely misplaced.

Firstly, Ribadu's job was to find absolute proof of corruption. Proof that cannot be thrown out of court. Therefore he could not successfully prosecute everyone linked to corruption scandals. If you expect him to prosecute every case, he will be Methuselah by the time he is finished.

How did you expect common Ribadu to take down OBJ who appointed him in the first place. If Ribadu had attempted it, it would have been utter foolishness on his part. OBJ's time will come. But for now, that was beyond Ribadu's power.

Secondly, you should be looking at the people who obstructed his path as people on this thread have already mentioned. You should be scrutinising Yar'Adua for rmoving him, not the other way round. It shows that Yar'Adua is not serious about corruption.

[quote author=Xerxes. link=topic=16635.msg2288086#msg2288086 date=1211486288]Of course i am from Nigeria. . . . .
However, there 2 types of Nigerians. . . . . The very astute Nigerians and the bird-brained ones.
Unfortunately for u, u belong to the latter class.[/quote]Bravo, Mr Jackal - there are two types of people - astute and bird brained. What Nigerian gotta do with it?

Don't mind Mpele. I know some 'coloured' South Africans and thats the way they behave. Dem don forget say dem be black men too.

[quote author=Xerxes. link=topic=16635.msg2287932#msg2287932 date=1211482662]I have forgotten i am talking to a bird-brained Nigeria.[/quote]OK - so you're not Nigerian?

[quote author=Xerxes. link=topic=16635.msg2287840#msg2287840 date=1211480721]@ Ibime,

Your semi-illiteracy is your greatest undoing. . . . .
If someone leaves Russia in 6am. . . . . .when will he get to London?
Get back to me when your smoky brains can work that out?

P.S. Everyone cannot be a church-rat like most of y'all. Some people work their asses to make $$$$ $$$$$ $$$$$$[/quote]yeah, yeah . . . . pictures please. If they are on your facebook, I am sure it is no trouble to upload them to Nairaland.

eldee, Nasri was called the next Zidane three years ago while he was still seventeen. He hasn't lived up to it so far. You cannot compare him to Benzema at all. Anyway, he is flying in for medical today according to the Evening Standard.

Akolawole:
yeh, he went to Russia

And he was back on his computer by 12 midday  Or maybe he is still in Russia in Internet Cafe 


Anyway, all the newspapers and websites have been full of Man Utd bias today. I had to wait till this evening to buy the Evening Standard so I can get some Chelsea perspective on the game:


http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard-sport/article-23486556-details/Nearly+man+Grant+faces+bleak+future/article.do

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard-sport/article-23486546-details/Now+is+not+the+time+to+rebuild+the+Bridge/article.do

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard-sport/article-23486530-details/The+forgiven+and+the+unforgiveable/article.do

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard-sport/article-23486559-details/Good+riddance+to+Drogba%2C+his+antics+won%27t+be+missed/article.do

Xerxes aka Jackal, please we are still waiting on pictures to prove you were in Moscow yesterday.

Well, it is good to see that Somze is still alive. Just waiting on Nateevs to confirm his existence.    Man, yesterday was heart breaking. Thank God I took the day off today cos I would have punched one of those Man Utd supporters @ work. For the first time in ages, I also refused to buy newspaper today.

Akolawole:
@Mr Grant.

I want the man to be retained. He may not be good enough but he has desire to win. He has his fault yesterday but he's been awesome(luck or no luck).

Even if he has to go, he shouldnt be sacked. At least, he has something on his CV now.

Ako, actually, I have to switch sides on the Grant issue. I think he should go. I have never questioned his tactics except for the Carling Cup game but I think he lacks the forceful personality needed to inspire the team. John Terry has been performing that role all season. Mr Grant did well in the situation we were in. He brought in squad players and made them feel part of the team and he kept our challenge going. He didn't win anything but I think a good Champions League final did better for our international profile than even winning the League or FA Cup. Still, I think it is time to move on. Guus Hiddink is the man for the job. I would like us to keep Ten Cate though. I have been impressed with him and he is just the sort of personality we need to keep the players motivated.

The whole spine of the team should stay. I think we proved yesterday that we have the best central midfield in the world and probably the best goalkeeper and defence. With Bosingwa coming in, our defence will be superb. But I am expecting a big push from Abramovic in terms of two new wingers, two new strikers and Guus Hiddink. Please not Mancini.

Thank you my brother. Both teams played well and put on a good show for English football.

Mustay:
Ibime - Anelka ain't a coward. As prolific as KAnu may be, he doesn't like taking penalties.

the real coward was DROGBA - he was supposed to take the last penalty terry missed!

I ain't just talking about the penalties. I am talking about Anelka's general demeanour since he came to Chelsea. He looks intimididated and cowered. Like I said, he always has complex when he is playing for a big team. Maybe he feels intimidated by the star names @ Chelsea like he did @ Madrid. I think it is better for him to be a big fish in a small pond. No question of his talent, I just think he doesn't have the right mentality to play for Chelsea and he has shown it over the last 2 or three months.

As for Drogba, his time is also up. Even before the red card, it was a horrible performance. He miscontrolled everything and mislaid all his passes. Vidic pocketed him all night. I am sure he will beg Chelsea to stay but we have had enough of his tantrums, his unprofessionalism and his spoilt behaviour.

Our midfield was terrific. Lamps and Ballack were majestic. Makalele was in a class of his own. Ashley was immense. I didn't even see Rooney and Tevez - thats how good Terry and Rikky played. Essien did well. I don't blame him for the goal. It is not his position. Joe Cole was alright - he offered more defensively than attacking wise. Malouda was tactically astute although still not Chelsea standard. Everyone played as I expect except Drogs. Its just a shame we lost on pens.

I still feel cheated. Tomorrow I have to wake up to Man Utd - Best team in Europe bla bla bla - when if not for a little slip by John Terry, the story would have been different. I really cannot direct my anger at anyone over the match. I just think God chose to play with our emotions small. Still haven't slept. This shit is hurting man!

Anyway, I think we won everyone's respect yesterday all over the world. Our profile and our estimation has been raised like never before and I even had Spuds, Kopites and Gunners texting to say we were very unlucky.

Mustay:
We finally lost at the final after crossing the semi-final hurdle! we'll do better next time.

Do you know how many years before next time?

Anelka is a coward. Extremely mentally weak. His body language was so negative. He didn't even look at the goal. Mentally, he is not right for Chelsea. He belongs to a small team. He always has complex when he plays for big teams.

Why Terry? The English always think that their strong characters will score penalties - but they always miss, from Stuart Pearce to Paul Ince to David Batty to Gerrard. You need SKILLS as well as mental strength to take a penalty.

Why Petr Cech in goal? Bring Cudicini on for penalties.

Really, I can take losing when we deserve it but I can't take this.

Anyway, time to switch the phone off.

Boy Boy Boy! We have been very lucky. Petr Cech deserves that new contract.

We REALLY REALLY need Essien in midfield. I would take off Joe Cole for Ferreira and push Essien further up. I would also take Malouda off for Kalou because Drogs is getting no support.

Kudos to John Terry for inspiring the team. He really stepped up the intensity of the team after 30 mins or so.

Boy - that got me going. Thank God Ballack is starting. Malouda for Kalou is a good decision. Keep it tight to start with. Which formation do you think Man Utd will play? 4-4-2 or 4-3-3?

^^^Talksport. Its not definite though but reading Ballacks body language as they enter the stadium, he doesn't look happy.

The boys look relaxed out there. They are strolling on the pitch, chatting and jovial.

Ian Wright is also reporting that his son is not on the bench.