Fabio Capello, Crystal Palace and Stevie Starr

Fabio Off To Inter


With the England squad making their way to South Africa our lovely newspapers are doing what they can to unsettle the squad, hopefully they can't see the papers otherwise they will be wondering what the position is with the manager with rumours of him leaving England for Inter Milan.  The Sun newspaper have an article on their website saying Fabio wants the job because Giovanni Trappatoni says so.  There's nothing concrete there.  I say Fabio doesn't want the job but The Trap does, I don't see the Sun printing that article.  Leave the speculation until after the tournament and let the manager and his squad concentrate on the job at hand.


More Trouble At The Palace


This time tomorrow we could be one club short in the English game.  Crystal Palace could be gone.  They have been given a deadline of 3pm tomorrow to get a new buyer in place or they are no more.  Although this is a shame and you have to feel sorry for the fans the rest of football should take a long hard look here at what  has been happened here and get things in order at their clubs.  This season we almost lost Portsmouth, Cardiff City and Southend due to their debts but there are many other clubs clinging on to survival.  Clubs have to stop chasing the dream and the almighty dollar and live within their means.  If you asked any football fan what they would rather have, a debt ridden success where winding up is round the corner or mid-table mediocrity but the account is in the black I reckon I can guess where there vote would lie.


Stevie is a Starr


The first semi-final of Britains Got Talent began today and I have to admit it was OK viewing.  The act I loved was the regurgitating Stevie Starr.  I don't know how he does it, or in fact why he does it but he puts the gross into engrossing.  I would have loved to have seen him in the final to see where he can take this act.  Its my youngest sons birthday in July so if anyone has Stevie's number I'd like to book him for my sons birthday party.

England falter, Dagenham promoted

England fail to impress


England played their final warm up match today versus Japan before they head off to South Africa and begin their quest to win the World Cup.  The went behind after 6 minutes but managed to overturn the deficit and win 2-1 but they were anything but convincing in fact their goals were scored by the Japanese.  Like the game against Mexico England struggled in the first half but at least on Wednesday they put in a decent second half performance.  Today was awful and didn't leave me thinking we could be World Champions come July 11th.
I understand these friendlies are only there to help Fabio reach the 23 he needs to take to the World Cup but I expected more.  I personally think the only thing to come out of this was Emile Heskey's flight back to Blighty but I can't help but think he will be part of the squad.


Daggers deliver


Congratulations to John Still and all his players for achieving the greatest result in the clubs history.  Today they beat The Chuckle Brothers Rotherham United today to reach League One for the first time in their history.  They did it the hard way, going ahead twice and letting the lead slip before Jon Nurse scored albeit with a slight deflection.  Have to mention the Rotherham goalkeeper Andy Warrington who in the first half pulled off two outstanding saves.

Millwall, Daggers and Eurovision

Millwall  joins the Championship Party


There hasn't been much to cheer about in South London recently what with the goings on with Crystal Palace falling into administration but today there was a reason to be cheerful.


They will be dancing in the streets of Millwall  today as they beat Swindon Town 1-0 in the League One Play-Off Final at Wembley.  Captain Paul Robinson was the man to send the Lions roaring into the Championship but I can't help but think the Police are looking at the new season with a slight element of dread.


Next season in The Championship we will have Millwall, Leeds United and Cardiff City all going for promotion and there isn't much love lost between these 3 clubs so the league meetings will prove to be "interesting".  I'm just glad they weren't joined by West Ham next season!!!!


Good Luck To The Daggers


So we know the winners of the Championship and League One Play-Offs so all we need now is to find out who will win the League Two Play-Offs.
I want to wish the mighty Dagenham and Redbridge all the best for tomorrow.  They have achieved so much on less than a shoestring budget and if they can get into League One then that would be a magnificent achievement.  I know there is a massive following heading to Wembley tomorrow I just hope the players can put in one more sensational performance and who knows, maybe next year the Victoria Ground could be hosting a massive club like Sheffield Wednesday in a League Fixture


Eurovision Woe


I have to end this with a rant.  10 points, thats what we got, 10 measly points.  Was our song really that bad.  Yeah it was never going to win but come on, was it really the worst song there.  Look at the Russian song, that was awful and also, what happened to the 6/4 favorite Azerbaijan.  Apparently they threw money at it this year getting people in that had worked with all the major acts, and the Backstreet Boys but they finished a mile behind the Germans.  I wonder how much the UK puts into this contest.  Maybe its time to save the embarrassment and licence money and pull out.  UK finished bottom of the Great Britain league.  I hoped we might win that.  It was the UK, Ireland, Cyprus (who was Welsh) and Portugal (the singer lives in London but this is how that table looked:


Portugal - 43 points
Cyprus - 27
Ireland - 25
United Kingdom - 10


No doubt we will all be tuning in to Germany 2011 ready for more humilitation but there is a plus point.  Taking away Jemini's nil point from 2003 the previous time we scored less than 10 was in 1966 and we all know what happened a couple of months later.

Miroslav Stoch To Fenerbahce

Slovakia striker Miroslav Stoch has become the latest player to leave Chelsea as the double-winners continue their summer clearout.
The Blues have confirmed that Stoch is to join Turkish club Fenerbahce on a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee.
Stoch's departure follows the confirmation that Joe Cole, Juliano Belletti and Michael Ballack will all leave when their contracts expire at the end of the month.
Stoch joined Chelsea as a 16-year-old in the summer of 2006 and signed professional terms a year later.
Playing as a second striker or out wide in a front three, he was the youth team's top scorer in the 2006/07 campaign with nine goals from 20 starts and six substitute appearances, and the next season was an FA Youth Cup ever-present in the run to the 2008 final.
During the 2008/09 campaign the young Slovakian made his international and club debut, the latter when coming on as a sub against Arsenal in November.
He next appeared against Stoke in the new year and played his part in a dramatic last-minute winner.
In 2009/10 he went on loan to FC Twente, managed by Steve McClaren, and the club won its first Dutch championship with Stoch scoring 12 goals in 44 starts.
He made five substitute appearances for Chelsea's first team but failed to score.
The 20-year-old will be representing Slovakia at the World Cup and a spokesperson for Chelsea said: "We would like to thank him for his contribution to the club and wish him well in his future career."

Miroslav Stoch's Career

2005-2006 - Nitra - 3 apps 0 goals
2006-2010 - Chelsea - 4 apps 0 goals
2009-2010 - FC Twente (LOAN) - 32 apps 10 goals

Slovakia - 14 apps 1 goal

Juliano Belletti Released By Chelsea

Defender Juliano Belletti will join Joe Cole and Michael Ballack in leaving Chelsea this summer, the club have confirmed.

The Barclays Premier League champions confirmed the departures of Cole and Ballack earlier after the parties failed to reach agreement on new contracts and this afternoon it was announced Belletti would join them.

Juliano Belletti's Careers:

1994-1996 Cruzeiro - 22 apps 0 goals

1996-2002 Sao Paulo - 54 apps 4 goals

1999 Athletico Mineiro (LOAN) - 17 apps 5 goals

2002-2004 Villarreal - 59 apps 6 goals

2004-2007 Barcelona - 89 apps 1 goals

2007-2010 Chelsea - 94 apps 5 goals

Brazil - 23 caps 2 goals

Michael Ballack Released By Chelsea

Ballack leaves Chelsea after four years with the club unwilling to offer the German the two-year contract he was seeking.

The 33-year-old arrived at Stamford Bridge following the end of his contract at Bayern Munich with a reputation as one of Europe's best players and on the back of a brilliant World Cup.

But he has largely failed to live up to that billing, with injuries keeping him out of the team for lengthy spells.

Ballack helped Chelsea to their first Premier League title in four years this season while he also won the FA Cup three times.

But it was an ankle injury sustained in the last of those finals against Portsmouth in May that saw him ruled out of the World Cup, where he would have captained Germany.

Ballack will continue to be treated at Chelsea's Cobham training ground until his recovery is complete, when he is likely to receive offers from Germany while a move to join Jose Mourinho at Real Madrid has also been mooted.

Ballack's agent, Michael Becker, claimed on Wednesday that the player, who is on holiday in Miami, was "completely surprised" by the news.

"He has not spoken to Chelsea for three months," added Becker to German broadcaster RTL.

Becker said Ballack would have been willing to take a pay cut to stay with Chelsea and that he would even have accepted a one-year deal with an option for a second year based on appearances.

Michael Ballack's Career:

1995-1997 Chemnitz II - 18 apps 3 goals

1995-1997 Chemnitz - 49 apps 10 goals

1997-1999 Kaiserslautern - 46 apps 4 goals

1999-2002 Bayer Leverkusen - 79 apps 27 goals

2002-2006 Bayern Munich - 107 apps 44 goals

2006-2010 Chelsea - 105 apps 17 goals

Germany - 98 caps 42 goals

Joe Cole To Be Released By Chelsea

The 28-year-old, who is part of England's World Cup squad in South Africa, has already been linked with Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City and Tottenham.

As negotiations over a new contract at Stamford Bridge dragged on, it became increasingly likely Cole's seven-year stay would come to an end.

Manager Carlo Ancelotti had repeatedly stressed his desire to hang on to the midfielder but behind the scenes the parties could not reach an agreement.

Cole has been reluctant to discuss the situation in public but in March he confirmed talks had broken down, saying: "We can't seem to find common ground and it's distracting. At the moment there is no offer on the table, so I know where I stand."

And he said on Wednesday: "I'm just focused on the World Cup at the moment, I'll leave that sort of thing to my agent. My future will sort itself out. It's been going on a while. It's a story to be told another day."

Chelsea's stance is also likely to have been influenced by Cole's failure to hold down a regular starting spot this season.

The Londoner had been a key player in the rise of the club under owner Roman Abramovich but a serious knee injury suffered in January 2009 put him out for eight months and on his return he struggled to rediscover his best form.

Cole arrived at Stamford Bridge in a £6.6million deal from West Ham in the summer of 2003 and helped the Blues win their first Premier League titles under Jose Mourinho in 2005 and 2006.

Arguably Cole's best season for Chelsea came in 2007/08, when he picked up the club's Player of the Year award as they finished just behind Manchester United in the league and also lost the Champions League final to their rivals on penalties.

The last of Cole's 40 goals in nearly 300 appearances came in the 2-1 win over Manchester United in April that all but sealed a third Premier League triumph, while he also picked up three FA Cup winners' medals and two League Cup titles.

A move to another London club is likely to be appealing to Cole and Spurs manager Harry Redknapp has confirmed he is interested in signing the midfielder.

Joe Cole's Career:

1998-2003 West Ham United - 126apps 10 goals

2003-2010 Chelsea - 183apps 28 goals

England - 54 caps 10 goals

Next Title Match

Chelsea v (who knows)


Chelsea's victory against Wigan was on the last day of the season.


The up's and downs have been decided, we know Portsmouth, Burnley and Hull City have been replaced by Newcastle United, West Bromwich Albion and Blackpool.


All we need now are next seasons fixtures, the we can start all over again.


In the meantime we will keep you up to date on the champions summer activities.  Who did they sell, who did they let go and who did they get to replace them so keep checking and don't forget during the close season we will be keeping you up to date on all things World Cup 2010

Last Title Match

Date: 9th May 2010
Venue: Stamford Bridge, London
Attendance: 41,383


Chelsea 8 - 0 Wigan Athletic
(HT 2-0)


Anelka 6,56
Lampard 32 (pen)
Kalou 54
Drogba 63,68 (pen), 80
A.Cole 90


It was billed as winner takes all. Chelsea were top of the Premier League but a defeat for them and a win for Manchester United who were entertaining Stoke at Old Trafford, and the title was United's for the 4th year running.


Chelsea's fans were biting their nails for a whole 6 minutes. Nicolas Anelka being the man to notch the first goal of the afternoon. A Frank Lampard penalty made it 2-0 and from there on there was only likely to be one team winning the title.


Wigan fell apart and 6 goals in the second half saw The Pensioners win the title with one of the biggest victories in Premier League history.