Dimitri Seluk was quoted:

“Toure has done all he can do at City and needs new motivations. He would like a new challenge. He would not cost much.

“He could sign for many big clubs, like Chelsea or Bayern Munich. We would like to see Barcelona join the race.”

Would seem odd for him to claim that he has done all he can do at Manchester City, especially when they will have another crack at the Champions League next season whilst our future in the competition is pending on the result in Munich on Saturday night.

Toure was linked with the Blues before he moved to Manchester City from Barcelona and almost immediately expressed his wish to return to the Camp Nou one day, so perhaps he will want to seek a new challenge but it seems a bizarre thing for his agent to say, especially with the timing.

What do you make of this rumour?

Source: http://www.westlondonsport.com/paper-talk/chelsea-linked-with-man-city-star/

The Evening Standard believe that Roman Abramovich isn’t keen on giving current interim boss Roberto Di Matteo the job, even though he has already won the FA Cup and could add the Champions League trophy to that also, which just happens to be the accolade Abramovich is believed to desire most of all.

It’s thought that the Blues will look to a more experienced coach, especially as the experiment with Andre Villas-Boas did not work out as planned and this is the reason why the club may opt for someone that has a little more experience when it comes to building a squad.

But why Capello? Well, it seems as though the more preferred options of Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho appear to be out of the running for the meantime, unless the former can be talked out of taking a sabbatical. Capello is currently out of a job so the club won’t have to pay out any compensation and he’s keen on a return to England, so much so that some believe his people are behind the rumours in order to push his name forward for the job.

I wouldn’t be keen on Capello being appointed as our next manager myself, especially considering the other names that are in the running and if we were to go for an older manager then I’d rather it be Guus Hiddink.

Source: http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/sport/football/fabio-capello-in-talks-with-roman-abramovich-over-chelsea-job-7763355.html

Jason Burt of the Telegraph believes that the club are weighing up a £15.5 million bid for the 21-year-old German international, who can play as a forward or as a winger, as Roman Abramovich plans to create a ‘young and hungry’ team.

However, there is some confusion over which players to target as there’s no permanent manager in place to recommend his own picks. The club are accustomed to making their own signings but if we’re to attract a manager of the right calibre he’s going to want to have at least some say in which players are signed.

Schurrle isn’t the only player who has been linked with a move to Chelsea this week as there has also been strong rumours about approaches for Real Madrid’s Gonzalo Higuain and Napoli’s Ezequiel Lavezzi.

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/chelsea/9244686/Chelsea-chairman-Roman-Abramovich-weighs-up-15.5million-offer-for-Germany-forward-Andre-Schurrle.html?

Di Matteo has taken everything in his stride so far and has impressed everyone by guiding the Blues into both the FA Cup and Champions League finals, which has increased the calls for him to be given the job at Stamford Bridge full-time, but he refuses to comment on speculation and has even said that he’s happy to go back to being an assistant manager at the club.

If he did manage to win the FA Cup and more importantly the Champions League, which will allow the club to qualify for next season’s competition (as it seems unlikely we’ll finish in the top four) and finally bring the trophy Roman Abramovich craves to west London, it’ll definitely strengthen his bid for the manager’s job.

Asked if winning the FA Cup would boost Robbie’s chances of becoming the next permanent Chelsea manager, Terry said:

“It would do him no harm at all.

“He’s obviously done very well in the league and all competitions to get us where we are today. To win it (the cup) will put himself in a very good position.”

He added:

“He’s not thinking of that at the moment, he’s not letting the players get distracted by anything. He’s very passionate, he’s Chelsea through and through, and that’s certainly rubbed off on the players.

“So, if we can do it with the added bonus that Robbie can get the job at the end, that’d be great.”

Source: http://www.itv.com/sport/football/facup/news/terry-help-land-di-matteo-full-time-job-73460/?

The Blues have made a bid to buy Battersea Power Station in south-west London and plan to build a 60,000 stadium on the site. The landmark four chimneys would be kept as part of the design and there’s talk of a single-tier south stand with a 15,000 capacity.

The debate over whether Chelsea should relocate or stay put has rumbled on for some time now and has divided the opinion amongst fans. Stamford Bridge has been our home for 107 years, so there’s no surprise that many fans have opposed a move, but you’d think that the CPO would be more agreeable if the club revealed its intentions and the Battersea Power Station plan is the first sign of this.

The Bridge seats over 42,000 which does not compare favourably against Old Trafford (76,000) and the Emirates Stadium (60,000). The club has already stated that it would not make economic sense to redevelop our current home and access issues would prevent us from expanding it beyond 50,000. There has also been attempts to sell the naming rights to the stadium in order to raise extra revenue, but they have been unsuccessful.

The club released a statement:

“There is no certainty we will be successful.

“We must also stress that making an offer for the Battersea Power Station site does not mean the club has made a definitive decision to leave Stamford Bridge.”

“Chelsea say the plans to preserve the building’s Grade Two listed turbine hall and control room would provide “a unique architectural backdrop to a world-class stadium.”

(BBC Sport)

One the other side of the coin, Tim Rolls, a CPO shareholder believes the club have not put in enough effort to remain at Stamford Bridge:

“The preference of a lot of Chelsea fans is to stay at Stamford Bridge.

“That hasn’t changed. I am still not convinced the club have exhausted every possible avenue for redeveloping our ground, I just don’t believe they have.”

Should we stay or should we go? Tell us what you think in the comments section below

Di Matteo almost has a full compliment to choose from with the exception of defensive duo David Luiz and Gary Cahill, who are both suffering with hamstring injuries and won’t take part in the game.

He has been agonising over his team selection ahead of the game, with a lot of talk surrounding which centre forward should start the game, Didier Drogba or Fernando Torres?

Di Matteo told reporters:

“It is always a difficult decision when I have to leave players out, not just the two strikers, especially as we have so much competition for places at this club.

“I think we all have to be happy we have two strikers who are both in good form at the moment and I will make a final decision tonight.”

But could both of them end up starting as Robbie has not ruled out a change in formation?

“If I feel it would be best for the team to change formation then I’ll do it.”

(Sports Illustrated)

Didier Drogba has scored in every competitive fixture he has played in at Wembley and has scored in the 2007, 2009 and 2010 finals. One the other hand, Fernando Torres has been in good form of late and there’s a big motivation for him to perform against his old club as he continues to put his problems behind him.

Chelsea’s back four essentially picks itself as Branislav Ivanovic and John Terry will play in central defence whilst both Luiz and Cahill miss out. Ashley Cole sat out against Newcastle but will likely start tomorrow and Jose Bosingwa will likely play ahead of Paulo Ferreira at right-back.

And then there’s the midfield. I’d go for a trio of Ramires, John Obi Mikel and Frank Lampard, with Salomon Kalou and Juan Mata supporting Didier Drogba in attack. I’d love to see Torres play a part in defeating his old club to the FA Cup, but he could do that from the bench as Drogba is more likely to start as he’s been rested recently and is so prolific at Wembley.

P. Cech

J. Bosingwa – B. Ivanovic – J. Terry (c) – A. Cole

J. Mikel

Ramires --- F. Lampard

S. Kalou – D. Drogba – J. Mata

Who’d be in your Chelsea XI v Liverpool?

With David Luiz and Gary Cahill suffering with injuries we’re a little short of numbers in central defence, so Branislav Ivanovic is likely to partner John Terry in defence with Jose Bosingwa playing at right-back…a position that he’s hopeless at, but bizarrely didn’t put a foot wrong when playing as a central defender against Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona and relegation fodder QPR.

The other big talking point is who will start the game, Fernando Torres, Didier Drogba or both?

Wembley has been a happy hunting ground for Drogba as he’s scored there in every competitive fixture he’s played in at the stadium. But Torres has been in good form lately, with goals against Barcelona and a hat-trick against QPR boosting his confidence. How the Spaniard would love to put one over against his former club Liverpool.

So, will Chelsea win their fourth FA Cup in six years or will the Scousers have an excuse to be even more irritating than usual?

Guardiola formally announced that he will leave his role at the Nou Camp at the end of the season following defeat to Real Madrid and Chelsea in the league and Champions League respectively. It’s the end of an era for Guardiola and his Barcelona side, and the coach is likely to take a break away from the game.

However, Jason Burt of the Telegraph has reported that Abramovich will attempt to persuade Guardiola to become the next manager at Stamford Bridge and he could be tempted by the challenge the post will provide.

It’s also thought, despite Pep’s denials, that Guardiola had already spoken Abramovich and his personal assistant Marina Granovskaia back in February before Andre Villas-Boas was sacked. It’s also believed that the Catalonian has spoken to former Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti about the matter.

Roberto Di Matteo has done a fine job since taking up an interim role as manager and many fans want to see him given the job.

Robbie has certainly made his case for taking the job on a long-term basis, but many feel it is unlikely that he’ll be appointed on a permanent basis. The Italian has taken everything is his stride so far and already exceeded everyone’s expectations, but he’s still humble and has enough love for the club to go back to be another manager’s assistant.

If Guardiola was to become the next Chelsea manager it is likely he would want to chose his own director of football.  He has already played a huge part in creating one of the best club sides the world has ever seen but can he repeat that trick outside of Catalonia? That remains to be seen.

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/chelsea/9232654/Chelsea-owner-Roman-Abramovich-offers-Pep-Guardiola-total-control.html? 

The 23-year-old is looking forward to joining his new team-mates at Stamford Bridge and has already made a good impression by stating his preference for Chelsea over Sp*rs.

Marin told Sport-Bild:

“Chelsea is my dream club.

“I’m happy that I get the chance to play for them. It is a challenge for me.

“Tottenham Hotspur were also interested, but I opted for Chelsea, because they suit me well.”

What do the fans think of our new signing?

- Joey Barton has racked up more miles than any other QPR player this season, he’s covered 155.3 miles. His nearest rival is Shaun Derry who has covered 138.2 miles so far this season.

- Joey has, unsurprisingly, been the at the top of the individual distance covered in QPR’s previous two games.

- Bobby Zamora climbed one place to 76th in the overall EA SPORTS Player Performance Index. He is also the highest ranked QPR player.

- Mark Hughes must currently have mixed emotions towards Taarabt after last weekend’s performance at Spurs.

- Taarabt was the difference in the 24th minute and secured QPR all three points for Spurs, with his second goal of the season. Coming from 76 shots in total this season.

- Taarabt however, was later sent off after being awarded two yellow cards. QPR have picked up eight red cards this season, more than any other Premier League club.

- After a clash of epic proportions at the Nou Camp on Tuesday night Di Matteo’s side will have to either win the Champions League or try and save fourth place in the Premier League.

- Torres scored a very important goal on Tuesday night, securing Chelsea’s spot in the final.

- In the Premier League this season Torres has had 52 shots in front of goal. 55.7% of those shots have been on target.

- Torres however has had a torrid time putting the ball in the back of the net, of his 23 shots which have been on target he converted just three, which equates to a success rate of 13% this season.

- Ashley Cole has been been solid for Chelsea in the Premier League this season. He’s won 72.5% of all tackles he attempted.

- The left back has been powering up and down the line for Chelsea all season and has covered 181.7 miles in the process, which is also the highest in the Chelsea squad.

Courtesy of EA SPORTS Player Performance Index