Every Football

It seemed to be another draw for the Blues had it not been for a late finish by Salomon Kalou casuing his side to win the match 2-1 against Newcastle united.
Chelsea were the first to take the lead. A half-volley from Shawn Wright-Phillips was deflected from Kalou and arrived at the feet of Michael Essien. He eased it into the back of the net as the keeper had dived on to the other side before the deflection. Newcastle drew level when an attack from the left side broke through the Chelsea defence and it was the useless attempts of Joe Cole to keep the ball out as Nicky Butt was in a better position. However a shot from Michael Essien was deflected, this time from Claudio Pizzaro, and landed behind the Newcastle defense line. Kalou was the first to reach it and finish it around Shay Given into the goal. Three points for Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea were level in term of goals against opponents Aston Villa as each team scored four goals apiece to bring an exhilarating match to end as a draw.
One moment the home side seemed to be loosing. Maloney had already given Villa an early lead, and thanks to an error from Petr Cech, Villa were able to double their lead. Chelsea came back with a storm as Andrei Shevchenko scored twice for his team before the half. In the second half, it was Chelsea who scored first, center-back Alex providing the lead. But Villa made a comeback this time as Laursen converted a neat free-kick in from Ashley Young making the score equal again. Two minutes before the end of the game, Chelsea were awarded a free-kick right at the edge of the Villa penalty area. At his first appearance for his team this season, Michael Ballack scored his first goal in this season from the free-kick. The home crowd were cheering excitedly now, as they thought their team had won it. But a final attack from Aston Villa proved devastating for Chelsea. Ashley Cole had bravely defended a shot on goal, but the referee called it a deliberate hand ball and sent-off the Chelsea left-back also awarding a late penalty to the away team. Gareth Barry had no difficulty in converting that one and the match ended 4-4.

It was a great day for football as the top four clubs battled between them to get a step closer to the peek point. Manchester United faced Liverpool at Anfield while Arsenal defended themselves at home against Chelsea. The results were what everybody waited for, Liverpool lost by one goal to Man U whereas Arsenal got the better of Chelsea with a 1-0 win as well.
The fan support should have made Liverpool grab those vital three points at home, but Man Utd proved themselves the greater team. Fernando Torres was a consistent threat for United's defense, but poor defending and man-marking from the home side let a pass from Wayne Rooney reach Carlos Tevez, who eased it in the back of the net. That was the only goal that separated the two teams' status, the final result being Manchester United celebrating victory away from home.
The second match was the more exciting and fierce amongst the two. Fierce is correct as there were some quarrels and both sides earned themselves five yellow cards each. Arsenal welcomed Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium. Both the teams showed their strength with the ball. Arsenal made better use of it but just could not penetrate through the Chelsea defense. Chelsea, however, could not contain the ball much and often lost it to their opponents. They seemed to be having a bad day when skipper John Terry got injured on his right foot and had to be replaced by the lesser experienced Ben Haim. Just before half-time, a corner kick from Fabregas was converted by former Chelsea man William Gallas, when keeper Petr Cech had failed to catch the aerial ball. The second half seemed one-sided. Arsenal were simultaneously attacking from all corners. A few offsides and a couple of fantastic saves from Chelsea keeper Petr Cech saved Chelsea from conceding further goals, but neither could they score. Final score remained 1-0.

Current Chelsea first-team coach Avram Grant has been granted a 4-yr contract which he has accepted. Grant replaced former manager Jose Mourinho in September, which had left everyone astonished.
Since then, the Israeli has proved himself up to the task as Chelsea have remained unbeaten following their defeat to Man U on 22nd September. They have won 12 games played out of 18. Grant has also made Chelsea qualify for the knock-out stages of the UEFA Champions League. Keeping all these progresses in mind, the board offered Grant with a long-term contract to which he has agreed.
Players like centre-back Alex are now in boosted spirits and seem eager in achieving more success.
He told the club's official website, "We went through a very difficult period. There was a lot of confusion and it did make a difference. We dropped points, particularly at home when we had some draws.But, gradually, we are creeping up and keeping in touch with the leaders, which is the most important thing."
Chelsea now travel to Emirates Stadium on Sunday to a play their derby match against rivals Arsenal.

It seems that FA chief executive Brian Barwick and director of football development Sir Trevor Brooking have finally managed to find replacement for Steve Mclaren as England manager. Former Madrid man Fabio Capello is, as sum predict, 24-hours away from officially being unveiled as the new England boss.
After having some "extreamely positive" talks with the FA, the 61-year old could be declared as manager by Friday or else early next week. He was present at England's Wembley Stadium yesterday to discuss with the FA, his contract and bringing the English team back on track. After completing talks, he had to return to Italy to fulfil a prior commitment. But he would be called back to London for his official unveiling in the next few days.
During his talks, he discussed England's summer plans which could include yet another encounter with Scotland at Wembley on May 28. However his first task would be to finalize the squad for his first match as incharge against Switzerland on Feb 8. He seems determined to dig out England's problem of under-achievement as Capello also revealed that he needs to overcome England's "mental block," which he says is the prime reason for England's failures.
He told "It's clear there is a mental block-how else can you explain their elimination from the Euro 2008?"

With Jose Mourinho excluding himself out of the run for the new England manger, former AC Roma, Juventus, AC Milan & Real Madrid coach Fabio Capello seems to be the new favourite. With a thrilling record under his belt, he has been quoted by many British newspapers as being the next-best in line.
With 61 years of age, Capello has won one league tittle for Roma and two for Milan, while also leading Milan to victory in the '94 European Cup. He was coach for Juventus in 2005 and 2006 but left soon after it got entangled in the match-fixing scandal. From Juventus he went to Madrid where he won two League tittles for them and finally got fired last year.
Now he's open to jobs and have been receiving backing for the England post from not only Arsenal's Arsene Wenger, but from the team players themselves like Frank Lampard. He told Sky Sports "He has proved himself a winner with success everywhere he's been and would be a very good choice."