Chelsea FC - Supporters' Rally

[The Oracle]

Originally Posted by veelee

We all knew that JM would leave eventually. No doubt about that, nothing is forever. But the way in which he left and the replacement they got -- well, we'll see.

We must question our club and its leadership.

If we don't, we can't be true fans. Only sheep follow blindly.

bro veelee

i do agree with you that jose's departure is predictable but not this way, or at least after winning himself another ucl trophy.

i'm a chelsea fan but if you asked me wether i will follow a sinking ship, i will tell you straight. no way. roman is taking chelsea right into abyss, i won't be on that ship with roman.

i will be watching chelsea's performance for a couple of months then i will decide what to do.

Drogba and Lampard are the two players most affected - and not in a go0d way - by Jose leaving. So their coming back, while good, won't change the world. With the players we have, we shouldn't be so reliant on them anyway.

nd while the manager doesn't play the game - he makes the tactics, directs the game, tells players what to do. So yeah - having a clown as a manager won't be good.

[andreasb]

Drogba is the most likely to go, he was all set to leave the summer before last and Mourinho went to france and convinced him to stay, he showed a belief in Drogba when no one else did, he knew what Drogba meant to his team and now he has gone why should he stay?

The fans, they used to berate him until last season. The Chairman, who accepted an offer the year before last. The backroom staff, who have nearly all gone. The only reason he could stay is money or lack of a suitable offer.

[old_yet_horny]

Originally Posted by no_faith

we went there wif a reputation of a big club. wif quality players in the squad.
...saturday vs fulham, this is london derby. do sumting proud. fulham has not been winning.
dun be the one to award the 3pts.

Bro NF,


I am sure the boys will buck up and show some good soccer.. Have been supporting CFC since Viali's days and it was the recent years that CFC raised to such status..

Player to player, Fulham is not worth mentioning about.

I would put on my CFC jersey this Sat and walk the roads of S'pore to show my support to the Blues..

The show must go on!

[Glen2712]

PRE-MATCH BRIEFING: HULL CITY V CHELSEA


The defence of one of the two trophies won last season is upon us. Club historian Rick Glanvill and statistician Paul Dutton prepare for a Premier League versus Football League clash.


Rick discovers that our opponents from Humberside are not as new as we may think.


'Old friends,' sang Simon and Garfunkel, 'stuck on the subs' bench like bookends.' (Actually it was 'park bench', but who cares.)


The Carling Cup often brings back familiar faces. Tonight it's likely that at some stage old adversaries Carlo Cudicini and Dean Windass (pictured) will sit at opposite ends of the dugout when Chelsea visit Hull's new, wistfully titled Kingston Communications Stadium in the Carling Cup's third round.


At a time of appalling refereeing decisions, who can forget the old friends' last encounter, and Carlo's ludicrous sending-off in the FA Cup in January 2003? Just past the hour with the score 1-0 to Chelsea, Windass barged Cudicini, plus ball, into the Blues' net and a melee ensued.


The 'goal' was ruled out and following consultation with the linesman, Mark Halsey amazingly dismissed Carlo. Chelsea held on to win easily but heads shook that Windass had once again proved a thorn in the royal blue behind.


In nine meetings with us he's scored four goals, most memorably (for all the wrong reasons) when playing for Oxford United in the FA Cup at the Manor Ground in 1999.


Time ticked away for an all-star Luca Vialli team after Windass's well-struck second-half opener, and only a highly debatable injury-time penalty awarded against 6ft 7in striker Kevin Francis saved our skins.


It was converted imperiously by Frank Leboeuf, who afterwards complained that United's angry coaching staff were not as cultured as other citizens of Oxford he'd met recently - when he addressed the Oxford Union. We won the replay 4-2, but it was Windass's turn to score from a spot-kick.


Now he's back at his hometown club and no doubt already scratching the floor in anticipation of charging round the pitch and roughing up a Premier League side low on confidence.


He won't be the only former top flight player who has found a good home at Phil Brown's 18th-placed Championship side. We have history with a few of them. Midfielder Dean Marney was one of those around whom Eidur Gudjohnsen danced to set up Frank Lampard's second goal when we won 2-0 at Spurs in 2005.


Things didn't work out at White Hart Lane for the highly-rated youngster - who scored twice in a 5-2 defeat of Everton the same season - and he arrived in the north-east last year following a succession of loans.


Another onetime Spur whose star faded is journeyman Nick Barmby, now 33, who 11 years ago figured in our famous 5-0 demolition of Boro, largely through a Gavin Peacock hat-trick. The last time we caught sight of him he was in a Leeds shirt and we won 1-0 through Jesper Gronkjaer. It was the end of the season and Chelsea finished second; Leeds, and Barmby, were relegated.


The connections don't end there. Forward Richard Garcia started his career with West Ham alongside Joe Cole, but it was with later club Colchester United that he played Chelsea. That was February 2006 at the Bridge, and it was his cross, diverted into his own net by Ricardo Carvalho, that gave the then League One side a shock lead. Joe scored twice in our 3-1 rally.


Hull also have ex-Sunderland, Leeds and Newcastle striker Michael Bridges, and former Manchester City boss Brian Horton is the assistant manager on Humberside. The stary-eyed manager's Manchester City knocked us out of the League Cup back in October 1993.


The influence of the man Horton reports to, Phil Brown, is also apparent. Brown understudied Sam Allardyce at Bolton and has picked up some of his empties from the Reebok. Henrik Pedersen, now 34, has been converted back to his original position of forward having been used as a full back in his later days alongside our own Tal Ben-Haim.


He's only played once this season. Brown's masterstroke, though, may have been luring Austin 'Jay-Jay' Okocha back from his exile in Qatar. The supremely talented attacking midfielder, another who has passed his 34th birthday, has played three times and the switch to a more cultured style of football in September's matches can be attributed to his arrival.


Of course, all the attention will be focused on the spirit and performance of Chelsea's players. Thirty-four places above Hull, virtually all internationals, it should be unthinkable that the Blues should founder against a side beaten 6-1 in the FA Cup eight years ago in the era of Dennis Wise, Gus Poyet, Gianfranco Zola - and John Terry.


The sudden goal drought now - our worst in the league since 1998 - means that a few strikes on target wouldn't go amiss to start the rebuilding process.


In the absence of Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard and Carvalho, and following on from four misfiring displays plus the shock of José Mourinho's departure, no one is expecting a repeat of the extravagance of December 1999.


But maybe it's the sort of night where, finally, a few things will actually go right for our beleaguered players. We are the current holders of this cup, and will surely want to get to Wembley as soon as possible again.

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[Glen2712]

PRE-MATCH BRIEFING: HULL CITY V CHELSEA END


HULL CITY V CHELSEA - Paul Dutton supplies the stats, penalty shoot-outs and all!


John Terry will captain for the 200th occasion in his 324th game for the club on Wednesday.


Chelsea will be visiting the Kingston Communication (KC) Stadium for the first time on Wednesday. The ground was opened in December 2002. The capacity is 25,404 all seater.


Chelsea and Hull City have never met in the League Cup although we have been drawn together on six occasions in the FA Cup.


John Terry played in our last meeting at Hull's old ground, Boothferry Park, in the third round of the 1999/2000 FA Cup unusually played in December of that season four days after returning from Rome with a goalless draw with Lazio in the Champions League.


The teams that day were:
Hull City (3-4-1-2) Bracey; Whittle (c), Edwards, Whitney; Goodison, Schofield (Morgan 80), Joyce, Harper; Whitmore; Brown (Eyre 58), Wood.
Chelsea (4-3-1-2) De Goey; Ferrer, Hogh (Terry 58), Leboeuf, Harley; Di Matteo, Deschamps (Morris 54), Wise (c); Poyet; Zola (Flo h/t), Sutton.
The scorers in a 6-1 win were: Poyet (9, 48, 57), Sutton (29), Brown (38), Di Matteo (46).


Chelsea have won all our previous cup encounters - all FA Cup:
1908/09 first round A 1-1, H 1-0
1909/10 first round H 2-1
1965/66 sixth round H 2-2, A 3-1
1981/82 third round H 0-0, A 2-0
1991/92 third round A 2-0
1999/00 third round A 6-1


Steve Clarke was right back when Hull last defeated us in October 1988 at Boothferry Park in the old Second Division by three goals to nil.


Our first-ever competitive home game in September 1905 was at Stamford Bridge against Hull. Chelsea won 5-1 in front of 6,000 supporters.


Hull City were formed in 1904 and have never played in the top flight. They were promoted to the Championship in 2005 following 14 years in the third or fourth flight. Our entire previous league meetings have been played in the old Second Division.


The Tigers have never competed in the fifth round of the League Cup. They've reached the fourth round in 1973/74, 1975/76 and 1977/78.


In this season's second round they defeated Wigan at the JJB Stadium 1-0 with a goal on the half hour from Stuart Elliott.


The Tigers have a few familiar faces with the likes of Nick Barmby, Michael Bridges, Henrik Pedersen, Jay-Jay Okocha and 38-year-old Dean Windass.


Hull's average crowd this season is 17,405.


Hull's results this season
Aug 11 Plymouth (h) L 2-3
Aug 15 Crewe LC1 (a) W 3-0
Aug 18 Coventry (a) D 1-1
Aug 25 Norwich (h) W 2-1
Aug 28 Wigan LC2 (a) W 1-0
Sep 3 Blackpool (a) L 1-2
Sep 15 Stoke (h) D 1-1
Sep 18 Wolves (a) W 1-0
Sep 22 Sheffield Wed (a) L 0-1


Hull's inability to find the net on Saturday at Hillsborough against point-less Sheffield Wednesday was the first time they have failed to score in 16 games stretching back to mid March. Team: Myhill, Ricketts, Turner, Brown, Delaney, Garcia, Ashbee (c), Marney (McPhee 67), Hughes (Livermore 85), Okocha, Bridges (Pedersen 59).


The Tigers' scorers this season in all competitions have been: Dean Windass 3 (1 pen), Richard Garcia 2, Ian Ashbee 1, Nick Barmby 1, Michael Bridges 1, Stuart Elliott 1, Dave Livermore 1, Dean Marney 1, Steve McPhee 1.


After last weekend's games Hull lie in 18th place with eight points from seven games. Chelsea dropped to sixth with 11 points from seven games, five points behind leaders Arsenal who have a game in hand.


Chelsea haven't lost away in the League Cup since Aston Villa defeated us in December 2003 nine games ago.


Chelsea's and Hull City's last five seasons in the League Cup:
Hull
2002/03 First round - lost to Leicester at home
2003/04 First round - lost to Wigan away
2004/05 First round - lost to Wrexham at home on penalties
2005/06 First round - lost to Blackpool away
2006/07 Third round - lost to Watford away

Chelsea
2002/03 Quarter-final - lost to Man Utd away
2003/04 Quarter-final - lost to Aston Villa away
2004/05 Winners - beat Liverpool in Cardiff
2005/06 3rd round - lost to Charlton at home on penalties
2006/07 Winners - beat Arsenal in Cardiff


Chelsea won the League Cup in 1965, 1998, 2005 and 2007 and have been runners-up in 1972. We have appeared in nine semi-finals.


John Mikel Obi will serve his first of a three-match suspension following his dismissal on Sunday.


The referee is Chris Foy who was in charge of our win at Newcastle in this competition last season.


Congratulations to Michael Ballack, currently unavailable through injury, who celebrates his 31st birthday on the day of the match.


Michael Essien and Paulo Ferreira, if selected, are due to make their 100th start for the club and Ashley Cole his 50th game in a blue shirt.


Chelsea's overall record against Hull City in all competitions is: played 35, won 23, drawn 8, lost 4


If the scores are level after 90 minutes, 30 minutes extra time will be played. If there is still no winner the tie will be decided on penalties.


Chelsea's recent shoot-out record is not good having lost the last three. The last time we were successful was in January 1998 in the League Cup quarter-final at Ipswich. Here is our full record:


Aug 2007 Man Utd (Wembley) FA Community Shield.
Lost 0-3. Keeper: Cech.


May 2007 Liverpool (away) Champions League semi-final second leg.
Lost 1-4 (Lampard). Keeper: Cech.


Oct 2005 Charlton (home) League Cup third round.
Lost 4-5 (Robben, Gudjohnsen, Lampard, Drogba). Keeper: Cudicini.


Jan 1998 Ipswich (away) League Cup quarter-final.
Won 4-1 (Leb?uf, Zola, Di Matteo, M Hughes). De Goey two saves.


Oct 1997 Blackburn (home) League Cup third round.
Won 4-1 (Leboeuf, Sinclair, Clarke, Nicholls). Hitchcock one save.


Aug 1997 Man Utd (Wembley) FA Charity Shield.
Lost 2-4 (Zola, Leboeuf). Keeper: De Goey.


Jan 1996 Newcastle (away) FA Cup third round replay.
Won 4-2 (D Lee , Wise, Peacock, Newton). Hitchcock one save.


Feb 1995 Millwall (home) FA Cup fourth round replay.
Lost 4-5 (Stein, Wise, Burley, D Lee). Keeper: Kharine.


Nov 1992 Ipswich (home) Full Members' Cup area quarter-final.
Won 4-3 (Wise, Dixon, Allon, V Jones). Hitchcock two saves.


Feb 1991 Luton (home) Full Members' Cup third round.
Lost 1-4 (Dorigo). Keeper: Beasant.


Nov 1985 West Brom (away) Full Members' Cup area semi-final.
Won 5-4 (Spackman, Pates, Jasper, Wood, C Lee). Keeper: Niedzwiecki.


Oct 1983 Leicester City (home) League Cup second round second leg.
Won 4-3 (Dixon, C Lee, Hollins, Spackman). Niedzwiecki two saves.


Should we make it safely through tonight, the draw for the 4th round is this Saturday lunchtime and will be broadcast live on Sky.

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[Red_Tirak1099]

Roman is buying Ronaldinho at world record price.....this guys wants to play fantasy football for real

[CKee]

Originally Posted by Red_Tirak1099

Roman is buying Ronaldinho at world record price.....this guys wants to play fantasy football for real

Ronaldinho is also rumoured to be paid abt 225K pounds. Some bro mentioned that Roman wants to build his own team of "galacticos" and it's said that the owner also wants to play a more involved role in team tactics, read coaching. If Avram Grant's coaching credentials is mickey mouse, what of Roman's...this joke is getting bigger and bigger every day.

Good luck

[Java_script]

Hull 0-4 ChelseaPA


New Chelsea coach Avram Grant can afford himself a welcome sigh of relief after seeing his Blues ease into the last 16 of the Carling Cup with a 4-0 win at Hull.

• Grant hoping for more of the same

Goals from 18-year-old Scott Sinclair, Steve Sidwell and two for Salomon Kalou ensures there will be no uncomfortable inquest for Grant.

His tenure is already under close scrutiny due to him lacking the relevant coaching badges required to manage in the Barclays Premier League.

The likes of Marco van Basten and Jurgen Klinsmann have been linked with the role - speculation which was strongly refuted by Chelsea.

But at least Grant has a win under his belt - even if only against the Coca-Cola Championship Tigers - which offers him a degree of breathing space.

Grant can initially thank Sinclair, whose delightful opener came eight minutes before the break at a time when Hull were growing in confidence.

This third round tie was settled by two goals in the space of seven minutes at the start of the second half, with a Kalou header followed by a searing drive from Sidwell before the former doubled his tally late on.

But even taking into account this was a supposedly 'weakened' Chelsea side, the divide in class was not apparent until the goals started to go in.

The appointment of the experienced, but unqualified Grant has done little to ease the anxiety of Blues fans fearful of the direction their club is now heading.

What cannot be denied is the quality of players Grant still has at his disposal, and that was case in point for this tie.

Grant made seven changes to the team beaten by Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday, with £21million Shaun Wright-Phillips, £8million Kalou, Claudio Pizarro and Carlo Cudicini named in the line-up.

On the bench at Grant's disposal was a further £60million worth of talent in Andriy Shevchenko, Claude Makelele, Joe Cole and Wayne Bridge.

The question still remains as to how such players will take to Grant's leadership, and whether they will respond to his methods as Abramovich seeks the entertaining football he has spent millions in the hope of watching.

The KC Stadium was clearly no place for silky skills and finesse as Hull are an earthy side, even if manager Phil Brown has been able to attract the likes of Jay-Jay Okocha and Henrik Pedersen of late,

Chelsea certainly had to dig in on occasions after the Tigers had weathered an opening four-minute storm in which the visitors had forced five corners.

Notably, goalkeeper Bo Myhill showed agility and fine reflexes in turning over the bar a drive from Sidwell and then a shot from Kalou around the post.

Hull proceeded to have their moments as they soon countered, with Okocha seeing a 20-yard effort deflected wide and Stephen McPhee thwarted by Juliano Belletti just as he was primed to shoot.

After Myhill had smothered another low drive from Kalou in the 19th minute and the defence had repelled a further three corners in quick succession before the 25-minute mark, Hull then began to seriously look capable of an upset.

But Chelsea upped a gear and after Myhill had saved from Wright-Phillips, the England winger then teed up Sinclair for his first for the club on his fifth appearance.

McPhee almost levelled before the break, but then after it Kalou headed home his first of the season in the 48th minute followed four minutes later by Sidwell's maiden goal since his summer move from Reading.

Credit to the Tigers as they refused to roll over and came close with sub Richard Garcia forcing a save from Cudicini, Ian Ashbee heading narrowly over the woodwork and Okocha shaving the bar with a rising free-kick.

In the end, it was Chelsea who added an exclamation point to the scoreline with Kalou sweeping home a low ball from substitute Joe Cole.

Grant hoping for more of the same

New Chelsea coach Avram Grant is hoping he tonight witnessed a brand of football which will continue to be seen throughout his reign.

Grant, whose position has been questioned because he lacks the necessary coaching qualifications to manage in the Barclays Premier League despite his undoubted experience gained elsewhere, was certainly a little more at ease following the game.

'I am happy with the performance,' said Grant.

'We scored four goals. All came from combinations and with movement from the players, so it is a good start.

'I want Chelsea to continue playing that kind of football, but I don't expect it will be like that in a few days' time.

'But I did like the goals that we scored, and I hope we can continue on this basis.'

Grant was asked whether he felt it was a performance that proved the Blues are willing to play under him.

But he deflected that by saying: 'I want the players to want to play for the club - that's the most important thing.

'Managers come and go. The only thing that always remains are the supporters, but their commitment and my commitment is to the club first of all.

'We saw that the players' commitment was at a very high level for this club.

'It's not been an easy time for them after Sunday's result [losing 2-0 at Manchester United] and what happened last week.

'But they showed a very good attitude.'

Hull boss Phil Brown had no complaints with the scoreline, because he appreciated his side were outclassed on the night.

'Grant made seven changes to the team beaten at Old Trafford, yet it was far from a 'weakened' line-up - in particular because there was £60million worth of talent on the bench,' he noted.

'It was a lesson in quality.

'They were clinical in front of goal - and while we had chances to get something on the board, their second goal killed us and was quickly followed by the third.

'Chelsea, with their experience and quality, made the pitch big - and it was always going to be a tough night when it got to 3-0.

'The one thing I have learned from this tonight is that their players trust and believe in one another.'

John Terry insisted Chelsea fully deserved their 4-0 victory over Hull in the Carling Cup third round after they had endured a traumatic week.

He told Sky Sports 2: 'It was a great win and certainly well needed, it is a tough place to come.

'I thought we played really well, we knew the first 15 to 20 minutes it was going to be really difficult and they were going to be in our faces.

'But we deserved it, especially after the last three games.

'The quality came through in the end.'

The England skipper insists spirit is good at Stamford Bridge despite the off-field happenings.

He said: 'We do our best to maintain team spirit in Chelsea. We'll try to keep it going. It has been tough recently but we take a lot of positives from tonight.'

[Glen2712]

TEAM NEWS: HULL CITY V CHELSEA


Scott Sinclair is handed his first start of the season, as is Carlo Cudicini and there are returns to the team for Claudio Pizarro and Steve Sidwell.The Peruvian will play up front with Salomon Kalou with Andriy Shevchenko on the bench.Juliano Belletti is the right-back. Wayne Bridge is back on the bench for the first time since his operation in the summer.


There is no Dean Windass for Hull so former Bolton man Henrik Pedersen will lead the attack.


Chelsea will line-up in a 4-4-2 formation as follows:

23 Carlo Cudicini
35 Juliano Belletti
22 Tal Ben-Haim
26 John Terry (c)
3 Ashley Cole
24 Shaun Wright-Phillips
9 Steve Sidwell
5 Michael Essien
17 Scott Sinclair
21 Salomon Kalou
14 Claudio Pizarro.

Substitutes: 23 Carlo Cudicini, 18 Wayne Bridge, 4 Claude Makelele, 10 Joe Cole, 7 Andriy Shevchenko.


Hull City are expected to line-up in the following 4-4-2 formation:

Myhill, Ricketts, Turner, Brown, Delaney, Livermore, Ashbee (c), Elliott, McPhee, Okocha, Pedersen.

Subs: Woodhead, Dawson, Hughes,Garcia, Feathestone.

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[Glen2712]

MINUTE DETAIL: HULL CITY 0 CHELSEA 4


Hull City v Chelsea


Carling Cup Third Round against Hull City at the Kingston Communication Stadium, Hull.


Hull City(4-3-2-1): Myhill, Ricketts, Turner, Brown, Delaney, Ashbee (c), Livermore, Pedersen (Featherstone 73), Okocha, Elliott (Garcia 52), McPhee.


Manager: Phil Brown


Chelsea (4-4-2): Cudicini; Belletti, Ben-Haim, Terry (c), A Cole (Bridge 63); Wright-Phillips(J Cole 49), Sidwell, Essien (Makelele 73); Sinclair, Kalou, Pizarro.


First team coach: Avram Grant


Referee: Chris Foy


Crowd: 23,543


Environment Cold and clear at kick off, 7.45pm kick-off, live on Sky Sports.


Kit Hull City - orange shirts, black shorts, black socks. Chelsea - blue shirts and shorts, white socks.


First-half

Kick-off Hull City

Stoppage time 1 mins

3 Attack Kalou's stinging shot delivered from a Wright-Phillips corner is saved by Myhill.

6 Defence Terry tackles Livermore in the area to deny the forward a shot on goal, Cudicini collects.

9 Foul Belletti knocks Okocha to the ground outside the box for a freekick which A Cole deals with in the area.

13 Attack Wright Phillips takes ball from Essien in own half to release a shot which strays wide.

19 Defence Belletti deals with a difficult ball in the area to allow Hull the corner.

34 Shot Pizarro opens up a shot from space on the edge of the area which is deflected for a goal kick.

34 CHELSEA GOAL Sinclair scores his first goal for the first team from a Wright-Phillips move which gives him the opportunity to let the shot loose from the edge of the area.


Half-time Hull City 0 Chelsea 1


Second-half

Kick-off Chelsea

Stoppage time 3 mins.

48 CHELSEA GOAL Kalou heads the ball into the back of the net from a Pizarro cross.

49 Chelsea Substitution Wright-Phillips is replaced with Joe Cole due to an injury.

52 CHELSEA GOAL Steve Sidwell scores his fist goal for Chelsea with a screaming shot from 35 yards out.

63 Save: Cudicini makes a great save for a Garcia shot to go out for a throw

63 Chelsea substitution Wayne Bridge comes on to replace Ashley Cole, making his first appearance for Chelsea this season.

73 Chelsea substitution Essien goes off the field to be replaced by Claude Makelele.

73 Hull substitution Pedersen comes off to be replaced by Nicky Featherstone.

74 Abused Pizarro is brought down by Brown who is shown a yellow card for the challenge.

81 CHELSEA GOAL Kalou scores after receiving the ball from J Cole after a Sinclair run into the box from the counter-attack.


Unused subs Hull City: Dawson, Hughes, Woodhead Chelsea: Hilario, Shevchenko


Shots on target Hull City 2 Chelsea 9


Corners Hull City 4 Chelsea 8


FoulsHull City 8 Chelsea 12


Offsides Hull City 1 Chelsea 2


Comment: Avram Grant's team sees Wayne Bridge on the bench for the first time this season. There was an even spread of possession in the first half with as many chances for the home team as Chelsea.


Although only Chelsea managed to convert their chances into a goal with Scott Sinclair scoring his first ever goal for the First XI in the 34 minute, thanks to a cross from Shaun Wright-Phillips.


Chelsea came out attacking after half time break with a run from Claudio Pizarro which led to Kalou receiving across the face of goal to head in.


Shaun Wright-Phillips then left the field due to injury to be replaced by Joe Cole before Steve Sidwell scored his first goal for Chelsea with a scorching shot from 35 yards out.


Sinclair made another good impression on the first team when he made a run on the counter-attack to allow Joe Cole to place the ball at Kalou's feet for him to score the fourth of the night.

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[Glen2712]

MATCH REPORT: HULL CITY 0 CHELSEA 4

First Chelsea goals from Scott Sinclair and Steve Sidwell and the first strikes of the season from Salomon Kalou ensured a safe passage to the next round of the Carling Cup as banana skins were avoided on Humberside.


It was a satisfying opening victory for Avram Grant who did opt to rotate his team for this competition, Sinclair and Carlo Cudicini the most notable additions to the team for the first time this season and with Pizarro and Sidwell also back in the line-up.


Shevchenko was on the bench so Kalou was the other striker in a 4-4-2 shape and among the subs also was the pleasing sight of Wayne Bridge, involved for the first time since his summer hip operation.


The KC Stadium had little to mark it from many of the recently constructed stadia up and down the country but it was a decent arena and a good pitch and Chelsea were soon into gear, forcing three corners in the first two minutes, the second cleared off the line when Kalou shot on target.


Hull then enjoyed a good couple of minutes off their own, registering one corner and only stopped from threatening goal by some good covering by Belletti when Livermore ran from deep.


The rest of the first 20 minutes was without much the warm the crowd on the chilliest night of the season so far, a Wright-Phillips wayward shot and an effort by Kalou that was saved quiet comfortably apart.


Chelsea had a very healthy shout for a penalty turned down when Sinclair collected a pass in the box with face to goal and appeared to be shoved to the ground from behind.


With Sidwell playing the odd clever ball and Wright-Phillips and Kalou taking on opponents in and around the box, Chelsea were on top but were not looking totally watertight at the back.


Pedersen headed a presentable chance wide from six yards out with the half-hour approaching and then there was a scramble on the line after Cudicini spilled the ball under a Pedersen challenge. The referee took his time but eventually whistled up the foul.


Terry was then at his best to intercept a highly dangerous cross and for a while the easy ride into the next round the game became looked a long way off.


On 36 minutes, Chelsea broke out with the move of the game so far, Sidwell storming forward and releasing Belletti who found Wright-Phillips overlapping, the keeper doing well to close and block.


Within seconds however, the Blues did take the lead and what a fine strike and a fine moment it was for Scott Sinclair, sweeping in Wright-Phillips's cross that had threaded a way through a crowd with a sweet connection for his first Chelsea goal.


Chelsea needed to survive one more scare before the break, McPhee on the turn hooking Okocha's pass wide.


Just two minutes into the second-half, the Blues pretty much made the game safe when Kalou scored the second. It was his run and ball wide that took Chelsea into area, Pizarro then teeing it up for the Ivorian to head in from almost under the crossbar. It had been a razor sharp incision into Hull's hopes.


Not everything was going Chelsea's way - an injured Wright-Phillips had to be replaced by Joe Cole before the game could begin again.


With the next attack it became 3-0, Sidwell smacking a 25-yarder that the keeper touched but could not keep out. There were more joyous celebrations for another maiden Chelsea goal.


Hull immediately made a double substitution but with little improvement in their fortune until substitute Garcia broke free down the left and Cudicini saved an angled drive well with his legs. It was the home team's first shot on target.


Chelsea's second switch came on 64 minutes, Bridge back in action, Ashley Cole naturally making way.


Ashbee. the Hull captain, headed a chance over and when his counterpart, Terry headed a corner on target, Livermore nodded off the line.


Jay-Jay Okocha of course was still a threat from set-pieces and he curled a free-kick very close on 71 minutes, the ball landing on the roof of the net.


The fourth goal on 80 minutes was a textbook example of counter-attacking play, Sinclair involved early on, Bridge then joining in to find Joe Cole. Kalou was picked out by the England man and the ball was slammed home from 15 yards.


The recently goal-shy Blues had found no problem finding the net against lower league opposition. Now more of the same in the top flight on Saturday is the order.


The draw for the Carling Cup fourth round is Saturday lunchtime.


Hull City (4-2-3-1): Myhill; Ricketts, Turner, Brown, Delaney (Dawson 52); Ashbee (c), Livermore; Pedersen (Featherstone 72), Okocha, Elliott (Garcia 52); McPhee.

Booked Ashbee 75.


Chelsea (4-4-2): Cudicini; Belletti, Ben-Haim, Terry (c), A Cole (Bridge 64); Wright-Phillips (J Cole 48), Essien (Makelele 72), Sidwell, Sinclair; Kalou, Pizarro.

Scorers: Sinclair 36, Kalou 47, 80, Sidwell 51.

P.S: List Of UPPEES is not in full due to the capacity limitation of the signature function (not be longer than 300 characters excluding BB Code markup). Rest assured I've all ur nicks n u'll be awarded. If I do missed u, kindly PM me.


Appreciate the PM, Bro David_Ginola, Bro Rw6828, Bro Myo_Swee, Bro XboxSG and Bro Best123!

[JWNY]

Look how thrashy tabloids can be...don't always believe what you read, good or bad.

JWNY

Special One's 'sack plan'

By SHAUN CUSTIS
September 25, 2007

CHELSEA insiders believe that Jose Mourinho engineered his own sacking.

The ex-Blues boss had a clause in his deal which said he had to pay the club £2.5million if he quit.

And members of the board believe that Mourinho feared he would lose against Manchester United and at Valencia in the Champions League without Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard.

A boardroom source said: “Jose met with Roman Abramovich and Peter Kenyon. Roman expressed concerns about the display against Rosenborg. He was not impressed by the way the team was playing.

“There was no indication things had come to an end but later Jose went to see Peter to say he would not be coming to work the next day.

“Peter asked him what he meant and he said ‘I’m just not coming in’.

“Peter thought about it for a while then asked Jose if he meant not coming in for one day or forever and said ‘Do you mean you want to leave?’

“Jose suggested he would go and Chelsea then told him they would pay him off.”

[Java_script]

Hull City [0 - 4] Chelsea
37' [0 - 1] S. Sinclair > http://www.mediafire.com/?2nmlm91l0x3
49' [0 - 2] S. Kalou > http://www.mediafire.com/?eajjttofhym
52' [0 - 3] S. Sidwell > http://www.mediafire.com/?63yxjbmyymc
81' [0 - 4] S. Kalou > http://www.mediafire.com/?03nnneemzjg

[Java_script]

Another site to view the goal scoring.

http://footballocks.net/index.php/64...ea-highlights/


Sinclair: First strike


Kalou: Second & Fourth strike