The Trevor Jackson Empire (Jog On Avram)

[shantanu_rooney]

Wow good war of worlds between Rafa and Grant. Things getting hot and interesting.

Good update and Keep it up

 

[Jaztheman]

Oo Grant taking Benitez's words with a pinch of salt. Will set the first encounter between these sides during the season to be a cracker.

Great presentation Mani.

 

[Dr. Pepper]

There was no update yesterday, sorry. I wasn't able to get on my PC (which has CM08 on it). I'm writing the update for today now .

Dr. Pepper added 28 Minutes and 12 Seconds later...

Page last updated at 10:59 GMT, Sunday, 08 July 2007 10:59 UK​

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Aston Villa vs Chelsea-Match Preview

Barry had a smile on his face the last time he wore the Aston Villa shirt.

Match: Aston Villa vs Chelsea
Tournament: Premiership
Venue: Villa Park
Kick Off: 16:05, Saturday 12 August 2007
Referee: Uriah Rennie​

Chelsea and Aston Villa will both start their Premiership campaigns later today, playing against each other. The two other teams playing today are Tottenham and Fulham. Today, all eyes will be on one man. New Chelsea full-back, Gareth Barry. He recently joined the blues signing from none other team than Aston Villa.

Barry will play his second competitive game for Chelsea, his first in the Premiership. He played the full ninety minutes against Man Utd in their Charity Shield penalty defeat. He gave a solid performance and is looking to build on that through out the season. He said he would show no remorse for his old club and is looking to make a big impact for his new team.

"I had a great career at Aston Villa. I had ten seasons at them. Quite a few of them I captained the team. It was such a great atmosphere there. The players, the managers. Just playing at Villa Park was brilliant. It was my home. Sadly, you have to move on sometimes. It's for the best. I want to further my career.

Chelsea are title winners. They are capable of winning everything. I want to win it with them. They are a brilliant team with a brilliant manager. They have a much better chance of winning silver ware than Aston Villa do truthfully. As every other player, I want to win trophies. More importantly though, I want to play football.

Some may argue I'd get more games at Aston Villa. That may be true. Another truth however is that I started every game. I was captain and there was no real battle for my place in the side. Here at Chelsea, there are more players. Ashley Cole is a world class full back. It's going to be really tough to get my place in the squad. That's why I have to up my game. Do better. Work harder. Effectively I'll play better football and that's what it's all about.

When I go to Villa Park, I'll have a smile on my face. It will remind me of all my great memories at Aston Villa. It will also make me smile because I'll have moved on in Football. I'll say hello to my former team mates, my old manager, and the fans. I'll say hello and move on. That's it. I won't show any remorse because I used to play for them. I have to give it my all. It's the only way I can succeed."

Martin O'Neill's Aston Villa were unbeaten in pre-season and are looking to continue that record at Villa Park today. Getting a point against Chelsea will be tough but they have the home advantage. Martin O'Neill said this "We had a great pre-season. That's over though. It's the real thing now. Of course a good pre-season is better than a poor one because we would get more confidence out of it and be more prepared going in to the Premiership, but that's behind us now and we have to focus on our game against the big teams.

We are aiming for European Football this season. We have a great squad with a great bunch of players. There is no reason why we can't get it. To go that extra mile, that next step, we have to get points against the bigger teams. The likes of Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal. We are no longer the team that are looking to just survive the season, we are a big club now. We have to aim higher.

Of course teams like Chelsea have a better squad. In football though, the things on paper don't matter. It's all about what happens on the pitch. I watched the Charity Shield match and Chelsea never looked to get going. Neither did Man Utd. Two of the biggest clubs in the Premiership and they both played abysmal. That's Football for you. Sometimes teams have those days and we need to take that as a great oppurtunity it is and run away with it. Take the points.

We did very well last season. We managed to put the ball in the back of the net a lot of times. That's a very good sign for us. Gareth [Barry] has left us. I can't blame him. He furthered his career. Everybody else would do the same. He still has mine and the players respect. We can't keep looking at that though and that definitely can't be an excuse for poor form this season. We need to move on and play at the standard we can play."

Chelsea had real problems, not only in pre-season but also in the Charity Shield of scoring goals. Avram Grant said this about it "Yes we have been poor in front of goal. It's something we are definitely working on. Maybe my players were still tired. There's no excuses now. We have to get the points from the games. To do that we must score. Simple as.

I have high expectations for my team because I know they can deliver. We have a world class attacking half of the team. We should be scoring every game. We have looked at the problem in training and tackled it. We will not waste our chances again. That is final from me. We will score more in the season.

We are also looking to sign another attacking player to strengthen the squad in that area. We have looked at quite a few players, all of them are of the highest quality and I have come to a decision. We are finalizing a deal with a certain attacker within the next few days. The deal should be done by Wednesday."

 

[Ayub 95]

nice update mate KUTGW

 

[Jaztheman]

I wonder who this mystery attacker is. Hopefully he can raise the standard a Chelsea. Looking forward to the match.

Great presentation, Mani.

 

[shantanu_rooney]

Wow!! Good update of the preview Mani. Hope the mystery striker does well. Cant wait for the match.

 

[Pakistani Army]

Man, who is this mystery man? Nice suspense and fantastic write-up Mani!

 

[Dr. Pepper]

Shantanu_Rooney is going to be my assistant manager. It's a new idea to get people involved with my story. He's going to have a blog/diary sort of thing and also do reports on players every now and then.

 

[treva]

*Cough* Second choice assistant *Cough*

It's a good idea Mani, will be interesting to see how the blog goes.

----

Now to the game. I think it will be a tough opener for Chelsea. I'm a big fan of the way Villa play their football. A very attacking style. Not only do they have pace via Ashley Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor, but they have height with John Carew and a few tall lads at the back.

I predict a 2-2 draw.

Great stuff Mani

 

[Dr. Pepper]

Page last updated at 10:59 GMT, Sunday, 08 July 2007 10:59 UK​

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Chelsea bounce back from Man Utd defeat

Roque Santa Cruz celebrates Chelsea's first goal.​

Chelsea only made one change from the side that performed below par against Man Utd in the Charity Shield encounter. Michael Ballack made the starting line up, in place of Frank Lampard who sat on the bench. Gareth Barry started at left back again, making his Premiership debut against his former club, Aston Villa. Ashley Cole stayed put on the bench due to him still not being fully fit. Avram Grant promised goals in this match after their abysmal display in the Charity Shield.

After twenty minutes of a midfield battle, Chelsea coming out on top most of the time, Gareth Barry had a throw in on the left hand side of the field for Chelsea. He did a quick throw to Florent Malouda who lofted one in to Roque Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz' header was saved by Thomas Sorensen.

A minute later, when the ball was cleared out by Laursen, it went to Gabriel Agbonlahor. Agbonlahor was under pressure from Dani Alves and started running back his own half. Alves made the tackle and passed it on to Robinho. Robinho switched it to the other side to Malouda. Malouda made a wonderful through ball to Roque Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz powered one into the back of the net to give Chelsea the lead. Laursen was given the blame for keeping Santa Cruz onside, but it was a brilliant pass from Malouda that made the goal happen.

In the twenty fifth minute, Michael Ballack curled a left hand side corner into the box. There was a struggle in the box and Roque Santa Cruz went down. Thomas Sorensen punched the balll away from danger but Avram Grant was furious. He believed that his team should've had a penalty.

Florent Malouda was on the attack for Chelsea but lost the ball cheaply after a poor attempted pass. Malouda did not stop there though. He piled the pressure on the defence and managed to intercept the pass to Nigel Reo-Coker. He pulled the ball back from the wing to Didier Drogba just outside the box. Drogba went for the quick shot and Sorensen made an excellent save to stop Chelsea scoring a second.

Wilfred Bouma had a throw in for Aston Villa on the right hand side of the pitch in the Chelsea half. The throw in went to Ashley Young who was on the wing. Young put a magnificent ball into the box to Stiliyan Petrov was unmarked. Petrov wasted the oppurtunity but rocketing the ball miles wide. Aston Villa's first chance of the game, and a good one, wasted.

The last ten minutes of the half were the same as the first twenty. Chelsea dominated the game by holding the ball in their own half. They didn't give Aston Villa a chance and didn't risk the last ten minutes of the half by attacking again. They conserved their energy for the next knowing they were ahead comfortably.

Chelsea made one of their five subs at half time, bringing on solid attacking midfielder Frank Lampard. Michael Ballack was the man who made way for the England international.

Chelsea started the second half brilliantly. Drogba galloped down the wing but was just tackled by Martin Laursen. Laursen managed to get the throw in but it didn't do much. Robinho intercepted it and put the ball in the box. Drogba headed but was saved by Sorensen. Sorensen couldn't hold it and scrapped it away. Santa Cruz pulled it back to Florent Malouda who quickly passed it on to Frank Lampard. Lampard had the first chance of the half but wasted it. His shot was blocked by Olof Mellberg and cleared away.

In the fifty seventh minute, Stiliyan Petrov made way for Togolese Moustapha Salifou. A young fresh face to try and make an impact on a down Aston Villa side. Salifou came on and made his debut for Villa.

A few minutes later, Aston Villa made their second change. The man who was blamed for Chelsea's goal, Martin Laursen went off for another debutant, Zat Knight. Knight joined from Fulham for £3.5 million in the summer.

Another few minutes later, in the sixty sixth minute, Chelsea scored a contender for goal of the season. Full back Dani Alves made a great interception of a Aston Villa ball in the air. He got under the ball and headed it down infront of him. Alves didn't stop there. He carried on his run, nutmegging substitue Zat Knight. Alves continued and at an acute angle slotted it in the bottom left hand corner with the inside of his left foot. A brilliant goal from the Brazilian defender.

After this Avram Grant made his other two substitutions. Ashley Cole was given a run around for the last twenty minutes to get back to match fitness. He came on for an impressive Florent Malouda. Gareth Barry went up to Malouda's wing role while Ashley Cole was at the full back position.

Salomon Kalou came on for a Didier Drogba that had not been as involved in the game as Avram Grant would've hoped. Robinho took the strikers role along with Roque Santa Cruz and Salomon Kalou took the wingers job.

Wilfred Bouma had a throw in in the Chelsea half for the second time in the game. It was also Aston Villa's second attack. The throw in went to Patrick Berger's feet, and when he tried to turn with the ball he was bombarded by a brilliant Michael Essien tackle. Essien ruined his great tackle by giving the ball back to Berger. Berger tried one of his trademark long shots but Petr Cech didn't break a sweat.

In the eightyth minute, Roque Santa Cruz took Robinho's pass from the centre of the pitch and ran with the ball. He sped down the pitch, despite having three Aston Villa men on his trail. Eventually he reached the box but was in an acute angle and under pressure. His shot didn't really test Sorensen. There was no one he could pass to unfortunately. It was a brilliant run none the less.

Dani Alves was at the heart of another Chelsea attack. He made a great tackle on Aston Villa's Ashley Young and won a throw in. He took the throw in and it went to Salomon Kalou. Kalou back heeled it on to Roque Santa Cruz who quickly put it in the box. Michael Essien had the header which hit the post. It was kicked out of the box but only to Gareth Barry on the other side of the pitch. Barry ran a few metres before crossing it into the box. The cross in was unsuccessful as it was blocked by Davies.

Even in the eighty sixth minute Chelsea did not stop their attacks. Dani Alves throw in to Kalou led to a cross into the box. The cross was not the best and Robinho had to take it in an awkward position. He did the best he could and tried a half volley. Thomas Sorensen took the ball into his hands.

There were three minutes of added time, Aston Villa did not give up though. Ashley Young had a corner on the right hand side of the pitch. It curled away from Petr Cech who had run out to puch it away. Zat Knight headed it powerfully into the open goal to put Aston Villa back in the game right at the end. Could they level the game in such a short space of time?

The final whistle blew seconds after Chelsea kicked off the game again. It was a comfortable win for the blues but they would've preferred a clean sheet. A great start to their Premier League campaign. Roque Santa Cruz was named Man Of The Match after his heroic display on the field. He netted the first goal for the blues and continued to press forward and create chances all through out the game.

 

[Dr. Pepper]

Results
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Sunday, 12 August 2007
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Aston Villa 1-2 Chelsea
(HT 0-1)
Knight 90 -Santa Cruz 22
- -- - - - - - - -Alves 67

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Tottenham Hotspurs 2-1 Fulham
(HT 1-1)
Lennon 28- - - - - - - - - -Healy 2
Jenas 48
Bookings:
Konchesky
Smertin
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Saturday, 11 August 2007
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Bolton 1-0 Wigan
(HT 1-0)
M?it? 37
Bookings: - -Bookings:
Gardner - - - - -Olemb?
M?it? - - - - -Grangvist
Wilhelmsson - - - - Hall
- - - - - - - - Valencia
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Liverpool 1-1 Everton
(HT 1-0)
Torres 13 - Campbell 53

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Man City 0-0 Birmingham
(HT 0-0)

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Newcastle 2-0 Blackburn
(HT 2-0)
Viduka 42
Viduka 44

Bookings:
G?r?mi
N'Zogbia

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Portsmouth 0-0 Derby
(HT 0-0)

Bookings: - -Bookings:
Lauren - - - ------Griffin
- - -------- - -Feilhaber
- - ----------- - -Jones
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Reading 0-3 Arsenal
(HT 0-1)
- - - --Mertesacker 3
- -Van Persie 70 (pen)
- --- - -Adebayor 81
Bookings:
Fa?
Lita
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Sunderland 1-2 Middlesbrough
(HT 0-0)
Miller 55- -- - - - - - - -Huth 82
Mido 88

Bookings:- -------- -Bookings:
Whitehead- ------------ -Taylor

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[shantanu_rooney]

Good win there for Chelsea good to see Santa Cruz and Dani Alves get their first goals at the club.

Loved the scores presentation.

 

[Dr. Pepper]

Update from Shan:

Joaqu?n S?nchez Rodr?guez, (born July 21, 1981 in El Puerto de Santa Mar?a, C?diz) is a Spanish footballer, who plays for Valencia CF. He is a right winger well known for his dribbling.

Career

Joaquin was influential in the promotion of Real Betis from Segunda Divisi?n to La Liga. He made almost 241 appearances for the club and scored 210 appearances for Real Betis and score 30 times and assisted almost more than 50 times . He was a major part of the Betis side who won the Copa Del Ray in 2005. Later next season Joaquin made a big money move of 18m to Valencia. At valencia still date he has made 66 apperances for the club and has scored a handful 8 times. But he was an influential part of the side which won the Copa Del Ray in 2008. Joaquin has also made 47 appearances for his country Spain and has scored 6 times.

What would he add?

He would be a fantastic signing for Chelsea and would cost around ?25 million. He would add a new dimension to the Chelsea side. His lightning pace would add a lot to the Chelsea team which need a great winger after the exit of Shaun Wright Phillips. His abilities to find man in space could be very useful and his brilliant crossing abilities could help the Chelsea strikers Didier Drogba and Roque Santa Cruz score goals upront. His fantastic dribbling could create a lot of headache to defenders.

Problems?

The only real problem I can find about Joaquin is that he is inconsistent. He will not deliver 100% every game and play them world class balls every time. When he's in a good mood he can give a title winning performance. When he's not, he may aswell be playing for a Conference side. If you want a totally consistent, rock solid man, look elsewhere. If you want a slick, skillful, young, able winger, go for Joaquin.

Pros: remarkable ability to run with the ball, fantastic dribbler, lightning pace and ability to find man in space
Cons: Not consistent

 

[treva]

Fine win by Chelsea against a tough team. Almost right with my prediction, just 1 Villa goal off. Good to see the new signings scoring also. Santa Cruz will get a lot of goals I reckon this season.

Joaquin is a quality player. Would fit into most of the quality sides around the world perfectly. He would be a fantastic buy!

 

[Dr. Pepper]

Fine win by Chelsea against a tough team. Almost right with my prediction, just 1 Villa goal off. Good to see the new signings scoring also. Santa Cruz will get a lot of goals I reckon this season.

Joaquin is a quality player. Would fit into most of the quality sides around the world perfectly. He would be a fantastic buy!

Maybe but the draw was wrong, we were all over them and you were totally WRONG!