The big Ivorian with a small threshhold for pain chucked a coin into the Burnley fan section, in hopes of rewarding the poverty-stricken town with a bit of cash for the trip home. Instead, he’s actions have been viewed as sinister — as if he was trying to harm opposing fans?! Noooooo.

FA statement: “At a regulatory commission today, Chelsea forward Didier Drogba was given a three match suspension.

“Drogba admitted a charge of violent conduct. The charge related to Drogba throwing a missile into the away section of the crowd after scoring during the League Cup match against Burnley at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday 12 November. Drogba will serve the suspension with immediate effect.”

Boooo.

So the Drogs will miss our key match against Arsenal at Stamford Bridge in a couple weeks. And, seeing as how Drogba has tormented the Gunners of late (what is it, 7 or so goals?), this could be a hugh miss. Then again, The Incredible Sulk is bagging ‘em like no other right now.

A decade ago against Ipswich. Where? In the Carling Cup, of course.

So, Chelsea got its just desserts Wednesday, falling 5-4 in a penalty shootout to Championship side Burnley in the fourth round of the league cup. The Drogs had put the Blues ahead after 27 minutes, but a combination of wastefulness from Chels and endeavor from Burnley saw the Clarets level on 69 minutes. They, then, fended off a siege and dropped us — fittingly — in penalties.

All this came at Stamford Bridge. Really? Yeah, really.

That’s two losses at home, though this one wasn’t really a loss (but who are we kidding), and three in the past six matches. So, how are we supposed to look at this?

There are two options.

The first: worry.
Our current form is so erratic it’s not funny. Add in the fact that we fielded a scrong XI today, and you have to somewhat wonder what exactly’s going on with the club at the moment. It’s not as if we threw out the youngstas, and they didn’t have the mettle. We had internationals out there — who looked as if they were disinterested. Well, everyone except Super Frank and Miniero from what I’ve heard.

I mean, if we’re going to lose in the league cup why not let our “pristine” youth players have a go. I don’t know why we even have an academy sometimes.

The second: disregard
As one astute member of CFC Net said: “We lost to Burnley on Pens tonight. We lost to Charlton at home on Pens in our title winning season when we were invincible at home. We lost to Barnsley last season. These things happen. And not just to us. To everyone. ”

Nuff said, really.

“Flip” a coin
In the not-so-shocking world of Ze Drogs, our favorite Ivorian fired a coin — which was first fired at him –back into the crowd after scoring his first goal since 1936. He also used the patented “one-finger salute” to add even more insult to injury. 

The big man had this to say afterward: “I tried to celebrate the goal and I received some things at me. The big mistake I did was to throw it back so if someone was hurt I just want to apologise for it. This is not something I should show in a football match and I want to apologise. It was an incident in the heat of the moment and I regret it.”

Wonderful news, I say. What kind of ban can we expect?

Conclusion
Regarding my two types of reactions to the result, I fall somewhere between them both. Of course shock defeats happen in Cup ties all the time. However, you really can’t look past our recent form can you?

I mean, we’re up, we’re down. We’re up, we’re down. It’s a rollercoaster. Lacking that real consistency that transformed us into a machine under Mourinho may be a serious problem as the season progresses. Of course we’re top of the Prem now, but that means absolutely nil in November.

So, six past Albion on the weekend then? Video of the match below.

We all remember how Chelsea fared against Barnsley in last year’s FA Cup. Still, I don’t think this tie will be much of a problem.  Current holders Tottenham face the toughest test of the round, hosting Liverpool.

Here’s a look at all the ties:
Sunderland v Blackburn Rovers
Arsenal v Wigan Athletic
Chelsea v Burnley
Swansea v Watford
Manchester United v Queens Park Rangers
Stoke City v Rotherham United
Brighton or Derby v Leeds United
Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool

They’ll have a hard time doing so.

Portsmouth enters this match on the heels of its most embarrassing defeat in quite some time — a 6-0 slump against Manchester City at the weekend. Drained of confidence, Pompey is also drained of manpower. ‘Arry Redknapp will be without the services of Jermain Defoe, Papa Boupa Diop, Sean Davis, Lassana Diarra, David Nugent and Sol Campbell. Yikes.

As for our Blues, they’re coming off a much-deserved 1-1 draw with Team Rio on Sunday. We lost world-renowned defender, and landscaper, Ricky Carvalho to a knee injury in that match as well as Deco to a thigh problem he picked up in the pre-match warmup.  It sucks. But, the team should be able to cope with the formidable Alex sliding in for Ricky. Our midfield is already well-stocked — and looks to be adding ol’ ass Mineiro to the mix — so that won’t be a problem.

While we know Uncle Phil is out to crack skulls in all competitions this season, I certainly think this tie gives us a chance to let some youth hit the pitch. I’d like to think we’ll see Di Santo and Scotty Sinclair. Another possibility is Ivanovic. The mythical creature from Russia has yet to see the field for Chelsea. Give him a run out, man.

Prediction
This thing is all set up for a rout. An emotionally fragile Portsmouth, stretched with injuries, versus an insurmountable Chelsea. That’s why I’m opting for a closer-than-expected 3-2 scoreline. Lamps to do the business. Watch this space

Out-thought, out-played, out-managed and simply outclassed, Chelsea relinquished its hold on the Carling Cup on Sunday. Tottenham dealt their London rivals a hammer blow, exiting New Wembley worthy 2-1 victors in extra time. Ledley King hoisted Spurs’ first piece of silverware since the 1999 League Cup final — leaving Chelsea on its hands and knees looking for answers.

Take nothing from Spurs, they were clearly the better side on the day and were derserved winners.  Still, I can begin to explain my disappointment in Chelsea’s performance.  Not only did Avram Grant display his tactical and managerial ineptness, the players failed to deliver until it was simply too late.  Nearly all of them appeared to think this would be a walk in the park, as if arrogance was the word of the day.

But really, I think Grant has to assume responsiblity for the result.  Opting for Terry and Lampard over the worthy Alex and Ballack was a mistake, plain and simple.  Yeah, Terry was solid (Lampard not so much), but these guys had earned their spots.  Perhaps more importanly, they had gelled with much of the other guys over the injury crisis period.  That chemistry instantly disappeared when Terry and Lampard were selected.

If that wasn’t enough, Grant decided to replace Joey Cole with Anelka. What?  Yeah, I want to see Anelka and Drogba play together too, just not with one on the flank. Anelka’s ineffectiveness was immediately apparent.  He was nowhere to be found, but Grant refused to budge on the formation until, what, the 105 minute? Inexcusable.

Ramos improved his side with substitutions like Huddlestone, a creative-esque midfielder, coming on for a defender like Chimbonda early in the second half. Those kind of moves were common place under Mourinho, now the tactical cluelessness of Grant has the side looking more and more ordinary as the days pass. 

Another problem with Grant: Before extra time, it was Steve Clarke and Terry, not Grant, providing the rallying call for the Blues.  He’s not an energetic guy (I know, shocking).  Grant simply doesn’t provide the charisma or fire of a Ferguson, Wenger or Mourinho.  And you need that to be successful.

Yeah, this is turning into a Grant bashing (rightfully so).  However, I do believe the players should shoulder some of the burden, mainly for coasting through the first half and change.  Despite grabbing the lead, we never looked strong — in fact, we looked much like we have over the past several weeks.  Only this time we came up short.

The only thing left to do now is to, as Joe Cole put it, move on.  We’re still active in three competitions, all of which we could possibly win.  Here’s to learning from the loss, and becoming a better side because of it (I hope).

At the close, 10-man Chelsea secured a crucial advantage in the tie thanks to wee-man Shaun Wright Phillips, who towered over Joleon Lescott in the 92nd minute to give the Blues a 2-1 win. Phillips, who also opened the scoring with a brilliant curling effort in the 25th, actually looked like a proper football player Tuesday — an amazing feat.

The game appeared to have 3-0 to Chelsea written all over it until John “Obi-Wan” Mikel was sent off in the 55th minute for a studs-up lunge on Phil Neville. Mikel, the Eazy-E of this football ish, is known for dealing out robust challenges. This, however, was a harsh decision in retrospect. Still, the way officials have been showing straight red cards for tackles of similar style it’s really no surprise.

After Mikel was sent to the African Cup of Nations a tad early, Everton assumed control of the match and quickly found an equalizer through Toffees smooth operator Yakubu. With third-string goalkeeper Hilario in goal, things were no doubt going to be hilarious. The comedy ensued in the 63rd when the Portugese dust-collector horribly misjudged a free kick, allowing the ball to come out to Yak, who wasted no time depositing a laser into the far post netting.

Everton continued to boss, and nearly took a surprising lead in the 69th minute when McFadden avoided a saucy tackle from Ricardo Carvalho at the edge of the area and sent a scathing shot across goal that grazed the far post. Thankfully, Chelsea showed the resilience it’s been known for throughout the Abramovich era, responding with a fervid run of play that culminated with SWP’s inspired leap to the heavens for the winner. (OK, so it was probably an own goal off Lescott, who cares?).

The only real qualm I had was not with the team’s performance, but with CEO of beautiful football Avram Grant. Grant shunned the idea of bringing on talented youngster Ben Sahar, instead replacing striking Claudio Pizarro with fullback Paulo Ferreira in the 82nd. Wait, what? And this was after bringing on Steve Sidwell for Joe Cole in the 61st. Yes, the same Sidwell who has only one forward pass on his Chelsea resume. Where was Scott Sinclair by the way? Whatever. It somehow worked out, though I’d still like to see more invention — free-spiritedness — from Grant.

Also, what was with Florent Malouda seeing 83-plus minutes of action? He looked bright enough, but hasn’t he been on the shelf for some two months? Questionable for me. On the positive, Michael Ballack continues to impress in the middle of the park. Ze German offers a superb combination of grit and creativity sorely lacking from our side — sorry Frank.

The bigger picture sees us record our sixth win in seven games. More importantly, perhaps, is that most of this work has been done with an extremely undermanned squad. A home league fixture with Tottenham on Saturday is crucial, especially with Arsenal and Manchester United hosting Birmingham and Newcastle respectively. As for the Carling second leg, that arrives Jan. 23. A trip to Goodison Park never should be overlooked and, after tonight’s showcase, I would gauge the match to be another peach.

With Didier Drogba hogging the headlines telling the World that he wants to leave Chelsea, what else can go wrong?

Chelsea travel to the Riverside with new coach Henk Ten Cate witnessing his first game and the Riverside hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for the Blues in the last couple of years.

Last season, Sheva scored his first Premiership goal, then Chelsea lost 2-1 with ‘Boro scoring twice in the last five minutes. The season before that Chelsea was trounced 3-0.

After today Chelsea return to action at Stamford Bridge for three home matches, first on Wednesday in the Champions League against Schalke 04, followed by Man City in the Premiership, followed by Leicester City in the Carling Cup.

KTBFFH

Never in a million years did I expect to write such a surprising scoreline as written in the the subject header line. I have always believed that you should always ‘EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED’ when it comes to the fortunes of Chelsea Football Club and that statement is so Chelsea in the light of events that have happened over the last couple of weeks.

It will take me an eternity to be convinced that Mr Grant IS the man for the Chelsea job. Only one person is convinced that Grant is and that is ‘Rich Boy,’ but I am still of the impression that Grant’s position as manager will blow up in ‘Rich Boy’s’ face BIG-TIME!!!

But do I really care? NO not at the moment. Chelsea are top of their Champions League Group as top seeds should be.

Grant has also taken us into the 4th round of the Carling Cup so all that needs to be sorted is progession and points in the Premiership, continuing at Bolton Wanderers on Sunday afternoon.

It was great that Ricky played after his lengthy injury spell and JT donned the ‘mask of Zorro’ and played, Dids played (despite his forthcoming 3 match Premiership ban), Mikel returned and Joey oh Joey Cole is returning back to his best.

After nine minutes when David ‘Aston’ Villa (sorry Cesar) put Valencia ahead - the writing was on the wall! The goal came after a Chelsea clearance bounced off Essien’s chest and the ball landed perfectly into the path of David ‘Aston’ Villa who took it on and scored with aplomb past the helpless Cech.

I called for Chelsea fans to support the club and the fans way up high in the sky at the Mestalla did the Blue shirt proud. From as high as they were, the TV mics picked up their support all night, and these fans just sum up the ‘true’ support that Chelsea has at this moment in time.

I still wish I had ‘forgotten’ the mortgage payment and got meself out to the Mestalla!!!

Chelsea equalised twenty odd minutes later from a Moretti own goal from great work from Malouda out on Chelsea’s left. You knew straight away that Joey didn’t score ‘cos of the way he ran back for the re-start!!!!

David ‘Aston’ Villa had a second half goal disallowed for offside when the score was 1-1 and then the ‘unbelievable’ happened. Nineteen minutes from time Joey picked up the ball from inside Chelsea’s half and with the outside of his boot, sent a 25 yard plus pass to the Dids who took on and beat the last defender to score with a rifle shot into the bottom right of Valencia’s net.

2-1 to Chelsea and on an unbelievable night – Grant the ‘who-man’ had reproduced the result that Jose had acheived only five months before.

Be warned:

NEVER EXPECT THE EXPECTED!!!!

KTBFFH

Oh Yes!!! Essien’s last gasp winner against Valencia in the Mestalla, and Chelsea’s progress to the Champions League semi-final secured!!!

Oh my how times change and how quick fortunes in football can change.

Chelsea return to the Mestalla on Wednesday, without you know who and struggling for form and plagued by an injury list as long as your arm.

Lampard and Essien out, JT (might have to do a fine impression as the ‘Mask of Zorro), Bridge out (sent off in tonight’s reserve game incidentally), Carvalho, Ballack to name a few.

Players not in form. Sheva, Malouda, Alex perhaps. Players who have been out through injury and suspension – Mikel and Drogba.

I know one thing, Scott Sinclair isn’t in Spain – he has just scored for the reserves against Fulham and at this point Chelsea are losing, with Wayne Bridge having already been sent off!!

But although this is a Champions League group game, this game is not as important as the game back in April. A defeat in the Mestalla isn’t the end of the World, but after the Rosenborg debacle, a defeat will make qualification to the knockout stage that more difficult. However, this is Chelsea and this a ‘backs to the wall’ Chelsea that I know so well.

It wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest that Chelsea come away from the Mestalla, with a win and a performance that Chelsea produced last week at Hull in the Carling Cup and then go to Bolton on Sunday and get stuffed 3-0, 4-0 or 5-0!!

Seriously it wouldn’t. Why you might ask? Well I have seen it all before. Flatter to deceive in the competitions that are ‘DEEMED’ important (as in Rich Boy and like me want the Champions League this season) and well ‘hell’ to rest.

Not me. I am a hardcore fan and have been ‘Since 66,’ and I have always wanted Chelsea to win anything and everything Chelsea can.

This year I said I wanted the Champions League more than anything else, if I am honest, after the last few weeks since Jose’s departure, Chelsea will be ‘lucky’ to win the Carling Cup!!!

But this is Chelsea and now we are David against Goliath and with no disrespect to Avram Grant – he has one serious job on his hands – despite being rich boy’s puppet for his Chelsea plaything – to win any silverware at all!!

On that note till tomorrow, Chelsea Reserves lost 3-2 to Fulham Reserves and that was playing with 10 men for the best part of an hour.

I WAS THERE WHEN WE WERE SHIT

I’LL BE THERE WHEN WE ARE SHIT (AGAIN)!!!!

KTBFFH