Somebody’s creepin

Terry was called into the side, at the expense of Rio Ferdinand. The Chelsea captain one of four club players among Hodgson’s final 23. Ashley Cole and Gary Cahill were selected, as expected, while Frank Lampard made the cut in an English midfield that is blessed with pretty good depth but not a whole lot of elite quality.

Hodgson explained his decision to include Terry (via the Guardian):

I believe John Terry, especially in the latter part of the season, has played very well. I know you’ll say he shouldn’t have done what did in Barcelona but I’m looking over a longer period that that. I think he’s played well, I think he played an important part in Chelsea’s FA Cup final victory, an important part in their reaching the Champions League final and so therefore I selected him because I think he’s the man for job. I’m hoping and believing that he will help us win matches.

Daniel Sturridge, meanwhile, was denied a firm spot on the roster. He was named one of standbys.

Really, though, who’s excited about watching England this summer? I know I’m not.

Below is the squad in full:

Three Lions, 23-man squad
Goalkeepers
Joe Hart (Manchester City), Rob Green (West Ham United), John Ruddy (Norwich City)
Defenders
Leighton Baines (Everton), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Phil Jones (Manchester United), Joleon Lescott (Manchester City), John Terry (Chelsea)
Midfielders
Gareth Barry (Manchester City), Stewart Downing (Liverpool), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), James Milner (Manchester City), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal), Scott Parker (Tottenham Hotspur), Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Ashley Young (Manchester United)
Forwards
Andy Carroll (Liverpool), Jermain Defoe (Tottenham Hotspur), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Daniel Welbeck (Manchester United)
Standby
Jack Butland (Birmingham City), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Adam Johnson (Manchester City), Daniel Sturridge (Chelsea)

On the Chelsea side, the concern has been squarely on the fitness of David Luiz and Gary Cahill- both carrying hamstring injuries that have rendered them out of action for 3-4 weeks respectively. Without Ivanovic and Terry for Saturday, it’s paramount that both are prepared to go to war, and provide the requisite mettle to see the task at hand through. Without either, Chelsea would likely have to field a very very very suspect back line that could include Paulo, Bosingwa, Romeu/Essien, and Ashley Cole. Yikes. Therefore, the scrutiny has undoubtedly circled the two center backs, who obliged the speculation this afternoon by taking full training with the rest of the first team, participating in full-contact, high-intensity activities. You can all breathe a collective sigh of relief.

Elsewhere, Florent Malouda remains our only genuine doubt as to whether or not he’ll be in uniform come Saturday. After coming up lame against Blackburn, Flo has been absent from training for the last two days, presumably resting and getting some therapy on what ails him. Should be not make the cut in time, then there is the very distinct possibility that Di Matteo will have to round out the bench with a few of our younger generation- something the Italian is certain could pose some problems:

“[Missing all three is] the worst-case scenario. If then, we will take some reserve team players on to the bench or the squad, and figure out what to do. I have been trying different options in training for a solution, just in case.”

Speculation this week will likely center around Di Matteo’s preferred eleven for Saturday’s kick-off. As per his standard, he’s giving nothing away in the sense of who might slot in where- save for a few certainties. We know that Juan Mata, Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard, John Obi Mikel, Didier Drogba, and Petr Cech will feature. The fitness levels of our center-backs will determine their fate, while Roberto still has to identify what to do with the absence of Ramires (arguably our most potent threat on the counter to Bayern).

Meanwhile, on the German side of the fence, it hasn’t exactly been a great few days. Munich were thoroughly waxed by Borussia Dortmund over the weekend in the Pokal Final, to the tune of 5-2. What was obvious, was that Dortmund’s combination of speed and patience set the tone for how the match would ultimately be won. Kagawa, that fleet-footed Japanese starlet managed to open the scoring three minutes in, and proceeded to give the Bayern back four a torrid time with his pace, passing ability, and vision. Essentially, he played the ‘Mata’ role with aplomb- a good sign. With Bayern missing Holger Badstuber and David Alaba (their starting center-backs), as well as Luiz Gustavo (a more defensive-minded midfielder), things are looking good for Chelsea and somewhat grim for Bayern, right?

Not really. Despite a bad day at the office, Bayern will have capable replacements slotting in, and they retain the same firepower that saw them past Real Madrid in the semis. As well, there’s the combination of Lahm and Boateng on the right-side of the defense to shore the attack up, and of course, Mr. Neuer between the sticks. If anything, that no-show against Dortmund illustrates the fact that Bayern’s squad has one eye on the prize, and appear to have got caught looking ahead rather than taking care of business on the domestic front- something Chelsea managed to accomplish with the FA Cup this year.

Finally, Bayern are currently sweating on the fitness of Bastian Schweinsteiger, who will be touch-and-go right up to Saturday’s kick-off. His absence would be a huge loss, but is buffered by the inclusion of Thomas Mueller from the bench (a more than capable replacement in my eyes). Where Chelsea might be struggling with adequate depth, Bayern appear to have plenty of quality in replacements- something that clearly bodes well for their chances. Still, there are issues which will need to be addressed on both sides. This match may not have the goal-scoring dramatics of years past- it will likely be a cagey affair ultimately decided by who is clinical in front of goal. Chelsea are more than familiar with this set-up, having undergone 180 grueling minutes with Barcelona.

Stay tuned for more coverage on the matter. For now, enjoy the visuals below:

Thanks to Los Blancos on Tumblr for the collage.

Our entertaining Brazilian offered his thoughts on the hamstring injury that has kept him off the field for several weeks. In fact, it’s been a month since David Luiz has unleashed his unique – and effective – brand of football on the world stage.

Roberto Di Matteo revealed after Sunday’s 2-1 win over Blackburn in our final league match of the season that he thought that both Luiz and Gary Cahill, also dealing with a hamstring strain, could be ready for the Champions League final – as they have been participating in training. Still, any decision is likely to come much closer to kickoff.

Bob, for his part, said he feels pretty good about where he is at the moment. Well, as good as someone with a bum hamstring can feel, I guess.

It is improving now and I am feeling better day by day. On the pitch I am more comfortable and I want to play football. My place is on the pitch, not outside it. I wanted to play against Barcelona and I wanted to play the FA Cup Final, but now I have one more game more special than all the others and for this I think and I hope that on Saturday I play against Munich.

We can only hope that Bob will be ready for Saturday. Not only that, but we must also pray to the gods that Cahill will be able to feature as well. We really must have both of these guys in Munich if you ask me. If not, we could be in for a highly sour evening of footballing spectacle.

Get to praying.

Rob was, of course, talking about the German Cup final between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich, not Sunday’s largely irrelevant bout of monkeyshines at Stamford Bridge. We finished sixth in the Premier League – somebody call my mama.

Sunday was Mother’s Day, and I trust that most of you at least called and told your madre you love her. It’s the least you could do. The least Blackburn could do at the Bridge this holiday was show up; and, you know, aside from about a five-minute span midway through the second half, it was difficult to tell if they had even done that.

You could hardly blame Rovers for being indifferent to the situation. After all, their fate had already been sealed. Relegation to the Championship for Steve Kean and company will not go over well, and many of the players on hand Sunday probably felt like using the match as a casting call. We may not see Blackburn in the top flight for some time.

Chelsea, meanwhile, had reason to engage in sort of a grand frolic as well. The game – the result – meant nothing to the team, serving only as the opening act for the biggest match in the club’s history, which arrives in six days. This was a chance to honor fringe players for their commitment over the season and to unleash some of Cobham’s young talent (didn’t really happen) on the Premier League stage. It was also a chance to rest key members who will be involved in Munich.

Some of those members found their way onto the pitch Sunday. Among them was Didier Drogba, who may have been playing his last home game for the club. He was honored by the fans in the 11th minute, a tribute he acknowledged from the bench, before his introduction in the second half brought forth an even better reception. The Ivorian philanthropist was bright in his cameo, no doubt warming up for what we all hope is a battering ram of a performance against a Bayern Munich defense that will be severely understrength.

If this was indeed the end of The Mighty One at The Bridge, it has been a wild, eventful, fruitful – and ultimately legendary – ride. Here’s to hoping for one more season (at the right salary, of course) from the big man.

Ironically, or perhaps fittingly, the kid seen as Drogba’s sure-fire replacement made his first start in the Premier League against Blackburn. Romelu Lukaku broke free from the shackles of backstage football to leave what I thought was an excellent impression on everyone in attendance. The Belgian, who turned 19 on Sunday, showed great drive in attack and was a consistent threat. He even provided some excellent service from the right flank, highlighted by his assist on John Terry’s headed goal, our first of the afternoon. Whether or not he moves on loan in the summer (he will), this was what many of us hoped to see when he was signed for 18 million sterling from Anderlecht.

Daniel Sturridge also impressed, though his finishing was, well, egregious. He almost looked like the player we saw in the early stages of Andre Villas-Boas’ reign, popping up in all sorts of threatening positions and creating havoc with pretty much every touch of the football. He splashed his great pace all over the match, and also managed to show some versatility as well, drifting all over the attacking third during the game. It’s a shame he couldn’t find the back of the net, though, as he had a handful of great looks. Of note were a pair of headers, both of which he managed to skew wide. Well, one, set up by Drogba in the second half, was a chested effort but you get my point. Regardless, this is what we needed to see from Sturridge, particularly ahead of the CL final. I think he might find himself in the starting XI come Saturday on this evidence.

Also of interest was the introduction of Fernando Torres. He played alongside Didier Drogba, and at times shifted to the right flank. Though chances were at a premium, I still thought Torres looked confident on the ball and hungry. Di Matteo could be contemplating starting both strikers in Munich.

Some of us were disappointed not to Lucas Piazon make his club debut, but, revisiting the idea now, it was probably the correct decision. How much is he really going to get out of 20 minutes in this type of match? I think it was far more important to keep Drogba and Nando sharp ahead of Saturday. I know, a lot of you would have rather seen Lucas than Paulo Ferreira replace Florent Malouda. But come on, Paulo is the man. Look at the above image!

Anyway. That’s about all I have for this one. Fortunately I was able to watch the second half on DVR because I, like most of you, switched over to catch the madness that was Manchester City-QPR. I dare say that level of league drama will not be matched for generations to come.

Just another quick note. Today’s match may have been the last for several players, not just Drogba. Malouda, Salomon Kalou, Paulo, the Michael Essien impostor – they all could be heading for the exit this summer. Before slagging off some of these guys, though, take a few minutes to remember how much they’ve actually contributed to the club’s success over the past several years.  All of them have played a significant role in that regard, and they deserve to be honored for their outstanding contributions. Well done to them all.

Now, on to Munich. This is going to be a wild week, isn’t it?

Team sheets
Chelsea
Turnbull, Hutchinson, Ivanovic, Terry, Bertrand, Meireles, Essien, Malouda, Ramires, Lukaku, Sturridge. Bench: Hilario, Cole, Romeu, Torres, Drogba, Ferreira, Piazon.

Blackburn
Kean, Henley, Dann, Givet, Martin Olsson, Formica, Lowe, Pedersen, Marcus Olsson, Hoilett, Yakubu. Bench: Usai, Modeste, Grella, Petrovic, Rochina, Goodwillie, Morris.

Streaming:
My P2P
FirstRow Sports
Sport Lemon

If you missed it, for shame. Fortunately for you, however, YouTube user iBluePictures has uploaded the entire episode. Check out part one below and then hit the jump for the rest of Juan.

Part 2 has embedding disabled. Click here to check it out.

Dead rubber this match with relegated Blackburn is.

Quack

A win at home to Blackburn on Sunday will see Chelsea finish a disappointing sixth in the table, the lowest the club has placed in a decade. Lose and, you guessed it, we nestle neatly into sixth. Draw and, well, you get the picture.

There should be motivation, no question, but much of the focus will be on that small piece of business in Munich coming up on the weekend. A victory to close the league campaign would be an excellent segue into what is the biggest match in the history of this club.

Who: Blackburn Rovers (est. 1875)
What: Barclays Premier League, Round 38
When: 13 May, 3pm local time (10am EST)
Where: Stamford Bridge (41,837)
How: SPEED (DirecTV 607, Dish Network 150)

Why: Some of this was answered in the previous paragraph. However, there is more to consider. With absolutely nothing at stake in terms of league position, this match represents a fine chance for some of our more promising youth players to come in (albeit briefly) and leave an imprint as the season comes to a close. More importantly, it also allows the side an opportunity to send the home support out with a proper smile at the Bridge.

Them
Blackburn. Poor, and not just in terms of performance. Disillusion is sure to follow Rovers to London, with their relegation from the top flight already secure. It actually looked, for a brief spell, that Steve Kean actually had a chance to save this lot but a mix of tactical ineptness from the manager himself and lack of quality, particularly in defense, ensured their fate.

Not to be a dick, but Blackburn won’t be missed.

What I will miss is watching Yakubu pop up with consistent goals for my fantasy team. I have a feeling he’ll not be hanging around for Rovers’ Championship adventure, though. Neither will Junior Hoilett, Steven Nzonzi, Martin Olsson, Morten Gamst Pedersen and Paul Robinson, among others. Indeed Blackburn look a potential mainstay in the lower division if such a clear-out takes place.

And of course there’s Kean. I mean, if the Venky boys didn’t see it fit to cut ties with him during the first half of the season why would they do it now? Meh, who cares.

The only pertinent question we need to be asking is whether Blackburn will be interested in leaving the Premier League on a high or if they’ve already checked out. I’m leaning toward the latter, though don’t hold me to that prediction.

Us
It’s quite simple for Roberto Di Matteo, really. Rest as many concrete first-team players as possible without sacrificing the performance completely.

That should be easier than it potentially could have been, what with the number of starters suspended for the Champions League final. I think we can certainly expect to see John Terry, Branislav Ivanovic and Ramires involved from the start on Sunday. The rest of the team, meanwhile, is bit of a gray area and up for interpretation – from Rob, me, you, everyone’s perspective.

The idea of blooding some youngsters at this juncture is a great one. However, it’s also a tricky prospect. One can’t simply field a majority of young players and reasonably expect growth (to go along with a good result). There needs to be balance; there needs to be an excellent blend of youth and experience.

Ryan Bertrand has been, for the most part, good in his appearances under Di Matteo. He’ll be in the mix. The inspirational Sam Hutchinson deserves to be involved, probably at right-back. Oriol Romeu, fresh from his mid-season disappearance, should be on the field and hopefully he will remind all of us why we began to love him earlier in the term.

Who Else? I see no reason not to let Romelu Lukaku bully a few central defenders on the day. It would also be kind of fantastic to see Lucas Piazon receive significant minutes; I’m quite sure he won’t start (even if I’d like to see it), but an early second-half substitute appearance would definitely send a buzz across the Bridge. Get some of the other kids, like Nathaniel Chalobah, on the bench.

Oh, and keep Petr Cech out of this match altogether. I can’t even begin to fathom the possibility of him getting injured in a nothing fixture.

Projected XI (who I’d like to see):

That’s all I got. Let’s just go out and have some fun on Sunday afternoon, I say. Enjoy the final day of the league season, collect a victory and then, you know, replenish, refocus and regroup for the game of all games. Carefree, bitches.

Phone’s ringing – oh my god

Gourlay, talking it up at Chelsea’s official announcement of the club’s Sauber F1 Team Partnership at Cobham on Wednesday, discussed a few choice topics. Among them was the F1 deal (boring business speak) and the contract situation of Didier Drogba.

We continue to discuss with Didier the situation.

Whoa. Insightful.

The chief executive did, however, weigh in on where the club stands regarding the manager position going forward. He’s response was as you’d expect, a bunch of fluff, but at least he confirmed what we all currently thought – that no decision has been made on the position and that Roberto Di Matteo has not been offered the job permanently.

The club said from day one when he came in as interim manager that we would assess things at the end of the season. We’ve not changed our approach. Robbie is completely on board with that and the last person who’s going to put any pressure on the team at this stage is me.

Of course this isn’t really news, but it does lead into a more significant debate. That debate would be whether or not you, the informed readers, think Di Matteo should be named full-time manager. I personally don’t think the Champions League final should play a role in this decision, as he has already proven himself worthy of the job for the foreseeable future. However, there is also a process that needs to take place before the club makes any decision. I understand that.

So, going off what you’ve seen thus far, negating what may or may not happen in Munich, do you think Di Matteo should receive the permanent manager’s position at Chelsea? Let us know, people.

PS – Until we reconvene to discuss the results of the poll, enjoy this killer picture of Ron sitting on an auto. Can you feel the intensity?

Congratulations are in order for our young Belgian. We’ll see you in blue soon – but not too soon.

More silverware

That’s two FA Cups in three years for the Under 18s, who set the table for this triumph with a 4-0 dissection of Blackburn at Stamford Bridge in the first leg. This youth setup is beginning to take on the look of an elite product, eh? Hell, we are an elite product.

Wednesday’s second leg was hardly elite, however, with Chelsea failing to look particularly great on either end of the pitch. In fact, it was all a bit unorganized and sloppy. Some of that may have had to do with the sloshed conditions, but that’s not really an excuse.

Blackburn, as was always going to be the case, pressured far more and carried the play for most of the night. The hosts grabbed the only goal of the match midway through the first half thanks in large part to a slip from Archange Nkumu. Tim Payne took advantage of the unfortunate gaffe, and Blackburn looked to be in a position to cause us some problems.

Not exactly. Chelsea, despite still not carrying much of a threat, improved and Blackburn, well, it never looked like they were going to get anywhere close to overturning the massive deficit in front of them – even if they nearly managed to add another goal, denied by a wonderful tackle from the solid Todd Kane. Of the Chelsea players, Lucas Piazon particularly caught the eye. His awareness and vision when on the ball were most impressive.

Also of note were a couple of wretched challenges from Blackburn. Both could have been red cards, but whatever. Anyway, Chelsea saw out the rest of the match and then promptly went to the stage and collected the silverware. Well done to the young ones. Add in the fact that a vast majority of this team will be eligible at this level next year, too, and the future looks massively promising.

Oh, and Roberto, get Piazon some time this Saturday if you don’t mind.