The though behind Blackburn Rovers Football Club came from a gentleman named John Lewis who was born 1855 in Market Drayton. The gifts he brought to football began in his days as a player and later he came to be known as one of the best referees in the country, presiding over several FA Cup finals.

November the 5th, 1875, saw Lewis and other gentlemen, notably Author Constantine arrange a meeting at the Leger Hotel in Blackburn where they discussed and concluded that they would establish a Football Club with the title Blackburn Rovers. The city already had a strong association with the game with existing clubs such as Blackburn Park Road FC and Blackburn Olympic FC. Their games were initially played at a place called Church in Lancashire as they had no ground of their own. This changed in mid 1877 when the club leased farmland at Oozehead close to Preston New Road.

This new ground itself was simplistic with its make shift turf and wooden planks to cover the heavy water logged; almost a small pool, in the centre of the playing field but it did generate a small income for the club with the ability to be able to charge a fee for the pleasure of been a spectator. Later Rovers leased a more suitable ground from the East Lancashire Cricket Club. Their debut match at Alexandra Meadows was played against Partick Thistle which they won 2-1 partially thanks to the football gifts of Richard Birtwistle who scored both goals for Rovers.

Blackburn Rovers first entry to the FA Cup came in November 1879 and got to off to a great start when they beat Tyne Football Club 5-1 in their opening game. Later in the 3rd round they received a humiliating defeat at the hands of Nottingham Forrest losing 6-0. During these times Rovers had out-grew their present ground and certainly were the largest club in the area. With this they did seek a larger venue and settled on one in Leamington Street which they altered and refurbished to make way for extra seating needed to cope with the current demand on visitors to their games.

One that nearly made it in the history books for Blackburn Rovers FC came in 1882 when they reached the final of the FA Cup and were up against the Old Etonians. However, the football gifts of the Etonians proved just a little too strong and Rovers lost 1-0. The following year the club were in no such form and only managed the 2nd round before being knocked out by Darwen 1-0 and to rub salt in the wound local rivals Blackburn Olympic went on to win the FA Cup.

Under new manager Thomas Mitchell they were victorious the season after when the beat Queens Park FC in the final 2-1 and again the following year beating the same club 2-0. And in fine form they once more won the FA Cup the next year this time beating West Bromwich Albion and in doing so were awarded a Silver Shield from the FA for their treble success. Blackburn’s form did see a dip from the previous years and were subsequently knocked out of the FA Cup in the 2nd round by Renton the year after but they did win it again 1890 when the gifts of William Townley scored 3 and Rovers went on to crush Sheffield Wednesday 6-1 and also 1890/91 season with a 3-1 win over Notts County FC, bringing Rovers FA Cup tally to a staggering five. During this time Blackburn purchased Ewood Park and spent, in respect of today a massive £1000 on extras and alterations.

After WW2 Rovers time in Division 1 came to end and for the next decade the club remained in Division 2 until making their way back to Division 1 in 1958. The silverware that they had been accustomed to in the early part of the century no longer existed, however they did regularly finish mid table. 1960, with the gifts of Scotsman Dally Duncan in charge they once again came close to another FA Cup trophy but were denied it in the final by Wolverhampton Wanderers losing 3-0. The 1970’s were not really a good period in the history pages for Rovers, spending the majority of the time between Division 2 and 3.

Their turn around in fortunes came when a Mr Jack Walker took control of Rovers in 1990. Walker had made his millions in the steel industry that he inherited from his family. His biggest pay day came when British Steel paid him £360 million for his company in 1990. The manager of Blackburn at the time, Don Mackay was sacked when Walker persuaded the football gifts of Kenny Dalglish to come out of retirement and manage the club. Dalglish soon made new signings and improvements started to take shape and were becoming apparent as Rovers climbed the table.

At one stage they were the only clear winners of Division 2 but it ended slightly different as they had a disastrous losing run and only just managed to grab a play off place. Meeting Leicester in the final at Wembley they booked their place in the new Premiership League, beating Leicester 1-0. It had been 25 years since Blackburn Rovers FC had played in the top flight of English football.

Their largest pay out for a player that broke all English Football records at the time came when they brought the 22 year old gifts of Alan Shearer from Southampton in 1992. Other quality signings were made like Chelsea’s Graeme Le Saux and striker Kevin Gallacher from Coventry. The club enjoyed a fantastic Premiership season in 1993/94 when they managed to finish the table in 2nd place behind Manchester United. Their record transfer fee in 1992 would also be broken this season when they paid £5 million for striker Chris Sutton from Norwich City.

1994/95 season saw Rovers in close rivalry with Manchester United for the Premiership title. It was neck and neck towards the end of season and having lost to Liverpool the club thought United had taken the title but they only managed a 1-1 draw with West Ham which made Rovers Premiership Champions. Later Dalglish would become Director of Football for the club and Alan Shearer had proved he was worth every penny that Blackburn had paid for him by scoring over 30 goals in 3 consecutive seasons, a record in itself. In 1996 the football gifts of Shearer was sold to Newcastle United for a world record transfer fee of £15 million.

The good times for Rovers were soon becoming the bad times when they ended the 1998/99 bottom of the tables and found themselves in Division 1. Jack Walker sadly died in 2000 at the age of 71 and in remembrance a statue was placed at Ewood Park. Blackburn Rovers FC is still owned by the family. They did achieve promotion back to the Premiership in the 2000/01 season and dedicated it to the late Jack Walker.

The 2004/05 saw Mark Hughes take the managers post at Blackburn Rovers and with it a more secure solid club. Hughes signed gifts such as Aaron Mokoena and Newcastle United’s Craig Bellamy and steered Rovers to a 6th place finish in the 2005/06. In addition the club earned a place in the UEFA Cup the following year.

Hughes left for Manchester City in May 2008 giving Paul Ince a short spell in the job. With poor results and 11 games on the bounce without a win he was sacked on December 16th and to be replaced by Sam Allardyce on a 3 year contract. Blackburn Rovers FC still currently play in the Premiership.

The English Premiership is the biggest sports franchise in the sporting world with global viewing audience scattered over the entire continents of the world. It presently consists of twenty teams that are expected to play 38 games each totaling 380 games from August to May each year.

The English Premiership has seen the influx of Non-British citizens especially Nigerians over the last couple of years. Their positive influence cannot be adequately emphasized considering the fact that they remain a major force in world football. Below is a profile of the top 5 Nigerian footballers plying their trade in English Premier League clubs.

• Dickson Etuhu

Dickson Etuhu is an attacking Midfielder with Fulham football club of England. An integral part of their first team, he helped the club reach the final of the Europa Cup in 2009, where they narrowly lost to Athletico Madrid of Spain.

He is also a member of the senior national team of Nigeria- the Super Eagles of Nigeria. It is interesting to note that Dickson Etuhu participated in the 2010 FIFA World Cup hosted by South Africa and had a fairly good tournament.

• Victor Anichebe

This Everton attacking maestro has always been a key member of David Moyes team until injury sustained during Nigeria’s build up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup hampered his progress. He was a member of the Silver winning 2008 Olympic Football team that represented Nigeria at Beijing. Victor Anichebe has been used largely as a sub over the past three seasons, due to the presence of established stars like Luis Saha and Yakubu Aiyegbeni in the Everton front-line.

• Yakubu Aiyegbeni

Love him or hate him, Yakubu Aiyegbeni deserves some mention among the top Nigerian stars in the English Premier League. He has previously played for Portsmouth F.C and Middlesbrough. His appearance for Everton has however been restricted to the bench in the 2010/2011 season due a dip in form.

Yakubu earned the wrath of Nigerians at the last FIFA World Cup when he made the biggest miss of the tournament in Nigeria’s third and final match against South Korea. Even though he later scored through a penalty in that same match, Nigerians back home have not forgiven him for a miss that would probably have seen Nigeria through to the next round of the World Cup.

• Osaze Odewengie

Osaze Odewengie set tongues wagging when he left Russian Club Lokomotiv Moscow for Premiership side-West Bromwich Albion in 2010. He became an instant revelation in the Premiership as he scored crucial goals in the win against Arsenal, Newcastle United and West Ham United. Osaze whose father is a Nigeria and mother Russian, opted to play for the Super Eagles and was selected for the 2004 African Nations Cup where he scored a brace against South Africa in one of the group matches. He also won silver with the Olympic team at the 2008 Olympic Games held in Beijing and recently played at the 2010 FIFA World Cup where Nigeria got bundled out in the First round.

• Obinna Nsofor

Obinna Nsofor is a striker with the English Premiership side- West Ham United. He is presently on loan from Italian side- Inter Milan where he has been for the past three seasons. He also played on loan for Malaga F.C of Spain.

Manchester United supporters are England’s Sexiest Football Fans, according to new research. Female followers of Fergie’s boys, who boast Corrie star Kym Ryder and telly presenter Zoe Ball among their number, were voted the country’s best looking by 1,500 male fans.

Second place in the poll were Chelsea fans, who include Sienna Miller, Danni Minogue and Isla Fisher – followed by the attractive followers of Liverpool.

Arsenal may be riding high at the top of the Premiership, but they could only manage fourth place, despite having singer Rachel Stevens and ex-Page 3 model Jo Guest as supporters.

The survey found over half of guys (53 per cent) spend time checking out how fit the girls at football matches are and two thirds of blokes reckon there’s something sexy about girls in footie shirts.

Carl Christensen, MD of www.thepeoplesclub.com, which commissioned the poll, said: «Football is changing. You see more and more girls at games these days. It’s like a fashion parade at times at Stamford Bridge, with some of the totty treating the stadium concourse like a catwalk.»

«The sexy style of football is having an influence on the make up of fans attending the games too. I believe that Manchester United’s free flowing football and Manchester City’s cavalier spirit is rubbing off on the female fans.»

Sexy female fans of struggling Newcastle United finished off the top five. Tottenham came sixth in the poll while Derby were at number seven. Eighth place went to West Ham United. Rampant romeo Sven Goran Eriksson’s Manchester City were voted in at number nine followed by Aston Villa at ten.

The survey also named Swansea City supporter Catherine Zeta Jones as the sexiest celebrity football fan, beating second placed TV presenter Cat Deeley, a West Bromwich Albion fan. Arsenal fan Rachel Stevens came third while actress and Everton supporter Jennifer Ellison is at four. Finishing off the top five is Titanic actress and Reading follower, Kate Winslet.

At the other end of the scale Crystal Palace supporter Jo Brand was named the ugliest celebrity supporter followed by Norwich City director, Delia Smith.

Carl, added: «Everyone would agree there is something about girls in footy shirts which is downright sexy – it is the beautiful game after all.»

England’s Sexiest Football Fans

• 1. Manchester United
• 2. Chelsea
• 3. Liverpool
• 4. Arsenal
• 5. Newcastle
• 6. Tottenham
• 7. Derby
• 8. West Ham
• 9. Man City
• 10. Aston Villa
• 11. Cardiff
• 12. Middlesbrough
• 13. Sunderland
• 14. Charlton
• 15. Everton
• 16. Blackpool
• 17. Birmingham
• 18. Coventry
• 19. Southampton
• 20. Leeds

Sexiest Celebrity Football Fans

• 1. Catherine Zeta Jones (Swansea City)
• 2. Cat Deeley (West Brom)
• 3. Rachel Stevens (Arsenal)
• 4. Jennifer Ellison (Everton)
• 5. Kate Winslet (Reading)
• 6. Kirsty Gallager (Liverpool)
• 7. Emma Bunton (Tottenham)
• 8. Lucy Pinder (Southampton)
• 9. Kim Marsh (Manchester United)
• 10. Helen Chamberlain (Torquay United)

Ugliest Football Fans

• 1. Jo Brand (Crystal Palace)
• 2. Delia Smith (Norwich)
• 3. Alison Moyet (Southend)
• 4. Kate Garraway (Gillingham)
• 5. Claire Sweeney (Everton)
• 6. Michelle Marsh (Oldham Athletic)
• 7. Gabby Logan (Leeds)
• 8. Emma B (Aston Villa)
• 9. Donna Air Newcastle)
• 10. Geri Halliwell (Watford)

Manchester’s Irish connection goes a long way back in history and there has been a Irish community in Manchester for almost 200 years. In fact, there used to be two Irish areas in the city. Little Ireland was south of the city centre by the River Medlock, while Irish Town was located north east of the city centre between the River Irk and St. George’s Road. The Irish formed a strong community as the years went by and the links between Manchester and Ireland are quite unique. On this background, it should come as no surprise that Manchester United eventually became the most popular soccer club by far in the whole of Ireland, regardless of politics and religion.

Many of Manchester United’s finest players up through the years have been Irish born. Still, the greatest of them all turned out to be a small protestant boy from Ulster named George Best who arrived in Manchester in July 1961. In his early days as a working class boy in Belfast, George Best was destined for big time soccer. He had all the playing attributes that most of his peers begrudged. He started his professional career in 1963 at the age of 17 with Manchester United and made an immediate impact on the game. He made his first appearance at home against West Bromwich Albion who were then second in the first division. He began as a winger, but developed into a player who could operate up frontline or in midfield. He would score goals beyond the mental imagery of any player. Best had a winning command of the ball and despite running back to Northern Ireland two days after making it in England, a destiny for both fame and bad luck. At the young age of 17, Best was a full member in a team of the greatest players ever seen on a football pitch, among them Bobby Charlton and Denis Law.

George Best was brilliant in the 1968 European Cup Final when Manchester United won the ultimate trophy in soccer. As well as scoring against Benfica, he also finished top goal scorer in the league and was voted English and European player of the year. By then his career was at its peak and he was expected to follow in the footsteps of great players like Stanley Matthews. But Matthews never stayed out drinking until the early hours like Best did. Eventually he was sacked by none other than Tommy Docherty and left Old Trafford at the age of 27 knowing he had played with the best players he ever would. He played 361 games for Manchester United and scored 167 goals during his time there. He also starred for Northern Ireland scoring nine goals on 37 occasions.

Malta is a country of 400,000 people and just like in politics, whereby the country is nearly divided between two political parties, so are the majority of soccer fans divided between two teams: Italy and England.

England ruled Malta from 1800 up to 1964, when the country gained Independence, and Malta’s roots to the British are too evident to ignore: Malta proudly bears the George Cross on its flag, given by King George VI to the island nation for heroic attitude of the people of Malta during the Second World War.

Although the English language is considered as Malta’s second language, everybody in Malta speaks English, from the learned to the lay person. English is taught in schools from kindergarten age, and even toddlers are spoken to in both languages simultaneously.

Italy’s southern island Sicily is a stone’s throw away from Malta, and ties to the Italians, which were obviously interrupted during WWII, gained strength after the war, and commercial activity between both countries has flourished ever since.

During the seventies and eighties, Maltese people could only view one poor local TV station so tuning in to major Italian TV stations helped the Maltese to learn from, and become more accustomed to Italian flair and style. Italian TV stations are still very popular among the locals today and many young Maltese children have learnt how to speak Italian simply by watching Italian TV.

No-one really knows why the rivalry between Italian and English Soccer supporters is so strong in Malta, but it may simply be because there are too many England and Italy soccer fans on the islands. The other soccer teams that are gaining ground between Maltese soccer supporters are Germany, Brazil, Argentina and the Netherlands – but nowhere near the numbers of Italy and England supporters.

The Maltese have a very Mediterranean character – they are loud and cheerful, but also passionate about whatever they do.

But the rivalry is taken to another level – whenever one of these teams loses a match, the supporters of the other team hit the streets with deafening car-cades to celebrate the loss.

Not very sporting attitude, I hear you say! No, not at all! When England were eliminated against Portugal in World Cup 2006, car-cades of Italian soccer supporters continued throughout the night, and tourists who were not aware of this rivalry did not have a clue as to why Italian soccer fans were celebrating since their team had not played yet!

But while this rivalry may be very annoying to some, it is very amusing to others.

«I just hope Italy are eliminated before the England Squad, that would be satisfying enough, I will tease my workmates and get back at them for World Cup 2006», says England supporter Luke Borg.

«I know we have no chance of winning the world cup again, but I just hope England are eliminated before us, or I won’t be able to face my England supporting colleagues!» says Christian Dimech.

Every pub, bar, restaurant, club and entertainment venue in Malta sports big screens and numerous TVs to broadcast the World Cup 2010 soccer matches live.

The official World Cup village, set up on Manoel Island, on the road between Sliema and Ta’ Xbiex, has proved to be ever so popular among locals and tourists. Hundreds of soccer fans flock to the venue with their families, and even young children are seen wearing their favourite team’s colours and waving flags while supporting their favourite teams.

But there is only one match that Maltese soccer fans would die for – England vs Italy. The last time the two squads met in a World Cup match, England beat Italy 2-1 in 1990, on Italian soil.

But seems like these fans will have to wait for another World Cup, as both teams have not had a wonderful start this time round!

This weekend clash between the 16th and 13th placed team in the Barclay Premier League will be an absolute cracker of a game. The desire to impress the teeming supporters at St Andrews will definitely be the motivating factor in this fixture. With relegation worries threatening to scuttle their Carling Cup triumph, Birmingham will definitely be all out for the three points at stake.

present form

The Blues have not had it so good the season, as they have lost some vital points both at home and away. They however managed a 1-1 draw away to Blackburn rovers last weekend courtesy of a first half strike by veteran midfielder Lee Bowyer in the 32nd minutes of play.

Sunderland on the other hand is not faring better, as they lost gallantly to an inspired West Bromwich Albion team 2-3 at home. It was a game that produced a lot of exciting moments. They also got spanked away to Manchester city 5-0 penultimate weekend and it will definitely be a tough game at St Andrews for Asamoah Gyan and company.

players to watch

Cameron Jerome

Cameron is one of the most energetic forward in the English Premiership with astonishing pace and good positional play. He has however not found the net as often as he would have wished this season. He remains Birmingham main threat in attack.

Steven Carr

The ageless skipper of the Blues is always a delight to watch in every game he plays for his team. He is so good in overlapping and making excellent pull out.

Stephane Sessegnon

He is an intelligent midfielder with excellent vision and dribbling skills. Stephane who has been a regular feature in the Black Cats starting line-up can create a lot of problems for opposing defenders with his amazing runs.

Asamoah Gyan

The Ghanaian international has had a fairy tale season with the Black Cats, scoring some crucial goals in the process. He is a workaholic with a knack for the impossible. Asamoah is very good in the air and he is a real fighter on the field of play.

predictions

This game would be a tight one to call, as both teams are capable of achieving the impossible. The possibility of the game ending in a barren or score draw is so high considering that both teams are equally matched. A win for Birmingham would however be an excellent result considering how close they are to relegation, while a Win for Sunderland will secure them a place in the Premier League next season.

Original Paintings

Purchasing a unique painting by a top artist is an ideal way to accessorise and brighten up your home. Visiting your local art gallery will enable you to get an idea of the particular artist or style you are interested in. Popular artists include Jiri Borsky, who produces unique, colourful oil pieces on stretched canvases. One of Jiri’s most popular works of art is the acrylic ‘harbour in the rain’ – a beautiful, hand finished painting featuring several shades of blue. Although born in Dobrany, Czech Republic, Jiri moved to Britain in 1975 and studied painting at Staffordshire University, where he graduated with a BA (HONS) degree in 1979.

Since then, he has been painting full time and his work is widely exhibited, with over 1,650 original paintings in galleries across the UK and abroad. Chris Cyprus is also a popular UK artist due to his series of bright, colourful paintings portraying the humble garden shed. His works of art have lead to many TV appearances, including BBC’s Gardner’s World. In 2010, he completed his ‘Northern Lights’ series, which portrayed the incredibly snowy winter across the UK. Chris is a self taught artist who paints full-time in his studio based in Mossley, Lancashire. His pieces are widely exhibited across the UK and abroad.

Football Art

Football art is becoming extremely popular. Original pieces provide ideal gifts for football fans and are perfect for any football memorabilia collection. Several midlands based galleries offer a wide selection of football prints. American artist Paine Proffitt produces a variety of West Bromwich Albion paintings and recently became their artist-in-residence for the 2011/2012 season. Although born in the states, Paine studied at the University of Brighton and her paintings reflect her passion for both art and sport. Paine has also produced paintings for Port Vale and Aberdeen Football Club. Football prints often have a retro style, making them a perfect gift for any football mad Dad, Granddad or Uncle.

Hand painted art pottery

As well as paintings, you could also enhance your home with original ceramic artwork. Anita Harris produces a wide range of bright and colourful pottery pieces, all of which are hand painted and fired at her pottery studio in Longton, Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire. Prestige vases highlight African and Cuban styles, where as pear drop vases with hand painted water lilies reflect a more feminine style. Marie Graves’ pottery on the other hand is perfect for all owl lovers. Her porcelain and fine china pieces have been sold all over the world. Marie’s collections also include images of cats, dogs and horses. Visit your local art gallery and treat yourself to a piece of original art.

The formal name of the club is Chelsea Football Club. The squad are popularly referred to as the Blues, or the Pensioners.

Founded in 1905, Chelsea host their home matches at Stamford Bridge, in London, which can seat over 41,000 spectators.

The owner of the club is Roman Abramovich, the chairman, Bruce Buck, and the manager, Carlo Ancelotti.

The squad won the Premiership last season, and they are favourites to retain their title.

After enjoying eminent success in top tier English football in the sixties and seventies, Chelsea went into decline in the eighties and nineties, only winning their next major championship, the FA Cup, in 1997.

They have won the Premiership three times in all, first winning it in 2004-05, and retaining it in the following season.

In two matches played in the ongoing season, the Blues have recorded identical wins of 6-0, over West Bromwich Albion and Wigan Athletic.

Pre-season review:

Before Carlo Ancelotti took the rein at Stamford Bridge, Avram Grant and Phil Scolari were handed it, in turn, only to have it taken away.

If Ancelotti has survived where redoubtable managers like Grant and Scolari failed, the reason lies in Chelsea’s winning of the Premiership, on Ancelotti’s watch, in his very first season.

Can Ancelotti, in only his second season, do it a second time running? In his first, Ancelotti kept Manchester United at bay, demonstrating, in the process, why he had been rated so highly at AC Milan.

That said, the Chelsea squad aren’t getting any younger; Didier Drogba, for instance is in his thirty third year.

Michael Essien is emerging from two years clouded by injury, and his presence in midfield could give Chelsea a winning edge, this season.

Ashley Cole has stayed with Chelsea, despite rumours of migration to Real Madrid, and is arguably the world’s best left back.

But his publicized comments about the English haven’t gone down well with local football fans and Cole could come under heavy strafing, especially in away games. Much depends on whether or not he keeps his head.

The following players make up the Stamford Bridge squad:

Cech, Terry, Paulo Ferreira, Cole, Alex, Essien, Mikel, Malouda, Lampard, Anelka, Drogba, Ivanovic, Hilario, Zhirkov, Benayoun, Sturridge, Kalou, and Van Aanholt.

Liverpool’s Yossi Benayoun is a major summer signing while Joe Cole’s departure is an offset.

Deco and Michael Ballack, their best footballing years behind them, have gone home.

There’s no doubting Chelsea’s quality. But as the season wears on, the ages of their star players is likely to come increasingly into focus.

Whether it is Scholes, or John Terry, or Lampard or Drogba, their fitness is bound to be called into question, sooner or later. Can Ancelotti then turn to his younger lot to bail the squad out?

There is a new heavyweight force in European football, they are being bankrolled seemingly by the Russian economy, they mean business, and their name is Chelsea F.C. Chelsea Football Club have always been a decent club in the second strata of English clubs. In London alone Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur have invariably been ahead of the Chelsea Blues, even West Ham have often put Chelsea in the shade. But no longer, for in the season 2004-2005, Chelsea won the English Premier League title for the first time in fifty years, their only previous winning season.

But they haven’t stopped there, in the new season 2005-2006 they are already well clear in the title race leaving all their rivals gasping, and now they have set their sights on the pinnacle of all the club trophys, the European Champions League. Chelsea have never won the Champions League, indeed no London club ever has. And it is clear that their charismatic manager Jose Mourinho is intent on winning the Champions League again, he did so with his previous club Porto, of Portugal.

So what of the traditional English giants? Manchester United, often described as the world’s richest football club, have fallen into the hands of the Glazer family of Tampa Bay fame, but they reportedly needed to borrow half a billion pounds to buy United, a debt the club now shoulders. Spending on new players has so far been thin on the ground and United’s brusque Glaswegian manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, has admitted that United, for so long England’s most successful club, cannot compete with Chelsea when it comes to buying players. The hordes of United fans are not amused, the natives are growing restless.

Arsenal, London’s biggest and most successful club, lost their skipper and driving force Patrick Vieira last summer, he moved to Juventus in Italy for £12 million pounds and with their star striker Thierry Henry suffering fitness problems, they picked up some uncharacteristic defeats at unfashionable clubs like West Bromwich Albion and Middlesbrough. This is their last season at their famous old Highbury Stadium before they move to their new purpose built Emirates stadium almost next door. The increased capacity of 60,000 will undoubtedly give their French manager Arsene Wenger more money to spend next year, but of course they have to pay for that new ground too. Far from challenging Chelsea again, it would seem that Arsenal are more likely to fall further behind.

That leaves Liverpool and Newcastle. News comes through just today that the American Kraft Company and family are interested in investing in Liverpool F.C., perhaps even buying the club outright just like Manchester United fifty miles up the road, but that is some way down the line. And they too are seeking to build a brand new stadium on Stanley Park and of course that all costs big money. Despite last year’s freakish win in the Champion’s League, Liverpool’s league form this season has again been patchy, and that included a 4-1 walloping by Chelsea on their own Anfield pitch. The idea that Liverpool might challenge Chelsea for the title remains a far-fetched one. Newcastle, England’s second best supported club are gradually improving, and they have signed England’s centre forward Michael Owen, but they still remain unconvincing at the top level. They haven’t won the title since Noah was seen building his ark, or so it seems, and they aren’t going to do so this season either.

So though it is very popular for foreign investors to snap up the leading English (and Scottish) football clubs, it appears that only Roman Abramovich at Chelsea has the financial muscle to buy the best players around. He is the only one to put unlimited funds on the table. Top class players now command a transfer fee of £40 million each and whereas Manchester United might afford one of them a season, Chelsea’s purse seems bottomless. They have already spent £220+ million and are still in the market to buy again when the transfer window re-opens in January.

They have already achieved success by winning at home, now the European Champion’s League is the Holy Grail for them, a trophy they are now the outright favourites to win with the odds layers. And astonishingly they have achieved their success to date with an array of strikers who haven’t really cut the mustard. Mutu the Romanian, was promptly sacked for drug taking, Crespo the Argentinian, was sent out to Milan on loan last season, and though he is back now he is hardly setting the world afire,or even playing that often, Gudjohnson an Icelander, plays more often than not, the muscular Drogba from the Ivory Coast, seems to have finally claimed the number nine shirt as his own, yet many blues followers still remain unconvinced about him, so it would seem likely that Chelsea may yet be looking for another proven goal scorer come January, especially after a recent rare defeat at Manchester United.

It would take a brave man to back against Chelsea in any competition at the moment. But if you’d like to, you can still have a free $30 dollar bet at Betfair.com by entering the code 6CHE3VPWJ when prompted. But one thing is for sure; no one would be surprised if this time next year the Premier League trophy AND the Champions League trophy were both on display in the Chelsea boardroom. It seems that only the Italian giants Milan and Juventus, and the Spanish top two, Real Madrid, and most especially Barcelona with their Brazilian superstar, surely soon to be the world player of the year, Ronaldinho, might stop the London blues. It really does seem as if we have entered a new era in European and world football, or if you prefer the ridiculous name that no one ever uses, Soccer. Chelsea fans have never had it so good while everyone else is left gasping in their wake, for it is a fact that Chelsea Football Club have raised the bar for everyone else to follow. Time will tell if anyone can.

William Gallas had a fallout with Mr .Mourinho and during the much publicized purchase of Ashley Cole, Gallas was offered in exchange as an icing on the cake.

Mourinho might have thought that Gallas did not do much but since he left, Cole has not yet quite filled his shoes. On the other hand Gallas is doing much more as a left back than Arsene Wenger might have ever dreamt of.

When rumors of Andriy Shevchenko’s move to Chelsea reached the press, everyone including Chelsea’s fans were thrilled at the thought of Andriy and Drogba teaming up. This dream just… well, just stayed a dream because we have seen nothing yet. Drogba and Shevchenko flow together the way water and fire would.

Even though this happened I myself thought the former European footballer of the year might just pull it off without Drogba but he has not adapted to the lightning quick pace of English football. We may just have to wait for a season or two before he finally clicks (I don’t think he is quite in a hurry to leave if you consider he is being paid 120,000 pounds per week).

Michael Ballack left his beloved homeland of Germany (also for the price of 120,000 pounds per week) for England to use his experience as a midfielder to help Frank Lampard in the Chelsea midfield. This seemed like another duo that would have greatly prospered together considering their talent and exposure but they just have not clicked yet. Just like Shevchenko, Ballack has also been slow to learn the English style of playing (is it something to do with their hefty wages?). For your information Ballack has already been sent off once.

The only people who seem to be consistent are the Africans who play for Chelsea. Didier Drogba has never fallen short of goals, Michael Essien is doing a good job filling in for John Terry, the young talents of Salomon Kalou and John Obi Mikel seem to be growing in stature day by day and not to forget the good job done by the Frenchman Claude Makelele.

PS: Have you noticed of late how Abromavich doesn’t seem as happy as he seemed before when Chelsea were winning every game? There have even been disturbing rumors that this is Mourinho’s last season at Stamford Bridge.