Chelsea In America Vol1 Issue1

Chelsea in America Bluesletter MAY 2009

VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1

A BLUESLETTER WELCOME

In this issue: • • • • • •

Notes from the Chairwoman Summer Tour News 5 Questions For... Tales from Heaven, an Anfield Match Report Tales from East London Back from the Brink, Thanks to Hiddink

The end of the 2008/09 Premier League season is almost upon us. It may seem an inopportune moment to start up a Chelsea newsletter, but fortunately we have a lot to look forward to in the summer! The boys in blue will be back on our side of the pond to showcase their skills, and I for one cannot wait. Having missed the preseason tours before, I am quite excited to see Chelsea play on our "home" turf, if I may call it that. But there will be plenty of information about that, in this newsletter and in future. If you haven't already, please be sure to join the Chelsea in America forum to be kept up-to-date on all the important info. Welcome to the first issue of the Chelsea in America newsletter. We wanted to put this together to give the members of our supporters' club a place to get and share info about the club on a monthly basis. I want to encourage anyone and everyone to participate. We would love to hear about your trips to the Bridge or your trips to the pub early in the morning (on the weekends no less!) to watch Chelsea

play, if you read one of the many Chelsea-related books and had an opinion, anything involving Chelsea or what our supporters are doing would be a welcome addition. I'm looking forward to compiling a massive August addition of the newsletter full of stories about the summer tour and the upcoming season! Don't be shy! There will also be a feature each month with a focus on a Chelsea in America member called "5 Questions For..." Our glorious leader, Beth, will also be making a monthly column appearance to fill you in on what is going on with the group. I am open to any ideas or suggestions of what else you would like to see. This is the first issue so it is still very much a work-in-progress. It won't work without the help of our fantastic members, so please - get stuck in! Jamie Edwards is a member of the Southeast Blues currently living in Virginia and helping out with Communications for Chelsea in America She can be reached at [email protected]

CHELSEA RETURN TO AMERICA FOR SUMMER 2009 Chelsea in America is excited to welcome the Blues back to the States as part of their pre-season tour. “We are delighted to be in the United States again for pre-season,” said Peter Kenyon. “This is our fifth pre-season out of six that we have toured here and it is always a pleasure to see our fans and train and play in excellent facilities in great cities.  Chelsea, of course, will bring a full-strength first team squad and with the quality of the opposition, and the backing of our partners, this series of matches will be the best preparation and the most high profile we have played in America.”

Chelsea's schedule is as follows:

Sunday, July 26 - Chelsea vs. Club America at Cowboy Stadium (Arlington, Texas)

Tickets are on sale for each match already, but CIA has a special allocation of tickets for the crowd who wants to sit together and sing and engage in plenty of Chelsea spirit. Seats for members are available in the "singing and chanting" or "family" sections, and you can even sit with your specific regional supporters' group! Sign up for the mailing list or keep an eye on the message board for CIA ticket information!

Chelsea will kick off their tour of America with a match against MLS fledglings Seattle Sounders on July 18th.

In addition, stay tuned for details about group get-togethers and fun stuff with Chelsea in America - it is going to be a fantastic summer!

Tuesday, July 21 - Chelsea vs. Inter at the Rose Bowl (Pasadena, Calif.) Friday, July 24 -AC Milan vs. Chelsea at M&T Bank Stadium (Baltimore, Md.)

DEEP FROM THE HEART NOTES FROM THE CHAIRWOMAN, BETH WILD Hope everyone is as excited and busy as I am! And thanks to Jamie we have a new newsletter to bring you all the news of Chelsea and CIA. Jamie has a lot planned and I know it will be a great addition, but please if you like to write, have an idea, or would like to help, let her know! A good result in the quarterfinals and with a bit of luck and more playing like that from our boys, well I would hate to jinx it, but . . .   Of course many of you are already making plans and counting down the days to the summer tour. It should be a fantastic event. And I would like to tell everyone how much I am overwhelmed with the groundswell of support and volunteerism in the group from coast to coast! With all these folks on deck we are surely to have the best summer tour ever! But if you haven’t raised your hand, WE WILL STILL NEED VOLUNTEERS, so please don’t be shy! If you are going and can spare an hour or more at any of the games, remember the hour you donate means that someone doesn’t work more than their fair share. The tour is for everyone to have a great time and sharing the load means that all of us have an opportunity to have a great time.   But before some news on that, we have some important stuff going on RIGHT NOW! Third in the league in the tightest race to the end I remember in a long while, so fingers crossed. An FA Cup Final in the offering and fingers crossed. And still in the middle of a battle in the Champions League so all looks good. Closer to home we have a lot going on. We just finished taking the orders for the Members Shirts from Chelsea. As soon as they get a date for when they will be delivered, all those that have ordered shirts will be alerted when to start looking for them. We also had our Club Travel Chairs on sale as well, and I know I am looking forward to them! I can’t wait for lazy summer days sitting by the pool in my lovely blue Chelsea chair! We have an ever growing number of Celebrity Podcasts. If you haven’t had a listen, well, you are really missing a treat some of our Chelsea legends in conversation and what a great listen! http://www.chelseainamerica.com/

Podcast.htm And yes, there is a link to the weekly CIA Podcast as well, and if you haven’t had a listen to one of those lately you are really missing out. Thanks to Jeremy and Danny for their persistence and care in making that available to everyone.   Membership for next season is just around the corner, and we are working on expanding the benefits for CIA members, thanks to the tireless efforts of our Chris and Kevin! Thanks guys for making our membership the best value around!   Behind the scenes our Design Divas have been working tirelessly on all kinds of things, and the unveiling of the new CIA crest and Chelsea Chick identity is coming soon. so stay tuned. Terri and Raciel have a lot on their plate but are doing the most incredible job pulling all of our design issues together to make things more uniform and identifiable. And yes, that includes a new version of the Chelsea Chicks merchandise, and NEW CIA SHIRTS FOR THE SUMMER TOUR! You might want to give up a beer or two to be sure to have one of those tshirts as I have had a sneak peek and they are WONDERFUL.   We have loads of plans in the works for the summer tour, thanks to folks all over the country for organizing for Seattle, LA, Baltimore and Dallas. There will be great events, great get-togethers, and loads of fellow Blues to share it with. And our tech team is hard at work updating websites and making sure that all of you get all the latest updates to things as they happen. So be sure to check www.chelseainamerica.com OFTEN as the tour approaches to stay up on each venue and all that is going on, YOU WON’T WANT TO MISS A THING! And of course the bulletin board is the best and fastest way of keeping up on plans, so if you haven’t logged in, check it out.   I am sure this is again too long, so I hope you all enjoyed a pint while reading it. Stay tuned for more info.   AND KEEP THAT BLUE FLAG FLYING HIGH! - Beth

Chelsea Dates to Remember: 5/2 /2009 - CIA Spring Tour hits the Bridge vs. Fulham 5/13/1998 Chelsea win the ECWC  again this time beating Vfb Stuttgart 1-0 in Stockholm with a superbly taken goal by Zola 5/18/1978 - Ricardo Carvalho's birthday 5/19/2007 - Chelsea beat a team from Stretford 1-0 to win the first FA Cup Final at the “new Wembley” 5/20/1982 - Petr Cech's birthday

5/20/2000 - Chelsea thrash Aston Villa 1-0 to win the last FA Cup Final at the "old Wembley" 5/21/2009 - Annual Awards Dinner 5/30/2009 - FA Cup Final vs. Everton * compiled with help from Tel Stevens

Want to contribute an article or photo to the Bluesletter? You could make my day. I'd love to hear from you! Send Jamie an email at Newsletter@ChelseainAme rica.com.

May Matches to Remember: - compiled by Tel Stevens May 21, 1963 Chelsea 7 Vs  Portsmouth 0 Goalscorers: Kevan,Tambling 4,Blunstone,Venables(pen) Att  54,558 A new era in CFC history, we simply had to win this game to return to the promised land of Division 1. Tommy Docherty’s “Ducklings” did us proud with a good ole thrashing.

5 QUESTIONS FOR.... My name is Andy, and I live in Oxford, Michigan with my wife and 14 year old son.  I originally started the Midwest Blues back in 2005 after meeting Beth in Seattle, and then again with Beth started Chelsea in America when we realised there was a whole continent of Chelsea supporters out there who didn’t realise they were Chelsea yet and needed saving from the evil red dark side.  My current official role is treasurer of CIA but I also help Beth liaise with Chelsea, and along with some of the other techies amongst us I also help guide our technical direction. always will. What is your most cherished piece of Chelsea “stuff”?

May 22, 1971 Chelsea 2 Vs Real Madrid 1 Goalscorers: Dempsey, Osgood. Att 41,000 Our second trophy in as many seasons bringing us our first European trophy, the newspapers read in England that Chelsea were the “Kings of Europe”. May 12, 1984 Grimsby 0 Vs Chelsea 1 Goalscorer: Dixon Att 13,995 What a difference a year makes. One season after nearly falling into the old 3rd Division we clinched promotion to Division 1 with a magnificent header by Kerry Dixon. Even a missed Speedie penalty couldn’t dampen the estimated 9000 Chelsea fans' spirits as we celebrated amongst the police and their horses and dogs. 

Southeast Blues member Erik shows off his CPO share! "I am a big Chelsea fan and this is a great way to show one's support at the office while owning part of the club (more like pitch)."

How did you become Chelsea, and when? I have always been Chelsea, thanks to my 17-years-older-than-me brother, John.  My father grew up in East Ham and is a Spurs supporter, but growing up in the Kingston area my brother had gone to school with the son of the then Chelsea captain, so balked the paternal line and went Chelsea blue, and I followed his example.  To be fair though, my dad did take me to many, many Chelsea games when I was little (but sadly I was too young to remember my first, and he doesn’t remember either). My brother moved to Manchester in his later years and always delighted in wearing his Blue at Old Trafford, but unfortunately succumbed to cancer in 2000.  My last Chelsea memory with him was in hospice listening to Man City vs. Chelsea on the radio, the game that broke our horrible almost season long streak of not winning an away game.  He was buried with his son’s Chelsea scarf, and I owe my allegiance to him.

Perhaps I’ll say the 12” vinyl original “Blue is the Colour” that was passed on to me by my aunt when my cousin passed away recently.  However, in search for an interesting anecdote I will tell you about a school trip I made to the old Wembley Stadium as a young school boy.  They had been trimming the field and there was a barrow with the trimmings sitting right there as I walked past, so I shoved a divot in my pocket.  When I got home I planted and nursed it lovingly in a corner of the garden and only to one day discover my mum had unwittingly dug it up as a weed.  I was gutted (you have to remember what Wembley meant to a school boy back then) but I guess I got over it, and Beth bought me some seeds from the new Wembley which I plan on planting *and protecting* this summer! If you could have any player from any other team play for Chelsea, who would it be? Another tough one, but I would have to say Lionel Messi because to me he still embodies what an old fashioned winger is all about.  I am a defender by trade with a little bit if midfield, but I can appreciate a player of his style, in much the same vein as Damien Duff when he was with us perhaps, and as he’s still young I think he would be my choice.

What is your favorite Chelsea memory?

Do you have any pregame rituals? If so what are they?

Oh boy, this is a tough one.  I have different memories that mean different things to me. I think the most emotive for me was the 0-2 win over Bolton to win the Premiership the first time.  Like I am sure I share with so many people reading this, I cried out all those years of frustration and “almost’s” as Frank ran in that second goal.  In terms of pure, raw emotion, that moment still causes me to well up when I think about it, and I know

Not at all.  I am mildly superstitious, but not the point of rituals.  I think the closest I get is the bizarre idea that if I have not been watching a game (on TV) and turn on to see the team I prefer winning, I have this notion that if I start watching their fortunes will change.  Of course this only applies to casual sports watching like my local sports teams – I would never not turn on the tellie to watch Chelsea or England!

TALES FROM.... HEAVEN! Season ticket holder Chris Axon shares his story and photos from the Champions League Quarterfinal match at Anfield! Cilla Black, Ken Dodd, Lily Savage, Arthur Askey, Bobby Grant, Jimmy Tarbuck, Ringo Starr, Alexei Sayle, Margi Clarke, Phil Redmond, Derek Hatton, John Conteh, Dickie Mint – We gave your boys one hell of a beating.

believe that they were unsure. I turned around and said to the woman – “It was 2005, love.”

And I thought last season’s game was good!

Chatted to a couple of lads from The Goose – Alan and Nish. There was Lovejoy, as ever, in the middle of it all. Then the two Neils, Sophie, then Alan, Ed and Whitey.

My colleague Paul was unfortunately made redundant last week and so I have been working solo this week. I am based at my client’s premises and so I did originally think that I may not be able to go to the game as I might be needed to cover the latter part of the afternoon. However, with a bit of trickery and polite conversations with the client, I was cleared for take-off at 2.30pm. I had been in early at 7am anyway – and work is quiet at the moment. I was sorted. I don’t need to bore you all to death with details of my drive up the country to Liverpool – God, it’s a familiar one of late. I think I have overdosed on Scouse these past four years. Haven’t we all? I went to the knock-out semis in 2005, 2007 and 2008 but didn’t go to the boring group phase game in the autumn of 2005. In all the visits to Anfield with Chelsea, I have seen us win there just once – that memorable game in 1992, when I got in free and watched, silently, on The Kop. But that’s another story. I made good time until Birmingham, but from there on in, the traffic was horrific. There were lots of road works, lots of delays, lots of stopping and starting. Andy had downloaded some of the recent CIA Podcasts for me and from Bromsgrove to Knutsford, I listened to the Ken Shellito and Paul Canoville interviews. I really enjoyed them. Lots of great stories. It occurred to me that the history of Chelsea – thousands of players, millions of fans, characters, cups and disasters – were all behind us and that the game at Anfield would be the next instalment in this story…and I took a great deal of pride and satisfaction in the knowledge that I would be part of it. At the cutting edge of this club as it grinds its way into the future.

I thought that they were the ones who knew all about history. I tutted to myself as they overtook me.

“Alright boys?” We all live for the present to a certain extent, but this notion really got to me. I was being part of it. I thought of the – let’s say – millions of people who would be watching on TV around the World and I would be there at the game, within the cramped claustrophobic stands of Anfield. I briefly pondered that my decision to attend was through my fanaticism but also because my finances and health allowed it. I was very grateful. The cloudy skies gave way to blue skies over Liverpool as I began the approach into the city at around 6.15pm. It had already taken me much longer than I had hoped. Thankfully, I wasn’t too tired. I texted my mate Alan that I would be in the ground at 7.30pm. Too rushed for my liking. Believe it or not, until I got to within about five miles of Anfield, I had only seen one Chelsea car and two Liverpool cars en route…and the way I identified them? Air fresheners! As I turned onto Queens Drive, I took my Chelsea and Juve air fresheners down – just in case the locals took exception. I was parked up at 7pm – I thankfully found a space – and the 200 miles had taken me four and a half hours. Up the hill of Utting Avenue, past a busy pub and a few “chippies” and “offies.” There is something hypnotic about joining hundreds of football-goers on the final approach to a game…it’s a clear link to the past. How many millions have walked these same streets. I marched towards the ground. I didn’t want to be late. I was walking in front of a Scouse couple who were having a discussion about the year in which the two clubs first met in the CL. I found it hard to

Sam Allardyce walked past – funny, he had been mentioned by Ken Shellito on the podcast, the Bolton game of 1978 et al. I got inside Anfield at 7.38pm. Just in time. As I walked up the steps, more familiar faces. “You’ll Never Walk Alone” was in full flow as the pitch appeared before me. The usual riot of colour, but with a fair smattering of blue in our section. More scarves than normal. I noted a new Liverpool flag – as we all know, Scousers see themselves as a pretty political bunch – they are red in more than one dimension. The flag said “Scouse Solidarnosc” – after the Polish Solidarity party of around 1981. Quite clever I thought – if you like that sort of thing. I add this, not to make a statement, just to add colour. I was three or four rows from the rear, just inside the penalty box. A good seat. I stood the entire game. A terrible start, eh? For the first fifteen minutes or so, our defence were pulled out of shape and a few key errors took place. The midfield were giving the advancing Liverpool players far too much room. I was not alone in my desperate shouts to “close them down!” Ballack – as always – the main culprit. The goal from Torres…horrible. I tried not to watch the home sections leap to their feet, but I couldn’t avoid it. There is some macabre fascination watching other fans go wild at our detriment. Hateful. Before the game – if I was to be pressed – I feared a 0-2 or even 0-3 loss. “Come on Chels – step up.”

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Anfield match report continued...

players in the goalmouth. I heard Frank strike the ball and I saw players move. I snapped, then saw the ball thunder into the net, on a trajectory aiming straight towards me. Reina was beaten. We were 2-1 up. Unbelievable. Un – SWEAR WORD – believable. Our fans went crazy and – I don’t know how I do this – I remained steady enough to take a couple of shots of what I call the aftermath…players hugging on the far touchline, with fans’ arms thrusting in the foreground.

And, guess what? We did. From the sixth minute, our possession increased and we knocked the ball around purposefully and I was amazed with the movement of people like Malouda. For once, chances were being created at both ends and it was a gripping encounter – so unlike other CL games at Anfield. A Cech save down low in front of us, then two Drogba giltedged chances in front of the red wall of The Kop. When the second one was blazed over, we gulped in astonishment…not that he had missed, but that we had almost scored! “We can do this – COME ON!” Chances were exchanged. I was getting carried away, but the bloke next to me was trying to reign in my wild enthusiasm. When Liverpool attacked, we did look a bit suspect. A great game. Then, a corner – into the near post and a blue player headed home…I thought it was JT to be fair, but who cares? Wild celebrations – an away goal! Behind me, a bloke I had sat next to at Watford – we hugged and yelled wildly. Next to him, I noted a West Country accent – a chap from Swindon. At half time, word got out that Ivanovic had scored. And Barca were 4-0 up. Gulp.If the first-half was good, the second-half was even better. It was all a bit of a blur really – I hadn’t been drinking, but I was getting carried along on a wave of pure adrenalin. I was getting hot in my warm coat so I took it off and stood in my shirt sleeves. After the equaliser, the home support wilted. Whereas in 2005, when 75% of the Scousers stood, only The Kop did so this time. I took a few photos of a few attacks. Then another corner down below me…I pointed the camera at the melee of

This was unbelievable. What a game. Our movement was brilliant. Even Ballack was doing well. Gerrard was quiet…I have to admit, I wasn’t aware Esien was shackling him man to man. Sometimes aspects of the game pass me by. We were dominating. Then a dream move to my right. We stood on tip-toes as Malouda played the ball in and witnessed Drogba arrive to sweep the ball I with a clinical finish.

Heading down Utting Avenue, past the Chelsea coaches, I pulled up my coat collars. I gave the thumbs up to some Chelsea fans in one coach, then looked towards the back of the coach as a few lads were banging the window. There was Gary and Ed giving me the big one. I punched the air and smiled the widest of smiles. The traffic was slowly edging past me and within a few moments, as I headed towards my car, the night fell silent. It was eerily quiet, save for my phone jumping to life every minute with incoming texts from England and various parts of America. I got back to my car at 10.15pm and my mate Glenn phoned me. He is always concerned for my safety in Liverpool. Yet more horrendous traffic leaving Liverpool, but I didn’t care. I headed out onto Queens Drive. Depeche Mode were on my CD.

Too much.

“Enjoy The Silence.”

I turned around and looked the two guys behind me in the eyes. We were both screaming, mouths wide open, like an incarnation of Munch’s “The Scream.” We kept our gaze going for a few seconds.

It was tough going on the way home. I had to buy two Red Bulls to fend of the tiredness enveloping me…they worked. I was euphoric, but well aware that I probably felt just as happy after the Riise game last year. Thoughts were of Barcelona and Rome. What a life.

My name is Chris and I am an addict. I am a goal addict. Oh man – isn’t that why we go to football? That moment when we are just transplanted to another place, when our heads just explode.

I eventually got home at 3am, knackered but happy Liverpool? We murdered ‘em.

Chills just thinking about. In the last quarter, we could have scored more. Liverpool were devoid of a plan and on many occasions they lost possession…and there was Frank, running the game from midfield, probing away. I have never seen Florent Malouda play better. Big Pete was as good as any. “We’re Going To Rome – We’re Going to Rome…F Your History, We’re Going To Rome.” Still more chances, but then – shame! – the final whistle. The home support drifted away and we were kept in for a few minutes. By the time I left – I was one of the last few hundred to leave – the home stands were empty, completely devoid of life. We sauntered out into the night and I hugged a few Chelsea acquaintances, names unknown.

Chris is a gentleman, a passionate Chelsea supporter, and a great friend to Chelsea supporters here in the US. Not just for all his comments and interaction on the board, but his never ending hospitality at the Bridge for so many of us that have had the pleasure of spending time with him at home or away. He is our very special welcoming committee at Stamford Bridge. Chris posts all of his match reports on the CIA forums!

TALES FROM EAST LONDON Hi, my name is Bob Clark.  I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and am Pacific Coast Blues “founding member” #29.   I first became interested in Chelsea because my wife’s cousin who lives in Singapore is a Chelsea supporter.  My first match was in July 2007 when Chelsea visited the US and played Club America at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto, CA.  I’ve been fortunate to have travelled several times since then to attend several more matches, including the Carling Cup Final in February 2008, and the Champions League group stage away match vs. AS Roma in November, 2008.   This was my 3rd trip this season from San Francisco over to see Chelsea, this time for West Ham away. I also combined it with attending the pub-style quiz event “A Question of Chelsea”, held at the Bridge. More on that later. I arrived in London on Thursday afternoon, April 23. I was able to get a good rate at the Holiday Inn Express on the North End Road, which for those of you who read Chris’ reports, is just about spitting distance from the Goose pub. I walked down to the Bridge to pick up my West Ham ticket. On the way I noticed that a Travelodge will be opening soon, providing some additional lodging options in the area. I had a choice for this trip of attending either West Ham away or Fulham at home. I was up for another away match given that the atmosphere is different, one gets to go to new pubs, and Chelsea’s away support is more concentrated on a smaller number of true fans that have been going to matches since the earth cooled (and some look like it). That, combined with the fact that West Ham and Chelsea have some, er, ‘history’, that Frank came to us from there, and that the pre-match ‘meet’ would be in Barking (where JT is from), sealed the deal for me. Thursday night was the “Question of Chelsea” pub-style quiz that I had seen on the club website. I had purchased a ticket, which Beth had arranged with the coordinator to be held for me at the door. As I relatively new to this Chelsea stuff, I figured I would hurt rather than help the teams, so I opted to go as a spectator of which there were a few as it turned out. They put on a buffet dinner, and also had a cash bar available (one drink was included in the ticket along with the meal). There were about 9 teams of 8-10 people. Each team had an exChelsea player assigned to them. Present that I can remember were Kerry Dixon, John Hollins, Clive Walker, Graham Wilkins, Ken

Monkou, Bobby Tambling, Colin Pates, Tommy Langley. Jason Cundy was the master of ceremonies. There were several rounds of questions on different topics, and scores were summarized after each round and announced. It was a fun evening, lots of jokes being thrown about, and people making snide comments each time a question was read. There was also a raffle (I didn’t win anything). The winning team was the group from the fanzine cfcuk, led by Dave Johnstone. If you’ve been to a Chelsea match, you’ve probably seen him selling copies. The Chelsea players on that team were Graham Wilkins and Clive Walker. Coming in second place was Kerry Dixon’s team, which included our mate Vic who works at Chelsea in the tours department. Friday was mostly spent completing the assigned shopping list I was given by my wife, to get things we can’t readily get at home – orange flavored Kitkat, Ribena black currant juice, a certain type of chocolate covered biscuits from M&S, and a trip down to the Borough Market to get brownies from a specific stall. On the way back I stopped at the Stone Island shop near Covent Garden. This is supposed to be their ‘flagship’ store, but I think the one on Beak St. in Soho is larger and it also sells CP Company gear. My first introduction to Stone Island was

in February last year for the Carling Cup Final match, one of our crew was questioned by the police at Marylebone Station under the ‘Section 60’ regulations. He was wearing a Stone Island jumper. Of course I knew nothing of what all this was about at the time, but have since spent the last year educating myself on the Casual subculture. I’m sure I’ve just scratched the surface, but suggest books like Hoolifan by Martin King, and Casuals: Football, Fighting and Fashion, by Phil Thornton if you want to get a taste. Stone Island wear is incredibly expensive, even when it’s on sale, which it wasn’t that day. These stores are unique (or perhaps similar to something like Tiffany’s) in that they seem to have more security guards than customers. This day, I passed through quickly and let my wallet live to see the rest of the trip. Saturday morning, I set off for our meet in Barking on the District Line, leaving from Earl’s Court Station. I was a bit ahead of Chris who had texted me that he expected to be in Barking by around noon. He had his mate Parky with him, whom I’ve had the pleasure of socializing with a couple of times in the past. Parky is a real character, a loveable guy who has a way with words, especially when he is making up his own songs. He has some great stories from the old days. He was to be sat just two rows behind me for the match. The location for the pre-match was the “Spotted Dog” pub adjacent to Barking Station. It is right next to another pub called the “Barking Dog”. It is impossible to confuse the two, given that the latter is a Wetherspoon’s pub and caters to an entirely different segment of the local population.

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BACK FROM THE BRINK, THANKS TO HIDDINK By Josh Hampton   Okay, I’ll admit it. If you’d have told me in January that Chelsea would lose only once in the next 14 games, secure a spot in the FA Cup final, and make the last four of the Champion’s League—by defeating Liverpool 7-5 on aggregate, no less!—I’d have said you were crazier than Djibril Cisse’s hair. Now, don’t get me wrong. I never doubted the lads would pull it together and make a respectable run for some silverware. But to do it with such emphatic style! That seemed liked a wish as elusive as luring Mourinho back for another go as manager.   We all know what has changed since those heartbreaking drubbings by Man U and the Scousers at the turn of the year. Guus Hiddink, that’s what. He’s turned out to be everything we hoped he’d be (and wanted Scolari to be). But what exactly is it the Golden Guus has done to save a Chelsea team that just ten short weeks ago had us all worried would end up trophyless and possibly in fifth place

CHELSEA IN AMERICA PODCAST - EVERY MONDAY AT 8:30 EST! Share your thoughts on the week's matches!

If you would like to join a podcast you can do so very easily either by dialing in with the information below or by getting a TalkShoe.com account and joining from your PC. To join a CIA podcast from a telephone: 1.

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About 10 minutes before we begin, call into the show at (724) 444-7444. Note this is NOT a toll free number, so long distance charges will apply. When prompted, enter the show's PIN number: 72670. Once you have entered the PIN you should be connected to the show and you should hear the voices of those of us already there. Note you may need to wait for the host to un-mute you so you can join the conversation.

come that final match at the Stadium of Light? Yes, he’s a brilliant tactician. Sure, he’s stepped up training that was rumored to be lax under Big Phil. But there’s something more Guus has brought with him—belief.  He believes in our boys. They believe in him. And according to the transitive property of equality (one of the few th things I remember from 8 grade math), that means they believe in themselves again, too. And it shows. They’re confident, energized, and fearless, ready to take it to anyone, anywhere. And, ladies and gentlemen, they have been.   Lest we forget, we looked unstoppable at the beginning of the season, too. But fresh legs and pure adrenaline only got us so far. When it came time to turn to the manager for all those things a good boss provides, Scolari just couldn’t fill the bill. Perhaps it was the language barrier. (I mean, how’re you going to give your team a pep talk at half-time if no one understands what the hell you’re saying?). Or maybe it was his increasingly erratic and outwardly uncaring behavior. Sometimes it just seemed like he was at Chelsea to pass the time—like in the bigger scheme of things, none of it really mattered to him.

Tales from East London continued I was the first to arrive and was soon joined by Alan. After finishing my first pint, I excused myself to go get some something to eat. Alan had gotten word that Daryl and Gary were on their way. When I returned from eating they were there in the pub. There were both Chelsea and West Ham in the pub, but everyone coexisted peacefully. Chris and Parky arrived a bit afterwards. Chris had some great photos from his trip to Turin for the Juventus match. I showed the one Vic had taken of Kerry Dixon and me at the quiz night. Beth and Jenni arrived later. The time flew by as we discussed many topics, and it was soon time to leave for Upton Park, two stops back down the District Line. There is also a stop called West Ham, but it is nowhere near the ground. The West Ham support was very quiet during the match, but the Chelsea did a

Well, you know what? It does matter. A lot. To the players. To the fans. To me.  After six months at the helm, it was clear that Scolari was most certainly not the manager we thought him to be. Though certainly a nice enough guy, he wasn’t the steadfast and wise leader we needed to take us to glory. Enter Guus Hiddink. Clever, cunning, and then some. Even after the initial boost in confidence a new boss often brings, he’s guided our boys to the dizzying heights we’ve come to expect from the Blues. He’s given them a reason to believe again. And, boy, do they believe. Look no further than the seven Champion’s League goals against Liverpool as proof. And because they believe again, so do we. And that’s a feeling I wouldn’t trade for all the Brazilian strikers in the world —especially now that Drogba’s back on form.  Josh Hampton is a member of the Midwest Blues and Associate Creative Director at Quantum Communications in Louisville, Kentucky (www.qtheagency.com). He lives in Lanesville, Indiana, with his wife and two little Blues fans. Email or facebook to [email protected] 

respectable job, especially Parky. Others have reported on the match itself, but it was a good result. Frank strutting over towards the away support at the end of the game was priceless. Chris and I got the tube back into town and waited for Parky, Andy and Ashley at Earl’s Court Station. We then walked to Salvo’s to enjoy one of his great pizzas. When the meal was complete, we walked back along the Old Brompton Road towards where Chris had parked. Along the way, we ran into a few young Stoke fans. Stoke had lost to Fulham that day. They engaged in some friendly banter (Chris’ Potteries dialect from his Uni days was good!) as we walked along together for a few minutes before they went down a side street. We said our goodbyes near the Goose. Hopefully we will meet up again sooner rather than later. All roads lead to Rome. Aya duck.