Best-of Archives - Chelsea FC Blog

Frank Lampard – Farewell…

It’s rare that one can refer to Big Brother to illustrate anything other than the general decline of Western civilisation,..

Best-of

4 Jun

Does the Lady Have Shallots? (To Frank, a Valediction)

Does the Lady Have Shallots? (To Frank, a Valediction) I Arrayed like snowy cotton lie, the tents of Chelsea’s horde,..

Best-of

3 Jun

Chelsea 3-1 Southampton – Why Should I Love My Sport So Well?

“Why Should I Love My Sport So Well?” – Isaac Watts, 1715 Should occasion ever bring you to Abney Cemetery..

Best-of

2 Dec

Spurs 1-1 Chelsea – You Were Always Five & Dime Micky Dean, Micky Dean

It was approaching the middle of a typical, sixties black and white, social-realist sort of a Saturday afternoon, when the..

Best-of

30 Sep

Chelsea 2-0 Fulham – A Work in Progress

In advance of today’s Manchester derby, there’s been some high-profile nervousness about the possibility of tribal fury spilling over into..

Best-of

22 Sep

Chelsea 1-2 Basel – You Can Always Canton Those Switzers

As Keegan notes, ‘the effect of a cavalry charge had always depended more on the moral frailty of those receiving..

Best-of

20 Sep

So, Darling… How Was It for You?

Monday, 20th May 2013 A hotel room somewhere in South West London, the sun is rising through hazy clouds, there..

Best-of

12 Jun

Benfica 1-2 Chelsea – Trophy after Trophy after Trophy

A Little Preamble Around this time last year I started my Champions League final report with this well known phrase..

Best-of

16 May

All Chelsea Managers and Trophies Under Abramovich

Chelsea Trophies Under Roman Abramovich We review all the Chelsea managers and their success (or otherwise) since Roman Abramovich took..

Best-of

16 May

Chelsea 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur – Patent Place

An Everyday Story of Football Folk and Their Intellectual Property The Scene is Set Here was the deal going into..

Best-of

9 May

The Thatcherisation of Football

Football has been consumed by the ogre that is the Champions League. Being of a certain age I remember with..

Best-of

20 Apr

Rubin Kazan 3-2 Chelsea (agg 4-5) – A European Cup is a European Cup

The Europa League is an interesting beast. Primarily because it’s not a beast at all. For much of the developed..

Best-of

12 Apr

We Were There

Hard as it might be to believe, although the internet was with us, within the last dozen years, it was..

Best-of

21 Mar

One of the Most Significant Chelsea Matches of the Last 20 Years

Question: what’s one of the most significant Chelsea matches of the last 20 years? Beating Bayern Munich last May? Winning..

Best-of

13 Mar

Manchester United 2-2 Chelsea – One More Chance

A Sunday Soujourn in Salford, South Louisiana and err, Romford There is a theme running through so many cinematic genres;..

Best-of

11 Mar

Manchester City 2-0 Chelsea – The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire

The Preamble Late Saturday night our Dear Leader, Nick emailed me to kindly ask if I fancied doing a match..

Best-of

24 Feb

Chelsea 4-0 Brentford – Spirits and Souls

Introduction Disillusionment and apathy abound. There is a distinct lack of vision, plan or grand scheme at the club. We..

Best-of

18 Feb

Stoke City 0-4 Chelsea – A Riddle, a Mystery and an Enigma

Introduction It is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. Churchill was not actually referring to the Soviet..

Best-of

13 Jan

Chelsea 0-1 Queens Park Rangers – The Proverbial Buck

Introduction Does the buck really stop at the manager? Such is the eternal debate in football. The modern structure of..

Best-of

3 Jan

Chelsea 8-0 Aston Villa – Christmas Comes Early

I certainly wasn’t expecting such an early Christmas present: news that Daniel Sturridge is leaving us. I rang the club..

Best-of

23 Dec

Sunderland 1-3 Chelsea – The Reset Switch

Introduction Memory’s a funny thing. They say the human mind has a penchant for forgoing a well-rounded perspective in favour..

Best-of

9 Dec

Tinker Waiter Soup Bowl Fly

(with suitable apologies and homage to John Le Carre) (Author’s Note: The main character of George Smallie should be imagined..

Best-of

27 Nov

Chelsea 0-0 Manchester City – What’s the Point?

Preamble So, another unveiling; another bloke waving his arms on the touchline for a few months while he waits for..

Best-of

25 Nov

Juventus 3-0 Chelsea – The Old Lady Weren’t for Turinin’

Somewhere between talking to the trees in Paint Your Wagon (1969) and talking to a chair at the Republican Convention..

Best-of

22 Nov

West Bromwich Albion 2-1 Chelsea – The Tragedy of the Hawthorns

Introduction How refreshing. An international fixture break, the tragedy of the club footballing calendar, lasted only a couple of days,..

Best-of

18 Nov

Chelsea 3-2 Shakhtar Donetsk – On Leadership

Introduction Only quack footballogists would claim to have accurately dissected the thinking behind Abramovich and Gourlay’s leadership. Indeed, a decade..

Best-of

8 Nov

Chelsea 2-3 Manchester United – I’ll Take the Moral Victory

Usually, you’d say there’s no such thing as a moral victory in football. The table will record three points for..

Best-of

28 Oct

Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 Chelsea – Eastern Promises, Brazilian Realities

Introduction When will it end? Is Chelsea forever scourged by an unequivocal marriage to the issue of racism? Some would..

Best-of

24 Oct

Tottenham Hotspur 2-4 Chelsea – States of Mata and Energy

The prologue It never ever, ever gets boring beating Spurs. But for me there’s an even bigger joy in beating..

Best-of

21 Oct

The Lone Ranger

The curious headline is prompted by young Junior, scion of the noble House of Bayou, who made his competitive feetballs..

Best-of

17 Oct

John Terry, Ashley Cole and Three Little Words…

In 1971, the late, great Peter Osgood was handed an eight week ban and a £160 fine by the Football..

Best-of

9 Oct

Chelsea 4-1 Norwich City – In Flight

Introduction A tale of two birds coming into the weekend. The omnipotent FA’s decision to adjudicate that which has already..

Best-of

7 Oct

Best-of

Frank Lampard – Farewell…

Does the Lady Have Shallots? (To Frank, a Valediction)

Chelsea 3-1 Southampton – Why Should I Love My Sport So Well?

Spurs 1-1 Chelsea – You Were Always Five & Dime Micky Dean, Micky Dean

Chelsea 2-0 Fulham – A Work in Progress

Chelsea 1-2 Basel – You Can Always Canton Those Switzers

So, Darling… How Was It for You?

Benfica 1-2 Chelsea – Trophy after Trophy after Trophy

All Chelsea Managers and Trophies Under Abramovich

Chelsea 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur – Patent Place

The Thatcherisation of Football

Rubin Kazan 3-2 Chelsea (agg 4-5) – A European Cup is a European Cup

We Were There

One of the Most Significant Chelsea Matches of the Last 20 Years

Manchester United 2-2 Chelsea – One More Chance

Manchester City 2-0 Chelsea – The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire

Chelsea 4-0 Brentford – Spirits and Souls

Stoke City 0-4 Chelsea – A Riddle, a Mystery and an Enigma

Chelsea 0-1 Queens Park Rangers – The Proverbial Buck

Chelsea 8-0 Aston Villa – Christmas Comes Early

Sunderland 1-3 Chelsea – The Reset Switch

Tinker Waiter Soup Bowl Fly

Chelsea 0-0 Manchester City – What’s the Point?

Juventus 3-0 Chelsea – The Old Lady Weren’t for Turinin’

West Bromwich Albion 2-1 Chelsea – The Tragedy of the Hawthorns

Chelsea 3-2 Shakhtar Donetsk – On Leadership

Chelsea 2-3 Manchester United – I’ll Take the Moral Victory

Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 Chelsea – Eastern Promises, Brazilian Realities

Tottenham Hotspur 2-4 Chelsea – States of Mata and Energy

The Lone Ranger

John Terry, Ashley Cole and Three Little Words…

Chelsea 4-1 Norwich City – In Flight

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