Latest Chelsea News

Chelsea owner Abramovich wants Russia tour

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is becoming more involved in the club's summer tour plans. The Daily Mail says Chelsea are considering a proposal to fly to Moscow on their way back from their Far East tour to play in a four-team tournament on the weekend of August 2 and 3.
After posting losses of £75million last year, Chelsea are aiming to join the global gravy train by becoming the first English team to play in Russia as part of their pre-season programme.
It means Chelsea's players could spend nearly three weeks on the road as part of their pre-season preparation. A final decision is unlikely to be taken before the end of this campaign.

CSKA Moscow are thought to be one of the teams involved in the project which will be run along the same lines as the prestigious Amsterdam Tournament. PSV Eindhoven have also been approached.PSV have strong links with Chelsea after Brazilian defender Alex was 'parked' with the Dutch club for three years before he finally obtained a work permit to play in England.

Abramovich increasingly hands-on at Chelsea

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is taking an increasingly hands-on role at Stamford Bridge. The Daily Mail says the billionaire was so dismayed at his side's capitulation against Tottenham on Sunday that he was already in the dressing room to speak to the players before many had even left the pitch.Abramovich's decision to take a much more hands-on approach will serve only to increase the pressure on Avram Grant, chosen by the Russian to succeed double title-winning boss Jose Mourinho.

As if to emphasise that Abramovich intends to keep far closer tabs on team matters, he even stayed behind at Chelsea's training ground to watch those players not involved on Sunday, including Ashley Cole, Andriy Shevchenko and Claudio Pizarro, take on an Arsenal youth team in a practice match.Those who played at Wembley took part in a light session yesterday having been given Monday off. Despite questions over Grant's tactics against Tottenham, there is also a feeling inside Chelsea that too many players simply did not perform on Sunday and that not all the blame should be shouldered by the manager.

Abramovich holds series of Chelsea crisis meetings

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has held a THIRD crisis meeting with club chiefs on Tuesday. The Daily Mail says Abramovich, who witnessed the bust-up between captain John Terry and assistant coach Henk Ten Cate at a Stamford Bridge training session in the build-up to Sunday's showpiece, called the warring pair together for clear-the-air talks.
The embarrassing flare-up between Terry and Ten Cate had also been seen by astonished members of the public who were on a stadium tour.
Tuesday's meeting was the third time Abramovich has flexed his muscles in the wake of Chelsea's humiliation at Wembley. Manager Avram Grant and chief executive Peter Kenyon also were present.

Ten Cate admits effing rage with Chelsea's Terry

Chelsea assistant Henk ten Cate admits he had a furious training ground bust-up with skipper John Terry last week. Ten Cate said: "We are both kind of emotional - but we respect each other fully.
"We just had a discussion about the intensity of the training session. That's a normal part of the game. There have been a few F-words, no doubt. But that's common in England."
The 53-year-old coach also admitted there was tension before the Carling Cup final.
Quoted on the Dutch newspaper AD website, Ten Cate said: "There was a special tension on Saturday.
"We have 27 players and three keepers but only a few of them could play.
"John wanted to have even more intensity in training but I didn't agree as we were just one day before the match. That was all. Me and John get on well. John won't disagree."

Chelsea coach Ten Cate "likes to bully players"

Former NAC Breda star Jeffrey Van As isn't surprised by Chelsea coach Henk ten Cate's blow-up with club captain John Terry last week.Van As was one of Breda's star players until Ten Cate was appointed manager in 2000 and the defender chuckled knowingly when told of Ten Cate's latest row.
Van As told The Sun: "He's always looking for confrontation. He is a strange guy and likes to bully players to make sure they do what he says and think what he thinks. His philosophy is simple: Do things my way or leave. That's what he did at Breda, Barcelona, Ajax and now he's doing it at Chelsea.
"Now that's easy to do with kids who are seven or eight. And it's also a bit easier to deal with lesser players like that. He will scream and shout and the bigger the player the louder he becomes. But big players like Terry, Lampard, Drogba or Ballack have big reputations, have won titles and are entitled to have their own opinions on the game.
"The thing is that Ten Cate does not care for anyone's reputation and to him the bigger the player, the more you are going to have to do what you are told."
Van As has since spoken with Ten Cate and feels he now understands the coach better. Nevertheless, the pain of his experience is still vivid.
Van As added: "He told me that he didn't like me as a player and that he was going to replace me. When I got injured he brought someone else in and I never played again for Breda.
"But I have to say that every club he has coached have performed worse after he left. It is a very all-or-nothing way of operating and it only works for a couple of years.
"There's no doubt he's a great coach but he's also a strange guy."

Kaka headlines £100M Chelsea shopping list

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is ready to bankroll an amazing £100 million summer spending spree - with AC Milan star Kaka and Valencia striker David Villa headlining his shopping list. The Daily Express says Abramovich has promised Grant a £100 million warchest if he can keep Chelsea's rocking ship afloat.
Abramovich has made it clear to Grant that he must win something this season, or at least finish in the top four, and if he can do that then he will handed the money to bring in his own players and build his own team.
A £25 million bid will be lodged for World and European Player of the Year Kaka and £15 million offered to Valencia for their unsettled striker Villa.