The Return Of The Special One Will Signal A New Era For Blues

He's done it before and he'll do it again, that's what I think anyway, after Jose Mourinho's return home to Stamford Bridge, rejoining Chelsea.

It was back in 2004 when Mourinho first came to the attention of the world. That was of course, after he'd won the Champions League with FC Porto, defeating Manchester United along the way.

SLIDE OF SUCCESS: Mourinho's passion shines through

Turning up with his swagger and arrogance, there surely would have been murmurings of "Who does this bloke think he is?" when he first arrived in England.

However, the "Special One" soon showed his specialities. Bringing in bright talent from across the globe, the Chelsea charge, thanks to the millions of pounds distributed by Roman Abramomich, was only just beginning. Chelsea, Abramovich and Mourinho had changed the way football is today. It was just the start.

Of course, the "Galactico" era at Real Madrid was and still is highly talked about with the likes of Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo and Ronaldo all pulling on that famous all white kit during the same period. However, Chelsea took it to a new level.

The likes of Arjen Robben, Claude Makelele and Didier Drogba all arrived in west-London, all with big egos, but all had big talent.

                                                                               

Claude Makelele

Arjen Robben

Drogba, of course, was the hero in the Club's Champions League success in 2012, Makelele, during his time with Chelsea provided a new role for the world to talk about, taking defensive midfield to another stage in football positioning. Chelsea have never replaced him despite years of trying. Robben always had the talent and injuries played a part in his Blues career, but when you also have Real Madrid and Bayern Munich on your CV, you must be good.

These were three of many during Mourinho's first year as Blues boss, I haven't gone into detail about the rest such as Petr Cech and Ricardo Carvalho, for example, two more that played a huge part in Chelsea success.

Two Premier League titles, a couple of League Cups, a Community Shield, an FA Cup, and three years later, the Portuguese was gone. It was to prove a case of the old saying "you don't know what you have until it's gone".

BACK FOR MOUR: Jose will want success again

Chelsea didn't do too badly during his time away from Stamford Bridge, winning another league title in 2009/10 under Carlo Ancelotti, three more FA Cups, another Community Shield and consecutive successes in Europe with the Champions League, under Roberto Di Matteo, and then the Europa League, a year later, in 2013, under the guidance of the much maligned Rafa Benitez.

Elsewhere, Mourinho was still picking up trophies, winning the treble with Inter Milan, a first for any Italian club, a La Liga title, a Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup during his three year spell with Real Madrid. Ultimately, his tenure in Spain was never enjoyable despite his success, with Jose failing to get on with the Spanish press.

REIGN IN SPAIN: But Jose's time with Madrid  turned sour

The problem for Chelsea though was the amount of bosses Abramovich hired, and then fired since Mourinho's 2007 departure from the Bridge.

Avram Grant had a season in charge after taking over once Mourinho had left, current Brazil manager Luiz Felipe Scolari then had a go but was sacked after only 36 games. Even current Sky Sports pundit, Ray Wilkins had his turn for a solitary game, only for Guus Hiddink to fill in for the rest of that season until May 2009.

Ancelotti spent two years in charge, before Abramovich paid a world record £12 million for another Porto manager, this time Andre Villas-Boas, who was part of Mourinho's backroom staff during his first spell at Chelsea. He only lasted 40 games, before Di Matteo and, a year later, Benitez had his spell in charge. Phew, got all that?

THE EXIT'S THAT WAY: Abramovich has a record of sacking managers

In a way, it signals an end to Abramovich's experiment. He's taken managers almost on a trial basis before wielding the axe. The fact that the longest spell someone has had in charge being only two years shows the high pressure job involved.

Is it a case, with Pep Guardiola heading to Bayern Munich, Abramovich had just ran out of managers? Was there no-one else to turn to?

Mourinho will bring a number of top class individuals to the Club as he bids to bring the good times back to the Bridge after a time away.

What's not to like though? He'll brighten up the press conferences and there will be another horse in the title race for the foreseeable future if he has his way. 

The rapid demise of Aston Villa

It wasn't too long ago that Aston Villa Football Club were one of the best up-and-coming sides not only in England but in Europe too.

Randy Lerner had taken over at Villa Park in 2006 and soon began to pump money into the club to  in a bid to possibly reach the Europa League or, as it was called back then, the Uefa Cup.

It was all going well; Villa brought in the likes of Ashley Young, James Milner and Stewart Downing (He was good once, honest!) as the club looked at assembling a squad that could push for the top 6 at the very least and with it, potentially locking horns with Europe's elite.

SIGNING: Downing was a wanted man (Zimbio)

The thing that most fans (apart from the likes of Birmingham City, Wolves, West Brom) liked, was boss, Martin O'Neill bringing in young, hungry, English talent and it looked for all the world that Villa would soon blow the dust from their trophy cabinet, and return to the glory days of the 1980s; winning the old First Division (equivalent of the Premier League) in 80/81, the European Cup (Champions League) in 81/82 and the European Super Cup in 82.

They came close under O'Neill's guidance; during his four year tenure at Villa Park, he achieved a creditable 11th place finish (first season) before guiding the club to a trio of sixth place endings, thus sending the club on a European tour to the likes of Hamburg, Amsterdam and Prague. The future was looking very bright.

Curtis Davies (R) takes on CSKA Moscow's Vagner Love (L) (Zimbio)

However, then came the bombshell that Villa fans didn't want to hear; the news of O'Neill resigning just a couple of days prior to the opening 2010/2011 Premier League game at home to West Ham, and this was the start of Villa's slide.

Their stars soon began departing; Milner eventually signed for Manchester City soon after O'Neill left and the following summer saw wingers, Young and Downing leave for the north-west; signing for Manchester United and Liverpool respectively.

Young and Milner moved on (WhoAteAllThePies)

Gerard Houllier was the man entrusted to take over where O'Neill had left off, however, medical conditions saw the Frenchman only last a season at the club, ending the season in 9th place.

Next up was Alex McLeish. Big 'Eck had managed to relegate arch rivals, Birmingham to the Championship, despite winning the Carling Cup. The appointment of the former Scotland manager was lambasted by Villa fans and they were never on side for his solitary season (finishing 16th) and he was soon relieved of his duties. During this campaign, Villa had the poorest home record in their history, gaining just 19 points out of a potential 57.

And then, came the appointment of Paul Lambert. Another Scotsman placed in charge of first team affairs and, so far, it's been another disappointing season. The club spent a lot of time and money pursuing Lambert in the summer before finally getting their man from Norwich City.

Lambert's side have been disappointing (SportsMole)

However, his first transfer window at the Villa helm was a poor one - preferring to go with youth rather than signing more experienced heads and it's quickly deteriorated into a dreadful first half of the campaign with only Cristian Benteke standing out from a bunch of poor, in-experienced signings. A falling out with regular "20-goal-a-season man" Darren Bent hasn't helped their cause, they suffered defeat in the Capital One Cup to League 2 side Bradford City, and after their latest defeat in the game against fellow strugglers, Newcastle, Villa seem certain to be heading through the relegation trap door.

With no spine of the team and little experience, you struggle to see how the club can survive. And the worst part? The Championship is a very difficult league to get out of.

BENT-CH WARMER: Star striker (L) and Stephen Ireland (R) (London24)

Warren meets... Brian McDermott

On Wednesday afternoon, I had a chat with Reading manager Brian McDermott about his career as a player, coach, Chief Scout and every other job he seems to have had at the club! Anyway, here it is, I hope you enjoy it!

WL: Brian, it all began for you at Arsenal, how big a thing for you, after getting released by QPR, to come up through the ranks with the Gunners and into the first team?

BM: Yeah, it was a big thing for me. I made my debut at 17. Obviously was at QPR for a long time but never made the grade there. Then went to Millwall and had a trial there and it just didn’t happen for me there, and I was lucky enough to get taken up by Arsenal, played 70 odd games for them. It’s a fantastic club and a great experience.

TOP GUN: Brian during his Arsenal days

WL: So during your time there, who were the main players at Arsenal?

BM: Liam Brady - I made my debut with Liam Brady. There was Graham Rix, Tony Woodcock. Later time in the 80s there was Charlie Nicholas, Pat Jennings, we had some fantastic players there... Kenny Sansom was another one. We got to three cup finals and it was a really good experience and still, it’s a top club.

WL: After Arsenal, you spent a bit of time in Sweden. How did that move come about and was it a hard decision to make due to you only being in your early 20s?

BM: Yeah, it wasn’t easy to leave home at the time. I just felt I needed to have a new experience. At the time I wasn’t getting many games at the Arsenal and I just felt that I needed to go to get life experience more than anything. It went well for me in Sweden; I was Player of the Year over there in 1984 and I had a great time and I’ve got a real affinity with Sweden.

WL: You mentioned that Player of the Year, how high does that achievement rank in your career?

BM: Yeah, that’s up there. That was when I was a player and the person who was a player was 20 years ago now probably. It was such a long time ago, I can’t really remember too much about it! It was up there though, I had a great experience and I really enjoyed the people over there.

WL: You then came back to England before having a spell in Hong Kong, can you tell me a little bit about the move out there?

BM: I’d just been at Exeter, we’d won the league and I went to Yeovil. I then left Yeovil and was offered the chance to play abroad in Hong Kong. It was a completely diverse experience; I took the family out there and we had a great time out there. We spent about six months out there and again, it was another really good experience for me.

WL: You played the last of your playing career for your hometown club, Slough, however, you soon got into management; was this an aspiration of yours?

BM: Not particularly. I was at Slough for a couple of years and financially we were going under. We ended up 8^th in the league, in the Conference and managed to get to the semi-finals of the (FA) Trophy. It was a fantastic year for us but the club went under because the chairman didn’t want to finance the club anymore. I ended up at Woking and was there for 18 months before I ended up at Reading where I’ve been ever since.

WL: As mentioned, you’ve had that non-league experience, how did those tough times with the smaller clubs shape you as the man you are today?

BM: Non-league is completely different (to the Football League); you train two nights per week and you play on the Saturday, you haven’t got the training facilities and you have to do a lot of the work yourself. Everything really; you haven’t got a lot of staff, players don’t turn up on training nights sometimes. It’s a good experience and it’s part of your 10,000 hours where you’re learning!

WL: We’ll talk about Reading now, you’re time there is similar to the spell at Arsenal in starting at the bottom and working your way to the top, seemingly holding down every job at the club, but, did you ever think 13 years ago that you’d ever be manager of Reading Football Club?!

BM: Not really. I’m not someone who thinks like that; I live very much day-to-day. I’ve enjoyed every job I’ve done. I’ve done the under-17s, the under-19s, Chief Scout, I’ve been reserve team manager, so I’ve done every job at the club now and I know the club off by heart! We’ve got great supporters at our club, really good staff and I really enjoy coming into work every day.

Shane Long was unearthed by McDermott (Zimbio)

WL: You had play-off final heartbreak at the end of the 2010/2011 season (to Swansea), what did you say to the players after the match that helped them bounce back from that and reach the Premier League the following campaign?

BM: I just spoke to the players and told them just how proud I was of them for their efforts over the season. I was generally just so proud of what they’d done and was so disappointed for them. I think I was more disappointed for them than myself. We had a tough three months but we had to rebuild and go again. You have two choices; you can give up or you can thrive, get on with it and do what you have to do. We did what we had to do and last season was one of our proudest and one of the best achievements you have seen at Reading Football Club in many a year.

SINC-ING FEELING: Scott Sinclair slots away the penalty (Who Ate All The Pies)

WL: Of course, you finally achieved promotion from the Championship against Nottingham Forest, but was there ever a point in the season or a specific game (other than the Forest one) where you thought you’d do it and it would be your year?

BM: No, I just thought very much day-to-day. Never thought ahead, never looked back and I concentrated on the job in hand every day. I never thought about promotion, the only time I did was when we did go up. Even then, I was determined to win the league and that was important to the players; there were players in the dressing room that hadn’t won a medal – Ian Harte, Jason Roberts, Mikele Leigertwood, Jobi McAnuff and I wanted them to win a medal, and they did.

Reading reach the Premier League (The Sun)

WL: Brian, now you’re a Premier League manager, if there any time to relax and if so, what do you do to relieve the stresses?!

BM: There’s time to relax. I’m okay with it really. I’m a very calm person, I do the best I can, I enjoy talking about football to the players and the staff. To be honest, my relaxation is still, completely football orientated.

WL: As a Crawley supporter, I’ve got to ask, you took Hope Akpan from us last week, where can Hope get to under the guidance of you and the staff at Reading and what did you see in him to make the offer?

BM: Well probably the same of what you’ve seen in Hope! You’ve probably seen him play more times than what I have. He’s a top lad, he’s got energy, he can pass it, he can score goals. He’s hungry for it and he believes that he can do it so that’s always half the battle.

ROYAL APPOINTMENT: Hope Akpan (Reading FC Facebook)

WL: This season is about survival, but where can you see Reading as a club in three to five years time?

BM: No idea! Haven’t got a clue, and that’s why I live in the moment. Where you see yourselves, I don’t know. I can never answer that question; I have no power over the future, I’ve only got the now and I only live in the now and the moment!

WL: Finally, we’re in the middle of January now, transfer window is still open of course, are there any specific areas of the squad you want to strengthen?

BM: We maybe come up with something. We’ve signed three players so far (Hope Akpan, Daniel Carrico and Stephen Kelly) but if something comes up that interests us then we’ll look to possibly do a deal.

Many thanks to Brian for the interview.

Are QPR really too good to go down?

"They're too good to go down" - This, readers, is a quote you read/hear every season. It was said  during the season Newcastle United plummeted into Championship abyss, likewise when West Ham United suffered the same plight 2 seasons ago. This season, it's QPR's turn.

Newcastle had the likes of Jonas Gutierrez, Kevin Nolan, Jose Enrique and Michael Owen as they slipped through the trap-door. Similarly, West Ham couldn't rely on Demba Ba, Scott Parker and Mark Noble as their fate was sealed with defeat at Wigan Athletic.

HAMMERS CON-DEMB-ED: Ba couldn't save them

QPR's manager, Mark Hughes, simply had to strengthen his side that only just survived in the Premier League last season on the last day - you know the one, that boring game against Manchester City.

Looking in, it appeared as if he had some decent players coming through the door - Junior Hoilett was a highly rated winger at Blackburn Rovers who a number of clubs were looking to snare on a free transfer.

Esteban Granero also made the move from one capital city to another as the Spaniard swapped Real Madrid for a stint at Loftus Road for a fee believed to be around £9 million. A bright spark in a dismal campaign for the Rs so far.

SHINING LIGHT: Granero

Another high profile capture was the signing of Julio Cesar from Inter Milan. The goalkeeper who many believed was one of the best in the world in his position had somehow agreed to join Hughes' new revolution in west-London.

Despite the slightly better players arriving, Hughes has also added the odd shocker, splashing a reported £5 million on 31-year-old Ji-Sung Park isn't good business in my book, a player who just runs around a lot. I've never really understood that "he plays in the big games" dross that comes out of some peoples mouths. If your QPR and don't really have any "big games" then it's a pretty pointless signing.

Another was Andy Johnson. Injury prone most of the time (he's on the treatment table at the moment) who should give company to Kieran Dyer in the physio's room. Released by a mediocre Fulham side, who finished above QPR last season. Thumbs up for that one Mark.

DOWN AND OUT: Johnson (blue)

Admittedly it seems a good mixture, however, for every Esteban Granero, you also have a Shaun Derry.

I suppose one positive for the team was getting rid of British football's Mr. Controversial in Joey Barton as the midfielder headed to France to join Marseille on a season-long loan with Stephen M'Bia coming the other way.

FRENCH CONNECTION: Barton

Hughes won't have been helped by the dreaded "vote of confidence" from the club's Chairman, Tony Fernandes, nor the fact that Harry Redknapp seems to be constantly linked to the Hoops' hotseat.

The next two games arent bankers either with in-form Everton at home and Arsenal away, I fear that Hughes' time in charge could be numbered - hard to believe he was snooping on the vacant Chelsea job not so long ago.

Is time running out for Hughes?

Images courtesy of Zimbio, Atomic Soda and The Sun.

Warren meets... Kevin Davies

As you may know, last night (Tuesday) saw Bolton Wanderers come to Crawley for their Capital One Cup tie.

Anyway, you should know the drill by now, I never miss an opportunity to hassle someone and unfortunately for him, Kevin Davies was that man!

WL: Kevin, you started your long footballing career way back at Sheffield United, your boyhood club. You were released at 15, how hard was that decision to take?

KD: It was at the time yeah. It was a club I supported and a club I was at for a few years. Looking back now it was a blessing in disguise really to be honest because 6 months later I joined Chesterfield and it went from there. At the time it was difficult but it wasn't taken too hard and with my family behind me, pushing me on, I never looked back really.

WL: Was it pleasing to move there, even though you dropped down the leagues, with it still being fairly local to you?

KD: Yeah, like you say, they sort of snapped me up from the Sheffield boys side. There's was a lot of players that signed for some top teams before me and I was one of the, if not the last to sign. However, not many of them have gone on to do what was expected of them and haven't really had the career that I've had. I just decided to keep going and managed to get a good opportunity at Chesterfield and I just took it really.

Davies (blue) tussles against Middlesbrough for Chesterfield

WL: You did well at Saltergate and after 4 years at Chesterfield you headed south and joined Southampton. Was it difficult to relocate away from the family because you were still fairly young at the time?

KD: No, not at all really. As you say, I was young at the time at around twenty years old I think and I made some good friends down there and settled in really well. It's a lovely part of the world down there. I sort of had a good half-season there and picked up and injury. It didn't really pan out the way I wanted it to and I moved to Blackburn that Summer. I ended up moving back and I've got to be honest, I really enjoyed my time down there, I've still got a good number of friends down there and fond memories.

WL:You mentioned you've been there (Southampton) twice and even though you're at Bolton now is it still a club close to your heart?

KD: Yeah, definitely, like I say, I made plenty of friends down there and really enjoyed my time. We played some good football in my three and a half years there, had a good lifestyle and played with a great squad of players as well - There were really some fantastic players in that team.

KD celebrates a goal for Southampton

WL: Bolton ended up signing you on a free - A transfer that many believe was probably one of the best free transfers in English football.

KD: Yeah, for whatever reason it didn't work out in the end at Southampton. The new manager - Gordon Strachan came in and I didn't quite fit in. My face didn't fit for one reason or another which was a shame. At the time I was around my mid-twenties and I went out on loan to Millwall to get a few games and to get a bit of experience. I knew that there was a very slim chance I'd get a new contract there with Gordon Strachan so went to Millwall and got some games. I went to Bolton for a trial sort of thing that Summer, did okay and it really just went from there.

MISTAKE: Strachan allowed Kevin to leave

WL: Your international career now. You've made just the solitary appearance for England in 2010, do you still harbour hopes of maybe making a few more?

KD: No, no, I don't think it's going to happen again. I worked extremely hard to get there and had been on the fringes of the squad a few times, certainly since I've been at Bolton. I greatly enjoyed the experience overall and it was a great honour to pull on the shirt and get out there. I had a few close calls and a few heartaches and I was disappointed not to maybe make a few more but that's just football for you.

INTERNATIONAL: Davies on England duty

WL: Finally, a disappointing season with Bolton last season. This campaign I presume you're looking to take the club straight back up?

KD: Yes. We've had a steady start but we've got a good and we're looking to bounce back straight away. That's the plan.

Many thanks to Kevin for taking the time out to speak to me.

Also, thanks to Jennie Kozlowski and her Bolton Wanderers media team for helping to ort the interview out - Good luck for the season.

Some photos courtesy of The Guardian , The Sun and the Daily Mail.

Meet The Manager: Gus Poyet

With the Brighton manager being a bit of a Premier League legend, I decided it was only right to have a chat with the big man about his career in the game after the Crawley v Brighton draw... ladies and gents, Gus Poyet!

WL: Gus, thanks for joining me! Growing up, was being a footballer always the plan for you?

GP: Well, Uruguay, my country, it's all about football to be honest! The other big sport it Basketball but as a kid, all you want to do is to play football. In those times, we were able to play football in the streets which is something that you really can no longer do these days! So, yeah, I was going to school and playing football most of the day!

WL: All that football paid off as your career really kicked off at Real Zaragoza. How was the La Liga experience?

GP: It was important to me because any South American wants to play in Europe. I had seven years in a very decent team and we won quite a few trophies. My time at Zaragoza gave me the chance to come to England.

IN SITU: I chat to Gus

WL: Yeah, and at Zara, you won both the Copa del Rey and The Cup Winners Cup, a great achievement for one of the so called "smaller clubs"?

GP: Yes. Especially the Cup Winners Cup. I think the Copa del Rey, it was, for the club, a "you've got a chance to win it" competition. The Cup Winners Cup was unique - It was not expected, the celebrations were magnificent and it was very, very nice to be a part of it!

WL: After seven years in Spain, you moved to Chelsea. Was playing in England always something you wanted to do?

GP: Not really, no! It was a surprise to me that Chelsea were interested! I was a free and for me, it was a big decision because I was 29 with two kids. I had to start again from zero, learn a new language. It was a tough decision to make the move but as you can imagine, it was the right decision!

Gus during his Chelsea days

WL: And at Stamford Bridge, you continued the fine cup success in your career by winning both the FA Cup and the Super Cup, where do these rank in your career highlights?

GP: The FA Cup, for me, was unique. It was a special place and we (Chelsea) were lucky enough to be the last winners at the old Wembley Stadium. It was fantastic for us and a great experience. We had a fantastic team and every year, we seemed to be winning trophies which brings people together.

WL: Four years after joining Chelsea, you moved to Spurs, was it a tough decision to leave the Blues?

GP: Well, I had a bit of an issue with (Claudio) Ranieri. He was not the type of manager that I would have done well with and I had to make that decision in terms of keeping myself playing in the game. I made a very good friend there in (Mauricio) Taricco, who's now my assistant at Brighton and I made the decision to move. At the time, I thought it was a normal move and then I realised there was a big rivalry between the two clubs! I wasn't trying to upset people at Chelsea and there was never a time when I was trying to go up against them - It was just a career decision.

Gus celebrates scoring another goal from midfield!

WL: You've gained a reputation as a goalscoring midfielder, what was the secret to coming in and banging in those goals from your position?

GP: Timing! Timing and the ability to be a player who was always concentrating on the game for 90...95 minutes. Always concentrating on the game, always reading the game and always paying attention for the whole game.

WL: Onto your international career now and with Uruguay, you won the Copa America, beating the likes of Brazil and Argentina, that must have been a pleasing moment!?

GP: (Intense grinning!)Yes! ... I didn't really play a lot for Uruguay. I had the chance to play in the Copa America for your country and, as you can imagine, to make your whole country so happy, it's really special. For me, it was probably one of the best... no, the best achievements that I made during my career.

Gus (L) in Uruguay colours

WL: And you soon went into coaching, joining up with your old friend Dennis Wise as an assistant at both Swindon and Leeds, did that whet your appetite to go into management?

GP: Well, I learned a lot from my time (as assistant). I saw everything from the reaction of the players from the inside. After that, slowly, slowly, going through Juande Ramos at Spurs, then I decided to become a manager. I thought it would be a great experience to become a manager after that.

WISE GUYS: Gus (R) knew Dennis (L) from Chelsea

WL: So your grateful to Brighton for giving you that chance?

GP: Yeah... well, yeah, it was a big risk for them to be honest. But at the end of the day, it worked out very well for the Chairman as well! I'm pleased I made the decision to drop down as well because I wanted my chance to manage in the Championship but I couldn't get a job and I had to make the decision to drop down to League 1... In the end, it worked out fine!

WL: Of course, two seasons ago, you won promotion to the Championship with Brighton and with it, moved into a plush new stadium to boot... the perfect season in your view?

GP: Yeah it was. It was perfection. We needed to get out (of League 1) and it was a dream to win the league. The way we did it as well, was something very special too!

WL: Off the pitch, you've got your son Diego, have you made any moves to try and bring him to the Amex?!

GP: No, no, no! No chance. It would be difficult for me to manage him! What we will do is to make sure that we leave him in there (Charlton Athletic's Academy) and wait and see what happens!

WL: He currently plays for England under 16s, would you like to see him pull on the sky blue of Uruguay?

GP: I have no preference. It's Diego's choice, it's his decision and it's not an issue.

WL: Finally, you're at Brighton at the moment, is the aim the Premier League and would you like to manage Uruguay some time in the future?

GP: Yeah (on Uruguay). It's a long time off yet though. I need to get to the top first. You cannot go from a Division 1 team and then go straight into a national job. I'll need to get to the top and then, probably, you will be given the chance!

WL: Muchos Gracias Gustavo!

GP: De nada!

Me and Gus

Many thanks to Gus for speaking to me!

Gunners No Longer Have To Rely On Robin

It's fair to say that last season was a campaign to remember for Arsenal and Holland striker Robin van Persie.

The frontman found the net a remarkable 37 times in all competitions for his club, many of his goals being match winners which propelled the Gunners into the Champions League places after an atrocious start to a season which included an 8-2 defeat away at Manchester United.

van Persie has been in the form of his career

Manager, Arsene Wenger will be looking to tie down his talismatic forward to a long term deal; the likes of Juventus and Manchester City are reported to be interested in the player who has just 1 year left on his current contract.

Wenger, renowned for buying unknown players or not spending much money on players has brought in reinforcements as the north London side look at a possible assault on the Premier League after over 7 years without a trophy.

German star Lukas Podolski has joined from Cologne along with highly rated France international hitman Olivier Giroud  from Ligue 1 Champions Montpellier - Wenger seems to be finally using money from the sales of Cesc Fabregas (below, left) and Samir Nasri (below, right) last Summer to add reinforcements to his Arsenal ranks.



Podolski is an attacker that can play on the left or just behind the striker(s) and has got a goal or two in him as England found out in the Fifa World Cup 2010 in South Africa as Podolski scored the second goal in the 4-1 thumping at the last 16 stage.

THINGS LUK-ING UP: Podolski joined Gunners

For Giroud, it was only four years ago that his career really took off; a 1:2 goal ratio for Ligue 2 side Tours alerted the attention of clubs before Montpellier snapped him up for a mere £1.8m.  It proved to be a worthy investment for the French club as two years and one French League title later, they cashed in on the player that finished Ligue 1's top scorer with 21 goals,  a £12m deal was struck between the two sides.

Will Giroud be up front with or without van Persie?

With the likes of Gervinho, Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain also staking their claim for a place in the Arsenal attack, Wenger finally has options up top.

Gone are the glory days of "The Invincibles"; Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, Freddie Ljungberg, Robert Pires and Co have all moved on but possibly, the next bunch could be just around the corner?!

ALL SMILES: Wenger could re-live the success

Maybe that seven year trophy drought will be over soon...

Until next week...

Foolish Fulham Could Suffer Relegation Heartache

Fulham have been an established Premier League side now for a number of years.

Like every club, they have had sticky situations with the likes of then stars such as Louis Saha, Luis Boa Morte and Steed Malbranque all departing for pastures new at different times but this coming season does look bleak for them in my opinion; for me, boss Martin Jol has released too much quality at one time.

Last week, the west-Londoners let go a couple of high profile names which raised a few eyebrows, most notably the likes of captain Danny Murphy, Russian striker Pavel Pogrebnyak and former England International forward Andy Johnson. Although the club are still in talks with Murphy and Pogrebnyak, there are no guarantees they will stay.

Johnson (L) and Pogrebnyak (R) are available

Add to this the high chance of other "names" such as Moussa Dembele and the talismatic Clint Dempsey being snapped up by the so called "bigger" clubs and you fear for them.

Murphy was a consistent performer for the whites over his five year stint at Craven Cottage, Johnson, if fit would always be able to get a goal and Pogrebnyak, who only joined in January this year had a 1:2 goal ratio with 6 goals in 12 games.

KISSING GOODBYE?: Murphy is still in talks

I fear for Fulham; you have to look at where the goals will come from. Obviously, on his day Bryan Ruiz comes up with quality however, with just two goals in his debut season in just under thirty games it shows that his day doesn't come very often, also, he currently has a broken foot so he may be slightly injury plagued on his return to action.

Obviously there will be a bit of money for Jol to spend, money that could be increased from the possible departures of Dempsey and/or Dembele but you wonder whether they can get the same or better quality players through the Craven Cottage doors.

Dempsey and Dembele (below) could leave

Added to the fact that the promoted clubs (Southampton, Reading and West Ham) will also be splashing some cash and you wonder whether it will be a long season for them.

People will say Wigan will be going down but that seems to have been said for the last 200 years and they will always seem to survive, somehow!

For me, Fulham face a season of struggle.

Enjoy the beginning of the Euros.

Until next week...

The Drog's Final Farewell

It's been a remarkable last eight years in west London for Chelsea forward Didier Drogba; countless trophies later and it looks as if his career at Stamford Bridge has come to an end.

The striker joined from Marseille in 2004 for a fee of around £24million, a high figure for someone who had only joined the French club a year previously for a mere £3.3million.

Drogba at Marseille

It took the Ivorian a while to get going. Many were admiring his talents at acting rather than his goals.

His first two seasons saw him bag 16 goals in both campaigns; including a special goal against Liverpool in the 2006/2007 season - Drogba chesting down a cross before swivelling and rifling a ferocious shot, left footed past 'keeper Pepe Reina.

It's fair to say that the 2009/2010 season was his best; netting an impressive 37 goals in 44 games (all competitions).

The last two seasons for Drogba haven;t been as great with just 13 a piece however, he has showed his value over the years by grabbing important goals, notably in Cup Finals; Drogba himself became the first player to score in four different FA Cup Finals after scoring in the 2012 show-piece against Liverpool.

Of course, it wasn't just the FA Cup where his came alive - In the League Cup he totalled 9 in 15, European competitions has seen Drogba find the net 34 times, making him number one goalscorer for Chelsea in Europe.

We all watched the final, we all know what happened and we know Bayern dominated the majority of the match.  I did have a feeling it would be Chelsea's night - There were so many similarities to the Barcelona semi final n the Nou Camp it was unreal; Drogba giving the penalties away in both games, both number 10s (Messi and Robben) missing the penalties, Chelsea under the cosh for long periods, getting a goal from a rare foray up field.

It was fitting that his final touch of a football in a Chelsea shirt was slotting in the winning penalty against Bayern Munich in the Final of the Champions League?  Banishing the memory of the 2008 Final defeat where Drogba was sent off - He would have been the man to take the fifth penalty that day, instead, John Terry took it and we all know what happened.

Terry slips and hands United the trophy

I'm not a fan of Chelsea, admittedly I wanted the English team to win on Saturday, but I was happy for Drogba to sign off his Blues career in a way that he will always be remembered for - Of course, he will always be remembered as a Chelsea great but to see him, especially put the penalty away was a good sight to see and, of course, as an Englishman, there isn't a much better sight in football than seeing the German's crying after a penalty shoot out defeat is there?!.

YOU SCHWEIN: Bastian's tears

Who will fill the boots of "The Drog" now? Can Torres step up to the plate? Will they bring in someone such as Radamel Falcao from Athletico Madrid? Hulk from Porto? Edinson Cavani from Napoli?

DROGBA: Got there in the end

Where next for the Drog?  Will he join former strike partner Nicolas Anelka in Shanghai? Whatever happens in the future, Drogba will always be forever a Chelsea legend.

Oh, and before I leave you, Drogba's statistics during his time at Stamford Bridge:

341 appearances
157 goals
3 Premier Leagues
4 FA Cups
2 Carling Cups
1 Champions League

Not a bad record I suppose!

Until next week....