Possible?

Fixtures’ analysis

Most of us know how very important fixtures play in any team’s preparations. A Wednesday fan couldn’t possibly hope for anything better than 90 minutes of admiration for the other team if it is Chelsea or any other big club.

The Premier League fixtures are out, and here’s my bit on whether they can help us win the title back this season.

Pre season : I’ll start off with the pre season visit to Ibrox where Chelsea take on Rangers in a friendly on the 6^th of August followed by the mid week International Friendlies. Too much travelling before the season actually kicks off? A home match would’ve been better I reckon.

August-Sept : 6 matches. Stoke away(Opening day fixture) and United away(18^th Sept) are the main concerns. The other fixtures are quite straightforward where we play West Brom, Norwich, Sunderland and Swansea. Even if we win 5, we’re in the driving seat.

What I think : 5 wins out of 6 is a must if we are to have a real shot at the title.

Oct-Nov : Chelsea have been struggling particularly in November since the past few seasons, and I think the trend is bound to be broken as we face Rovers, Pool and Wolves. Meanwhile, October will be tricky as we face Bolton, Everton, Arsenal and QPR.

What I think : Wins against Bolton and Everton will put us in the driving seat, and wins against Pool and Arsenal would be the icing on the cake. An occasional hiccup won’t hurt us too much if we take care of the Bolton and Everton games.

December : The deciding month? Most ‘pundits’ say that this month decides the course ahead. We play Magpies(A), City(H), Wigan(A), Spurs(A), Fulham(H) and Villa(H). Needless to say, Chelsea are in with a tough round of fixtures during the period, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we drop points.

What I think : Unfortunately, I don’t see us gaining a lot of points from these round of fixtures. Tough month.

Jan-Feb : We’d relish playing the likes of Wolves, Sunderland, Norwich and Swansea in January. Just 3 fixtures in Feb, but they’re tricky again as we face United, Bolton and Everton.

What I think : The Chelsea-United fixture at Stamford Bridge will be very important, a 6 pointer possibly?

March : 5 games. If we’re having a normal season, we’ll beat the likes of West Brom, Stoke and Villa in March. City(A) and Spurs(H) look threatening.

April : Business end of the season. It will bring some smiles as the fixtures read Wigan(H), Fulham(A), Newcastle(H), Arsenal(A) and QPR(H).  

What I think : Not as difficult as it looks. Newcastle looks tricky but we know how badly they struggle as the season reaches its climax. Same applies to Arsenal.

May : Pool(A) and Rovers(H) to conclude the season. The trip to Anfield will be very very crucial, a deja vu to the double winning season.

Conclusion : Can we do it? The first 6 fixtures are vital. We MUST win those games as December is very very fiddly. We cannot afford to slip up in January or February. And lastly, not dropping points at Craven Cottage and Emirates in April will be the key.

-        Abhishek Easwaran

Harsh?

Well, AVB is here and everyone’s forgotten about the sacking of Carlo Ancelotti.

Carlo, as we all know, was sacked after a trophy-less season with Chelsea. This was succeeded right after he became the 1^st Chelsea manager in our 106 year history to win the double. Seemingly ‘Unstoppable’ Chelsea were torn apart by smaller teams last season, and eventually, Chelsea ended the season without a trophy. King Carlo wasn’t ‘more than special’ anymore. And in due course, Carlo was sacked.

Was his sacking harsh?

On one hand, one may find the sacking of a ‘double winning’ manager after a single trophy-less season unjust.

We all know Carlo’s reluctance at trying out our youngsters. One such instance was when Carlo played Paulo Ferreira at Centre Back instead of Bruma in the 3-0 home loss to Sunderland. It back fired. Likewise, there were many other instances where he could’ve put more faith in our youngsters.

Also, let us not forget that he spent close to 100 million pounds in his 2 seasons here. A manager who has spent that much money and couldn’t deliver a single trophy probably deserved the pink slip.

While on the other hand, a manager who

‘#wonthedouble’;

lost Wilko mid way;

wasn’t given the appropriate replacements for Ballack, Carvalho, Belletti, Deco among others;

was forced to play his 50 million signing who never adjusted well;

probably deserved another chance.

Was the sacking harsh?

An owner who’s spent HUGE amount of money has every right to demand trophies. Carlo failed.

You don’t get a 2^nd chance when there’s 100 million involved. Carlo learnt the fact in an unkind way.  

Joker.

After seeing 'The Dark Knight' for the trillionth time, I'm still intrigued by the character of the 'Joker'.

I was left wondering : Do we really have people who love to see the world burn? And the affirmation came from a Norwegian psychopath who ruthlessly murdered 90 odd people.

What do they get by committing such heinous crimes? I will never know.  

Date with Destiny?

Last two chances for the great man to score his maiden hundred at Lords, and his 100th hundred overall. 
Destiny? Who knows! Not only India, but England would equally want Sachin to reach this milestone at the Mecca of Cricket. 

Chelsea FC.

I think I was in 5th grade then. I was a big Midtown Madness 2 fan. 

I wanted to know more about Football in general. There was only one name on everyone's mouth then : Manchester United. I decided not to support them as everyone supported them. I had to choose a different club. 

Meanwhile, while driving a double decker bus across London, (breaking all the rules, destroying street lights etc), I noticed a name written Chelsea on the bus. 

Now, the next morning I read a headline which read, "Chelsea 1-0 Charlton."
And thus began my love affair with Chelsea FC. 8 years on, I haven't regretted a single moment.

Took me a further two years to get to know that a club had a 'manager', an 'owner' etc. By the time I realized it, Chelsea FC had won the league under the Abramovich era, and I was regarded as one of the 'glory hunters'.










You don't 'decide' which club to support, you just support.

Don't think twice...

Indians...Saving Concept...Save for retirement...Save for retirement...Save for retirement...Save for retirement...Don't enjoy life...Retire...Save for Children (who generally are well settled)...Save for Children...Die.


Like it or hate it, it is a fact. We Indians think too much and are too miserly when it comes to spending money. An Indian, hungry and looking tempted would generally say,"If I can get the same Samosa at 10 Rupees outside, why should I pay 40 bucks to have it here? I'll wait for another 3 hours till the movie finishes and buy it outside."


Seriously? Is 3o bucks going to spend that big a hole in your pocket? Ask me and I'd rather spend the extra 30 bucks and enjoy it thoroughly than not spend the money and not enjoy.

I've been criticized by most buddies of over spending. Hell they don't realize the joy in enjoying the right things at the right time even if its comes at a slight extra cost. The inner conscience just laughs at them and says, "Screw them, they'll never get it. They don't realize what they're missing out on."

Spare a thought.

They've risked their lives each time an attack took place in Mumbai. They're under paid, over worked, and are still treated with utter disrespect by the people. Policemen of Mumbai. 

Spare a thought for them too. They are doing what they can. November 2008 was a wake up call for all of us. It shook the nation.

And while we are blaming their incompetency, they have been working their asses off to make sure we sleep peacefully at night. People working late night know very well about the Naka Bandis and the Patrolling. Mumbai has become much safer at night. Very few of us realize how they kept the city terror free during the World Cup and IPL when each Terror outfit threatened to carry out blasts. 

One more thing is that we compare our city with other World Metros and complain. The difference? They don't have a population density of 22,000, luckily. It is impossible to frisk everyone and to ensure everyone's safety considering that we're living in the vicinity of the 2 most troubled nations in Asia. 

Blaming the Police? Think again. I laud them for the efforts they've put in.