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With the World Cup over the media is resuming normal service when it comes to transfer rumors and filling their pages with enough hot air to power a country.

The settled squad of Manchester City means the betting offers from Moplay are mostly focused around the comings and goings at Chelsea and Manchester United.

On Merseyside, Liverpool seem to have done most of their business straight out of the gate having already nailed down a concussion-free goalkeeper, whereas their Goodison Park neighbours seem ready to go mad.

With Jose Mourinho as manager Manchester United were always likely to be the target of extensive gossip for comings and goings. Over his tenure at Old Trafford Mourinho has continued to abuse, whinge and complain about a number of different players so we are likely to see his favoured targets fly out the door and him to try and demand high-quality replacements.

Recent rumours have seen Manchester United linked to Willian, however, Chelsea fans would rather punch themselves in the eye than gift Mourinho any more players from his second stint at the club. He has already taken Matic and we would be stupid to let him take another star of that team.

The only way this might work is if Anthony Martial was to move in the other direction as some are suggesting the club want.

Rumours on the future of Willian do continue though, it is thought that Barcelona have made him a top target following the World Cup making a bid of £65m, this is tempting until you realise that Everton are about to pay £50m for Richarlison from Watford and suddenly he seems wildly underpriced.

The potential sale of players does seem to be more of the focus of Stamford Bridge in recent weeks with Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois both keeping the club guessing as to their commitment to staying at the club.

Whilst it would be a shame to lose either, Courtois needs to either sign a contract or sod off and Hazard can attract a high valuation after a successful World Cup. I would be sad to see him leave but he has more than earned the right to determine his own destiny after a successful few years at the club.

As for targets to bring into the club, it seems that Sarri is trying to bring the entire Napoli team with him. Jorginho has already arrived but rumours persist that Napoli have laid down the law to Chelsea’s board that they will not be able to cherry pick the best and brightest of Sarri’s former club.

With only two weeks of the window left Chelsea will need to act fast if they are to improve on last seasons 5th place finish.

The club has not covered itself in glory in the latest changing of the managerial guard, however, the arrival of Gianfranco Zola brings a smile to the face of Chelsea fans.

The departure of Antonio Conte was as inevitable as a MoPlay Bonus Code but the situation became farcical when the club left a title and FA Cup winning manager hanging on through the entire summer.

Conte even took charge of some early pre-season training sessions despite the open secret that Maurizo Sarri was being lined up to replace him.

Eventually, Conte was sacked and Sarri was installed and Chelsea fans were generally lukewarm to his arrival and not sure quite how to take the next step of the Chelsea managerial rollercoaster.

Club Legend Zola Returns

One thing that has energised fans is the return of Gianfranco Zola as assistant manager, as a player, he was idolised as one of the most gifted players to wear Blue.

Already we have seen that Zola has not lost his touch, being filmed performing the rabona during a practical training session.

His status to Chelsea fans is beyond reproach, he has been voted the club’s greatest ever player in 2003.

After joining in 1996 he spent 7 years lighting up the Premier League winning player of the year 1996/1997 despite only playing half a season. He is the most technically gifted players of the game, let alone players to have played for Chelsea and he was idolised by Chelsea fans.

Although not a guaranteed starter for his entire Chelsea career he made more than 300 appearances for Chelsea, scoring 80 goals.

Sadly, he left without a proper goodbye in the dying days of the Ken Bates era and despite the offer of a contract extension by Roman Abramovich honoured his word to return to Caligari.

He spent three years at Caligari before retiring

Zola The Manager

Post-retirement Zola went into management, however, as a manager, he did not quite hit the same levels with spells at Watford and Birmingham.

A good number two does not have to be a great manager but he does need to be respected by the players. Great Chelsea no.2’s such as Steve Clarke and Ray Wilkins failed at management but were recognised as key parts of Chelsea’s success in the back-room.

Something that someone as talented and respected in football as Zola undoubtedly will be.

We look forward to welcoming him back and reminding him just how loved he is by Chelsea fans for his role in a transformational time in the club’s history.

 

Michy Batshuayi World Cup celebration in the England v Belgium game almost knocked him out cold. The sheer hilarity highlights that outside of his contribution to the game he cannot help but be hilarious.

For months he has been one of the more genuine and entertaining players on social media and he did not disappoint after my personal highlight of the World Cup.

I think its worth giving him another season at Chelsea just for this alone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T49d_y8z3h0

 

 

 

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There will be 14 Chelsea World Cup players on the plane to Russia for their respective national team squads, find out who made it and who is staying at home.

If you are thinking of having a bet world cup then you might be better off following the fortunes of Antonio Rudiger, Eden Hazard or Willian than Denmark’s Andreas Christensen.

The award for best dressed Chelsea players on the plane to Russia will probably go to Victor Moses and Kenneth Omeruo.

The Nigerian kit is something that really has to be admired for its boldness. Apparently, the kits are selling out rapidly outside of Nigeria having caught the imagination of the entire world.

Back to the football, it was great during the warm up to see Moses teaching Harry Kane a lesson with a quick turn that left the Spurs striker poleaxed.

This was also a game that saw Gary Cahill on the scoresheet, a moment that clearly meant a lot to Cahill given his up and down season that nearly cost him his place in the England squad.

Hopefully, his experience will see him selected for England and help the Three Lions avoid the embarrassment of the European Championships. The other Chelsea player in the England squad is Ruben Loftus-Cheek who had an impressive season out on loan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93YF9VtcDrM

There will be high hopes for Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois and the talent-filled Belgium squad who will be hoping that their golden generation will finally come good in a major tournament.

Chelsea’s player of the season will also be at the World Cup with N’Golo Kante giving the French team a solidity that could lead to them being a surprise package during the tournament.

He will be joined in the French squad by Chelsea new boy Oliver Giroud, who after a slow start found a bit of form for Chelsea both starting and coming from the bench.

A bit part player for Chelsea Willy Callabero will also be in Russia, an injury to Manchester United’s Sergio Romero means that he could actually be Argentina’s number one goalkeeper for the tournament.

Chelsea’s sole Spanish representative will be Cesar Azpilicueta who had a solid season despite our troubles.

Chelsea World Cup Absentees

A poor season means that a number of established Chelsea first-team players will miss out on the World Cup. Notably, Alvaro Morata, Marcus Alonso, and Cesc Fabregas have been snubbed by Spain.

This is surprising for Fabregas as he has been talismanic to the Spanish team for a number of years and would have brought some talent to the squad even if not given a starting berth.

The England players to miss out were new signings Danny Drinkwater and Ross Barkley. Both barely featured for Chelsea during the season and would not have high hopes of getting a call from Gareth Southgate.

Another unsurprising omission was Tiemoue Bakayoko who had an underwhelming season and was overlooked by France.

Finally, David Luiz will not be representing Brazil as his injuries and lack of game time have seen him fall out of contention.

Chelsea World Cup Players On The Plane To Russia

Argentina – Wily Callabero

Belgium – Eden Hazard, Thibaut Courtois, Michy Batshayui

Brazil – Willian

Denmark – Andreas Christensen

England – Gary Cahill and Ruben Loftus Cheek

France – Oliver Giroud, N’Golo Kante

Germany – Antonio Rudiger

Nigeria – Kenneth Omerou, Victor Moses

Spain – Cesar Azpilicueta

After Southampton defeated Swansea there is now only one relegation place yet to be decided and Chelsea could play a big role in who faces the drop at the end of the campaign.

Tonight Chelsea play Huddersfield in a game that we need to win but Huddersfield only need to draw.

This is because they are 3 points ahead of Swansea who sit in the final relegation place and have only one game left to play. If Huddersfield can get a point against Chelsea or Arsenal in their final games then they will book their place in the Premier League for another season.

If they lose both games (which is the most likely outcome) then the door is open for Swansea who are at home against Stoke on the final day. There is no scenario where goal difference comes into play as Huddersfield already trail on this and it would worsen automatically should they lose both games.

How Will This Affect Tonight

It will be interesting to see if Huddersfield come out of their shell and try and get something to defend or whether they are on the back foot the whole time.

Most teams in the bottom half of the table come to Stamford Bridge looking to waste time and delay things, I think this will be the case even more so tonight. Expect plenty of goal kicks that take forever and the ball to be out of play ALOT.

I won’t blame Huddersfield though, they are scrapping for their lives and if they were not playing us I’d be rooting for them. One of my childhood friends was a Huddersfield fan when they were in League One so it would be great if they could stay up this season as I have a soft spot for them.

Tonight though I am hoping they get hammered!

Although beating Liverpool has gotten some fans and pundits excited about the prospect of Chelsea finding a way of sneaking into the top four, it is not very likely.

It does, however, remind us that it is the hope that kills us.

I had got my head around not playing in the Champions League and then Antonio Conte with an assist from Liverpool and Tottenham’s tepid form reels us back in.

The victory over Liverpool was particularly enjoyable and nerve-wracking at the same time, it is great to beat the pundits’ favourites this season and apply pressure.

The nerves are back and its a little bit cruel as our hopes are quite slim. We need to win our last two games and HOPE Liverpool or Tottenham to lose relatively easy games to qualify.

I simply do not see that happening.

Do We Deserve The Top Four

We have not been the most exciting team this season, at times it has looked like the team has forgotten how to shoot or form a meaningful attack from tons of possession. However, Conte has ground out enough results that a miracle could still happen.

This season we have been poor, a high level of quality across the pitch has not been delivered consistently throughout the campaign with results against Watford, Bournemouth and West Ham, in particular, haunting us.

A lack of attacking talent is one of the reasons we need a mulligan to qualify, both Tottenham and Liverpool have better goal differences, which means they are technically an extra point ahead of us in the race to qualify

It would be great if we were somehow able to pull a rabbit out of the hat, but we are trying to keep our expectations to Thursday night football rather than dreaming too much of anything bigger.