HAZARD BACKS CHELSEA

Manchester City has to face Chelsea in an away Premier League game this weekend and they might have to go into such a vital game without their skipper Vincent Kompany.

Kompany has not completely recovered from his groin injury because of which he has been out of action since the last 20 days or so. However, his fitness is still being assessed and it hasn’t been officially announced that he would not be playing in that Chelsea game.


COLE RULED OUT

Ashley Cole might not be able to feature for England in their upcoming two World Cup qualifiers against Montenegro and Poland respectively as he discovered a rib injury while playing for his club Chelsea in the match against Norwich City yesterday.


Ashley Cole

Ashley Cole is an English professional football player who currently plays for London club Chelsea and is also the regular left back for the England national team.

According to many football writers, critics, fans as well as his fellow professionals, Cole is seen as one of the best left backs of his generation and is seen as an able protégé for the Brazilian legend Roberto Carlos who made the term ‘marauding wing back’ a reality in modern football.


CECH BACKS MOURINHO

Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech is regarded as one of the best in the Premier league, and he is right up there when it comes to the best in the world as well. He was one of the first signings made by Chelsea manager José Mourinho when he took charge of the club in his first spell.


The popularity of the Premier League

Back in the 1980s few people would have predicted that football would not just remain one of the most popular leisure activities into the digital era, but would actually grow in popularity throughout this time.

Back then the game was bedevilled with problems, with violence between fans and disasters such as Heysel and Hillsborough, which meant that the game had a pretty low reputation and crowds at the matches appeared to be irrevocably in decline. So how has football recovered to the extent that it is now one of the biggest entertainment industries in the world?


COLE RULED OUT

Ashley Cole will not be able to play for Chelsea for the next couple of weeks because of a hamstring injury that he discovered while playing in the FA Cup quarter final match against Manchester United which was played on Monday at Stamford Bridge.


Brentford vs Chelsea Preview

Sunday’s game at Griffin Park sees League One promotion hopefuls Brentford host London rivals Chelsea in their FA Cup Fourth Round tie.

The two sides haven’t met in 66 years, with Brentford winning four and losing five of their previous ten meetings.

Uwe Rosler’s side currently sit third in the third tier, six points behind leaders Tranmere Rovers, who are the only side to have beaten them in their last eleven games, though they needed replays to get through the last two rounds against Bradford City, then Southend United.


BENAYOUN RETURNS

The Israeli midfielder Yossi Benayoun will be joining Chelsea once his loan spell with West Ham comes to an end next week according to the West Ham manager Sam Allardyce.


NEW CONTRACT

The former Chelsea striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has said that the European champions Chelsea should waste no time in offering a new contract for the start defender Ashley Cole, who has only a few months left on his current deal.

It is thought that the club are not willing to offer more than a one-year extension to the 31-year-old. The club has a policy of not offering more than a year contract for players over the age of 30. Due to the fact that Ashley Cole falls within this bracket, they have decided not to change the policy for the former Arsenal left back.


DI MATTEO BACKS COLE

The Chelsea manager Roberto di Matteo has once again said that he wants the defender Ashley Cole to stay at the club beyond this season. The 31-year-old England international has been linked with a move away from Chelsea consistently in the last few weeks especially given that his contract only has just over six months to run.


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