The club was a lock for relegation already but have assured their fate by entering Administration today, the first Premier League Club to do so. They were given an extension to find new ownership and funding but could secure neither by today's deadline. Fortunately, the south-coast club - which stood the risk of being completely shuttered by the High Court - will be allowed to continue. They will suffer a deduction of 9 points and the club's financial records will be investigated to decide how to move forward. As of today Portsmouth are 70 million in debt.

What do you think this will mean for the club? Just two years removed from an FA Cup title, are they set to fall down through the ranks of English football or are they marketable enough to turn it all around? Will a precedent be set that could affect some of the Big Four clubs racked with larger amounts of debt? What do you think?

Also, what will this mean for the look of the league next season? Will Jamie O'Hara find a spot at Tottenham or be shipped some place else? How about the futures of promising players like Kevin-Prince Boateng, Nadir Belhadj and Federic Piquionne? See any good fits for them?

        

                                                               

• If you miss Special 1 TV (I'm On Setanta Sports) as much as I do then, no doubt, you're disappointed not to hear what Mario Rosenstock would have in store for Jose and the gang on the eve (and throughout) Chelsea's Champions League clash with Inter Milan. The real Special One has been a hit in Italy in more ways than one: touchline bans for poor behavior, maintaining Inter's strangle hold on the Scudetto, winning matches with only nine men. Chelsea has had few problems handling Italian competition in recent years but Mourinho's presence certainly changes the landscape of the tie. So long as the Blues can keep it honest in Italy and protect the Bridge in two weeks, their quality should once again carry them through to the next knockout stage.

• I want so badly to be able to look at Ashley Cole and respect him, truly I do. But at this point it's safe to say that the guy just doesn't get it. Cole is facing the possibility of team punishment for "hurting the image of the club" by once again allegedly cheating on his mega-hot wife Cheryl Cole. In light of the infidelity streak within the club, Carlo Ancelotti has instituted tighter rules pertaining to how his players act off the field and Ashley may be the first to receive said punishment. Not that it really matter since A) he has all the money in the world and he won't play for the rest of the season anyway with his broken ankle. I guess I now have the option of posting a picture of Ashley or Cheryl. Hmmmm, what should I do?

                                                     

• The jury is still out on whether or not Chelsea have their set piece defending back in form or not. A player who as been largely responsible for many of these needless goals against is Petr Cech. But it's hard to blast the guy after he plays like did against Wolves on Saturday. Cech made three fantastic saves en route to an away clean sheet and three opportunistic points in the wake of Everton's 3-1 defeat of United earlier that day. I hope this is a new found sign of confidence for a player who has seemingly lacked it in any consistent manner for arguable the last year and a half.

Written by Nick Degel, The Official Chelsea Blogger of the Goalmouth Scramble

        

Chelsea's line-up for their FA clash with Cardiff City sports many changes from Wednesday's debacle at Goodison. Nicolas Anelka and Florent Malouda will give way for Joe Cole and Daniel Sturridge while Paulo Ferreira will give Branislav Ivanovic a rest at right back. But It's the change at left back that will be receiving the most press as it may be a permanent one for the rest of the season.

Yuri Zhirkov, the left-sided Russian Chelsea managed to wrench away from Barcelona in the summer, has been chosen by Carlo Ancelotti as the replacement for Ashley Cole, whose broken ankle will require surgery. Since Cole will be fighting for World Cup fitness, it's safe to say that Chelsea need Zhirkov to hit the ground running so that this position doesn't turn into another selection headache.



I've been harping on the fact that Zhirkov should start and now I guess my wish has been granted. Not exactly they way I wanted it. Despite his arrogance and embarrassing antics often directed toward game officials, Cole is a world class left back. Opponents have had a lot of trouble this season trying to force play along the sidelines because of the superior play from both Cole and Ivanovic. Adding to his shutdown marking has been the surprising addition of offense. Free to push forward, he has scored two of his three goals on overlapping runs into the box. He's struggled on and off with ankle problems but his long term absence could spell trouble.

But this is a chance for Zhirkov to prove me right. Since the Chelsea midfield under Ancelotti does not feature wingers, both full backs actually play more of a wing back role on the attacking side of the ball. Both Cole and Ivanovic have impacted the Chelsea attack with their pace down the sideline and pace is something that Zhirkov possesses in excess. He is also very skilled on the ball. His change of direction, if you've happened to see him subbed late into games, is just sick. He will have no trouble against most defenders in getting a clean cross into the mixer from out wide.

The wait-and-see on the Russian will be his defending. It is the team's hope that he can be a shutdown guy for 90 minutes and Ancelotti sounds very confident in Zhirkov's chances of prospering there. And if any team is in need of a spark, it's Chelsea. The team's last two road matches have been dreadful and set pieces continue to be a major issue. John Terry will be given the weekend to collect himself and here's hoping he does just that. He was at fault on both of Louis Saha's goals on Wednesday, proving that the pressure may be getting to him after all. The team is fortunate (once again) that United could not capitalize on their dropped points and cannot afford to take matches off as the race is now tighter than ever.

        

Tuesday saw a classy Fulham side beat Burnleyof the pitch as they rolled out 3-0 victors in the Premiership. David Elmstarted and scored his first ever goal in the Prem while Danny Murphy and BobbyZamora also found the back of the net. 3-0 was not a true indication of theplay on the pitch as Fulham only really capitalized on 20% of theirchances.  Fulham play Notts Countyin the FA cup on Sunday.

 

I felt Burnley were the worst competitors to enter theCottage since FK Vetra of Lithuaniaplayed us in the early rounds of the Europa League. They lacked pace and form,and were defunct of any type of offense whatsoever. Bobby Zamora continues topiss of the Hammersmith end with his constant indignant behavior towards thehome support with his shushing of the home side after he scores. He has alsopushed away team mates to verbally assault fans in the Hammy end as well. WHYBOBBY WHY???? THEY ALL LOVE YOU!!!

 

                                                                             

Look for some moves in the starting 11 for Notts Countyas Fulham try to balance another 3 games this week coming up. Shorey and Okakaare both Europa League cup tied, so they will most likely start, along withSmalling, Riise, Greening, and even possibly super backup keep, former Swissinternational Pascal Zuberhuler. I know that this is the FA cup and upsets dohappen, but Fulham should be confident that a third side should be able to takecare of Sven’s men.

 

FA Cup Sunday

Zuberhuler

Shorey/Kelly Smalling Hughes Baird

Riise Greening Murphy Davies

Elm Okaka

 

Europa League Thursday

Schwartzer

Kelly Hangeland Hughes Baird

Duff Murphy Etuhu Davies

ZamoraElm/Nevland

Written by Thomas Mollison, the Official Fulham Blogger of theGoalmouth Scramble, Tom is also a major contributor for these othergreat sites!

        

                                                                       After tomorrow's games - we will have about 13 games left in the English Premier League season - BooHoo!  But if you were a bettor - what 3 teams would you have getting relegated to the Coca-Cola Championship for next season?  Here is a look at the current standings:

RK		TEAM	P	W	D	L	GS	GA		W	D	L	GS	GA		W	D	L	GS	GA		GD	Pts
1		Chelsea	25	18	4	3	60	20		12	1	0	39	8		6	3	3	21	12		40	58
2		Manchester United	25	18	2	5	61	20		11	1	1	36	8		7	1	4	25	12		41	56
3		Arsenal	25	15	4	6	60	30		9	1	2	35	14		6	3	4	25	16		30	49
4		Liverpool	25	13	5	7	43	26		9	2	2	31	11		4	3	5	12	15		17	44
5		Manchester City	24	12	8	4	47	32		9	3	0	30	14		3	5	4	17	18		15	44
6		Tottenham Hotspur	25	12	7	6	45	25		8	2	3	28	8		4	5	3	17	17		20	43
7		Aston Villa	24	11	8	5	31	18		6	4	2	17	7		5	4	3	14	11		13	41
8		Birmingham	24	10	7	7	24	24		6	5	2	12	8		4	2	5	12	16		0	37
9		Fulham	26	9	7	10	30	28		8	2	3	19	8		1	5	7	11	20		2	34
10		Everton	24	8	8	8	33	35		5	5	2	18	15		3	3	6	15	20		-2	32
11		Stoke City	24	7	9	8	23	27		6	3	3	18	13		1	6	5	5	14		-4	30
12		Blackburn Rovers	25	7	7	11	25	43		6	4	2	17	12		1	3	9	8	31		-18	28
13		Sunderland	25	6	8	11	32	42		5	5	2	19	14		1	3	9	13	28		-10	26
14		Wigan Athletic	24	6	6	12	26	49		3	4	4	11	15		3	2	8	15	34		-23	24
15		Hull City	25	5	9	11	25	50		5	5	3	18	20		0	4	8	7	30		-25	24
16		Burnley	25	6	5	14	25	50		6	4	2	17	12		0	1	12	8	38		-25	23
17		Bolton Wanderers	24	5	7	12	29	46		3	5	5	17	23		2	2	7	12	23		-17	22
18		West Ham United	24	4	9	11	30	40		3	4	4	18	20		1	5	7	12	20		-10	21
19		Wolverhampton Wanderers	24	5	6	13	20	42		3	3	6	9	17		2	3	7	11	25		-22	21
20		Portsmouth	25	4	4	17	20	42		3	2	7	15	18		1	2	10	5	24		-22	16

                                                   
Obviously, even with Portsmouth getting a draw at home at the death today versus Sunderland didn't really help their chances...those are the kinds of games Pompey need to win to stay up.  But do they really deserve to be a Premier League Club...that club is more of an embarrassment to the EPL seeing they make more news off the field and not paying their players.  So that's 1.  Portsmouth!!

Second team that bows out will be Wolves - they still have the Big 3 to play - yes I said it the Big 3...sorry Liverpool has dropped out of being worthy of "Big" status.  Wolverhampton still has Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United to play.  Plus the likes of Tottenham (tomorrow), Aston Villa and Everton.  But how big could their last 2 games be...at Portsmouth on May 1st and then finish with Sunderland at home on the 9th of May.  If Sunderland can't get out of this funk - they might be playing for their Premier League lives on the last day of the season.

And lastly, if you look at some of the remaining schedules for teams fighting the relegation battle - West Ham may have the toughest one remaining.  They still have @ Manchester United, @ Chelsea, @ Arsenal, @ Everton, @ Liverpool  and host Man City on the last day of the season.  And Man City might be fighting for a place in the Champion's League on that day...so West Ham...it's been fun - but see ya wouldn't want to be ya!!

That's our thoughts at the Goalmouth Scramble - what's yours?  Let us know in the comment section below!

        

I am always saying that Manchester United needs to do this and do that...but I have never really put those views on the blog for the most part...so - if I was Sir Alex Ferguson - here is what I would do in the summer transfer window.  First of all - these are going to be realistic moves...yes I know in dream world the Red Devils would just go out and buy Cristiano Ronaldo, Xabi Alonso, Kaka & Benzema but since this is the real world - I am going to stick to business economics as well.

                                                                  
First thing is first - this team needs a goal scoring threat to go along side Wayne Rooney.  Rooney has been absolutely world class since becoming "The Man!"  But this team does need to get him some help.  Berbatov, Owen or anyone else on the roster at this time is not the answer for one of the top 5-10 clubs in the world.  Berbatov will be sold (he still has value) to help make this acquisition possible, but Owen stays for depth and experience.  This team also needs to find a left winger that can replace Ryan Giggs.  Yes, Giggs is playing like he is 24 and if he hadn't been playing like that so far this year - who knows where United would be in the standings.  So, with all that said, they should make an offer to Valencia FC that they can't refuse for both David Villa and David Silva.  Silva has already come out and said he would welcome the chance to play for the Red Devils...and I'm sure if he goes - Villa would become interested as well.  Doesn't the guy want to compete on the biggest club stage in the world while in his prime?  Villa is not going to get that at Valencia.  That would give United Rooney and Villa up top and a midfield of Silva and Valencia on the wings with Carrick/Fletcher/Anderson in the middle.

Now at the back.  Evra is a top flight left back and I like the kid Rafael on the right side...but what if you would offer Rio Ferdinand to Jose Mourinho and Inter Milan for Douglas Maicon and cash.  The replacement for Ferdinand is already on the roster - Jonny Evans.  With Maicon and Evra on the flanks - United could really get down the flanks with pace and skill and you would also have a quality mentor in Maicon for Rafael because Gary Neville is as big a donkey as there is.  Sell the guy for a couple bags of balls and get on with it.  In goal, Edwin Van Der Sar is getting up there, so it is time to find a replacement that can handle the pressure of playing on the biggest stage.  With that said, 23 year old Igor Akinfeev from CSKA Moskva seems like the perfect fit.  And to help with his transition to England and the Premier League - try to snag one of the Berezutsky twins to help with that - and they would also be great depth at the back.

So - if I was Sir Alex and I could get all of this to work - the starting lineup for kickoff of the 2010-11 season for Manchester United would be:

                                                                                      Akinfeev

                                                             Maicon     Vidic     Evans     Evra

                                                                                       Carrick

                                                             Valencia           Anderson          Silva

                                                                               Rooney       Villa


Now this team could win the Premier League, as well as, Champions League.  It also gets the Red Devils younger, much younger.  And even better - it doesn't cost them as much as you would think.  Yes, Villa and Silva would be a pretty penny - but maybe throwing Berbatov in can bring that price down 15-20 Million.  You get some cash back in the Ferdinand/Maicon deal.  And you turn around and give that to CSKA for Akinfeev and the twin.  Throw Kuszczak in the deal and that helps bring that price down a bit too.  It's just my thoughts on how the Red Devils can get younger, as well as continue to compete on the world stage.  Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!!

Written by the Staff of the Goalmouth Scramble           


    

        

Fulham played Bolton to level par today as the Whites away woes were somewhat bandaged with an away draw. Fulham were without Clint Dempsey, John Paintsil, Paul Konchesky, Simon Davies, and Bobby Zamora, while Andy Johnson was shelved for the season with exploratory surgery mid week. The starting lineup resembled what the reserves looked like with a Scandinavian front line of Viking Erik Nevland and Swede David Elm starting his first Premiership match, a midfield containing Kagisho Dikgacoi and Jonathan Greening, and Chris Baird at right back. New signings Nickey Shorey and Stephano Okaka seeing time, the former starting and the later coming on in the second half. The tell tale sign of the injury crisis at the Cottage saw Manchester United new boy defender Chris Smalling inserted at striker for the last fifteen minutes! Halfway through the second half KD was subbed out for an injury that apparently could be quite serious as well.

 

                                                                          

Fulham uncomfortably sit 10^thcurrently in the Premiership, but with a weaker February schedule and the returns of some of the players in the infirmary, we Fulham faithful fully expect to find earlier form and challenge for a European spot. Zamora, Konchesky, and Davies are all expected to get back onto the pitch before the end of the month,and while Paintsil may be out for the season, Dempsey is due back in training in the next two weeks. 

 

The FACup draw should give Fulham a pass into the quarterfinals without stretching an already thin line, while a tough home and away sequence in the round of 32 of the Europa League against Shaktar Donestk may make that line even more stretched. Fortunately, the first leg is at home, and if we are to be throttled or if were the ones who do the throttling, you’ll see a youth side in the away leg.

Written by Thomas Mollison, the Official Fulham Blogger of the Goalmouth Scramble, Tom is also a major contributor for these other great sites!

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fulhamusa.com

        

                                                              
                                     

Today, Chelsea was cleared of all wrongdoing in the Gael Kakuta transfer case by the Court of Arbitration for sport. Who didn't see that coming?

I'll admit that it worried me at first. Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini made it really look there for a second like they were trying to reign in the power held by the bigger clubs throughout UEFA. I feel Platini carries a major bias against the English clubs and this witch hunt was his opportunity to strike out at new money clubs like Chelsea. Then reality set in. UEFA and FIFA have been about has proactive with their rules as Major League Baseball;which is to say, not at all. Lifting the ban for the January window was not a shock and proof that it wouldn't be long until all sanctions were dismissed.

So what did we learn from this? First, the transfer rules pertaining to youth players is all messed up. The Italian and French clubs took issue with English clubs claiming a breach of contract when those teams were signing contracts with their youth players; unfair because they themselves are not able to sign them to pro contracts. What? So you don't have a contract with the player but if they sign a contract elsewhere that's a breach of contract? The bottom line is that there needs to be one rule for all UEFA teams (and,in my opinion, all teams that operate under FIFA) to abide by when dealing with youth players. UEFA needs to wash everyone's slate clean and just start over with a uniform rule. Perhaps this is a tougher thing to accomplish than it sounds, but I really don't know what could complicate it.

What else? Well, if you're a Chelsea fan you discovered that 1) we have a player named Gael Kakuta and 2) he is very very good. He was given a second half entrance into the team's November match against Wolves and he made an immediate statement, almost scoring an incredible goal from way out. He appears to have very few holes in his game and he, in time, maybe the team's next midfield star(underline maybe about four times with permanent marker).

Next to fall, I'm sure, will be UEFA's attempt to control spending by only allowing teams to purchase players with organizational profits. Again,this is sports legislation leveled primarily at clubs like Chelsea,Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool who have amassed incredible debts buying up Europe's top talent. Why will this rule not happen (in my opinion)? UEFA needs and wants Real Madrid in the Champions League, and to do so as the Galacticos. Take a second to look at what they have spent just in the last summer on players and then look at their shopping list for next summer; a list that includes the likes of Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney. You cannot tell me that between television contracts, selling merchandise and selling tickets that Real Madrid accomplished their spending all from the pockets of their team's profits alone. They, like all of the other clubs mentioned, had to have used private equity. UEFA is too spineless to pass a rule that could eliminate the world's top clubs and, by association, the world's top talent from competing in their top competition/money-maker. How can you call it a Champions League if the champions aren't playing?

                                                               
 
And I'm not ignoring the draw at Hull on Tuesday. That was an awful performance and I'm troubled by the fact that when Drogba is on the field Nicolas Anelka acquiesces to him.Chelsea was rolling with Anelka taking the reigns and he needs to assert himself along side Drogba, not behind him. Carlo Ancelotti may give John Terry a break amid his (MAJOR!) personal problems which would be fine with me if Alex wasn't such a set piece liability. On a team that struggles to defend corners, Alex is the worst culprit when it comes to getting lost in the box. Honestly, I think he should be a holding midfielder. All of his upside seems to be on the offensive side of the ball, which is nice to have but not at the detriment of the one thing you're supposed to be doing: defending.

Big derby match this weekend. Let's see which team shows up in the blue shirts.

Written by Nick Degel, The Official Chelsea Blogger of the Goalmouth Scramble

        

John Terry's 82nd minute winner at Turf Moor today may have given Chelsea a lift -- now on an eleven game unbeaten streak -- but will do little to improve the frosty nature of the Terry household. It is being reported that the Chelsea captain and talisman allegedly had an extra-marital affair with Wayne Bridge's girlfriend, while the two were still dating. Yikes.

                                                       

Terry's the definition of a professional so I wouldn't count on the fallout affecting his performance on the pitch, but this does raise the question of whether or not he should continue as England's captain. Normally I would say that what happens away from the game should stay away from the game but since this situation involves a teammate, it will be interesting to see what Fabio Capello decides. The details are pretty seedy -- apparently the two couples were close friends when Bridge was still playing for Chelsea.It doesn't help either that Terry initially requested a gag order that was overruled by a judge involved in the circumstance. But if Tiger Woods, once thought to be the ultimate class act of the sports world,can have affairs with a small colony of women (and allegedly men too)then no one should be shocked when the center piece and leader of team winds up unceremoniously fixed to the back pages.

I'll tell you which teammate is secretly not feeling bad for John: Ashley Cole.Finally, someone else can get booed every time he touches the ball.

In all seriousness though, Terry needs to sort this out. Infidelity is the ultimate betrayal of the vows one takes on their wedding day. Too often those words of devotion are not taken as seriously as they should; that marriage means giving of yourself exclusively to your wife or husband.Hopefully, John and wife Toni Poole can reconcile for the sake of their children but some rifts open too wide to fix. I will always respect John Terry the footballer. John Terry the man? I'm not too sure anymore.

Written by Nick Degel, the Official Chelsea Blogger of the Goalmouth Scramble

        

                                                                     


When Chelsea last met with Birmingham City at St. Andrews they were stymied to a goalless draw. But they weren't going to take any of it from the in-form promoted side on Wednesday. Chelsea took control of the game from beginning to end and rode their home field advantage to an easy 3-0 victory.

(No, I didn't forget to post after the FACup win, it just gave me nothing to write about it. What was I supposed to say? Chelsea beat Preston North End. And in other news, the sky is blue and water is wet.)

A lot of rumors have surrounded Joe Cole throughout this transfer window as he has struggled to retain a consistent spot in the starting eleven. Contract negotiations have struggled but remain ongoing as the likes of AC Milan are alleged to desire his services. But if he stays, and there's nothing to suggest that he won't, many will look back at Wednesday's match as the moment that solidified his place at Stamford Bridge. Cole had shown flashes of quality since returning from knee surgery but had yet to but together an entire game as he did against Brim yesterday. It was vintage Joe Cole and, by association, vintage Premier League football. He kept the chalk on his boots all night and supplied a beautiful cross to Tracy Chap... sorry... Florent Malouda that brought back memories of 2005-06.It was truly a sight for sore eyes, let me tell you. This is the Joe Cole that needs to, and can, show up every night.

Oh yeah, and frank Lampard's pretty good too. I'd watch out for this guy. He might turn into a pretty good player one day. *wink*

Speaking of contract negotiations, those that are supposed to keep Nicolas Anelka in blue have stalled. You really get the sense, or at least I do, that Anelka enjoys playing in West London. He road the pine so long in the beginning that he would have been gone long before is this wasn't the case. So hope this is an issue that can be resolved sooner rather than later. Once again he was the focal point of the Chelsea attack in the absence of Didier Drogba and to lose him would be huge as Sturridge, though talented, lacks the intangibles of an everyday forward. Here's hoping those talks perk up.

                                                                     

And since I mentioned the Dark Destroyer, guess who's back early from Angola? Hopefully he returns to England with every intention of snatching the Golden Boot back from Wayne Rooney, and maybe a four goal performance of his own (Please?).The looming issue of his absence was no laughing matter, especially as the team began to drop points as the new year swung in. But dominating team performances, and a little help from the weather to avoid the match congestion, made this ACN fly by. Now, with the exception of a newly injured Michael Essien and a still competing John Mikel Obi, the weapons are back in time for what is turning out to be a close race for the top of the table. Chelsea have a couple of recent sweethearts in Burnley and Hull on the docket; should prove to be an excellent chance for Drogba to hit the ground running.

It is, at the very least, fun stuff to watch.

Since January is quickly approaching its end, I thought I'd share the most "Ridiculous Transfer Rumor of the Week/Day/Hour": Raul's agent is claiming that Chelsea are willing to pay $70 million to bring him to Stamford Bridge. LOL WHAT? Maybe four years ago. But right now? Raul plays, if at all, the last 20 minutes of matches, and Chelsea are really going to shell out a little short of Kaka's price tag for him?You gotta love the transfer window.

Written by Nick Degel, the Official Chelsea Blogger of the Goalmouth Scramble