Chelsea thread

[TheArsenal]

Leeds owner Ken Bates has reported his former club Chelsea to the Football Association, Premier League and Fifa over three alleged illegal approaches.

Bates claims Chelsea signed youngsters Michael Woods and Tom Taiwo after making illegal approaches - and failed in their attempt to sign Danny Rose.

"There is a dispute about, in our opinion, the blatant breach of the Football League rules," said Bates.

Chelsea have yet to make an official comment in response to the allegations.

Bates added: "We want to be compensated for the work we put in with these players and the loss of opportunity."

And should Chelsea be found guilty, Bates is clear on how he wants the authorities to react.

He said: "Because of the financial strength of Chelsea's owner Roman Abramovich, financial punishments will make no difference to the club at all.

"We feel deduction of points, banning of registration of new players and suspension from European competition would be more appropriate.

"There are rules and if you refuse, consistently, to play by the rules, why should you be allowed to play in those competitions?"

Bates also made reference to how Chelsea, their manager Jose Mourinho and Arsenal's Ashley Cole were given record fines after being found guilty in the Premier League's tapping-up probe last year.

Chelsea were fined £300,000 and given a suspended three-point deduction.

Cole was handed a £100,000 fine, while Blues manager Jose Mourinho will have to pay £200,000.

All three were said to have breached league rules by secretly meeting, without Cole's club knowing, at a London restaurant on 27 January.

It led to bad relations between Arsenal and Chelsea, but the London clubs have recently opened talks over a legitimate deal for Cole.

[TheArsenal]

Chelsea striker Hernan Crespo has joined Inter Milan in a two-year deal.

The 31-year-old has moved on a free transfer - but Chelsea have the option to take him back to Stamford Bridge after one season.

Chelsea signed Crespo from Inter for £16.8m in August 2003, but he failed to cement a regular starting place and has complained about missing Italy.

The Argentine recently acquired Italian citizenship and still owns a house on the outskirts of Milan.

Last week the forward, who has played for Parma, Lazio, Inter Milan and AC Milan, said: "The fact is I love Italy. The money and success don't come into it.

"Italy is my natural environment, it is the place where I will live when I retire and it is the best place to play."

Crespo has also attracted interest from AC Milan, with whom he spent the 2004/05 season on loan from Chelsea.

He signed for the Blues in August 2003 for a fee of £16.8m.

But he failed to cement a place in the side and the arrival of Andriy Shevchenko from AC Milan this summer seems to have made Crespo an even more peripheral figure at Stamford Bridge.

However, the departure of Crespo leaves Didier Drogba and Shevchenko as the only front-line strikers at Chelsea, which might lead manager Jose Mourinho into another foray into the transfer market.

[Guest Chasing Ringy]

Wouldn't suprise me to see Carlitos join Chelsea now. He's pretty much become the Ashley Cole of Corinthians. He wants to leave Corinthians and the fans want to get rid of him.

[public enemy]

The Sunday papers were reporting he'd been offered to United for a cut-price €22Million due to all the recent contreversy. So yeah, Chelsea'll probably buy him.

[TheArsenal]

Well I posted in the Arsenal thread but it's relevant here too....

It looks like Arsenal are leaving Ashley Cole out of tomorrow's Champions League qualifier. With a number of first team players out injured or suspended, it looks to be keeping the option of a move to Chelsea open.

[Guest Chasing Ringy]

The Sunday papers were reporting he'd been offered to United for a cut-price €22Million due to all the recent contreversy. So yeah, Chelsea'll probably buy him.

[public enemy]

The thing is, Tevez to me doesn't seem like a Mourinho kind of signing, probably because he already carries such a high reputation as a trouble-maker. Wasen't it last season he appeared at a Corinthian press-conference wearing a Man United shirt?

Because of that It's hard to really look at him as al team-player or certainly one that'd fit in at a club like Chelsea. With his apparent links to MSI, if Tevez does join them, it'd be more of an Abramovich signing than anything. :ohwell:

[Guest Chasing Ringy]

He wouldn't exactly fit in Chelsea's formation either. He's between a Paul Scholes type of forward and a Leo Messi all-action forward., and with the likes of Lampard and Sheva playing, he'd have to change his gameplay.

Still, wouldn't put it past Chelsea, they did sign Kalou, who also plays in that mold, so maybe they are changing their system.

[fineintent]

I reckon they'll just have more than one system - it's plausable given the depth of their squad. They could adjust depending on the quality of opposition.

[TheArsenal]

Or they could just sign people to stop other clubs getting them.

[fineintent]

Or they could just sign people to stop other clubs getting them.

[TMM]

France deliver Makelele warning

France coach Raymond Domenech has warned Chelsea's Claude Makelele he risks a two-game club ban if he fails to report for the Euro 2008 qualifiers.

The 33-year-old is in France's squad for games against Georgia and Italy, despite announcing his retirement after the World Cup final loss to Italy.

Domenech wants Makelele to play and any player who refuses an international call-up can be hit with a domestic ban.

And Domenech insisted: "We still have the law for us."

Domenech added: "We had a discussion with Makelele but I didn't ask for his opinion.

"For me it would be unthinkable to see a great player playing for a great club not playing for his national team.

"A player who refuses to accept a selection is liable to a two-match suspension.

"I had a discussion with Jose Mourinho, as I often do with the coaches of our international players, but it was not a matter of reaching an agreement over Makelele.

"I told him where I stood, he told me where he stood. We still have the law for us.

"I spoke a lot with Claude and told him that he was not obliged to come and play with us, but also that it would be better if he did feel obliged to."

Source: BBC.co.uk

Wow, that's funny. They can actually suspend him for not playing? That's ridiculous. I thought international retirements actually meant something.

[Guest Chasing Ringy]

Surely, if Makelele doesn't want to play and they'll make him, he'll go out and there purposefuly tank? Or is that just me?

[TMM]

Surely, if Makelele doesn't want to play and they'll make him, he'll go out and there purposefuly tank? Or is that just me?

That would be funny. I have this image of him going out there and sitting cross legged with his arms folded in his lap.