The contenders for this month’s PFA 2UP Divisional Fans Player Awards have now been announced and in the running for the Premier League award is our very own Deco, with Steven Gerrard and ex blue-boy Diarra his competition.

This season, the PFA have launched a brand new website, where supporters can register to vote for their favourite player every month of the season.

The PFA 2UP Divisional Fans Player Awards are the only official awards of the Professional Footballers’ Association that are voted for by the supporters.  The awards are also endorsed by The Football Supporters Federation.

Every month of the football season, four supporters that have voted for the divisional winners will get the chance to present the PFA 2UP Player of the Month award to their football idol.  This season, there are also runner-up prizes for voters including limited edition PFA Centenary books and key-rings.

Vote for your PFA 2UP Fans’ Player of the Month now by clicking here.

The full list of nominees is as follows;

Premier League:
Steven Gerrard – Liverpool
Deco – Chelsea
Lassana Diarra – Portsmouth

Championship:
Adam Lallana – Southampton
Michael Kightly – Wolverhampton
Tommy Smith – Watford

League 1:
Adam Virgo – Brighton
Jack Hobbs – Leicester
Jermaine Beckford – Leeds

League 2:
Darren Anderton – Bournemouth
Peter Thorne – Bradford
Rob Edwards – Exeter

With less than 24 hours to go until the ‘best league in the world’ kicks off, it all seems a bit tame, just too peaceful.

Read the sports pages or trawl through NewsNow, and aside from the annual chest beating bravado emanating from Scouseland that; ‘of course we can win the Premiership this season’ – you’ll notice that not a lot is being said, and not much is being written. The pre-season verbal jousting is unusually sterile.

Sir Rednose recently dipped his toe into the water with a sly jibe in Big Phil’s direction which earned a belated response from JT recently, but apart from that and the initial flirt via the red-tops, there’s hardly a word, or misquote, in anger amongst those destined to slug it out for the league this season.  And Liverpool, of course.

It’s an even stranger state of affairs when the most vocal manager in the UK media isn’t even managing a club here any longer.  Yes, the ‘Special One’ has certainly re-found his voice and recently has aimed shots across the bow of each of the top four managers in turn, lamenting their chances, decrying their achievements in comparison to his own.

His focus will shift to matters Italian soon enough, or at least until European battles commence, and a sure fire Inter vs. Chelsea tie is drawn by UEFA in the latest in a long line of coincidental  hurdles, of familiar branding, trying to trip us up.

None of this however, has rattled new regime at Chelsea one iota.  They are quietly getting on with their jobs, building the belief that they are going to win and win big this season, working on the tactics and formations to achieve those aims, no fanfare, no bravado, no games.

Things have changed, and Chelsea has gotten serious.  Despite what anyone says, this is a strong unit that has more in it than we’ve seen previously.  We went so far last season, another 10%, not an impossible improvement under a manager such as Scolari, could feasibly see two or three trophies won. But now in a media friendly, entertaining way.

The great teams generally let their football do their talking, apart from Liverpool, and this seems to be the number one mantra in effect within the corridors of power at Chelsea.  For too long now we’ve been talked about for reasons other than what happens on the pitch, and had what was happening the pitch derided.

Roman Abramovich is reported to want this to change, and when you’ve got over ten billion quid, you are used to getting what you want.  What Roman apparently wants is Chelsea to be the best, most entertaining team around, and when you truly are the best, you don’t need to shout about it.

This is the new Chelsea, there is a steely resolve and a quiet confidence emanating from Stamford Bridge. There will be no more shouting from the rooftops, from now on, we’ll let our football do the talking.

To get the Pompey view for the season opener, I caught up with a mate of mine, and a top bloke to boot (apart from his Pompey leanings) for a nice up of tea and biscuits, and asked….

Dan, cutting straight to the chase, what do you think of your chances this season?

First year in Europe may mean we drop off from our 8th place last year, in much the same way that focusing on the FA Cup dropped us from 6th. I’d be happy with mid table and a decent showing in the cups again.

What areas of your squad need strengthening?

After losing Muntari, we need to add some steel to centre midfield, and we really need a right winger. Little can fill in on the right as can Utaka but need a real line hugger. Any chance of SWP on loan?!

Who’s your star player? Who do we need to look out for?

Well, you know him well – Lassana Diarra. With Jose gone, he might not have as much to prove, but the lad is world class.

What do you think of Chelsea, as if we needed to ask?

I have to say, anyone who breaks the Manchester United dominance is alright with me.

What are your thoughts on Scolari, do you think hell give Abramovich the football he craves whilst winning the League?

Scolari isn’t afraid of winning ugly, but he has made Portugal into a team of winners (almost) with flair and the Brazil sides he coached did mix flair with a winning mentality, so maybe! As a tactician he’s great, so I’m looking forward to seeing him up against Wenger and the like.

Which of our current squad do you most admire?

He’s gone now, but I thought Makelele was a great professional and probably the best proponent of the holding role in the world. In the current squad, I will say Carvalho. He’s simply a brilliant defender.

We’ve built a bit of a fortress at the Bridge. Think well actually get a game out of you?

I think we will be a bit negative as we tend to be away from home. Crouch has done well pre-season and may nick us a few away from home. As long as it doesn’t make us a long ball team, I’m okay.

How will you deal with Chelsea? Do you stuff the midfield, or will we see a more adventurous line-up?

As above, I think we will start negatively with Defoe as the lone striker at the top of a 4-5-1, then have Crouch come on at the end.

Where will you finish this season?

Heart says top six, head says mid table.

What about Chelsea?

Premier league winners.

Give us a score prediction.

0-0

Dan, thanks for your time mate.  Next round is on me.

The Serie A outfit bid for Lampard in July, but Chelsea rejected the initial offer, and also an improved bid, reported to be in the region of £9.5million from the Italian club.  Chelsea were adamant Frank wouldn’t be leaving this season, and now the new deal suggests he won’t be leaving any time soon.

We at CFCnet would like to congratulate Frank and those at Chelsea who’ve made this happen.  We’ve long wanted the England man to commit his future to Chelsea, and now he’s done just that, we can’t wait for the season to begin in earnest.

Chelsea 1 – Jose 0.

Discuss this story in the forums by clicking here.

Not a lot of this matters to us here at CFCnet, we feel that over the past few seasons, ‘Super Frank’ has more than repaid the faith shown by the club when buying him, and also the faith put in him by Chelsea supporters, for his near herculean escapades in a blue shirt. Whether he signs a new deal, or sees out his current one to try his hand abroad, we’ll wish him well and I’m sure many of you will too.

As a tribute to Frank and to remind the more fickle of you out there just how good Lampard has been for us, we’ve had another video special put together by Carefree Chris to run through Frank’s first 100 goals at Chelsea FC. Some of them were absolute crackers, some will stick in the memory for some time, such as those against Bolton that won us the Premiership for the first time, and if you count, you’ll see there’s not quite as many deflections as many would have you believe!

You can find this and more videos like it on www.carefreechris.com

With Claude departing recently for his homeland, we decided to dust off the old Word document and stick it on t’internet for you all to enjoy.

Claudio Ranieri famously called him the battery in the Chelsea watch, and it’s easy to see why. Claude Makelele has been one of the main men in keeping our wins ticking over nicely since his arrival. A player so integral to Chelsea’s recent achievements, Maka doesn’t give many interviews. Ours was the first he has given to any English media this season, one for the Chelsea supporters who he clearly holds in high esteem.

His is rarely a name that springs up immediately in the footballing greats conversations with your mates, but one that has everyone nodding in agreement once mentioned: Claude Makelele is the invisible legend, a player whom you notice most when not there.

As soon as he entered the room and flashed that famous smile of his, I could see why he escapes so many bookings and is so respected by his peers and pundits alike; there is something about Claude Makelele that you instantly warm to, and that makes you feel humble to be in his presence.

He is indeed, a footballing legend.

So tell us about your goal against Tottenham…

[Laughing] I think it was a good goal, no?

It was a great goal!

It was only my second goal in four years for Chelsea and it was nice. The problem is, I scored but the team lost, this is more difficult for me, but I’m happy that I scored a goal.

You’ve won almost everything in the game, what further goals do you have for your career?

I think that every player is always looking to win the next trophy. For me, the trophy I need now to win is the World Cup. I think a professional footballer should always be pursuing everything.

For now, for me, the Premiership is first, then maybe the Champions League. The Premiership is the best trophy in England, it’s very difficult to win it as well, as there are a lot of teams who can win, and want to win the trophy; so once you win the Premiership then you go for the Champions League as well.

When I won the Champions League for Real Madrid four years ago, their target was always the Champions League, but now the first trophy I want is the Premiership.

In your first season at Chelsea, did you feel the fans didn’t give you enough credit for the job you did?

No, it’s normal I think. It was different because I was coming in from Real Madrid, the people of Chelsea didn’t know me. They knew me from the TV and my time at Real Madrid; but they’d never seen me play for Chelsea.

I’m a professional, I give everything on the pitch, I tried to prove myself with every opportunity, to the supporters who judged me, and I think now that I have proven myself to them. In four years I have proven a lot to Chelsea supporters and other supporters in England and now I think they like my football.

You won the players player of the year award last year, how did it feel being voted the most valuable player by your team mates?

It’s nice you know… I think that there is no better judge on the pitch than that of another player. He knows everything; he lives with the team and is always fighting for the team, even if there’s a problem and he’s out injured, he’s there thinking for the team.

When the players gave this trophy to me it was one of the best moments for me. I don’t necessarily need recognition by some people outside of football, fans of Chelsea is different, but when given by players it is extra special.

What is it like to play in a World Cup final?

It is the desire of every player to play in a final, any final, generally. But the World Cup? Not many people get this chance. It is one opportunity and if you miss this opportunity it is something that may never come back again so for me, it was a good experience.

You’ve played with some great midfielders, how would you compare the play of Frank Lampard to that of Zinedine Zidane?

With Zidane, I played with him since I was young. I know everything about him; he is my friend as well as a footballer. Frank is a different player, Zidane is a different player. It’s impossible to compare totally but each complements my midfield play.

I like playing with Frank; he’s a very good player and has proved that he is the best midfielder in Europe, if not the world, but Zidane is… Zidane, no? With his football, for six or seven years, he stayed the best player in the world.

Do you find it flattering that your position is now known as ‘The Makelele Position’?

[Laughing] I’m happy to have given some style to this position, and if now some younger players try this position, and also give everything for their football, then I am happy.

If you had to choose one thing, what is Jose Mourinho’s outstanding quality as a manager?

His psychology.

Claude Makelele – Honours
Year Honour (Club)
1995 French 1st Division Champions (Nantes)
2000 Intercontinental Cup Finals (Real Madrid)
2000 European SuperCup Finals (Real Madrid)
2001 Primera League Champions (Real Madrid)
2002 Intercontinental Cup Winner (Real Madrid)
2002 European SuperCup Winner (Real Madrid)
2002 Champions League Winner (Real Madrid)
2002 Spanish Cup Finals (Real Madrid)
2003 Primera League Champions (Real Madrid)
2005 Carling Cup Winner (Chelsea)
2005 Premiership Champions (Chelsea)
2005 Community Shield Winner (Chelsea)
2006 Premiership Champions (Chelsea)
2006 World Cup Finalist (France)

Our thanks go to those involved at Chelsea for the opportunity to spend some time with Maka, and of course to Claude himself, for everything.

You can buy the latest issue, and also back issues of the CFCnet magazine here; http://www.cfcnetmagazine.co.uk/

There’s been much noise in the press surrounding such a move since Portugal’s exit from Euro 2008, and with Scolari a known admirer of the player many thought it would only be a matter of time before the two were reunited at Stamford Bridge.

Deco recently overcame a poor season with Barcelona to show what he is capable of in this summers European tournament, again showing the skills and vision that once stood him above his peers, and whilst his age may raise eyebrows amongst supporters, the price and term of the contract show that we won’t be held to ransom, nor give long term deals to older players any longer.

Asked about his move to Chelsea, Deco was quoted on Chelseafc.com saying; “I am sure I have come at the right time to do great things and be able to help Chelsea go back to the way it was and come back to being the first one, not only in England but also to win the Champions League that has been their dream for so long.”

“The Premier League is a great league and it is getting better and you can see that with the Champions League Final, where you had two English teams. It is great that we have so many great players here at Chelsea and it is great that there is the competition which is healthy for everybody and this just makes the team better.”

“To have great players in any position of the club just enhances the club. I know it is a new challenge but I am looking forward to it. I know I need a little bit of time to adapt bit but I am sure I will adapt quite well and quite fast and do my best for the team.”

The main question mark Deco’s signing raises is the one of Frank Lampard’s future at Chelsea. Is Frank staying or going? Has Deco been brought in to play alongside Lampard, or to replace him? Also, how will this affect our style? Many have championed the signing of a play-maker for Chelsea, and now we’ve got one – where does he fit in?

The transfer merry go round starts here, Big Phil has his feet under the desk and the next stage of evolution begins at Chelsea. Deco is in the door, and more could soon follow, there’s going to be some big changes in the Chelsea dressing room, and wouldn’t you like to be a fly on the wall on the first day?

Not least to see the first time JT and Deco rekindle their friendship.

Discuss the Deco signing in our forum; Chelsea sign Deco

The Windor Arch-Macau International Football Challenge will be Chelsea FC’s second ever game in China, following the opening match of the Samsung/Chelsea Asia Tour 2008 in Guangzhou on July 23. The tour finishes in Kuala Lumpur on July 29 against a Malaysian Select XI.

The Macau game takes on an added significance because of the opposition. The city of Chengdu in the province of Sichuan was very seriously damaged by the recent Chinese earthquake. There will be a series of events around the game to raise awareness and money for the earthquake relief effort.

Chengdu is also well known to Chelsea officials as it is one of the cities in the Vision China grass roots project which the club is a partner in with the Asian Football Confederation.

Chelsea Chief Executive Peter Kenyon said: “We are very happy to play this game in Macau as it has particular significance for us with our connections to Chengdu via the Vision China programme. “We did look at playing a game in Chengdu, and now for very obvious and tragic reasons, that will not be possible. But we are delighted to assist in raising awareness for the earthquake relief effort as well as having excellent opposition to help prepare for the new season. “We would like to thank our sponsors for the game, Windsor Arch, the Macau Sport Development Board and the Macau Football Association.” Chelsea has built a number of significant relationships in China and Asia recently.

Last year it became the Official Football Development Partner of the AFC’s Vision China grass roots project, part of their larger Vision Asia programme.

So far Chelsea has helped launch five of the planned 10 Vision China city leagues, in Nanjing, Wuhan, Qingdao, Zibo and Chengdu.

Chelsea and the Chinese FA have worked closely together before and the club hosted the Chinese Olympic football team for a two week training camp in the winter of 2007. In addition Chelsea has become the exclusive football club partner of a grass roots talent search in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong, where Guangzhou is the capital. The Super Soccer Star television was broadcast during the spring in the province of Guangdong and the four finalists recently visited Chelsea’s world renowned Academy and Stamford Bridge.

The club is also a sponsor of the International Football Arena Beijing, the leading independent forum for debate amongst the game’s leading figures which took place last month in the Chinese capital for the second successive year.

The tour will be the first time Chelsea has played in Asia since May 2005 when the opponents were the Suwon Bluewings, the K League team owned by sponsors Samsung. Chelsea also took part in the FA Premier League Asia Cup in Kuala Lumpur in the summer of 2003.

Chelsea has also announced our participation in the pre-season tournament, the Railways Cup, in Moscow between August 1st and 3rd with Lokomotiv Moscow, AC Milan and Sevilla.

So far we’ve heard the names of Rijkaard, Hughes, Scolari, Hiddink, Ancellotti, Van Basten, Uncle Tom Cobley and even Jose Mourinho himself to return, although now he’s been unveiled as the new Inter boss, the extremely remote chance of that happening has passed, leaving those who’d reported it to be happening, looking a tad silly.

What’s clear is that not one person in the media has any real idea about who will be the new boss. They’re all hedging their bets with daily ‘exclusives’ and apparent insider information from any one of Roman friends, or those catch all ‘sources’ at Chelsea, so that once the boss is announced, they can give it their usual ‘we told you first’ clap trap to try and convince you that they know best, conveniently forgetting the large number that they’ve got wrong.

Because of the wall of silence coming from Chelsea, and the involvement of only a few key staff in the higher echelons of the club in the recruitment process, for once, there is no information in the public domain about what is going on in the corridors of Stamford Bridge, or even on board Roman’s yachts – and the media don’t like that one bit.

As it’s one the biggest stories of the summer, newspaper editors are demanding that they have something to fill their back pages, taking the most tenuous of links and crafting it to appear as informed information. It’s not, and the multitude of smoke and mirrors that the media is creating by continually stabbing in the dark is only serving to further muddy the waters of a very dirty pond – and that suits Chelsea just fine.

Far too often in recent years, we’ve been caught with our pants down in trying to acquire either players, managers, chief scouts or other such personnel employed at various other clubs, and it’s not done us any favours in terms of how we’re perceived, with yet another ‘illegal’ meeting splashed across the front and back pages. Finally it appears as if we’ve learned from our past indiscretions as the club seem to be setting about the task of recruiting not only the right man for the job, but also in the right way too.

The stealth at which this recruitment process is happening also seems to be causing consternation amongst many of our supporters too, with reports of dithering by the board and Roman gleefully lapped up by some supporters and taken as gospel simply because of the lack of noise coming from SW6. As someone so eloquently put in our forums recently; Be patient.

They’re not dithering, they are doing their job. This time they are making sure they get it right, and they’re doing it in a professional manner expected of a club with ambitions of being one of the best in the world. Take note, Real Madrid.

Everyone who was there agreed that it was good day all around, with many hoping it wouldn’t be too long before it was repeated. We were unable to hold a match last season due to the official completion of Cobham, now however, something I’ve been pushing to get going across the two years of my Fans Forum tenure is finally happening.

On the 5th July at Cobham, the inaugural Chelsea Supporters Tournament will take place. Eight teams on four quality pitches, playing three matches in a day, in a tournament to find out who is the champion of Chelsea supporters’ on the pitch. Only one team can take the glory, who will it be?

The day will start around 9.30am with the knock-out draw made at Cobham. The first round of matches will kick off around 10.15am and be 30 minutes each way, with a ten minute half time interval. This should take us to around 11:30am and after a short break, the next draw and round of matches will commence from 12:30pm and also last 30 minutes each way, with a 10 minute half time period.

At around 2pm everyone will get a break to get some food, and there may be a kids match or training session on one of the pitches if possible, by this point we’ll know the two finalists and they will be preparing for the final to kick off around 3pm in a full 45 minute each way game to determine the overall winner. Penalties will be used if the scores remain level after 90 minutes. Once the match is over, there will be a trophy, prize and medal presentation to the winners and runners-up.

The day will come to an end around 5-5:30pm for those who wish to return home to lick their wounds, and even longer for those who remain as everyone makes for the pub to celebrate, or commiserate, depending on the results. ChelseaTV and magazine will be covering the event, as will CFCnet magazine. Our photographers will also be on hand to record the pain and the glory of the day, with photo’s available soon after the event.

Places for teams are limited to eight teams, with each team limited to a maximum squad of 30 players, and each teams’ players will need to be registered in advance, or on the day of the tournament at the latest to ensure no one team has an unfair advantage in numbers. This was opened up to those groups and representatives on the Fans Forum in the first instance, and from that we have confirmed entrants in the form of The Chelsea Supporters Group, cfcuk, CFCnet, with the staff of Chelsea FC entering a team too.

This leaves us with four places to fill and so if you would like to enter a team into the tournament then please email me with the name of your team and also your contact details. Remember, you may need a large squad if you are to make it to the final, however this will have to be limited to 30 players, you will also need to provide your own kit and boots etc, as well as bringing a few of your own footballs to kick around with. Match balls and referees’ will be provided, as should bibs in case of clashing colours too.

If you wish to enter a team, mail me tobybrown@cfcnet.co.uk before 5th June so we can finalise all entrants, and settle all final details a month before the event.

May the best team win!