John Terry hails influence of Roberto Di Matteo

Roberto Di Matteo: Praised by John Terry

The Italian left the club following a dismal run of just two victories in eight games in all competitions.Chelsea skipper John Terry paid tribute to out-going manager Roberto Di Matteo who was sacked by the club following their 3-0 defeat by Juventus in the Champions League on Tuesday.

But Terry was quick to praise Di Matteo who was also a player at Stamford Bridge between 1996 and 2000.

Terry wrote in his programme notes ahead of Sunday's game with Manchester City, said: "It has been a difficult week all round both on and off the pitch.

"I want to say that it was a privilege to play for Robbie. I had the pleasure, as a YTS player growing up, of watching and learning from him and to go on and play under him as captain was an honour.

"To win two competitions last season, including the Champions League that we had wanted for so long, was incredible.

"Robbie is a great man and an absolute legend. We wish him every success in the future, because saying thanks doesn't seem enough."

@SKYSports

Rafa Benitez unveiled at Chelsea and Interview - Zenden on the staff

Rafa Benitez: Unveiled at Stamford Bridge on Thursday

The former Liverpool manager has been installed as Chelseamanager until the end of the season following the dismissal of Roberto Di Matteo on Wednesday.Rafa Benitez has vowed to win over Chelsea fans after the news of his appointment was met with a hostile reaction from the Stamford Bridge faithful.

There was some surprise that Benitez was willing to accept a short-term contract, but the 52-year-old said the chance to manage Chelsea was too good to pass up.

"My priority was to work in the Premier League, I'm really happy to be here with a top side," said Benitez, who confirmed that Boudewijn Zenden.

"For me the most important thing is I am here because I want to be here. I was looking for the right opportunity, I was looking for a top side who can fight for trophies.

"I don't care about the short-term (deal), what I have in my head is to win every game. We have five trophies to fight for. We will see what happens, in seven months we can win some trophies.

"At this level you are expected to win, do it well, and win trophies. I have a lot of years' experience at this level, and I will do what I have to do to win games.

"I like to do things in the right way for the fans. I am sure they will be happy with a manager with a winning mentality."

Benitez was also quizzed on his previous comments about Chelsea made while he was in charge of Liverpool, many of which were less than sympathetic towards the team and supporters.

He said: "I want to be honest, if I say this or that, I have to analyse the context. We were playing against Chelsea in the semi-finals of the Champions League.

"If I am a fan I want to see the manager fighting for my club. I don't see this as a lack of respect for Chelsea's fans, just a manager defending his team before an important game."

The former Inter Milan boss, who also strongly hinted John Terry would stay on as captain, said he was not put off by talk he is simply keeping the hot-seat warm for Pep Guardiola.

"I have a very good relationship with Guardiola," he added. "He is a great manager, what will happen in future I don't know.

"When you analyse why go to a top side for seven months - it's because you can win trophies."

@SKYSports

Will Raúl Meireles be missed for Chelsea?

If you fail to sign Luka Modric, try and try again. And then at the last minute turn to Raul Meireles…

After months of chasing the Croatian midfielder; the player himself handing in a formal transfer request and still not getting any further, Chelsea needed to look into alternative options. On “Deadline Day”, with hours remaining in the 11/12 transfer window, Meireles handed in a transfer request and found himself signing for Chelsea not long after, where he was reacquainted with André Villas-Boas.

Meireles conceded that he didn’t want to leave Liverpool, but the chance to work with his old friend AVB was too good to refuse. So Chelsea forked out a reported £12m for a player that wasn’t exactly wanting to come to Stamford Bridge. It’s fair to say he wasn’t welcomed with open arms. Not initially, anyway. Although he was a last-minute coup for Chelsea, Meireles’ services were desperately needed with Michael Essien having suffered a long-term injury. He was thrown straight in at the deep end and struggled to make an impression. However, as the season progressed he grew in confidence and succeeding in winning over the fans (just about). He was an integral part of the team that managed to overcome the might and force of Barcelona, even sacrificing himself playing in the Champions League final (of which Geoff Shreeves was the first to remind him) by taking down Mascherano on the halfway line to save his team-mates from a counter-attack. That moment of self-sacrifice is one of the few moments that will remain in the memory of many Chelsea fans, alongside that goal against Benfica en route to Munich. What. a. goal.

Having signed for a rumoured £8m at Fenerbahçe, Meireles leaves a tender Chelsea midfield looking even more depleted. As Meireles prepares for bigger, better and hostile things in Turkey, his ex-colleagues in Lampard, Mikel, Ramires, Romeu and even Brazilian wonderkid, Oscar, are left to fight it out for the two “double-pivot” spots in Di Matteo’s 4-2-3-1. With five players fighting for two places, you would think there’s a lot of cover and strength in depth. Oh how numbers are deceiving…

There’s a lot of question marks surrounding those five players. Mikel and Romeu are the only two distinguished, out-and-out defensive midfielders out of the bunch, both of whom still have a lot to learn. Mikel has severely improved over the years, but he’s still not a definite name on the teamsheet. Lampard fought valiantly for the remainder of last season in a position that doesn’t best suit him, and it could be argued that the formation isn’t to his taste, either. Ramires is full of energy and would probably be best modelled as a box-to-box midfielder, though he’s been deployed in more attacking roles since Di Matteo came in (perhaps because Chelsea were lacking the personnel last season…) which has only been effective on a few very notable occasions. *cough* Chip over Valdes in the Camp Nou. *cough* And lastly, Oscar, the £25m youngster who is yet to cement a stronghold within the starting line-up, and that’s without considering the fact that he’s more effective further up the pitch.

It’s not as if there’s a Claude Makélélé within the Chelsea ranks anymore, or even more recently, a Michael Essien. There’s a lot of competition for the midfield spots, yes, but we’re yet to witness someone make that position their own. (Now’s your time, Oriol!) That being said, I don’t think letting Meireles go is as severe as many are making it out to be, but I do find the decision to let Meireles leave with no time to find a replacement rather baffling. I don’t think we’ll miss him per se, but I’ll miss having the occasional chuckle at his haircuts – if you can call them that – and I’m grateful for his work ethic and his efforts during his time at Stamford Bridge. Don’t forget he played a big part in the side that brought home the Champions League… and they will never be forgotten.

Thank you and good luck, Raul.

By Gdostephens.

Terry won't quit England team

John Terry: Happy to play alongside anyone for England

The Chelsea defender was stripped of the England captaincy as he awaits a court appearance over charges, denied by the 31-year-old, that he used racist language towards Anton Ferdinand.John Terry has rubbished rumours he could call time on his international career, saying: "I will never turn my back on England."

That led to suggestions he might call it a day for his country, but in an interview with The Sun he made it clear he would make himself available for new manager Roy Hodgson.

Terry said: "I'm not going to throw away my international career for anyone, I am proud to represent my country, I will never turn my back on England."

He added: "I never considered quitting. I was deeply disappointed by the FA's decision to strip me of the captaincy as it meant the world to me. But sometimes you just have to accept these things and move on."

"I'm not going to throw away my international career for anyone, I am proud to represent my country, I will never turn my back on England."
John Terry

Terry also made it clear he would have no problem playing with Ferdinand's brother Rio.

"I don't have an issue playing with anyone and never have done," he said.

"I don't pick and choose who plays for England and if I'm selected to play it won't become an issue either."

Fabio Capello's support for Terry over the incident ultimately led to his departure as England boss back in February.

"I was extremely disappointed the manager decided to quit," Terry said. "From day one he stood by me and said he knew the English law and the English way and you are innocent until proven guilty and I respected him for that."

Hodgson was this week named England boss ahead of apparent fan favourite Harry Redknapp, the Tottenham manager.

"I always thought Roy Hodgson was a genuine candidate and I was surprised no one really mentioned him," Terry said.

"Clearly all the hype was for Harry Redknapp but the FA have taken their time to appoint the right man to lead us to success and I think this is a great appointment."

Marko Marin to sign for Chelsea FC

Chelsea Football Club have today (Saturday) agreed to sign Marko Marin from Werder Bremen.
Both clubs have agreed a fee and the 23-year-old midfielder has agreed personal terms.
Marin, a German international, will join Chelsea in the summer.

@ChelseaFC.com

Drogba injured in Chelsea 3-1 win over Norwich

            LONDON (AP) — Didier Drogba was taken to hospital with mild concussion after being knocked unconscious during Chelsea's 3-1 victory over Norwich in the Premier League on Saturday.

The injury overshadowed Chelsea's second victory of the season, which was wrapped up by Juan Mata scoring on his debut in the 11th minute of stoppage time resulting from Drogba's injury.

The Ivory Coast striker's head was caught in a collision with Norwich goalkeeper John Ruddy and he was carried off on a stretcher wearing what appeared to be a breathing aid following seven minutes' treatment on the pitch.

"Drogba will be released from hospital tonight following medical tests," Chelsea said on its website. "The club's medical staff will continue to monitor the 33-year-old over the coming days."

Drogba remained unconscious "for quite some time" after leaving the Stamford Bridge pitch, manager Andre Villas-Boas said after the match.

"We are just waiting for the full exams on his concussion and hopefully nothing is wrong," Villas-Boas said. "He is showing some good signs of recovery for us to be a little bit more tranquil."

Villas-Boas said the challenge "looked pretty nasty."

"He lost consciousness completely on the pitch," the manager said. "I have to be very, very grateful, not only to my players but to the Norwich players and to my medical staff for reacting so quickly to a potentially dangerous situation."

The injury came just after Grant Holt pounced on a mistake by Chelsea goalkeeper Hilario in the 63rd minute to equalize for Norwich.

Hilario needlessly came racing off his line to claim a cross and collided with Branislav Ivanovic, allowing Holt to hook the ball into the empty net.

Jose Bosingwa had put Chelsea ahead after just six minutes with his first goal since November 2008 coming from a 25-yard (meter) strike that went in off the inside of the post.

Frank Lampard restored Chelsea's lead from the penalty spot in the 82nd after Ruddy was sent off for fouling Ramires.

It sparked a flash point between the benches, with Norwich manager Paul Lambert shoving Chelsea coach Jose Mario Rocha after the latter entered the visitors' technical area to celebrate the spotkick.

Lambert described Rocha as "the guy with the stopwatch on his neck", adding: "I don't know who he is but he's flown right into our area.

"I'm not fluent in Portuguese so if he understands Glaswegian then he might know what I said. You don't do that — it's disrespectful."

Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas backed Rocha.

"It's difficult to control your own emotions on the bench," he said. "But I would find it very, very strange if my technical staff would be disrespectful of Norwich and maybe they were just showing some emotions. If Paul can't handle that, I'm sorry — unlucky."

It was a dream debut for Mata, who came off the bench and produced Chelsea's third goal three days after joining from Valencia.

Ritchie De Laet presented the Spain midfielder with the ball and he slotted beyond replacement 'keeper Declan Rudd.

"I'm very, very happy that the team is able to control their state of mind, to fight back, to show commitment and desire," Villas-Boas said.