If you browse the Chelsea websites you will find many lists of the club’s celebrity fans, here are ten that stand out for various reasons:
10. Bill Clinton: Included because it’s a pretty obscure one but the former President of the USA used to watch the Blues while he was studying in Oxford. Maybe he had the west London club in mind when naming his daughter Chelsea.
9. Will Ferrel: The US comedian who has starred in films such as Anchorman, Step Brothers and Elf showed his allegiance to the Stamford Bridge outfit when he started wearing a Chelsea shirt on The Daily Show. He was made an honorary captain during Chelsea’s preseason tour in the US for their friendly against Inter Milan.
8. Steven Redgrave: Britain’s greatest ever Olympian after winning five consecutive gold medals in the games is also a big Chelsea fan and admits that football was always his greatest interest even as a rower.
7. David Baddiel: The English comedian, novelist and TV personality is a lifelong Chelsea fan. He’s best known for his work with fellow comedian Frank Skinner, particularly their show Baddiel and Skinner Unplanned and the England song ‘Three Lions on a shirt’ that they released for Euro 1996 which was also rerecorded for the 1998 World Cup.
6. Laurence Dallagio: One of England’s Rugby World Cup winners in 2003 and has supported Chelsea ever since his dad took him to Stamford Bridge as an eight-year-old boy.
Click to page 2 to see the top five
5. Alec Stewart: A legend in his own sport of cricket he is England’s most capped cricketer and also a Chelsea enthusiast. He even chose the number 4 shirt in honour of his favourite Chelsea player whilst he was growing up, John Hollins.
4. Michael Caine: London born actor and star of films such as the original Alfie and Italian job has been Oscar nominated six times and has appeared in over 100 movies. At the end of a recent interview with The Australian (an Aussie newspaper) he said he was off to watch Chelsea play Manchester United on his “big high-def”.
3. Graham McPherson aka Suggs: Best known for being the frontman of the band Madness, Radio DJ and as an avid Chelsea fan. Suggs released one of Chelsea fans’ favourite songs ‘Blue Day’ in collaboration with the Chelsea players ahead of their 1997 FA Cup final.
2. Steve McQueen: Although he’s no longer with us Steve McQueen has to be regarded as one of the coolest Chelsea fans ever, which is why he features so high on this list. The Great Escape star even visited the players in the Stamford Bridge dressing room during the height of his fame.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
1. Lord Richard Attenborough: Another actor in this list the Jurassic Park star served as a director for the Stamford Bridge outfit between 1969-1982 and is now serving an honorary position as life President at the club.
Any glaring omissions?
**
Click on image below to see the BRAZILIAN babes at the World Cup
Tottenham striker Emmanuel Adebayor has stated that he is happy with how he has started his tenure at White Hart Lane, and feels he is getting back to his best.
The Togolese forward is on a one-year loan deal from Manchester City, and has scored three goals in his first three games for his new team.
The African attacker set up the opening goal for Rafael van der Vaart against Wigan in a 2-1 win on Saturday, and is happy with his contribution.
“I’m getting my form back slowly and I think I helped my team to win,” he told talkSPORT.
Adebayor’s display was made all the more impressive by the fact that he suffered an injury to his eye, and had to play the second half with impaired vision.
“Unfortunately the second half was quite difficult because I was playing with only one eye. I couldn’t see the ball, I couldn’t see my opponents or anything but I managed to stay on the pitch for 90 minutes,” he concluded.
Spurs take on Shamrock Rovers in the Europa League on Thursday, before Adebayor goes up against his old club Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday.
[divider]
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
He’s the bellyflopping, club-hopping centre forward who Newcastle have signed to fill in for the departed Andy Carroll and the injured Shola Ameobi. And at 6ft 2in and 14 stone, Shefki Kuqi will certainly allow Alan Pardew to call upon a physical presence up front again.
The former Finland international, 34, who made his Newcastle debut against one his many former sides, Blackburn, as a late substitute last Saturday, is almost certainly only a stopgap option for the Magpies until they can dip into the £35m they raised from the sale of their former number nine and find a more long-term replacement in the summer. Nonetheless, the player for whom the phrase ‘burly front man’ could have been invented is a veteran of ten years’ almost unbroken service in British football whose big chance on Tyneside represents one of this season’s most heartening tales.
“I’m probably one of the happiest footballers in the world,” said the player with the famous goal celebration on his arrival last week.
Kuqi made Newcastle his ninth Football League club shortly after having his contract at Swansea City terminated by mutual consent, but he had given no indication in an interview just a day or so earlier that he was anticipating an offer from quite such a big club. Speaking to Mark Clemmit on the nPower Football League podcast last Tuesday, Kuqi spoke of “mixed feelings” about the way his release from the Liberty Stadium had come about and sounded like he was unsure what his next step would be.
Any footballer in his mid-thirties who finds himself without a club has a right to feel anxious about the future of his career. In Kuqi’s case, he had found himself out of favour under Brendan Rodgers at the beginning of this season and was loaned out to Derby County as a result. The striker only scored twice for the Rams in a three-month period but his spell with the club did coincide with a good run of form for Nigel Clough’s side. Nevertheless, the loan was not extended and Kuqi’s parent club decided to give him a free transfer on 26th January. It was a sad way for the player to end his twelve months in south Wales, which had brought him seven goals in 24 appearances.
[ad_pod id=’fox-mpu’ align=’right’]
Whatever his worries after leaving Swansea, however, Kuqi has overcome far greater obstacles in the past. The son of Kosovar Albanian parents who decided to leave Serbia at the end of the eighties, with the Balkans gearing up for war, Kuqi moved to Finland with his family when he was 12 years old.
“It was a huge change, going to live in another country and starting a new life,” he told the Independent in 2004. “It took a while to get used to it. I did very little in my first year in Finland. I didn’t speak the language and we didn’t know anybody. The Finnish language is hard to learn. My family eventually picked it up and they’re now OK with it, but it was very difficult for them at first. Fortunately when you’re a kid you pick the language up quite quickly and make friends. I started to go to school and play football. And getting into football was the best possible way for me to make my mark in a new country.”
It was Stockport County who brought Kuqi to Britain at the start of 2001 from the Finnish club FC Jokerit. In stark contrast to their current plight near the bottom of League Two, ten years ago Stockport were in what is now the Championship. They were battling against relegation when Kuqi joined at the turn of the year and the club’s website still credits the striker as being “regarded by many as the saviour of County’s season” after six goals in 18 games from their new signing helped them to stay up.
A £1m move to Sheffield Wednesday followed for Kuqi in January 2002 but while the size of the transfer fee and the opportunity to play at Hillsborough might have suggested that the forward’s career was on a steady upward trajectory, the Owls’ past was casting a shadow over the club’s present then just as it is now and his first full season in Yorkshire culminated in relegation to the third tier. Five goals in eight games at the start of 2003/04, however, hastened a loan move to Ipswich in the division above that was made permanent in November, Kuqi joining on a free. Ipswich made the play-offs twice during his time in Suffolk, being pipped to automatic promotion by Wigan in 2005 despite amassing 85 points.
Kuqi’s 20 goals that season convinced Mark Hughes to give him a go in the Premier League at Blackburn. Seven strikes in his only full season in the top flight represented a more than acceptable return on his manager’s investment, given that Kuqi had again moved on a free, but in August 2006 Crystal Palace waded in with a £2.5m bid for the striker, as the Eagles sought to use up some of the parachute payments they were receiving following relegation from the Premier League the year before, and the player was on the move yet again.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Three seasons in south London saw Kuqi score erratically and, in one instance at least, behave rashly too. The striker was fined two weeks’ wages and transfer listed by Neil Warnock in February 2008 after gesturing to Palace fans reacting to his substitution in a defeat to Wolves, shortly after he had returned from a loan spell with Fulham. Kuqi was then loaned back to Ipswich but he eventually regained his manager’s favour and his third season at the club ended up being his best. It was his last for Palace too, as his contract was up and the much-travelled player left for TuS Koblenz in the German second division.
[ad_pod id=’unruly’ align=left]
After only six months on the continent, though, Kuqi returned to join Paulo Sousa’s Swansea in January 2010. Things went pretty well for him last season but, as is often the case, a new manager came in with his own plans and an established member of the side found himself a casualty of the new regime. Having answered Newcastle’s call though, Kuqi’s dying swan goal celebration might well be resurrected at Premier League grounds between now and May.
Forget Mexico, forget Japan, clearly the best preparation England can get going into the World Cup is to test themselves vigorously against the likes of Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, Henrik Larsson, Ryan Giggs and that guy who played a periphery character in Heroes….You know, one of the ones who wasn’t actually a hero, but was a mate of one of the heroes. Little guy. Him… and Austin Powers.
This was of course Soccer Aid, Robbie Williams’ noble attempt to elevate a kick around with his mates from an embarrassing wheeze fest of male competitiveness to a meaningful grudge match for UNICEF. And once the dust had settled from the latest installment of charity celebrity football, England vs the Rest of the World had proved to be far more entertaining than either of England’s latest efforts to convince us they’re on the cusp of world domination.
The coverage began with the sad and disturbing footage of the desperate, mournful unfortunate faces we’ve become all to accustomed to on these types of occasion. And once Kenny Dalglish and Harry Redknapp had left the studio to give their team talks, we were reminded of the harsh realities of life in Africa as well.
Orlando Bloom had been banished to the BT Tower to keep an eye on the telephones and valiantly attempt to read the autocue convincingly, so host Dermot O’Leary had to make do with Big Sam Allardyce and Al Murray, who seemed to be trying out a new incarnation of his Pub Landlord character, namely one who wasn’t funny.
As the teams prepared to take the field, the real fun of spotting whom they’d managed to convince to do it this time began. The Rest of the World Team is always the more interesting in these things. England’s team usually consists of soap actors (Bradley Walsh – tick) Simon Cowell competition winners (Olly Murs – tick) TV Presenters (Jamie Theakston – tick) Respected all be it B-List thespians (Damien Lewis – tick) and recognizable, but “not for the life of me why” mates of Robbie Williams (Jonathan Wilkes – tick). The opposition however are usually far more eclectic and this year had managed the genuine coup of getting not just Woody Harrelson and Mike Myers, but former World Players of the year Zinedine Zidane and Luis Figo. Clearly aware that they were supposed to be the bad guys here however, they’d sensibly negated any support they’d likely get form this by including not just one, but two members of Westlife, presumably hoping to prove there is some talent in there somewhere, but a bit baffled at how to prove it without standing up and sitting down again from a stool.
As Russell Watson belted out Nessun Dorma for reasons that aren’t immediately clear, Clive Tyldsley optimistically noted that Piereluigi Collina was singing along, when in fact it looked for all the world to me like he was yawning. He may well still have been by the end of the first half, which was almost as dour as Kenny Dalglish’s pre match team talk despite the occasional glorious site of Zidane embarrassing everyone when he could be bothered.
After the opening few minutes of nervy misplaced passes, testosterone fueled over exuberation and terrible crosses, it started to become clear which celebs could actually play and which were there merely as a good will gesture. Damien Lewis chipped an audacious 25 yard effort off the bar and Olly Murs tormented Gordon Ramsey on the right wing, both out shining Alan Shearer and Teddy Sheringham in the center, who both seemed to be taking it all incredibly seriously to little effect.
For a brief period the game threatened to burst into life and the entertainment came two fold as Robbie Williams gave away a penalty and one of the mannequins from Westlife missed it.
It was at about this point that Zidane decided he was going to step it up a bit and after dribbling past 4 players to play in Sami Hyypia, nutmegging Lewis on the touchline and combining sexily with Giggs he almost broke into a smile. But didn’t.
After a massive spider had crawled across the lens, sparking momentary fears that the age of our new insect overlords was finally upon us, Jamie Redknapp literally scored a lovely goal, combining with a version of Teddy Sheringham made from boiled ham and varnish to put England ahead right on half time.
It was then back to the studio to watch Orlando Bloom struggle with the autocue again and Dermot O’Leary struggle to muster a convincing laugh at anything Al Murray was saying.
Luis Figo came on for Giggs as the second half began and immediately took the game in the right spirit, attempting to dribble past everyone every time he got the ball then hugging anyone who managed to stop him heartily. Jamie Theakston – on for David Seamen – saved well from blonde Westlife man before the SAS of Shearer and Sheringham combined to put England two up after more good work from Olly Murs.
Joe Calzaghe just about managed to not miss from half a yard out to bring the ROW back into it as the game really started to get interesting with the celebs starting to tire.
Ricky Hatton wobbled on, Patrick Kielty saved a one on one from Alan Shearer, Brian Lara hit a chance for six, Bradley Walsh somehow hit a shot backwards and Woody Harrelson completely missed the ball with his first (non) touch as the game opened up.
Hyypia grabbed an equalizer to take it to penalties, and the real fun began as a celeb only policy was enforced to ensure maximum comedy value.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
After Robbie’s mate had scored and Brian Lara squeezed it past the boundary, Jamie Theakston stepped forward as a viable choice for back up keeper in South Africa with a string of saves to deny a slew of relatively recognizable people and Gordon Ramsey. England continued to show that taking very bad penalties runs in our blood as Paddy McGuiness skied over and Robbie did a John Terry before the ever-impressive duo of Lewis and Murs slotted in their pens like they’d actually kicked a ball before. Calzaghe and Brian Clough both netted for the opposition whilst Ben Shepard and Ricky “Waller” Hatton found the top corner and after each side had cancelled each other out in both hits and misses, Mike Myers slotted one calmly down the middle to force Jamie Theakston to step out of goal to keep England in the lead.
Undoing all his good work between the sticks however, Theakston awkwardly punted it over creating the surreal sight of Woody Harrelson making the long walk to the spot to win the damn thing.
Looking fittingly spaced out, the A-List Hollywood actor who’d spent the previous week joining in other peoples kick abouts in Battersea park to gain match fitness, struck it to the left of the despairing dive of England’s number one to clinch the trophy for the Rest of the World, sparking jubilantly surreal scenes as Woody from Cheers was mobbed by Ryan Giggs, Tony Blair, Luis Figo, Austin Powers, the Mentalist and that little bloke from Heroes who had earlier attempted to throw a ball in from a corner. Utter madness, and all the better for it.
A riotous evening’s enjoyment, and with over £2 million made for UNICEF by the end of the game alone, a triumph all round. Even Zidane was smiling by the end of it, but whether he attended Patrick Keilty’s pre-game team bonding barbeque is the question I really want an answer to.
Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has been told that he will have to pay £15 million if he wants to lure Joe Allen to Anfield, according to Mirror Football.
The Northern Irish manager is keen to raid his former club Swansea for their star midfielder, in a bid to boost the Merseyside club’s chances of finishing in the top four next term.
However, despite the fact that contact has been made between the clubs, there is thought to be a significant difference in the two sides’ valuations of Allen.
The Liberty Stadium club are pointing to the example of Jordan Henderson, who Liverpool paid £16 million for last summer, and feel that a similar fee will be necessary to convince them to part with their star.
Allen has been selected in Stuart Pearce’s Team GB squad for the Olympics this summer.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
HM Revenue and Customs has announced it is to come down on footballers suspected of tax evasion to ensure that they are not avoiding payments during the country’s economic plight. An ‘affluence team’ consisting of 100 members is being conceived by the government to scrutinise the tax affairs of the estimated 350,000 people whose personal wealth exceeds £2.5m, including many Premier League footballers.
Any footballer found skipping payments or working around the tax system could be handed additional tax bills. “HMRC are aware of a potential tax issue concerning the payment of agent fees and are taking steps to ensure the tax rules are respected,” the tax authority said in a statement. “When a third party pays a fee to an agent acting on behalf of an employee, the fee may count as part of the employee’s taxable earnings and so be liable to tax.”
Some 2,000 extra tax inspectors are being hired to make sure that Britain’s wealthiest are paying their full liabilities. “The government has made £917m available to HMRC to ensure that tax rules are adhered to across the board,” HMRC said.
Follow Josh Sheridan on Twitter
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Manchester City need a win in order to keep up with the three other clubs in the top four who all won last night. Birmingham will be looking to bounce back from their previous League encounter where they suffered a 5-0 thumping by the red side of Manchester.
Man City boss, Roberto Mancini will be looking for a good reaction after being held to a 1-1 draw in the FA Cup at the weekend against League One, Notts County. Recent addition, Edin Dzeko scored the equaliser for his first goal for the club and will be looking for his first league goal tonight. He could be partnered by Carlos Tevez who should shake off a back problem but winger Adam Johnson is out for three months.
Blues Manager, Alex McLeish enjoyed the success of two Cup victories in the past 10 days, especially securing City’s place in the League Cup final. However, he’ll be looking for his Blues team to start improving their league position at the wrong end of the table and could give debuts to new signings Obafemi Martins and Curtis Davies.
Prediction: 1-2
[divider]
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
[divider]
bet365 will match new customers’ deposit up to the value of £200!
Team GB have securely qualified for the Olympics football quarter-finals after a 1-0 win over Uruguay on Wednesday night.
Stuart Pearce’s side ensured victory through Daniel Sturridge’s first-half goal, which complements victory over UAE and a draw with Senegal.
Pearce felt that the victory complemented improved performances throughout the competition by Great Britain.
“Today has been a fantastic day with Wiggins winning gold and that spreads right across Great Britain, it brings a feelgood factor to the Olympics and we are glad to have played our part this evening and got the result to get out of the group,” he told reporters, published in Sky Sports.
“We didn’t watch it (the rowing or the cycling) together as we had to prepare for this game but I fully expect that most of the players, and a lot of the staff, are watching other events.
“We all feel part of it after our experience in the Olympic village. We all feel part of what’s going on.
“I also have to mention the women’s team, them winning yesterday gave us a real good lift by beating Brazil.
“They have been playing a day before us and everytime they have got a good result we are trying to emulate them, which is fantastic.
“We are all under the same umbrella and we all want each other to do well.
“I thought all 18 of the players were fantastic, and it excites me to stay in the competition to play at least one more game with this group.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
“We are improving game by game, our fitness levels are improving, our understanding is improving and some of the passing, especially in the first half, was outstanding,” he concluded.
Manchester City midfielder Samir Nasri has had a parting shot at former club Arsenal, stating that the North London outfit can no longer compete with their Premier League title rivals.
The 24-year-old completed a move to City earlier in the transfer window, claiming he left to win silverware, and made his debut against Tottenham at White Hart Lane on Sunday.
The Gunners have had a slow start to 2011-12, with defeats to Liverpool and Manchester United, and the former Marseille playmaker feels it was the right time for him to leave the Emirates.
“Arsenal remains a big club, but the building of Emirates Stadium changed a lot of things. It has changed the ambitions, so far. But it is not Arsene Wenger, it is the club’s politics, the officials,” he told L’Equipe.
“Arsenal doesn’t have the same funds. They can’t make the same coups as before in the transfer market. They are rather forced to sell their best players and bet on young ones.”
Nasri was entering into the last year of his contract at Arsenal, and reveals he had made his mind up to leave at the end of the 2010-11 campaign.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
“My decision was made in June. I wanted to leave after our difficult end of season. Arsene wanted me to stay. I’m glad Arsenal got a good sum. I prefer to leave like that than at end of my contract. I did the same with Marseille.
“Yes, it was [the right time to leave], there are sure signs. The departure of Cesc (Fabregas) to Barcelona is one of them. The defeat against Birmingham in the League Cup final was very harmful for the minds. Today I feel like I’m in a team where I can win titles.”
Nottingham Forest have strengthened their promotion push with the dual signing of Paul Konchesky and Robbie Findley on Monday.
The Championship side were busy as the January transfer window closed, securing left-back Konchesky on loan from Premier League club Liverpool.
The defender has found himself out of favour at Anfield after former manager Roy Hodgson was sacked and is looking forward to playing regular football again.
“I’m very excited about joining Forest. It’s a new challenge and a big challenge for me as well,” Konchesky said.
“It doesn’t bother me that I’m dropping down to the Championship because I just want to play football, that’s what I love doing.”
American international Findley has joined on a free transfer from MLS outfit Real Salt Lake on a two-and-a-half year deal and will bolster Forest’s strike-force.
Leicester City also produced a big-name capture, signing Portuguese goalkeeper Ricardo.
Capped 79 times for his country, Ricardo joined on a free transfer after he was released from Spanish side Real Betis and his arrival has delighted Leicester boss Sven-Goran Eriksson.
“I am delighted that we’ve been able to secure Ricardo on a permanent contract,” Eriksson said.
“He has impressed during his time at the club and brings extra competition to our goalkeeping department.”
Meanwhile, Bristol City announced the permanent signing of Martyn Woolford from Scunthorpe while Wolves and Republic of Ireland striker Andrew Keogh joined on loan until the end of the season.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Former Hull City captain Ian Ashbee joined Preston North End on a permanent deal, with his departure paving the way for Manchester United’s Cameron Stewart to sign with Hull after impressing on a loan spell.
Sheffield United signed Scottish defender Neill Collins from Yorkshire rivals Leeds United while Crystal Palace and Scunthorpe United also strengthened their back four, with Dean Moxey and Michael Nelson joining from Derby County and Norwich City respectively.
Moroccan midfielder Merouane Zemmama has joined Middlesbrough from Hibernian while Barnsley signed West Ham’s Frank Nouble on loan for the remainder of the season.