Red Shirt Blue Shirt

A Quick Note

Sorry that I’ve been MIA recently Blues fans, until BBC decides to start paying me and Bryan for our dedication and alcoholism, work unfortunately has to take precedence to my regular posts.  That said, I want to have a quick word about the recent Chelsea FC happenings.  2 things in particular I want to highlight:  Fernando’s inexplicable ability to make me love and hate him simultaneously, and Frank Lampard’s aggressive reassertion that he deserves a place in any starting 11, not just that of the 2 teams he currently plays for.  

Regarding Nando:  Only the unluckiest man in football can play like Fernando has in his past 2 games.  I mean seriously, I have remained silent about his horrid miss during the United match… while I’m not saying I can do any better, I do think that most people have been unnecessarily harsh on the poor boy, all things considered.  Did he beat De Gea?  Yes.  Should he have scored?  Probably.  Could you have scored given the same circumstances?  Probably not.  Unless a club has paid 50 million pounds for you, then you have no right to mock the poor boy.  He has come back from unbelievable injury and is performing at near his top form… which brings me to my next point.  What the fuck was up with his tackle in the game against Swansea?  I mean, I completely understand his desire to show every one of his critics that he is 150% committed to giving his all for the team, but that tackle was worse than I used to do when I was playing middle school B team soccer.  Okay fine, I will remain one of Fernando’s biggest fans, mostly because I see shades of him coming back into form with every game he plays, but when he makes moves like that, intention doesn’t matter… the 3 match ban he has incurred does.  Every game he doesn’t play is another 90 minutes gone by that he starts to go back into his dark place.

Speaking of dark places, let’s move on to my next topic of discussion:  Frank Lampard.  Accused of being past his prime, Lamps went on to silence his critics 1000 times over this past weekend.  Sure he was kept out of the match against Valencia this past week, but if you watched the Bolton match, Lamps looked like a man possessed.  Running all over the pitch, wanting the ball, he seemed the natural leader that we have seen him as for the past 10 years.  A hat trick speaks for itself (and can we just note how Sturridge very nearly had a hat trick too that match?).  Not only that, but Lamps’ goals showed everyone that he was not only out for blood, but that he wants his spot on the England squad back.  Fabio Capello’s commentary that Lamps was no longer guaranteed a space should be laughed at after this kind of performance.  The England squad’s chances are a different story, but to insinuate that Lamps is past his prime is ridiculous.  Frank Lampard needs to be allowed his ability to use his natural leadership and captaining abilities to inspire his “troops.”  

Long story short, it is about to be a very interesting season.  Where we stand in the table, it is very much a 3 horse race… all it takes is for us to beat City and for United to underestimate a weaker opponent and drop points and then we can jump on tome.  The season is far too young to speculate on (this time last year we were just about to start on our way to one of the worst results streaks I can imagine), but I have very high hopes, and I think that, once Torres gets his mojo back, the Chelsea FC train will be amazingly difficult to stop.  

Chelsea Transfer Roundup

Looking back to my previous post concerning Chelsea’s transfer policy, one thing I can definitively say about this past transfer window is that Caligula seems to be allowing Andre Villas-Boas to craft his own team.  While this is not uncommon policy when a new manager comes in, I have to say that it seems like Andre had a lot of say in the moves that actually happened.  The drama over Luka Modric seems to have come from a combination of assuaging Caligula’s pride and Andre’s genuine desire for a playmaker of the crafty Croatian’s style.  While I will go through each of the transfers one by one, I have to say that I think that Juan “not for sale” Mata seems ready and willing to fill the role that Luka would have filled at about half the cost.  With that said, let’s look at the transfers:

Raul Meireles – a solid purchase, to say the least.  Chelsea’s midfield, while formidable in years past, needs some moderately aged replacements before our youngsters are ready for the big time.  Josh McEachran is absolutely going to feature prominently in the future of the Blues (I see him taking on a leadership role similar to John Terry once he has matured), but until that happens, we need a player of Meireles’ caliber to hold down the fort.  Look for him to feature prominently, especially with Essien injured, and once he figures out our system, I see him being a dangerous addition.

Juan Mata – As mentioned before, he can easily fill the playmaker role that Andre V-B was looking to fill with Luka Modric.  During his first outing, he scored a goal (not unlike David Luiz last season), and I can see a glorious future ahead of the young Spaniard.  I just hope that he can use his previous experience with Torres to Fernando’s advantage. 

Romelu Lukaku – While the comparison’s to Drogba are bound to happen, Lukaku is a player that I am very happy to see in our squad.  Yes, he is a very young, dark complexioned player with tons of raw talent, and his playing style is similar to Drogba’s, but he has the ability to develop into his own force, and I think that he can learn a lot from the team he has established.  He certainly needs Premier League experience before we can say definitively whether or not he will be effective, but his desire to play with Chelsea means that he will put in the necessary work to make a bright future happen. 

Oriel Romeu – A relative unknown, and, as far as I’m concerned, a steal from a stacked Barcelona squad, he will be a stalwart in the Chelsea defence for years to come.  I don’t want to say too much yet, because he is still a very raw player, but any player who has come through the Barcelona training system for any length of time has a distinct advantage over any other transfer.  His true value to the Blues will not be seen for a few years to come, but watch out for him, as a significant injury to any of our current squad is sure to result in a boatload of playing time for the young man from the Nou Camp.

Thibaut Courtois – Chelsea struck gold when they signed a young player named Petr Cech from the middle of nowhere, and the signing of Courtois shows them trying to strike lightning twice.  I can’t blame them, our depth in the keeper position is pathetic.  I joke with Bryan that the name of our back up keeper isn’t the only funny part about watching him play… Hilario is awful, and I feel scared any time Cech is injured.  I only hope that a few years in the Chelsea system will harden Courtois, and that he will serve as a legitimate backup to Cech sooner than later. 

While I won’t go through all of the outward transfers, two in particular stand out:

Yuri Zhirkov to FC Anzhi Makhachkala – Not only does this club have one of the hardest non-Turkish names to pronounce, but the fact that they are located in one of the most dangerous regions of Russia speaks volumes about them.  Their signing of Eto’o showed the footballing world that they mean business, and their bringing home a Russian international shows that they are looking to cater to the hometown crowd as much as the football community at large.  While Yuri failed to make a huge impact at Chelsea, I always liked watching him when he was on the pitch, and his versatility made him a great impact sub.  I can see how he would want to go home to Russia though, and I wish him and his new squad the best of luck in the Russian premier league, where they seem to be new favorites in the increasingly tough world of Russian footy, if for no other reason than their ridiculous financial prowess. 

Yossi Benayoun to Arsenal – Again, a player who failed to make a huge impact at Chelsea, while not his fault, I can see why the powers that be were willing to part with the Israeli.  Sure, as a Jew, I hate to see a player like Yossi go, I wish him the best of luck at his new club, and I hope that he shows the footballing world that Sandy Koufax wasn’t the only good Jewish athlete in history.  

Blue is the color – an introduction.

Hi.  I’m Gordon, and I’m a Chelsea fan.  Have been since I started following the beautiful game, and haven’t for a minute regretted my decision.  Being a dedicated footy fan and living here in the states is a tough gig.  It often requires shifting around my weekend schedule, waking up in the wee hours of the morning, finding a reliable stream that more than likely has very continental commentators speaking a language that I can barely understand, skipping class/work to watch Champions League, and getting derided by my peers for supporting a side that isn’t Manchester United, Barcelona, or Real Madrid.  When people give me shit for supporting Chelsea, finally I can say “at least we’re not City.”  Or for that matter PSG, Malaga, Anzhi Makhachkala, or any of the other nouveau riche clubs that are now owned by barons of all types. 

So, to answer the question, why Chelsea FC?  The answer is fairly simple – my dad lived in Russia for many of the last few years, and I felt it only right to support my father’s adopted compatriot.  Sure, Roman can certainly be a bit crazy (more on that in a later post), but the off the field antics of Chelsea make them as enjoyable a club to follow in the offseason as during the season. 

I’m excited for the future under Andre Villas-Boas, and while I know Roman’s track record of patience doesn’t bode too well for the new Special One if he doesn’t deliver some kind of silverware this season, I do feel like he has mellowed out a bit and is willing to let Andre do some growing of this team.     

On that note, I’ll leave you for now, as Bryan mentioned, stay tuned for a lot of comical posts in the future from two American lads who know way too much about footy for our own good.  And hopefully more photos like the one above.

- Gordon

WHAT IS RED SHIRT BLUE SHIRT?

Red Shirt Blue Shirt is a blog about football in the eyes of two lads who happen to be great friends but support opposing clubs - Liverpool FC and Chelsea FC.

We talk about footy all the fucking time so we thought why not start a blog about it? Though neither of us is actually scouse nor chav (considering we’re both from California), we know the EPL better than most, and that’s what we’re trying to share with you.

Now you’re probably asking how the fuck are these guys still friends after the Luis Garcia “ghost goal” in the 2005 Champions League and the Judas, I mean Fernando Torres, incident in January 2011? (Note:  Let’s not forget the 4-4 draw in the Champions League quarter final which saw Chelsea progress ahead to face Barcelona in a semi that I can’t forget soon enough -gordon) Well we tend to drink away our disagreements on a regular basis and share a common disdain for Manchester United, and that goes a long way.

So that’s kickoff then. Follow us for laughs about football with the occasional beautiful girl / club banger.

You’ll Never Walk Alone

-Bryan