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Chelsea Beat Manchester City 6-0

Essien and Drogba were among many star performers for Chelsea. Didier Drogba scored twice as Chelsea thrashed Manchester City to claim their third successive victory in the league.

The hosts dominated throughout and were 2-0 up at the break as Michael Essien and Drogba got on the end of passes from the outstanding Frank Lampard. Drogba made it 3-0 when Lampard’s shot was saved, before Joe Cole, Salomon Kalou and Andriy Shevchenko netted. Stephen Ireland and Martin Petrov came close for City in the first half but they were strangely subdued otherwise.

For Chelsea, however, it was a fifth straight win in all competitions, confirmation that the trauma of former boss Jose Mourinho’s departure was well behind them. They were simply too quick and too clever for a lethargic City side who gave them too much time on the ball and looked a shadow of the team which had also earned four victories in a row.

Chelsea did have an early scare when Ireland almost got on the end of Elano’s delightful chip, which Petr Cech had to push past his left post. Later in the half Petrov forced the Blues keeper to palm away a long-range free-kick, and Ireland should have done better when given time to pick his shot.

Other than that it was pretty much one-way traffic. Essien gave the home side a deserved lead when Lampard slipped him in and it was no surprise when the England midfielder produced another quite sublime pass with the outside of his boot to send Drogba racing past Micah Richards for his third goal in as many games.

Lampard was booked after a scuffle with Richards but was magnificent. Chelsea were rampant and should have had a penalty moments later when Dietmar Hamann hacked down Drogba, while Joe Hart saved well from Kalou, who then appeared to be tripped by Richard Dunne in the box.

It proved academic, however, with the game over as a contest thanks to two further Chelsea strikes within 15 minutes of the restart. Drogba hammered in his second after Lampard’s shot had been brilliantly kept out by Hart and he squandered a fine opportunity to complete his hat-trick when Lampard unleashed another drive which Hart palmed away.

The powerful striker made amends with a cushioned header that sent Cole surging clear to finish with aplomb and pile on the misery for City boss Sven-Goran Eriksson. With the visitors now concentrating on damage limitation, Chelsea could afford to bring on the out-of-sorts Shevchenko.

Chances continued to come their way and Essien carved open the shell-shocked City defence twice more to serve up opportunities which Kalou and Shevchenko gleefully accepted.

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Chelsea boss Avram Grant:
“In the last month we have improved in every match. The players want to be better and have shown full commitment to positive football and winning - there are no big secrets behind this.
“We will enjoy this but we are in the middle of the process and want to continue it. I don”t think we will win many games 6-0. Manchester City are not an easy team to beat but we made it easier.

“We moved like we needed to and played our football. The fans know now we are trying to play positive football.”

Man City boss Sven-Goran Eriksson:
“We forgot how to defend. If you give a team like Chelsea space and time that will happen. It was very bad defending from our side - we have to be much better than that.
“It has been a good story so far this season but I’m sorry for the fans who travelled here. There were a lot of them here, they wanted to see us play good football - not see us lose like we did.

“People are talking about us playing good football but you have to defend and be very aggressive. If you don’t do that against a team like Chelsea this happens.”

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Chelsea: Cech, Belletti, Carvalho, Alex, Ferreira, Joe Cole (Shevchenko 67), Essien, Lampard, Obi, Kalou, Drogba (Pizarro 80).
Subs Not Used: Cudicini, Makelele, Ben-Haim.

Booked: Essien, Lampard.

Goals: Essien 16, Drogba 31, 56, Joe Cole 60, Kalou 75, Shevchenko 90.

Man City: Hart, Corluka, Dunne, Richards, Garrido, Ireland (Vassell 63), Hamann (Ball 66), Johnson, Petrov, Elano (Bianchi 73), Samaras.
Subs Not Used: Isaksson, Onuoha.

Booked: Richards, Johnson.

Att: 41,832

Ref: Mike Riley (Yorkshire).

News from www.bbc.co.uk/sport
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Reggy Mourinho “I could hardly believe it when I heard the result! However, I wish everyone would stop putting this big win down to Avran Grant and say the Mourinho era is now behind the team (how rude). They seem to forget that for the last so many games in charge of Chelsea, Mourinho didn’t even have lampard or Drogba - 2 king pins of the game! Here here!

Reggy Mourinho reporting back very soon…oh and i hear Drogba is releasing a single - how bizarre!

Reggy Mourinho

- Reggy Mourinho

My Chelsea boys have made an excellent start to their Champions League fixture against Schalke. They are currently 1-0 up thanks to a sneaky through the keepers legs goal by Malouda - priceless. Drogba and Lampard are back in the team and Frank even has the captains armband on as Terry is still out with his knee injury.

Drogba is looking lively and he, Frank and Essien have had a number of good chances but have so far not put any of them away!

I have my fingers and toes crossed for this one, I’ll report back when the game has finished and I’ve had a sleep.

Reggy Mourinho.

Dynamo Kiev 2-4 Manchester United

Ferdinand scored United’s opener, two goals from Cristiano Ronaldo helped a dominant Manchester United to a comfortable victory at Dynamo Kiev. Rio Ferdinand opened the scoring when he headed in a Ryan Giggs free-kick from the left before Wayne Rooney tapped in Wes Brown’s low cross. Diogo Rincon reduced the deficit with a header before Ronaldo nodded in United’s third. Ronaldo scored from the spot after Goran Gavrancic handballed before Ismael Bangoura fired in late for Kiev.

Victory gave United their third win from three Champions League games this season but never would Sir Alex Ferguson’s side have thought they would achieve the result in such a shockingly easy manner. Kiev’s defence was poor. Actually to be blunt, they were awful for much of the match. The Ukraine side are taken away to a training camp for a few days before each European tie, but the benefits from that were far from visible on a chilly night at the Olympic Stadium.

They looked disjointed against a United side whose attacking wave of Carlos Tevez, Rooney, Ronaldo and Giggs were a cut above sublime. And it was the senior member of the quartet, Giggs, who shone the brightest. The Welshman was on hand to deliver a glorious ball from the left for Ferdinand to power in his first Champions League goal for United early in the first half. What Giggs was doing down the left, Portugal icon Ronaldo was doing down the right.

Last year’s Premiership player of the year played an important part in the second goal when he seized on a misplaced ball on the halfway line and sped down the wing. Brown, in support, was fed the ball before laying a low pass into the feet of Rooney who tapped in from six yards. Four, five, six goals? It was anybody’s guess as to how many United would score following a rampant 20 minutes. But their flow was stopped abruptly by a Rincon who powered his header from Carlos Correa’s corner. Rooney slotted home an easy second.

With the Kiev fans given something to cheer about it was expected the visitors goal would come under severe pressure, but instead United restored their two goal advantage thanks to some more sloppy defending. Giggs made the most of the free space he was gifted on the left to swing in another perfect cross that Ronaldo, unmarked, headed into the keeper’s top right. Kiev improved ten-fold in the second half and put the visitors under some early pressure with Correa going close with a 25-yard free-kick and their biggest threat, Rincon, heading narrowly wide.

But with the Ukraine outfit employing more men in attack they were becoming increasingly exposed in defence. A typical United break led to their fourth when Tevez was fed down the right and his cross was handled by Gavrancic. Referee Viktor Kassai had to consult his linesman to see whether the offence was inside the area before awarding the spot-kick. With that drama over, Ronaldo coolly stepped up to score his second.

Bangoura’s beautifully struck low drive made sure United were kept on their toes for the last few minutes of their victory.

Arsenal 7-0 Slavia Prague

Arsenal put on a magical display at the Emirates Stadium as they closed in on the Champions League knockout stages. Cesc Fabregas’s stunning strike put the Gunners ahead after five minutes and David Hubacek’s own goal made it 2-0.

Theo Walcott got his first Champions League goal after a goalkeeping error before Alexander Hleb scored one and set up Walcott for his second. Fabregas finished a fabulous move and substitute Nicklas Bendtner wrapped up Arsenal’s best ever home win in Europe.

The margin of victory also equalled the biggest win in the Champions League, matching Juventus’ 2003 demolition of Olympiakos. It was a simply breathtaking performance from the in-form Gunners, who recorded their 12th successive victory and matched their best result under Arsene Wenger. Wenger, who celebrated his 58th birthday on Monday, rewarded Walcott for his eye-catching cameo at the weekend with a first Champions League start and he responded in style.

The 18-year-old, who started up front alongside Emmanuel Adebayor, had a quiet opening 20 minutes as his team-mates continued in the dazzling form they have shown all season. Emmanuel Eboue’s pace caused havoc down the right, Hleb was outstanding on the left while Fabregas pulled the strings in the middle. Hleb’s trickery took him to the byeline and he cut the ball back for Fabregas to lift a perfectly-placed shot beyond keeper Martin Vaniak as Arsenal took the lead inside five minutes.

Slavia fashioned a rare chance when David Kalivoda fired narrowly over the bar before Arsenal made it 2-0. The visitors failed to clear a corner and Hleb’s powerful strike took a heavy deflection off Hubacek’s outstretched leg to beat Vaniak. Hleb, Walcott and Fabregas were all on the scoresheet against Slavia

Walcott’s first telling contribution came after 28 minutes when he delivered an inviting cross for his strike partner, but Adebayor could only head straight at the keeper. A little over 10 minutes later, the striker became the youngest Englishman to score a Champions League goal - eclipsing Wayne Rooney.

Daniel Pudil played his keeper into trouble with an ambitious backpass and Vaniak’s attempted clearance went straight to Walcott. The teenager still had plenty to do though, coolly sidestepping Vaniak before firing a precise shot in between two covering defenders. Desperate Slavia coach Karel Jarolim made a change at the break but Arsenal’s response was simply to find another gear.

Hleb got the goal his performance deserved from Fabregas’s perfect pass and the Belarussian then set up Walcott, who raced down the left channel before stroking home with the outside of his right foot. It was a sumptuous finish - reminiscent of Thierry Henry - but the best was yet to come from Arsenal.

Slavia could - and did - only stand and admire as the Gunners went from defence to attack in a flash, the ball gliding from Hleb to Adebayor and on to Walcott before the teenager set up Fabregas to provide the gloss finish. Those three goals in 13 thrilling minutes of the second-half put Arsenal 6-0 up and Wenger, not surprisingly, made a triple change, introducing Gilberto, Bendtner and Tomas Rosicky for Adebayor, Hleb and Mathieu Flamini.

The changes disrupted Arsenal’s rhythm and brought welcome respite to the demoralised Slavia players. They even had a chance when William Gallas’s slip let in Stanislav Vlcek, but Manuel Almunia made a smart save. Walcott came agonisingly close to a hat-trick but was denied from six yards by a remarkable save from Vaniak - before Rosicky fired the rebound against the bar.

Arsenal eventually got their seventh when Bendtner played a one-two with Eboue, who backheeled his return for the Dane to poke the ball home at the second attempt.

News from www.bbc.co.uk

Well we didn’t win the Football Qualifier game against Russia so we probably won’t make the Euro 2008 tournament, we didn’t win the Rugby World Cup Final against South Africa and we didn’t win the World Championship in Formula 1 racing! Well unless McClaren can pull off a ridiculous appeal against the fuel that the winner Kimi Raikkonen used?! What is the sport coming to.

Not a good show for the English this week then!

If you like the above photos why not give BubbaHunks.com a ago!

Well the England football team may be an uncertainty as to whether they will even reach the Euro 2008 Finals, but at least the Rugby Team have showed a little more promise!

England take on South Africa in the Rugby World Cup Final tonight in Paris, kick off 7:45pm. Everyone’s talking about the grit and determination of the England team, especially to come back after a 36-0 defeat to South Africa earlier on in the tournament, but I think a vital kingpin in tonight’s game will be Johnny Wilkinson and his kicking. He’s been a bit hit and miss in the last few games so I really hope he finds his magic again tonight.

I may be an avid footy fan, but I have to admit that the Rugby World Cup has got really intrigued me. I don’t really understand most of the rules but the more I watch it the more I’m getting into it. Oh, not the only reason, but there are a few hotties in international Rugby, I’ll have to find some examples!!!

Betfair Currently have the odds for England to win at 3.45 and South Africa to win at 1.46. Think its at least wort a tenner on England!

Join Betfair and get a couple of quid behind England, you never know they might just do it!

Get the best odds on the Internet, Click Here!

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Manchester United era

Becoming a first-team player

United manager Alex Ferguson had a great deal of confidence in the club’s young players. When three of his first-team players left the club at the end of the 1994-95 season, his decision to let youth team players replace them instead of buying players from other clubs, drew a great deal of criticism. The criticism increased when United started the season with a 3–1 defeat at Aston Villa, with Beckham scoring United’s only goal of the game; however, United won their next five matches and the young players performed well. Beckham became a regular player on the team and helped them to win the Premiership and FA Cup double that season, scoring the winner in the semi-final against Chelsea and also taking the corner that Éric Cantona scored from in the FA Cup Final. Despite playing regularly for Manchester United, Beckham did not break into the England squad before Euro 96.

In August 1996, Beckham became something of a household name when he scored a spectacular goal in a match against Wimbledon. With United ahead 2–0, Beckham noticed that Wimbledon’s goalkeeper Neil Sullivan was standing a long way out of his goal, and hit a shot from the halfway line that floated over the goalkeeper and into the net. The 57-yard goal is the furthest successful strike at goal since the Premiership was founded in 1992.

Beckham was frequently mentioned in the press, and he made his first appearance for the England national football team on 1 September 1996, in a World Cup qualifying match against Moldova. He became an automatic first-choice player at United during the 1996-97 season, helping them to retain the Premier League championship, and was voted PFA Young Player of the Year by his peers.

United started the 1997-98 season well, but their performance deteriorated and the club finished the season in second place, behind Arsenal.

World Cup 1998

Beckham had played in all of England’s qualifying matches for the 1998 FIFA World Cup and was part of the England squad at the World Cup finals in France, but the team’s manager Glenn Hoddle publicly accused him of not concentrating on the tournament, and he did not start in either of England’s first two matches. He was picked for their third match against Colombia and scored from a long-range free kick in a 2–0 victory, which was his first goal for England.

In the second round (last 16) of that competition, he received a red card in England’s match against Argentina. Beckham, after having been fouled by Diego Simeone, kicked Simeone, striking him on the calf. Simeone later admitted to trying to get Beckham sent off by over-reacting to the kick and then, along with other members of his team, urging the referee to send Beckham off. The match finished in a draw and England were eliminated in a penalty shootout. Many supporters and journalists blamed him for England’s elimination and he became the target of criticism and abuse, including the hanging of an effigy outside a London pub, and the Daily Mirror printing a dartboard with a picture of him centred on the bullseye. Beckham also received death threats after the World Cup.

1998-99 season (the Treble)

In the 1998-99 season, he was part of the United team that won the treble — Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League, a unique feat in English football. There had been speculation that the criticism that he had received after being sent off in the World Cup would lead to him leaving England, but he decided to stay at Manchester United.

To ensure they would win the league championship, United needed to win their final league match of the season, at home to Tottenham Hotspur, but Tottenham took an early lead in the match. Beckham scored the equaliser and United went on to win the match and the league.

Beckham played centre-midfield in United’s FA Cup final win over Newcastle United and for the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final against Bayern Munich, since United’s first string centre-midfielders were suspended for the match. United were losing the match 1-0 at the end of normal time, but won the trophy by scoring two goals in injury time. Both of the goals came from corners taken by Beckham. Those kicks, coupled with great performances over the rest of the season, led to him finishing runner up to Rivaldo for 1999’s European Footballer of the Year and FIFA World Player of the Year awards.

1999-2000 season

Despite Beckham’s achievements in the 1998-99 season, he was still unpopular among some opposition fans and journalists, and he was criticised after being sent off for a deliberate foul in Manchester United’s World Club Championship match against Necaxa. It was suggested in the press that his wife was a bad influence on him, and that it might be in United’s interests to sell him, but his manager publicly backed him and he stayed at the club.

The relationship between Ferguson and Beckham began to deteriorate, possibly as a result of Beckham’s fame and commitments away from football. In 2000, Beckham was given permission to miss training to look after his son Brooklyn, who had gastroenteritis, but Ferguson was furious when Victoria Beckham was photographed at a London Fashion Week event on the same night, claiming that Beckham would have been able to train if Victoria had looked after Brooklyn that day. He responded by fining Beckham the maximum amount that was permitted (two weeks’ wages – then £50,000) and dropping him for a crucial match against United’s rivals Leeds United. He later criticised Beckham for this in his autobiography, claiming he hadn’t been “fair to his team mates”. Beckham had a good season for his club, though, and helped United to win the Premier League by a record margin.

Information gathered from www.wikipedia.org

Part 3 coming soon: Winning Over the England Fans

Beckham’s back, but L.A. in trouble after draw

Carson, CA (Sports Network) - David Beckham’s back, but Los Angeles’ winning streak is history and it no longer controls its own destiny for the playoffs.

Beckham missed the last 10 games with a knee injury but returned to the field on Thursday night as a substitute in Los Angeles’ 1-1 draw against New York.

Los Angeles’ five-game winning streak was snapped - it still hasn’t won in the four games Beckham has played in - but it’s unbeaten in seven straight to stay in contention for a playoff spot.

Los Angeles (9-13-7) trails three teams for the final two playoff berths going into the final weekend of the regular season and has to beat Chicago on Sunday to have any chance to qualify.

Troy Roberts scored and made three key defensive plays, two on New York’s Juan Pablo Angel, to keep the Galaxy’s hopes alive.

Jozy Altidore scored for New York (12-11-7), which already has the third seed in the Eastern Conference locked up.

Angel nearly matched D.C. United’s Luciano Emilio for the league scoring lead in the second minute but Galaxy goalie Joe Cannon raced off his line to knock the ball off his toes.

Angel, who has 19 goals in 24 games, missed another great chance in the third minute when he directed a header just wide of the right post.

L.A. didn’t get its first good chance until the 15th minute, and Roberts made it count with his second goal of the season.

Landon Donovan set up the goal by taking a pass from Peter Vagenas on the left side and getting enough space to make a pin-point cross. Roberts ran onto the ball at the right post and dove to head it into the empty net.

But the Galaxy were caught napping off the restart and New York equalized in less than a minute. Altidore finished a cross from Dave van den Bergh with a perfect header into the right corner of the goal for his ninth of the season.

The fast pace continued as L.A. threatened off the restart when veteran Cobi Jones passed to Donovan in the box but he didn’t get off a good shot and the ball rolled wide of the left post.

Donovan had another scoring chance in the 23rd minute when a defensive miscue gave L.A. a breakaway. But when Donovan tried to put the ball on goal, it was deflected just enough to send it over the end line.

Angel’s chances continued later in the half as he made a nice turn in the box but put a shot right at Cannon in the 28th minute and missed another shot in the 40th minute on an open chance in the box.

L.A. had one more good chance before halftime when Chris Klein got space on the end line and took a hard shot that deflected into space but was cleared out of danger by New York.

Angel had another great chance early in the second half but Roberts deflected the shot wide in the 48th minute. Dane Richards had another hard shot for N.Y. in the 54th minute, but Cannon knocked it wide of the post.

Angel’s next great chance was in the 62nd minute when he curled a free kick a hair wide of the upper left corner of the goal.

Donovan continued to create chances for L.A. in the second half, making a nice run down the left side in the 63rd minute to put a shot wide of the right post that Carlos Pavon was just steps away from tucking into an empty net.

Richards showcased his speed again in the 65th minute, racing into the box on a breakaway where he was tripped by Cannon. Although the play could have been a penalty kick, no call was made, which visibly upset Richards and Red Bull’s coach Bruce Arena.

L.A. had a solid chance off a counter but Vagenas had a hard shot at the right post knocked wide by Conway.

Beckham entered the match in the 68th minute, and he took a number of corners over the remainder of the match but L.A. couldn’t convert any of the chances. The best threat was on a short corner to Josh Tudela, but his hard shot was saved by Conway.

Altidore had two more scoring chances in the final 15 minutes, shooting just over the crossbar in the 81st minute and wide of the left post in the 92nd.

Cannon made just three saves and Conway had only four, but both goalies had great games.

If L.A. defeated New York, it could have clinched a playoff berth with a win over Chicago on Sunday. But now, L.A. has to beat the Fire and hope Colorado doesn’t beat Real Salt Lake or Kansas City loses to FC Dallas on Saturday.

New York will play New England in the first round of the playoffs. The Red Bulls host New England on Oct. 27 and visit the Revolution on Nov. 3 in the two-game, aggregate series.

10/19 01:53:14 ET

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