Author Archives: CFC

Roy Hodgson backs Loftus-Cheek to represent England at the World Cup

Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson believes midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek should be picked by England for the upcoming World Cup finals in Russia. The 22-year-old joined the Eagles on a season-long loan from Chelsea last summer and he has since been one of the club’s standout performers despite missing four months of action with a knee injury.

Speaking ahead of Palace’s game against West Bromwich Albion, Hodgson suggested that Loftus-Cheek should be considered by the Three Lions and he would have done so, should he have remained in charge of the national team. Hodgson said: “Yes. I don’t wish to suggest anybody to (England boss) Gareth Southgate, because it’s his decision alone, and I don’t want to be seen to be pushing any player towards him. (But) if it was a much more specific question; if it was me selecting the squad, would I find a place for him in the squad, I would.”
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Loftus-Cheek’s performances have certainly not gone unspotted this campaign and he was offered his maiden cap with England back in November where he put in a man of the match display against Germany. The Chelsea graduate could not replicate his showing in the next outing versus Brazil but he nevertheless impressed Southgate, who believed his progress was halted at Stamford Bridge.

England are presently short of efficient options in midfield with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain already ruled out with a season-ending injury and this could bring Loftus-Cheek into the mix, considering Southgate does not have a fitness assurance when dealing with the likes of Adam Lallana and Jack Wilshere.

Liverpool’s James Milner has been another talked out in the media but the 32-year-old is not keen on coming out of international retirement after the way he was treated at the European Championship in France. The ex-Aston Villa man managed just three minutes for England during a dismal tournament where they suffered a shock exit to Iceland in the round of 16 stage.

Posted on July 17, 2018 by

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Eden Hazard wants clarity over the Chelsea situation

Belgium international Eden Hazard has indicated that he wants the clarity over the situation at Chelsea before deciding on whether to commit his future to the club. The attacker was the standout performer for the Blues last season with 17 goals and seven assists and he scored the match-winning penalty in the FA Cup final win over Manchester United.

Despite this, the Blues experienced an average season by their standards as they could only manage a fifth place finish in the Premier League and Hazard is now on finding out how the club may improve next term. Obviously, there is plenty of talk of Antonio Conte being replaced and the attacker is now eager to witness fresh recruits who can transform the club next season.
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Posted on June 29, 2018 by

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Roberto Di Matteo Wants Antonio Conte To Remain At Chelsea

Chelsea favourite Roberto di Matteo believes his former club should stick with Antonio Conte beyond the current campaign. The Blues have underperformed during Conte’s second season in charge of the club and there has been strong speculation that the Italian could be replaced in the summer.

Despite this, Di Matteo believes the 48-year-old should be offered another year at the helm with the opportunity to become their head coach for the long-term, he told Sky Sports: “It’s great, I think it’s good (if Conte is still in charge). I hope he can stay on as well, I hope he stays. I hope he’s going to be the long-term manager at the club.So I think it’s the way forward. But I don’t know really, this is just my opinion.” Continue reading →

Posted on June 9, 2018 by

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ESPN Pundit Slams Alvaro Morata After Poor Debut Season With Chelsea

ESPN Pundit Alejandro Moreno admitted that he was wrong to suggest that Alvaro Morata would turn out to be a success with Chelsea during the ongoing season. The Spain international was brought in as a straight replacement for compatriot Diego Costa from Real Madrid, and he made an instant impact with the Blues, scoring seven goals in his first eight appearances.

However, he has since struggled to find the scoresheet regularly, owing to injuries, fitness and a loss of form, and he is currently on 13 goals across 39 games through the season. Speaking on the ESPN FC show, Moreno admitted that Morata has underperformed during his maiden English campaign, and believes his struggles have been due to Conte’s management as well as his average showing in the frontline, he said:  “I have to say I was wrong on Morata. I thought he would be better than he has been. Now, Conte hasn’t exactly done him any favours. But Morata himself his performances individually have not been good.”

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Posted on May 30, 2018 by

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Conte On Top-Four Finish

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has admitted that his team will struggle to finish in the top-four after their defeat at Manchester United. He said that the league is more competitive than ever and that his team will have a hard time qualifying for the Champions League.

Chelsea is now fifth in the table and two points behind the fourth team Tottenham Hotspurs. He said that at the moment the objective of Chelsea is to finish in the top four and that it is important that the players remain focus until the end of the season. He said that the Premier League is a competitive one and that it is not easy to finish in the top four. He said that they had a unique opportunity to get three points against a direct contender for the Champions League place and that unfortunately they were defeated.

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Posted on May 16, 2018 by

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Marcos Alonso Takes Positives From Barcelona Defeat To Spur Top-Four Charge

Spanish defender Marcos Alonso believes Chelsea have taken a lot of positives from their Champions League experience against Barcelona. The Blues played with intensity over the course of the double-legged round of 16 tie but they were a tad unfortunate to have lost by a 4-1 scoreline, after hitting the woodwork on three occasions.

Speaking after the game, Alonso highlighted that the Blues will take the exit on a positive note, and feels the club can make the top-four of the Premier League, should they maintain the same intensity for the rest of the season, he said: “I think there have been a lot of positives in both games against Barcelona and I think we have to show this desire in the next games.

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Posted on May 9, 2018 by

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Antonio Conte: I am ‘a bit of a disaster’ with signings

Chelsea boss Antonio Conte had admitted that he is a bit of a disaster when it comes to persuading his club’s hierarchy to spend on top quality recruits. The Blues had been linked with a couple of high-profile signings during the winter transfer window, but Conte ultimately had to contend with the arrivals of Ross Barkley, Emerson Palmieri, and Olivier Giroud.


In the lead-up to the West Brom game, Conte admitted that he learns to be more persuasive with the Blues’ board especially with the big spending being done by some of their league rivals, he said: “I have to speak more with the managers who are very, very good at persuading their clubs to spend money to buy top players. I think I’m a bit of a disaster to convince the club to buy players. I think that in this aspect I can improve a lot. I have to learn a lot from the other coaches, the other managers, in that aspect.”
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Posted on April 12, 2018 by

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MORATA: I AM GOING NOWHERE

Chelsea star striker Alvaro Morata has had to publicly come out and re-pledge his desire to play for the club after appearing to say he wants to go back to Italy and finds living in London “too much stress”.

The Spanish international, who had previously spent two seasons in Italy with Juventus, was signed by the Blues in the summer from Real Madrid for a club-record £58m.
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Posted on January 10, 2018 by

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Bacary Sagna will find a place in Antonio Conte’s setup

Former West Ham goalkeeper ShakaHislop believes that Antonio Conte could pursue the services of free-agent Bacary Sagna.


The France international has been on the search for a new club ever since his release from Manchester City at the end of last season.

The English champions were keen on signing the right-back on deadline day, but they could still snap up his signature outside of the transfer window as he is still out-of-contract. Speaking on ESPN FC, Hislop admitted that Conte could find a place for Sagna in his squad after having turned former outcast Victor Moses into a Premier League winner.

He said: “Quite clearly he was surplus to requirements at Manchester City. I’ll say this, ordinarily, I would have said no. But I’m going to say yes. Antonio Conte turned Victor Moses into a Premier League-winning player. Now he hopped around and in my opinion probably showed less promise than Bacary Sagna. If Conte can find a system to suit Moses, there is no question in my mind that Conte can find a system to suit anybody. You and I still have a chance of making a career under Conte.” Continue reading →

Posted on November 9, 2017 by

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Kevin de Bruyne aims dig at Chelsea’s loan policy

Manchester City midfielder Kevin de Bruyne has revealed that Chelsea’s controversial loan system played a key role in his decision to leave Stamford Bridge.


The 26-year-old spent two years with the Premier League champions between 2012 and 2014, although most of his time was spent on loan spells abroad. De Bruyne has since joined Manchester City following a stellar spell with German club Wolfsburg, and he is now regarded as one of the leading midfielders in the Premier League.

In a Belgian news conference on Thursday, De Bruyne discussed the difficult period he went through in the Blues’ loan system, he said: “After those experiences, I’d rather wanted to be sold. Otherwise, I would end up in the same situation all over again: playing well on loan, returning to your parent club and then, every year again, feel like the young player back from loan who still has everything to prove. That’s something I didn’t want to experience for the third time in a row. Let’s say that I would perform well at Wolfsburg, that I would play a good World Cup and that I would return to Chelsea afterwards with the same status that I had before. No, I didn’t fancy that. I decided to leave on a permanent basis.” Continue reading →

Posted on October 22, 2017 by

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