Chelsea in America Vol2 Issue5

8/9/2019 Chelsea in America Vol2 Issue5

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DEEP FROM THE HEARTNotes from the Chairwoman

VOLUME 2, ISSUE 5 MAY/JUNE 2010

CHAMPIONS CHAMPIONS CHAMPIONS -TWICE! Oh, the Double and how sweetwas that? All I can say is that I was luckyenough to be there and it was amazing!And not just the double, but a doubleplus a junior, as our U18 squad also wonthe FA Youth Cup (the first time in 49years!)... so how unbelievable is that? Idid write a match report, and I haveposted all my photos. If you areinterested, you can look at them here:http://www.chelseainamerica.com/beths-excellent-adventure.html!The match report is long, so grab a mealand a drink before you sit down.http://community.webshots.com/user/texasblues1 for all the photos - over600 of them, so take your time.!

So now we have the lazy days of summerto recover and get ready for the next

season. But wait - lazy? Did I say lazy?No way, there is much going on. Forthose of you that follow theinternationals, we have the WORLD CUP.Fourteen Chelsea players are involvedand thanks to modern technology, I hearthat every match at the Cup will be on,so set your DVRs and soak it in. And yesthen there is that famous match justdays to go on the 12th of June. I justhope everyone enjoys it, and that all ourboys come home injury free. If thatwasnt enough to keep you interested,we are in the midst of the silly season

and just remember before you think wehave signed someone or you read/heard/whatever that someone has left,check the o"cial Chelsea website.Rumors are rife during the silly seasonand the papers are more fiction thanfact, so until you see it an o"cialstatement from the club, dont believe it!!

Of course there is no summer tour in theUS for Chelsea this summer, buthonestly I am not too bothered aboutthat as we saw a bout of injuries thatwere non-stop when they came over

here after the World Cup last time, sotake this time to enjoy the World Cupenjoy your summer and get ready fornext season. We have two Cups todefend as well as looking to maybemake a bid for that silvery trophy witthe really big ears! And do you realizthat should we win the FA Cup againnext season, the three-peat on the FCup has not been done since the 19tCentury! And it wasnt done by anyManc, Scouse or Gooner! Now wouldthat be some kind of history (fingerscrossed, knocking on wood)?!!

We should have the CIA membershipand ready for people to sign up in thnext couple of days. Sorry for the debut we have made some major changto the techy part of CIA - a new servebigger and better than ever, some ne

software to help us manage data betand process applications better and aof that. It has taken a bit longer to geall installed. So please bear with us wwe finish that last bit of testing andinstallation. We will let you all knowwhen it is ready. And just so you knowe are keeping membership dues at same price as last season, so $8 forAdults, $4 for Youth members, $20 ffamilies (with maximum of 2 Adults)also have a wonderful membership gup our sleeves. So along with supporall we do at CIA, your membership d

will get you a great gift, which I amkeeping as a surprise, HA HA! I thinkeveryone will like it, as I hope you allliked the special DVD from last seasoBut that isnt all. When you become amember of CIA, you help us build thelargest supporters club not only inAmerica but in the world. We are makour voice heard at headquarters andthey are listening.!

After quite a few years of trying toBeth with some of the Youth team afterthe Wigan match, photo submitted byBeth Wild continued on Page 2

Notes from the

Chairwoman

Photos from theDallas Cup

Tales from the

Champions

CIA Celebrates

the Double in

Photos

FA Cup Match

Report

5 Questions

For...

Summer Tour

DVD Review

Malouda: A

Reconsideration


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CONTRIBUTORS:

A big thanks to everyone whohelps make the CIA Blueslettepossible!

Editor: Jamie EdwardsChairwoman: Beth WildLogo and Graphics: Raciel DiazProofreader: Sarah Drake

CIA Crest done in collaboratiowith Who Are Ya Designs -www.whoareyadesigns.com

Want to contribute or make asuggestion? Send Jamie anemail at [email protected]!

explain what our vision is for CIA, wehad a great meeting with the club andare going a step forward. For the firsttim,e we will have not only CIA be arecognized club but also all of our largerregional and local clubs. What does thatmean? It means that every local/regionalclub will have the opportunity to becomea recognized supporters club of ChelseaFC without having to deal with all thehassle and paperwork of being ano"cial club. No need to collect dues andreport your financials, no reporting ofmembers and True Blue members, noworking on getting tickets, all of thatwill be centralized through CIA, so thatthe regionals/locals can spend the timeworking on growing our numbers andmaking the local/regional clubs exactly

what the local/regional clubs want to beand do - all the fun and not the hassle.A local/regional group qualifies byhaving at least 20 CIA members andelecting a contact person for CIA andChelsea. With that, that club will befeatured as an o"cial club on theChelsea website with a link to yourwebsite (which we can now host on thebig new CIA server for no cost!), and youhave the opportunity to have your clubflag hanging permanently at StamfordBridge as you have seen on television!CIA is going to try and fund those flags

for all the clubs as well. How cool is allof that? I know it has taken some time,but we are moving forward. So if youwant to support this, then here is whatyou need to do: sign up for CIA andsupport your local/regional club. If youdont know who they are or how to getinvolved, they will be contacting you, Ipromise. If you really want to step out,then o#er to work on your region orlocal club. All you have to do is contactme and I will get you going,[email protected]. That isall there is to it, and we want to grow toas many groups as possible! So dont beshy; as we say, GET STUCK IN!!

That isnt all. For years I have tried toexplain to Chelsea that the True Bluemembership has little value, if any, toour members unless they feel they canmake it to the Bridge for a match. Andwe have our first real US benefit! Thisyear if you become a True Blue member,you GET CHELSEA PLUS FOR FREE!Chelsea Plus is the online broadcast ofChelsea TV! So if you have been missingChelseaTV on Setanta, wait no further!

Now, with your True Blue membershipnot only do you get access to matchtickets, (your CIA membership alonecannot do that for you) you getChelseaTV streaming to your computer.Even better, they are now getting to

launch a whole new driver forChelseaPlus, and it will o#er not onlyaccess across platforms to PC and Macusers both, but also it will be on-demand! How sweet is that? So if theshow you really love is on while you areat work, you will be able to pull it up on-demand when you get home, on theweekend or whenever you like.ChelseaPlus cost 39 pounds last yearand is 3.99 pounds a month if yourenew monthly, and the True Bluemembership was 25 pounds last year, soyou get both this year for only 30

pounds for an adult. I guess what I amsaying is if you needed a reason tobecome a True Blue member andsupport Chelsea and CIA, I dont knowhow they could give you a morecompelling reason to sign up. Also, ifyou should sign up before the 31st of

July you will gain 5 loyalty points; if youare thinking of attending one of thosebig matches, or maybe the last match ofthe season, you need those loyaltypoints. Five loyalty points will get you aticket to any match, (not counting Semi-Finals, Finals and away ChampionsLeague matches) no matter who we play.

!

And just to clarify, being a member ofCIA is important! As I said, it helpssupport the growth of Chelsea as theclub sees it. They measure support bythe number of supporters clubs andtheir members. However, the CIAmembership alone does not get youaccess to tickets. A True Bluemembership gets you access to matchtickets. When you pair the two of themtogether, that is the best of both worlds.Because as a supporters club we get toorder our members tickets prior to

them going on general sale to regularmembers, which makes it easier on youto be assured of getting the ticket youwant. You can only order one ticket perTrue Blue membership through us, so ifyou want to take the family, they willeach need a membership. But isnt thatbetter than having to pay through thenose from a ticket agency or travel firm?I know we had a couple of families goover last season, and they were thrilled

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with their seats, the ease of gettingtickets and how less costly it was thanwhat they had found on the internetbefore discovering CIA. Junior True Blue

memberships are even less expensive.So there you have it! If you have anyquestions, again, you only have to ask.And be sure that when you do sign upfor CIA that you tell us your True Bluenumber so that we can register you andhelp you with those tickets.!

How exciting is that? Like I said, thebigger we get the more our voice isheard, so please support us supportingyou. Become a member of CIA and getyour True Blue membership; it has valuenow even if you arent going to theBridge!!

Now that the season has ended andmost of our paperwork is done andturned in to Chelsea, we nearly have ourmembership page up and working. Wethought it would be nice to see if anyoneis interested in getting some CIA shirts ifthey missed the opportunity lastsummer and also their very own CIAflag. I will let everyone know when I getthe details on that. We will also behaving a ra$e for the signedmerchandise we get from Chelsea aswell, so be on the lookout for details.

!

Dont forget to check out the old andnew episodes of both the regular CIApodcast and Legend podcasts. Dontforget the great contests on Twitter, soplease follow CFCinAmerica. Of coursethere is also the website, numerousFacebook pages, and the bulletin boardto keep your summer filled with Chelsea.If you want to get more involved, let meknow. There is much more we could bedoing if we have the manpower.!

I also wanted to give you an update on

one of our members. Dean Kelley, asmany of you know, was in an horriblecar accident a few months back. It wasquite scary, but he is finally out ofhospital. He is o# the respirator andeating on his own now, though he is stillin a wheelchair. Though he is fightingmightily, he has a long way back toregain the mobility of his arms and legs,but knowing Dean, he will be fightingharder than anyone. We have beenrunning a page to allow people to makea donation to Deans cause, because as I

am sure you can imagine the costs ofthis are many. To date we have raised$1,824.93 for Dean, but it doesnt stop.He will need help for some time tocome. So if you forgot or ran out of timeor didnt even know about it, our Eidur

needs our help, so please give what youcan and know it is going to helpsomeone that is a fantastic supporter ofChelsea and a very dear person. You canfind the link to the donation site herehttp://www.chelseainamerica.com/ShoppingCarts/DeanKelly.htm You mightalso like to know that the money wasraised from donations from members aswell as a donation from CIA funds to thisgood cause. We also were able to sendDean some flowers, a box of goodieswith some shirts and one of our signedteam balls, Jens and I put together a care

package to Dean of some mementosfrom the time I was in London, and bestof all our lovely Mick from PhoenixAutographs made a donation ofsomething very special for Dean. Sorry Icant tell you more, but the box is in thepost to Dean, and I would hate to spoilthe surprise should he read this before itgets to him. But I will give all the detailson the thread on the board when I knowthe box has arrived.!

I would also like to make you all awareof a special thing one of our members isdoing. Monique, who does a lot for CIA,

is dedicating herself to doing the three-day walk for Breast Cancer Research. Iam sure, and sad, that most of us havebeen touched by this and lost friends orloved ones to breast cancer. Please, ifyou can find a few extra dollars aroundto support Mo in her walk that would bewonderful. You can find her donationpage at http://tinyurl.com/ybw5hk5 Anyand all donations are gratefullyaccepted, and remember it is for a veryworthy cause. If you are doingsomething that raises money for charity,please let us know. We are one big Blue

family here and the generosity of thisgroup of people is mind-blowing. We aremore than just a group of crazy peoplethat wake up at silly times of themorning to watch a team and drink beer,we are a group of people with manydi#erent interests and hearts as big asthey get, so let us know what you are upto and maybe we can help.

Let me end by wishing you all a very Bluesummer, enjoy your family and friends,and KEEP THAT BLUE FLAG FLYING HIGH!


DALLAS

CUP 2010Photos by Beth Wild

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What else could I call this?

Oh Boy - What a game.

From the quiet cave of Anfield, subduedapart from three thousand Chelsealoyalists, to the bubbling cauldron ofnoise and emotion at HQ.

Just a spectacular day.

I will be honest, I was still more nervousthan I perhaps ought to have beenthroughout the build-up to the WiganAthletic game. A lot of people weretelling me to relax, but how could I? Thiswas a potential disaster waiting tohappen. The more I thought of thematch, the more worried I became.There have been numerous examples ofteams failing at the last minute and Icouldn't face my Chelsea being the next.I think it is safe to say that I was justglad that there was no Wigan playercalled Mazeroski.

The alarm sounded at 6.30am on Sundayand the first task of the day was todecide on match-day apparrel. Thisoften takes a good many minutes as I

weigh up the choices. I kept thinkingback to the Bolton championship gamein 2005 and I remembered that I wore awhite Henri Lloyd polo on that incredibleday...I superstitiously decided to mirrorthis choice, but this time the chosencolour was royal blue. I kept the Boltontheme going by wearing a pair of HLjeans that I bought in a store outsideThe Reebok before the game lastautumn. I needed all the good luckcharms I could muster. My new Barbourjacket worked a treat at Anfield lastweek, so that got the nod, too. The

weather looked dull and overcast as I seto#at 8am.

Parky, sporting some new Forest Hills,was collected at 8.30am and we were onour way. We shot through the familiartowns of Devizes, Marlborough andHungerford on the A4. Passing throughthe Savernake Forest, thousands ofbluebells were spotted in woodlandglades alongside the silver birch trees. Itwas a spectacular sight.

I had been in touch with Jamie( crowtrobot ) who was lucky enough tobe over for Game 38. Jamie was nervous,

just like me.

On parking up at Chelsea, the weatherwas cold but a breakfast soon sortedourselves out. Frankie Two Times was inthe cafe too and he updated us withdetails of his recent health scare. He'sdoing much better now thank heavens.Daryl, Ed andNeil then appeared, allwearing the requisite polo shirts. Darylwas wearing a lovely Fred Perry - andthere was an element of superstitionabout this choice, too.

"If it was good enough for the first game

of the season, it's good enough for thisone too" he said.

There was an element of classic Chelseaabout it too as the white shirt had greenand red trim...shades of the much-lovedred / white / green of the 1970's awaykit.

We got the nod that US visitors Ashleyand Jamie were close by, so wesauntered o# to The Goose. There was asizeable crowd waiting for Reg to openup. In we went, bang on mid-day. Over

the next hour or so, all of my matesshowed up and joined the throng. By2pm, Reg had decided to limit theamount of people entering as it was sofull. We had our little corner of the bar,beneath the TV set showing the Leicestervs. Cardi#game ( which nobody waswatching...) and the pre-game ritualswere taking place. The laughs, thestories, the jokes.

Of my mates, Parky and Andy were the

most stressed, whereas Daryl and Sim

seemed rather chilled out and confidI still wasn't sure.

"Bottom of the ninth, Mazeroskiswings..."

Jamie and Ashley - plus also Jason anhis girlfriend - were being entertaineby Lord Parky, the resident CIA-SociaSecretary, and the beers were flowingnicely. Talk also included plans for thFA Cup Final pre-match, but also of tfriendlies in Holland and Germany. Wshowed up a bit later, thus missing tother Americans who had left to samthe pre-match, and he was buzzing aper normal. He grabbed me and shou"let's do this." I showed a few matessome photos from Anfield, but also fthe Chelsea Old Boys game I had seeSouthampton on Monday...great phoof former players such as Johnny B.,Tore Andre Flo, Clive Walker, CannerIan Britton and Colin Pates.

At about 3.15pm - a bit earlier thannormal - we set o# for The Bridge. Twere lines of fans waiting to get into packed pubs around Fulham Broadwa

and I guessed these unlucky souls wewithout tickets. There was an air ofcarnival, but I only felt the tension. Iquick word with Mark on the CFCUKstall, wearing his lucky trainers.

By 3.40pm, Steve and myself had tap'VINCI PER NOI' up against the back wof the Matthew Harding Upper, right my NW corner. Bizarrely, there were marks from the tape which I must'veused all those years ago. I used to brthe banner along in the Vialli / Zola ebut 'VINCI' was last seen at Stamford

Bridge in around the year 2000. Mygoodness, the years have flown.

Unfortunately, the banner was hid fomost of the game by a few fans who decided to stand. Oh well. I was hopithat Carlo might spot it at some stag

The Bridge, though under grey skies,was a riot of colour and more flags thusual were dotted around the balcon

TALES FROM THE CHAMPIONS 2009/10Story and photos by Chris Axon

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Den Haag.

Newry.

Cornwall.

Polska.

The rumours were true, though - Wiganhadn't sold all their tickets and I waspretty annoyed with the gaps in thatsection. There were even clumps ofempty seats in the"complimentaries" ( players families,friends, etc ) in the middle of the ShedUpper. Work that one out. Also emptyseats in the "Abramovich" tier of the

West...

Building up to the game, I had yearnedfor an early goal - by ten minutes wouldbe perfect. Wigan, in a truly horrendouskit, had the best of the early exchangesthough. The Bridge was on fire, however,with everyone seemingly buoyed byextra pints.

"We love you Chelsea - we do."

On just five minutes, a Drogba free-kickwas cleared but the ball was played backin. A touch back from Malouda and

Anelka was waiting.

A shot.

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSS.

What a start - Oh my, I wanted toexplode. After the shouting, thescreaming and the back-slapping haddied down slightly, Alan turned to me...

"They'll have to come at us now."

"Come on my little diamonds."

We then struggled a little bit and Ithought Wigan got back into the game.However, just as the crowd was coolingdown a little, along came a burst intothe box and we were given a penalty,though my view was impeded. Not onlythat - a red card.

This isn't happening. This is goingexactly to plan.

Frank took the ball. However, Alan hadtold me that Didier had allegedly beenpromised a penalty in order for him toget a shot at The Golden Boot. In theimediate build-up to the penalty, thereseemed to be "words" between Frank

and Drogba.

I caught Frank's emphatic stab on filmand the resultant celebrations. This waswonderful wonderful stu#. The textsstarted to fly in.

The Bridge was then bouncing like neverbefore...whole sections of stands were

joining in...it resembled a sight akin to abouncing Mexican wave. Heady stu#indeed.

The rest of the half seemed a blur, but

we were well aware that Drogba wassulking. I had to remind myself that hewas our Player Of The Year. I wasn'timpressed. At the half-time break, Icouldn't help but think that there wasstill an air of uncertainty amongst myfellow fans.

Two-nil up, Wigan down to ten men andwe're still not convinced.

"Proper Chelsea," I thought.

I heard one soul utter "we only need tolet in one goal and..." His voice trailedo#, but we all knew what he meant.

At the break, Roy Bentley and KenMonkou made the half-time draws.Great to see Roy again - was it really ayear ago that his antics on the pitchafter the Blackburn game gave us somuch joy?

The Chelsea eleven re-entered the pitchwell ahead of the opposition and - forthe first time I can ever remember - hada pre-second half huddle. I imaginedthat it had kicked-o#a bit betweenDrogba and the others at the break

( maybe out of earshot of the managand now JT was bringing them alltogether.

"Let's do this together, boys."

Well, the second half was an absoluteblur. At the end of it all, we were havtrouble remembering who had scoredhow they had scored. It was the thirdgoal that really made it safe. A lovelyone-two between Kalou and Frank anslick finish. I think I celebrated this gthe most as I just knew we couldn't bcaught. Photos of Kalou, minus his sposing right down below me and in fof Cathy and Dog in the corner.

The Anelka goal - the fourth - was jumesmeric...the deep cross from Ivano

and the first-time volley. The placeerupted again. The players raced ovecelebrate in the same corner and theexpressions on their faces are a joy tbehold.

OK, we were now on 99 league goals( despite my nervousness ) I had toyewith the notion of a 5-0 win to give iton. It soon came...a great angledheader by Drogba from a lovely Lampcross. Drogba was euphoric.

One hundred league goals!

"Boring Boring Chelsea - Boring BorinChelsea."

And so it continued...Ashley was clipby former blue Mario Melchiot and Dwas handed the ball. I raced down tofront and steadied myself. Just time faquick word with Big John.

"I think we're safe" he said.

Snap.

6-0. The place erupted again. Up to

now...

We couldn't repeat the 7-0 of the verlast home game could we? Well, a bitinterplay between Juliano and Joey seup Drogba to push home from closerange. On this goal, I just smiled andlaughed...this was just crazy.

The songs continued.


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Then a break, a shot from Moses - theshot of the game - and a World classsave from Petr, who had been aspectator for virtually all of the game.Then - a beautiful moment - and achant which some fans will not haveheard ever before...

"That's Why We're Champions."

Memories of 2005-2006. We'll besinging that again next season.

Then, the final act of 2009-2010 andthe beautiful finish from Ashley Coleafter a deep Joe Cole cross.

Eight.

8-0.

Un-believable.

I had received a flurry of late texts andwas mid-text at the final whistle. Whilethe rest of the crowd roared, I sent asimple text to a few mates - mainlyChelsea, but also Manchester United,Liverpool and Rotherham United too.

"My team. My life."

I crouched down, weak with joy, and my

eyes were momentarilly moist.

Payback for Moscow.

I hugged a few friends - especially Alan,who is now up to about 140 consecutiveChelsea games, home and away, Europeand all. We love our club and we love ourfriendship too. I've known Alan sinceMarch 1984 and we know what it meansto be Chelsea. There was Rousey behind,going crazy, there was Tom alongside,quiet and contented, there was Mickbehind with his ailing father, there was

Kev and Anna, new aquaintances sincethe California trip in 2007, Russ and hisdaughter, Old Joe and his sons.

All of us together.

I had taken around one hundredphotographs during the game and I thentook an equally high amount in theaftermath.

The songs, the banners, the laughter,the build-up to the trophy being handedover to JT.

The colour, the noise, the red of theChelsea Pensioners, the royal blue in thefour stands, the Wigan fans stayingbehind, the anticipation...

The booing of Scudamore...Game 39 willnot be forgotten.

The youth team with the FA Youth Cup -winners for the first time since 1961.

The back-room sta#, Ray Wilkins - a bigroar - the manager - a bigger roar, thereserve players.

The first-teamers, Michael Essien - amassive roar - the slow build up.

The veterans, Petr Cech, Didier Drogba.

The East End Boys, the Blood Brothers,the vice-captain Frank Lampard and thecaptain John Terry.

The walk.

The handshake.

The glint of the gold and the silver ofthe trophy.

The roar.

The sky exploded with white, silver andblue streamers and the next few minuteswas joy unbounded. The players did atriumphant lap of honour and it was

wondrous. I thought about what mushave been going through the minds o

Jamie, Wes, Ashley and Beth - especiBeth.

I thought about my mates dotted aro

the stadium.

We live for days like this.

An hour or so later, we were drinkingThe Lily Langtry and the place wasmobbed. We had heard that the OB hclosed a lot of the pubs around TheBroadway and all of the fans were outhe road drinking from cans. It was acrazy scene.

Across the way, a hundred fans outsiThe Prince Of Wales were goading us

The Lily for a song.

"CAMPIONES - CAMPIONES - OLE - O

OLE."

Later, heading out of London, I calledSteve in California and we spoke for few moments. I commented that the reminded me so much of the gamewhich clinched promotion from the oSecond Division in 1984. We beat Lee5-0 that day and there was wildeuphoria in SW6 all those years ago. experienced the same feelings twentsix years later. It was a phenominalscoreline. As I spoke to Steve, 6,000miles away, I turned a gentle corner o

the M4 and the sky ahead was lit withsunset of incandescent beauty. To mnorth, the sun's rays caught theWembley Arch. It was a magical mom

Life...it truly does not get any better.


Ed. note: Just wanted to thank Chrisyet another season of memorablewrite-ups from the matches! Alsothanks to him for letting me includethem in several issues of theBluesletter. Can't wait for next seaso

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CHELSEA IN AMERICA CELEBRATES THE DOUBLE!

Photo submitted by Belle

Photo submitted by Ben Horner

Photo submitted by John Costello

Photo submitted by Julie CarlsonAfter winning the Double, photo submitted by John Costello

Austin Blues after the Double, photo submitted by Jens Busc

Representin' at the Bridge after Wigan, photosubmitted by Beth Wild

PCBlues after Wigan, photo submittby Julie Carlson

Ready for champagne, photosubmitted by John Costello

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO SUBMITTED PHOTOS

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I began thinking about the eventuality of

this trip after my visit in March for twomatches ! the West Ham league match,and the Inter Milan match. ! A few of uswere licking our wounds after the loss toInter in an Indian restaurant, and I wasadmonished to make sure that I returnedfor the FA Cup Final!!

Once we went through to the Final, Ibegan making plans in earnest. Couldntget Que sera sera out of my head. !Arrange leave from work check. ! Hotel check. ! Air ticket pricey, but check. !Match ticket was sorted in the second

day of availability, when things openedup for those with my amount of loyaltypoints.! I was buzzing.!!

Texts and emails flew back and forth inthe few days prior to my leaving on May12, making sure that the plans for theday were set. ! I was soooo lookingforward to this. ! It would be my secondvisit to Wembley, the first having beenthe debacle of the League Cup Final inFebruary 2008. ! Nu# said. ! This timewould be better, I was sure, or was I? !That nervousnessworrying about

underachieving againwas I turning intoproper Chelsea?!!

The air travel interruptions due to thevolcanic activity had me nervous, butthings seemed to have settled down inthe days prior to my departure.! I got outfine on May 12 in the evening, althoughthe flight was delayed an hour and therouting was to be well to the south ofthe usual pattern from San Francisco.! Itwas going to put us into Heathrow laterthan I wanted !this was going to be anissue as I had to pick up my match ticketat the ticket o"ce on the Thursday,because in the close ! season, they areclosed on Fridays. ! I was glad I hadcarried my bag on board instead ofchecking it in.!!

Upon arrival, I made fast feet for thetube and headed in. ! I texted Chris. !Could he please call the ticket o"ce andfind out what time they were closing? ! Ihad no idea if it was 4pm, 5pm, orwhatever..shame on me for notknowing. ! As we got close to London, Ihad to make a fast decision - go to my

hotel, drop my bag then head to theticket o"ce, or go straight to the ticketo"ce, bag and all? ! I chose the latter tobe safe. At the ticket o"ce, as I wasbeing handed my ticket, I was told thatthis was the very last Cup Final ticketthat hadnt been picked up yet! ! I wasntsure whether to be proud orembarrassed.!!

Happy, I headed back to my hotel tocheck in and get settled. ! I made this anearly evening as I knew that the nextcouple of days would be manic.!!

Friday was spent meeting up with MikeNeat from the New York Blues, and ourOC Hooligans Andy Wray.! After a drinkand lunch, we headed to the Megastoreto check out the o#erings. ! Andybranched o#with some others for drinksand dinner, and Mike and I ventured intoFrankies. ! Whilst enjoying our drinks,Kerry Dixon came in briefly but didntstay long enough to catch him. ! I hadmet him last April, but it always amazesme as a fan from the US how the Chelseaex-players always seem to be aroundand are generally approachable and

enjoy chatting with the supporters.!

Saturday morning, Andy and I waited atthe hotel for Chris and Lord Parky toarrive from the West Country. ! Chris,Parky and Rob would be sharing theroom with me Saturday, as we expectedto be in full celebration mode, and wealso didnt want a repeat of whathappened to Rob after the Burnley matchin August.!!

We elected to take a bus rather than the

tube up to Marble Arch to meet the B

Bing Firm for breakfast.! A nice ride sunny day.! Things were shaping up so far. ! As we were crossing OxStreet, Chris spotted Daryls brotherso he was hailed and waited for us, we walked up together to the TyburEdgware Road. ! The Tyburn breakfast, and pre-match at the DukYork pub, has become the pre-Wemritual. ! We ordered our breakfast began chatting about anything everything baseball, Chelseas sumtour in Europe - the Cup Final mtoday got scant attention. ! Isnt tha

often the case? ! There were a Pompey in the Tyburn, but they wereasonably friendly lot and keptthemselves.!!

After breakfast, we headed to the Dof York.! The plan was to stay there fbit, then head to Wembley well in timenjoy the atmosphere and so Chris chang his Vinci Per Noi banner. ! MoChelsea at the pub, and then sPompey arrived for their pre-matchwere they headed to a costume paReplica shirts are one thing, but thihad on what looked like Native Amerheaddresses, jester hats, all kindgarish gear. ! When I sort my photossure I have something of this specta

!

It was all too soon that we headed oWembley. ! Tube from Baker StreeWembley Park station this time, socould make an approach down OlymWay. ! The last time, we took

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THE WEMBLEY EXPERIENCE: CIA AT THE FA CUStory and photos by Bob Clark


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overground train to Wembley Stadiumstation, but the Olympic Way approach ismore dramatic, and it must have beenquite a sight back in the day of the old

Wembley with the twin towers in thebackground.!!

Upon arrival, there were no operationallifts or escalators, so we had to climbmany flights of stairs up to the top level,Level 5, where our seats were. ! Whew! !Flags were placed at each seat. ! Theatmosphere was not as loud as Iexpected or was hoping for. ! Eerily quietI thought. ! Prince William was presentand was sat with the dignitaries andLord Treason, I mean Triesman, on Level2, where the Cup is presented.!!

Chelseawaswea

ring the new kit with the red accent.! Not

much to say about the match that hasntbeen said already.! How many times canwoodwork be hit?! Even our goal was o#the post.! Cech did a great job, and howKalou missed still escapes my brain. !The end grew near, and I had fingers onboth hands crossed.! Could it be?! Yes!!!The Double!! ! ! Everyone was jumpingaround, even strangers hugging eachother!! I took what photos I could, but Iwas in the last row of the upper deck. !No matter ! - just to be there wassomething I will relish forever. ! Thepresentations began, and as the Cup

was presented, Blue Is The Colourbegan to play on the tannoy. ! I grewmisty eyed and everyone was in full songnow.! Perfect.!

After some festivities back at the Dukeof York, we took a taxi to Salvos, a nicelittle Italian joint that we have come toregularly patronize either before or aftermatches. ! Some more beers, somephotos of Parky who had fallen asleep,and great conversation. ! What was overthe horizon for us? ! The hotel I guess! !

We made our way there and afterfiguring out who would lie where, wesettled in to get some shut-eye becauseSunday the open top bus parade was

taking place!!!

!

Sunday dawned.! To borrow a line from asong, were going to make this a BlueDay! ! I was buzzing again withexcitement. ! After breakfast at CafYadana, we walked down the North EndRoad. ! Streets were already blocked o#,and there were a great many streetvendors selling all sorts ofcommemorative memorabilia - inflatableFA Cups, T-shirts, you name it. ! Acarnival-type atmosphere it was! ! Wewent into the auxiliary Megastore, andoutside were reunited again with theNew York Blues contingent.! I purchaseda second match programme to send toTeri in Africa.! Next we ventured down tothe Imperial Arms pub on the KingsRoad, where the parade would pass bylater.!!

Near parade time, we ventured outsidewhere the crowds were gathered allalong the Kings Road.! At the top of thehill, the first of the buses appeared, andthen they came closer to the increasingvolume of the crowd. ! I took manyphotos and couldnt believe howfortunate I was to be able to witness

history in this fashion. ! A superb tripand weekend it had been. ! We said ourgoodbyes to the NYB who were flyingout that afternoon. ! Chris, Parky and Ithen made our way back to the FulhamRoad, and we took some final photos tomark seasons end. ! We said ourgoodbyes, and of course we will meetagain next season! ! Im alreadyanxiously awaiting the League fixturelist, and the Champions League groupstage draw. ! Friendship and Football. ! Itdoesnt get any better than this.

There it was in my mailbox. The

envelope Id been waiting for. Markein the top left hand corner with Bethsignature Chelsea address label. ThC.I.A. American Tour DVD was finallin my hands! Popped some popcornPoured a pint of Fullers ESB. Andplopped down on the couch for myfirst viewing.!

I only had the pleasure of going to tBaltimore match, so I admit my firstinclination was to skip right passedSeattle and Pasadenabut I resistedand Im glad I did. From the very fir

images of the Chelsea in Americanflag and the opening notes of BlueDay, all the great memories cameflooding back. It didnt matter whatcity I was watching, it was all Chelsein America. The now familiar faces onew friends and fellow supporters Ionly talked to on the chatboard. It wSpy, Jock and Tommy along for theride. It was True Blue and a helluvatime.!

We get the pre- and post-matchfestivities. The charity soccer game.

Warm-ups and training sessions.Singalongs. And lots of great pics avideo of the players and the CIA. InDallas, we get some great shots of tCIA up on the Jumbotron (weve gotbe some of the first fans to ever grathat ginormous screen!). In Baltimorwe get lots of goodies from the PratStreet Ale House, which became likesecond home for those 3 days inBaltimore. Video of quiz night, theLegends Q &A, and the walk througthe streets of Baltimore, singingCarefree.!

I was also happy to see one of myfavorite moments from the tourincluded. We get video and audio ofZhirkovs game-winner against ACMilan. Ill never forget the sound ofthe Chelsea roar when the ball hit thback of the net, and now I have it ondisc for perpetuity. Brilliant. And tothink it came free with our paidmemberships. What a club. What aDVD. What a great group of peoplebehind it all. Now when the hecks tnext American tour?!

Following the

Chelseaby Josh Hampton


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How did you become Chelsea, andwhen?

I became a Chelsea fan in 1997. I waswatching the FA cup final and started tocheer for the team in blue as that hasalways been my favourite colour. Afterwinning the game I started following theteam a little. With time my interest grewmore and more until I finally got hookedto the point of obsession.

Who is your favorite first team player?

It fluctuates depending on how they areplaying. It's been periodically Lamps, JTand Essien mostly. At the moment it'sdefinitely Ivanovic. I've never had aplayer stay as my favourite for morethan a season. To me it's about the clubnot the individual. I've never been ableto get behind Drogba completely due tohis diving. He seems to have gotten a lotbetter with that this season however sohe's grown on me quite a bit.

What is your most cherished piece ofChelsea stu!?

I really don't have any Chelsea stu#besides jerseys. I did buy a signed

Lampard picture on the tour. I stuck it inmy wife's purse and somewhere in thebeer haze it got lost. Before that I had ateddy dressed up in Chelsea gear(named Frankie after both Zola andLamps) but he got lost somewhere inTaiwan when I moved back home toSweden.

If you could have any player from aother team play for Chelsea, whowould it be?

Messi. Naming anyone else right nowwould be madness.

Do you have any pregame rituals?

Nothing besides brewing a steaming of co#ee before every game. Ritualshave always been associated withsuperstition to me, I'm not asuperstitious person at all. I wore sh#13 in my football team just for thatreason.

I'd just like to add that I'm really gladhave found this great group of peoplnever would have imagined I'd be abget a stronger connection and biggerinterest in the game after moving to football wasteland. Thank you everyofor keeping the blue flag flying high in doing so making my life all the mofun.

5 Questions For... Beltway Blue Erik Jonasson

As many of you remember, and are fondof reminding me, I wrote a fairly criticalarticle about Florent Malouda earlier thisyear. For a frame of reference it was inVolume 1, Issue 7 of the Bluesletter. Ihave decided to re-evaluate myconclusion about to include hisperformance this season.

Instead of doing a statistical comparison

to the last article, lets just talk aboutthis season. In the league Florent made33 appearances, scored 12 goals andhad 9 assists. This season it felt, attimes, that he could have knocked a dustmite o#a pinhead without disturbingthe pin. His goals, 12, are the samenumber he has had in all competitionsfor us in the previous two seasons, afantastic improvement. He still maintainsa great disciplinary record, 4 yellowcards and, sadly, his first red card atChelsea.

Also we need to take into considerationhis intangibles - his crosses went fromsub-sub-par in previous seasons toalmost automatic this season. He hasbeen more than just a pacey head casewho couldn't finish or pick a pass thisseason; he has become a mazy dribblerwho seems to always know where a manis and able to pick him out without muchtrouble at all.

In honor of this great improvement I you, Florent Malouda, Dave's MostImproved Player of the Year. Also, mynew kit that debuted at the FA cup fiis #15 Malouda. Congratulations Floryou've won over a skeptic who wanteyou sold as recently as October. Alsoapologize for suggesting you couldnbeat a statue. Mea culpa my friend, mculpa.

Florent Malouda: A Reconsideration (or How a

Frenchman Made Me Look a Right Fool)by David Braley

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ATTENTION: We need your

help!Photos are needed for theCIA Member Gift for next seasoa 17-month calendar! Pleasesend full-resolution pictures fromeet-ups, from the Bridge, fromany Chelsea-related occasion, toRaDragon on the message boardor [email protected]

Chelsea in America Vol2 Issue5

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Transcript of Chelsea in America Vol2 Issue5