There may be an international break for the players at the moment, but not so for former winger Pat Nevin who remains firmly on Chelsea duty.
Are you a glass half-full or a half-empty person? Some of us are naturally positive, some less so. This week many of the players have had a rest, which for some would have been welcomed. The World Cup might seem like a lifetime ago already, but it will affect many players going forward for the rest of the season, so any rest is useful for them.
Many fans will think that after such a fantastic start to the campaign the last thing Chelsea as a team needed was an international break to interrupt the momentum. There could be something in this, we will have to wait and see. Carlo Ancelotti will, however, I suspect, be thinking ahead rather than back, after a relatively cushy introduction to season 2010/11 the real hard concentrated work starts here and now.
A quick look at the match calendar over the next 22 days shows that there will be no fewer than seven games squeezed into that period. The manager will be acutely aware of that and will already be considering who is capable of playing all or nearly all of those games and then kicking on afterwards, as it will scarcely let up afterwards.
I know that throughout my career although I enjoyed training, nothing was as much fun as playing, so a game every three or four days was fine for me. The thing is it didn't happen quite so much then as there weren't quite so many competitions, particularly the number and intensity of those currently experienced in the Champions League by our boys. Maybe I would have been a little more accepting of the idea of rest if the schedule had been this extreme throughout our seasons.
Of course it could be argued that every other top club is in the same boat, but English football is played at a tempo and ferocity throughout every 90 minutes that few other leagues can match, so the physical stress is more acute for our lads. This is the reason that the next three games in particular, which look like fairly surmountable obstacles on the surface, might just be a little trickier than expected.
West Ham haven't won a point in the league yet so they are struggling, Blackpool are the raw and unexpected newcomers in the division and in between them MSK Zilina aren't the most heralded name in Champions League history.
On the other hand, the Hammers will be desperate, on top of that it is a derby and it is away from home. Blackpool have surprised a few and will be flying with stratospheric levels of adrenalin visiting the mighty Chelsea. That game will also be after the Blues fly home from Slovakia in midweek, a notoriously draining experience.
Even Zilina will pose problems, anyone recall Chelsea's struggle against unfancied Apoel Nicosia early on in the Champions League last year? The one away goal was a hugely welcome relief that time. I suppose it is all down to that glass half-full or half-empty argument, draining though it may be it is better to be involved in these tournaments than not.
Two players who have got a little (unwanted) break are John Terry and Frank Lampard both being injured for the England squads this time round. Now I try very hard not to listen to the football phone-ins on UK radio but sometimes when driving in the car I have to suffer them for a little while if there is nothing on Radio 4. This week I was infuriated by the general reaction to JT and Frank.
England manages to beat a weak Bulgarian side and a host of callers are in touch right away to say it is time to get rid of our two lads for good. Now I understand people were unhappy with all the English World Cup performances but this was a knee jerk reaction that was particularly painful and I think unwarranted.
The Chelsea boys turn up every time when fit and haven't turned their backs on their countries even when the stick has been flying, the same cannot be said about certain others.
In JTs case it seems personal from some, but surely they can see that England are not exactly comfortable at centre-back right now? Even good players such as King and Ferdinand have serious ongoing injury problems while Carragher only agrees to play if it is a World Cup Finals. Certain England fans should be careful what they wish for, they might just get it and if John Terry decided to call it a day internationally they will have lost the best on-field leader they have.
As for Frank I have never got my head round the negativity bordering on animosity some non-Chelsea fans have for him. A perfect pro, a gentleman, a great player, a world-class scorer and an extraordinarily loyal footballer, the maliciousness doesn't make sense. He should be an icon to everyone in the game but too many for my liking couldn't get on those phone lines to the radio stations quickly enough to call for him to be jettisoned. In the simplest terms all Chelsea fans know the truth, you will only know their true value when they aren't there anymore.
Are you a glass half-full or a half-empty person? Some of us are naturally positive, some less so. This week many of the players have had a rest, which for some would have been welcomed. The World Cup might seem like a lifetime ago already, but it will affect many players going forward for the rest of the season, so any rest is useful for them.
Many fans will think that after such a fantastic start to the campaign the last thing Chelsea as a team needed was an international break to interrupt the momentum. There could be something in this, we will have to wait and see. Carlo Ancelotti will, however, I suspect, be thinking ahead rather than back, after a relatively cushy introduction to season 2010/11 the real hard concentrated work starts here and now.
A quick look at the match calendar over the next 22 days shows that there will be no fewer than seven games squeezed into that period. The manager will be acutely aware of that and will already be considering who is capable of playing all or nearly all of those games and then kicking on afterwards, as it will scarcely let up afterwards.
I know that throughout my career although I enjoyed training, nothing was as much fun as playing, so a game every three or four days was fine for me. The thing is it didn't happen quite so much then as there weren't quite so many competitions, particularly the number and intensity of those currently experienced in the Champions League by our boys. Maybe I would have been a little more accepting of the idea of rest if the schedule had been this extreme throughout our seasons.
Of course it could be argued that every other top club is in the same boat, but English football is played at a tempo and ferocity throughout every 90 minutes that few other leagues can match, so the physical stress is more acute for our lads. This is the reason that the next three games in particular, which look like fairly surmountable obstacles on the surface, might just be a little trickier than expected.
West Ham haven't won a point in the league yet so they are struggling, Blackpool are the raw and unexpected newcomers in the division and in between them MSK Zilina aren't the most heralded name in Champions League history.
On the other hand, the Hammers will be desperate, on top of that it is a derby and it is away from home. Blackpool have surprised a few and will be flying with stratospheric levels of adrenalin visiting the mighty Chelsea. That game will also be after the Blues fly home from Slovakia in midweek, a notoriously draining experience.
Even Zilina will pose problems, anyone recall Chelsea's struggle against unfancied Apoel Nicosia early on in the Champions League last year? The one away goal was a hugely welcome relief that time. I suppose it is all down to that glass half-full or half-empty argument, draining though it may be it is better to be involved in these tournaments than not.
Two players who have got a little (unwanted) break are John Terry and Frank Lampard both being injured for the England squads this time round. Now I try very hard not to listen to the football phone-ins on UK radio but sometimes when driving in the car I have to suffer them for a little while if there is nothing on Radio 4. This week I was infuriated by the general reaction to JT and Frank.
England manages to beat a weak Bulgarian side and a host of callers are in touch right away to say it is time to get rid of our two lads for good. Now I understand people were unhappy with all the English World Cup performances but this was a knee jerk reaction that was particularly painful and I think unwarranted.
The Chelsea boys turn up every time when fit and haven't turned their backs on their countries even when the stick has been flying, the same cannot be said about certain others.
In JTs case it seems personal from some, but surely they can see that England are not exactly comfortable at centre-back right now? Even good players such as King and Ferdinand have serious ongoing injury problems while Carragher only agrees to play if it is a World Cup Finals. Certain England fans should be careful what they wish for, they might just get it and if John Terry decided to call it a day internationally they will have lost the best on-field leader they have.
As for Frank I have never got my head round the negativity bordering on animosity some non-Chelsea fans have for him. A perfect pro, a gentleman, a great player, a world-class scorer and an extraordinarily loyal footballer, the maliciousness doesn't make sense. He should be an icon to everyone in the game but too many for my liking couldn't get on those phone lines to the radio stations quickly enough to call for him to be jettisoned. In the simplest terms all Chelsea fans know the truth, you will only know their true value when they aren't there anymore.
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