The Wait is Almost Over!

It is almost upon us and the moment that everyone has been waiting for.

Enough of the meaningless action. This is what really matters. The weeks have counted down to days and the days have trickled down to hours. You get twitchy. You find yourself looking at your watch every minute. The tension is unbearable. You just want the moment to arrive.

You spend your time thinking about it. Tactics, formations, game situations. Will we see as much drama as last time? Will we see some managerial genius, perhaps? Will the niggle heal enough to allow your favourite player to play? Will it even matter? Enough of the stupid inner discussion. The mind goes numb as the seconds go by.

It seems like an eternity and yet, before you know it, its there. The camera crews are ready. The players are warming up. You peer to see if your favourite player is moving without discomfort. The incessant drone of the commentator starts to get annoying. Let’s see some action now, please.

The players are in the tunnel. They walk out for the pre-match line-ups and you feel something welling up inside you. It’s unexplainable. It’s football.
The captains get the toss done. The ball is placed at the centre of the lush green pitch. The heart starts beating. You can hear it.

The crowd goes into a frenzy and then.......you hear it.........

"CAAAREFREE! Wherever you may be............!"

Those familiar but immortal words resonate inside you. No vuvuzelas thank you, just an away end full of mad-men clothed in blue.

The ref blows the whistle. Its 3 pm (English time) on the 17th of July. The venue is Selhurst Park.

Liverpool Striker Fernando Torres' Injury Puts £50m Chelsea Move In Doubt

An injury to Fernando Torres late into Sunday night’s World Cup Final between Spain and Holland may further confuse the striker’s future, with Chelsea hoping he will ask Liverpool to consider offers for him when he returns from holiday.

Torres cut a forlorn figure after he was left out of the starting line-up by Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque - and did not even warm-up with the rest of the substitutes - but he came on at the start of the second-half of extra-time to replace David Villa as his country’s lone striker.

However as he chased down a long ball forward he pulled up suddenly, feeling his groin, before collapsing on the turf in apparent agony. He was eventually stretchered off. It capped a miserable tournament for Torres, although he was involved in the build-up to Andres Iniesta’s winning goal, and there will now be frantic concern over the extent of the injury and whether it might place his hope for a summer move to Chelsea in jeopardy.

Torres did manage to collect his winners’ medal and join his team-mates on a lap of honour but he was clearly in some discomfort and given his constant record of injuries, which has been an issue for him throughout his career then it will be a concern to any potential buyer.

Chelsea are leading the chase for the 27-year-old and are set to open the bidding, hoping that Torres will ask for a move although he may fall short of handing in a transfer request. They remain confident that Torres wants to join them and may, eventually, offer up to £50 million for him.

However this would fall short of Liverpool’s valuation for Torres which is believed to be closer to £70 million. At the same time it’s understood that, significantly, Liverpool are already actively looking at alternatives should Torres eventually be sold.

Contact is believed to have been made with the German club Wolfsburg, now managed by Steve McClaren, over the future of their striker Edin Dzeko who is believed to be admired by Liverpool’s new manager Roy Hodgson.

Negotiations for the Bosnian, who has previously also attracted interest from Chelsea, to move to Manchester City are at an advanced stage although a fee is yet to be agreed.

If Liverpool were to sell Torres for £50 million or more then it would give them the funds to purchase Dzeko and although they would not be able to out-bid City it could well be that the 23-year-old would prefer a move to the Merseyside club.

The sale of Torres would also provide Hodgson - who has stated he wants to keep the striker and intends to hold talks with him when he returns from holiday, if not before - with further funds to strengthen his squad as he goes about re-shaping his team for the new season. That could be bolstered with Javier Mascherano, who may hand in a transfer request, also pushing for a move.

City had hoped that they might strike an agreement with Torres but although they retain interest they also accept that the failure to qualify for the Champions League has severely damaged their chances. Instead they have concentrated on trying to sign Dzeko or, if that bid fails, to secure Inter Milan’s Mario Balotelli.

Torres has been cagey over his future throughout the World Cup, declaring that he wants to hear from Hodgson over his plans for Liverpool before he decides what he wants to do. Earlier this year Torres made clear that he wanted the club to strengthen significantly this summer but they have to generate funds first.

The player is believed to want to stay in England, unless there is a bid made for him by Barcelona who he regards as the only other club he would consider moving too. He has told friends that he wants to now be challenging for major trophies and is desperate to win the Champions League.

Chelsea Eye Fabio Coentrao As A Possible Replacement For Ashley Cole

Benfica left-back Fabio Coentrao has been targeted by Chelsea as a possible replacement for Ashley Cole should he decide to leave for Real Madrid this summer, according to The Sun.

Cole has been the centre of much tabloid focus on his personal life in recent months and is believed to be desperate to leave England because of his off-field struggles.

Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho is apparently keen to take Cole to the Bernabeu, and the Blues are believed to be expecting a bid from los Blancos shortly.

They do not want Cole to leave but Coentrao, 22, who impressed at the World Cup with his vibrancy down the left flank for Portugal, has been identified as a successor to the England international should they be left with little choice but to grant Cole his reported wish.

Villa: Torres More Likely To Join Chelsea

Barcelona striker David Villa believes Chelsea have a better chance of signing Spain team-mate Fernando Torres than Manchester City this summer.

Liverpool's Torres was linked with a British transfer record £50million move to both the Blues and City before the World Cup.

The 26-year-old striker endured a miserable personal tournament in South Africa.

He failed to score a single goal and was dropped from the starting line-up as Spain won Sunday's final in Johannesburg.

Torres picked up a groin injury after coming on in extra-time against the Netherlands at Soccer City but remains a target of the two big-spending Premier League clubs.

But rather than join ambitious City, Villa believes his international team-mate would be more interested in either following him to Barcelona or heading to Stamford Bridge.

"I am not sure where his future lies, but he knows like me he must win trophies at club level," he said.

"He isn't money-focused so he would never join Manchester City.

"But sure, Barcelona and Chelsea would be real options for him. He has proven he can score goals in England and Chelsea are the number one team there at the moment, so I suppose it's the option that makes the most sense.

"He has been fully focused on the World Cup but in the back of his mind he knows he needs to be competing for the very highest honours and if Liverpool can't do it he will have to move."

Schweinsteiger Open To Move

Bayern Munich midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger has revealed the possibility of a switch away from Germany 'excites' him.

The schemer enjoyed a fine World Cup showing with Germany this summer, fuelling rumours of growing interest in his services.

Several high-profile teams have been linked with an approach, including the likes of Real Madrid and Chelsea.

Bayern have stressed they intend to retain Schweinsteiger, who is happy at the club but has not ruled out an exit.

"There are always a few offers, but I have a contract with Bayern until 2012 and I respect the contract and the club," he told Bild am Sonntag.

Schweinsteiger confirmed he has considered his future, but said: "I know that there is something great at Bayern. We didn't reach the UEFA Champions League final without good reason - and to win it is my ambition."

Asked if he would consider moving on to achieve that goal, he said: "To end this talk I will just say that I am not married to Bayern.

"The Bundesliga is great, and has become more important, but if I were to move on then, of course, the idea of going abroad is what excites me."

Ancelotti To Push On With Wesley Sneijder Bid

Carlo Ancelotti would do well to land a player as in form as the Inter Milan man and now that Jose Mourinho has left the San Siro it would make sense for club’s such as Chelsea to make their feelings known to the Dutch international.

The 26 year old had an excellent season last term after a horror spell at Real Madrid and the playmaker has followed up a treble in club football with an excellent display at the World Cup, a display that could see him lift the trophy as well as the Golden Ball award.

The Stamford Bridge outfit have of course allowed Michael Ballack and Joe Cole to run out their contracts and Deco looks set to leave as well, so there is indeed a good deal of sense in looking to nab the former Ajax man.

It may take a bid of around £33-35m to get the Italian side’s attention and clearly Roman Abramovich can afford to shell out such a sum and has told Ancelotti that money is available to bring in new additions to help retain their Premier League crown as well as looking to mount a Champions League assault to boot.

Stoney Agrees New Terms

Casey Stoney has agreed terms on a new contract with Chelsea Football Club ahead of next year's Women's Super League.

The Chelsea Ladies captain, a regular in the England Ladies side, joined the Blues from Charlton Athletic in 2007 and went on to win the Nationwide International Player of the Year Award for the 2007/08 season.

Originally a product of the Chelsea Academy, which she joined aged 12, Stoney initially left the club to join Arsenal in 1999 before taking up her role at Charlton in 2002.

As captain of Charlton, Stoney won the League Cup in 2004, the FA Cup in 2005 and the League Cup once more in 2006 before Charlton disbanded their women's side following the men's relegation from top-flight football.

Stoney has also been part of England's senior ladies team since her debut in August 2000 as a substitute against France. Her first start came against Norway in 2002 and she has since become England's first-choice left-back.

Now Stoney will continue to captain Chelsea as we head towards the new Women's Super League, which begins in March 2011.

The Super League will run throughout the summer with televised matches to help encourage young women to take up the sport and help develop stars to represent the ever-improving women's national team.

Chelsea are one of eight teams involved in the new league, which includes Arsenal LFC, Birmingham City LFC, Bristol Academy WFC, Doncaster Rover Belles, Everton, Lincoln LFC and Liverpool LFC.