INTRODUCTION
Chelsea Football Club are a professional English football club based in West London. The team, founded in 1905, play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions three times, and have won the FA Cup five times, the League Cup four times and the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup twice.

The club had their first major success in 1955, winning the league championship. Chelsea won several cup competitions during the 1960s and 1970s, but after that did not win another major title until 1997. The past decade has been the most successful period in Chelseas history, capped by winning consecutive Premier League titles in 2005 and 2006, and reaching their first UEFA Champions League final in 2008.

Chelsea's home is the 42,055 capacity Stamford Bridge football stadium in Fulham, West London, where they have played since their establishment. The club are based just outside the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. In 2003, they were bought by Russian oil magnate Roman Abramovich.

Chelsea's traditional kit colours are royal blue shirts and shorts with white socks. The club crest has been changed several times in attempts to modernize or re-brand; the current crest, featuring a ceremonial lion holding a staff, is a modified version of one first adopted in the 1950s.The club has sustained the fifth highest average all-time attendance in English football. Their average home gate for the 200809 season was 41,464, the fifth highest in the Premier League.

BRIEF HISTORY
Chelsea were founded on 14 March 1905 at The Rising Sun pub (now The Butcher's Hook), opposite the present-day main entrance to the ground on Fulham Road, and were elected to the Football League shortly afterwards. The club's early years saw little success; the closest they came to winning a major trophy was reaching the FA Cup final in 1915, where they lost to Sheffield United. Chelsea gained a reputation for signing big-name players and for being entertainers, but made little impact on the English game in the inter-war years.

Former Arsenal and England centre-forward Ted Drake became manager in 1952 and proceeded to modernise the club. He removed the club's Chelsea pensioner crest, improved the youth set-up and training regime, rebuilt the side, and led Chelsea to their first major trophy success the League championship in 195455. The following season saw UEFA create the European Champions' Cup, but after objections from The Football League and the FA Chelsea were persuaded to withdraw from the competition before it started.

]]>

The late 1970s and the 1980s were a turbulent period for Chelsea. An ambitious redevelopment of Stamford Bridge threatened the financial stability of the club, star players were sold and the team were relegated. Further problems were caused by a notorious hooligan element among the support, which was to plague the club throughout the decade. In 1982 Chelsea were, at the nadir of their fortunes, acquired by Ken Bates for the nominal sum of 1, although by now the Stamford Bridge freehold had been sold to property developers, meaning the club faced losing their home. On the pitch, the team had fared little better, coming close to relegation to the Third Division for the first time, but in 1983 manager John Neal put together an impressive new team for minimal outlay. Chelsea won the Second Division title in 198384 and established themselves in the top division, before being relegated again in 1988. The club bounced back immediately by winning the Second Division championship in 198889.

In June 2003, Bates sold Chelsea to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich for 140 million, completing what was then the biggest-ever sale of an English football club. Over 100 million was spent on new players, but Ranieri was unable to deliver any trophies, so he was replaced by Portuguese coach Jos Mourinho. Under Mourinho, Chelsea became the fifth English team to win back-to-back league championships since the Second World War (200405 and 200506), in addition to winning an FA Cup (2007) and two League Cups (2005 and 2007). In September 2007 Mourinho was replaced by Avram Grant, who led the club to their first UEFA Champions League final, in which they lost on penalties to Manchester United. Grant was sacked days later and succeeded by Luiz Felipe Scolari in July 2008.

Scolari spent only seven months in the job before being dismissed after a string of poor results. Russia coach Guus Hiddink was appointed caretaker manager until the end of the 200809 season. Chelsea's season ended with a 21 win over Everton in the FA Cup Final. Two days later former AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti was confirmed as Chelsea's new manager.

HOME GROUND
Chelsea have only ever had one home ground, Stamford Bridge, where they have played since foundation. It was officially opened on 28 April 1877. For the first 28 years of its existence it was used almost exclusively by the London Athletics Club as an arena for athletics meetings and not at all for football. In 1904 the ground was acquired by businessman Gus Mears and his brother Joseph, who had previously acquired additional land (formerly a large market garden) with the aim of staging football matches on the now 12.5 acre (51,000 m) site.

COLOURS AND KIT
Chelsea's kit is currently manufactured by Adidas, which is contracted to supply the club's kit from 2006 to 2011. Their previous kit manufacturer was Umbro. Chelsea's first shirt sponsor was Gulf Air, agreed midway through the 198384 season. Following that, the club were sponsored by Grange Farms, Bai Lin tea and Italian company Simod before a long-term deal was signed with computer manufacturer Commodore International in 1989; Amiga, an off-shoot of Commodore, also appeared on the shirts. Chelsea were subsequently sponsored by Coors beer (199597), Autoglass (19972001) and Emirates Airline (200105). Chelsea's current shirt sponsor is Samsung.

SUPPORTERS
Chelsea have the fifth highest average all-time attendance in English football and regularly attract over 40,000 fans to Stamford Bridge; they were the fifth best-supported Premier League team in the 200708 season, with an average gate of 41,673. Chelsea's traditional fanbase comes from working-class parts of West London, such as Hammersmith and Battersea, from wealthier areas like Chelsea and Kensington, and from the Home Counties.In addition to the standard football chants, Chelsea fans sing songs like "Carefree", "Blue is the Colour", "We all follow the Chelsea" (to the tune of Land of Hope and Glory), "Ten Men Went to Mow", "Zigga Zagga", "Hello! Hello!" and the celebratory "Celery", with the latter often resulting in fans ritually throwing celery.

CURRENT PLACE IN PREMIER LEAGUE 2009-10 AND TICKETS
Chelsea with 30 points is at the top of the Premier League table. Chelsea have highest points in the league table. Till now Chelsea have played 12 Matches in Barclays Premier League 2009-10, out of which they won 10 matches and lose just 2.

Chelsea have a large fan base and have millions of fans all over the world and people love to watch their matches live into the play ground. Chelsea fans love to enjoy and experience the thrill during the Chelsea match live in the ground. Getting football tickets for their matches is really a hard task for the Chelsea fans. Ticket4football.com solves this problem by offering the Chelsea football tickets , easy to get and relatively at cheaper price. So Chelsea Tickets are just at the distance of one click from the fans.
Roy brown
31
Single
From London
Love to play and watch football
Article Source

Best UEFA Champions League Resource Online.

The English premier league is at the brink of been handed over to the foreign investors who have been forking out big lump sum of cash to have a share of the most prestigious league in the world today. Statistics have proven that the English premier league is the most watched as well as most expensive in the world (Conn, 1997). The financial statements made by different clubs in Europe in the 21 century warrants attention from business analysts, financial institutions and economic professionals (Shackleton, 2000). The level of borrowings, debts, spending trends and investments quoted in public domain cannot be ignored at all cost. The glaring question is whether the investors have the clubs legacy at heart or their greedy and malicious nature will in the long run leave the face of English premier leagues dented and impoverished.

Some of the notable investment in the recent times include take over of Chelsea by a Russian billionaire, the Manchester united controversy revolving around the investment by the American family, Manchester city by Arab billionaires, the Liverpool controversy and also Blackburn rovers been snatched away from former ardent supporter to an Indian investor.

The clubs revenues have increased over time and the total revenue accrued by the end of 2010 went through the roofs to hit a 2 billion pound mark. The rise of these revenues has raised eyebrows and investors are in a gold rush to leap from this lucrative business. Hence foreigners have been investing very heavily on the English premier league (Glen, 2009).

Because of the investment factor in the English premier the private owners having been capitalizing on the return to capital. The ticket selling is one of the ways which the investors are capitalizing on to get the revenues. In this case the tickets of games have skyrocketed and the funs have to dig deep in their pockets to enjoy leisure of watching football. This has affected the middle class who used to enjoy watching football without budget constraint. Some of the fans who were watching almost all the games played by their clubs at home ground stadium have slashed the times they would appear for live football watching (Baily, 2007).

]]>

As indicated by Heinemann (2010), funs have been losing touch with their clubs because the management by the virtue of profit making has taken full control of everything. The funs are no longer the issue when dealing with critical matters like transfers and signing of players. The recent takeover of Manchester untied by glazier family is case in point whereby the selling of former club striker Carlos Tevez had faced mounting opposition from the funs but the club went ahead with the transfer.

After the taking over of Manchester united in 2007 the club has recorded tremendous success with three premier league titles as well a champion league title in a span of 3 years, Chelsea taking over yielded immediate results by wining 3 premier league titles as well as one a carling cup and 2 FA cups since 2005. Unfortunately this has not been the case with Blackburn rovers and Liverpool because their cup thirst is yet to be quenched (Barthold, 2009).

The worth of these investments leaves a lot to be desired the trend has assumed a euphoric drive which might not augur well with business. Manchester united had been recuperating from debts by the time foreign investor was steeping in but has effectively covered the gap. Chelsea was also under siege of debts and poor condition but the arrival of Russian billionaire salvaged the situation. However the risks of investments may be greater than the benefit it might bring forth to the investor (Deloitte, 2008).

Like any form of business football is not insulated from challenges which are caused by things like inflation, recession, and bad seasons. Since football has been commercialized, the risks and benefits must be forthcoming and they remain paramount to thriving and sustainability of business. In this case, it is paramount to gauge the future of football in its present trend of takeovers. Some clubs have benefited from the takeovers whereas others are yet to experience the benefits from foreign investors.

1.1Problem statement

The developments in the English premier league leave a lot to be desired and there have been takeovers from foreign investor. Since the Chelsea football club went in hands of the Russian billionaires there have been flood gate of interests from the foreign investors. In the last five years, they have taken control of the nine top 20 premier league clubs and more so it is yet to be verified whether they will be coming for more share in this prestigious premier league. the most notable takeovers in the recent years are: Manchester city by the Arab investors, Manchester united by united states glazer family, Liverpool by Gillett and hack and then another transfer in 2010, Chelsea by the Russian billionaire and most recently the Blackburn rovers by an Indian investor( Budd & Levermore 2010).

The takeovers have raised eyebrows from the financial analysts and economists and they often try to come to terms with this kind of wild takeovers. The often asked question is the future of this business and its impact to the English premier league. Since it seems as if the business is at the boom it is likely that it might as well bust and the repercussion might not be well premeditated.

This research seek to find out the impact of the foreign investments on the English premier league focusing on the takeovers of Chelsea, Manchester united, Liverpool and Blackburn rovers. The epicenter of the research would be the effects of commercialization of football to the English premier league as well as the future of the premier league.

1.2Purpose of the research

The purpose of this research is examining the impact of the foreign investment on English premier league clubs. Since the trend of taking over of clubs in the English premier has increased over the years, the research will guide me to conclude whether the sweeping euphoria is for the good or bad. This will help me to establish whether football in England has turned to be more of a business rather than enjoyment.

The research also helps to evaluate how the foreign factor has been affecting the relationships of the club and their funs and also give account of how helpful or damaging these takeovers have turned to be on the communities. In this case the research will be geared to reveal whether the investors have sacrificed the fans at the expense of the profit making motives. In addition, it will help to gauge how the communities around the clubs have been benefiting either through direct employment or direct funding to the community events.

The author is associated with Dissertations. The author will assist you with Dissertation Abstracts.
Article Source

Best UEFA Champions League Resource Online.

Top 10 Soccer Players in the World

Based on the FIFA player of the year, on the football news, football scores and football results, we succeeded in putting together a list of the top 10 football players in the world. Some picks might differ between a site and another since the football experts of ESPN.com or SI.com are way different from the soccer experts of Eurosport.com or CBSsports.

Here is our opinion about the best football players on the planet, starting with the best football player without any doubt, Lionel Messi.

1- Lionel Messi is an Argentinean football player who features for the FC Barcelona in the Spanish football league and other European football tournaments such as the Champions League. Lionel MEssi is among the most awaited football players during the World Cup 2010 due to his exceptional football shoes tricks and magical football skills.

2- Cristiano Ronaldo has newly joined the Real Madrid; after leading the Manchester United until the Champions League finals against Barcelona where the Man Utd lost, Ronaldos popularity was starting to decrease in the English Premier League. After being signed by Real Madrid, Ronaldo is also one of the best soccer players in the world, widely known for his goal scoring techniques and accurate strikers shots.

3- Zlatan Ibrahimovic just made it to FC Barcelona; as a football transfer between Barca and Inter Milan got tackled, Ibra was substituted by Samuel EtoO who was transferred towards the Italian League while Ibrahimovic got signed by the football team of Pep Guardiola.

4- Steven Gerrard or Stevie G is among the most dangerous football strikers in the world; as a captain of Liverpool, Gerrard is expected to lead the English football team in South Africa 2010 as the team tackles the FIFA World Cup under the supervision of Coach Fabio Capello.

5- Samuel Etoo features for Inter Milan; Etoo was the top scorer of Barcelona until the deal with Inter Milan obliged him to exchange places with Zlatan Ibrahimovic. In the World Cup 2010, Samuel Etoo will lead the Cameroon football team, perhaps crafting a new surprise by qualifying into the final rounds of the Fifa World Cup tournament.

6- KAKA quit playing for AC Milan and joined Real Madrid along with Cristiano Ronaldo to form one the most dangerous offensive lineups in the world; although Kaka occupies the midfield spot, he remains one of the most skilled strikers when it comes to scoring goals.

7- Xavi Hernandez of FC Barcelona is also one of the football players who won the Euro Championship with spain Vs Germany; Xavi is far from being the fastest football player or the most talented football player but his job in controlling the midfield of every football field grants him the title of one of the best midfielders in the world.

8- Andres Iniesta, Barca player, is considered as one of the main elements in the team; Guardiola counts on Inesta to deliver the balls towards the strikers. Iniesta, referring to football news and sports experts, is one of the most underrated football players in the world, maybe due to the lack of TV appearances or marketing and endorsement deals.

9- Frank Lampard, Chelsea football teams idol, is one of the most consistent and persistent football players on many levels. Eith
[removed][removed]
er in the EPL English Premier League fixtures or in the European football tournaments, the Chelsea midfield player has marked the English football with his skills and potential to create decent occasions and lead his team in the Premiership fixtures.

10- Fernando Torres, Spanish striker and one of the most talented goal scorers in the world, will be featuring along his Spanish team mates in the World cup 2010; after winning the European Championship with the Spaniards, Torres will have to demonstrate some real football skills to overcome his bad football results and low football scores with Liverpool throughout the Premier League and the Champions League.

http://www.sawfer.com/football
Article Source

Best UEFA Champions League Resource Online.

Fans of the Chelsea Football Club love to sport its royal blue colors and ever-changing crest which happens to be, currently, a lion carrying a staff. The good news for fans is that Chelsea football shirts are available in all sizes, for practically all ages. Like, we keep saying, football shirts make for great fashion gear as well. If blue happens to be your favorite color you would simply dig the Clelsea scarves, shirts, and T-shirts. Most people would be aware that Chelsea Club representatives have always donned blue although, in the beginning, they wore its lighter version. This shade was inspired by its then president Earl Cardogan who loved the races. Votaries of Chelsea's much sought-after Premier League are bound to love its navy blue-collared shirt with three buttons running down the front. It is called you guessed it the Chelsea 2009/10 Premier League Winners Polo-Nay Shirt.

The 2010-12 Chelsea home shirt, manufactured by Adidas, seems to epitomize relaxation. A high collar in red and white and piping running down its short sleeves, the Chelsea home shirt looks the picture of leisure. What is more, fans can now customize their shirt by imprinting the name of their favorite star.

With the new season coming around, Adidas has struck a different pitch. The new Chelsea away shirt manufactured by the company happens to be a legend in white with grey stripes and black trim. Whatever happened to the royal blue, a lot of fans have been asking. The thing is this: the Chelsea away shirt looks conservative and cool and is already wooing fans.

Those who love dramatic colors such as rust, black, pink et al would love to get into Barcelona gear. Most Barcelona Football actually futbol' Club fans hail this Catalan institution as mas que en club or more than a club'. It is, as everyone knows, one of the most popular clubs throughout the world. It is also one of the clubs to have enjoyed highest success in European football. No wonder, its colors are so cheerful and jocose.

The members of the Barcelona Futbol Club have always resolutely refused to flaunt company logos on their shirt fronts, preferring instead, to advertise the UNICEF logo. It is a treat to watch Barcelona team members in cherry pink football shirts with a high neck and sleeves in black trim carrying the UNICEF message. That's the away shirt available at 44.99.

it must be mentioned that the 2008-09 Barcelona away long-sleeved shirt in egg-yolk with black trims and the ochre short-sleeved 2007-08 Barcelona 3rd away shirt remain major attractions to this day.

A recent attraction is the 2009-10 Barcelona Goal Keeper home shirt. Sleek-looking with its long tapering sleeves, this smart Nike shirt with red and blue stripes tracing running down vertical lines against a black background looks chic and sits well on all ages. You have the choice of customizing this shirt by imprinting the name of your favorite player. Available at 49.99 wearers of this shirt are also able to add sleeve patches at 5.

-
About the Author:
Mike Greaves is a self-made entrepreneur, a well known sports shirts consultant and internet marketer. Over the years he has football shirt across the world and has numerous writings credited to his name in many renowned publications. His areas of writing include sports shirts experiences including reviews of chelsea football shirts and barcelona shirt
Article Source

Best UEFA Champions League Resource Online.

Football is among the popular sports that are played around the world. The number of people following football today is increasing day by day. Football fans not just spend thousands of dollars to buy tickets to watch the matches live but they also love to collect autographed caps, balls and shirts too. If you are a football fan, you may have also wanted to buy a shirt to represent you team while watching them play. Today, as football remains one of the most popular sports all over the world, many people consider buying replicas, but the truth is that no matter how cheap it might be, it cannot beat the original football shirt. Buying an authentic product is always recommended, even if you have to spend some extra cash, mostly because the replicas will need to be replaced in a short time. There are numerous places today where you can find authentic football jerseys, both online and onsite.

Having an authentic football shirt in your wardrobe is an achievement in its own. If you also wish to own an authentic football shirt than it is essential to know about the authenticity of the company you are buying it from. Cheap soccer jerseys are sold online by many websites. People often make mistake while purchasing soccer jerseys online and usually choose the one that helps them save few bucks or sell replica soccer shirts. Whether you are looking for arsenal football shirts or Chelsea football shirts you can get them easily delivered at your house.

The number of websites selling soccer shirts at cheap are many and most of them are not authentic. You must understand that soccer shirts that you get for cheap are not original as well as they are made up of cheap material. These football team shirts are actually worn by football players. If you want to keep them for long and look great in them than buying original football jerseys is important.

When you are buying soccer tshirts online you must know what color you want, your proper size and the player whose shirt you wish to purchase. Football shirt stores that you must choose must have the latest variety available with them. These websites must also provide you security against your purchase and must deliver you exactly what you have ordered to your house.
With best football shirt shop you can actually go through all the latest variety available and choose your favorite. Buying with authentic websites is beneficial because they protect your details and uses secure payment methods. Also if you wish to gift football jerseys to your friends, relatives or loved one than you can directly send gifts to their house through such websites. Imagine gifting soccer shirt to your brother or friend who is a great football fan! He will feel overwhelmed when he will get a soccer jersey as a gift. He will thank you and will feel excited about it too.These websites are the best place from where you can buy and gift soccer jerseys without stepping out of your house.

recommended site : http://www9footballshirt.com

MR.JAMES RATTANAWONG
Article Source

Best UEFA Champions League Resource Online.

The Chelsea football memorabilia gifts are collectibles of top quality items that are exceptional and hard to find in any gift shop. For example: Chelsea back to back premiership Champions Presentation, Chelsea Double Cup Winners 2007 Montage, Chelsea Superstars Multi Signed, Chelsea Squad Signed Photo, Chelsea Football Newspaper Book are few to be cited a few. You can find shirts of some legendary players with genuine signatures on it.

They are worthwhile as they carry signatures that are authentic. Each gift item has its own unique features and commemorates the squads of Chelsea FC. Chelsea football newspaper book are collection of some original newsprints written by individuals who have witnessed the games and events. This memorabilia book captures moments from an early period of 20th century to the recent past leagues.

Chelsea back to back premiership Champions presentation is some of the special edition is an impressive inset that provide complete details of this historic achievement. This gift is presented in a stunning black wood surround measuring 76x41 centimetre. The Chelseas FC traditional crest is a ceremonial blue lion holding a staff and embedded on the kits distinctly. It is a fabulous gift for real Chelsea lovers to cherish the value through the years. The shirts are original and personally signed by the squads. The shirts are professionally framed in a metallic silver finish surround. Chelsea football memorabilia gifts are collection of such unique gifts.

For all occasions you can consider the Chelsea football memorabilia gifts because they add zest and make the recipient feel special. Prior presenting any gift, it is creditable to know the recipients favourite sports persons. To make the gift look more majestic you can engrave the name of the person along with your message.

To find more gifts of Chelsea FC just consider the Chelsea football memorabilia gifts. Here you can find items that are unique and authentic with signatures of celebrated players.

Best UEFA Champions League Resource Online.