This is a Hitskin.com skin preview
Install the skin • Return to the skin page
The Blue Box
+16
the xcx
Babun
Rebelles.REUS.rex
Abramovich
S
Blue
Gil
Soul
RealGunner
Ganso
iNFINITY9910
fatman123
lszanto
Kick
Shed
Blue Barrett
20 posters
Page 17 of 40
Page 17 of 40 • 1 ... 10 ... 16, 17, 18 ... 28 ... 40
Re: The Blue Box
Yea, I think you may be right about that. Now that you mention it, I seem to recall he had some mysterious, unexplained not-too-serious knock or something that seemed to last forever, and after not too long, Mikel had already cemented his place in the team.Soul wrote:@Shed, I think Romeu got injured and after Mikel took his place he never really got the chance to get back into the team and then everything else started going wrong with AVB
So the US Tours over. Its a shame Lukaku couldn't prove himself but at least the players look like they're having fun and gelling.
Next up is against Brighton away in a week (4 Aug I think) and then we take on City for the Community Shield
That's one of the biggest disappointments of this tour for me, to be honest. I know it's 'only' preseason and all, but there are some serious doubts about him now that I don't think any of us saw coming.Soul wrote:@Shed, I think Romeu got injured and after Mikel took his place he never really got the chance to get back into the team and then everything else started going wrong with AVB
So the US Tours over. Its a shame Lukaku couldn't prove himself but at least the players look like they're having fun and gelling.
Next up is against Brighton away in a week (4 Aug I think) and then we take on City for the Community Shield
Shed- Ballon d'Or Contender
- Posts : 23683
Join date : 2012-05-28
Re: The Blue Box
Romeu is our future DM, he will get game time.
Kick- Admin
- Club Supported :
Posts : 34814
Join date : 2011-06-06
Age : 31
Re: The Blue Box
Lets hope so Kick. His passing is really slick
Are you guys satisfied with Torres and Sturridge as CF? I'm not. Now that Lukaku would probably go on loan I think a Cahill-esque CF signing would be a good idea
Are you guys satisfied with Torres and Sturridge as CF? I'm not. Now that Lukaku would probably go on loan I think a Cahill-esque CF signing would be a good idea
Soul- First Team
- Club Supported :
Posts : 2936
Join date : 2011-06-05
Age : 32
Re: The Blue Box
LOL knowing Ashley, Ba isn't leaving Newcastle for less than 35M.
Blue Barrett- World Class Contributor
- Club Supported :
Posts : 10352
Join date : 2012-03-03
Re: The Blue Box
Unless that buy-out rumour doing the rounds a few months ago is indeed trueBarrettinator wrote:LOL knowing Ashley, Ba isn't leaving Newcastle for less than 35M.
Shed- Ballon d'Or Contender
- Club Supported :
Posts : 23683
Join date : 2012-05-28
Age : 31
Re: The Blue Box
I doubt it is.ShedEnd1905 wrote:Unless that buy-out rumour doing the rounds a few months ago is indeed trueBarrettinator wrote:LOL knowing Ashley, Ba isn't leaving Newcastle for less than 35M.
Blue Barrett- World Class Contributor
- Club Supported :
Posts : 10352
Join date : 2012-03-03
Re: The Blue Box
Same. If it were, surely someone would have taken advantage of it by now.Barrettinator wrote:I doubt it is.ShedEnd1905 wrote:Unless that buy-out rumour doing the rounds a few months ago is indeed trueBarrettinator wrote:LOL knowing Ashley, Ba isn't leaving Newcastle for less than 35M.
Shed- Ballon d'Or Contender
- Club Supported :
Posts : 23683
Join date : 2012-05-28
Age : 31
Re: The Blue Box
Honestly though. Unless we can get someone good who is over 25 and less than 7-8m I would rather stick with Sturridge.
RB is priority anyway. Buy Azpilicueta, Maicon or Debuchy then we can talk about a CF.
RB is priority anyway. Buy Azpilicueta, Maicon or Debuchy then we can talk about a CF.
Kick- Admin
- Club Supported :
Posts : 34814
Join date : 2011-06-06
Age : 31
Re: The Blue Box
Studge and Bertrand dropped for today's match.
Shed- Ballon d'Or Contender
- Club Supported :
Posts : 23683
Join date : 2012-05-28
Age : 31
Re: The Blue Box
Wow, what a goal!
Studge doing his best Ramires impression in that one
Studge doing his best Ramires impression in that one
Shed- Ballon d'Or Contender
- Club Supported :
Posts : 23683
Join date : 2012-05-28
Age : 31
Re: The Blue Box
Who started at LB?
Kick- Admin
- Club Supported :
Posts : 34814
Join date : 2011-06-06
Age : 31
Re: The Blue Box
GOAT Fan Post on WAGNH:
Nice experience for him.I started telling this story on the Chelsea/Milan thread the other day and got a few requests to write a Fan Post, so here it is.
I live in Jacksonville, and when CFC announced that they were coming to Miami a few months ago I immediately bought tickets and began planning the trip. My wife has become a fan of the club too (she has made a few trips to London with me to watch games over the years), and the game coincided with her 30th birthday, so we decided to stay in a nicer hotel than usual when we were planning everything.
I had a hunch that the team would be at the same hotel last Thursday when David Luiz posted a few photos from there, but I didn't get my hopes up. Even if they were there, I figured we wouldn't be able to see them. This assumption was proven wrong after about 30 seconds of our arrival, however. We walked through the front door and immediately saw Nathaniel Chalobah and Jamal Blackman walking around in the lobby. We checked in and went to find our room, and saw Florent Malouda talking to some friends in a hallway.
We dropped our stuff off and went down to the bar to get a drink. Part of the bar/restaurant was outside by the pool, and we saw several players eating together out there. Cech, Ivanovic, Ferreira, and Meireles were eating at one table, while David Luiz and Piazon were at another. I obviously didn't want to bother them while they were eating and I didn't want to stand and stare, so I went back inside to get a drink. A few minutes later, Petr walked by the bar (I was sitting near the doorway) and a few fans with children walked over to say hi. He apologized and said he had to do something but promised he'd be right back. I figured that this was probably a trick the players use when they want to avoid fans and hide. Within four minutes, however, I saw him jogging down the hallway and he came right back to where those people were and chatted with their kids for a few minutes and signed a few autographs. He smiled at us and said hello. I should point out now that I made a decision at some point during all of this that I would not go out of my way to intrude on any of their privacy or be overly aggressive in conversing with them. They seemed pretty tired and there was definitely a crowd in the hotel that knew who they were (probably 15-20) people, and I didn't want to add to the hoopla. Some of those people were very vocal and aggressive (which is fine, they can do whatever they want) but I tried to be as relaxed as possible. I was pretty happy being that close to all of the guys and making observations.
Anyway, Cech left and a few minutes later Yossi came out. I was amazed at how slight he was, and how he looked like a regular person walking around (as opposed to Ivanovic, Essien, and Terry, who carried themselves and looked like pros). He said hi to a lot of people and took some pictures and went on to his room. I remained in my chair (strategically located next to the large, open doorway where everyone was passing by) so that I could see everything. That's when David Luiz walked by. He was especially interested in meeting people and taking pictures and he was really into playing with the little kids. Despite my intention to play it cool and leave the players alone, I hopped up and walked over to say hi. I couldn't help it. I spent a lot of time in Brazil and took a lot of Portuguese in college, so I greeted him in Portuguese and asked him about the tour. He seemed pretty excited about that, and I asked him if we could take a picture. He responded in Portuguese "of course, let's do it!" It was fairly dark but this is the picture.
I wished him luck this season and he took off. Paolo and Piazon came through a few minutes later. There wasn't much action after that so I decided to stroll around for a few. When I came around the corner I saw Meireles, Ivanovic, and Hilario waiting for an elevator, so I decided to pretend like I was going up to room to get something and I joined them. A few random hotel guests got on as well, so we had a pretty full house. So full, in fact, that poor Hilario couldn't fit on. We all thought this was pretty funny and had a laugh. During the ride up, I looked over at Raul and said "what's up" to him in Portuguese. He seemed really surprised and perked up and smiled and asked me how I was doing. By that time we were at my floor, so my wife and I got off the elevator and immediately hit the down button to go back to where all the action was. She went into a gift shop next to the bar for a minute and I took my seat by the door. By this time, Eddie Newton had gotten a seat, as well as roughly 15 staff members. I turned to look at the door and was absolutely shocked to see Roman Abramovich walk in with a few friends. After seeing all of these guys I wasn't particularly star-struck anymore, until RA showed up. Given the mythology about his seclusion and secret lifestyle, I couldn't believe that he was strolling into a hotel bar at 9:00 on a Friday night. He saw me staring at him as he walked by (I probably looked like I saw a ghost) and he smiled and said hi. I just smiled and nodded. He went somewhere in the back and I didn't see him again. The only other player that walked by that night was Ashley Cole. He spent a lot of time talking to the fans in the hallway and was laughing a lot. He seemed like a really friendly guy and really down to earth (despite what the media reports). After he left, I watched the Opening Ceremony with a lot of the Chelsea staff at the bar. Eddie Newton stayed as well. Di Matteo came by briefly (maybe 30 seconds) and cracked a joke and left.
The next morning I went to the pool for awhile. When I left to go back to my room, the entire team walked through the lobby. I think they must have returned from a walk-through at the stadium or something. Anyway, I saw every player except for Lampard and Hazard and was within 5-10 feet of everyone on the squad. I made a lot of quick impressions about several players: Torres was much more narrow and less imposing than he appears on TV; Essien is shorter than I imagined, but is built like a tank; Lukaku is just as big as you think he is but could probably shed 15 pounds; Cahill is taller than the 6'2 he is listed at (I am 6'3 and I swear he was taller than me); Ramires is so thin that it is amazing he is able to absorb contact and push people around at the rate that he does; McEachran looks like he is 15; Marin looks like he is 14; I wouldn't want to get into a fight with Ross Turnbull; Mikel looks like a world-class athlete up close.
It looked like the team was going to lunch so I headed to the elevator to go up to my room. My wife and I were waiting for an elevator when JT came around the corner. The door opened and the three of us got on. The door closed so quickly that I didn't have time to think about how we were alone on an elevator with the Chelsea captain. He told us his floor so that we could push the button for him. I thought about things to say to him ("Congratulations on the Champions League," "I am a really big fan," "Are you excited about the season?" etc) but decided to be as relaxed and non-imposing as possible so I settled on "Are you enjoying the trip so far?" He seemed surprised that we knew who he was and smiled and jumped right into the conversation. He said he loved visiting the cities and wished they could get out of the hotels a bit more. We talked about Miami a bit and he said that he loved the weather. We got to our floor and wished him luck this season, and he smiled and thanked us for the support. I know he's done some dumb stuff the last few years, and I've been pretty critical of him on these forums, but he was very warm and friendly during that one minute and I appreciated it. He could have brushed us off or hopped off the elevator, but he made a genuine effort to chat and was pretty excited that we were excited. Whenever I see him now I'll think about that elevator chat.
All in all it was an incredibly surreal experience. This is a photo from the game.
I'll never be able to watch the games the same way. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I am thrilled that it happened the way it did.
Blue Barrett- World Class Contributor
- Club Supported :
Posts : 10352
Join date : 2012-03-03
Re: The Blue Box
Barrettinator wrote:I started telling this story on the Chelsea/Milan thread the other day and got a few requests to write a Fan Post, so here it is.
I live in Jacksonville, and when CFC announced that they were coming to Miami a few months ago I immediately bought tickets and began planning the trip. My wife has become a fan of the club too (she has made a few trips to London with me to watch games over the years), and the game coincided with her 30th birthday, so we decided to stay in a nicer hotel than usual when we were planning everything.
I had a hunch that the team would be at the same hotel last Thursday when David Luiz posted a few photos from there, but I didn't get my hopes up. Even if they were there, I figured we wouldn't be able to see them. This assumption was proven wrong after about 30 seconds of our arrival, however. We walked through the front door and immediately saw Nathaniel Chalobah and Jamal Blackman walking around in the lobby. We checked in and went to find our room, and saw Florent Malouda talking to some friends in a hallway.
We dropped our stuff off and went down to the bar to get a drink. Part of the bar/restaurant was outside by the pool, and we saw several players eating together out there. Cech, Ivanovic, Ferreira, and Meireles were eating at one table, while David Luiz and Piazon were at another. I obviously didn't want to bother them while they were eating and I didn't want to stand and stare, so I went back inside to get a drink. A few minutes later, Petr walked by the bar (I was sitting near the doorway) and a few fans with children walked over to say hi. He apologized and said he had to do something but promised he'd be right back. I figured that this was probably a trick the players use when they want to avoid fans and hide. Within four minutes, however, I saw him jogging down the hallway and he came right back to where those people were and chatted with their kids for a few minutes and signed a few autographs. He smiled at us and said hello. I should point out now that I made a decision at some point during all of this that I would not go out of my way to intrude on any of their privacy or be overly aggressive in conversing with them. They seemed pretty tired and there was definitely a crowd in the hotel that knew who they were (probably 15-20) people, and I didn't want to add to the hoopla. Some of those people were very vocal and aggressive (which is fine, they can do whatever they want) but I tried to be as relaxed as possible. I was pretty happy being that close to all of the guys and making observations.
Anyway, Cech left and a few minutes later Yossi came out. I was amazed at how slight he was, and how he looked like a regular person walking around (as opposed to Ivanovic, Essien, and Terry, who carried themselves and looked like pros). He said hi to a lot of people and took some pictures and went on to his room. I remained in my chair (strategically located next to the large, open doorway where everyone was passing by) so that I could see everything. That's when David Luiz walked by. He was especially interested in meeting people and taking pictures and he was really into playing with the little kids. Despite my intention to play it cool and leave the players alone, I hopped up and walked over to say hi. I couldn't help it. I spent a lot of time in Brazil and took a lot of Portuguese in college, so I greeted him in Portuguese and asked him about the tour. He seemed pretty excited about that, and I asked him if we could take a picture. He responded in Portuguese "of course, let's do it!" It was fairly dark but this is the picture.
I wished him luck this season and he took off. Paolo and Piazon came through a few minutes later. There wasn't much action after that so I decided to stroll around for a few. When I came around the corner I saw Meireles, Ivanovic, and Hilario waiting for an elevator, so I decided to pretend like I was going up to room to get something and I joined them. A few random hotel guests got on as well, so we had a pretty full house. So full, in fact, that poor Hilario couldn't fit on. We all thought this was pretty funny and had a laugh. During the ride up, I looked over at Raul and said "what's up" to him in Portuguese. He seemed really surprised and perked up and smiled and asked me how I was doing. By that time we were at my floor, so my wife and I got off the elevator and immediately hit the down button to go back to where all the action was. She went into a gift shop next to the bar for a minute and I took my seat by the door. By this time, Eddie Newton had gotten a seat, as well as roughly 15 staff members. I turned to look at the door and was absolutely shocked to see Roman Abramovich walk in with a few friends. After seeing all of these guys I wasn't particularly star-struck anymore, until RA showed up. Given the mythology about his seclusion and secret lifestyle, I couldn't believe that he was strolling into a hotel bar at 9:00 on a Friday night. He saw me staring at him as he walked by (I probably looked like I saw a ghost) and he smiled and said hi. I just smiled and nodded. He went somewhere in the back and I didn't see him again. The only other player that walked by that night was Ashley Cole. He spent a lot of time talking to the fans in the hallway and was laughing a lot. He seemed like a really friendly guy and really down to earth (despite what the media reports). After he left, I watched the Opening Ceremony with a lot of the Chelsea staff at the bar. Eddie Newton stayed as well. Di Matteo came by briefly (maybe 30 seconds) and cracked a joke and left.
The next morning I went to the pool for awhile. When I left to go back to my room, the entire team walked through the lobby. I think they must have returned from a walk-through at the stadium or something. Anyway, I saw every player except for Lampard and Hazard and was within 5-10 feet of everyone on the squad. I made a lot of quick impressions about several players: Torres was much more narrow and less imposing than he appears on TV; Essien is shorter than I imagined, but is built like a tank; Lukaku is just as big as you think he is but could probably shed 15 pounds; Cahill is taller than the 6'2 he is listed at (I am 6'3 and I swear he was taller than me); Ramires is so thin that it is amazing he is able to absorb contact and push people around at the rate that he does; McEachran looks like he is 15; Marin looks like he is 14; I wouldn't want to get into a fight with Ross Turnbull; Mikel looks like a world-class athlete up close.
It looked like the team was going to lunch so I headed to the elevator to go up to my room. My wife and I were waiting for an elevator when JT came around the corner. The door opened and the three of us got on. The door closed so quickly that I didn't have time to think about how we were alone on an elevator with the Chelsea captain. He told us his floor so that we could push the button for him. I thought about things to say to him ("Congratulations on the Champions League," "I am a really big fan," "Are you excited about the season?" etc) but decided to be as relaxed and non-imposing as possible so I settled on "Are you enjoying the trip so far?" He seemed surprised that we knew who he was and smiled and jumped right into the conversation. He said he loved visiting the cities and wished they could get out of the hotels a bit more. We talked about Miami a bit and he said that he loved the weather. We got to our floor and wished him luck this season, and he smiled and thanked us for the support. I know he's done some dumb stuff the last few years, and I've been pretty critical of him on these forums, but he was very warm and friendly during that one minute and I appreciated it. He could have brushed us off or hopped off the elevator, but he made a genuine effort to chat and was pretty excited that we were excited. Whenever I see him now I'll think about that elevator chat.
All in all it was an incredibly surreal experience. This is a photo from the game.
Shed- Ballon d'Or Contender
- Club Supported :
Posts : 23683
Join date : 2012-05-28
Age : 31
Re: The Blue Box
Few Observations:
I wouldn't even know what to do or say.
LOLBarrettinator wrote:GOAT Fan Post on WAGNH:I started telling this story on the Chelsea/Milan thread the other day and got a few requests to write a Fan Post, so here it is.
I live in Jacksonville, and when CFC announced that they were coming to Miami a few months ago I immediately bought tickets and began planning the trip. My wife has become a fan of the club too (she has made a few trips to London with me to watch games over the years), and the game coincided with her 30th birthday, so we decided to stay in a nicer hotel than usual when we were planning everything.
I had a hunch that the team would be at the same hotel last Thursday when David Luiz posted a few photos from there, but I didn't get my hopes up. Even if they were there, I figured we wouldn't be able to see them. This assumption was proven wrong after about 30 seconds of our arrival, however. We walked through the front door and immediately saw Nathaniel Chalobah and Jamal Blackman walking around in the lobby. We checked in and went to find our room, and saw Florent Malouda talking to some friends in a hallway.
We dropped our stuff off and went down to the bar to get a drink. Part of the bar/restaurant was outside by the pool, and we saw several players eating together out there. Cech, Ivanovic, Ferreira, and Meireles were eating at one table, while David Luiz and Piazon were at another. I obviously didn't want to bother them while they were eating and I didn't want to stand and stare, so I went back inside to get a drink. A few minutes later, Petr walked by the bar (I was sitting near the doorway) and a few fans with children walked over to say hi. He apologized and said he had to do something but promised he'd be right back. I figured that this was probably a trick the players use when they want to avoid fans and hide. Within four minutes, however, I saw him jogging down the hallway and he came right back to where those people were and chatted with their kids for a few minutes and signed a few autographs. He smiled at us and said hello. I should point out now that I made a decision at some point during all of this that I would not go out of my way to intrude on any of their privacy or be overly aggressive in conversing with them. They seemed pretty tired and there was definitely a crowd in the hotel that knew who they were (probably 15-20) people, and I didn't want to add to the hoopla. Some of those people were very vocal and aggressive (which is fine, they can do whatever they want) but I tried to be as relaxed as possible. I was pretty happy being that close to all of the guys and making observations.
Anyway, Cech left and a few minutes later Yossi came out. I was amazed at how slight he was, and how he looked like a regular person walking around (as opposed to Ivanovic, Essien, and Terry, who carried themselves and looked like pros). He said hi to a lot of people and took some pictures and went on to his room. I remained in my chair (strategically located next to the large, open doorway where everyone was passing by) so that I could see everything. That's when David Luiz walked by. He was especially interested in meeting people and taking pictures and he was really into playing with the little kids. Despite my intention to play it cool and leave the players alone, I hopped up and walked over to say hi. I couldn't help it. I spent a lot of time in Brazil and took a lot of Portuguese in college, so I greeted him in Portuguese and asked him about the tour. He seemed pretty excited about that, and I asked him if we could take a picture. He responded in Portuguese "of course, let's do it!" It was fairly dark but this is the picture.
I wished him luck this season and he took off. Paolo and Piazon came through a few minutes later. There wasn't much action after that so I decided to stroll around for a few. When I came around the corner I saw Meireles, Ivanovic, and Hilario waiting for an elevator, so I decided to pretend like I was going up to room to get something and I joined them. A few random hotel guests got on as well, so we had a pretty full house. So full, in fact, that poor Hilario couldn't fit on. We all thought this was pretty funny and had a laugh. During the ride up, I looked over at Raul and said "what's up" to him in Portuguese. He seemed really surprised and perked up and smiled and asked me how I was doing. By that time we were at my floor, so my wife and I got off the elevator and immediately hit the down button to go back to where all the action was. She went into a gift shop next to the bar for a minute and I took my seat by the door. By this time, Eddie Newton had gotten a seat, as well as roughly 15 staff members. I turned to look at the door and was absolutely shocked to see Roman Abramovich walk in with a few friends. After seeing all of these guys I wasn't particularly star-struck anymore, until RA showed up. Given the mythology about his seclusion and secret lifestyle, I couldn't believe that he was strolling into a hotel bar at 9:00 on a Friday night. He saw me staring at him as he walked by (I probably looked like I saw a ghost) and he smiled and said hi. I just smiled and nodded. He went somewhere in the back and I didn't see him again. The only other player that walked by that night was Ashley Cole. He spent a lot of time talking to the fans in the hallway and was laughing a lot. He seemed like a really friendly guy and really down to earth (despite what the media reports). After he left, I watched the Opening Ceremony with a lot of the Chelsea staff at the bar. Eddie Newton stayed as well. Di Matteo came by briefly (maybe 30 seconds) and cracked a joke and left.
The next morning I went to the pool for awhile. When I left to go back to my room, the entire team walked through the lobby. I think they must have returned from a walk-through at the stadium or something. Anyway, I saw every player except for Lampard and Hazard and was within 5-10 feet of everyone on the squad. I made a lot of quick impressions about several players: Torres was much more narrow and less imposing than he appears on TV; Essien is shorter than I imagined, but is built like a tank; Lukaku is just as big as you think he is but could probably shed 15 pounds; Cahill is taller than the 6'2 he is listed at (I am 6'3 and I swear he was taller than me); Ramires is so thin that it is amazing he is able to absorb contact and push people around at the rate that he does; McEachran looks like he is 15; Marin looks like he is 14; I wouldn't want to get into a fight with Ross Turnbull; Mikel looks like a world-class athlete up close.
It looked like the team was going to lunch so I headed to the elevator to go up to my room. My wife and I were waiting for an elevator when JT came around the corner. The door opened and the three of us got on. The door closed so quickly that I didn't have time to think about how we were alone on an elevator with the Chelsea captain. He told us his floor so that we could push the button for him. I thought about things to say to him ("Congratulations on the Champions League," "I am a really big fan," "Are you excited about the season?" etc) but decided to be as relaxed and non-imposing as possible so I settled on "Are you enjoying the trip so far?" He seemed surprised that we knew who he was and smiled and jumped right into the conversation. He said he loved visiting the cities and wished they could get out of the hotels a bit more. We talked about Miami a bit and he said that he loved the weather. We got to our floor and wished him luck this season, and he smiled and thanked us for the support. I know he's done some dumb stuff the last few years, and I've been pretty critical of him on these forums, but he was very warm and friendly during that one minute and I appreciated it. He could have brushed us off or hopped off the elevator, but he made a genuine effort to chat and was pretty excited that we were excited. Whenever I see him now I'll think about that elevator chat.
All in all it was an incredibly surreal experience. This is a photo from the game.
I'll never be able to watch the games the same way. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I am thrilled that it happened the way it did.
Honestly, I seriously would have fainted right then and thereBarrettinator wrote:GOAT Fan Post on WAGNH:I started telling this story on the Chelsea/Milan thread the other day and got a few requests to write a Fan Post, so here it is.
I live in Jacksonville, and when CFC announced that they were coming to Miami a few months ago I immediately bought tickets and began planning the trip. My wife has become a fan of the club too (she has made a few trips to London with me to watch games over the years), and the game coincided with her 30th birthday, so we decided to stay in a nicer hotel than usual when we were planning everything.
I had a hunch that the team would be at the same hotel last Thursday when David Luiz posted a few photos from there, but I didn't get my hopes up. Even if they were there, I figured we wouldn't be able to see them. This assumption was proven wrong after about 30 seconds of our arrival, however. We walked through the front door and immediately saw Nathaniel Chalobah and Jamal Blackman walking around in the lobby. We checked in and went to find our room, and saw Florent Malouda talking to some friends in a hallway.
We dropped our stuff off and went down to the bar to get a drink. Part of the bar/restaurant was outside by the pool, and we saw several players eating together out there. Cech, Ivanovic, Ferreira, and Meireles were eating at one table, while David Luiz and Piazon were at another. I obviously didn't want to bother them while they were eating and I didn't want to stand and stare, so I went back inside to get a drink. A few minutes later, Petr walked by the bar (I was sitting near the doorway) and a few fans with children walked over to say hi. He apologized and said he had to do something but promised he'd be right back. I figured that this was probably a trick the players use when they want to avoid fans and hide. Within four minutes, however, I saw him jogging down the hallway and he came right back to where those people were and chatted with their kids for a few minutes and signed a few autographs. He smiled at us and said hello. I should point out now that I made a decision at some point during all of this that I would not go out of my way to intrude on any of their privacy or be overly aggressive in conversing with them. They seemed pretty tired and there was definitely a crowd in the hotel that knew who they were (probably 15-20) people, and I didn't want to add to the hoopla. Some of those people were very vocal and aggressive (which is fine, they can do whatever they want) but I tried to be as relaxed as possible. I was pretty happy being that close to all of the guys and making observations.
Anyway, Cech left and a few minutes later Yossi came out. I was amazed at how slight he was, and how he looked like a regular person walking around (as opposed to Ivanovic, Essien, and Terry, who carried themselves and looked like pros). He said hi to a lot of people and took some pictures and went on to his room. I remained in my chair (strategically located next to the large, open doorway where everyone was passing by) so that I could see everything. That's when David Luiz walked by. He was especially interested in meeting people and taking pictures and he was really into playing with the little kids. Despite my intention to play it cool and leave the players alone, I hopped up and walked over to say hi. I couldn't help it. I spent a lot of time in Brazil and took a lot of Portuguese in college, so I greeted him in Portuguese and asked him about the tour. He seemed pretty excited about that, and I asked him if we could take a picture. He responded in Portuguese "of course, let's do it!" It was fairly dark but this is the picture.
I wished him luck this season and he took off. Paolo and Piazon came through a few minutes later. There wasn't much action after that so I decided to stroll around for a few. When I came around the corner I saw Meireles, Ivanovic, and Hilario waiting for an elevator, so I decided to pretend like I was going up to room to get something and I joined them. A few random hotel guests got on as well, so we had a pretty full house. So full, in fact, that poor Hilario couldn't fit on. We all thought this was pretty funny and had a laugh. During the ride up, I looked over at Raul and said "what's up" to him in Portuguese. He seemed really surprised and perked up and smiled and asked me how I was doing. By that time we were at my floor, so my wife and I got off the elevator and immediately hit the down button to go back to where all the action was. She went into a gift shop next to the bar for a minute and I took my seat by the door. By this time, Eddie Newton had gotten a seat, as well as roughly 15 staff members. I turned to look at the door and was absolutely shocked to see Roman Abramovich walk in with a few friends. After seeing all of these guys I wasn't particularly star-struck anymore, until RA showed up. Given the mythology about his seclusion and secret lifestyle, I couldn't believe that he was strolling into a hotel bar at 9:00 on a Friday night. He saw me staring at him as he walked by (I probably looked like I saw a ghost) and he smiled and said hi. I just smiled and nodded. He went somewhere in the back and I didn't see him again. The only other player that walked by that night was Ashley Cole. He spent a lot of time talking to the fans in the hallway and was laughing a lot. He seemed like a really friendly guy and really down to earth (despite what the media reports). After he left, I watched the Opening Ceremony with a lot of the Chelsea staff at the bar. Eddie Newton stayed as well. Di Matteo came by briefly (maybe 30 seconds) and cracked a joke and left.
The next morning I went to the pool for awhile. When I left to go back to my room, the entire team walked through the lobby. I think they must have returned from a walk-through at the stadium or something. Anyway, I saw every player except for Lampard and Hazard and was within 5-10 feet of everyone on the squad. I made a lot of quick impressions about several players: Torres was much more narrow and less imposing than he appears on TV; Essien is shorter than I imagined, but is built like a tank; Lukaku is just as big as you think he is but could probably shed 15 pounds; Cahill is taller than the 6'2 he is listed at (I am 6'3 and I swear he was taller than me); Ramires is so thin that it is amazing he is able to absorb contact and push people around at the rate that he does; McEachran looks like he is 15; Marin looks like he is 14; I wouldn't want to get into a fight with Ross Turnbull; Mikel looks like a world-class athlete up close.
It looked like the team was going to lunch so I headed to the elevator to go up to my room. My wife and I were waiting for an elevator when JT came around the corner. The door opened and the three of us got on. The door closed so quickly that I didn't have time to think about how we were alone on an elevator with the Chelsea captain. He told us his floor so that we could push the button for him. I thought about things to say to him ("Congratulations on the Champions League," "I am a really big fan," "Are you excited about the season?" etc) but decided to be as relaxed and non-imposing as possible so I settled on "Are you enjoying the trip so far?" He seemed surprised that we knew who he was and smiled and jumped right into the conversation. He said he loved visiting the cities and wished they could get out of the hotels a bit more. We talked about Miami a bit and he said that he loved the weather. We got to our floor and wished him luck this season, and he smiled and thanked us for the support. I know he's done some dumb stuff the last few years, and I've been pretty critical of him on these forums, but he was very warm and friendly during that one minute and I appreciated it. He could have brushed us off or hopped off the elevator, but he made a genuine effort to chat and was pretty excited that we were excited. Whenever I see him now I'll think about that elevator chat.
All in all it was an incredibly surreal experience. This is a photo from the game.
I'll never be able to watch the games the same way. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I am thrilled that it happened the way it did.
I wouldn't even know what to do or say.
Shed- Ballon d'Or Contender
- Club Supported :
Posts : 23683
Join date : 2012-05-28
Age : 31
Re: The Blue Box
I would be surprised to see RA tbh.
Blue Barrett- World Class Contributor
- Club Supported :
Posts : 10352
Join date : 2012-03-03
Re: The Blue Box
That too. He's just such a mysterious, secretive person. Quite the enigma.Barrettinator wrote:
I would be surprised to see RA tbh.
Shed- Ballon d'Or Contender
- Club Supported :
Posts : 23683
Join date : 2012-05-28
Age : 31
Re: The Blue Box
That guy is insane lucky, would be amazing.
Love your sig btw shed.
Love your sig btw shed.
lszanto- First Team
- Club Supported :
Posts : 3354
Join date : 2011-07-24
Re: The Blue Box
lol Shed
for the JT one I thought you were gonna pop in a JT wife joke
for the JT one I thought you were gonna pop in a JT wife joke
Soul- First Team
- Club Supported :
Posts : 2936
Join date : 2011-06-05
Age : 32
Re: The Blue Box
Thankslszanto wrote:Love your sig btw shed.
Shed- Ballon d'Or Contender
- Club Supported :
Posts : 23683
Join date : 2012-05-28
Age : 31
Re: The Blue Box
LOL. That aspect didn't even enter my mind.Soul wrote:lol Shed
for the JT one I thought you were gonna pop in a JT wife joke
Shed- Ballon d'Or Contender
- Club Supported :
Posts : 23683
Join date : 2012-05-28
Age : 31
Re: The Blue Box
I remember from the goal.com days that there was a fan who was both fan of Chelsea and Barcelona, seemed to be a very good poster. Who was he?
the xcx- Banned (Decade)
- Club Supported :
Posts : 7704
Join date : 2011-06-05
Re: The Blue Box
I think his name on here is blackmore or something.
I remember him too. He doesn't post often though.
I remember him too. He doesn't post often though.
Kick- Admin
- Club Supported :
Posts : 34814
Join date : 2011-06-06
Age : 31
Re: The Blue Box
Do you guys want any changes to be made in this section before the season starts ? Any stickies, new threads, something different ?
please let me know
please let me know
RealGunner- Admin
- Club Supported :
Posts : 89513
Join date : 2011-06-05
Re: The Blue Box
We will need to stickey the soon to be created 'kick is some kind of God' thread.
On a serious note, I don't think any changes are needed, maybe stickey the prediction game should that get going but that is about it.
On a serious note, I don't think any changes are needed, maybe stickey the prediction game should that get going but that is about it.
Kick- Admin
- Club Supported :
Posts : 34814
Join date : 2011-06-06
Age : 31
Page 17 of 40 • 1 ... 10 ... 16, 17, 18 ... 28 ... 40
Page 17 of 40
Permissions in this forum:
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
|
|
Today at 7:17 am by Vibe
» Erik Ten Hag Sack Watch
Today at 7:10 am by Glory
» Mbappe signs for Real Madrid.
Today at 7:02 am by Clutch
» The Official Real Madrid Matchday Thread 24 - 25
Today at 5:30 am by Clutch
» Mbappe to Real Madrid - Official
Yesterday at 9:55 pm by Harmonica
» The Lionel Messi Appreciation Thread & Fan Club IV
Yesterday at 12:33 pm by Harmonica
» MLS-thread
Yesterday at 6:44 am by Harmonica
» Champions League '24/25
Yesterday at 6:40 am by Thimmy
» GL NBA fantasy 24-25
Wed Oct 02, 2024 9:08 pm by Warrior
» General Games Discussion
Wed Oct 02, 2024 5:19 pm by Thimmy
» Premier League 2024/25
Wed Oct 02, 2024 7:48 am by Glory
» Jose Mourinho Sack Watch: Fenerbahce Edition
Mon Sep 30, 2024 3:47 pm by futbol_bill
» La Liga 2024/25
Mon Sep 30, 2024 1:05 pm by halamadrid2