Chelsea's Terry named as England captain

In a surprise move John Terry has retained the England captaincy on a permanent basis.
Coach Fabio Capello chose the Chelsea defender to lead the national side ahead of favourite Rio Ferdinand.
Manchester United stopper Ferdinand was named vice-captain.
"It means the world to me to retain the armband," said the 27 year old who was told the news by Capello after England's training session on Tuesday morning.
"To get the armband back is a huge achievement for me.
"It was about an hour ago, just after training. The manager called the whole squad together and told us as a whole.
"For me to get it above the likes of him (Ferdinand) and the other players in the squad is a great honour."
Capello said: "John's big personality is why I chose him but Rio is also important for the team which is why I made him vice-captain."
"Rio, when he was captain, played very well - the same level as John," he added. "It was not easy for me to choose because they are very good players."

AC Milan willing to sell £70M Kaka to Chelsea

AC Milan are willing to SELL Kaka to Chelsea - for £70 million.
The Italians would not be able to turn the offer down if Roman Abramovich was ready to splash the cash, and they have let Chelsea know.
But Big Phil Scolari would prefer to sign Robinho - and is waiting to see whether Real Madrid will buckle.
The 24-year-old Brazilian striker is Scolari's first choice, but Kaka is obviously still on Chelsea's wish-list

Cole: Chelsea will have Man Utd worried

Joe Cole is convinced Chelsea will have rattled Premiership rivals Manchester United with the way they thumped Portsmouth on Sunday.
Cole said: "It is early days and you can't take too much from the first game. However, we watched United beat Fulham 5-1 a couple of years ago and we were thinking, 'Look at them, they look strong'.
"They must have watched us against Portsmouth and thought we looked strong.
"The first game is over. It's great for everyone and great for the manager because of all the expectation.
"But this was a great start - opening day of the season, you always want to be at home and you want to have a good start. This is a cracking squad and this is a cracking result."

PSG willing to splash out on Chelsea striker Anelka

Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka is a target for PSG.
After splashing out on Claude Makelele and Ludovic Giuly, PSG president Charles Villeneuve is willing to open his chequebook one more time before the summer transfer deadline falls.
Villeneuve is keen on Anelka and also Inter Milan midfielder Patrick Vieira.

Cole welcomes Deco competition at Chelsea

Joe Cole has no problem competing with Deco for a place in Chelsea's midfield.
"He is fantastic, an experienced international and a top player, we are very lucky to have him in our squad," said Cole.
But with the extra midfielder comes greater competition to break into the first team, something Cole is relishing.
"I have had that all my career at Chelsea and I love the competition," he added. "It is great having new players and new stars coming in and trying to learn off them everyday.
"I love the competition in training and it is good that we got the result today and that we will be okay next week."

Chelsea's Cole: England has excellent captaincy candidates

Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole says teammate John Terry and Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand are both excellent candidates for the England captaincy.
He said: "What are the qualities of Ferdinand and Terry? Both are very similar. They have both got their attributes, are both well respected by the players.
"They are both top internationals at the peak of their game, experienced, vocal in the dressing room, both lead by example.
"They have both got all the attributes you would need - as have Steven Gerrard, as has Frank Lampard, as has Gareth Barry, and there are many others who will be in with a shout.
"But, whoever gets the nod, the boys will be right behind them."
Cole insisted: "Whoever the manager picks is going to be the right decision. You need the captain more in the bad times than in the good, the man who steps forward and takes responsibility.
"We have got so many leaders in the squad now, the Liverpool captain (Gerrard), the Chelsea captain (Terry), the Manchester United captain [Ferdinand has led United in the past, but Gary Neville is the club captain] - three out of the four top teams in the country.
"I am sure, irrespective of who takes the armband, there will still be another five or six leaders out there who will go out there and take us forward."

Cole insists no concerns over Chelsea future

Joe Cole insists there's no concerns over new contract talks at Chelsea.
Cole, 26, has put his contract talks on hold but insists he will stay beyond the two years left on his deal, even if Robinho arrives to offer a like-for-like option for Chelsea's new manager.
Putting negotiations to one side when the season starts is normal club policy, and Cole is happy to concentrate on matters on the pitch at the moment.
"I just wanted to put it to bed now," he said. "Obviously we wanted to get it sorted out this year but with the new manager coming in and players coming in and out there wasn't enough time.
"I love it here, the club wants to sign me and there won't be any problems on that front. I just want to concentrate on my performances and play well because it's not nice for the fans to have an ongoing thing. But I will be a Chelsea player for the rest of my career."

Lampard: Premiership fans convinced me over Chelsea stay

Frank Lampard has revealed how Premiership fans - on a whole - convinced him about signing a new contract at Chelsea.
Lampard, who penned a new Blues deal last week, said: "The letters I've received have been totally overwhelming. Thousands have been sent to the training ground from Chelsea fans, people also sent me poems from Ireland.
"I've had letters from all sorts of people who've suffered and that helps me even more.
"It's also important that I say I had lots of correspondence from Liverpool, Manchester United and West Ham fans.
"That was a breath of fresh air for me, because sometimes football can make you cynical about each other and you forget about the real things which matter.
"When I got a letter from a West Ham fan sending his condolences, and speaking in a certain way, it made me realise what's important.
"Sometimes you can relate more to those who've been through a similar thing to yourself. It made me realise I was in the right environment."

Chelsea boss Scolari: Anelka too timid

Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari wants sports psychologist Professor Regina Brandao to work on bringing Nicolas Anelka out of his shell.
He explained: "I've sent her technical information about the team but I feel it's important the players talk with her in London.
"Anelka is too shy and quiet and I want him to be more aggressive and explosive.
"But because he is timid, sometimes he accepts things and I want to change his mind."

Scolari: Deco my top Chelsea target

Chelsea boss Phil Scolari says Deco was always his top target.
Scolari said: "Deco was my first choice. When I signed my contract I told Roman Abramovich I wanted one player, Deco.
"I said that if he wanted us to win we needed this man. He is the player who is different and who gives the team balance."

Chelsea knock back Essien request to change numbers

Michael Essien has been knocked back by Chelsea over a change of shirt number.
The Ghana international hoped to switch from his current No 5 shirt to the No 4 jersey vacated by Claude Makelele, who recently signed for Paris St Germain.
But Essien's No 5 shirt has proved one of the most popular items in the club shop over the summer.
Chelsea did not want to disappoint fans who had splashed out on the new kit with Essien's name and number emblazoned on it.

Chelsea make new £24M bid for Real Madrid's Robinho

Chelsea have made a fresh bid for Real Madrid's wantaway winger Robinho.
Chelsea have made a new £23.6million bid for Robinho. It's almost £5m more than their last offer and will sorely tempt the Spanish giants, despite the fact president Ramon Calderon wants to keep him.
But Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari is keen to capture his countryman and will be backed all the way by Roman Abramovich's billions.
Real want £35 million for Robinho and the gulf between the two clubs could mean this deal goes to the transfer deadline wire of August 31.