After cruising through their first five games of the season, Chelsea were confronted with their first real test of the Premier League season so far as they faced Manchester City at Eastlands on Saturday- a test that they failed as Chelsea were deservedly beaten 1-0 by Roberto Mancini’s side. Here’s 5 things we leant from Chelsea’s disappointing result from the weekend.

1. Chelsea miss Frank Lampard

Frank Lampard has been an integral part of Chelsea’s midfield for many years and on Saturday his presence was sorely missed. Lampard’s creativity and incision would have provided Chelsea with a genuine attacking threat that was glaringly absent from midfield.

Ancelotti decided to play a midfield trio of Michael Essien, John Obi Mikel and Ramires who posed little threat to City’s defence. Essien had a rare off-day in Chelsea blue and his impact was limited to a handful of errant long-range strikes. Mikel was his usual reliable self but failed to dictate the play like many Chelsea fans would like to see him do.

If Lampard was fit, it would have reduced the onus on Essien to be the affecter in Chelsea’s midfield. While Essien’s shots failed to threaten Joe Hart in City’s goal, it may have been different if it was Lampard striking the ball instead of Essien.

2. Ramires needs time to adapt

Chelsea fans need to give Ramires some time to adapt to the pace of the Premier League. He looked somewhat overwhelmed by the physicality of the Manchester City players and was caught in possession on many occasions, most notably for Carlos Tevez’s decisive goal. He needs to realise that he won’t be given as much time on the ball than he has been used to in Portugal and Brazil but he has all of the tools to be a success and should be given time to adjust to the speed of the league.

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He showed glimpses of his talents with a few incisive runs that had the City defenders on their toes but he will be looking to show signs of improvement for Chelsea’s next Premier League game against Arsenal in a week’s time.

3. Drogba shouldn’t be taking corners

Call me old fashioned but what on earth are Chelsea thinking of letting their centre-forward and arguably biggest threat from a set-piece take their corners? There’s no disputing that Didier Drogba can deliver a good cross but surely he would be better served inside the box getting on the end of crosses rather than on the sideline putting them in. Florent Malouda has shown that he can take a good corner and Carlo Ancelotti should let his winger take them instead of Drogba.

Football is a funny old business. You can be top of the league, going great guns and looking real promotion contenders and then Flavio Briatore gets involved. Neil Warnock has come in to Queens Park Rangers and changed things. They have a steel about them, motivation and a drive for success. Added to this they have some very promising players – just look at the performances of Adel Taarrabt – and the club have played very good football under Warnock. So why on earth would Flavio Briattore come out and suggest that if QPR reach the Premiership he will appoint his friend, Marcello Lippi as manger?

Does the circus continue at Loftus Road or can these comments be nipped in the bud as quickly as they were spoke. Queens Park Rangers have issued a statement saying ‘we have no intention of appointing Marcello Lippi as manager’ but you feel that is not quite the end of it. Neil Warnock will not walk away after hearing these comments but it must ring alarm bells for him. It isn’t a secret that Briatore wants the best at his club – he has been through over ten managers in three years and demands success.

The question is will Warnock hang around and wait to be replaced should he gain the club promotion to the Premiership. The likely hood is that he will be fired if they aren’t promoted (after the start they have had) and now it seems he could be surplus to requirements even if they do. Its a situation Warnock must think long and hard about, and receive every reassurance that this is not a possibility. The problem is Briatore is no stranger to making such rash decisions in the sporting world, QPR have almost become a laughing stock and it wouldn’t surprise most if it happened.

The character of the man, and who he befriends is a worry in this situation. In his Kinghtsbridge office – he has no pictures of Queens Park Rangers or Neil Warnock, but pictures of himself with the likes of Francessco Totti, Ginaluca Zambrotta and Marcello Lippi. There is no doubt that ultimately he wants QPR to attract these types of personnel. The fear for many fans must be that once they are in the Premiership, he will use that leverage to oust an unfashionable manager in Warnock and replace him with Marcello Lippi.

This is just speculation of course. QPR haven’t gained promotion and are a long way from doing so. Neil Warnock has done a terrific job so far as manager, and would be heart broken if he didn’t get another shot at the Premiership. Ex Crystal Palace Chairman, Simon Jordan spoke of Neil Warnock last week. He described him as a ‘great Championship manager.’ Whether this was meant to sound as derogatory as it sounded, only Jordan will know. However does he speak what others feel? Is this the reason a Premiership club have not taken a gamble on Warnock? More worryingly, do comments like these make Britaorre think – long term does he want a more fashionable manager?

Can Neil Warnock continue doing well at QPR only to be shown the door once he has achieved the desired success. Without a doubt he will continue to lead QPR to success in the Championship for as long as his job is safe. Such speculation will not affect him, he has been through it before and will no doubt go through it again. Warnock needs to seek strong reassurances over his long term future at the club – a new contact could put these rumours to bed.

It would be humiliating for Neil Warnock if this was to happen. Warnock’s dream is the same as Briatore’s – to get the club to the Premiership. The two men, so different in character actually suit one another and for the sake of the QPR fans, Flavio Briatore needs to remember he has a very talented manager – a manger that deserves another crack at the Premiership. Of course, he must get them there first.

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Wayne Rooney’s future might be sorted for the meantime, but as one door closes another always opens. Has the England forward shown his fellow Manchester United team mates that their club owners can be held to ransom when it comes to contract negotiations?

Arguably not, Wayne Rooney is reguarded as one of the best strikers in world football and there is know other Manchester United player that has the same pulling power that he does. This said, in know way does it prevent Rooney’s team mates from attacking contract negotiations of the future aggressively and uncompromisingly.

As said before there is know other player in the Manchester United squad that is of the same ability, and certainly know other player that can bring in the same revenue from off the field ventures. Were any other United players to take such a forceful stance in contract negotiations I have know doubt that Sir Alex would pack their bags for them and show them the Old Trafford door.

Although there is none like Rooney there are a number of United players that carry a significant weight for the team. Im talking your Darren Fletchers, your Nemanja Vidic’s and Patrice Evra’s, what is to stop them from asking for a considerable increase in their salaries? Although individually good players they do not bring the same desired effect that Rooney does, and that is goals. I think that any other players attempts would prove futile and fruitless. Also, what’s to say these players would play such a game anyway?

If not these players it only takes an individual with a jacked up sense of self importance to start the proverbial ball rolling. Who knows what the future brings, football’s an unpredictable old game.

Javier Hernandez, Chicharito, the Little Pea. Old Trafford’s latest golden boy, Sound familiar? At the moment this young starlet is showing know signs of disappointing, but given the build up and the outcome of the Wayne Rooney saga, is it totally out of the question to think that one day Hernandez could be the one to rock the boat and hold the United owners to ransom? Personally I can’t see this happening.

I guess we once thought that Wayne Rooney could no know wrong…on the pitch anyway. This leads me to my next point, is it really the agents who are pulling the strings? Although bordering on a different debate it deserves to be touched upon. It is reported that Wayne Rooney’s agent Paul Stretford will pocket a cool £3million for his role in getting Rooney to sign a new deal extending his time at Old Trafford. Would it be ridiculous to say that it was Stretford who masterminded Rooney’s contract negotiations?

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Anyway, I believe that now the Rooney situation has been resolved it is only a matter of time before a similar situation arises. Who it will be, I don’t know. As I struggle to conclude this article I Cant help but feel Rooney has either found a chink in the Glazers armour or, has the Wiley Scot, Sir Alex has masterminded his own deal and secured a large sum of money should Rooney decide to leave next summer? We saw a similar situation with Ronaldo, does lightening strike twice?

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Newcastle United have given their full backing to Chris Hughton, as rumours over the Magpies manager's future continue to do the rounds.

Hughton's current contract runs out at the end of the season, but Newcastle insist that the former Spurs coach is the right man to take the club forward.

A short statement read: "Chris is our manager and will remain our manager and it is our intention to renegotiate his contract at the end of the year."

Meanwhile, Hughton admitted that the continuing speculation was not helping him, after seeing his side beaten 4-0 at home by Arsenal in the Carling Cup.

He added:"It's difficult not to notice the speculation, but I can't do anything about that apart from the best job possible.

"I had a remit last season to get into the Premier League and this season it is to keep us in the division. So far, we've had our ups and downs but done okay.

"I can't affect anything that is said, but I think it is unfair. As far as I am concerned I'm a very strong character and have to work around these situations.

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"I have a job to do and a group of players that have been wonderful for me. We have a focus and nothing will detract from that.

"I've been at this club for two-and-half years and have thoroughly enjoyed it and I would like to stay here as long as possible."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

A week is a long time in football and Spurs have been given a massive reality check since their splendid victory in the Champions League. Harry Redknapp needs to get Tottenham firing and quick, if they have any chance of maintaining their position in the top four this season.

This week at FFC we have seen a mixed bag of Spurs blogs which has included…What to do with Gareth Bale; Spurs looking to cash in come January and the missing ingredient in Tottenham’s armoury.

Plus we have taken a look at the best Tottenham stories on the Web this week.

Are these worst Tottenham Kits of our time?

What to do with Gareth Bale?

Tottenham looking to cash in come January?

What is Tottenham’s apparent obsession with winger?

VIDEO: St Hotspur Day

The missing ingredient in Tottenham and Man City’s armoury?

Bold move by Tottenham, but surely plays into West Ham’s hands?

£40 fad proving the secret behind Gareth Bale’s success

Promised Tottenham so much but ultimately delivered little

Would French ace benefit from £3m Tottenham move?

Tottenham star reveals what most supporters are thinking

Top TEN Premier League bargains to be had in January

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Click on PAGE 2 to see the BEST SPURS ARTICLES around the Web this week

Best of Web

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Tottenham Hotspur White Hart Lane Survival Kit – Dear Mr Levy

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Tottenham’s Next Manager – Harry Hotspur

Headaches and Heartaches – Spurs Musings with Jimmy G2

Bale, Taxis and Two-Fiddy’s Up – Who Framed Ruel Fox?

The Four Horsemen of the Spurcalypse – Dear Mr Levy

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As we look ahead to what is a feast of football, over the Christmas period, Carlo Ancelotti has spoken out against his captain’s claims that Chelsea don’t have the strength in depth to cope with any injuries during this time. The Italian boss claims the squad is good and in great condition and won’t suffer during the busy Xmas schedule.

In the papers this morning there has been a mixed bag of stories which includes Wenger ready to fight the FA over Wilshere; Hodgson pledges to bring in quality not quantity, while Sir Alex Ferguson looks to a new team era.

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Villa move for French starlet – Sky Sports

Wenger ready to fight FA over Wilshere – Guardian

Ferguson looks to new team era – Daily Telegraph

Only ‘crazy’ cash will net Ash – Sun

Terry is wrong – Chelsea CAN cope with injuries – Daily Mail

Hodgson to bring in quality not quantity – Guardian

Can we Av SWP on loan please? – Sun

Becks’ Utd dreams crushed – Sky Sports

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World Cup ref Webb encourages diving – Mirror

City tell moody Balotelli to lighten up – Guardian

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1992 was a big year for sport. The Dallas Cowboys beat the Buffalo Bills 37-24 in Superbowl XXVI, we had an Olympic Summer to enjoy from Barcelona, Nick Faldo won the British Open and English football was about to unveil it’s newest concept: The Premier League.

On paper, the only thing that changed was instead of seeing the words ‘First Division’ written above England’s top tier, it now read ‘The FA Carling Premiership’. But away from the lexical alterations, football in England was about to become a very different place.

As English football moved away from the hooliganism and stadium disasters that blighted its progress in the 80s it was seeking a new, prosperous future. The national team’s success at Italia 90 and the upgrade of stadia in the top divisions gave a good platform for wide scale changes to be made to the structure of the domestic game.

Fears were mounting that the English top flight had fallen a long way behind other top divisions in Europe and less money in the game meant that top sides were less able to attract the world’s best players. Disgruntled at the way English football was heading, ten of the top teams threatened to create a new division which would break-away from the Football League which they’d been a part of for over 100 years, and it was this notion that took the first steps towards the creation of the Premier League.

As with much in football, the foundation of the Premier League revolved heavily around money and it was a lucrative television deal with Sky that brought the new league to the fore. Previous television deals had seen any money split equally between all 92 Football League teams, but the new rights would see the 22 Premier League sides share over £250 million exclusively between themselves. It was initially feared that putting football on subscription television would prove to be unpopular and that Rupert Murdoch had made a huge gamble in his efforts to launch his new satellite channel. Sebastian Coe said of the deal: “I think it is wrong that only two million dish owners get access to such events”. But the Premier League/Sky Sports combination proved to be a pairing that benefited both parties and, of course, still exists today.

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Prior to the 1992 kick-off, the newly formed elite quickly used their newly found wealth to finance a host of transfers above the £2 million mark with Teddy Sheringham, Dean Saunders and David Rocastle among the big movers. The season provided excitement and entertainment at both ends of the table. Manchester United ended up running away to their first league championship for 26 years while Oldham made a great escape after winning their last three games of the season including a win at high-flying Aston Villa. As previously mentioned, the original Premier League contained 22 teams, however this was reduced to 20 in 1995 after a FIFA ruling regarding the reduction of games in European domestic leagues.

All of a sudden the prizes for being promoted into the top division had become much greater and suddenly meant a lot more than pride alone. After the dawn of the Premier League, taking your place among England’s elite not only now meant a healthier bank balance, it also guaranteed you wider commercial exposure both nationally and internationally which would in turn give you greater sway in the transfer market. Before the age of the Premier League, being able to watch international stars like Dennis Bergkamp and Gianfranco Zola week in week out would not have been possible.

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However, after a while it became clear that the gap was widening significantly between Premier League clubs and the Football League, both in terms of quality and financial clout. With so much money being diverted from the lower leagues into the Premiership, the rich were getting richer and the poor were getting poorer. As a result it was getting far harder to newly promoted teams to compete with the big boys, long gone it seemed were the days when a promoted side (like Newcastle in 1994/94) could finish as high as third in their first season. This fact was plain for all to see when Crystal Palace, Barnsley and Bolton were all relegated despite only being promoted the season before. In an attempt to stop this happening in the future promoted clubs began spending beyond their means in order to stay in the Premier League. When this tactic worked they earned the right to a second season, but when it didn’t the relegation meant that the clubs now had players whose wages they couldn’t afford to pay.

Since the inception of the Premier League the amount of money paid in combined television deals has risen from over £300 million to a staggering £1.9 billion and viewing number in China alone are thought to have top the 100 million people mark. The Premier League has undoubtedly made English football into a global game and it is loved by millions of people all over the world. While there have been casualties as a result of the vast sums of money being pumped into the game, English football is unquestionably in a healthier state now than it was only 20 years ago.

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Sevilla striker Frederic Kanoute believes Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho’s vocal criticism of referees is a ploy to influence the officials.

Kanoute’s side face Real Madrid at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan in the first-leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final on Wednesday.

Mourinho has been publicly critical of referees throughout the season, claiming that officials have treated his Real side unfairly.

But former Tottenham striker Kanoute believes the Portuguese manager’s constant complaints are intended to influence the officials in Real’s favour.

“This is all a tactic. I don’t think that they really think that,” Kanoute said.

“I don’t think that the referees are against Real Madrid, not at all. You have to have more confidence in the referees, thinking that they aren’t going to fall into this trap. That’s what I hope.”

“It seems a little aggressive, but I don’t think that people are stupid either. It’s just to motivate the team, and I hope that on the pitch everything will be in good spirit.”

Kanoute is also unperturbed by his side being the underdogs heading into the clash, and thinks they have what it takes to cause an upset.

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“It doesn’t bother us at all not to be favourites. We will play our role, but we won’t have any troubles.”

“We have the level to match Real Madrid.”

Hercules will be out to extend their four-match home winning streak when they host Barcelona in La Liga action on Saturday.

Esteban Vigo’s side have been in brilliant form at their Estadio Jose Rico Perez home, scoring 13 goals in their past four wins there, but interestingly did not keep a clean sheet in the same streak.

Hercules’ away form has been the opposite of their home equivalent, going winless in their past eight, and not scoring in their past six league trips, in a clear indication the 12th-placed side in the Spanish top flight is exponentially better in front of their home faithful than elsewhere.

Barcelona, however, do not seem to mind the venue and enter the match as strong favourites as they seek to maintain their spot on top of the league.

The Catalans can increase their lead with a win and anything but a Real Madrid victory, but the boys from the Bernabeu should take all three points in their trip to Osasuna on Sunday.

Fifth side Espanyol can close the gap on the top four with a win over third-placed Villarreal at the Estadi Cornella El Prat on Sunday, while fourth-placed Valencia can protect their three-point buffer on Espanyol with victory over Racing Santander away from home on Monday.

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Atletico Madrid can claim sixth place back from the in-form Athletic Bilbao when they welcome the Basque side to Estadio Vicente Calderon on Sunday.

In other fixtures on Saturday, Malaga and Real Zaragoza do battle in a relegation six-pointer, Mallorca host a Sporting Gijon side who are on a rare two-game winning streak, bottom-placed Levante welcome 10th-placed Getafe, Real Sociedad can get back onto the winners’ list when they host Almeria and Deportivo La Coruna take on eighth side Sevilla.

Stamford Bridge is a depressing place to be at the moment, according to Chelsea striker Didier Drogba.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side have seen their title ambitions slip away in recent weeks as injuries and a lack of goals take their toll.

The latest setback for Chelsea was a 1-0 loss at home to Liverpool on Sunday, with 50-million-pound signing Fernando Torres unable to make an impact against his former club.

And with the gap to league leaders Manchester United now 10 points with 13 games remaining, Drogba said morale was at an all-time low at the London club.

“Our league position is similar to what it was last season. But absences, and the fact that we’ve not been scoring as many goals, has made for a bad mood around the place,” Drogba said.

“I’m finding our bad spell hard to live with, as do the rest of the squad. We are suffering, given that Chelsea are not accustomed to losing matches. (Manager) Carlo Ancelotti has been unhappy in recent weeks.”

Manchester United suffered their first loss of the season against Wolves on Saturday, but Chelsea failed to capitalise after going down to Liverpool and Drogba believes the result could be a serious blow to their title hopes.

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“We had started to see light at the end of the tunnel once again. But this latest defeat by Liverpool has cut away our legs and jeopardised our chances of winning the league title once more,” he said.

“It is going to be difficult for us to catch up with Manchester United.”