He should be confirmed as Chelsea manager shortly.

If you keep shooting BB shots, a duck will fall.

One thing is certain. A number of tabloids and blogs are kept afloat by the Real rumour mill. Yours truly included. It is a gift that keeps giving.

Btw, I take back that duck reference. It would mean that Alexandre Pato is on his way to Real too. Which he might. Which he might. Stay tuned.

It is also the title of the new book by Claude Makelele which has already generated a fair bit of controversy. The former Blues midfielder claims in his book that John Terry's unhappiness with his playing time was the catalyst behind Jose Mourinho's ouster. Essentially, Terry asked Peter Kenyon for an exit after he clashed with his manager over his form.

By now, Mourinho was looked on as a divisive figure, drawing support from some players while alienating others. The club's poor start to the 2007 season and Mourinho's dissatisfaction with Avram Grant's installation as director of football had the owner wavering over whether continuing on with Mourinho was in the club's best interest. Simply put, the potential loss of Chelsea's talisman convinced him that the Portugese was expendable.

There is truth to all this even as John Terry strenuously denies any role in Mourinho's departure and insists that he never asked for a transfer. A revelation like this is potentially damaging and it is significant that his lawyers came out against such claims. It warns parties against future "Turncoat Terry" type defamation.

Terry and Mourinho's deteriorating relationship forcing the manager's ouster was already the topic of intense media speculation. It really took a nosedive after the CL fixture against Rosenborg which ended in a shocking draw against the lowly Norwegian side. Mourinho's departure by mutual consent came after 24 hours of a rapidly developing timeline.

Terry was upbraided by the manager at half time for failing to stop Mika Koppinen's set piece. The defender failed to accept responsibility. Earlier in the day, Terry found out Mourinho had gone to the club's medical team to find out if there were physical reasons responsible for Terry's decline in performance following spinal surgery to remove a disc. It seemed to have disturbed Terry to the extent that at first he refused to join the warm up prior to the match apparently preoccupied "with things on my mind" only agreeing after a team mate convinced him.

Peter Kenyon, in an emergency board meeting brought up the Terry dispute as evidence that the manager had lost his players support which the board accepted prima facie and Mourinho was asked to resign. He refused and "by mutual consent" was agreed upon.

It would be very interesting to hear Mourinho's side to the story. He would probably support Makelele's claim. After his ouster, he supposedly texted Terry "sarcastically thanking him for talking to the club's hierarchy."

I think Terry was really spooked by Mourinho's sleuthing. A physical reason would rule out a transient loss of performance and potentially mean early retirement. Terry had a lot riding that summer signing on with Chelsea on a multi year deal which made him England's most expensive player.

Yep, you now know why Adebayor does not show up to play when he can score virtually.

It is serves as a useful reminder that a year ago, another cruel event snatched away Chelsea's chances. The CL was theirs to win if it was not for that fateful John Terry slip on a slick surface. Chelsea went on to lose the finals to Man Utd in a nail biting penalty shootout. A visibly moved Grant had to console his inconsolable captain. More to the point, under Grant, if popular opinion was a barometer, they should not have even been contesting the final. Instead, the Israeli manager managed a feat that escaped even Jose Mourinho. In fact, till the last day Chelsea challenged Man Utd for the Premiership title after Arsenal succumbed to injuries and an inability to put away matches.

Abramovich's decision to saddle a no name as manager of one of the world's biggest clubs was clearly a wrong one. But clearly as the results prove it did not go south either. It was an impressive debut for a little know man with a thin managerial resume. The mass implosion that everyone feared did not happen otherwise Guus Hiddink might have gotten an emergency call up a year before with the exact same mandate. But Grant guided Chelsea to a CL final in some fashion without a bailout.

Grant followed not just a manager but a personality made for TV. Mourinho was a media godsend. The Premiership was all Sir Alex, Wenger, Benitez, and the Special One. Their eye catching verbal sparring was tabloid fodder and fans loved it. Suddenly, a taciturn and little know Israeli had taken over. His media interaction were horror shows. Mourinho was a tough act to follow. Clearly, the Israeli was aware he was not sexy but his football was going to be, an important distinction which he thought would make him more palatable to fans. Whether that qualitative change took place is debatable. Certainly, Joe Cole was given more freedom under Grant than under Mourinho. However from a result standpoint, Grant proved effective. He however, did not become more palatable to fans.

I remember seeing the Arsenal match when the Gunners went up a goal at the Bridge. The boos that chorused down had the commentators shamed into offering a rare defense of the embattled manager. Chelsea went on to win the match, after Drogba, in typical muscular fashion scored a brace. The Ivoirian striker had been so distraught over the departure of Mourinho, that a transfer appeared inevitable. Yet, here he was months later being as effective, just like under Hiddink. Grant may have not been a media darling but he knew a few things about keeping his players together. He gained the respect of John Terry.

"To get to where we are and to still question the manager's the role at the club is unbelievable."

Terry added, "things have been very good and results don't lie."

The CL loss made Abramovich's task of getting rid of the unpopular manager easy. He of course, went on to hire Big Phil Scolari, a huge name, whose arrival was trumpeted by many as righting the ship. Ironically, Scolari's subsequent lack of results and increasing unpopularity with players and fans necessitated the Hiddink transfusion. Its important to note in a perverse way, that Chelsea's cruel run in the CLs was kept intact under Grant. We would not have had any talking points at all otherwise.

"For 50 millions euros, I don't even pick up my telephone," Hoeness told the Bild tabloid. "Because a figure like that doesn't even give you rights, at best, to one of Ribery's legs.

Its all been a bit confusing. Chelsea's bid of £43.7m (50m euros) for the Bayern midfielder has been rejected.

The Times is now reporting that Real's offer of more than £40m has been accepted and Ribery is all set to join the club. Wait, how much is more? And is it per leg?

It was almost too perfect. While Barca had many questions to answer at the Nou camp after that near loss. Especially on defense. For the first time in a long time, we saw a Sir Alex side, poorly prepared with many players no shows. Where was Carrick and Anderson? Well, its all unraveling a bit. The club are worthy winners of every title there is including last year's best club in the whole wide world shout it out loud from the mountaintop status. However, this was not just a defeat, it was a stylistic showdown. Barca showed that the beautiful game still exists and it can win matches. With Xavi and Iniesta purring on the field, Man Utd's midfield looked like their shoes had been replaced with clogs.

There is nothing like defeat to measure self worth or open up questions. Their midfield remains in transition. Anderson has a long way to go before replacing Scholes adequately. The self centered Nani is a poor option for Giggs. Hargreaves is perpetually injured. Man Utd inherited that injury from Bayern. Carrick and Fletcher are very competent but cannot be considered world beaters by a mile. On attack, Berbatov struggles with consistency. Tevez remains in a strange twilight where the price has to be right. Rooney may define "total football" but he is being marginalized in his primary role. Van Der Saar may have a year or two left but who replaces him as Man Utd's sentinel is unclear. On defense, the right back spot has rotated between Wes Brown, Gary Neville, Rafael, and John O'Shea.

It should all be put in perspective. Man Utd have a soul searching off season to answer these questions but they are still good enough to repeat their domestic success with this squad. It is true, in football we always ask for the level. Are they at the level to reach the top? It is a question that has dogged Liverpool and Arsenal for many years now in the Premiership. Well, Man Utd came off second best on one of the biggest nights in football. It maybe a while before they win another CL.

"If it does come down to Messi against Ronaldo, well, Messi is one of the best players in the world, but give me Ronaldo. Messi is wonderful on the right but Ronaldo is terrific on the right, the left and through the middle as well. He also scores goals with his head, which Messi couldn’t do even if they put a top hat on him."‘

One last, little thing... look who hands Iniesta the cup...

"Does anyone know of anywhere else in the world where a seller is able to sell an off-plan property without a contract and then a year or two later provide a contract showing an increase the price of what he has already sold? Beware of buying Hydra Village units!"

The problems are partly due to the difficult financial times that is affecting everyone. But it is also not a case of badmouthing that the potential owner of Portsmouth FC claims it to be. The financial problems confronting Hydra Properties is true. The problems are compounded by the fact that Abu Dhabi does not have a regulatory organization that oversees the real estate sector. Most of these real estate investment projects are floated out by big companies on their financial strength and closeness to the royal family. In good economic times, this may not be a problem. But when things go south, it becomes a potential flashpoint between investors bailing out of their commitments and the company that goes to any lengths to keep them in and pad losses.

It maybe a good PR exercise on Suleiman Al-Fahim's part to de-emphasize the Hydra Properties part of the resume when talking about the takeover of Portsmouth FC. That is why he talks up the private investor part of the deal. It also clouds the connection between ADUG which controls Man City and is a subsidiary of his own company.

I am sure Portsmouth FC fans are delighted to have a source of seemingly unlimited transfer funds to propel the club to new heights but they must also be curious to know more about the entity taking over their club. Between oil rich Arab sheiks and billionaire American businessmen, the financial turmoil has taken the shine out of every stereotype.

He also owns a Versace Lamborghini Murcielagos, one of only three in the world and is the host of the reality show, Hydra Executives which pits eight Americans against eight Britons for a chance to work in his company, Hydra Properties, and win $1million for a business venture.

Falcon Equity, the private equity and asset management company which structured and negotiated the Man City deal was behind the Portsmouth takeover. It reportedly raised the funds from Asian and Middle Eastern investors through its network of offices. Al-Fahim in an interview denied any further involvement with Man City after September 2008, and said that his role in Portsmouth is yet to be defined.

He also denied rumours that Hydra Properties was in financial trouble and dismissed them as 'badmouthing" his company. He was at pains to separate out his company, Hydra Properties and the investors who had been tapped by Falcon Equity to put money into Portsmouth FC. In a customary disclaimer, he said that none of the investors were from the real estate sector or were part of the royal family.