The Week That Was - The Chelsea Game Previewed, Plus More!

Hello there, and welcome to The Week That Was, in which we round-up all the happenings on Roker Report this week, including our extensive previewing of the Chelsea game, and any other bits and bobs we've done. There's also our favourite articles from elsewhere around the football blogosphere too, so be sure to give those a look too.

We'll start off with Chelsea though, and here's everything from our side of the fence...

• Talking Tactics: We started the week with a tactical preview of the Chelsea game. Chris Weatherspoon taking the reigns once again and looking at how we can stop The Blues, and looking at recent trends in our visitors play. To have a read - Click Here.
• Fan Focus: We also got some Chelsea perspective from Graham MacAree of top Chelsea Blog "We Ain't Got No History"... Have a read of his thoughts headed into the game, and indeed other Chelsea related matters by Clicking Here.
• Cult Heroes: In which our man David Boyle takes a look at someone who played for both us and opposition, and just about deserves some props for their performance with the club. Thankfully this week he avoided Gareth Hall, and went for the much better Emerson Thome. Wanna read? Click Here.
• Preview: Of course we have our own preview with the latest team news, selection dilemmas, betting, music, classic encounters and predictions. Get yourself up to speed right now with whats happening for both teams by Clicking Here.
• Podcast: We also have a podcast which focuses on nothing but the lads, and it's a short episode this week, but there's plenty of pre-Chelsea thoughts. Get downloading by Clicking Here.

And that's just about it as far as Chelsea goes, however there's much more going on on the site this week, including THREE interviews, international news and of course we give you the best of the other blogs out there too..

So we started things off as we do with Roker Rhymes on a Monday. Dan Williams brings you poetic stylings to round-up the SAFC news from the previous week. Its something different, so give it a read.

Click Here to read Roker Rhymes

On Tuesday, David Boyle chipped in with his topical Top Ten. This week, following the arrival of Nicklas Bendtner, he's looked at loan signings, and who his favourites are. Do you agree? There's a poll you can vote in to decide who the best of all was!

Click Here for our Top Ten Loan Signings

Also on Tuesday we had our first  interview of the week, and this one with a very open and honest, Lee Clark. Yes, that Lee Clark. The current manager of Huddersfield took time out to answer some of our questions, and he didn't hold back on T-Shirt-Gate or anything else.

Click Here to read our interview with Lee Clark

Wednesday as always brings us Captains Blog. This week the Captain Michael Graham is on about the left hand side again. Ten signings this summer, and not a left back among them. Is this acceptable? Time to find out...

Click Here to read Captains Blog

Wednesday saw another fantastic interview from Dan Williams, this time slightly different in where he spoke to top band and SAFC fans, Frankie off of Frankie & The Heartstrings. Great band, great lads and good work from Mr Williams. Check it out now!

Click Here to read our interview with Frankie & The Heartstrings

Wednesday was a busy day, and we also rounded-up all our players' international breaks. Gyan's injury, Sess' bore-draw, Bendtner's double. It's all in here, so come have a read...

Click Here for an International Round-Up

We got more insight into the weird world of Nicklas Bendtner this week too, by way of Adrian Clarke. Clarkey hosts his own fantastic podcast as well as being a regular on Arsenal TV and having played for them until injury forced him from the game. A sound bit of analysis from the man as he spoke to Dan Williams.

Click Here for the inside view on Nicklas Bendtner

And that's if for the week on Roker Report. Be sure to check back after the game today for a full match report, and more over the weekend. We really don't stop.

To finish things off, here's some of the best stuff I've read this week around the football blogosphere. It might not all be brand new, but it's stuff I've laid eyes on for the first time, and I know you'll enjoy it as much as I have!

We make our first stop at Obscure Music & Football, and although this post is from June, it's the first time I've seen it, and it is indeed fantastic... Tim Lovejoy - all round tit and Chelsea/Watford fan provided his views on football in a book. Luckily OM&F read it so we don't have to, and here are the 'highlights'... It's stunning.

Click Here for the best of "Lovejoy on Football"

Next stop, FootballFanCast, where they've taken a look at punditry. As we know, punditry tends to be rubbish, but times are a changing they reckon. A good article which is certainly worth five minutes of your time.

Click Here to read about A New Breed Of Pundit

And we'll leave you with a video. Ever wondered what Paul McGrath is up to these days? Me neither. However I can now tell you. He's been turning his hand to music, and done a version of the song "Goin' Back"... A duet with Asamoah maybe? Who knows. It's certainly worth a look, if only for Paul looking wistfully across an Irish beach. Might want to turn your speakers down though.

Click Here to see Paul McGrath sing

And that's it. should keep you entertained until the match starts. Thanks for reading, and keep your eyes on this site as we said for a match report shortly after the final whistle.