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LONDON -- John Obi Mikels first English Premier League goal helped to end Chelseas four-game winless run in a 2-0 victory over Fulham on Saturday. Brent Seabrook Blackhawks Jersey . After Oscar powered in the opener early in the second half, Mikel sliced the ball into the net in the 84th minute of the west London derby. "They have been killing me about it -- going to the national team and scoring but not here," the Nigeria midfielder said. "Im sure the guys will give me a lot of stick." Mikel had previously scored only twice for Chelsea, in the FA Cup in January 2007 during Jose Mourinhos first reign as manager. Mourinhos return has not gone to plan, presiding over the clubs worst start to a season since Roman Abramovichs investment started a decade ago. This victory, however unconvincing, enabled Chelsea to dislodge Liverpool from the top of the standings ahead of Sundays games. "We know our fans have been disappointed about a few performances going into these games so we wanted to give them something to cheer," Mikel said. But the season is barely a month old, enabling Mourinho to dismiss the early criticism. "To lose is a normal thing and it looks like for us its the end of the world," Mourinho said. "Some of (the teams) started the Premier League in a brilliant way, we started in a very bad way ... I read it was a disaster." Chelseas ability to remain among the title contenders will hinge on rediscovering the cutting edge thats been missing. To achieve that, Mourinho has shown hes willing to risk antagonizing his squad with public criticism. Midfielder Juan Mata and defender David Luiz were both in Mourinhos firing line on Saturday as they were left out of the squad and saw their abilities called into question. Mourinho knows his return to Chelsea after six years has not matched the expectations of fans who were ecstatic when the season began with a pair of wins. A draw and a loss domestically was followed by a losing start to the Champions League group stage, provoking a smattering of boos at Stamford Bridge after Wednesdays loss to Basel. "Sorry about your disappointment," Mourinho wrote in the matchday program. "But we will give you happiness." Maintaining harmony in the squad will be as important. The ostracizing of midfielder Mata, last seasons player of the year, has baffled many. Matas displays this season so far were "not convincing," Mourinho said as he justified dropping the Spaniard again on Saturday and warning that he has to "fight and work for his opportunities." That will come in the League Cup against Swindon on Tuesday. "I hope he tells me on the pitch, You are wrong, Im the best and I have to play every game," Mourinho said. "I would love that. Im waiting for a professional reaction." Mourinho also publicly castigated Luiz for his defensive performance in the 2-1 loss to Basle on Wednesday. Yet, Mourinho kept faith with Samuel Etoo to lead the strike force against Fulham, despite publicly doubting his sharpness against Basel. Etoo rarely came close to opening his account for Chelsea since joining from Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala, volleying wide and heading off target in the first half. Fulham, though, was even more ineffective up front as it slumped to a ninth loss in 12 matches stretching back to last season. "The first 50 minutes they were really worried," Fulham manager Martin Jol said. "They couldnt find the space, they couldnt find a solution and that is probably the moment you have to punish them and we couldnt do that." And the visitors were breached seven minutes into the second half. Goalkeeper David Stockdale parried from Andre Schurrle and couldnt keep hold of Etoos shot before Oscar blasted in the goal. To cheers, Etoo was replaced in the 64th by Fernando Torres, the only Chelsea striker to find the net this season. After Torres had a header pushed over Stockdale, the second goal came from the resulting corner from the unlikely source of Mikel after John Terry nodded the ball into this path. "The second half they stepped up a gear, they were more aggressive than us and that is what showed," Jol said. Brandon Mashinter Blackhawks Jersey . He was set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 5th. The 34-year-old Laval, Que. native has played six seasons with the Penguins. Bobby Hull Blackhawks Jersey . They kicked off the still-going trend of host cities winning the Grey Cup and sent Hall of Fame head coach Wally Buono to the front office a champion. Bobby Hull Blackhawks Jerseys - Authentic Adidas Bobby Hull Womens Jerseys Sale . The 24-year-old Raley was 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA for Chicago in his first two career starts after being called up from Iowa on Aug. 7. He was optioned to Iowa on Monday after losing 3-0 to Cincinnati in Chicago on Sunday.MONTREAL – Professional athletes tend to best remember the teams with which they win a championship. A bond is forged for life. A group gets together, slogs through the adversity of a long season, plays its best when the games matter most and shares the glory of its achievement. The 1994 Montreal Expos didnt win the World Series. Nobody did. A players strike saw to that. But theres this lingering feeling among the nearly two-dozen players and coaches who gathered to celebrate their special team that they would have been champions, that the 1994 Expos would have secured a third-consecutive world championship for a Canadian-based team. “I think thats the one thing that sticks around too much,” said Cliff Floyd. “If youd played it out, youd feel better about it. If we lost you still feel better about going and getting the opportunity to play. When you dont play it out you wonder what if wed gotten the opportunity to play in the playoffs.” “We built a special bond in 1994,” said Marquis Grissom, a two-time All-Star in a 17-year career. “It didnt just start in 94, it started in 1990, in 1989-1990 when we were all in spring training trying to make the team. It just festered all the way up to 94 to where we all came together for one common cause and that was to win a World Series. We didnt expect to do anything less.” Championship baseball teams need a lot to go right. They must do the obvious, like outpitching and outhitting and outscoring their opponents on more nights than not. Emerging clubs - that Expos team was still so young - must also experience breakthrough moments. Floyd, a rookie that year who would go on to play 17 seasons in the big leagues and make an All-Star Game, provided such a moment. It was June 27. The Expos were hosting the then-National League East-leading Braves. Floyd blew open a close game with a two-out, three-run home run in the seventh inning off of future first-ballot Hall-of-Famer Greg Maddux. Montreal won the game and closed to within a game-and-a-half of the division lead. By the time the strike started a month and a half later, the Expos led the Braves by six games in the standings. “I think about that a lot,” said Floyd. “I think about when I walked up to the plate that day. I think about what was on my mind that day. I just told myself get a good pitch to hit. The type of team we had then, the expectations and what I did in the minor leagues, they were showcased in 94 but I just said if I can just help us go out and win some games, you dont know what games or how important theyre going to be when you do it but that was one of the biggest moments of my life was for me to get that home run.” Felipe Alou pulled the strings from the dugout. Hell be 79 in May and he speaks of the 1994 team like a proud father. He is, in a literal seense, because his son, Moises, was among the clubs many young stars. Chris Chelios Blackhawks Jersey Authentic. Charged with cultivating that entire unit, two decades later Alou marveled at the talent the franchise had assembled. “The 1994 club was hard to compare with anybody because we had three closers, we had incredible starting pitching and we had speed, power and defence,” he said. “Not too many teams can say that and they were young. They were getting better.” Surely the manager deserves some credit? “Anytime you have a team like that youre a good coach,” said Alou. Much has been theorized about the breakup of the team in the aftermath of the strike. Larry Walker, a could-be Hall-of-Famer whos yet to be voted in and would like an Expos cap on his plaque if the day comes, didnt want to leave. He signed with Colorado when the strike ended and embarked on a tremendous 10-season run with the Rockies before wrapping up his career in St. Louis. “There wasnt a contract on the table for a lot of us and the game kind of dictates that and you move on,” said Walker. “Its the nature of the game. I didnt leave because I hated anybody or hated the city or anything crazy like that. I know theres been some dumb stuff written about it from what Ive been told but I was just another ballplayer trying to win. We had a winning franchise that got broken up.” Grissom insists a group of top-end players went to ownership to try to persuade the group to keep the young core together. “We took it upon ourselves to try to go upstairs and tell them, hey, well take less money to stay together,” said Grissom. “We dont know how much less that would have been but, really, the strike took effect on us and there wasnt anything we could do. Even if wed taken less money I still dont think we would have stayed here.” There are more gray hairs. In some cases, the bellies are bigger. But the memories came flooding back, the reunion a chance to ask the “what if?” question one more time. If this weekend accomplishes nothing else, its reminded the powers of Major League Baseball that Montreal is a baseball town. Right now theres no ownership and no stadium for the franchise pipe dream but at least one man is hoping that the energy that still surrounds the 1994 Expos will contribute to the momentum to bring a team back to Montreal. “I believe that if we ever get a team back here it will be because of the 1994 team,” said Alou. “That is what the people in these communities, Montreal, Laval, the cities around here, they are holding on to the 1994 club. They believe that this memory, they talk about it. We are here, the 1994 team. Its not the 1993 or the 1995, its the 1994. The people hope and I hope that that club that was so good will help bring baseball back to this city.” Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '