Archive for December, 2006

Jose Mourinho – not such a good manager

When Jose Mourinho first came to England, he labelled himself “special”. With an extra few hundred million, he turned the 2nd place finishing and CL semi-final reaching side in to a 1st place finishing and…CL semi-final reaching side.

The total spent on players since Roman Abromovich came to Chelsea is around the £600 million mark, with Jose Mourinho spending the majority of that. With that money he has signed players such as Drogba, Carvalho, Mikel, Essien, Shevchenko etc. Those five players alone add up to a whopping £115 million!

Now, with less than half the season to go, Jose has found his side six points behind Manchester United, a team who were labelled to be “in decline” just twelve months ago.

After drawing two home games in a row, and conceding eight goals in four games, Mourinho has spoken out about the situation. “I am disappointed because we didn’t get the result we wanted, but not so disappointed because it is not a big surprise for me,” he said. “Everybody knows in this moment that Chelsea cannot defend. I am the first one to know that. Maybe we are not as good as we think, maybe I am not such a good manager, maybe the players are not such good players. It is exactly the opposite of previous times for us. Teams knew they couldn’t score against us and we could dominate matches, now they know they can.”

Chelsea are currently without Cech, Robben, Terry and J Cole, and whilst Robben and Cole have been absent from the first team the majority of the season, due to injury and team selection, Chelsea are currently suffering under the absence of Terry and Cech. Spurs, Middlesborough, Manchester City, Everton, Villa, Reading, Fulham, Arsenal, and Newcastle are all teams with more injuries than Chelsea… but the noteworthy fact is that no other team has even half the resources available to them as Chelsea.

Are injuries to Terry and Cech a good enough excuse for Chelsea finding themselves in the situation they are? Or is Jose right in suggesting that maybe he isn’t such a good manager? Please leave your comments below.

Did Gerrard Deserve An MBE?

“Better late than never as Gerrard gets his MBE” reads the headline in The Times today. The article gets better, if you can imagine that, as you read on. “At last, one of Liverpool’s great quests for a significant honour has been realised. Nineteen months after their thrilling victory in the Champions League, Steven Gerrard, has been appointed MBE in the New Year’s Honours List. There was anger and disappointment in the red half of Merseyside when Liverpool’s comeback against AC Milan in Istanbul did not prompt official recognition, unlike England’s Ashes-winning cricket team. Rick Parry, the club’s chief executive, complained publicly, a campaign endorsed by The Times. That wrong has now been rectified.”

Now I remember the outcry last year over this. Liverpool had come back from a seemingly impossible situation to win the European Cup, and as pleased as the country might have been for them, there was utter disbelief when members of the team weren’t recognised in the New Year Honours List. This would have course struck Manchester United fans as strange, as when they had won the European Cup, again in extreme circumstances just a few seasons before, nobody batted an eyelid. That evening at the Nou Camp, in a squad of sixteen, ten of their players were British. Gary Neville, David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Andy Cole, Ryan Giggs, Teddy Sheringham, David May, Phil Neville, Wes Brown, Jonathan Greening. (Paul Scholes would have been included, and played in all the games leading up to the final, but missed the night against Bayern Munich through suspension.) Is there something I’m missing?

Maybe if we look at Steven Gerrard’s contribution to football and his achievements, things will start to make more sense.

Gerrard:
Club – 252 appearances
Country – 52 appearances
Honours – 2 FA Cups, 1 European Cup, 2 League Cups,1 European Super Cup, 1 UEFA Cup

Gary Neville:
Club – 527 appearances
Country – 84 appearances
Honours – 6 league titles, 3 FA Cups, 1 League Cup, 1 European Cup, 1 Intercontinental Cup

Paul Scholes:
Club – 513 appearances
Country – 65 appearances
Honours – 6 league titles, 3 FA Cups, 1 League Cup, 1 European Cup, 1 Intercontinental Cup

Ryan Giggs:
Club – 692
Country – 54 appearances
Honours – 8 league titles, 4 FA Cups, 1 European Cup, 2 League Cups, 1 European Cup Winners Cup, 1 Intercontinental Cup

Teddy Sheringham:
Club – 516 appearances
Country – 51 appearances
Honours – 3 league titles, 1 European Cup, 1 FA Cups, 1 Intercontinental Cup

Now this isn’t me stamping my feet demanding that Manchester United players get recognised in the same way. That’s a fight for them to take on if they so wish. This is me questioning whether seriously such a fuss can be made over Liverpool players’ lack of “rightful” honours, when not a word was said, and still hasn’t been said, on United players missing out. Is this country really that blinded?

There’s Only One Ronaldo… and he plays for Manchester United

When Cristiano Ronaldo first joined Manchester United, their fans cheekily chanted “There’s only one Ronaldo.” This was of course in reference to one of the best players in the World at the time, the Brazilian Ronaldo. Now however, that chant isn’t so tongue in cheek, with the youngster currently on his way to becoming one of the World’s best himself.

Following the World Cup, Ronaldo’s house was vandalised and his niece was attacked. It was claimed he wasn’t going to return to the Premiership, and instead, was headed for Real Madrid in La Liga.

Sir Alex Ferguson persuaded him to stay, and Manchester United fans, as well as fans of football in England, should be overjoyed. The lad has been a revelation this season.

His biggest criticism of the past was he had no end product, and was guilty of diving. This season however, it seems no one can stop him scoring or providing goals, not the booing fans or fouling opposition. Ronaldo is currently the most fouled player in the Premiership. Not that he’s been completely blameless this season, but he is making much greater effort to stay on his feet, and his club is benefitting because of it.

His two goals against Wigan moved the winger to the second highest scorer in the league, with ten goals in eighteen games. His football is a pleasure to watch, and there is a real buzz around the ground whenever the ball comes to him. “What’s he going to do with it now?”

Ronaldo has dismissed his critics all season, claiming the boos only inspire him to play better. He has now been tipped by several people, including Steve Coppell and Carlos Queiroz, to be awarded with the PFA Player of the Year award.

Do you think “England’s public enemy number one” should be given the award if he keeps up his form of the season so far? Please leave your comments below.

Jose Mourinho Admits Big Mistake

Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea had the opportunity to temporarily go top of the league on Boxing Day, if they had taken advantage of their early kick off. This would have surely put the pressure on Manchester United who played Wigan at 3pm.

Despite Drogba’s two goals, Chelsea were pegged back twice, the equalising goal coming from a defensive error, as Ashley Cole carelessly kicked the ball against Essien, which then bounced in to the back of the net.

Manchester United are now four points clear at the top, with Chelsea clearly struggling at the back without Petr Cech and John Terry. In the three games Chelsea have been without JT, they have conceded six goals. In the seventeen games before Terry’s injury, they had conceded just nine.

Jose Mourinho has today explained what is going wrong with Chelsea at the moment. “To lose Petr and John at the same time is a very difficult problem to solve, especially in a squad without more central defenders,” he explained. “We sold William Gallas and Robert Huth in the summer. We don’t have enough cover so at this moment in time we are having problems. Normally for Chelsea three consecutive matches would mean three clean sheets but at this moment in three consecutive matches we have conceded six goals. So for us to win matches right now we need to score three times. Sometimes we’ll do it, sometimes we won’t.”

Despite Roman Abromovich’s open cheque book, Mourinho has sold off players before buying their replacement. Despite having a great player available for left back in Wayne Bridge, they sold one of the best centre backs in the World, Gallas, to gain another left back, Ashley Cole. They sold off another centre back, Robert Huth, and instead of buying a replacement, they brought in right back Boulahrouz.

Has Jose Mourinho made a mistake in his transfer dealings this summer? Can he get himself out of trouble this January?

Ferguson’s Words Of Wisdom For Jose Mourinho

Before Manchester United played on Boxing Day, Ferguson spoke out against those who doubted the strength of his squad. Despite being two points clear at the top, several criticisms had come of Sir Alex’s team, saying they didn’t have the strength in depth as Chelsea.

“One thing that niggles me is when I hear someone say ‘They’re a good team but they have nothing below their first-choice XI’. I regard that as short-sighted and rather an insult to the players who make up our squad and to myself – as if I hadn’t bothered to build quality in depth.”

Later that day, Manchester United beat Wigan Athletic at home, despite playing without captain Gary Neville, Rio Ferdinand, Ryan Giggs, Michael Carrick, Louis Saha, and with Cristiano Ronaldo coming on as a sub at half time. Down south, Chelsea drew at home with Reading.

Ferguson was more than happy to talk to the press about his squad after the match. “We made some changes, which was important also, because I have to utilise the pool [of players] as best I can. It is their opportunity to bring freshness into the team. It is a hectic programme but hopefully I think we’ve got the squad to cope with it.”

Manchester United are now four points clear at the top of the table, and Ferguson had a message for his rival manager Jose Mourinho. “There will be some difficult days ahead and you have to handle these days. You have to recover, as we did last week from the West Ham result. On Saturday and today we’ve shown we can bounce back, we’ve got character and we’ve got the desire to do it. Jose said last week that we’ll drop points before the end of the season. But also, he doesn’t realise, that he will drop points also, that is the nature of football, it happens. In the championship you just hope that you’re consistent enough and don’t drop too many that you can win the league.”

Do Chelsea Really Have “strength in depth”?

There’s been lots of talk of “strength in depth” this season, and how Manchester United can’t compete with Chelsea there. And from a glace, yeh, it seems obvious to agree with that. Chelsea have had Robben on their bench for most of the season, when he’s good enough to make the first team of most top teams in Europe.

But now we’ve seen Chelsea lose their lead two games in a row. Sure, against Wigan they scored in the third minute of injury time to get the points, but surely we’d never expect a team like Chelsea to lose a 2-0 lead against Wigan… not when they have all these options? And yesterday at home, twice taking the lead, twice conceding.

Of course, this is because John Terry is out. We can look to Petr Cech as well, but Chelsea weren’t struggling defensively before JT’s injury. They matched United’s goals conceded as the least in the league.

It’s always going to be hard to replace players like John Terry, and not even Chelsea could have a player with as much quality and influence as JT on their bench. But surely they could have a better option than that clown Boulahrouz?

We talk about strength in depth, but would you rather Wes Brown on your bench or Boulahrouz? Shaun Wright Phillips or Park Ji Sung? Kalou or Solskjaer?

Who would miss their first team players more?
Ronaldo – 10 league goals……Drogba – 12 league goals
Saha – 8 league goals…………Lampard – 7 league goals
Rooney – 8 league goals……..Ballack – 3 league goals
Solskjaer – 5 league goals……Shevchenko – 3 league goals

Rooney – 6 assists………….Lampard – 7 assists
Giggs – 5 assists…………….Robben – 4 assists
Ronaldo – 4 assists…………Drogba – 3 assists
Saha – 4 assists…………….Essien – 3 assists

Manchester United have their assists and goals spread out across the team, whereas Chelsea seem to have a few players who contribute more heavily.

I’m posing questions as much as making a point. But do Chelsea really have as much strength in depth as people talk about?

Manchester United Hit With Midfield Injury Blow

It has been reported today that Manchester United’s newest signing, Michael Carrick, will be sidelined for a month. The former Tottenham Hotspur’s man picked up a knock during last weekend’s clash against West Ham. Originally nothing was thought of this, but it has been said today that Carrick has not travelled with the team down to the midlands for the Aston Villa game.

If Carrick’s injury is as severe as it has been rumoured, he will miss a crucial away game for United at the Emirates.

The midfielder will have several scans back in Carrington to assess the full extent of damage to his ankle ligaments.

Alex Ferguson has yet to confirm the injury.

“What does Wenger know? I’m no cheat!”

Arsenal youngster Emmanuel Eboue has today spoken out to let people know cheating is not in his nature. The defender has received quite a bit of stick after his blatent dive in the European Cup final last season, which lead to Arsenal’s only goal of the game. Following this, Wenger spoke to the press, fuming at Eboue’s behaviour in the game. “It is clear there was no foul. I condemn and regret the attitude of Eboue. He cheated by simulating the foul. I detest simulation.”

Wenger wasn’t ready to let it lie there though, and a few weeks ago Wenger addressed the issue of Eboue and his diving, saying “we’ve had a chat with Eboue about exaggerating on the field.”

However, despite Wenger’s apparent need to talk to the player in private, as well as letting the public in on it, Eboue claims he does not dive. “It is not my style to play like that,” he said.

Did Eboue intentionally dive last May? Was this the only incident with him diving? Is Wenger right to condemn him publically? Please leave your comments below.

“We Would Have Won World Cup With Me Playing”

The relationship between German goalkeepers Oliver Kahn and Jens Lehmann has often been disfunctional. It is likely that after Kahn’s revelations today, things aren’t set to get any between between them.

Kahn has claimed that had he been chosen to play between the sticks in the World Cup, Germany would have won it. He bases this upon “logic”, and insists this is not a criticism of Lehmann.

“With me (playing), Germany would have been World champions,” said Kahn. “I’m convinced of it because the way my career has evolved points in that direction. In 1994 with Karlsruhe I reached the semi-finals of the Uefa Cup – two years later I won this trophy with Bayern Munich. In 1999 I lost the UEFA Champions League final in the harshest circumstances before winning this competition two years later. Finally I lost the 2002 World Cup final. This logic, and I really believe in the law of series, should have continued at the 2006 World Cup.”

Does Kahn seriously believe that football works in the way he describes? A player wins one compeition, loses the next? Or is this just another dig at his former rival goalkeeper?

Kahn has had this discussion with Klinsmann, but the Germany coach dismissed his theory. “I told him ‘I don’t understand why you won’t admit that I’m right’,” Kahn added.

Manchester United To Sign “Superstar” In January

Manchester United have outperformed even the most optimistic fan’s expectations so far this season. Currently, they lie top of the league, despite only bringing in one player during the summer. The club and manager were slated severely for this, and major sports networks predicted a fourth place finish, behind Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool. However, they’ve clawed their way to the top with just Michael Carrick as the new addition, whilst Chelsea signed three World class players in Cole, Ballack and Shevchenko.

January is approaching, and it has been said that Ferguson will finally get to sign Hargreaves, a player he has admired for some time. It had been rumoured during the summer that followed the Glazer takeover that Manchester United had a budget of £25 million per year to spend on transfers. However, it is now reported that the club have, on top of that, a £25 million “superstar” budget, for one off, big name players.

“Manchester United is the richest club in the world,” said a spokesman for the Glazer family. “If the manager feels that the right player is available, then Manchester United will always seek to secure him.”

Bayern Munich, despite claiming they would not be selling the player before the end of his contract, have now conceded that they may have to sell the player, who has made it perfectly clear he wants to join Manchester United.

Will Ferguson get the money he needs from the Glazers in January? And will Bayern Munich let Hargreaves leave? Leave your comments below.