Archive for the ‘Chelsea’ Category

Mauricio Pochettino Or Jose Mourinho To Manchester United

Posted: February 20, 2016 in Chelsea, Football, Managers, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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Recently, the candidates to be the next manager of Manchester United came down to just two. One who is out of work and one who isn’t.

United can’t be as choosy as they once could because the majority of top managers wouldn’t leave their current club to go to Old Trafford. Not that they have any history of taking a top manager from another club, it hasn’t been in their nature in the past.

At first glance, a straight fight between Mauricio Pochettino and Jose Mourinho should only produce one winner, the one who is used to winning. Mourinho ticks the majority of boxes required to be a United manager.

He is a serial winner, he can produce entertaining football when he wants to, he wins trophies quite quickly, usually in the first or second season at a club.

There are, however, boxes he doesn’t tick and it is these which makes the likes of Sirs Bobby Charlton and Alex Ferguson vote against his appointment. (more…)

When Will Jose Mourinho Take Over At Manchester United?

Posted: February 19, 2016 in Chelsea, Football, Jose Mourinho, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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If, as is widely expected, Jose Mourinho becomes the next Manchester United manager, he will take over at the start of next season.

This is the only logical explanation as to why Louis van Gaal is still there. It would appear that Ryan Giggs has turned down the opportunity to take over until the end of the season, having decided that he wants the job on a permanent basis, or not at all.

This looks like leaving him with his second option, at least for the time being so, unless Mourinho wants him as a coach, Giggs may have to leave to come back. This is not necessarily a bad thing as nobody really knows if he is up to the United job or not and, as Wilf McGuinness proved when taking over from Sir Matt Busby, a loyal ex-player is not always the best choice for the Manchester United manager’s job, particularly when it is his first managerial appointment.

This leaves United with two further options. Either keep van Gaal until the end of the season, risking further wrath from the supporters and probably ending the season trophy-less and outside the top four, or fire him now and bring in Mourinho while there is still a chance of winning the Europa League and/or the FA Cup, even finishing in the top four would be looked at with renewed optimism if there was a change of manager. (more…)

Ibrahimovic, Rooney, Hazard, Mourinho & A Protest!

Posted: February 18, 2016 in Chelsea, Football, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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So Zlatan Ibrahimovic is available at the end of the season. He can even go to the Premier League if he so wants. He will have a choice of top clubs just waiting to welcome him with open arms and open cheque book.

Well I, for one, hope that is not the case. I don’t have a lot of time for him and his arrogant ways. He is a vastly overrated footballer who, similar to Wayne Rooney, occasionally does something brilliant. He is 34 years of age which makes him two years older than Robin van Persie when he was deemed “not good enough” by the Manchester United manager. Ibrahimovic will certainly add nothing to a top six team.

Maybe a year at West Ham or Southampton if those clubs are not beneath the conceited one, which I feel sure that they are.

Having just mentioned Rooney, apparently Manchester United are considering an offer from China for him. I hope this one is true because he has certainly long outstayed his welcome as far as I am concerned. As anyone who has followed these chronicles for more than five minutes will know, had it been up to me he would have been sold the first time his toys came out of the pram, when he had the audacity to hold the club to ransom. (more…)

Will Arsenal And Spurs Make It A London Double?

Posted: February 17, 2016 in Arsenal, Chelsea, Football, Opinion, Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur
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Arsenal are, once again, at the stage of the Champion’s League where they normally bid their farewell. Not for no reason is it called the “knockout” stage, because this describes perfectly what invariably happens to the Gunners, they get knocked out.

In fairness, they have been beaten by some very good teams in the past whilst also succumbing to some of the more mediocre ones. There has been more than one occasion on which Arsenal should have stayed in the competition, but didn’t.

Fortunately for Arsenal, Tuesday is one of those games where they cannot be knocked out as it is only the first leg. Unfortunately for Arsenal, it is Barcelona and so, over the two legs, they will almost certainly be departing this years Champion’s League.

The only chance they have of getting through this tie is if Sanchez, Giroud and maybe even Welbeck, all find their shooting boots at some time during the two legs. This also assumes that Messi, Neymar and Suarez leave theirs on the bus!

If the MSN, as they are rather strangely known, turn up in fine form then Arsenal could be embarrassed as they were by Bayern Munich. They do not have a good defence and, similar in some ways to Manchester United, have to rely on having a great goalkeeper to keep them in some games. (more…)

Guus Hiddink’s Chelsea Need To Win The Champion’s League!

Posted: February 16, 2016 in Champions League, Chelsea, Football, Opinion
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The Champion’s League suddenly has a new significance for Chelsea this time around. Winning it looks like their best, if not only, route back into it next season.

A dismal Premier League campaign which only started to turn around when Guus Hiddink replaced Jose Mourinho was, at one stage, seeing them involved in a relegation battle. Although Hiddink hasn’t pulled up any trees he has steadied the ship somewhat and Chelsea now sit in twelfth position which is only “very” embarrassing as opposed to the “extremely” embarrassing position of a couple of months ago.

The problem with winning this competition is that Chelsea, in all their years competing, have only managed to do it once. Having lost a final against Manchester United, on penalties, they could say they were a little unlucky. They weren’t, they were outplayed for most of the game and were fortunate to hang on for penalties.

The year they won it has to go down as one of the most fortuitous campaigns ever witnessed in the history of the Champion’s League. They should have been hammered by Barcelona in the semi-final, where players were sent off and penalties were missed and, in fairness, having got through to the final, most people agreed that Chelsea’s name was on the trophy that season. (more…)

Arsenal & Chelsea’s Twelfth Man, The Referee?

Posted: February 14, 2016 in Arsenal, Chelsea, Football, Opinion, Premier League
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What is it about Stamford Bridge and the Emirates? Are referees under instruction that Chelsea and Arsenal are not allowed to lose? Does the game have to go on until they win? It always appears to be so.

In the Sunday game between Arsenal and Leicester, Martin Atkinson had given Leicester a first half penalty for a foul on Jamie Vardy, obviously forgetting that the game was at Arsenal’s home ground and he had just committed a cardinal sin.

Fortunately for Arsenal, he was reminded at half-time, probably by Arsene Wenger, of his obligations to the home team. So, in the second half he set about, not only evening things up, but ensuring that they tilted in Arsenal’s favour.

Firstly he sent off Danny Simpson for a nothing challenge which he deemed as a second yellow card. This, in his eyes, would give Arsenal the advantage numerically and should ensure that they won the game. It did bring about an equaliser through Theo Walcott and, at this stage, a draw would have been a “fair”, if slightly tainted, result.

Martin Atkinson was having none of that though. Having found four minutes of additional time from somewhere only he knew, he actually played an additional five and a half minutes, allowing Arsenal to score the winner. Of course, as soon as Leicester kicked off from the goal, the whistle was blown for full-time. (more…)

Now The Clown Van Gaal Is Blaming Paul Scholes For Manchester United Problems!

Posted: February 12, 2016 in Chelsea, Football, Louis van Gaal, Managers, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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(Scholesy reacts to the news that, according to one expert, everything negative about United is his fault!)

Does the madness of King Louis show no sign of abating? Fresh from blaming his players for not rewarding themselves in the draw against Chelsea, he now blames Paul Scholes for anything negative in the camp, or on the bus, or in the dressing room.

The article explaining all this is in the Daily Telegraph and can be found here.

In a game where United looked reasonably comfortable until HE changed the shape and brought on three subs, which automatically gave the initiative to Chelsea, the end result should have been a 0-1 to the Reds. HE messed it up and then set about blaming the players for not following his instructions and giving the ball away and not defending properly.

He was right about losing possession and not defending but these were the players HE had picked, HE had trained all week and HE had become acquainted with over the last eighteen months. If he still does not know what they are going to do in a game, after all this time, then it is definitely Mourinho time. (more…)

Does Jose Mourinho Have Any Competition For The Manchester United Job?

Posted: February 11, 2016 in Chelsea, Football, Jose Mourinho, Managers, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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(Are there really three candidates? It’s doubtful, but we look at them anyway!)

Jose Mourinho

Jose Mourinho is by far and away the most qualified for this prestigious position. He also has the added advantage of actually wanting the job! Currently out of work, there would be no compensation to pay and the transition from van Gaal to Mourinho would be seamless.

Having won titles and Champion’s leagues with different clubs in different countries Jose has proven on many occasions that he is the right man for the job.

Unlike David Moyes, he would not find the task daunting or too big and would relish the opportunity of pitting his wits against Pep Guardiola again, this time in Manchester. Unlike Louis van Gaal, his methods and tactics are not so dated that the players would have to bale him out if the going got tough.

Quite why he hasn’t been appointed just yet is a bit of a mystery to a lot of United fans. It certainly doesn’t look like this team is going to achieve Champion’s League qualification but, if they were to bring in Mourinho now, there would still be a possibility. Then it wouldn’t look quite as bad on van Gaal who, by the end of this season, will have spent two years and ÂŁ258 million on taking the team backwards! (more…)

Why On Earth Would Massimiliano Allegri Even Consider The Chelsea Job?

Posted: February 10, 2016 in Chelsea, Football, Managers, Opinion, Premier League
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Juventus have won seventeen of their last eighteen games in all competitions. They are only two points behind Serie A leaders Napoli, who they play on Saturday. They are through to the last sixteen in the Champion’s League, where they will play Bayern Munich and they are in the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia, where they will play Inter Milan.

Massimiliano Allegri is an Italian, born in Livorno and enjoying great success in his home country.

If reports are to be believed then Roman Abramovich would like Allegri to give up all he has worked for in the last couple of years to go and manage, what is currently, a mid-table team under-achieving on an almost weekly basis.

To contest the Champion’s League next season Chelsea will need to win it this one! Other than the “challenge” of managing in the Premier League and a pay rise what can Abramovich offer to Allegri to motivate him to leave a very comfortable comfort zone?

Unless Allegri wants to test himself in a league where there is, generally, more competition than anywhere else in Europe, and maybe learn English, then this is a move which does not make any sense. (more…)

The Chinese Super League Is An Agent’s Dream

Posted: February 9, 2016 in Arsenal, Chelsea, Football, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion
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A new brothel has been brought to the attention of the football authorities in Europe, (whoever they happen to be right now). This new brothel allows it’s leading prostitutes to make more money than they could ever have dreamed of had they just continued to ply their trade in Europe where they would only become multi-millionaires. Here, at the newest footballing outpost on the planet, they can become billionaires.

China has decided to take that football game seriously. They have taken the very scientific approach of commissioning case studies to find out what the average European footballer is driven by, what motivates him to get out of his goose-and-duck-down duvet covered emperor-sized bed every morning for a couple of hours training before getting back under it shortly after lunch.

Obviously, they also need the same player to perform for his public at least once, maybe occasionally twice, per week, which means that the poor souls may have to play 180 minutes of football during a seven days period.

What could they possibly use to entice players who already have everything that money can buy? Yes, you guessed it! Even more money! (more…)

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