← Chelsea’s AVB commits ‘managerial suicide’

Man Utd close on Europa League last 16

Posted on February 22, 2012 by www.soccer - facebook.com

Manchester United‘s march towards the latter stages of the Europa League looks set to continue on Thursday when they line up against Ajax at Old Trafford leading 2-0 from the first leg in the round of 32.

United’s exit from the Champions League following a 2-1 defeat at FC Basel in December was a huge shock to the club’s fans and came barely seven months after defeat by Barcelona in the final of Europe’s premier club competition.

To their credit, Sir Alex Ferguson‘s side have put their full weight behind the Champions League’s poorer relation and, at this stage, must be considered among the favourites to reach the May 9 final.

United have yet to be beaten at home by a Dutch side and defender Chris Smalling, set to return to the starting 11 after sitting on the bench at the Amsterdam ArenA, says the players are committed to winning the competition.

“Obviously we’d still like to be in the Champions League but we’re looking at the Europa League as a second chance,” Smalling toldwww.manutd.com.

“We’re going to go out there and show Europe we can still perform and we can still win trophies.

“We want to reach the final, although we know it won’t be easy. All of the players will be going out on the pitch and giving our all to reach the final.”

United, however, could find the going tougher in the latter stages of the competition.

Atletico Madrid, who beat Fulham to the trophy in 2010, have been one of the tournament’s form sides and seem to have found fresh impetus since former Argentina international Diego Simeone took over as coach.

Atletico will be missing Brazilian midfielder Diego, due to a torn right thigh muscle, for their home game against Lazio.

But despite sitting in the comfort zone following a 3-1 first-leg win in Rome last week, they are taking nothing for granted against a team that striker Falcao, who scored goals in either half last week, describes as “highly dangerous”.

“Lazio are highly dangerous and we cannot go out there thinking we are safely through,” said Falcao, who scored a record 17 goals on the way to victory with FC Porto last season.

Sporting Lisbon, losing finalists in 2005 when the Portuguese fell 3-1 to CSKA Moscow, can take a step towards a last-16 encounter against Manchester City or Porto – who play on Wednesday – if they come through their tie against Legia Warsaw.

The Portuguese side twice fought back from a goal down in Poland last week to claim a precious 2-2 draw and will be demanding the same kind of commitment at the Jose Alvalade stadium.

FC Twente, meanwhile, hope their visit to Bucharest’s National Arena is a taster of things to come.

The Dutch team remain undefeated after a total of five games against Romanian sides and, with Bucharest hosting the final, Steve McClaren’s side will be looking to build on their 1-0 first-leg lead against the hosts.

Fellow Dutch outfit PSV Eindhoven, meanwhile, are at home to Trabzonspor and, after a 2-1 away win last week, they can book a last-16 clash against either Valencia or Stoke City if they prevail over two legs against the Turkish side.

← MESSI, PIQUE AND XAVI, GLOW IN THE DARK SIDE OF THE CHAMPIONS

Chelsea’s AVB commits ‘managerial suicide’

Posted on February 22, 2012 by www.soccer - facebook.com

Andres Villas-Boas is committing managerial suicide by attempting to take revenge on the Chelsea old guard which backfired spectacularly when they were beaten 3-1 by Naples in the Champions League last 16 first round clash on Tuesday.

When details of Chelsea’s team sheet were revealed there was widespread disbelief.

Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp said: “It has all the makings of managerial suicide.”

Graeme Souness added: “If Cole is 90 per cent, he’s still better than Bosingwa at 100 per cent.”

Chelsea players were up in arms against the young Portuguese manager even before their Naples defeat for relegating Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard and Michael Essien were dumped to the bench.

But it was a gamble which he may have to rue after having lost skipper John Terry for up to two months just hours before kick-off.

Villas-Boas was left clinging to his job desperately as Chelsea threw away the lead given them by Juan Mata to slip to a nightmare defeat.

Two goals from Ezequiel Lavezzi either side of an Edinson Cavani strike left Chelsea facing a second leg mountain to climb at Stamford Bridge next week but it was the selection decisions that put Villas-Boas under fire.

It was payback for criticising Villas-Boas who held a clear-the-air meeting on Sunday to get their honest opinions on their poor results.

Lampard and Essien were forthright in their views — but it was Cole who spoke out most strongly, according to The Sun.

The England left-back told AVB: “I came here to win medals and trophies, but I’m never going to do that with your tactics”.

Cole is also unhappy as he feels “like a robot” with Villas-Boas telling him exactly how to play, rather than giving him freedom.

Chelsea’s players were infuriated when their three team-mates were put on the bench for speaking out ahead of the Champions League clash.

The boss even told Cole “you made it personal”.

England star Cole was further angered when he saw his manager on TV claiming that he had been left out over concerns that he was not fully fit.

Cole insisted he was 100 per cent ready to play and has the last laugh when he was called into action after 12 minutes following an injury to Jose Bosigwa while Lampard came on late in the match.

Villas-Boas did not attempt to explain his team selection and insisted he would be in charge for the second leg.

“Whatever explanations I gave you would be fantastic if we’d won but are now useless given the result of the game, so there’s no point,” said the Chelsea manager.

“We wanted two hard-working midfielders sitting in front of the defence. That’s not to say that Lamps could not do it, for sure he could, but that was the decision we took.

“It was technical decisions. You can have your opinion but it was based on what was the best team in my thoughts.

“I had a conversation with Ashley and Frank. Normally, through the players that they are and the players with the experience they have, they felt they could have helped the team.

“That’s perfectly understandable. Of course, they were disappointed but they were decisions they have to accept and move on.”

Whether Lampard in particular will “accept and move on” remains to be seen.

Fergie: No more hairdryer treatment

Published on Tuesday 21 February 2012 11:24

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson insists the days of doling out his infamous “hairdryer treatment” to under-performing players are long gone.

The 70-year-old Scot, who believes he has another two or three years before retirement, said age and experience had mellowed him and he no longer went in for dressing room bust-ups.

Ferguson told Radio Five Live: “I don’t have any confrontations really, not nowadays, although maybe when I was younger I would have. If a player answered me back I would head straight for them, this is where the hairdryer treatment comes in. I didn’t allow a player to beat me in an argument.”

He added: “Now I am older and more experienced and because of that and my time at the club the players have more respect.”

That is not to say Ferguson has gone soft in his approach to the players, however, and he accepts he is prone to the odd outburst of frustration.

“There is nothing wrong with losing your temper if it is for the right reasons – sometimes you are better getting it out of your system,” he added.

“My normal pattern of management is to get it out of your system. I tell players after the game and that’s it finished – the next day to me is a new world.”

Ferguson insists stress remains an alien concept to him, although he accepts his love of horse racing affords him a valuable release from life at Old Trafford.

“I don’t feel stress, I must admit. I was more anxious watching Man City playing (Aston) Villa (earlier this month) than on my own game against Liverpool,” he said.

“I was getting to a point at United where I was obsessed with the thing (the club). It is a great club but you still need to release yourself from it and it (horse racing) has helped.”

Copyright PA Sport 2012, All Rights Reserved

Bartomeu – We Wont Break The Bank For Van Persie or Bale

Barcelona wont be breaking the bank to land North London pair Robin van Persie or Gareth Bale in the summer, according to ESPN.

The report claims that while van Persie and Bale have been linked with moves in the summer, neither Arsenal or Tottenham will let their player leave without a fight.

Arsenal’s situation with van Persie could be the most intriguing given that the striker will only have one year left on his contract come the summer and with the club struggling to compete for trophies once-again this season, the Dutchman may decide it’s time to move on.

However, the European Champions have no intention in spending over the odds to land their targets this summer, and when asked about their interest in Van Persie and Bale, Barca vice-president Josep Maria Bartomeu is quoted by ESPN as saying:

“Those players are very good, but we always need common sense in any negotiations. We will not enter the madness market but it is impossible for Barcelona to pay 40 or 50 million Euros for any player.

“This is a decision of the club. We can’t fight against every club. But we have an advantage in that players want to come and play for Barcelona.”

Villas-Boas wants vote of confidence

Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas has suggested that the club’s hierarchy should make it clear that they back his long term vision for the club. According to the Daily Mail.

Villas-Boas has repeatedly fended off dispersions on his long term future at Stamford Bridge and maintains that he has the full backing of owner Roman Abramovich.

The Portuguese manager is growing tired however of mounting speculation that he is on borrowed time by dropping a hint to his employers: “These words would be more valuable coming from the top. I cannot keep saying them.”

Villas-Boas has presided over the club’s least successful period since Russian billionaire Abramovich took control of the club in 2003. The West London outfit have accrued a miserly 3 points from their last 4 league games and have not won since 14 January.

They currently lie fifth in the Premier League, are out of the League Cup and face an FA Cup fifth round replay at St Andrew’s after being held 1-1 by Championship side Birmingham City at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

Speaking on the day before the Blues Champions League game with Napoli, AVB insists he is in the middle of a three year restructuring process that will “sustain” their long term success.

“In terms of the results this year,” added Villas-Boas. “The speculation is normal given the cultural past of this football club, but you have to understand that there’s a different perspective now.

“We had a three-year project to change not only the team, but the culture and structure of the club.

“There’s a lot we needed to do, a lot of plans. That’s why I’m excited about the future.

“Having said that, we have to build a team to win trophies.

“We’re no longer in the Carling Cup and don’t have a chance to win the title. But we are still confident we can do well in the Champions League and the FA Cup.”

The club’s joint top scorer Daniel Sturridge had insisted earlier in the day that they are not “a divided unit”.

“We are a family and we’ve got a good unit going,” the 22-year-old told Chelsea TV. “Maybe we will see that in the next few games.”

Fellow Blues striker Didier Drogba said: “We feel that no one really believes in us.

“We are going to show we deserve to be here. It’s a top game and we are going to have to get a good result.”

Drogba denied that he gave a half-time “team talk” to Chelsea when they were a goal down in Saturday’s FA Cup tie against Birmingham before coming back to draw.

Cameras picked up footage of Didier Drogba giving a pep talk in the Stamford Bridge tunnel just before the start of the second half.

Drogba’s apparent motivational speech will have done nothing to quell talk of growing rifts between Chelsea players and the manager but the Ivorian said:

“The manager made the speech at half-time. He has leaders in the squad and we are here to help him.

“We wanted to gee the team up at half-time and nothing more.”

Arsenal’s deadlock: Wenger won’t budge, Van Persie won’t stay, The Ox won’t play

The ‘In Arsene We Trust’ banners are finally showing signs of ceasing.

Few managers have enjoyed the kind of die-hard support that the trophy-less for seven years Wenger has enjoyed at the Emirates.

However, not any more it would seem.

A three-way deadlock involving Wenger’s transfer funds, Robin Van Persie and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

After reports emerged that Wenger has £50millon sitting in his transfer kitty, Gunners fans now want to know why he has not spent it.

The Arsenal Supporters’ Trust are demanding answers from club owner Stan Kroenke and the Emirates board, according to a report in The Sun.

Questions raised at a lively AST meeting on Monday night, included why bitter rivals Spurs are so far ahead despite having a 40 per cent lower wage bill.

Arsenal are expected to announce pre-tax profits of about £45m — boosted by the sales of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri.

It might be worth noting that having £50millon is one thing – buying the right player is quite another.

Wenger’s buy ‘em young watch ‘em grow policy worked only until he was winning trophies.

Then the young ‘uns upped and left.

Arsene Wenger meanwhile will reportedly refuse to be held to ransom over Robin van Persie.

Arsenal are determined to keep their prize asset this summer even if the Dutchman does not sign a new contract, according to media reports, and talks are underway to offer the striker a mega deal.

Then there is the question of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, an emerging talismanic figure for the Gunners. Wenger has also stated that he will not push the dynamic winger into playing too much, too early, much to chagrin of Arsenal fans.

Gunners boss Wenger ended up selling Samir Nasri to Manchester City for £22m last summer because he only had one year left on his deal and Wenger feared he could end up leaving on a free transfer.

But Arsenal are prepared to take the risk of Van Persie running his current contract into next season before it expires in 2013.

The Arsenal board know selling their captain, talisman and star striker would cause fury among the fans.

Van Persie would be 30 in 2013, is four years older than Nasri and so it will be a different dilemma for Arsenal this summer making it increasingly likely they will take a gamble on his contract situation.

However, Wenger shows no signs of buying an out and out top-ranked player ready to impact Arsenal’s cup fortunes.

Indications already are that all inquiries concern players with great potential – but no established stars.

The latest news on that front is his interest in 21-year old defender, Daniel Opare from Ghana.

At least the good news for Gunners’ fans is Wenger is finally showing interest in shoring up his defence.