David Luiz Will Miss The Next Two Weeks

Interim Chelsea manager Roberto di Matteo has confirmed that centre half David Luiz will miss the Barcelona match with a hamstring problem sustained during the FA Cup semifinal win against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, and he’s not expecting the Brazilian back for another two weeks. That’s obviously bad news for the Blues – the partnership between David Luiz and John Terry has been by far the strongest we’ve fielded in this calendar year, and although Gary Cahill is good enough to be a rotational defender at Chelsea he doesn’t provide the sort of raw ability that David Luiz does.

On top of that, both John Terry and Gary Cahill are carrying knocks, with Terry’s broken ribs particularly worrisome and fourth-choice centre back Branislav Ivanovic is in the middle of a three-match suspension. We should be very, very worried about a selection crisis at this point, because we’re one minor injury away from fielding the likes of Oriol Romeu at centre back. Get well soon, David!

AGONY GOES ON FOR FORGOTTEN FERNANDO TORRES

CHELSEA’s season went from bad to worse yesterday with another Premier League defeat at West Brom but still there was little opportunity for forgotten man Fernando Torres to revive his own or his club’s fortunes.

Once again the Spaniard was left kicking his heels on the sidelines, second choice to the ageing Didier Drogba, now 33 and with only seven goals to his name this term.

The call to action for Torres came with just 14 minutes left and he could only watch as West Brom’s Gareth McAuley sealed victory for the Baggies moments later.

It seems the Chelsea nightmare will never end for Torres, a man who, for the best part of a decade, was a force of nature, first for Atletico Madrid and then for Liverpool. Now, under Andre Villas-Boas, the striker known as El Nino has been blown so far off course that his last league goal came on September 24.

For a man who scored 91 times in just 214 matches for Atletico and 81 in only 142 appearances at Liverpool, that’s a drought of East African proportions.

So poor has Torres’ recent form been that he’s now unrecognisable from the player who first shot to prominence at the Vicente Calderon Stadium with the Atletico youth team.

Raddy Antic was manager of the Spanish club when Torres was re-writing the goalscoring record books for Atletico’s juniors and the former Barcelona and Real Madrid boss places the blame for the Spaniard’s demise firmly at the door of the beleaguered Chelsea coach.

“If you come from Liverpool to Chelsea and you hardly score in a year then something is wrong, not just with the player but also with the club,” he says.

“If you have a player of his quality you have to choose a different way to play the game.

“If you look at Chelsea, they’re not playing the combination that would suit Torres. For my opinion, of course Torres is not the same player that he was but the coach has to think about what he can do for him to score the goals.”

There is no question that Torres – recently dropped by Spain for the first time in five years – isn’t giving his all for Chelsea.

But Antic said: “Like most strikers he needs the ball – which isn’t happening at Chelsea. He has lost his confidence and that’s everything for a striker.”

Villas-Boas denies Lampard rift

Lampard last week admitted for the first time his relationship with Villas-Boas had “not been ideal”, but Villas-Boas this afternoon reiterated it was “good, excellent”.

The Blues manager claimed that did not mean he and Lampard needed to hold clear-the-air talks on the matter, insisting they were still on speaking terms.

“It’s just a manager-player relationship in the end,” Villas-Boas said.

“Frank’s words are genuine.

“They are genuine from a player that has a reflection of a relationship between us.

“For me, it’s fine, I have no problems with it.”

Star midfielder Lampard has been unhappy with the number of games he has missed this season but Villas-Boas said: “I have to choose the team and I try to choose the best team for every single game.

“It hasn’t involved Frank a couple of times but it doesn’t mean I have a personal problem with him.

“His own interpretation of the relationship is his own but I have no problem with it and I explained it to him.

“They are decisions I have to take for the benefit of the team, always.”

Chelsea fans left little doubt who they would back in any dispute between Villas-Boas and Lampard during last weekend’s Premier League win over Bolton, repeatedly singing the latter’s name throughout.

Villas-Boas was not worried about losing the battle for hearts and minds, saying: “No, not at all. I think the fans take the team’s side.

“We were winning 3-0 – everybody’s happy, no?”

He added of Lampard, who broke another two Chelsea goalscoring records: “He’s a legend of the football club. If they chant his name during the whole game, it’s because he represents exactly that.

“He achieved two great individual records in that game and I think he fully deserves it.

“I hope one day to have the curriculum that Frank has at this football club, which is amazing in terms of trophies.

“If that is the case, that means that I will be a successful manager and my shadow will be lurking over other managers of this football club.”

Cech welcomes Chelsea break

Petr Cech admits he is happy to enter a ‘relaxed’ atmosphere with the Czech Republic squad after enduring ‘problems’ with Chelsea.

Andre Villas-Boas has come under increased pressure following his side’s poor performance in the Champions League and the FA Cup in recent weeks, while a faltering Premier League campaign has overshadowed the Portuguese’s reign at Stamford Bridge.

The Chelsea boss has also admitted to differences with the club’s senior players, and Cech admits he is welcoming the international break.

“When you go with the national team and then go back with the club, it’s two different things,” Cech said.

“If you have all the sort of problems in the club and the club is not doing well and you come to an atmosphere where everyone is relaxed because you have made your target by reaching the European Championship, then the atmosphere is different and you can enjoy it.”

“But you always separate the two teams because, whatever problems you have with the national team or with the club, it doesn’t really concern the team you are in.”

Frank Lampard emotional after Chelsea fans show support

Lampard admitted for the first time on Saturday his relationship with Blues boss Villas-Boas had ‘not been ideal’, amid speculation of a falling-out between the pair.

Even before he made three separate pieces of history by scoring his 12th goal of the season in their much-needed 3-0 Premier League win over Bolton, his was the name on the lips of the Stamford Bridge crowd.

‘Super Frankie Lampard’, they sang about the man who repaid their adulation with the 150th league goal of his career and his 125th in the league for Chelsea, the latter taking him ahead of legendary striker Jimmy Greaves in the all-time Blues scoring charts.

The 33-year-old midfielder also became the first player to reach double figures in the Premier League for nine consecutive seasons.

‘I just want to play and the way the fans were with me was amazing,’ said Lampard. ‘It’s lump-in-the-throat stuff when they sing your name like that.

The fans have stuck with us brilliantly. It’s been a tough old season.’
Saturday’s match was the fourth this season in which Lampard was scored on his return from being benched by Villas-Boas and he added: ‘When I play I know I can contribute.’

The victory over Bolton was Chelsea’s first in six matches and Lampard demanded consistency in their push for the top four, adding: ‘It can’t be a false dawn. We need to carry on.’

Villas-Boas insists he wants Lampard to stay at the club, but added: ‘It does not depend on me. It depends on three parts – I want him, [he] wants to stay and the club wants him.’

Lampard – AVB relationship ‘less than ideal’

Frank Lampard has admitted that his relationship with Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas is ‘less than ideal’.

Whilst there has been much speculation that there are divisions in the Chelsea camp and that Andre Villas-Boas does not have the backing of senior players, something AVB himself has alluded to, it is rather unprecedented for a player to come out and confirm that there are fractions in his relationship with the manager.

Despite being a fans’ favourite and having regularly performed well for Chelsea, and having scored regularly over the seasons, Frank Lampard has had to deal with being a bit-part player since Villas-Boas’ arrival. This has not sat well with the midfielder, nor has it with other senior squad members who have begun to question the late Sir Bobby Robson’s protege.

Villas-Boas meanwhile has accepted Lampard’s grievances at not playing regularly, but he has intimated that he does not see this as an issue. AVB is keen for his players to be hungry to play and he shrugged off Lampard’s grievances by stating that yesterday Romeu and Obi Mikel were themselves disappointed to be overlooked.

Lampard, AVB scrap threatens to derail Chelsea

The manner in which Frank Lampard walked over to applaud the fans afterChelsea’s 3-0 win over lowly Bolton on Saturday was almost like a dress rehearsal for a testimonial match somewhere in the future.

‘Mr Chelsea’ may have scored the goal to help save his manager’s job but then sensationally admitted after the game: My relationship with AVB is not ideal.

Media speculation has been rife this week that it would be Ashley Cole heading for the exit door at Stamford Bridge at the end of the season, but, it could well be Lampard.

In fact, news on Sunday morning was that Cole will definitely be staying at the Bridge.

According to an exclusive report in the Mirror (http://bit.ly/wmXtpZ), Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has intervened to make it clear that Cole must stay.

The 31-year-old international  was back for yesterday’s 3-0 win over Bolton and Abramovich was at Stamford Bridge to watch the game and saw Frank Lampard score.

The England midfielder’s 150th league goal was followed by this comment: “I think you can probably see that it’s not been ideal (his relationship with AVB). There have been certain issues. Certain players, we don’t like not to play.

“I’m sure we’re all frustrated at the minute. Everyone who’s involved, especially people who have got Chelsea in their hearts, who have been here a long time and want to see us performing as we should do.

“It doesn’t mean I want to play every game and, if I sit on the bench, I want to see Chelsea win.

Lampard’s goal, after strikes from David Luiz and Didier Drogba, eased the pressure on AVB.

But the manager warned the midfielder could be back on the bench against West Brom on Saturday.

He said: “Lamps had his chance today and played fantastically well.”

But when asked if the England star was a shoo-in to face West Brom on Saturday, he added: “That is not the way it works.”

Defence must be reorganised – AVB

The news that John Terry will likely be out for six weeks due to the need for exploratory knee surgery means Chelsea will have to reorganise their defence, admitted manager Andre Villas-Boas.

Without Terry, the back four Chelsea defence – in particular centre-backs David Luiz and Gary Cahill – was a shambles in the 3-1 second round, first leg defeat to Napoli on Tuesday.

Chelsea will have to try to turn that deficit around at Stamford Bridge in three weeks time but to have any chance of doing so they would probably need to keep a clean sheet, something which doesn’t look likely without Terry.

Defensive midfielder Raul Meireles was at fault for the first goal, right-back Branislav Ivanovic was out of position for the second and Luiz made a howler for the third.

“We have to focus on reorganising this relationship between this back four that we have recently used,” said Villas-Boas, who will find himself increasingly under pressure in the unforgiving English press this week.

“I have to agree that you have to solve the mistakes which you do at the back so you can profit better from the number of opportunities you have and the goals you score.

“We need to get this concentration right and this efficiency right that’s for sure.

“Without John we were missing a very important player for the team. We have fit players and we have to continue to work with them to get it right.

“The first two Napoli goals we had more numbers and we were more organised and if we can concentrate more we can avoid conceding those.”

As for Terry, the Portuguese boss is hoping his absence will be only for a month but admits it will likely be longer.

That means he is set to miss the return leg and a crucial chunk of the season, including their FA Cup fifth round replay away to Birmingham City.

“We’ll have to wait to see how the operation goes and hope the player can return within that frame of time but normally it’s for six weeks,” said Villas-Boas.

It means that young Brazilian Luiz, so composed on the ball but often lacking in focus and concentration when performing defensive duties, will continue in the heart of defence.

“We’ll assess the mistakes and try to correct them. Luiz is a fantastic young player, he’s got a great future ahead of him and we have to continue to work on him to improve,” the Chelsea boss said.

As for his own future Villas-Boas was adamant that he will keep going whatever is written about him.

“Speculation will continue as results don’t happen but it won’t be a distraction,” he said.

Two Chelsea stars heading for exit after AVB clash

The question of just how far Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is willing to back under-fire boss Andre Villas-Boas was raised again last night as two veterans were linked with club exits.

According to two separate reports in this morning’s issues of The Sun and Daily Mirror, both Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole – who were each dropped from the starting XI for the 3-1 Champions League defeat to Napoli – are looking for a move.

31-year-old left-back Cole is alleged to have confronted AVB after his starting line-up omission during the week and according to the tabloid, the open mutiny of the manager’s ways is causing such friction at the club that owner Abramovich may step in to defend the 34-year-old Portuguese boss.

“Andre Villas-Boas was Mr Abramovich’s personal choice. In the past, the senior players have sometimes got their way over an unpopular manager.” a club insider told the paper. “But this time Mr Abramovich is fed up with their moaning.”

As for the Mirror, the rival newspaper believes that Frank Lampard may fill a giant David Beckham-sized hole in Paris Saint Germain’s plans to sign a commercially viable veteran midfielder.

The mega-rich club, led by former Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti, are reportedly looking to swoop for the 33-year-old, but he is understood to be due a £1.5 million loyalty boss if he stays at the team until the end of his current contract, which expires in June 2013.

Terry set for spell on sidelines

Chelsea captain John Terry is set to miss at least the next month of the season with a knee injury.

Terry, 31, picked up the problem during the club’s 1-0 victory in the FA Cup at Queens Park Rangers on 29 January.

He was in line to return for Chelsea’s Champions League last 16 first-leg tie against Napoli on Tuesday, but he suffered a reaction in training on Monday and now faces a lengthy spell out.

A statement on the club’s official website read: “John tried hard to be ready for the game but it was clear after training on Monday that it was not going to be possible.

“He will undergo an exploratory arthroscopy in the next day or so, after which the club’s medical team will be better placed to advise on a prognosis.”

After Chelsea’s 3-1 defeat in Naples – a result which dented their hopes of reaching the last eight – manager Andre Villas-Boas said he hopes Terry can get back on the pitch quickly.

“I think four weeks would be excellent,” said the Portuguese. “We will have to wait to see how the operation goes and hopefully the player can return in that frame of time. Normally it’s four or six weeks.

“Without John we are missing a very important player for the team and have suffered a lot of goals recently, contrary to what was happening at the beginning of January.”

Terry has only missed three Barclays Premier League matches so far this season, with Chelsea lying fifth in the division.

← 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.