The latest transfer gossip, rumours and damned lies…
Karim Benzema to Manchester United
Lyon chairman Jean-Michel Aulas has conceded that while they don’t plan to sell Benzema this summer, they may receive an offer that is too good to turn down. Aulas explained his predicament with this rather wonderful analogy: “There is a tsunami called Real Madrid which provokes reactions at Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United.”
The Spoiler truth-o-meter: Sir Alex Ferguson has spoken of his admiration for the French striker before - comparing him to Zinedine Zidane - but he may delay a move until Carlos Tevez makes a decision on his future.
Jose Bosingwa to Bayern Munich
It looks like Chelsea are getting rid of one right-back who is good going forward but occasionally vulnerable defensively for another. Portsmouth have
Carlo Ancelotti is now odds-on to take charge in the summer
Following David Beckham’s revelation that Carlo Ancelotti is learning English, the AC Milan boss has been cut to just 4/6 with Sky Bet to be appointed Chelsea’s next permanent manager.
However, while acknowledging that winning the Champions League twice is an impressive achievement, The Spoiler doesn’t believe that the Italian has had enough success domestically to justify being Chelsea’s first choice.
But what do you think? Let us know who the Blues should go for with a vote and comment below:
West Ham fans miss their first win over Chelsea in six years
The Spoiler can’t stand the monotony of international breaks where nothing ever happens in the week building up to the game and it looks like Chelsea and West Ham feel the same way.
Gianfranco Zola and Steve Clarke took a group of players who aren’t off gallivanting with their national teams - including Luis Boa Morte, Kieron Dyer and Savio - to Chelsea’s Cobham training ground to have a kickaround with the likes of Alex, Florent Malouda and Ricardo Quaresma.
The Hammers were 4-2 victors thanks largely to youngster Junior Stanislas but any sense of achievement in beating the Blues for the first time since 2003 was tempered by the fact Ray Wilkins was managing the opposition.
Chelsea will be forced to employ a fourth manager in just eighteen months after announcing the sacking of Luiz Felipe Scolari.
Blues fans directed a chorus of “you don’t know what you’re doing” at the Brazilian after Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Hull saw them slip below Aston Villa into fourth but there was no real speculation that the axe was about to fall.
Ray Wilkins has been placed in temporary charge and the leading contenders to take over according to Sky Bet are Guus Hiddink, Avram Grant, Frank Rijkaard and Roberto Mancini. Former assistant Steve Clarke may also be in contention although Gianfranco Zola said this weekend that he has no intention of leaving West Ham.
Let us know with a comment below whether you think Chelsea were right to sack Scolari and who you think should be appointed manager number five of the Roman Abramovich era.
While Alan Shearer’s pseudo-analysis on Match of the Day fell well short of the mark again (his nervous stumbling and lack of insight gave the impression he had never appeared on television before), the chaps at Sky Sports did a superb job on Soccer Saturday.
The pace and excitement in the studio made for great viewing - just look how excited Phil Thompson gets about a team his club has no formal ties to.
Results seem to have disappeared with the assistant manager
There have been whispers on Chelsea message boards that the Blues’ season entered a decline when assistant manager Steve Clarke left for West Ham in September.
Last month, our amigos at chickendinner demonstrated that Chelsea’s home form was far worse without the number two, but their respectable away form discredited the Steve Clarke exit theory. Back then, however, Chelsea had yet to play any of last season’s top six, so after recent visits to Everton and Manchester United, it seems like a good time to re-examine the state of play:
Steve Clarke’s last seventeen league games at Chelsea Wins: 11 Draws: 6 Losses: 0 Points per game: 2.29
The seventeen league games since Steve Clarke left Wins: 9 Draws: 5 Losses: 3 Points per game: 1.88
So, Chelsea fans, is Steve Clarke as important as the statistics suggest? Let us know with a comment below…
*For these statistics, the away game against Manchester City that occurred two days after Steve Clarke’s resignation was tendered has been ignored. The reason for this is that he wasn’t involved on matchday, but was almost certainly involved in the preparation.*
Loading ...