Chelsea captain John Terry has rejected speculation that coach Carlo Ancelotti is set to be dismissed by owner Roman Abramovich.
With the side underperforming and a distant fifth on the English Premier League table, speculation has mounted throughout the season that Ancelotti may pay the price for poor results on the pitch.
A penalty shootout defeat to Everton on Saturday that ended the club’s defence of the FA Cup has reportedly pushed the Italian manager further towards an exit from Stamford Bridge.
But centre-back Terry insists the players have no doubts about the long-term future of their coach.
“I don’t know why I’m answering the question really because there’s no speculation,” Terry said.
“The players are 100 percent behind the manager, he’s got total confidence in us and that will remain the same.”
“We believe in the manager and the players that we have can go on and win the (Champions League) competition.”
Ancelotti also remained defiant, insisting the press would be wise to defer judgement until the end of the campaign.
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“I say to you journalists wait, because the season is not finished yet and a lot of times I have been able to manage these situations,” Ancelotti said.
“I’d like to remind you of 2010 – it was the same situation and the Italian journalists know this. Wait, the season is not finished. This could be the best season in the memory, it could be the worst. I don’t know, but wait. Chelsea has not died, it is still alive.”
Ever since the Premier League announced the hare-brained scheme of playing a 39th fixture in different corners of the globe, it has become fashionable to knock the likes of Blackburn, Bolton or Wigan. It’s not easy to ‘sell’ those clubs as part of a ‘global brand’, they are quick to tell us. As if small-town Lancashire clubs have no real part in this brave new world – when in actual fact they are the hotbed of English football. It’s been sad to see that trio of clubs in the bottom three for much of the season and it would be very sad if they were wiped off the face of the Premier League.
When I was playing, Blackburn, Bolton, Burnley, Blackpool and Preston were all regular members of the top flight – and they often made up the majority of the England team. With Stan Matthews at Blackpool, Tom Finney at Preston and Bryan Douglas at Blackburn, they had three of the best dribblers of a football the world has seen, all playing within a few miles of each another. Those clubs all suffered a major downtown in the 1980s and early ’90s but they have defied the odds to play at the top level and the Premier League has been richer for them.
Blackburn’s season so far has been a staggering story. In all my years in football, I can never recall a manager suffering quite the level of abuse which has been piled on Steve Kean. I’m delighted to see that Kean has begun to turn things around in recent weeks and I can tell you that if a group of footballers do not believe in their boss they can use the mass protests as a convenient excuse not to perform. That hasn’t been happening at Ewood Park and it speaks volumes for Kean’s man-management abilities.
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I’ll readily admit that I don’t understand – or care to understand – this culture of unrealistic expectation which has sprung up among supporters of most clubs, fostered by the internet. I saw a couple of Arsenal fans crying and hugging one another after the defeat at Swansea last weekend – as if it’s their God-given right to beat a decent mid-table side away from home. This sort of culture certainly hasn’t helped Kean and although the Venky’s people who own the club are spectacularly naive in many ways, they have had the guts to stand by their manager, when most would have pulled the trigger.
These Lancashire clubs used to be owned by prominent local businessmen, who knew their clubs intimately and who instinctively understood what supporters expected and wanted. Bob Lord, the Burnley butcher, was the epitome of these owners, who did so much to make Lancashire football clubs punch above their weight. Dave Whelan, of Wigan, is very much of that old school. I played against him when he was a full-back at Blackburn but a broken leg in the 1960 Cup Final ended his career. It turned out to be probably the best thing he’s ever done, as he became a multi-millionaire in the sportswear trade.
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Wigan have been a remarkable successful story – they are now in their seventh successive season in the Premier League, despite a small support and none of the history of their fellow Lancashire clubs. You wonder whether their time is running out, but you have to admire the way their manager Roberto Martinez sticks to his footballing beliefs and I wouldn’t bet against them staying up. Bolton, like Blackburn, are enjoying an 11th straight season in the top flight but look to be in the most parlous state of all, in terms of finances and playing resources.
Personally I’d love to see all three stay up – if only to annoy those big-time chairmen who think that playing Bolton, Blackburn and Wigan is beneath them.
Everton manager David Moyes has stated that he is happy with his team’s 3-1 win over Fulham on Sunday, despite get the run of the green in the second half.
With the matched poised at 1-1, Cottagers striker Bobby Zamora missed a glorious opportunity to put the home side into the lead, and the Scottish coach is glad that he didn’t convert the chance.
“You just need a centre forward to round a goalie and miss. We looked at that point we might be struggling. But Zamora didn’t score and we did,” he told BBC Sport.
“Once he gets round the goalie, you expect to see the net bulging but we went down the pitch and Louis [Saha] produced a great finish. Fulham will feel hard done by that they lost the game.”
Royston Drenthe scored a fantastic opener for The Toffees, and Moyes feels the Dutch loanee can play an important role for the Merseyside club.
“We’re trying to get him used to the speed of the Premier League and what we do at Everton, and he had a good game today,” he said.
Everton have had an inconsistent start, but Moyes is hoping that his team can improve as the season goes on.
“We got a bit of good fortune today and got a good result.
“We haven’t been thinking too far ahead. If you look back at history, we’ve tended to get better as the season has gone on, so I’m hoping that will be the case again,” he concluded.
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Everton host wounded giants Manchester United at Goodison Park next weekend, and will need to be at their best not to suffer the backlash of the champions after their derby day mauling by Manchester City.
The latest Merseyside derby this weekend highlighted a lot of issues. Are our referees really the best in the world, and if not, when are they going to be held accountable? Are we starting to see the ugly side of fans, creeping back into our stadiums, and are clubs doing enough to combat those disgusting individuals who throw missiles directly at players? And is the Liverpool side that finished the game (with the exception of Jordan Henderson) the ideal starting XI for Kenny Dalglish? Let’s take a look.
Little more than 20-minutes had passed on the clock when Martin Atkinson foolishly flashed a red card in Jack Rodwell’s direction after the Everton midfielder committed a tough, but clean challenge, but it took Liverpool until the 71st minute to break the deadlock. Both club Captain Steven Gerrard and Craig Bellamy had been on the pitch barely 4-minutes when the latter was involved in some neat build-up play which saw Andy Carroll break Everton’s resolve. There should be little doubt that the injection of pace and quality that Liverpool introduced at that time, in the sweltering, unseasonable weather, against a tiring 10-men helped change the game once more.
Bellamy replaced the anonymous Stewart Downing and looked instantly more threatening down the left-hand side of the pitch, combining well with left-back Jose Enrique. The former Villa man had a promising start to the season, but in recent weeks has become something of an invisible man. Bellamy on the other hand is the perennial pain in the neck to whatever opposition he faces. His constant harrying and buzzing around the pitch, coupled with his mouthy, moaning ‘charm’ never leaves supporters wondering if he is on the field of play. Charlie Adam had performed bright in spells but has not been as consistently influential on the pitch as he would have liked – or many would have expected. The return of iconic Captain Gerrard will now threaten Adam’s place in the starting line-up. There could be a case to partner both midfielders together and thus replacing the much maligned Lucas, which is what many fans want to see. It would certainly provide a more offensive option, however the balance of the team may suffer as the much improved Brazilian provides an effective shield in-front of the defensive line, and defensively, Liverpool have struggled at times this season.
Injuries have prevented Liverpool from having a consistent back-line this season but there can be little doubt when fit, Agger, Carragher and Jose Enrique should be first choice (alongside keeper Pepe Reina). The only question mark is at right-back with young Martin Kelly forever impressing, injury prone England international Glen Johnson seems to be a forgotten man at Anfield, and many believe his poor defensive positional sense should see young Kelly keep his place.
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One option could be to play Johnson further forward and join the midfield unit – he certainly has the attacking quality and composure. However the ever-dependable Dirk Kuyt now seems to have won his place back in the starting line-up after initially losing it to new signing Jordan Henderson at the start of the season. Many were mystified by Dalglish’s preference for youngster Henderson over the experienced Kuyt, but it now seems the Dutchman has worked his way back into the starting line-up at the £20 million man’s expense. Henderson can have little complaint due to his performances thus far, but maybe it is a slight on the management team for rushing the youngster into the first team instead of allowing him to acclimatise slowly – was there pressure from above to play him, with his huge price-tag? Either way Henderson is not yet ready for the starting line-up, especially whilst there are other more experienced, proven options available who have also contributed more on the field of play this season than the former Sunderland man.
That just leaves the front-line which was made up of £58 million pair Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll for the entirety of the derby. The two striker’s were bought together back in January to form a dream ‘little and large’ partnership, but of the two, only Suarez has shone. The Uruguayan has been far and away Liverpool’s best player since pulling on a red shirt and his place in the starting line-up is cemented. Contrast that with Carroll’s very inconsistent, stop-start career at Anfield so far which has seen the Geordie giant’s abilities called into question every time he plays. A severe lack of goals has added to the scrutiny, but Dalglish is standing by his man, publicly defending the youngster from the media’s criticism. Carroll repaid the managers faith with a derby goal, and there is little doubt he is still a huge ‘work in progress’. But both strikers scored on Saturday in a 2-0 win, their jobs done. Will the team that was on the field of play whilst both goals were scored be given a chance from the off?
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Can we stop the demonisation of Randy Lerner please? As foreign owners go, he seems like one of the better ones. United fans started a new team under Glazer and yellow scarves are prominent at the Stretford End, Sheikh Mansour wants to buy the league without much success, Hicks and Gillett couldn’t have been worse, selling the team to the Boston Red Sox, who promptly gave some of Liverpool to Lebron James as part of a marketing deal, Yeung oversaw a relegation, Venky’s have done nothing yet, ‘just call him Al’ Fayed wants out, the revolving door at Chelsea keeps going round, Kroenke has no control anyway and no-one actually knows who Ellis Short is.
With that dream team of ‘fit and proper persons’, why are Villa fans complaining about Lerner? He gave the Aston Villa fans what they had wanted for years: An end to the Doug Ellis era. He appointed Martin O’Neill as manager and gave him the tools to construct an exciting lineup – trading Baros for Carew and buying Ashley Young for over nine million in his first season, for example.
Some of the signings were terrible and falling out with O’Neill was linked to that and wage inflation, but in the main, Lerner cannot be accused of denying his managers what they want. Delph (£6m), Downing (£10m) and Dunne (£5m) are three examples of solid purchases as Aston Villa remained something of a formidable side, an eleventh and three top six finishes before the ninth placed effort last campaign in what was an eventful season at Villa Park.
When it was going wrong and the club found themselves in 16th, he spent big on Darren Bent as Villa quietly only lost four of their final 15 games. Lerner should be praised for his ambition. Certainly Aston Villa are not the biggest club and there will be always other outfits ready to wave the chequebook at their stars, Ashley Young joining the red side of Manchester, while Milner and Barry went blue but surely there should be an element of faith in the new manager and chairman?
Lerner inherited the Cleveland Browns – essentially the absolute worst franchise in the NFL. Even then, he has tried to turn them into a progressive outfit, without much success in their competitive AFC North division. One tragic example was the signing of Le Charles Bentley – a much coveted lineman. Lerner spent over $30 million on him, only for Bentley to blow his knee out and retire without ever playing a down in the NFL.
Thankfully, while there have been some bad signings, some of the young players that have come through must genuinely excite the Holte End. Agbonlahor and Albrighton are established first teamers, with the likes of Delfouneso, Bannan, Hogg and Ciaran Clark needing a little more seasoning. It would have been easy for Lerner to hand his manager a chunk of his reported $1.5 billion wealth to buy in players, but largely, they have put their faith in youth and with Friedel and Reo-Coker gone, some spending will be inevitable as Villa rebuild around Darren Bent and the kids. With the Wenger driven exception in North London, which other foreign owned club has made youth development as much of a priority?
There has been no mass revolt from one of the better fanbases in the country, small pockets of disgruntled Brummies annoyed that they pinched their rival’s boss, simply because he was a Bluenose. It’s fair to say that rumours of season tickets being burnt and ripped are exaggerated. Who did Villa fans realistically want?
The fact that the stadium has retained the name without some corny sponsorship is a small sign that Lerner appreciates the tradition of English football. This is a man that spent 1983, one year after Aston Villa won the European Cup in England, gaining an appreciation of ‘sawker’ along the way. It should also be applauded that the Villains remain the only Premier League team to donate the lucrative primary shirt sponsor (to children’s hospice Acorns. Does giving up a reported 2.5 million a year sound like an owner who is out to asset strip the club?
So to sum it all up, here is a foreign chairman who spends money on players, the infrastructure of the club, knows the ins and outs of the sport and unique traditions in Britain, constructing a team who have an exciting young, largely British and Irish core and hasn’t neglected his responsibility to the community. Yet he’s being vilified because he went across town to fill their managerial vacancy.
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Really?
Read more of Hashim Piperdy’s articles at This is Futbol
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Manchester United extended their lead at the top of the Premier League with Javier Hernandez once again the hero on the occasion. The Little Pea has arguably been the transfer find of the season as his goals have delivered some vital points this campaign.
At FFC this week we have seen a mixed bag of Manchester United blogs that includes room for an exodus at Old Trafford; Evra letting United down, while six reasons why Giggs deserves this honour.
We also look at the best Manchester United articles around the web this week.
*
The Greatest Premier League Goals Of All Time…YOU DECIDE!
Room for a mass exodus at Old Trafford?
The right time to cash in on him at Old Trafford?
United have earned the right to be selfish over any new deal
Is Mr Reliable starting to let Man United down?
What actually makes a BIG club then?
SIX reasons why Ryan Giggs deserves this honour
A Champions League travel guide to Schalke for Man United fans
Much, much more than just a bit part player at Old Trafford
Keeper set to snub Manchester United move
WHL or Old Trafford – who represents the best move for Diego?
*Best of Web *
Reds keeping options open – United Rant
Give Dimitar Berbatov a break! – The Busby Way
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United’s Potential Summer Signings Examined – Red Flag Flying High
Putting Players On Pedestals Is A Dangerous Game – The United Religion
Eric Cantona – Great but not the greatest? – Stretford End
Arsene Wenger has suggested Jack Wilshere will be part of Arsenal's first-team squad this season rather than head back out on loan.
The 18-year-old midfielder impressed while on loan at Bolton Wanderers during the second half of the last campaign.
The Trotters are keen to re-sign the highly-rated teenager, but Wenger has dropped a strong hint that Wilshere will stay at the Emirates Stadium this term.
Wilshere started Wednesday's 3-0 pre-season friendly victory over Austrian side Sturm Graz.
"At the moment, I want Jack to gain experience and, if possible, at Arsenal. I will give him a chance to play – now," said Wenger.
"I want to see if he can integrate with the first team. Of course, I will make that decision later. Ideally, it is better that he gains experience with us.
"Jack has done well. I am keen not to create too much hype around the young English players because they need to work hard.
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"We do have outstanding English talent at this club, though."
Meanwhile, Wenger insists the door remains open for Sol Campbell to stay with the Gunners despite the out of contract defender also being offered terms by Sunderland and Celtic.Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
The pressure is starting to grow on Aston Villa manager Gerard Houllier. After last night’s 1-0 defeat to Sunderland at Villa Park, a match in which striker Emile Heskey was sent off, Villa now find themselves in the bottom three. The result last night was even more disappointing given the encouraging performance put in by the players in the 3-3 draw against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge at the weekend. Villa are just one point off the foot of the Premier League table and definitely find themselves in a relegation scrap.
Many Aston Villa fans and journalists from the print media have already called time on Gerard Houllier’s tenure at Villa Park, but if he were to be sacked by Randy Lerner, who should replace him? The early favourite for the job is Sam Allardyce, who himself has only recently been fired by Blackburn, but other contenders include Aston Villa favourite Kevin MacDonald and maybe even former manager Martin O’Neill. Who would you like to be installed as the next Aston Villa manager?
Steve Bruce has confirmed that he has asked Manchester City about the possibility of Joe Hart moving to the Stadium of Light on loan this season.
The England international, who spent a successful season on loan with Birmingham City in 2009-10, said last week that he would seek a move away from Eastlands if he was once again understudy to Shay Given.
That has alerted Bruce, who will be without injured first-choice shot-stopper Craig Gordon for at least the opening six weeks of the campaign and has already agreed to sell Marton Fulop to Ipswich Town.
The Black Cats boss told the Sunderland Echo:"We've asked the question of City and we now just have to wait and see what they say.
"But the timetable is not up to us on when we get an answer, it's up to them.
"With these new 25-man squad rules, clubs don't have to name their confirmed squads until the end of August so, if they wanted to, City could delay any decisions on their squad until then."
Bruce had expressed an interest in signing David James earlier this summer only for the 40-year-old to eventually join Bristol City.
Former Manchester United stalwart Bruce added:"Premier League experience is important, but there are not too many keepers to would fit the bill for us as short-term replacements – Hart is one, James was another.
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"But they are few and far between and I'm not planning to turn my eyes down towards the Championship.
"There's one or two players there that we have looked at in the past, but they lack Premier League experience too. My concern has been that we need experienced cover but, if it's not to be, it's not to be."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Former Liverpool midfielder Yossi Benayoun has launched a stinging attack on ex-Reds manager Rafa Benitez, who he says forced him to quit Anfield and head to Chelsea.
Benayoun spent three seasons on Merseyside and scored 29 goals in 134 appearances, but was unhappy with the way he was treated by Benitez, who has also left the club to take charge of Internazionale.
He told The News of The World:"I made up my mind to leave a long time ago because of Benitez. He never treated me with the respect I deserved.
"If I played well, I never felt he gave me credit. When I scored, I still expected to be out of the team the next game.
"There are many examples of him treating me badly. Last season, against Fulham and Lyon, the fans booed when I was subbed.
"They thought I was playing well, but Benitez told me he was surprised they booed because I was not good enough. It was as if the fans' reaction worked against me.
"He told me I was a better player as a substitute instead of starting in the team. He tried to destroy my confidence. You can't treat a player like this and expect him to be happy.
"I felt so unhappy, but out of respect to the club I never spoke out. The players and the people at the top of the club knew how I felt.
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"I was sure he wanted me to attack him in the press during the season so he could turn the fans against me, so I kept quiet.
"I felt he was waiting for me to make a mistake so he could use it against me."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email