Deco to be signing of the season?

Two or three seasons ago I remember people raving on about Deco saying what a superb player he was. He was playing in a Barcelona team that looked like they could beat anyone on their day but from the games I had watched him in, both for his club and country he never did anything that made me sit up and take notice, I never got that WOW! factor from him.

Now, having studied his game in a bit more depth, I can certainly see what all the fuss is about. He can occasionally pull off a bit of magic but much more importantly he doesn’t waste much.

Much like Makele he puts himself about the field, placing himself intelligently, reading the game and constantly aware of the players that surround him. He wastes very little, sensibly opting to play the easy ball whenever it is on in order to keep posession and move the play up the field.

It’s very early days in the premier league but this is just the kind of signing that can pull and additional 9 or so points onto the board over the course of a season and that is why having watched only one game, I am already changing my mind on who will be champions. Unless United get Berbatov and can do the double over Chelsea this year I think the trophy will be heading back down the M6 towards London come May 2009.

Chelsea win Mutu case

Fifa has ordered former Chelsea striker Adrian Mutu to pay the club £13.68m in damages for breach of contract after he tested positive for cocaine.

Chelsea signed the Romanian from Parma for £15m in 2003 but the following year he tested positive and was given a seven-month worldwide football ban.

Earlier in the year lawyer Cristian Sarbu said Fifa told Mutu to pay £9.6m but the fine was raised on appeal.

Chelsea said they were “delighted” by the ruling.

After being sacked by Chelsea and serving his ban, Mutu joined Juventus in January 2005, and at the end of the following season he moved to his current side, Fiorentina.

“This is a very significant decision for football,” said a statement on the Chelsea website.

“Not only did the Dispute Resolution Chamber make us a very significant monetary award, it also recognised the damaging effect incidents involving drugs has on football and the responsibility we all have in this area.”

Mutu can now appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne.

Frank Lampard – Money wins again

I have always been a big Frank Lampard fan. Even in his West Ham days there was something about him that made me realise he was destined to be a superstar player.

At Chelsea he has fulfilled that status and I have often defended him whne others around me have slated him for one reason or another. I’d love to have him in any team I support.

This summer though I’ve been telling myself and you through this blog that the best thing to do now is move on to Inter Milan and give it a crack. I think he would have been a success. But Frank Lampard decided to see it out at Chelsea and thought he was worth a 5 year deal of around £150,000 per week.
At 30 I thought he was nuts to demand such a contract. I certainly can’t see him being a top premier league midfielder in 5 years and his cureent game surely only has another 2 years in it before he start feeling the aches and pains more frequent than not.

Some people have turned to me and said well if he keeps himself fit and healthy he can go on for another 5 years. Unfortunately footballers don’t quite work like that. you see their heads still think and feel the same, they start lunging for tackles and running at angles to catch players the same as they always have, however the legs that have covered thousands of miles by the time they are in their 30′s start slowing up and even if it’s one stride they lose per run it’s enough to ensure the timing is off enough to cost them a yellow or even a red card when they throw the tackle in.

Players are finely tuned athleetes these days and I’m worried Mr Lampard won’t have the legs to last 5 years no matter how fit he feels today.

So I guess I should be congratulating him on forcing Chelsea into this move. It is most definately though a case of a player being bigger than a club. This sort of thing would never happen at Manchester United under the mighty Mr Ferguson, but then again Sir Alex would never offer a 30 year old a 5 year contract.

One thing that did miff me though about Frank was him saying he stayed because of the tribute the other players made to his late mother. No you never Frank, you stayed because they finally agreed to your unhealthy demands!

Manchester United and Spurs – £25m for Berbatov

It looks like United will get Berbatov for approximately £25 million.

United have officially started negotiations with Spurs about the Bulgarian striker, although Spurs have apparantly said they will hold out for £28 million.

Ferguson has followed and made enquiries about Berbatov for the past 2 seasons and now appears to be the right time to make an official approach.

I think that Berbatov would be an amazing signing for United, the service he would receive from that team would surely see him hit the 30 goal mark and I see him as the key to deciding whether Ronaldo can go or not.

If they sign Berbatov expect to see Nani start making more appearances as they test the set up for Ronaldo’s departure, and if I am to be totally honest, with Dimitar on the books and Nani maturing into a top player in his own right, I think United can more than survive without Ronaldo.

I think they will have it more their own way this year than they did last year. They got off to a slow start last year, this year I expect to see them come flying out of the blocks and with Chelsea and Arsenal going through quite big changes at the moment I really can’t see Manchester United having much trouble defending their crown as Premier League champions.

And as an Everton supporter that’s not an easy thing to say!!

What do you think about the proposed signing of Berbatov?
Please leave a comment below.

Lampard – staying at Chelsea?

With Inter Milan making an official approach for Frank Lampard, Scholari has today come forward and said Lampard wants to stay at Chelsea.

Does he? Well some people have hinted he doesn’t have the guts to move to Italy. That, to me, is a ridiculous statement. He does have the guts, of course he does, he moved from West Ham to Chelsea for goodness sake!

I think though Chelsea have been slow getting Frank to the table regarding a new deal, and for that I’ll blame Peter Kenyon. Kenyon likes to try and prove that there is no player bigger than the club wherever he works but feels he himself is bigger than everything! 
Franks performances for Chelsea have earned him the right to look around for the best deal. And that has to be the best deal for Frank Lampard on and off the pitch.

Frank has the ability to command a place in any club, I am certain of that. However I think the speed, passion and physical game that lives in  the premier league will eventually make his mind up for him.

In my opinion he will stay but let’s not forget the special one has been capale of luring his ex players several times before.

More to life than money! David Villa says no to Chelsea.

How refreshing it is to hear that one of the brightest talents in the game, David Villa, will say no to a contract with Chelsea.
I don’t mean that to sound as though I have something against him joining Chelsea, in fact I’d love to see him play in the premier league, but his reasons for declining set an example for others to follow.

Basically he has said I’m really happy in Spain and I’m not interested in moving on for any amount of money.

I bet his agent is still recovering from the shock!!

Any youngsters that are looking for a new role model have the perfect guy here.

In an age where Man Utd can pay their 16 year olds near on a £100,000 a year it’s so easy for young players to lose sight of reality and of the game and take the money from a young age. It’s nice to see a guy say hey I know I live a remarkable life already! There’s only so many big houses and flash cars you can have before it all becomes a bit mundane and if I stay here I can have all that, some nice sunshine and really enjoy my football. If I move to London I have to put up with rain for 3 months of the year, cold for 3 months of the year, rain and cold for 3 months of the year then have a few half decent ones in the summer which I’d probably spend in Spain anyway! Plus I’d probably spend half my time on the bench and pay a fortune in tax and fuel on my lovely motors.

And to cap it all off, you have to admit, it is quite funny that despite all of his billions, Abramovich still can’t afford a modest Villa in Spain!

Scolari takes the Chelsea hotseat.

Luis Felipe Scolari, “Big Phil”, was last night named as Chelsea boss.
The job that nobody wanted was finally filled by the Portugal boss just minutes after Portugals impressive 3-1 win against the Czech Republic.

I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself about his influence in the premier league already.

It all clicked into place, his helping hand at unsettling Ronaldo at United makes sense now. Knowing he was going to be Chelsea boss next season makes him want to get rid of the largest thorn he is likely to encounter, taking 40 goals a season off their nearest rivals is certainly a help.
Saying that the best move to help his career is to go to Real Madrid is a shocking statement, when you realise he was only actually saying that to benefit his own career, not that of Christiano Ronaldo.

So is it a good signing?
Well I think “Big Phil” has a bit to do to actually convince me. Of course the purists will say that he has won the world cup!!! But that was with a team that could have won the world cup managerless. Brazil where a dream team and Scolari moved on quickly after that, knowing expectations would be too much to live up to. In fairness he was right though and things began to fall apart a little after his departure.

His appointment at Portugal has coincided with some outstanding talent emerging. I am sure the Portuguese will be gutted to see him go, and the players I am sure will want to send him out with another trophy.

So why do I suggest I am still to be convinced?
Well I think Brazil and Portugal have spoilt Scolari for choice having world class talent to choose from.
Of course the bank balance at Chelsea ensures he can build a dream team of his own now but it’s the first season that I will be interested in. Will he be able to keep the key players he has and if so will he turn them back into champions?

I think he will be a great cup manager and so I wouldn’t be surprised to see them take the European cup this year (although if Ronaldo goes to Madrid I would love to see United meet Real in the final!!) but I am not convinced he can take the league.

Mark Hughes – Has Sparky ignited a fire?

Mark Hughes is a bit of a hero of mine. He was absolutely immense as a player and as a manager he has continued to get the best from his squads.

I always believed he was being somewhat groomed to become the next Manchester United manager and that there was some kind of gentlemans agreement that would see him drafted in in 3 years time when Sir Alex finally walks away.

This week though it emerges Sparky is one of the favourites for two jobs. Chelsea and Manchester City.

I can understand him going to Chelsea, he played for them and the fans loved him there. He was part of the catalyst squad that pushed Chelsea back to the big time and I could quite understand him going there and even believe, though it may be a bitter pill for them to swallow, the Manchester united fans would forgive him if and when he takes the old trafford hot seat.

Manchester City on the other hand is a different matter all together.
Can you imagine if he went to Manchester City and made a success of it???
There’s no way the Old Trafford faithful would let him in as their boss is there??

Sparky by name, Sparky by nature!!

But then again hey it’s Mark Hughes, we can forgive him anything can’t we?

Mancini Sacked! 3 consecutive league titles not enough.

After my recent grumble about Chelsea sacking Avram Grant, I’ve just heard Inter Milan have fired Roberto Mancini and frankly I’m almost lost for words.

Roberto Mancini has led Inter to an amazing 3 succesive Series A titles and although he announced back in March that he was intending to quit the club this summer, that was quickly swept under the carpet and he’d since announced he wanted to stay on and win the Champions league with Inter.

The board seem to have got itchy feet though and have taken the decision to sack the former Italian Striker before he walks out on them. Again a board trying to save face rather than try to understand the football side of things.

Who will replace him, well surely Mourinho is favourite as he has already been linked with the club and apparantly has already been testing the water around a few of his former players at Chelsea. I strongly believe Drogba will be an Inter player before the new season starts, rumours surrounding Lampard going to in the same direction don’t fit in with my own sources of information though as I think Frank will stay if the contract he wants is offered. However with that said, Frank has had a hard time of it in the last year with rumours circulating regarding his relationship and of course the recent passing away of his mother has left him emotionally drained. Maybe if he is ever to make a break now is the time.

So I guess that just leaves Mr Mancini career to sort out, who is conveniently kicked out just at the time Chelsea are looking to make someone the highest earning manager in the world!!

Chelsea Fc – Managerless, who will touch them?

With the departure of Avram Grant this week I can’t help but think that the Chelsea managers job, although probably one of the most financially rewarding jobs in world football, is going to be harder to fill than people might think.

When Mourinho left the club and Avram Grant was given the position of Chelsea Manager, I was quite shocked.
I knew about his background in football, his domestic success in Israel proved he was an intelligent manager, but still to suddenly be instilled as manager of Chelsea in their position at the time raised my eyebrows more than a little.

After a couple of months in the job Avram had quietly stamped his own feel to the squad, continued to grind out decent results and more importantly and remarkably began to win over the Chelsea faithful who still pined for their maestro Jose.

There was none of the controversy from Grant that Jose had following him around. In fact from what I saw over the last season Avram Grant conducted himself impeccably, he finally got Ballack playing football again, something he hadn’t done so far in his time at Chelsea, and more remarkably he dragged Chelsea in the final weeks to compete point for point with what I believe to be the best Manchester United team Sir Alex Ferguson has ever assembled.

Add to that a first ever champions league final appearance that went down to the lottery that is penalties and I’d say it was a remarkable season for Chelsea and Avram Grant. I’m not even going to mention the carling cup final!!

But Mr Abrahomivich wants more, he wants all those trophies and more and unfortunatley he seems to surround himself with people who will say anything to keep him happy. I am absolutely positive Roman has not got to where he is in life through being easily led by hangers on but football is a million miles away from the oil business and he needs to identify an asset when he has it.

So there are a few names in the hat for the job but there’s certainly nobody banging on the Chelsea door shouting “Give it to me!” which has got to be a worry for the Chelsea fans. Rikjaard has been mentioned which I think is ridiculous, he’s just pulled apart the spirit of a great Barcelona team much as he did in the Holland camps when he was a player. Mark Hughes?? well I am a massive fan of Sparky but would he really allow the Chelsea board to control him as much as they like to control a man, he didn’t let it happen for Wales!

So whilst I’m sure there will be plenty of people knocking on Mr Grants door offering him lucrative contracts I’m not too sure there will be as big a queue knocking at the bridge.

So I guess it’s true money can’t buy everything……yet!