Thursday, December 13, 2012

Filling in the Drogba void


Despite the rejuvenated efforts of Fernando Torres under the wing of Rafael Benitez, Chelsea continue to pursue the world class striker, Radamel Falcao.
The full name Radamel Falcao Garcia Zarate, the name uses Spanish naming customs, the first and paternal name is Garcia and the second and maternal family name is Zarate. He is, however, simply known as Falcao, a name given to him by his father as a tribute to the Brazilian coach Paulo Roberto Falcao, a Columbian striker, who still continues to play for Athletico Madrid in La Liga and represents the national team as well. He is at times nick named El Tigre and King of the Europa League.
Falcao’s most distinct trait aside from his ability to play well with both feet and prominent header skills despite his size would be his impressive goal ratio and astonishingly the goal by minute ratio that exceeds that of the ubiquitous Lionel Messi and Christiano Ronaldo. On 9 December 2012, he performed the amazing feat of scoring 5 goals in one game in a 6-0 drubbing against Deportivo de la Coruna.
A senior representative of Chelsea has reportedly flown to Madrid to hold further talks regarding the acquisition of Radamel Falcao or a possible Gonzalo Higuain in the January transfer window. Marina Granovskaia’s presence in Madrid has also raised speculation that Chelsea might attempt to retrieve the services of Jose Mourinho as the next manager.
Hulk has also been reported to be dissatisfied in Russia and could seek an exit route with Chelsea if interest still exists. Arsenal’s Theo Walcott’s contract will soon expire and Chelsea could possibly be his new home. This could unfortunately mean a probable end of the Sturridge era, however, he has attracted plenty of interest from Liverpool.
If everything else fails Torres will indubitably need to reach his best under Benitez’s reign, with or without any replacement.


Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Zola dreams of leading Chelsea!


Gianfranco Zola revealed that he is keen to return to the club where he spent seven years during his playing career. In a statement to France Football he said that, “I have been dreaming of becoming a good manager, one who can lead a team like Chelsea.”
“It is only my second coaching experience in a club after West Ham. I still have a lot to do.”
Furthermore, he is really pleased by the plans at Watford and knows how serious the Pozzo family is. It is the ideal place to develop as a coach.


Monday, December 10, 2012

More chances needed for Torres

The double by Torres had been his first goals in the Premier League for two months. Benitez told Sky Sports that, “Torres was always around but we need to create more chances for him because he will always score goals.”
Benitez will now take the European Champions to Japan where they will meet Mexicans Monterray or Ulsan Hyundai of South Korea in Thursday’s World Cup semi-finals. A challenging assignment for the new manager who needs to create a system that is consistent and achieves the agreed lofty heights of this ambitious club.






Sunday, December 9, 2012

Why Mikel was banned for abusing Clattenburg


Obi Mikel had been given a three-match ban and a hefty 60 000 pounds fine after admitting a charge of using threatening or abusive language towards referee Mark Clattenburg after the forgettable home defeat by Manchester United in October.
The FA’s Independent Regulatory Commission had found Mikel guilty of the charges relating to an off-the-pitch incident in the official’s changing room. The subsequent riposte was due to the Club’s complaints immediately after the controversial defeat of Clattenburg using “inappropriate language” to two of their players, one of whom was the usually stolid Mikel.
After the FA launched their investigation regarding these allegations Clattenburg was relieved of his official duties in the interim before a decision was to be reached. In fact, Mikel’s ban would have been longer, had it not been for the player’s convictions of legitimate racial abuse suffered on the pitch.
The FA thus stated that:
“The breach of FA Rule E3 was in relation to an incident which occurred in the match official’s changing room at the end of the fixture against Manchester United on 28 October 2012”
“The Regulatory Commission’s independent chairman Christopher Quinlan emphasized that the Independent Regulatory Commission accepted, as did the FA, that at the time he threatened the referee the player genuinely believed that the referee had racially abused.
“But for that factor the suspension would have been significantly longer.”
The evidence for the accusation against Clattenburg had come from team mate Ramires.
The FA then stated that:
“The details of the allegation were that following one or the other of the red cards issued during the second half of the game, Ramires heard Mark Clattenburg say to John Obi Mikel, “shut up you monkey.” John Obi Mikel did not hear the alleged comment.
The added:
“Ramires, whose first language is not English, explained that his instinctive reaction was to seek confirmation from John Obi Mikel as to what the referee had said.”
“John Obi Mikel, who was being spoken to by the referee, was much closer to the referee than Ramires and did not hear what it is suggested was said to him.”
The club had recently issued a statement expressing regret over their inappropriate handling of the allegations. Mikel will be missing the next three games but will be participating in the Club World Cup in Japan. Was this football travesty a consequence of sour grapes perhaps?