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.
Monday, December 10, 2012
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?
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Friday, November 30, 2012
Friday, November 23, 2012
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Farewell Robbie!
The former, Italy midfielder, who played in two FA cup winning teams, said it was an “honour” to be manager of Chelsea, with the Champions League victory a highlight.
Thank you for a memorable season.
Di Matteo, you have done so much to make Chelsea a truly global brand.
(Now Benitez takes his turn on the carousel.)
Thank you for a memorable season.
Di Matteo, you have done so much to make Chelsea a truly global brand.
(Now Benitez takes his turn on the carousel.)
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Ready for some change?
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Torres needs width
Torres may only thrive in a team that can offer patient, passing play and also offer genuine width. Di Matteo had taken him from the bench and given him more minutes on the pitch and was fully comrmitted to getting the best out of him. The fresh injection of youth and talent without any of the baggage and ego of the current squad should have restored his confidence. Torres is obtaining the services of one of the best young playmakers in the game and should have felt more comfortable with his fellow countryman. Mata also moved from the left to play behind him. He has also been too eager to show he can still contribute to the team even when he is not scoring goals, he is often seen dropping deep in search of the ball or drifting wide in order to feed teammates the ball. In these positions he will find it harder to score and should have focused on scoring goals instead of distribution. What was the club’s responsibility to revive his goal scoring prowess – regular sessions with sport psychologists or team building exercises perhaps?
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