EPL Talk » Ashley Cole

Hiddink Is Right To Fear Barcelona, Not Just Messi

Paul Bestall — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 18:37:20 +0000

How do you stop the best player in the world, Lionel Messi will probably be keeping Guus Hiddink awake tonight as he prepares for his stiffest test yet as Chelsea’s interim manager. Whilst I appreciate the bravado that Hiddink is giving in regards to his own players, he is right to dampen down the furore over just concentrating on the supreme Argentine magician. He knows that Barcelona are the best side in Europe right now, by a country mile and to focus all their energies on Messi will see Chelsea fall straight in to Guardiola’s trap. The loss of Ashley Cole is a major problem, without another left back in the squad means the balance of the Blues will be off kilter. Dealing with that lack of balance will be Hiddink’s major concern.

Sometimes, I’m not sure people actually watch European football before commenting on it, if anyone thinks that Barcelona are a one man team, then they need their eyes testing. Of course, Messi is in phenomenal form this season, continuing on the excellent season he had for club and country in 2007-2008 and proving finally that Argentina can produce a player to cope with the tag of being “The Next Maradona”. 34 goals in 45 games for Barcelona plus 5 for Argentina is a phenomenal record, simply mind blowing.

Yet, this is a Barcelona side rescued from the indignity of underachievement through Frank Rijkaard’s last two seasons and their are several factors for this. Firstly, Daniel Alves’ signing was a masterstroke, in another season he’d be favourite for the World Player Of The Year and Chelsea and Liverpool must be kicking themselves after watching his performances this year. Thierry Henry’s second season has shown him return to form after a season of transition, with 24 goals so far and now forms part of Europe’s most famous attacking trio with Eto’o and Messi. Eto’o has also been reborn this season, with 32 goals this season.

Yet, Barca’s side oozes quality throughout but it’s the back line where perhaps Chelsea may profit, with Puyol still struggling, Marquez and Pique join Alves and Abidal in front of Victor Valdes. Now Valdes perhaps gets a little more stick than he deserves, of course he’s not one of the best goalkeepers in Europe, but he’s probably the most underated. The midfield of Xavi, Iniesta and Toure shouldn’t be underestimated at all. Toure adds the steel to the silk that Xavi and Iniesta provide and the ammunition they create has seen the strikers at Barca score 90 goals between them so far in all competitions. A staggering amount under any circumstances.

The British media seem to feel that if you stop Messi, you stop Barcelona, but that simply smacks of jingoism of the highest order. This is a side that could rule Europe for the the next 3 or 4 seasons if they strengthen the back line and tonight is the beginning of a three game period that could define Barca’s season. Hiddink knows that Chelsea are about to face their sternest test in any competition this season and if they can achieve any positive result tonight, it will be his biggest achievement so far in his short tenure at Stamford Bridge.

The general feeling from the British pundits is that Chelsea will have too much for Barcelona, but Hiddink will be instilling in his players in the dressing room that to believe their own hype is the basis for them to come away from the Camp Nou with a kicking. Even a 1-0 defeat will be viewed as a great result so for the Blues to get anything else will be an astounding result. Let’s hope it lives up to the build up and Chelsea fans will be hoping that Hiddink has their team switched on to concentrate on Barcelona and not just Lionel Messi.

Steve Bruce Is Right To Come Clean Over Zaki

Paul Bestall — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 23:32:56 +0000

Why don’t more managers come clean in the press about disruptive or unprofessional players? It seems that more and more in these sanitised and sponsorship heavy times that too many people keep quiet about the players who are taking the Michael. At least Steve Bruce has bucked the trend and come out in public with his frustration over Amr Zaki and his time keeping.

To most football fans, it’s been obvious that Zaki has been wanting to leave Wigan since mid November, such has been the fall off in his performances and attitude. Here’s a striker that scored 9 times in his first 13 Premiership matches but his last goal for Wigan was a penalty in a 1-0 win at Bolton on December 28th and you’ve actually got to go back to October 18th for his last goal in open play in the 3-2 defeat to Liverpool.

A classic case of someone who has decided he’s too big for the club that’s given him the chance to make a name for himself in 6 months and feels that he’s better off without them. Yet it comes to something when your behaviour makes Mido look like a model professional and Zaki is a long way short of that level of commitment to Wigan Athletic and their fans.

I can only assume that Wigan can’t terminate the loan deal they have with Zaki’s Egyptian side Zamalek, otherwise I think Bruce would have kicked him all the way to Manchester Airport and threw him on the next flight back to Cairo. It’s an absolute disgrace that this player feels he can muck Wigan Athletic, their management and the fans about as much as this. In fact it’s pathetic. No-one had heard of Zaki outside of Africa before he joined Wigan Athletic, they took a punt on a striker who was ranked as the worlds best in the FIFA rankings last summer and gave him an opportunity to shine in the Premiership.

As soon as rumours began to circulate that bigger clubs were after him, he just packed it in and put his feet up. Bruce’s comments on Wigan’s website are heartfelt and the frustration and anger drip from every word. This is apparently the 4th time this season he’s done a bunk after International duty which is why I mentioned earlier that I don’t think Wigan can cancel the deal without some kind of financial penalty clause kicking in to touch.

Too many times modern footballers get wrapped in cotton wool and protected from the real world that the fans need to see and hear about. They get paid fortunes in the Premier League and they treat their fans like this, on this form he’s in danger of knocking Ashley Cole off the perch of most idiotic footballer in Britain, which is some going on Cole’s form.

You have to question the reasons behind Zaki’s thinking that if any big clubs are interested, who in their right mind is going to take a chance on someone who quite clearly doesn’t give a damn about anyone else but himself. Good on Steve Bruce for coming clean about Zaki and I feel sorry for any manager that takes the plunge to give him another chance in the Summer. You can bet on one thing, he sure as hell won’t be at Wigan Athletic next season.

Ashley Cole Can’t Keep His Mouth Shut While Liverpool Is Overpriced

Johnathan Starling — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 21:28:34 +0000

So we have another Premier League footballer in trouble with the law. Chelsea defender Ashley Cole early Thursday morning decided after a night out doing charity work, that he would decide to have a little too much booze and then get into a one sided yelling match with the police. The police won when they arrested him on drunk and disorderly, letting him go after only paying an eighty pound fine.

So what does Chelsea do here? According to Chelsea’s club rules, they can fine up to two weeks wages (in Ashley Cole’s case, a nice sum of 164,000). The Times is reporting he’s been fined the max, The Sun though is saying Ashley Cole is going to be let off the hook because Hiddink doesn’t want to make an example of Cole.

The eighty pound fine from the police was probably paid in petty cash from Cole’s pocket. With the FA Cup on Saturday, Ashely wasn’t going to play. What does that mean? Well it means, depending on the source you want to believe in, Ashley Cole got away with only paying eighty quid. Maybe Fabio Capello for punishment could keep him out of the England squad for a while. Then again, that might not be punishment for someone on 82,000 a week.

The other big story involves sale talks gone bad with regards to Liverpool. It would appear that the 500 million pound price tag put on the club by Hicks and Gillett is just a little too high. High enough that the talks have come to a screeching halt.

Considering the circumstances right now, I tend to agree with the Kuwait group. The economy is atrocious, and the two co-owners don’t exactly see eye to eye. If there was any big club where you could pull off a low-ball offer, right now Liverpool is it.

So what should Liverpool go for? In this situation, I don’t see the club being sold for a penny over 350 million pounds. At that price, don’t expect the club being sold anytime soon.

Other Stories
Can Everton please catch a break? The latest player out the rest of the season is Victor Anichebe. He’ll be undergoing exploratory surgery on his right knee.

Sepp Blatter has opened his mouth again. After claiming the strength of the Premier League is damaging other domestic leagues, Blatter then stated that he has Sir Alex’s support of the 6+5 rule. I wonder if Ferguson will confirm that in public, because I haven’t seen it.

Friday is judgment day for Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson. He’ll find out from an Icelandic court if he has more time to sell West Ham United. Even then, June would be the next deadline. The problem will be finding someone who will pay 200 million for the club. Considering the situation Gudmundsson is in, he’ll be lucky to get 75.

Mark Hughes is warning Man City’s players to qualify for Europe…or else. Or else what Hughes, you’re looking for a new club while City’s owners eye up Arsene Wenger? While we know Wenger isn’t going to leave Arsenal for Manchester City, it did make Cesc Fabregas over react by saying he’d quit Arsenal if Wenger left.

Well the Stuart Attwell fallout has begun. This weekend he’ll be the fourth official between Bury and Rochdale in League Two. He’s also facing the ire of columnist. Nick Szczepanik feels that Attwell’s rapid rise has set him up for a big fall. Paul Wilson asks if Attwell is the worst referee in Premier League history?

And finally, Richard Scudamore insists that the 39th game overseas will happen. Just shut up about it please! This is one of those ideas that is fine on paper, but horrific in execution.

Where Now For Chelsea?

Paul Bestall — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 22:30:06 +0000

Where were you when the news of Scolari’s sacking broke this afternoon? I saw it on facebook, followed by a text message from a friend who works at ESPN. I can honestly say that the decision by Roman Abramovich and the Chelsea board has stunned me, after only 7 months in charge at Stamford Bridge. Did I see it coming? Not all, I commented last month that Chelsea weren’t playing well in my opinion and had little chance of catching Manchester United and Liverpool in the race for the Premiership but to remove Scolari so soon caught most people I know by surprise, even the Chelsea fans I know were shocked over the events. I don’t think anyone expected Aston Villa to be surging past them as we entered February but thats the state of the top 4 in the Premeriship come Sunday evening. I know the fans were booing the Chelsea team, for about the third home game in row but lets be fair, Chelsea should be destroying teams like Hull City and Stoke City, no offensive Tigers and Potters fans, but for you both to have almost stolen wins at Stamford Bridge is unthinkable in modern Premiership history.

Only gaining 3 wins in the last nine Premiership matches is surprising, but to only score 9 goals in that period too tells you a lot about what Chelsea’s problem is. This is an old team, with very little quality in depth if any of the first 11 get injured. Of course the first team is, on paper, one to rival most sides in Europe but I shudder to think what the current Barcelona side would do to them on present form. A team with no real wingers, only two top quality strikers one of whom clearly doesn’t want to be there, 8 central midfielders and no young players banging on the door of the first team squad. Scolari seems to have to have had his hands tied with no new players coming into the side since Deco’s arrival in the summer until Ricardo Queresma joined on transfer deadline day. Quite what he makes of things right now, heaven only knows.

The loss of Michael Essien became a major burden, his effervescent performances have been the driving force for Chelsea over the last 3 seasons and the midfield failed to sizzle without his power and strength to take games by the scruff of the neck. To chase games, Scolari consistently turned to Belletti, a wing back who occasionally filled in at Defensive Midfield. Chelsea have the most expensive youth and scouting network in the world but it hasn’t delivered any players of any note coming in, unlike Manchester United and Liverpool. John Obi Mikel has shown he is no Essien, or even a half fit Claude Makelele. Teams had worked out how to stop Chelsea by pushing on to Bosingwa and Ashley Cole and packing the midfield, narrowing the playing field even more than normal. Once Manchester United had gone to Stamford Bridge and stopped Bosingwa and Cole pushing forward, the rest of the Premiership realised that if you could do that, Chelsea had no Plan B under Scolari.

Chelsea, lacking players comfortable on the wings, were suffocating themselves with an overloaded midfield and running consistently in to dead ends. Steve Clarke has never looked more important to Chelsea’s recent history as he does today, if anything the reason Chelsea did so well last season after Mourinho left was Clarke’s presence on the training ground in the majority of Avram Grants time as manager. Clarke’s hunger to move onward saw Chelsea lose a major asset that they probably didn’t appreciate in the boardroom as much as the players did on the training ground and in the dug out.Over recent weeks, his importance to the Chelsea cause shouldn’t underestimated.

So where now for Chelsea, who can come in a give this team a lift. The team needs a major overhaul, this is an aging side that needs extensive surgery in most areas of the team if they want to compete at the top end of the European football table. I would rule out Guus Hiddink immediately as I can not see Abramovic testing his popularity in Russia by stealing the national team manager, He may be joint favourite with the bookmakers but the Russian connection would rule him out for me. Sven Goran Eriksson is another one I can’t see coming back to England from Mexico, though he would have the experience to deal with the ego’s of the dressing room after his time at Lazio when they were throwing money around like confetti at the turn of the century.

The two big contenders for me are Frank Rijkaard and Roberto Mancini, both recently employed at two of the biggest clubs in Europe at Barcelona and Internazionale respectively. Neither has a contract to break, can start immediately and can cope with the massive burden of expectations from thousands of fans. Mancini took over at Europe’s most consistently underachieving side with Inter and Rijkaard took over the worst Barcelona side in living memory in the Summer of 2003. Both are used to big players and their ego’s and entourages, big demands from fans and chairmen and consistently challenging the biggest sides in Euope for the top prizes. Both delivered in the following seasons but both saw their reigns snatched away from them, Mancini was cruelly treated for Inters failure in Champions League whilst Rijkaard lost the dressing room war between the Ronaldinho and Eto’o camps. That shouldn’t detract from either mans suitability with the job but I’d wager a couple of pounds on a cheeky flirt with Jose Mourinho in this season of comebacks and returns!! Ultimately though, the key to Chelsea’s problems lie with the Chairmans willingness to sanction a wholesale clear out in the Summer. They need hungry young players to add to the likes of Ashley and Joe Cole, Bosingwa, Lampard and Anelka, get some width to the side and get them playing football with a bit more canniness to it, to have more than a plan A. For Chelsea to succeed again, Roman Abramovic has to fall back in love with the Chelsea blue.

Chelsea In Trouble

Christopher Walker — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 19:56:14 +0000

Late Liverpool Halt Chelsea’s Faltering Challenge

It’s a cold Sunday afternoon and I’ve parked my backside on the sofa to watch Liverpool vs Chelsea, a clash of the title contenders. Man United’s ominous form coupled with their rivals inability to keep pace means we all know that the team that loses Sunday’s game is well and truly out of the title race…in January.

The game itself is perhaps no thriller, Chelsea apparently toothless in attack registering a meagre 2 attempts on target to Liverpool’s 9. The first half was far from an enthralling affair but from the first whistle a hungrier, more dyanimic Liverpool were the only side who could have saved the game from being labelled a bore-draw.

The London side’s supporters were clearly never going to leave Anfield happy. An indifferent performance by goalkeeper Petr Cech, who was twice nearly caught in possession and Didier Drogba again left on the bench as Chelsea lined up 4-3-3 with Anelka, Malouda and Kalour preferred, no doubt to the Ivorian’s frustration to lead the attack. The Blues created nothing all afternoon, Pepe Reina a spectator in the Reds goalmouth for much of the game.

Just after the hour mark Chelsea’s midfield finally featured in one of the games major talking points but not in the way that manager, Luiz Felipe Scolari would have wanted. Frank Lampard lunging for 50/50 with Xabi Alonso catching his opponent in the follow through was bizarrely adjudged by trigger-happy official Mike Riley to be worthy of a red card, Lampard and Chelsea justifiably furious.

Enter the 88th minute and it’s still Liverpool on top as it had been from the first whistle and Liverpool finally deliver a telling blow in the shape of a Fernando Torres’ late double. First a fantastic glancing header at the near post from Riera’s cross, minutes before Ashley Cole’s poor judgement not to clear first time let the ball fall to Yossi Benayoun to nip in behind and although Cole did well to get a foot in the way the ball fell into the path of the £20 million Spaniard to slot in his second.

Moments later and cue the final whistle, Anfield in raptures and Rafa Benitez delighted with the pressure momentarily eased on their own faltering title challenge. Scolari and Chelsea fans have to wonder why they have only taken one point in any of the games against the so-called ‘big four’ in five games so far this season.

Scolari though in his first season in charge (with glistening C.V in his defence) can be the only man to rationalise why Anelka and Drogba have never been paired together for any significant amount of time as a traditional front two and the lack of starting opportunities for the effervescent Joe Cole. The board at Stamford Bridge have certainly tightened the purse strings after previous years of free-flowing spending and this is no major surprise, no club could ever sustain this (I’m sure Man City fans may not agree for now!) but the budget transfer budget needs to be at least £30-£40 million in the current climate to stay with the pace. The Portuguese duo of Deco signed (free) and Bosingwa (16 Million) the only Major arrivals at the bridge this summer.

My personal opinion of why Chelsea don’t score enough goals, is the absence of Essien in the engine room coupled with a three -prong attack that often resembles a negative looking 4-5-1 leaving Anelka isolated. Kalou and Malouda simply do not look like players who belong in a title winning team.

Should Scolari still be at The Bridge this summer in what is current an uncomfortable climate to be a manager at a top club, then a major rebuilding job is needed to make the Blues currently feeble title ambitions realistic.