Chelsea
PREMIER LEAGUE REVIEW - MATCHDAY ONE
The 2008/09 campaign kicked off with the top three from last season all at home, all avoiding defeat. Arsenal set the ball rolling with the lunchtime kick-off against last season’s Championship title winners, West Bromwich Albion. Having been relatively inactive during the summer transfer window, The Gunner’s major signing, Samir Nasri, took just four minutes to introduce himself to The Emirates crowd. A signature flowing move down the left took the ball to the touchline where Denilson cut the ball back to the Frenchman to sweep the ball home. It was to be the only goal of the game but not for lack of Arsenal effort with Albion rarely threatening their host’s.
The defending Champions, Manchester United, found Newcastle United to be unusually obdurate. Missing last season’s golden boy Cristiano Ronaldo, the home side lacked a cutting edge and were taken by surprise when Obefami Martins opened the scoring for the visitors midway through the first half. Such joy was shortlived as United equalised through Darren Fletcher but despite Vidic hitting the bar late on, the Toon Army travelling back to Tyneside with a well-deserved point.
Chelsea on the other hand made light work of Luis Felipe Scolari’s first match in charge, FA Cup winners Portsmouth proving to be lambs to the slaughter. Joe Cole set the ball rolling in their 4 - 0 drubbing of Portsmouth with the opener on twelve minutes, a lead doubled on twenty six when Nicolas Anelka broke his Premier League duck for the season. The end to a contest long viewed as over was confirmed in the final minute of the first half when Frank Lampard converted a penalty. Deco made his debut and scored with two minutes of the match remaining, giving the Chelsea board the style they craved in Scolari’s first match in charge.
New boys Hull City, making their debut in the top flight of English football, entertained Fulham at the KC Stadium. They proved to be the Sunshine Band as they overcame Ki-Hyeon’s eighth minute opener for the visitors through Geovanni midway through the first half and Folan with nine minutes remaining to give The Tigers a 2 - 1 opening day victory.
Performance of the weekend though surely belonged to Blackburn Rovers who scraped a victory at Goodison Park. David Moyes had found it difficult to strengthen his squad during the summer and the lethargy seemed to severely impact Everton as they fell behind to a cracker from David Dunn midway through the first half. Spaniard Mikel Arteta spared blushes by equalising two minutes before the interval and Evertonians believed in a bright new future when Yakubu put them ahead midway through the second half. It was a short-lived joy as Roque Santa Cruz equalised two minutes later with The Toffees coming unstuck as the visitors took three deserved points when Andre Oojer scored with almost the last kick of the ball.
Sunderland entertained Liverpool at the Stadium of Light and despite holding out for eighty-three minutes, they succumbed to Fernando Torres’ first strike of the season. It was a rare bright spot for the Merseysider’s following the summer’s aborted and terminally dull courtship of Gareth Barry, mixed with the interminable in-fighting between their owners, eventually agreeing a truce that will last all of about five minutes. Oh, and Robbie Keane did not score for the first time this season.
Tottenham Hotspur were once again tipped to be the team to break into the cosy cartel of teams in the top four and once again failed abysmally to live up to that expectation, fading almost invisibly to a 1 - 2 defeat at The Riverside. Hosts Middlesbrough took the lead with twenty minutes to go when David Wheater scored, Spurs old boy Mido doubling the advantage with four minutes to go. Indeed, a Tottenham player failed to find the back of the net all afternoon as their goal was down to Robert Huth putting through his own net three minutes into injury time.
Stoke City were many people’s tip to go straight back down to The Championship and set about proving the pundits right with a poor performance at The Reebok. Bolton Wanderers took the lead on thirty-four minutes through Steinsson, Kevin Davies adding a second before the interval. The points were wrapped up in first half injury time when another summer addition to The Trotters squad, Jonas Elmander scored his first goal for the club. Scant consolation was gained when Fuller opened The Potters account for the season with barely a minute of the match remaining.
At Upton Park, Dean Ashton scored twice in the opening ten minutes to give West Ham United an unassailable lead against Wigan Athletic. Zaki pulled one back for the visitors two minutes into the second half as they looked set to struggle during the coming campaign.
Aston Villa met fellow UEFA Cup competitors Manchester City in a pulsating clash at Villa Park, emerging victorious with a 4 - 2 win. Surprisingly it took forty-seven minutes for the opening goal, John Carew for Villa beginning the glut. Elano equalised from the spot just past the hour before Gabi Agbonlahor took over the show, scoring a hat-trick in seven minutes. Corluka’s final goal for City before his protracted move to Tottenham served only as a goodbye gift for the stunned visitors.
LAMPARD STAYING FOR NOW
Chelsea have confirmed that they will not be allowing Frank Lampard to join Internazionale for the moment, issuing a statement on their website,
Chelsea have informed Inter that we will not enter into any discussions regarding the transfer
The protracted contract wrangles involving Lampard has led to increased speculation about his future. It has been reported that he is demanding a five-year, £150k per week deal although neither party has confirmed this. Chelsea admitted recently that the talks were at an impasse although how much of this was to draw out Inter’s interest through official channels remains to be seen.
Lampard has not diffused the situation, merely commenting that he had no plans to meet any representatives of the Italian club whilst in their country on a family holiday. Jose Mourinho believes Lampard will let his contract rundown and join the Italians next season.
It is a crucial moment for the player. At thirty years of age, his career at the top level has probably a maximum of five years left and this represents his last chance for a big-money deal. Having spent his whole playing career at London clubs, he may feel that a change of scenery is opportune although he has been heavily linked with Barcelona in the past - probably on the basis that his partner is Catalan - but that interest has cooled.
LAPORTA SURVIVES DESPITE OVERWHELMING UNPOPULARITY WITH SOCIOS
As was widely expected, Joan Laporta was resoundingly defeated in yesterday’s Censure motion. Despite 60% of the votes cast being against the Barcelona President, Laporta has clung to power as the statutes required those against the President to total 66%. The outcome means that Laporta remains in office until 2010.
Dissatisfied at a second trophyless season, 23,870 socios voted against Laporta with 15,184 supporting his regime. It is a turbulent time at the Camp Nou with Frank Rijkaard and Deco having left, Ronaldinho seemingly on his way to AC Milan and Samuel Eto’o sitting and waiting for offers; out with the old guard, in with the new.
Attempts to strengthen the squad have been mixed. High profile signings such as Dani Alves from Sevilla will make the back line stronger to some extent but for every success, there have been shambolic attempts to sign others. Alexander Hleb remains an Arsenal player and Emmanuel Adebayor looks unlikely to arrive in the Catalan capital very soon. Indeed, there is a growing suspicion that the player is using Barcelona to extract a higher salary from The Gunners and has little intention of leaving the London club unless he is forced out by Arsene Wenger. Only Andrei Arshavin has publicly spoken of his love for the club and even then, the blaugrana face stiff competition from Arsenal and Chelsea, both of whom Arshavin is travelling to London to meet this week.
If this is the case and Adebayor rejects the offer of a move, the embarrassing summer for Laporta will be long indeed.
Chelsea To Sell Drogba?
Reports this morning suggest that Luis Felipe Scolari is not developing Chelsea through evolution but revolution. Didier Drogba can apparently be bought for £22m, which may be of interest to AC Milan. However, the Italians baulked at making a £24m bid for the Togolese striker so may not be able to fund the purchase of his Ivorian rival.
If the price quoted in The Sun is correct, it represents excellent value for money for a player who has proven that he can score at the highest level. There have been consistent reports for the last twelve months that the player is unhappy at Stamford Bridge but his release would come as some surprise, especially with a new manager in situ.
Strikers of his calibre are scarce at the highest level and Chelsea are continually linked with them. Current favourite in the media is Samuel Eto’o as David Villa committed himself to Valencia yesterday. With Jo costing Manchester City £19m, the two Spanish-based players and Drogba can be considered cheap at only £3-£5m more.
One criticism of Drogba is that he is opinionated and divisive in the dressing-room. Eto’o has a similar reputation having been part of the politically explosive environment in the Camp Nou. His availability was confirmed by Pep Guardiola recently, along with Ronaldinho and the now-departed Deco. The nightmare scenario for the new Barcelona coach is that Eto’o and the Brazilian remain at the Camp Nou for another season. Whilst there has been plenty of rumour surrounding Ronaldinho’s future, little interest is being shown in Eto’o. Barcelona will be actively seeking to change that and may yet be tempted to throw the Cameroonian into the Adebayor mix.
Villa To Stay At Valencia For Now
David Villa has dashed the dreams of supporters of Europe’s biggest clubs by stating his desire to remain at the Mestalla for the coming season. Having finished Euro2008 as top scorer, Villa has been heavily linked with a move away with the Premier League, Barcelona or Real Madrid favoured destinations in those reports.
However, in response to chants from supporters yesterday, Villa spoke at Valencia City Hall where the Spanish squad were celebrating their triumph, the striker said,
I am very grateful and I am very happy here. I hope to stay here. The president should be thanked for wanting to keep the best players and to make a great team
Had Villa left, it would have created a huge problem for Los Ches, still reeling from an indifferent 2007-08 campaign that saw them only pull clear of the relegation spots in the final weeks of the season. Villa maintained his excellent scoring record, a key reason for their survival.
Despite his proclamations, there is still no certainty that he will line-up at Valencia next season. The money that the club could raise from his sale would enable the squad to be strenghtened. That according to President, Agustin Morera, is not the key matter, keeping Villa is,
We had offers last year, we have had more this year and we continue to receive them. Our plan is to keep him and we will try and do this
For how much longer though remains to be seen. Having had his appetite for glory whetted with the national team, his desire for success at club level may yet overrride any sense of loyalty.
CHELSEA SIGN DECO - IS FOOTBALL TO RETURN TO STAMFORD BRIDGE?
Chelsea have completed the signing of Deco from Barcelona for a fee of £8m. The transfer represents Felipe Scholari’s first activity in his new job yet creates doubts about the future of other creative midfielders at the club.
There have been strong media links between Frank Lampard and Internazionale, reuniting the England midfielder with his old boss, Jose Mourinho. Lampard yesterday did not rule out a move either, commenting in Italy yesterday,
Inter? Let’s wait and see. For the moment, I am on holiday here with my family. My future at Chelsea? I don’t know anything yet. Italy is a beautiful country but I am not due to meet anyone here
His departure would leave the strength of the squad at the same level as the end of last season in terms of numbers, something that managers are normally keen to avoid. There is little doubt that Deco, Lampard and Michael Ballack can fit into the same team, nominally leaving the German at the head of a creative triangle. However, it would seem to reduce the opportunities for players such as Joe Cole, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Saloman Kalou to play on a regular basis. Wright-Phillips has been strongly touted as joining Harry Redknapp at Portsmouth but it would seem inevitable that he will not be the only departure. Cole would draw plenty of suitors were he to be made available and bring in a large transfer fee, helping the club toward their goal of breaking even financially.
Rotation of squads is a key weapon in any team’s armoury but there has to be a balance, a core of a side that performs on a weekly basis. No team has yet won a league title in England with a consistent level of changes to the starting eleven on a weekly basis and there is no reason to suppose that this will change now.
Crucially though, the signing of Deco is a signal of intent by Scholari that he wants to win in the style craved by Roman Abramovich, a style missing during Jose Mourinho’s reign for all of the silverware that he brought to the club. Avram Grant set about changing from functional to entertaining and fell short in the Premier and Champions Leagues, arguably the fault of Mourinho’s relatively indifferent start to the season.
Deco was a pivotal player for Barcelona during the recent successful times, combining with Xavi Hernandez, Iniesta and Ronaldinho to produce entertaining football along the way to winning La Liga and beating Arsenal in the Champions League final of 2006.
There is no guarantee that Deco on his own will be the catalyst for change but certainly passing the ball is his forte. The style of Manchester United and the growing confidence of Arsenal represent new challenges for Chelsea to overcome.
PLATINI WANTS CLUB DEBT OUTLAWED
Michel Platini has set himself on course to become football’s Robin Hood, robbing the rich and giving to the poor. Days after his plan to adjust the Champions League revenue share to clubs, he is now seriously tackling the issue of the debt levels that plague the larger clubs across the continent.
Regular financial reviews from Deloitte & Touche and their ilk show that the challengers for the premier trophy in European club football are heavily in debt. The problem for Platini is how to deal with such an issue. The framework for any changes already exists with the UEFA Club Licencing process; the Frenchman wants to take it further and curb the excesses of the former G14.
The European Club Association (ECA) was formed as an umbrella organisation within UEFA’s ranks to compensate for the disbandment of the G14; Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has been appointed President, subject to confirmation at the ECA’s meeting in ten days time. An illustrious playing career was followed by a successful spell in the commercial confines of Bayern Munchen, giving the German some kudos within both circles, indicating that the thought processes of the Governing Body and the clubs are in tandem in some respects at least.
Problematically, that harmonious state is set to diverge once the details are scrutinised. Rummeneige believes that the financial stabilitly of the games top clubs is crucial to football’s long-term survival; the clubs have yet to show, en masse, the same sensibilities. Rummenigge and Platini want to curb the excesses shown in expenditure, particularly wages. The financial rewards for players have long been a root cause for the financial turmoil which exists at club level. Proposals that require this spend to be curbed, pegging the salaries to 55% of turnover has been mooted, representing an immediately large obstacle which Platini and Rummeneige will struggle to overcome.
In setting financial restrictions, the duo have to come forward with achievable solutions otherwise they risk alienating the supporters. The simplest option for the clubs to bring revenues and wages into line is to increase matchday ticket prices sharply. For some clubs, the practicalities of doing so are relatively straightforward, limited capacities at the stadia means that waiting lists for tickets become shorter as less affluent supporters drop out. However, there is a downside to this in that those supporters become lost to the game. Broadcasters have reached saturation point in some countries and the matches which have the ratings that advertisers care about are increasingly becoming more polarised toward the top clubs domestically. And what of their offspring? If parents are out of the habit of attending, the example which they set to the next generation is lost and so forth.
Collective Bargaining has long been the preferred method for Broadcast Rights but an era of stringent financial guardianship is likely to see an end to that. The bigger clubs recognise that they would be significantly better rewarded through individual negotiations but the wealth gap which already exists would only become wider under those circumstances. UEFA would need to put in place some financial support for the losers in this situation, something that they have been strongly opposed to doing in the past.
Another crucial area to be addressed is the level of borrowing in evidence at clubs. The English Premier League is regularly held as an example where the excesses of this are most evident. That might be the case now but it was not so long ago that Real Madrid were winning the Champions League, saved from insolvency by the fortuitous sale of land to the city council. The current trend is different, foreign investors funding the purchase of clubs via borrowing which is loaded onto the clubs Balance Sheet or to parent companies, the repayments for which are removed from the club via Management Fees.
An inherently risky strategy, there is nothing wrong with this methodology provided it is managed prudently. However, too many clubs are barely profitable without such charges leading to an accumulation of future financial issues, clubs excessively dependent on future revenues to survive.
Separating the issue of third party borrowing from loans by owners is a thornier issue. Roman Abramovich has funded Chelsea via such loans yet can UEFA treat them as equals to the debts incurred at Manchester United and Liverpool for example, arising from the purchase of the clubs? What of the mortgage that Arsenal have on The Emirates Stadium? Is that of equal standing to any of the three previous examples. Wherever the line is drawn, the losers will bemoan their misfortune. It will take all of Platini and Rummenigge’s political acumen to find a solution that is beneficial to the game as a whole.
SPURS JOIN THE QUEUE TO BUY A VILLA IN THE SUN
Tottenham’s offer of £20m for David Villa seems more tongue-in-cheek than based in any serious reality. The player is being heavily linked with all of Europe’s major clubs and now some minor ones too and the Spanish club admit that offers have been received for the player but they have not given up on him staying.
The player has often been quoted as wanting to move to Real Madrid or Barcelona but has also drawn attention from at least two of the Premier League’s top two. A move to the Catalan giants seems to be the more stretched imagination of journalists with Joan Laporta closing the net on Emmanuel Adebayor although the chances of that succeeding are diminishing by the day. It seems that they have realised that Arsenal will not be negotiating a fee below €30m (£24m), a valuation that the azulgrana had previously baulked at paying.
Villa meanwhile has been subject to more interest that the media is aware of. Juan Sanchez, Les Ches technical secretary, spoke with Spanish daily AS,
A number of teams have come in with offers, more than are being spoken about, but both (coach Unai) Emery and I think that he’s going to stay
Were El Guaje to leave the Mestalla, it would be a big hole for them to fill. Scoring twenty one goals in thirty-five appearances in all competitions is a record comparable to any of Europe’s leading strikers. Considered in the context of Valencia’s dismal season in 2007-08, it becomes all the more remarkable.
MONEY IS KILLING THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Michel Platini made it a core element of his election campaign when seeking the highest office at UEFA that the game is not about the top clubs, it is an all-inclusive sport which should distribute its wealth more evenly.
With the news that the English clubs took over £100m from television and sponsorship revenues from the 2007-08 Champions League, the time for some redistribution appears nigh. Proposals are being made to the clubs and league representatives on the European Strategy Council that as from 2012, the Champions League pot should be shared more equally amongst participants rather than the current heavy focus on the bigger clubs.
The problem for Platini is that this is tantamount to asking Turkeys to vote for Christmas. Should the clubs accept the proposals, they will be reducing their revenues. In order to make good this shortfall, other streams must increase, the primary target will be ticket prices and merchandise, both of which hit fans pockets hard already.
There is little doubt that a deal will be struck but fans are right to question what Platini is doing for them to compensate. The answer is very little visible support is coming from the top. Focussing on the smaller clubs may be good for him politically but it reinforces the belief that no one official is a ‘Fans Champion’, that they are all too concerned with the brand to realise that their ‘product’ is in danger of imploding. Whilst UEFA may want to open the doors to the biggest party in club football, for the majority of clubs they remain firmly shut. This leads to a wide imbalance in domestic football where no matter how much clubs outside of the Champions League spend, they make little headway in crashing the party. Continual advances by the biggest clubs even if the smallest leagues enable gaps between the two sets of clubs to widen, perhaps irredeemably as the seasons pass, a truism not just in the biggest of leagues.
UEFA has to address this fundamental problem by opening more avenues for other clubs to participate in club football. A simple re-introduction of the Cup Winners Cup would enable over one hundred and twenty more teams to participate in European competition if the UEFA Cup format remained the same. Whilst the revenues may not be anywhere near the size of the premier tournament, they will be more than some of those clubs currently earn.
If Platini is serious about levelling the club playing fields, he needs to act and act quickly. Failure to do so may render his prized asset as predictable and dull, everything the sponsors hate.
ARE BARCELONA PULLING BACK FROM HLEB BY COURTING ARSHAVIN
Barcelona are rumoured to be the preferred destination of Andrei Arshavin, leading to speculation that the Catalan club is pulling back from negotiations with Arsenal over Alexander Hleb. Despite Mark Ingla arriving in London last Friday for talks with Arsenal, the deal looks no nearer to completion with a stumbling block believed to be the desire of Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger, to have defensive midfielder, Yaya Toure, included as part of the fee.
Reported comments from Arshavin about Spain being ideal for him are backed up by those of Vitaly Butko, President of the Russian Football Federation. Discussing Arshavin’s future with Spanish football daily Sport, Butko said
Andrei has a dream to play for Barcelona. It is, together with the Russian national team, his favourite team. He could easily play and show all his quality at Barcelona. Andrei doesn’t have less quality than players like Deco
With Deco on his way out of the Camp Nou, discarded by Pep Guardiola, Arshavin could fill the same role although his playing style is remarkably similar to Lionel Messi. Whilst there is no reason that the two cannot play together, question marks must remain with regard to the impact they would have on the team together.
However, overriding this to some extent will be the political games that are afoot in the Camp Nou. With Joan Laporta facing increasing criticism over his stewardship of the club, a new signing is needed to ignite the passions of the support. Moreover, any signing must be of sufficient quality to bridge the gap with Real Madrid at the top of La Liga and to convince that a challenge for the Champions League can be sustained rather than petering out as in the past two seasons with glory seemingly at hand.
Whether signing the current ‘poster boy’ of Euro2008 is the solution to the problem remains to be seen. Arshavin has shown real quality in a tournament devoid of that characteristic yet he has shone in a pure team environment, something that has been missing for two years at the Camp Nou. If Guardiola can instill that ethic in the same way that Hiddink has for the Russians, success will surely follow.
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