Also, Here's a Present.

Okay, my friend just sent me this.

An AVB rap song that was made months ago (the guy who made it knew that the sacking was inevitable and waited until yesterday to publish it).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRf_7e74baM&list=UUsR1SPQ54URoB5_elm34_Cg&index=1&feature=plpp_video

It's just amazing. Actually couldn't stop laughing.

Also this:

http://www.youtube.com/user/fitbathatba?feature=watch

And just his entire channel. It's all gold.

André Villas-Boas Has Been Sacked!

Well, that's it.

André Villas-Boas, our 34-year old, skinny-tie-wearing, touchline-squatting manager has been sacked by Chelsea chairman Roman Abramovitch after only 256 days, 2 hours, 17 minutes, and 16 seconds of being in charge (courtesy of http://www.hasandrevillasboasbeensackedyet.com/). And there's nobody who can say that it was a complete shock, considering Abramovitch's track record (this is the 8th manager he's gone through since he became chairman, 9 years ago), and the team's run of poor form throughout the season.

André Villas-Boas

The last straw for Abramovitch was Chelsea's 1-0 loss to West Brom on Saturday. Shortly before the game, AVB had issued a statement expressing how he would "never" resign from his position, and also stated: "Am I the right man for the job? Yes. I wouldn't have taken it if I didn't think that." He also revealed that he was unsure about whether he still had Abramovitch's backing after winning only 3 games out of the last 11, in all competitions. 

The official statement made by Chelsea FC reads: "André Villas-Boas has parted company with Chelsea. The board would like to record our gratitude for his work and express our disappointment that the relationship has ended so early.  Unfortunately the results and performances of the team have not been good enough and were showing no signs of improving at a key time in the season. The club is still competing in the latter stages of the UEFA Champions League and the FA Cup, as well as challenging for a top-four spot in the Premier League, and we aim to regain as competitive and possible on all fronts. With that in mind, we felt our only option was to make a change at the time." 

Now, here's the big question: was firing AVB a good idea?

Answer: it's complicated. While I didn't agree with many of his managerial decisions, I do think that Roman Abramovitch needs to get out of the habit of expecting instant results from his managers. AVB (like every manager) needs time to grow into his role. That being said, it seems that he had lost control over the dressing room, alienated many of the first team, and has made more than a few questionable decisions during key games. So while I may agree that AVB and Chelsea (similarly to Torres and Chelsea) were not a very good fit (and therefore maybe Abramovitch was correct in his decision), I do believe that the next manager who takes the reigns at Stamford Bridge should be alloted time to actually grow into their role. A major problem that I do have with AVB getting fired, however, is the fact that much of the team's poor form could mainly be attributed to the players themselves. The entire team (with the exception of a few key players (Mata and Sturridge)) has essentially been in a season-long slump. And while there are definitely certain players whose runs of poor form are more obvious than others, the fact of the matter is that the entire team has been underperforming. I mean, this is Chelsea. We shouldn't be challenging for a top-four spot, we should be right up there with Spurs, Man Utd, and Man City! However, when a team plays poorly, someone has to be blamed, and that someone is always the manager. 

Another big question: who will be the next Chelsea manager?

Answer: Not sure (wow, I'm doing really well with the definitive answers, eh?). It could be José Mourinho (you may remember him as the man who attempted to gouge out the eye of Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova); it could be Rafa Benítez (you may remember him as the man who brought Liverpool glory, and then almost single-handedly erased that glory), it could be Guus Hiddink (you may remember him as the man who was found guilty of tax fraud), or it could be Pep Guardiola (you may remember him as the man who was accused of doping charges (although the charges were later reversed upon appeal in 2007)). While each one does have a bit of controversy (who doesn't?), all four are, in truth, brilliant managers who have all brought fame to their respective teams. It's a magnificent credit to each of them that they've all managed to make names for themselves as some of the best managers in the world (or, in certain cases, some of the greatest managers in football history).

Here's a rundown on each of the potential candidates:

Rafa Benítez:

Currently unemployed, Rafa Benítez has managed 7 teams in his lifetime, with the most notable success being at Liverpool, where he won the Champions League in the 2004-2005 season, as well as the FA Cup, the Community Shield, and the UEFA Super Cup. However, in his last season at the club, he began to make a successive string of questionable decisions, which put him at odds with the board, the players, and the fans. He criticized his own players and sold Xabi Alonso, arguably his side's best player, to Real Madrid. That season, Liverpool finished in 7th and did not advance past the group stages in the Champions League, creating Liverpool's worst run in 22 years. In early June that year (2010), his contract was terminated "by mutual consent."Personally, I would much prefer to see any of the other candidates manage Chelsea than Benítez. His track record suggests that he does not know how to deal with tough situations and make complex decisions (and a Chelsea manager certainly needs to understand how to do these well), and he also seems to lose his head a bit when his team is in poor form (which is a terrible quality to have, especially for a Chelsea manager). Honestly, I'm not expecting Benítez to take the reigns at Chelsea, mainly because he hasn't already been appointed as manager. Since he is currently unemployed, one would think that, if Abramovitch knew he was going to fire AVB, he would have a plan to immediately instate Benítez as manager. However, since Di Matteo has become the interim manager, it seems extremely unlikely that Benítez will take charge at the end of the season.

Guus Hiddink:

As a previous caretaker manager of Chelsea (after Luiz Felipe Scolari was sacked in February 2009), he managed the team (while also managing the Russian national team) for the remainder of the season in 2009. Under his tenure, he only lost once (to Tottenham) in all competitions, took Chelsea to the semifinal of the Champions League (where they drew twice to Barcelona but were eliminated on away goals), and won the FA Cup in his final game as Chelsea manager. When he was originally asked to become the interim manager for Chelsea, it was always known that he would leave after the end of the season, yet after the FA Cup victory, fans were chanting "sign him up," and many Chelsea players, including Michael Ballack, Petr Cech, and John Terry, asked him to stay on as manager. He told them that his duty first lay with the Russian national team. Due to the players' admiration for Hiddink, they gave him a parting gift of an engraved watch and a Chelsea jersey signed by the entire team. To this day, he has expressed that winning the FA Cup with Chelsea, although a relatively minor competition, has been one of his greatest achievements. Honestly, I would love to see Guus back – many of the squad that he once coached is still there, and he knows how to manage them. He currently manages big-spending Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala, and has about a year left on his contract. 

Pep Guardiola:

The 41-year old Barcelona manager has arguably been the most successful Barcelona manager ever, with an average win ratio of 72.37%. Last year, he was awarded the FIFA Ballon D'Or in the Best Coach category, and has successively won the La Liga Coach of the Year award for 2009, 2010, and 2011. He has also won numerous other awards and honours that I'm not going to list here (because there are way too many). He is out of contract at Barcelona this summer, and it's unlikely that he'll be staying on as manager next season. If he's looking for another world-class team of which to take control, Chelsea might be a good option for him. 

José Mourinho:

Having managed Chelsea previously from 2004-2007, "The Special One" would be the perfect choice for the new Blues manager. He posted an incredible 70.81% win record at Chelsea, with 131 wins, 36 draws, and only 18 losses during his tenure. Having brought prolific success to almost every club he has ever managed (including Porto, Chelsea, Inter, and Real Madrid), he has won the FIFA Ballon D'Or for Best Coach in 2010, as well as numerous other awards (too many to list). He won the Premier League twice with Chelsea, as well as the FA Cup, the Community Shield, and the League Cup. He went on a 150-game unbeaten streak at home (38 with Porto, 60 with Chelsea, 38 with Inter, and 14 with Real Madrid) before it finally ended in April 2011). His contract was terminated in 2007 due to prolonged altercations with Abramovitch. He has remained in contact with quite a few of the players at Chelsea, and has since patched up his stormy relationship with Abramovitch. He is a shrewd buyer in the transfer market, and frequently plays mind games with other managers. However, like most managers, he is not without his controversy. He has been known to make a number of outspoken comments, occasionally attempt to gouge out an eye, and, most famously, ask two of his own players to get themselves red cards during the penultimate group stage match of the Champions League, thus forcing them to miss the next match (which did not matter anyway, because Madrid would have come first in the group regardless), and allow them to enter the Round of 16 with their yellow card total reset to zero. While UEFA charged Mourinho and the players with "improper conduct," I actually thought that his strategy was brilliant. Maybe not the most ethical, but in all truth it made complete sense. Mourinho has stated that he is likely to return to the Premier League in the summer, and his options are Spurs (which is very possible, since Harry Redknapp is likely to be off coaching England), Man Utd (which I think is unlikely, considering my theory that Fergie is going to manage until he dies), or Chelsea (which I would absolutely love).

P.S. Here are two videos of Mourinho's brilliant (and I don't mean that sarcastically) plan to get his own players red cards. It's so slick, it's just amazing:

Mourinho instructing his players. He talks to Xabi Alonso as well as Jerzy Dudek (reserve keeper), who then tells Iker Casillas, who then pulls Sergio Ramos into a hug and tells him the plan. 

The execution of the plan. Result: a red card for Xabi Alonso and a red card for Sergio Ramos. 

Chelsea's assistant manager, Roberto Di Matteo, has been appointed as the interim manager until the end of the season. His first match is the FA Cup replay against Birmingham on Tuesday. Hopefully our form will pick up and we'll advance to the next round. 

Cheers, 

~Matt

This Movie (almost) Makes Me Want to Become a Manchester United Fan.

If anyone has not yet seen United, the 2011 BBC TV drama about the Munich Air Disaster of 1958, please go do it now. It will turn you into a Manchester United fan.


Put together by a number of Doctor Who (one of my favourite TV shows. Yes, I know I'm a huge nerd) producers (James Strong, Chris Chibnall, and starring the amazingly talented 10th Doctor himself, David Tennant), this is undoubtedly one of the best movies I have ever seen. Incredibly moving performances by the entire cast provide a thoroughly enjoyable, yet extremely depressing, experience.

Based off of true events, the plot revolves around the "Busby Babes," the extremely young (and talented) group of footballers who won Manchester United the league championship in the 1955-1956 (average age: 21) and 19566-1957 (average age: 22) seasons, and the Munich Air Disaster that claimed the lives of 8 of these players, and left many others with career-ending injuries. The movie documents the events of the crash, as well as how the surviving players/managers cope emotionally with the loss. David Tennant stars as Assistant Manager Jimmy Murphy, and Jack O'Connell plays United legend Bobby Charlton, and both performances are impeccable. Extremely well-shot, well-acted, and well-written, this movie is a must-see for all football fans (or those who are fans of amazing movies) around the world.

Assistant Manager Jimmy Murphy (David Tennant) leads the Busby Babes out of the tunnel at Old Trafford.

While United hasn't converted me from a Chelsea fan to a Man Utd fan, I have infinitely more respect for the the Red Devils than I did prior to watching. The club is absolutely drenched in history, and has overcome adversity time and time again. Success in ingrained in the club, and for that I have to respect them.

Anyway, sorry about the movie review, but I just finished watching this about 20 minutes ago, and I pretty much felt that I had to get as many people to watch it as possible (it was just that amazing).

Cheers,
~Matt

P.S. Champions League analysis coming soon!

P.P.S. Another amazing football movie: The Damned United, with Michael Sheen as Brian Clough, "the greatest manager England never had." Look it up, it's absolutely brilliant.

A Devastating Week (or two).

These past few weeks have not been good for soccer.

First, we have the cancellation of the 2012-2013 season of the Women's Professional Soccer League, which I think was very unnecessary and left a ton of extremely talented players scrambling for teams and regular jobs. The entire season was cancelled due to a seemingly trivial dispute between the league and one of it's EX-managers (!). As a result, hundreds of excellent youth prospects are not receiving the match experience that would be beneficial to their future careers (i.e. Alex Morgan, who I believe is going to become the best player in women's soccer in a few years).

Alex Morgan

Secondly, we have the John Terry saga.

JT and Anton Ferdinand butting heads in the Chelsea-QPR match in October.

If you're not up to date on the situation, on October 23rd, 2011, John Terry, captain of Chelsea and the England squad, was accused of racially abusing Anton Ferdinand (Rio Ferdinand's little brother) in a match between QPR and Chelsea (that game was memorable for all the wrong reasons, if you remember: we had the chance to overtake Manchester United in the table, and instead lost 1-0 to low-ranked QPR, with our squad getting fined for receiving 7 yellows, and with both Drogba and Bosingwa getting sent off. Definitely one of the more depressing/frustrating games of the season (and believe me, there have been quite a few – don't even get me started on the Chelsea-Arsenal game, or both Chelsea-Manchester Utd games, for that matter)). For about 3 months, there wasn't too much news about Terry and Ferdinand, just the odd article in the back pages. But just recently there has been an explosion of coverage on the saga, with new rumours and gossip erupting everyday. Since then, Terry has been stripped of his England captaincy, been shrouded in rumours, and been abandoned by quite a few of his many sponsors. His trial date is July 9, and will face up to a £2,500 fine if found guilty. Not a huge sum for someone with a £150,000/week wage, but the real punishment would be the soiling of his reputation (more than it has already been soiled, of course, by all these allegations). Joey Barton, the controversial, Nietzsche-tweeting QPR skipper (who, incidentally, hasn't yet responded to our request to join the Football Manager 2012 league that a few friends and I are running) actually made sense a few days ago when he tweeted that the "FA should of dealt with it instantly and saved the public the expense of the drawn out legal proceedings." While a bit grammatically incorrect, he does have a point that I do agree with: this should not have been allowed to turn into "the John Terry saga" to begin with. It was unnecessary, and just unleashes bad press on everyone, especially John Terry and the FA (by the way, after tweeting those "controversial" views, Barton almost got fined by the FA, although I have no idea why. He seems to be making sense, and I thought that the concept of "free speech" still existed. Maybe that doesn't apply when football is concerned...).

Here's the link to the "incriminating" video. Personally, I can't read lips, but I'm assuming that someone at the FA can, because they've taken very extreme measures with Terry after watching this video:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/video/2011/oct/24/john-terry-anton-ferdinand-video

Thirdly, the Chelsea-Manchester United game. That was absolutely devastating. Questionable decisions were made on both sides (AVB and referee Howard Webb), and I have a few issues with both of them. If you didn't know, Chelsea tied Manchester United 3-3 on Sunday. It may sound good (-ish) on paper, but we were actually up 3-nil after 50 minutes (courtesy of Daniel Sturridge, David Luiz, and a stunner from Mata). We gave up two penalty shots (Rooney scored them both), and allowed the unmarked Chicharito to net the equalizer in the 84th minute. I think this has been the first time that AVB has gone with a formation that isn't 4-3-3 in his entire managerial career at Chelsea, instead deciding on the 4-2-3-1, which actually worked pretty well. This formation allowed Mata to play in his favoured role behind the striker, and of course it payed off. He was absolutely the best player on the pitch that night, and had a role to play in almost every attack. Gary Cahill finally made his debut in the absence of John Terry (injured) and Ashley Cole (injured); however, he looked a tad shaky in defense. He was extremely lucky not to receive a straight red card and a penalty for Man Utd with his tackle from behind early on in the game. Bosingwa took Cole's place at LB, and played well. Branislav Ivanovic played at a similar level on the other side of the pitch. David Luiz teamed up with Cahill in the centre of the defensive line, and provided the rare experience of being the best defender in the Chelsea side. He sometimes went a bit too far forward (as he does), but definitely showed increased self-awareness and retreated as needed. However, he did leave Chicharito unmarked in the 84th minute, which tied up the game, so minus points for that. Essien was an absolute rock in midfield, and without him the scoreline would have definitely looked much worse for us. The two penalties were the main focal point of the match, and 50% of them were definitely controversial. The first was completely deserved – AVB told Sturridge that he hadn't been helping out in defense enough, so Sturridge did as he was told, and unfortunately gave a free penalty to Wayne Rooney with a badly-timed challenge. The 2nd penalty, however, I do not believe was justified (although I guess it depends on the angle). Ivanovic looked to trip Welbeck in the penalty box, but at a second glance, it actually looked like Welbeck ran right into Ivanovic's foot and fell over. Chelsea fans all over were absolutely furious at Howard Webb (enough so that they began to post cartoons and edited pictures such as this): 

That explains it.

However, Howard Webb was not the only one with the controversial decisions. AVB made quite a few of his own. First of all, loaning newly acquired left winger Kevin de Bruyne back to Genk (when we so desperately need a left winger!) was, I believe, the wrong decision. Malouda does not seem to warrant a place in the starting XI anymore (especially after this game, where he seemed extremely quiet on the wings and provided little support for the attack), and we need someone to take that spot. AVB took off Sturridge in the 70th minute for Oriol Romeu, leaving nobody on the right wing (Romeu dropped back to his usual CDM position). Side-note: Sturridge refused to acknowledge AVB when coming off. That was the only substitution of the game, and it proved costly with the tired Blues losing out on the full three points, and losing more of their point-edge in the race for the final Champions League spot.

Chelsea-Manchester United Highlights

Anyway, that's the (depressing) round-up for the past few weeks. Sorry if I made you sad. Go drink some tea to recover (it helps).

Cheers, 

~Matt

DONE DEAL: Chelsea sign Patrick Bamford from NUFC for £1.5m!

Just minutes ago, Chelsea conformed the signing of 18-year old British forward Patrick Bamford from Nottingham Forest FC. The NUFC striker signed a five-year deal for a total of £1.5 million. He has made two npower appearances for NUFC this season, scoring no goals. However, he made two appearances in the FA Youth Cup, scoring nine goals and assisting three in those two games. Wow. That's class. It's likely that he'll be loaned out soon, considering his age and the lack of experience. He seems to have quite a bit of talent though (and was attracting the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, and Arsenal – hopefully he'll turn out to be a good signing.

Patrick Bamford.

Cheers,
~Matt

DONE DEAL: Kevin de Bruyne signs for £6.6 million!

On the last day of the transfer window, Chelsea have signed Kevin de Bruyne from Racing Genk for a five-and-a-half year deal worth £6.6 million. The 20-year old Belgian left-winger, who can also play as an attacking midfielder, as already been loaned back to Genk for the remainder of the season. 

Kevin de Bruyne receives his jersey.

I have a question for you: Why would AVB decide to loan him back to Genk, considering how badly Chelsea need a left-winger?

Answer: I have absolutely no idea. Really. To me, it makes very, very little sense. 

If de Bruyne had stayed at Chelsea, Mata would have the opportunity to move into the centre of the pitch (as he loves to do) and take over the attacking midfield role. De Bruyne has shown on numerous occasions that he has the ability to play against top teams, so it unlikely that he would not rise to his full potential at Chelsea. 

Anyway, I guess we'll see what else the window brings us as the hours wind down. 

There'll definitely be a debriefing when it's all over. 

For those interested, ESPN is running a live chat about transfer deadline day here: 

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/live/_/id/1014997/deadline-day:-all-the-rumours-and-moves?cc=5901

Cheers, 

~Matt

DONE DEAL: Alex off to PSG

Hey there Chelsea fans,

Another shocking piece of news for you (but not really): Alex is off to PSG for a projected sum of £4.2 million. He had previously submitted a transfer request, along with Nicolas Anelka, and was expected to leave the club this transfer window, so it's not a huge surprise that he's gone.

Alex.

The 29-year old Brazilian defender was a subject of interest for both QPR and PSG, but on January 27th he signed with PSG to play under Carlo Ancelotti, his (and Chelsea's) previous manager. During the past year, he was being used as a backup player to the likes of John Terry, Branislav Ivanovic, and David Luiz, as well as a backup defender for the Brazilian international team at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Overall he made 87 appearances for Chelsea, scoring 7 goals.

An absolutely incredible free kick by Alex to tie the game against Liverpool in the 2009 Champions League quarter-finals against Liverpool.

Good luck to him at PSG. 

Cheers,

~Matt

P.S. Stay connected for for Chelsea transfer news to come. A ton of rumours are circulating about a possible swap: David Luiz for Real Madrid's Pepe; as well as a renewed Eden Hazard bid; and a go for Lucas Moura. Personally, I think all of these are unlikely, but I guess we'll have to wait and see. It doesn't look like AVB is too interested in signing any more players during the window (no idea why).