EPL, Premiership, English Premier League

62 year old Dutchman Guus Hiddink will be meeting Chelsea players later this week. Hiddink will have a formidable challenge ahead of him as he already coaches the Russian national team. Chelsea released a statement thanking the RFU, “The club would like to take this opportunity to thank the Russian Football Union for their understanding and cooperation.” Hiddink is currently in Turkey with the Russian team; he may watch Chelsea play in the FA Cup 5th Round this coming Saturday. He will then take charge of his first game against Aston Villa Feb. 21st.
“It’s a favour for a friend. Abramovich does so much for Russian football that I wanted to give something back. He called me personally.” Abromavich was instrumental in bringing Hiddink to the Russian national team and the two have since had close contact.
The short amount of time he has with the players makes one doubt how large an impact he will have on the team. “It’s never enough time to prepare a team in one week but this is an exceptional situation. Chelsea have good players and they should be in top form and that should make my job easier.” Chelsea are currently 4 in the table 7 points below Manchester United.

Hiddink is currently on contract as a temporary manager until the end of the season; however, when asked if he would stay he said: “There are two scenarios: it goes bad and they say ‘go back east’ or it goes well, but I’m not thinking that far ahead. There will be no damage for the Russian national team, we focus now and in the future on the Russian team.”
Hiddink has said he will contact Scolari about team matters and that he currently was not intending on bringing in and new assistants. “I always want to see the situation in the team myself first before making any changes if they have to be made.”

While I believe that Hiddink is an excellent manager with extensive international club and national team experience (he has won multiple awards with PSV Eindhoven, led S. Korea to 4th place in 2002 World Cup, the Netherlands to 4th place in the 1998 World Cup, les Australia to 2nd round of World Cup, led Russia to the semi-finals of the Euro 2008, managed Fenerbache, Valencia, Real Madrid and Real Betis) I think it is safe to question this move by Chelsea. Firing Scolari this early could disrupt the team; now Chelsea will have a temporary manager before Hiddink arrives and then will have to sync with a completely new manager. Hopefully the Russian national team won’t be too much of a distraction for Hiddink, luckily for him they only have 2 games over the course of the rest of the EPL season.

Portsmouth manager Tony Adams has been sacked.
“I am a little bit surprised but results haven’t been good. I haven’t had a lot of time and I certainly haven’t had the financial backing. We’ve had a few injuries as well and that’s tough to take. I’m still up for the challenge so I’ve got mixed feelings.”

Adams’ last game in charge was during their 3-2 defeat to Liverpool while at home. “The guys worked their socks off at the weekend and I’ve really got to thank the fans. I thought they were magnificent for the whole game and were really supportive of me and the team. That gave me some inspiration and encouragement ready for the challenge ahead.”

Adams admitted that his record in no way helped him keep his job: out of 16 games Pompey only won 2.
“I don’t think the results have been good, it must be said.  We have been making a lot of mistakes. We are in the results industry and the owner and chairman will point to that. I’m not going to bang on about excuses. I think I could have turned it around but it was not to be.”

Striker David Nugent thought that Adams should’ve been given another chance:
“He gave me a chance and I was happy for him to stay. I thought he deserved a few more games but it’s the chairman’s decision and we’ll see who comes in next. “He called me aside and said I’d done well for him in the past few games, scoring a couple of goals. He wished us well for the future and just walked out; that was it really. There’s 11 teams who could go down. We have to get a bit of stability at the club, get a few wins and get out of there. I don’t have a clue about management but we need someone who can come in and is up for the scrap. The players are up for it so we just need someone who can come in and get a few wins.”

Luis Felipe Scolari, the Brazilian manager who joined Chelsea June of 2008 has been sacked by Chelsea in order “to maintain a challenge for the trophies we are still competing for”. This season Chelsea have lost 16 potential points at home and are currently in 4th place in the League. They are still in the running for the Champions League and FA Cup; Ray Wilkins will be in charge until a new manager is appointed.

“Luiz Felipe Scolari has been dismissed as manager of Chelsea Football Club with immediate effect. The Chelsea board would like to place on record our gratitude for his time as manager. Felipe has brought many positives to the club since he joined and we all feel a sense of sadness that our relationship has ended so soon. Unfortunately the results and performances of the team appeared to be deteriorating at a key time in the season. In order to maintain a challenge for the trophies we are still competing for we felt the only option was to make the change now. The search for a new manager has already started and we hope to have someone in place as soon as possible”

60 year old Scolari managed Brazil to the World Cup in 2002, led Portugal to the Euro Final in 2004 and semi-finals of the World Cup in 2006. While the season started off well for him, Chelsea’s form became worse and out of 36 games in charge 20 were won, 11 drawn and 5 lost. Their record against the other members of the Big Four is poor having lost 2-1 against Liverpool twice, 2-1 against Arsenal at home, tied Manchester United 1-1 at home and lost 3-0 while away.

Chelsea winger Pat Nevin responded to questions about Scolaris departure:
“Scolari’s popularity has been plummeting in the past few weeks. The question is, who is going to be able to do it with a squad that is clearly not strong enough? This is a club that a year ago was one of the biggest in the world and quite clearly it seems to have gone downhill quite quickly. I hope for Chelsea’s sake they don’t have a knee-jerk reaction and dive for the first name that comes into their mind. They need to give it an awful lot of thought and maybe consider someone that isn’t the biggest name in the world.”

Former Bolton manager Sam Allardyce has been named the new manager of Blackburn with a 3 year contract. 54 year old Allardyce’s was sacked from Newcastle January 9th; he will manage the Rovers for their next game against Stoke. Allardyce was very successful while managing the Rovers’ rivals Bolton; he established them as a solid premiership team during his 8 year stay there. “Rovers are delighted to announce the appointment of Sam Allardyce as manager.” Allardyce has also managed clubs Notts County and Blackpool.

Former Blackburn striker Kevin Gallacher commented on the sudden change:
“It is not a surprise choice. Blackburn needs someone who can put the club back together again and I think he can do that.”
At the moment the fate of Inces staff is not known.

41 year old Paul Ince joined the Rovers from MK Dons last June with a 3 year contract; while the Rovers finished 7th last season they are currently in relegation at 19th place. Rovers Chairman John Williams felt strongly that action needed to be taken to save the club: “Three wins in 17 games has seen a squad which finished seventh last season fall to 19th place. We are currently in danger of becoming detached from the pack.” Ince used to play for West Ham (1985), Manchester United (1989), Inter Milan (1995), Liverpool (1997), Middlesbrough (1999), Wolves (2002-2005). He managed bootom league club Macclesfield in 2006, appointed manager of MK Dons after they finished fourth in the 2006 season, the next season he led MK Dons to the League Two Title. He then joined Blackburn.

Graeme Souness could be considered potentially assisted by former Blackburn midfielder Tugay. Sam Allardyce and Alan Curbishley may also be considered. “The survival of the club in the Premier League is paramount and our focus is on finding a replacement who will be able to maintain our top-division status. Paul will bounce back, he is a fighter and we wish him well. The board, having selected Paul Ince back in June, were desperate for him to succeed and wanted to give him as much time as possible in the unforgiving environment of the Premier League, where time is such a precious commodity.” Blackburn have lost their last 6 games and only have 17 games left in the season.

Part-time defensive coach Nigel Winterburn commented on Ince’s departure:
“I would have loved for him to be given time in the transfer window in January to bring in his own players. I’m positive that he would have seen results improve but the board have decided that isn’t the case. I think people were starting to panic. The results have not picked up and they’ve decided they need someone else in place to drive the club forward.”

“I thought he would get a little bit more time, maybe to get into the transfer market, spend a bit of money and see how it went,” said Gallagher. “But having seen the chairman’s face on the TV at the weekend that told a massive story.

“The club have a trust fund and they have been trying to sell the club. If the club go down that’s a lot of money lost and the valuation of the club goes down as well. I think they’ve been possibly putting a lot of pressure on the board. The board have been trying to back Paul as much as they could but the display at the weekend was the final straw - the pressure told and something had to give. Unfortunately it was Paul. Who’s going to want to turn to the club now, sitting second bottom? They’re struggling a little bit, there’s not a lot of finances there, there are quite a few injuries. Steve McClaren was mentioned but he’s doing very well in Holland (at FC Twente) and I’ve heard a small rumour about Roberto Mancini, there’ll be a lot of names brandished about. The CVs that were put in a cupboard six months ago when Paul got the job will be coming back out again.”

37 year old Keane resigned as Sudnerland’s manager after 27 months in charge. Sunderland has fallen to 18th place following 5 defeats out of six matches. Sunderland’s first team coach Ricky Sbragia is temporarily in charge assisted by coaches Neil Bailey and Dwight Yorke.

Chairman Niall Quinn described Keanes departure: “Roy’s decision sums up his desire to always do what is best for the club, despite the club’s efforts to keep him. Roy deserves huge respect for his contribution and the manner in which he guided the club from the depths of the Championship back to the Premier League. His winning mentality and singled mindedness were just what this club needed. Even in his departure he has been more concerned for the welfare of the players and his staff than himself. The board has reluctantly accepted his decision and wish him and his family well for the future.”

Quinn held talks with Keane over 3 days in an attempt to persuade him to stay. “He lifted this place off its knees, he is a tremendous influence. Five weeks ago (after beating Newcastle) people were dancing in the streets of Sunderland. It’s a funny world football and I hoped I’d never have to do this day. I spoke many times about Roy and I being in a partnership and it feels like the partnership has dissolved now. I wish him real well in the future. He’ll get a bit of time to himself now to re-charge but I think we all know the Premiership hasn’t seen the last of him. He’s got great things to come.”

Prior to Sunderland’s 4-1 loss against Bolton Keane questioned his role with the club, “I ask myself every day if I’m the right man for Sunderland. I asked myself this morning and I said I was. Sunday morning, if the answer’s no, we’ll have to look at it.”

Following Keanes arrival the Black Cats spent €70 million signing 33 players. Upon their return to the Premiership the Black Cats finished in 15th place avoiding relegation by only 3 points. Roy Keane “I would like to thank my staff, players, Niall Quinn and, in particular, the fans for their support during my time at Sunderland, and I would like to wish the club every success in the future.”

Quinn commented again on Keane’s departure saying “Roy felt he had completed his journey here, and he just felt he didn’t want to get it unstuck any further and find ourselves in deeper, darker territory. That’s the measure of the guy. In situations like this, I am sure nine times out of 10 the chairman is saying how the manager was trying to keep his job. It was the other way round.”

Keane was a Republic of Ireland international who played with Manchester United. During his stay with the Red Devils he won 7 Premier League Titles, 4 FA Cup titles, and the Champions League in 1999. Keane is the 5th manager to be sacked this year.

Chairman Daniel Levy has accused Dimitar Berbatov of malevolence against Tottenham which led to the Spurs having a horrible start to the season.
“We had a player who had refused to play two games for us, having a detrimental affect on the dressing-room. We’d known for a year that the player had wanted out of this club. We were very disappointed. Dimitar Berbatov was a player who we brought to this club at a time when Man Utd were interested in him. He made a conscious decision to come to this club, we invested a lot of money, nobody had ever heard of Dimitar Berbatov when we bought him.”
Its pathetic that Levy is attempting to accuse Berbatov of having ruined Spurs next season. He told them he wanted to leave a year ahead of time and Spurs got paid a fair amount of money from Manchester United for him, only €30.5 million. And they had the entire summer transfer window to pick up some strikers (they also sold Robbie Keane to Liverpool for €20.3 million) with the combined €50.8 million euros they obtained. Unfortunately Spurs Sporting Director Damien Comolli did not pick up decent replacements. They got their moneys worth in those deals and it makes no sense to criticize Berbatov for going to one of the moss popular and successful clubs ever.

“A year later with 10 days to go to the end of the window he tells us he wants to leave to go to Manchester United.  I don’t think he treated this club with the respect that we honestly deserved. We put him on the map, I think he’s an outstanding player, but he signed a long-term contract with this club and I think he should have stayed. I had so many conversations with him. He kept saying it was about his ambition to play for Manchester United. It wasn’t a money issue. We offered him a new contract and he wasn’t even interested in discussing it.”

Heinze criticized a theory from Alex Ferguson which theorized that Real Madrid was still attempting to lure Crisitiano Ronaldo. Fergusons theory stipulated that Heinze was signed by Real Madrid because he was a good friend of Ronaldo and that he might convince Ronaldo to join Real Madrid.

“This theory of Ferguson about me going to Real in order to persuade Cristiano to come the following summer is a work of absolute fiction. I am a very good friend of Cristiano Ronaldo. This is true, but he always decides his own future. Cristiano is a clever person and he decides himself what is best for his own life. If he asks me a question about Real then, of course, I will answer, but I’m not a bad influence on him. Ferguson has spoken about me in the last months and I don’t understand this.

“I thought he had forgotten me. He’s the boss at United and any person who protests about anything is marginalised. This was my problem at times when I was there. Ferguson cannot stop my quotes because I’m not now at United. I’m actually convinced Cristiano would offer Madrid even bigger performances than he has at United. That is my opinion and it is normal that I have wanted him to come and play with us here in La Liga.”

I can certainly agree that Fergusons theory is fairly remote in likelyhood, impossible to substantiate, and therefore silly.

Following the departure of Harry Redknapp, Tony Adams, his assistant for the past two years has been appointed as the new manager for Pompey. “It’s fantastic. I’m very honoured, it’s a great opportunity and one I would be mad to turn down. I am going to take this opportunity and risk, because Harry’s done a fantastic job for this club and is a hard act to follow. But I think it is my time, I think I am ready. It’s the best job in the world. I’m scared to bits, of course, but another bit of me is really excited. I couldn’t sleep last night.”

42 year old Tony Adams formerly played as a center back for Arsenal from 1984-2002 and also played for the England National squad from 1985-2000. “I spoke to Arsene last night for advice and he said ‘welcome to hell’. I said ‘are you scared? Because I’m coming for you!”’.

Wenger commented about his appointment positively and suggested it was a great opportunity.
“It makes me very happy. I believe it is a good opportunity for him and we wish him of course well. He is at the age now where you have to start in this job. For the rest I believe he has a good squad and he has worked a lot now in this job and I think he is ready. Tony has now much more experience because he has been abroad and has been at Portsmouth as an assistant. I believe he has the qualities and that is why I am very positive about it. I believe in life when you go wrong you can always, with intelligence and character, turn things right and that is what he did. He came out and said he had a drinking problem when he was a player and he showed enough strength and character to change that. I believed in him because everybody deserves a chance when he wants really to change life. That basically didn’t come from me, it came from him. I believe that he has natural authority which is one important ingredient, the second one is of course to convince everybody about your philosophy and the way you see things. At that level you need a big resistance to stress and daily commitment. You want to give him the chance. What is most important is that I believe he has the qualities. He gets the opportunity and only time will tell how he would do and I would bet that he will do well. The most important thing you want to have is good players when you arrive somewhere - and I believe Portsmouth has good players and that’s where you can show your qualities.”

Adams also managed the Wycombe Wanderers during the 2003-2004 season. The Wanderers were relegated the soon after he took over (though they were in the relegation zone when he joined them). The next season in League Two he resigned after their form became worse. “At Wycombe my job was to save the club - they were losing £6,000 a week at the time but this is a different ball game. It was the right time to move on from there, I went to Feyenoord and that was a great learning curve. As it was in my playing days under Arsene Wenger, Bobby Robson, Terry Venables and all the great managers I’ve played under. This is the next step for me, so here I am.”

Financial struggles at Pompey have aroused speculations that players would leave during the January transfer window. However, Adams assured fans that he would be keeping his best players:
“We’ve got some great players here at Portsmouth and I’ve been kind of responsible, with Harry, for bringing them to the club. They’re here because they’re good players … but my job is to keep them here and to get them to play well.”

Executive chairman Peter Storrie barely addressed finances at Pompey saying, “I said all I’m going to say about finances the other day, it’s a boring, boring subject. The club is fine, we’re moving on, the owner [Alexandre Gaydamak] is here and he continues to put money into the club. If Tony wants to sell then we’ll sell and reinvest that money - and the fans are all aware of the situation. I know we said we’d take our time a little bit but we had a think about it, had a chat with Tony and we feel he’s done a tremendous job here and thoroughly deserves this opportunity to manage the club. He’s not only popular among the board and people working at the club, but as was shown on Sunday, it’s a popular decision for the supporters.”

Tottenham Spurs have fired manager Juande Ramos and Sporting Director Damien Comolli. They are currently set to appoint 61 year old Harry Redknapp from Portsmouth with a €5 million compensation package. The first string coaches Marcos Alvarez and Gus Poyethave also been fired in the management cleansing following the string of defeats for the Spurs. Spurs have only taken 2 points from their first 8 games in the EPL with their only points obtained from ties.

Many were questioning whether Spurs sports director Damien Comolli was doing his job correctly in managing transfers. Last seasons starting forwards Robbie Keane and Berbatov both transferred to different teams and many question whether he found suitable replacements.

Redknapp commented on his transition:

“Once Tottenham came in and once the offer was made it was difficult for the club to turn down a £5m offer for a manager. The club were pleased to take it and hopefully people will remember what I’ve done there. I’ve got some good memories and I have had some great times there.”

Clive Allen will take over as interim-manager for the Bolton game until Redknapp’s move becomes official.

More information and interviews concerning escalation to Ramos firing:

Manager Juande Ramos has been under considerable pressure recently with Tottenham suffering the worst start to a season for the club since 1912. They currently stand at the very bottom of the Premier League with 2 points; 8 games have been played so far this season and Tottenham has still not won a game. Their record now stands at 6 games lost and two ties. The news comes hard to fans and players who were hoping that Spurs could make it to the Top Four this season. However, they should have realized that this was unlikely when Robbie Keane and Dimitar Berbatov were transferred away. Spurs were left without a competent attacking force.

Ramos commented on the situation:
“Any decision on my future is not up to me but I am determined to put it right. It is my job, my work. The main problem for us is scoring goals. You have to score to win games and we are finding that difficult. But if we continue to play similar to how we did against Hull we can change the situation. The effort was there and the players did their job very well. Their attitude was positive and when I speak to them they say they want to finish this situation quickly.” Reportedly, if Ramos was sacked he would be due between €15-20 million in compensation which may be why he is being given a better chance than most. It was also difficult for Tottenham to obtain Ramos who recently led Sevilla to 2 UEFA Cup wins.

However, Ramos met with club chairman Daniel Levy Thursday and said the meeting had been productive.
“It was very nice, very happy. He’s very happy. We know the problem and we are speaking about looking for the solution but the meeting was nice. The problem has to stop on Sunday, not January. To win matches you need to play football. Fighting is difficult because they are a very strong team. I think we need to play. We have to show that we are worthy to stay up, but if we are not winning games it doesn’t count for anything. We need to win matches. We are very good in defense, in midfield very good but we need to improve and score goals. To win or to lose, all the team have the responsibility. Football is like the markets. It’s possible that then the markets change and go up, and so do we.”

Bent commented on the teams dismal form:
“One win won’t get us out of it, we need to start winning games so that there isn’t a gap where you need to win two or three games just to have a chance. We’ve got a difficult game against Stoke but if we prepare like we know we can do, and play like we did against Hull in periods, we know we can beat anyone. Everyone is still upbeat. There are things going around that there is unrest in the dressing room but everyone is behind the manager, and we are all behind each other. I’ve said on numerous occasions, I’m sure we’ll be okay and we’ll put it right sooner or later. It’s disappointing, obviously, but we have to take positives and in some games we’ve been playing well enough to get something from games. When you lose to Hull with goals like Geovanni’s, there’s nothing much you can do about that. It just seems to happen to us but I’m sure we’ll put it right eventually. We know what we have to do.”

Its apparent that Spurs spirits are at an all time low with David Bentley suggesting people Tottenham has become a laughing stock.
“I know people are having a laugh at the fact we are bottom of the league at the moment but it’s up to everyone at the club to stop the jokes. We’re not happy with what has been happening. You cannot hide from the situation but what we need are a team of leaders who take responsibility. We have to grow as people. We have more than enough good players at Tottenham to get us out of this situation and I give my word that we will. I’m fully behind him [Ramos], 100%. I still love being at Spurs and I don’t regret joining the club for one second. I know I haven’t been at my best but I haven’t become a bad player in a fortnight. The manager believes in me.”
(Bentley joined White Hart Lane from Blackburn for €15million this past summer and was benched after having made these comments).

Ramos talked about the sultry situation at White Heart Lane:
“I am worried about the situation but last season we won the Carling Cup and everyone was very happy. At this moment everyone is very sad and I am worried about it as I don’t like this situation. We need to work very hard to change this situation and only hard work can change it. This is my job and I am working very hard each day to finish this situation. The responsibility is all the people working in the club starting with me and finishing with the last person - we all have responsibility, when we win and when we lose.”

His attitude contrast sharply with last Thursday whence he spoke with Spurs club chairman who was reportedly very positive despite the situation.
“I don’t know - this is a question for the chairman. I speak to the chairman when he permits us to speak. He’s a very busy person and I don’t know when it will be possible to speak. Sometimes football is difficult to explain. We had two penalties against us, two players sent off, some players injured. It was very difficult for us after the sending off in the first half but the attitude of the players was very good. We played Chelsea away and played okay and got a point and I think playing against big teams, the team can concentrate well.”

Spurs defender Jonathan Woodgate has suggested that Tottenham has a strong chance of being relegated unless they take strong, immediate action. He even stated that Leeds, the team he had played with in 2004, was a better team than the current Spurs squad. Leeds was relegated from the EPL that same season.
“People say we are too good to go down but we aren’t. I’ve seen it happen at Leeds and they had a better team than we do here.” He also said that Spurs were currently facing relegation. “One million per cent we are at the moment.”

Tottenham recently played Udinese in the UEFA Cup and lost 2-0. Woodgate said that the players needed to “take responsibility” for their form. Spurs committed multiple blunders with their keeper Heurelho Gomes conceding a penalty (their 3rd in 2 matches) and with Jamie O’Hara obtaining 2 yellow cards in the span of 1 minute. O’Hara was sent off, the 3rd player to be dismissed in the past 2 games.
When O’Hara was asked if he could take anything positive from the game he responded:
“No, none at all. What went wrong was the same as has been happening in every single game we have played in this season - a lack of concentration. We have got to start learning quickly. A goal goes in and you think ‘here we go again’. When you have a losing mentality like we’ve got at the moment you have got to get really stuck in and start winning games or you just get used to losing and losing and losing. We have really got to roll our sleeves up here and start grafting because, I am telling you now, it is going to be hard. We are bottom of the Premier League with two points and it doesn’t really get much worse than that. Without a doubt I will take responsibility - I have got to stand up like everyone else. It is the players who shoulder the blame because we are not pulling our weight on the pitch. If we are not producing the goods and getting the wins then pressure is going to be put on the manager, the chairman and Damien Comolli [sporting director]. The way we have been playing, we deserve to be down at the bottom of the table - we deserve to be where we are, end of story.”

Brazilian keeper Gomes described the situation at White Heart Lane just before Ramos was sacked:
“I do not think the big problem is with the quality we have on the pitch. I think it is more mental at the moment. We are lacking in confidence, the game can be lost in your head. It is a difficult period for us at the moment. We lost another game against Udinese and everyone in the dressing room is down right now but we have to carry on because there are more games to play and Bolton is another difficult match. The formations are not an issue. What is important is the mentality of the players to produce a good performance and get us goals. We have great quality in this squad. We train well every day but on a matchday I do not know why this has happened.”

Ramos commented on the sultry situation again,
“I’m very angry because I don’t like to lose. We lost this match in this competition and now we have to win matches to qualify for the next stage.” Bentley commented about the situation at White Heart Lane before the game and when Ramos was asked why he did not play in the game in Italy Ramos said, “I chose these 18 players out of the 20 in the squad. I don’t know what happened before the match. His [Bentley’s] reaction was normal, the same as the other players who are not playing. The situation is not very comfortable. At this moment [morale] in the dressing room is not in a normal situation but they know it’s possible to win in football and it’s possible to lose.”