EPL, Premiership, English Premier League

Luis Felipe Scolari has been named by Chelsea as the new manager to suceed Avram Grant. “Chelsea Football Club is delighted to confirm that Luiz Felipe Scolari will be the club’s new manager from July 1, 2008. Felipe has great qualities. He is one of the world’s top coaches with a record of success at country and club level, he gets the best out of a talented squad of players and his ambitions and expectations match ours. He was the outstanding choice. Out of respect for his current role as head coach of the Portuguese national team, and to ensure minimum disruption to this work, there will be no further comment from Chelsea FC nor from Felipe about his new role until his employment with us commences.”

Scolari is currently coaching the Portugese national team in the Euro Cup. While Avram Grant was in no way a bad coach I am sure that Scolari is an excellent choice and will bring a new style of play to Chelsea. Grant also appeared to be rather unexciting and unemotional. The Brazilian International coached the Brazilian national team and won the World Cup in 2002. He also guided Portugal to the Euro Cup finals in 2004 and the semi-finals of the 2006 World Cup. He also turned down the opportunity to coach England’s National team in 2006 after Sven-Goran Eriksson was fired. He has also won the Copa Libertadores (South American equivalent to the Champions League) with two different club teams. However, the 59 years old has never coached a European club team.

Chelsea’s keeper Peter Czech welcomed the appointment saying, “He is a manager with great charisma, great experience, great results. I look forward to working with him. For the club to progress further, I think it’s a wise appointment.”

Reportedly his contract will be worth €6 million, though no details have been revealed officially yet. The decision came less than a week after Scolari said, “What’s going to happen to me after Euro 2008 - if I am going to stay or leave - concerns (only) me and I am not going to talk about it now. If I decide to leave or stay, I am only going to make a public declaration at the end of Euro 2008.”

“I think it’s a top-class appointment. They have got a top-class manager. When he was manager of Brazil their emphasis was on attacking style - I think he will bring that into Chelsea football club.” said Ron Harris (former Chelsea player and legend).

Chelsea midfielder Ray Wilkins described Scolari as “A manager of top quality. It appears that he’s up for a challenge. He’s a big guy, he’s charismatic. This will be a breath of fresh air.”

Carvalho also supported the new manager saying “We were all shocked by the news. We heard the rumours but didn’t guess he would be going to Chelsea after the Euros,’ said the 30-year-old. He is a great manager and a big personality. He’s the kind of guy that players respond to and I think we can go forward with him.”

Fellow Portugese player Paulo Ferreira said “I think Scolari is a good manager and he can do a good job there and it will be good for the club.”

French International Nicolas Anelka is unsatisfied with the position he currently holds at Chelsea. He currently plays as a winger but has wanted to play as a forward. “When I came (to Chelsea), I was told I would play in a 4-4-2 system. I didn’t come here to play on the right or on the left. In England, I need to prove my worth as a center forward.”

Anelka is currently starting in the Euro Cup for France as a striker. “Up to now I didn’t say anything because I was a new player coming from Bolton. But from next season I will no longer be a new player - I will be a Chelsea player.”

Some may speculate that his bargaining position will be hampered by the penalty he took in the Champions Legaue Final against Manchester United. His penalty was blocked by Edwin Van der Saar.

“I stayed 110 minutes on the bench and suddenly I was asked to play less than a minute after being sent to warm up. I don’t know if it ever happened in a Champions League final, in a game so intense, that a player was sent on without having warmed up.”

When asked if he wanted to take one of the first five penalties Anelka said he responded by saying, “No way. I came on practically as a full back and you want me to shoot a penalty?.” After the game Anelka was impervious to the fact that his penalty kick had lost Chelsea the Champions League saying “Good for him (Van der Saar). That’s the game.”

Scolari will be Chelsea’s new manager next season though he is currently coaching for Portugal in the Euro Cup.

The number of players of English nationality is at a new low in the EPL:

2000/2001 season: 207
2001/2002 season: 199
2002/2003 season: 179
2003/2004 season: 182
2004/2005 season: 184
2005/2006 season: 186
2006/2007 season: 191
2007/2008 season: 170

Out of 498 players only 170 were English in the EPL, or about 34.1%. “The number is important because that’s what I can choose from” said Fabio Capello (the English National Coach). “The work being done in the academies is very important. We probably have to change the system of training for young players. At Under-21, and younger national teams, we have a lot of good players. For the future, I hope next season is not 34% but 40%. It will be better for me and England football.”

However, he states that “more importantly the quality - the level of the player. At the moment the total is 34% but the (quality) level is high.” This does make some sense when you think about the Champions League where Chelsea and Manchester United (both EPL teams) had 10 English starters out of 22 players. Sepp Blatter (President of the world football’s governing body Fifa) suggested that EPLE club teams restrict the number of foreign starting players to 5. This would hypothetically improve the number of quality English players. This would also of course, completely destroy the EPL and we would see a drastic drop in viewership and the amount gross earnings; every Club team would resist this move. Despite the obstacles, he continues to press his agenda.

Teams such as Arsenal with only 0.34% English players per match would have to completely change their teams.

West Ham: 6.61%
Aston Villa: 6.42%
Middlesbrough: 5.26%
Wigan: 4.92%
Everton: 4.89%
Derby: 4.86%
Newcastle: 4.76%
Tottenham: 4.37%
Man Utd: 4.28%
Bolton: 4.24%
Sunderland: 4.11%
Portsmouth: 3.79%
Birmingham: 3.74%
Reading: 3.68%
Chelsea: 3.63%
Manchester City: 3.42%
Blackburn: 2.68%
Fulham: 2.42%
Liverpool: 2.34%
Arsenal: 0.34%

In response however, the Premier League released a statement: “Merely looking at numbers of England players in the Premier League is a blunt and misleading measure as to how well the national team should be doing. After all, in the 70s and 80s the vast majority of players in the top flight were eligible for England yet we routinely struggled to qualify for tournaments, let alone perform in them. Our figures show this season nearly 40% of the starting XIs were qualified to play for England, 10 of whom played in the Champions League Final, arguably the highest standard of football in the world. There is no shortage of players at the highest level to pick from but we all want to see more Englishmen capable of performing at this level.”

“That is why Premier League clubs invest more than £40m a season in youth development, that is why the Premier League, along with the FA and the Football League, are driving through reforms to ensure the quality of coaching and player development is of the highest standard. We must raise standards, not implement something that will never happen under European law and would only create a broader pool of average players rather than a deeper one of the right level of talent for Premier League clubs and England.”

However, we can also compare other European nations’ Club Leagues:

Italian Serie A: had 7.3 Italians per team
Spanish La Liga A: had 6.9 Spaniards per team
German Bundesliga: had 4.9 Germans per team

Grant joined Chelsea 8 months ago and has now been fired largely as a result of the chief executive Peter Kenyon as well as Bruce Buck. Avram Grant had only lost 2 of all Premiership games. He brought Chelsea to 2nd place in the EPL and Champions League behind Manchester United. “Chelsea Football Club can confirm that Avram Grant has had his contract as manager terminated today. This follows meetings over the last two days. Everybody at Chelsea FC would like to thank Avram for his contribution since taking over as manager last September. We will now be concentrating all our efforts on identifying a new manager for Chelsea and there will be no further comment until that appointment is made.”

As of now, Rijkaard, Eriksson, Brian Laudrup, Roberto Mancini, Luiz Felipe Scolari, Mark Hughes have all been linked as possible new managers.

Grant had never managed a team in England before coming to Chelsea from Portsmouth. When Morinho left in December of 2007 and signed a 4 year deal with Chelsea. “We have very high expectations at Chelsea and a couple of second place finishes is just not good enough for us. So although we never would have thought in September when Jose Mourinho left that we would be able to make it into a Champions League final as we did - and that is fantastic - Chelsea are here to win trophies. So although it was an excellent season, we are still disappointed.”

Either way, Avram Grant did an excellent job at Chelsea. He came 2nd in the English Premier League. Probably the best club league in the world. Not only that but he played against what could easily be considered one of the best teams to ever play football : the 2007/2008 season Manchester United team. This team was incredibly versatile with some of the most innovative passing that anybody has ever seen. Consider just what Ronaldo has done this season: he has made every player at Manchester United bloom, not only that, but he has shown what can be accomplished by using English passing and foresight with the Hispanic style of dribbling and finishing. This was, and may well continue to be, one of the best teams to ever be assembled. Tevez himself kept West Ham in the Premier League by saving them from relegation. One season later after transferring to Manchester United he continued to show the same skill and ability. His innovative quick cuts and bulldog attacking style has fumbled many a defense.

Its unfair to criticize, or fire, a manager for competing with what could be considered the best team ever (Man Utd) and coming within inches of taking both the English Premier League Title and the Champions League Final. Think about it, he only lost 2 games in the EPL, and he almost won the Champions League, by only losing in penalties. He gave his players the opportunity to win both Titles, a manager can only do so much for the players. I believe that in this case Avram Grant gave the Chelsea players every opportunity to win both Titles.

Nikolai Shpilevski, Hleb’s agent, has stated that the Belarus International is already holding talks with another club. “I can officially confirm that a short time ago Alexander decided that he will leave Arsenal and join another club. Of course, Arsenal and Arsene wanted him to stay but they have accepted the player’s choice”. Hleb has been playing with Arsenal for the past 3 years. He transferred from Stuttgart in 2005 for €11.2 million but has not settled down in London. “I can’t tell you anything about where he will be playing yet. Talks are under way, and I don’t have the right to make them public. I think that the issue of his new club will be clarified in the next few days” said his agent.

Arsenal recently lost defensive midfielder Mathieu Flamini and now they’ve lost attacking midfielder Hleb. Hleb and Flamini have both been part of Arsenal’s midfield for some time and losing both will severely impair with the development of Arsenal’s team. Wenger will have to find new starting midfielders to take their places as well. “Alex has spent three good seasons at Arsenal and he wasn’t sure he could maintain the same level that he has been showing if he stayed. It’s also true that he felt uncomfortable off the field. Alexander wants a change of scene. That’s had a large part to play in his decision.”

After the end of the English Premier League season Manchester City went to Asia to play games with Club teams there. Their first game was against the Thailand-Premier All Stars. Unfortunately for City, they lost 3-1 to them as the former Primer Minister of Thailand and current owner of City Thaksin Shinawatra watched. Sven-Goran Eriksson is still managing City and is digging himself into a hole. The last game of the season City lost 8-1 against Middlesbrough. Then to top off the voyage to Asia, City played South China XI and again lost 3-1. All these losses help justify Shinawatra’s decision to sack Eriksson which we can expect to happen soon.

Manchester United versus Chelsea

United started with their strongest lineup with one unusual change: Hargreaves started in right midfield. In the 26th minute Scholes had the ball on the right wing. He was surrounded by 2 players until Brown came in to help, Scholes made a quick pass back to Brown (only a few yards away), who then passed it back and then made a run, Scholes immediately one touched it perfectly into Browns run who then took a touch and then made a curling cross. Ronaldo, covered by Essien, jumped into the air and then perfectly headed the ball with machine-like accuracy into the left side of the goal inches away from the post .

Minutes later, Ballack ran onto the box during a cross with Rio Ferdinand defending between Ballack and the goal. Ballack pushed Ferdinand’s head downwards almost forcing him into scoring an own goal. Ferdinand used great strength to keep his head up and head the ball over the goal. The ball came back into play near the United goal and Rooney stole the ball from Ballack. He took a step and then kicked the ball across almost the entire field to Ronaldo who ran all the way to the other side of the field with one defender on him. Rooney’s ball curled in to Ronaldo somehow perfectly who then made a short cross to Tevez who headed the ball low to the left of Cech from about 6 yards away. Somehow Cech managed to block it and it rebounded, rolling on the ground out of the penalty box. Carrick ran on it and fired away; the perfect opportunity for a center mid, Carrck shot it too close to Cech who once again blocked the ball.

In the 40th minute Tevez got a great ball from Rooney who crossed it by megging a defender. Tevez should have had it but missed the ball by inches. 2 minutes later Ferdinand elbowed a defender outside the box and got a yellow card and United got a free kick. Ballack took the shot but it went high over the wall and goal.

In the 45th minute, after a good amount of possession by Chelsea, Essien took a shot which deflected and landed into Lampard’s path (right in front of the goal) who then put the ball in. The lucky deflection gave Chelsea the chance to frustrate United.

In the 57th minute UEFA thought really hard about replacing the ball on the field because Ballack ripped a shot from 29 yards out when he got a clear opening on the goal. The ball went wide by a yard as it curled but it was a good time to take a shot and force United to pull their defense out more.

Chelsea really began to possess and push United back in the 2nd half and they probably got more opportunities. Ronaldo played largely perfect throughout most of the game and beat Essien multiple times on the wing.

But chances were available throughout the game just like when Drogba got the ball at the top of the United box and while falling, kicked a curling shot which hit the United right post. However, the game was destined to go into overtime with Giggs coming on for Scholes (who had a bleeding nose) 6 minutes before OT.

Three minutes in OT Lampard got the ball within the box, spun around and shot the ball to the top right and hit off the post. In the 96th minute the camera showed a bunch of really drunk Russian soldiers taking off their Jerseys and putting on United jerseys.

In the 100th minute Giggs got a clear shot on goal when Evra won the ball just outside the Chelsea box and pass it right backwards right over the PK area. Terry was there however and headed the ball over the goal preventing it from going in.

In the 116th minute, after every single player spread his legs and started stretching for some odd reason (after anyone thought they made a dumb foul they started stretching), an argument erupted between Tevez and every other player on the field. Tevez ended up getting a yellow card, Drogba a red card and Ballack a yellow card. Everyone seemed to be pushing each other as rain started falling with the referees trying to break it up. Drogba did lightly slap a United player in the face as the referee came up behind him. The arguments were an escalation of the entire game as their were many bad fouls and stupid tackles.

The game proceeds to Penalty Kicks:

Tevez took the first shot and kicked it the the right with Cech (wearing bright orange with his safety pad headpiece) diving to the Left.

Ballack fired esentially the same way as Van der Saar

Carrick, this time to the left. (The rain continued to fall)

Beletti (who just got subbed in for this purpose), this time to the right against Van der Saar.

Ronaldo against Cech, he kicked it to the left and Cech dove and blocked it!

Frank Lampard, to the right and Van der Saar almost stopped it!!

Hargreaves against Cech and he kicked it to hte upper left, Cech dove the right way but couldn’t get to it.

Ashley Cole against Van der Saar, he kicks it to the right and Saar almost stopped it, it may have been because of the rain.

Nani puts in an excellent kick against Cech.

John Terry against Van der Saar (for the win): HE MISSED!! He slipped last second and it hit off the right post!

It continues!!!

Anderson puts it in against Cech.

Malou puts it in against Saar.

Giggs puts it in against Cech.

Anelka shoots but its stopped by Edwin Van der Saar.

UNITED HAVE WON THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE!!!!! THEY HAVE OBTAINED THE DOUBLE!!! Players sag in relief and complete fatigue! Terry cries in the rain hugging Grant. Ronaldo falls to the ground.

Manchester United vs. Chelsea

In the first all English Champions League Final, Chelsea and Manchester United will battle in Moscow to earn the right to call themselves the best European Club Team.

Last night while Chelsea were practicing at the Luzhiniki Stadium Ashley Cole was injured by a tackle from Claude Makelele. The right back defender sustained an ankle injury but according to Chelsea officials he may be able to play today in the Final.

“In a challenge with Claude Makelele in front of hundreds of cameras and the world football press, Ashley Cole hurt his right ankle. He was treated, it was tested, then strapped - but after consultation between Grant, club doctor Bryan English and physios Dave Hancock and Thierry Laurent - Cole resumed and took full part in the final training game - only disappearing down the tunnel after the players had listened to Avram’s address and been stood-down for a final kickaround.” English International Wayne Bridges was ready to play in his stead if Cole was unable to.

Terry was being resolute and indifferent to any pre-game wagers. “It’s a different ball game to the league. They deserved to win (the title) but it’s a one-off game tomorrow. There are no underdogs or favourites. We’re hoping we are going to be on our game, fully fit and determined to lift the trophy. They have a lot of quality players in their side and hopefully it’s a good game but if it’s a bad game so be it. It’s about getting our hands on the trophy.”

Though some people have complained about the pitch, none of the players, coaches, or UEFA officials seem to think anything is wrong with it. ”

Ferguson thought the stadium and pitch were fine. “I think UEFA have done their best. The fact they have relaid it from Astroturf to turf is a big delight to me. We are happy in that sense. You have to remind yourself that Old Trafford in January or February is not the best in the league.”

“The pitch is the same for both sides and if get the footwear right we will be fine. We are not worrying about that at all.” said Terry.

Lampard continues to mourn for his mother Pat Lampard who died between the two semi-final legs against Liverpool; he went to go see Harry Redknapp lift the FA Cup at Wembley. Redknapp’s wife was Pat Lampard’s twin sister and both families have been completely distraught. “I was at Wembley on Saturday to see Harry win the FA Cup. It was a great day for the family and Harry in his career. He deserved that for what he has given to the game. I was fully supporting him on Saturday and I’m sure he and all the Redknapp family will be supporting me. I hope we can make it a family double.”

While Manchester United did win the Premier League they are surely still smarting from the loss at Stamford Bride. “Chelsea are physically stronger than most of the Premier League teams but we do not need to match that. We have to play with our main strength, our movement and our passing, our ability to create openings in the game. We are in good shape and I do not want us to change too much. Maybe we don’t have the overall experience like Chelsea in terms of age but we have courage” said Feguson.

“Part of the plan is to have Carlos Tevez at the club in the long term. There is no question we want him to stay. I think David Gill (chief executive) is progressing on that as best he can. One of the reasons we are here in Moscow and won the title is because of Carlos. He has that ability to score important goals for us, just like Eric Cantona used to do. Carlos has been a revelation for us and is a fantastic professional. The final is a big challenge for every one of my players. I depend on them all to be at the top of their game. That way we have a massive chance.”

Ferdinand described the emotion and importance of the Champions League very well: “The pressure comes from within, from your own personal pride in wanting to do well. The history of Old Trafford, the characteristics of the club from the past and the manager all work as an inspiration. You want to become part of the furniture, to be remembered in the history of Manchester United. To do that we know we have to win big things. Tonight we have a great chance to do that and become part of the history.”

“This match is the stuff of dreams. These opportunities do not come around every weekend. You have to step up to the moment when it comes. The main thing is to approach it as we would do any other game, not to do things differently. If the occasion gets to us or we change the way we approach the game then that will be to the detriment of the team.”

Just as ready was Peter Cech, Chelsea’s goalkeeper. “Having won the title, you would say it’s a big boost from them and they celebrated, which in one way can be distracting. When you know you’ve already won something, even if you don’t want to, you can relax. In the back of your mind, you have already that you have succeeded. This could be the advantage for us. Cech is expecting a tight game tomorrow because the two sides know each other so well. If you ask me if we can surprise each other, I say no, because we have played them so many times over the last years and both teams haven’t changed much.”

However, prepared as he is he agreed that Cristiano Ronaldo could be the deciding factor in the game. The way he scores the goals is unbelievable,’ Cech said. “Because he can score from the free-kick, he can score from the penalty, he can score with a header from a corner, and he can score with both feet.”

“You need to remember as well they have a great team. They have an attacking threat, with (Wayne) Rooney, you’ve got (Carlos) Tevez, you’ve got (Ryan) Giggs. They can use the ball quickly and they change position, they rotate a lot. That is why they are dangerous and can score a lot of goals because not everyone can cope with that.”

The Champions League Final is being held in Russia, Moscow, at the Luzhinki Stadium Wednesday.

I’m not sure why anybody would think for a moment that Cristiano Ronaldo would leave Manchester United; nor do I understand why anyone would think why United would let Ronaldo go. But, I might as well address the idiotic rumors that have been circulating.

“He’s got four more years (on his contract) until 2012, he’s been with us for five years and we’re sure he’ll be with us for many years to come. He’s clearly one of the best players in the world and he’s at a great club, winning trophies. He enjoys it immensely here, you can tell that when you speak to him privately. Why would he want to leave? We have no intention of letting him go, we will make sure that he’s very happy here, as we do with all our top players. Manchester United is not a club that sells its main assets. In order to service our debts we need a very successful team on the pitch, and you don’t achieve that by selling Cristiano Ronaldo.” said Manchester United Chief Executive David Gill.

United currently has a debt of €764 million to various banks. There are provisions in Uefa licences that deal with clubs being able to meet their obligations, you have to give forward-looking accounts for coming years to show you can meet them, which is quite right,” he said. “Look at the debt in isolation and, yes, it’s a concern, but look at our income generation. Our revenue is well over £200m. Banks wouldn’t loan those sums unless they were fairly confident they’d get their money back and if we didn’t have a business plan which showed they’d get it back. In Manchester United, we have one of the best clubs in the world and we have a significant amount of income which can service those debts, so let’s not just look at one side (of the equation).” It’s truly astounding to think what many people consider to be ‘the most successful’ club teams in the world could have such an astounding debt.

United was taken over by American billionaire Malcolm Glazer in 2005 when he bought up 75% of Uniteds stock.

By the end of the 2007/2008 season Bolton barely avoided relegation by only one point. After Bolton’s miserable season, it seems like several players feel like they no longer belong with Bolton and have decided to leave. Three of the clubs midfielders including Andranik Teymourian, Stelios Giannakopoulos, and Ivan Campo have left. “Ivan, Stelios and Andranik have all done well for Bolton Wanderers and I’d like to express my gratitude to them. It’s time for them to move on and I wish them all the best.” said the Bolton manager Gary Megson.

Not only that but Jussi Jaaskalanen and Ricardo Gardner’s contracts will be expiring at the end of June; Megson, of course will be trying to stem the tide of fleeing players who sense the danger of relegation. “Jussi and Ricardo have both been excellent servants and are still very much part of my future plans for this football club. Hopefully, we can get them secured on new deals as soon as possible.” said Megson.