Your Saturday Beatdowns of Note: Blackpool severely beaten by Arsenal. Wigan bludgeoned by Chelsea. Toronto FC rolled by the New York Red Bulls. But as you digest these unfortunate beatdowns, please be weary of outlandish claims like: Theo Walcott has arrived. Cheslea are on course to score 8 billion goals. The Red Bulls can win the World Cup. (more…)
William Gallas is a man out to break records. Today he shows up to his third London club for a medical. Joining Tottenham, his former employer’s cross-town rivals, will hardly stir up the same type of vitriol that arose from Sol Campbell’s move in the opposite direction. Arsenal fans won’t hate Gallas because he joined Spurs. (more…)
Chelsea have done the double. Missed penalties? Who cares. Horrible pitch at Wembley? Not an issue. Of all the headlines from Chelsea’s success this season, one thing stands out … Carlo Ancelotti’s singing. I don’t know what I expected when he opened his mouth to sing, but it surely wasn’t this treat. If he wasn’t bad enough, John Terry, Petr Cech, (more…)
Jose Mourinho on replacing Claudio Ranieri as Chelsea manager: “I’ve never said that I’m a phenomenon but it’s certainly not my fault if in 2004, after arriving at Chelsea and having asked why they had got rid of Ranieri, they told me that they wanted to win and that would never have happened with him.” That’s why he’s so special.
Following Inter Milan’s 3-2 aggregate win over Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final at Camp Nou, Jose Mourinho said the following:
“This is the best loss of my life. It is a shame I couldn’t play: I would have been awful on the pitch but I would have shed blood as my players did”.
Judging by his classless romp around the football pitch, it is increasingly evident that Jose Mourinho suffers from an inferiority complex. I fully understand that the Special One’s teams thrive off of an ‘Us against the World’ mentality, however after the battle has been waged and won, it is imperative that the victors not needlessly shame the losers. (more…)
According to the Annual Review of Global Sports Salaries 2010 by the Sporting Intelligence, the New York Yankees are the highest paid team in all of sport. That’s surprising considering the global appeal of football around the globe. Only four football teams (Real Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea and Manchester United) were included in the top 30, with the first three clubs cracking the top ten. (more…)
In the aftermath of yet another disappointing exit from the UEFA Champions League, Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is rumored to be on the verge of making drastic changes to his team of highly paid mercenaries, I mean stars. As has become routine at this time of year, Chelsea players and coaches are on the proverbial hot seat. In fairness, the owner has let it be known that he covets one thing above all else, a Champions League trophy. Since his arrival, the Russian oligarch has thrown money at the problems facing Chelsea. He has reportedly spent upwards of £600 million in his quest for the crown, with nothing but six measly major trophies to show for it. By most accounts, Chelsea is one of Europe’s elite football teams. However, Roman remains unsatisfied. He needs to win the Champions League quite simply because he wants Chelsea to be the best football club in Europe.
Roman’s demanding nature reminds me of George Steinbrenner. (more…)
On the sidelines of yesterday’s Chelsea vs. Inter Milan match, Carlo Ancelotti looked like he was in the third hour of a four hour session on the fourth day of a physics conference. His face was dead. Expressionless. Emotionless. It was priceless. My sense is that Ancelotti would make a terrible mime.
The obvious angle here is that Ancelotti’s lack of emotion was passed on to his team. But Chelsea’s performance can hardly be said to have been emotionless. Chelsea certainly created chances on the night. There were a few calls that Chelsea fans will claim were clear penalties. Crazier assertions have been made. Penalties have been called for less. (more…)
With so much drama in the Premiership, I couldn’t resist pontificating on this weekend’s games. So here we go … (more…)
It is no secret that Arsenal Football Club (AFC) is run under a self-sustainable business model. The club takes great pride in touting this fact, sometimes to the detriment of some of its own fans who want greater on field success in the form of silverware (AFC has gone five long, arduous years without a major trophy – cue the violin). According to Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger, it is imperative that football teams live within their means, by which he means that clubs should only spend what they make. That is why a few years ago, after the club decided to build Emirates Stadium, Arsene embarked on an odyssey of sorts to revolutionize how the squad was constructed. (more…)
If you love perms or Didier Drogba, you’ll love the Les Éléphants shirt …
Spain is trying to conquer the world again. This time, they might succeed.
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