₦airaland Forum

First Ancelotti, now Spalletti and Prandelli.

Whats up with Chelsea and these managers who can't speak English?

The Chelsea board wanted Hughes but Abramovic wants a puppet he can control. We need a manager quick to set-up our pre-season preparation plan and transfer targets. Roman is really pissing me off. How long must this nonsense continue? Complete and utter lack of planning. This club is going down the drain. I can't believe Roman was ready to give Ancelotti £7m a year. The fool called Ancelotti to give him advice on who should be the new manager and ended up being so 'impressed' with Ancelotti, he decided to pursue him.  The same way Avram Grant 'impressed' him when they met in a restaurant in Tel-Aviv. I am sure I can also 'impress' him - because he has absolutely no knowledge of football. Somebody in Primary 5 can 'impress' another kid in Primary 1. It doesn't make him an authority on the subject. Roman is an idiot.

Fairweather fans.

nateevs:
That said, the illustration I gave was to tell you that though there is alot to show the short comings of ancelotti, there's nothing to show hughes will do better, absolutely nothing. . .

And you haven't provided an answer to my question. . the analogy!!!

Everybody makes their own conclusion from what they see. I think, of the names mentioned, apart from Guus Hiddink, Hughes is the next leading contender. You make your own judgement based on what he has done so far. I am more in favour of giving chances to young upstarts than older managers who have obvious weaknesses. That is why Laudrup was also one of my contenders. I assessed Hughes based on his overachievement so far, his youth, his charisma and the way he carries himself plus his astuteness in the transfer market.

All the others have obvious flaws. I still see no flaws in Hughes although if you are asking me to build a case for him based on his performance with Blackburn, I use his head-to-head against the other top managers, knowing that he cannot win much silverware at Blackburn. His teams are never easy to beat - Ancelotti's and Rijkaards, too often are. I like a Manager with good organisation and I know Hughes has that.

Kobojunkie? For where?

Most of the contibutors on Nairaland spout a lot of partizan rhetoric and sugarcoat it with half-facts. Anybody who is distinctly right-wing or distinctly left-wing cannot be an intelligent contributor. An intelligent contributor is someone who judges each situation based on its merit, not on his/her brand of politics. I think the person that most fits this description is 4Him.

All the others such as Tayo-D, Texazzpete, RichyBlack, 4Play etc are too pidgeonholed to debate without prejudice although they debate brilliantly and incessantly. But it can be too much sometimes.

Nateevs,

Please don't enter the Mourinho debate. I don't believe[b] ANY [/b] manager is a tactical genius. If any manager tells you otherwise, it is just a smokescreen. All the top managers are good when it comes to tactics. Genius is a strong word to use. It is only their motivational ability that makes the difference, nothing else. A tactical genius does not go 120 mins against Liverpool without creating a single chance. Lumping the ball to Drogba and waiting for knockdowns is not the epitomy of tactical genius . . . . being able to organise his team efficiently is what Mourinho was good at. The only example of tactical creativity I have seen in the last few years came from Klaus Topmoller @ Leverkusen in 2001, Guus Hiddink's South Korea @ the World Cup and Dick Advocaat's Zenith St Petersburg in the UEFA Cup. Apart from that, the days of tactical genious finished in the early 1990's with Ajax. . . . . . anyway, lets not get sidetracked because I know some people would be too willing to turn this into another debate.

nateevs:
Arsene Wenger has not been consistent with Arsenal, he lost 5-0 to spurs, a club reviving from shambles, lost 4-0 to his rivals ManU, threw away the league after leading with 9pts at some point with a game in hand. . . drew incredible amount of games. . .came fourth two seasons ago and barely qualified for CL. . . .  not smelt a single trophy in 3years. . not even likely to win one next season, (with hughes at ManCity now, Liverpool and revitalized Spurs and motivated Pompey). . . he lost players like Henry and Viera and replaced them with Bendtner and Flamini always building for the long term and nothing to show for it. . .

Ok given that. . . tell me Arsene Wenger is not a great Manager. . .

Whether Wenger is a good manager or not, I would not like him @ Chelsea just like I don't want Ancelotti. Roman is only going for him because he is the only top manager who is willing to listen to the owner and have transfer targets dictated to him.


Lets get back to Ancelotti . . . . . . Make I add more fire:


In the last 9 years, he has managed Juventus and Milan, winning ONE Scudetto. Are Chelsea fans willing to wait 9 whole years just to win the League once? Ask Liverpool fans what it feels like to do well in Europe but flop in the League. They absolutely hate it. I can guarantee Mark Hughes will win it at least 3 times in 9 years, no doubt.

OK, let us look at Ancelotti's record in Europe. In 2004, Milan threw away a 3-0 first leg lead, losing 4-0 to Deportivo in the second leg. What kind of flimsy manager constantly has problems keeping a 3-0 lead? Where are his motivational skills? If that was Mourinho, he would enter the pitch with koboko and flog all the players live on TV. I do not like Ancelotti's management style. It is too laid back and the players get away with giving only 80% most of the time. Rijkaard also has this problem, as we can see with people like Ronaldinho and Deco losing motivation and fitness.

Let us look at his Champions League wins. Last year, they beat Liverpool which is nothing to write home about. They beat a defenceless Man Utd in the semi's. If Ferdinand and Vidic were fit, I assure you Man Utd would have beaten them. In 2003, they were lucky to beat Juventus on penalties after the most boring game ever. This year, they were overrun by Arsenal and surrendered like puppies. In 2005, they blew a 3-0 lead to lose against Liverpool. Lottery or what? IMO, Milan players control the team and they decide when to play well or not. Ancelotti inspires no confidence and is totally unable to motivate his players consistently.

Sorry, Ancelotti is never the answer IMO unless you are happy to win one league every 9 years. His team have constantly underachieved in the League for 6 years, knowing the pedigree of players they have at Milan. Contrast that with Mark Hughes  who constantly overachieves every season. Is this the kind of Manager you want @ Chelsea?

By the way, I just heard on the News that Chelsea are in talks with his representatives. If he comes, I will support him as I do every Chelsea manager. Until then, I will oppose him.

rikkyjen:
@ Ibime

Wow, You just dissed a double European champion. I love this . Ancelloti could be the one to deliever the Holy Grail to Chelsea, who knows?

I don't give a phock. Make I talk my mind. Ancelotti is a pussycat.

@ Nateevs, Razor Ramon,

Ancelotti is a qualified flop! This is a man who cannot even inspire his team to keep up a sustained challenge in the league. A man who threw way a 3-0 lead in the Champions League final. Milan just finished 5th in the Italian league, a fucking substandard league. He lost games to rubbish teams like reggina, Livorno and shit like that. His players are bigger than him. They decide when they want to play, not him. They show in Champions league but he does not have the inspirational character to gee them up in the league. Last season they finished 4th, this season, they finished 5th. Wow, he must be such an inspirational character! Total underachievement in my opinion. Premier League is a league where you damn near have to win every game to win the league. In Italian league, you can lose 8 games and still win the league easily. What a fucking disgrace this Ancelotti guy is. He is the Avram Grant of Milan. His players control the performances, not him. He twice failed to win the league with Juventus when they were the dominant team with players such as Zidane, Davids, Trezeguet and Nedved. If he was manager of Blackburn, Blackburn would be finishing around 14th. In 7 years at Milan, he has only won one scudetto. I am looking for Managers that can keep a consistent challenge in the League and motivate his players, not a manager who has won the Champions League which is a lottery (insert Avram Grant as example here). Mark Hughes has been consistent with Blackburn, his players are always motivated. He has won the one-off duels against the top 4 teams time and time again. Head-to-Head with SAF, he has a better record. This shows that he has the tactical acumen, if you have reservations about that. I'm sorry, Ancelotti is an absolute joke!

If you were talking about Scolari, I would understand more. The only negative is that Scolari has never managed a club team, only National teams.

Take all the names - Rijkaard, Ancelotti, Deschamps, etc. Would they improve Blackburn Rovers league position? I believe they will all finish in the bottom half, guaranteed. We need someone who already has a good knowledge of English football, not someone coming to try out fancy formations (such as the playmaker or Trequarista, eg Ranieri with Veron. Mourinho almost did the same with Deco but he learnt very quickly.) Management is not Rocket Science. The most important quality in a manager is the ability to exercise control of his players, the ability to communicate with all of them, nothing else. They are all tactically at roughly the same level (except Rijkaard who is a joke). Mourinho was successful simply because he was able to inspire loyalty and hardwork amongst his players. He could also speak several languages and could communicate with all of them. They were also afraid of him and he could pull them off after 20 mins if they were not performing. Not because he was some kind of tactical genius. There are no tactical geniuses.

@ Nateevs & Razorr Ramon,

Forget Redknapp and Moyes. Your comparison doesn't stand up. Redknapp has been in the game for donkeys years and was always an almost man.

Hughes is a new manager who has overachieved in his two jobs to date. He has the charisma and knowledge to do the job. Afterall, Jose finished 5th with Leiria in 2001 before Porto gave him the job. You cannot expect him to win anything with Blackburn. You judge him on the level of team he is managing. Some managers have been with top clubs and won things for years but I still don't rate them (eg: Ancelotti, Rijkaard, Eriksson etc). In Mark Hughes case, lack of success is simply lack of opportunity, not the other way around. Management is not Rocket Science as many claim it to be. Case in point is Avram Grant.

Of course, I prefer Hiddink. However, it looks like he is unavailable. Of all the other names mentioned, Mark Hughes is the one. The fact Man Utd were considering him to replace SAF just goes to show you he is no David Moyes or Harry Redknapp. He is not your typical English manager as well. He has a decent knowledge of the transfer market. He played in Barcelona so he is used to different traditions and styles of play. He even ended his playing career in defensive midfield for Southampton which just goes to show you that he has footballing intelligence. If you think that any of the other names on the list will do a better job than Hughes (except Hiddink), then you are having a laugh.

Razorr:
Mark hughes is a big Manchester United fan. He has not made this a secret. That is why Manchester City have outrightly rejected him after speculations that they're in talks with him. They know about his ties to Man United.
Do you want a coach who supports Manchester United, our arch rivals?

YOU FOOL!   - Mark Hughes is a boyhood Chelsea fan

"Mark Hughes has been recently linked with both the top jobs going in the Premier League. Namely, the manager jobs at Chelsea and Manchester City. As a boyhood Chelsea fan and ex-player of the Blues, many would believe that it’s Stamford Bridge which is the more likely destination for the former Wales manager and player."

Read it here - http://www.goal.com/en-US/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=721338



@ all detractors,

let me lay out my reasons for supporting Mark Hughes.

Obviously 25% of it is emotional. I always enjoyed watching him play for Chelsea when I was young.

The other 25% of it is based on the competition. Of all the names linked to the job, only Hiddink, Hughes and Laudrup did it for me. There are only 2 names left of the Chelsea shortlist. Hughes & Ancelotti. I prefer Hughes.

Now let us examine Mark Hughes record:

With Wales, he almost qualified that little country for the World Cup beating the likes of Italy etc on the way and even qualified for the play-offs. In all my life, I have never seen Wales do anything substantial in World Cup or Euro qualifying until Mark Hughes took over. They have since reverted to their usual poor form since he left.

OK, let us look at player disciple and control. Mark Hughes will be highly respected in Chelsea dressing room. That is a fact. The guy doesn't brook no nonsense and has never had discipline problems with any of his players. His players are very angry and have staged mass protest when they heard he was allowed to talk to Man City.  Warnock said he only signed his new contract because he believed Hughes would still be the manager.

Let us look at transfers. Benni McCarthy (£2m), Ryan Nelsen (free, from American league, now Blackburn Captain), Stephen Warnock (£1.5m), Roque Santa Cruz (£3.5m), David Bentley (£2m), Gamst Pedersen (£1.5m) and Christopher Samba (£400k). If you don't know, Sparky has the smallest budget in the Premier League and only spends about £5m every summer. All his transfers are on point and are almost always successful.

Let us look at results: Mark Hughes took Blackburn to FA Cup semi-final for three consecutive seasons in 04, 05, 06. This is a team which routinely battled relegation before he came. This season, Blackburn drew at home to Arsenal, away to Chelsea, home to Liverpool, and home to Man Utd. In previous seasons, Mark Hughes has done the double over Man Utd, regularly beating them home and away for two seasons in a row. They have also worried Arsenal to the point that Fabregas had to resort to calling Sparky names out of pure frustration. I cannot recall off the top of my head, but if you look at Blackburn results against the top four since Sparky joined, it is probably the best against the top four. As for UEFA Cup, Sparky has never taken it serious and routinely sends out his B team for that competition. He has one of the smallest squads in the EPL and cannot afford his players to play every game.

Usually, when you see a manager, you say, yeah, this guy has what it takes. That has always been my opinion of Sparky. Until he makes the step up, you cannot say he is rubbish. His teams are hard to beat. They regularly beat the top four teams. He has overperformed in his current job and he deserves the opportunity to manage a better team. If Avram Grant can take us to within a penalty of winning Champions League and keeep us competing in all competitions even without the respect of the players, I wonder what Sparky can do.

Reports just out suggest that Chelsea are intensifying their search for a new manager tonight in light of the fact that Mark Hughes has been allowed to speak to Man City. I just heard it on Sky News. I always had a good feeling that Mark Hughes was going to be the one. I am 70% confident that Mark Hughes will be the new manager. If so, then Hip Hip Hoorah! A Legend returns to The Bridge!

He is playing in Spanish first division for Murcia or something like that. He did well at Alaves last season in the 2nd division.

Emkayotis:
I'll sell Igbos to Isreal, the Hausas to Osama, the Yorubas to Bush

I suppose you will be recieving negative payment for your sales.

Kobojunkie, I see that you are up to your tricks again.  I typed 'Fox' news in the heading, not 'Fow' news. Hehehehehe . . . . . you are very funny. Which kind moderator be this one sef?  Or did I make mistake - surely not. Conspiracies

[quote author=A-40 link=topic=16635.msg2319325#msg2319325 date=1212258717]@Ibime
Point of correction Hiddink didnt face us in the 2005 UCL.[/quote]No - he faced Milan whilst we faced Liverpool

Kobojunkie:
I am not going to ask you to fall in love with Fox News but at least to be seen as someone who is credible,make sure you have your information right. I went to the same YouTube site and watched the News post and I can not for the life of me figure out how you came about the title for your post. Instead of jumping to stab at anyone for any reason you can come up with, may I suggest you watch this video which happens to be longer than the one you chose to react to and shows that this was a mistake.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8T5eDDL1WuM&feature=related

The point is that the lady joked that "both would be nice" after mentioning that Osama, sorry Obama might be killed. She therefore implicitly joked that it would be nice if Obama was killed. That is the joke everybody picked up on, not anything else  -  so your defence holds no water.

Since there is so much demand for this wonderful product, I suggest we set up derivative contract on top her head.

First Bill O'Reilly joked about sending a lynch party for Michelle Obama, now this.

What kind of Aliens run this channel and which kind of idiots watch it?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0e_SH4IFg8

somze:
I don't think Hiddink was PSV's manager when the CL (European Cup then) was won. He was an assistant or so.

Winning the Dutch league is good but by no means great for obvious reasons.

South Korea was helped by dubious refereeing decisions. They did not deserve to win either Italy or Spain.

If major trophies are a criteria, then he is not special.

He was manager of PSV cos he took over in 1987 after three years as assistant so he did win the Champions League in 1988. Winning the Dutch league from 87 to 90 was special cos Dutch league was a good league back then. South Korea just lost a match to Jordan this week. South Korea in WC semi-final is not special? I don't remember any dubious decision, even if there was, it is still special. The man has been a National team manager for 10 out of the last 13 years so I don't know what he can can win again, abi Champions league? Or maybe you want him to win World Cup with South Korea or Australia? Champions League semi-final for PSV is more than special. What is up with this word 'special' anyway. Are you trying to make a well-known comparison? . Don't even go there. Baba Hiddink is not a small boy.

Anyway, all this talk and he is not going to be the new manager. Mancini's name is being heavily linked. PLEASE NO!


Check this out . . . . . Mourinho seems to be going for the transfer targets we been discussing here for the last few months.

http://www.goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=716782

[center]Mourinho Demands Hamsik As First Signing[/center]
According to the Gazzetta dello Sport, Jose Mourinho has given Inter President Massimo Moratti the list of four players he wants to buy this summer, and at the top of this list is Napoli sensation Marek Hamsik.

Mourinho is almost certain to become the new coach of Inter, following the sacking of Roberto Mancini earlier this week.

The Gazzetta says that ‘The Special One’ has already notified Moratti of the four players he wants to sign ahead of the 2008/09 campaign.

Top of the list is Napoli midfielder Marek Hamsik. The 20-year-old joined the Partenopei last summer from Serie B side Brescia and was an absolute revelation this season.

He was a virtual ever-present at the heart of the Azzurri midfield, missing only the last match of the campaign, and scored nine goals from 37 games.

The three other players Mourinho wants to sign are Udinese’s Gokhan Inler, Sevilla winger Diego Capel, and Arsenal’s Aliaksandr Hleb.

Genoa’s Abdoulay Konko will be the only player desired by Mancini that will arrive, joining from Genoa.

somze:
But seriously has Hiddink won any major trophies as a manager? Why do guys like him so much?

Hiddink won Champions League in 1988, his 1st year as manager there. He would have won more Champions Leagues if he had been with a bigger club. He won league every season with PSV, including Treble from 2002 - 2006. He also won Dutch league from 1987 - 1990. He also took PSV to Champions league semi-final in 2005 where they almost toppled Milan, beating Arsenal on the way. That is unheard of for a Dutch club these days. He took South Korea to semi-final of WC, beating Italy, Portugal and Spain - he even played 4 strikers against Italy. He also took Holland to semi-final of 1998 World Cup, losing on penalties against Brazil. He performed well with Australia and was unlucky to lose in the 2nd Round of WC to a dubious Italian penalty. The guy is a footballing maverick. His style of play is undefined. Very attacking, very aggressive - but defensively solid as well. IMO, no coach does it like Hiddink.

He has tried every job from big to small, Club to National. What he needs is a MASSIVE club like Chelsea. He coaches for the love of it and for the challenge, not the money. That is why you see him coaching in some funny locations.

Where is Somalia on the list?

Hehehehe . . . . . it is not up to the Naija Government to fight for regularisation of status. What kind of message is that: "Please help take these people from us, we don't have resources to deal with them". Naija must be the only country that is begging people to leave.

It is up to the immigrants themselves to fight for regularisation, not the Naija government. I don't hear Mexico begging Yankee to regularise its citizens who are living in Yankee. It is the immigrants themselves.

Nateevs, you are right. Scolari has said that Chelsea haven't even contacted him. There's a lot of mischief making by the Press these days. 

However, i don't think the new manager signed Bosingwa. I believe Bosingwa was an Abramovic signing. He likes to take advice on players and act on it himself. The only person who was in contact with Roman all this time is Hiddink. So unless you are suggested that Hiddink is the new manager . . . . . . . . well, that would be nice. Of all the names mentioned, he is the only one who would be an improvement on Mourinho in my opinion. None of the other names even come close to Mourinho.

There is no problem getting players for the Enyimbas or Julius Bergers. The thing that is killing Naija league is corruption. Referees are always getting bought so you never see away victories in the League. You will see like a 15 point spread between the Champions and last place. League wont even start because NFA and NFL are fighting over who will pick the referees. What kind of league is this? It defeats the purpose. Even Enyimba chairman recently resigned because of all this nonsense. Everybody don tire for their nyamanyama abeg. That is why all those who should be supporting local league are now supporting Chelsea, Arsenal and Man Utd.

Who told you John Fashanu is trustworthy? If you don't know, he is more crooked than many born and bred Nigerians.

davidif:
To protect the leagues young talent, it should institute a ban on players less than 23 from going overseas, so that our league won't turn into the Argentina or Brazillian leagues where teams from Europe keep poaching their talent thereby detering fans from the stadiums.

What you are proposing is communism. You will quickly see Nigerian footballers revoking their passport and running abroad quicker than you can say "Cuban boxer".

FIFA already have a rule to restrict the recruitment of non-EU players under 18. That is why Alex Pato had to wait till January to make his debut for Milan.

Plus all 23 year old Nigerian players are 30 years old anyway.

I read in the times today that Quaresma is Mourinho's number one priority when he takes over at InterMilan.

Abramovic should hurry up and sign this guy abeg.

Debosky, you have won the league thrice since I started watching football. We have won the league twice plus Cup Winners Cup. All the bloody league you won in 80's and early 90's did not reach me in Naija because no one gave a flip about English league back then. In my lifetime, till 1998, NO English team had any bloody class and history. 

Sorry, just saw your message.

Akolawole:
@Dr Kit, Debosky and their cohort

Can you explain to me what iscalled "Class" and "History" ?

Don't mind them - bloody class and history?

So every other team except Man Utd, Liverpool and Arsenal should just die because they have no "class" and "history"?

What an elitist load of nonsense. Fucking Uruguay have class and history in the World Cup - about 60 years ago. Should they be considered giants because they have 'class' and 'history'?

Steau Bucharest, Hamburg, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest have more class and history than Arsenal because they have won Champions League. How would they feel if fans of these clubs tell Arsenal not to bother competing in Champions League because they have no class and history?

In football, history has nothing to do with today. We have genuinely been one of the 3 or 4 greatest teams in the World over the last 5 years and thats it. Full stop.

Maybe this sacking offers some clues as to who the next manager will be. Chelsea stated that the next manager will not need Ten Cate. As for Ten Cate, I feel sorry for him. He is a good coach. I don't know why Somze is hating - maybe because he thinks Ten Cate replaced Mourinho. But Ten Cate ain't got nothing to do with Mourinho. Judge him on his own merits. The fact is that Ten Cate has been handling Chelsea training sessions all season long.

Why am I reading that Chelsea have £620m debt. What is Abramovic doing? This is worrying.

Voyeurs, Voyuers, Voyeurs! Get thee behind us.

Anyway, it looks like Mark Hughes is becoming a serious contender for the job:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/mihirbose/2008/05/chelseas_managerial_search_con.html

pak, you have not provided the full story behind that goalkeeping gaffe.

It was in 1998 in Japanese league. That was the last play-off game of the season and all his team needed to do to win the Championship was win that match. Then he went and made that mistake in the dying minutes of the match, costing his team the league.