₦airaland Forum

4 Play:
When Biafra declared independence,did you support it?

Ask am abeg!

Please 4Him, take that Israeli flag off your signature before you incite people to internet violence.

Abeg make una leave Obama jo! He is one of the greatest and most charismatic speakers I have ever seen.

After the oil is gone, will you guys come and please help us clean Niger Delta rivers before we finally break up into our constituent nations?

somze:
Ibime
Ok, just to clear the air I'll ask a few question and I simply want a YES or a NO.

DO NOT explain your answers just a simple YES or NO

1. Look through the last 50 years, would you pick JM as the best manager at Chelsea?

2. The most expensive players that JM bought himself, did they perform under his management?

3. Do you prefer AG to JM?

4. Is there any manager you know that has made no wrong decisions in the tranfer market?

5. Do you prefer Ranieri to JM?

6. Would you play, at the moment Alex in our starting 11?

7. You are a Chelsea fan, it does not speak to well of us when rival fans see us arguing about our greatest manager

Some of your questions do not have straight answers but Ill do my best to keep it short.

1. Yes

2. Drogba, Essien, Mikel and Ricky have generally performed well - the others are somehow somehow. Malouda is woeful. The problem is not who he bought but who he didn't buy. If Chelsea go a goal down, we do not have the creativity to unlock a packed defence.

3. Not at all.

4. No need to answer.

5. I still haven't forgiven Ranieri for Monaco.

6. No - but he is Brazil's number one defender right now and will fit in perfectly to any top team in the world. We just happen to have two of the top 5 defenders in the World in our team.

7. We are not arguing - I do not care if Arsenal fans are watching. Im not into "You're shit and we're the greatest" type of football tribalism. I criticise our players because it is just my nature to be critical - I always focus on my teams weaknesses - and other teams strengths. It is the same way I always criticise Naija. Not because I don't notice the good things. I just like to point out the bad things. I also manage a local Under-13 football team - so maybe I think too much like a manager.

nateevs:
@Ibime

Since you said you have close sources to the White house at the bridge. . . . Do you know what stalled the transfer of Luca Modric in the Jan transfer window. . ? Roman reportedly told Mamic he was ready to pay every cent it cost to bring him to the bridge. . . .Mamic reportedly met with Roman . . things seemed fine . . until 2 weeks later when Mamic said . . he was not for sale.

Got any insights. .?

That is one guy I will like to see at Chelsea. . .

Hehehe - abeg oh! - I am not an insider like that oh! - anyway, from what I understand, Modric's contract can be bought out this summer for about £10m or so. That beats the £20m that Zagreb are asking for right now - so we just have to wait and see in the summer - plus we have to see what happens with Ballack and Lampard first - Avram Grant was going to get the go ahead to replace a large number of the squad with players like Renato Augusto and Modric as well as possibly Ronaldinho and Giovani Dos Santos - but now it looks like Chelsea will get a new manager this summer so all those plans could change. Ronaldinho's brother was quoted today as saying that he doesn't want to come to Chelsea because we don't play attacking football. His contract can be bought out for £13m.

somze:
(1.) Alex is not a top class defender and JM is the one to choose what defender would suit his style better. Alex presently makes mistakes in his games and needs cover. He is hardly fast too. But as a sub he can be managed.

(2.) Your claim that JM is the cause of Chelsea's demise and huge debt has already been thrown out for want of intelligence evidence.

(1.) He is better than Ben-Haim or Oguchi Onyewu

(2.) I have never claimed this. Only that the players he left behind after spending x amount of money leave a lot to be desired. Do not get me wrong. Mourinho is a GREAT manager - but he made many mistakes last season because he was flustered by all the pressure and internal fighting and he took things too personal in his decision making.

Akolawole:
You need to be sacked by goal.com

Lord Jesus!

Eduardo took Croatianian nationality in 2002. He has always been playing for them in many competitions (  You-21 et al)

He qualified for 75% of matches EASILYYYYYYYYYYY.


I will send an email to your Boss TOMOROW

Don't worry - its not like they pay me so I don't see how they can sack me.

As for Eduardo, read this:

http://www.goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=370813

"Eduardo da Silva has been granted a work permit by the UK Home Office following a hearing on Thursday.

The decision means Arsenal's 24-year-old Brazilian-born Croatian international striker, who arrived from Dinamo Zagreb in July, is eligible to play for the Gunners immediately.

His application for a work permit was initially rejected because he had not met the criteria of 75% of international appearances for Croatia over the past two years.

But Arsenal appealed against that decision, and the appeal has succeeded, meaning Eduardo can continue his pre-season preparations.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger had said: "In our first attempt they strictly applied the rule.

"Eduardo has played 50% of national team games for Croatia. I consider it a fantastic achievement at the age of 24 - and he played every single game in the last year."

Eduardo, 24, moved to Europe at the age of 15, and took Croatian nationality in 2002."

Hehehe - trust Naija man to know more about immigration laws than lawyers themselves.

By the way, the visa regulations are not the same for a millionaire footballer as they are for an economic migrant.

Anyway, the fact is Onyewu would have cost £1m, Alex was free. We even saw Onyewu playing for Newcastle last season and he was rubbish. The point is this - while Mourinho was wasting time arguing about signing Ben-Haim and Onyewu, we were dropping points. That is why we lost the league - nothing else!

Akolawole:
1) which Eduardo? I hope you don't mean Arsenal's Eduardo. I am not going to be doing your research for you.

2) Were you there when RA ask JM to bring Alex. Jesus Christ!

1.) Yes - that Eduardo

2.) No I wasn't there - but I think my previous post answers that question for you. I knew what was going on because I work for goal.com and I find out when things are happening. If you doubt, you can read some of my latest articles below:

http://jp.goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=612199
http://jp.goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=610807
http://www.goal.com/en/articolo.aspx?contenutoid=615662
http://www.goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=607033
http://china.goal.com/en/articolo.aspx?contenutoid=614656
http://china.goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=615472
http://kr.goal.com/en-india/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=614668

Look, infact, let me just end this argument here with your favourite Guardian newspaper:

http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,,1989514,00.html#article_continue

"Mourinho has also been stopped from bringing in cover for Terry. Aware that the eight-figure fee needed to buy his preferred target, Manchester City's Micah Richards, would not be provided, the Portuguese proposed a series of low-cost alternatives. However, agreed deals for Oguchi Onyewu, a US international who had been in talks with Fulham and would have cost £1m, and the Portugal centre- back Jorge Andrade, available on loan from Deportivo La Coruña, were knocked back.

As an alternative, the club proposed bringing the Brazil international, Alex, to Stamford Bridge from PSV Eindhoven. The 24-year-old's sporting rights are already owned by Chelsea and he is a favourite of the club's senior scout, Frank Arnesen, but Mourinho does not rate Alex and refuses to have players imposed upon his squad."


And you are sitting there in Ibadan arguing about Work Permit policy in UK like say na you sabi. Alex did not come to Chelsea because Mourinho did not want him, not because of work permit. As I told you before, he even made a DVD about Alex's mistakes to convince Abramovich that Alex was rubbish. He even preferred Oguchi Onyenwu and Tal Ben-Haim to Alex. What a joke!

Akolawole:
I am just tired of you man.

Research very well before coming here

1) next time, read well

2) What concern Agbero with overload? UK immigration is no respecta of brazil. If you don't understand how 75% rule works, just ask, there are plenty people that can explain to you.

3) Name the players ( but make sure you research well now). For your information, don't mention Kanu because he's now a British citizen. Yakubu and Yobo don't need us again even though both are still on work permit. Okocha is "somehow" okay as well.

You no get argument. There are many players in EPL who do not meet Work Permit criteria. Abi, you want make I enter Home Office website begin dey find how many percent of matches them don play for their country before you go gree? I have told you Alex and Eduardo do not meet the criteria, neither did Andrey Bikey when he signed for Reading - and many more. Kleberson had only played a handful of matches in the World Cup when SAF signed him - as with Gilberto Silva. Abeg, I don tire for you.

You have still not answered the question - did Abramovich tell Mourinho to take Alex back from loan or not? If Mourinho said yes - then Alex would have gotten his Work Permit on appeal. Alex was in the Brazil squad, he had performed in the CL, he had won 2 Dutch league titles as well as a Copa Libertadores and Brazilian Championship. THere is NO WAY he would not have gotten his Work Permit. That is the end of the matter.

Akolawole:
@Ibime

If you cannot trust UK Guardian on Alex's problem, you should be able to trust wikipedia on Da Silve.

Here is the link, read it line by line:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anderson_Silva_de_Fran%C3%A7a

Cool - I did not know that Da Silva had now gotten Spanish passport. Still, it does not prove your argument about Alex. If I quote from one of your sources -

"As for Alex, Chelsea think they will still be able to import him into the country legally, which would be nifty for them since as he showed at PSV Eindhoven he is a heck of a player. The one hitch may be that he hasn’t played in enough games for Brazil over the past two years to qualify for a work permit but apparently that doesn’t matter because competition for places in the Brazil side is “intense,” which I guess is code for saying that the top fifty players in Brazil are more than qualified to play in England. "

So yes, we could have had Alex in January if we wished. There are many players in EPL who do not qualify for the 75% international games rule. If you play for Brazil, Argentina or any other top nation in the world, you can easily get around this rule.

Even till today sef, Alex has not qualified for work permit if you go by the strict interpretation of the law. Even Eduardo at Arsenal has not fulfilled this criteria.

Don't mind them. Yesterday, an Arsenal fan was telling me that they are concentrating on Champions league - they know they have lost the league. Man Utd should win it, although I even prefer Arsenal to win it because I don't want Man Utd to start dominating English football, because I belieeve if Man Utd win again, they will not let it go for some time. Their team is too good. As for Chelsea, if we had another manager, I would have some hope - but after watching the Carling Cup and FA cup, I have no hope for our boys.

nateevs:
Everyone is grateful to Roman. . . .but everyone is grateful only because he brought the right manager. . . but he has to make the right decisions for us to be even more grateful. . . With decisions like replacing JM with Grant. . well. . Money without brains sometimes can be disaster. . . .

Everything must be balanced. . . money and ability to decide right. . . which includes not interfering with football matters. . i know it's hard when you are the sponsor and a fan of the game at the same time. . . but his desire to get heard could also bring disaster. .

So you think any manager can do what JM did. . . So what has Grant done. .  ? The biggest disaster will be not to bring a big Manager next season. . .

No doubt, Roman has made many mistakes - sacking Mourinho at the time he did was a big mistake. Employing Pini Zahavi to buy Chelsea players was a big mistake. Replacing Mourinho with Avram Grant was a big mistake.

However, Mourinho is not the be-all and end-all of Chelsea. We are a great club and do not rely on one man. I was pointing out some mistakes Mourinho made - it seems like all Chelsea fans seem to think that Mourinho can do no wrong. I believe Mourinho lost us the title with his stubborn headedness because I know what was happening at Chelsea around December, January last season - I write for goal.com, so when I say something, it is not like I am plucking it out of thin air. Mourinho is hard man to get along with and his fractious manner strained the relationship with Roman, not the other way around. The whole Boulahrouz/ Alex / Ben-Haim thing was down to Mourinho's stubbornness. He was fighting to keep the decisions in his hands. He did not sign Boulahrouz, Frank Arnesen did. For that reason, he resented Boulahrouz and he did not have clarity of mind with all those decisions he made last season because he took things personal. That is why we lost the title.

Hmmm - if even Sepp Blatter thinks you did a bad job, then something must be really wrong.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/africa/7287312.stm


Fifa boss Sepp Blatter has delivered a stinging rebuke to coach Berti Vogts over his spell in charge of the Nigeria national team.

The German quit the post last month in the wake of a hugely disappointing Nations Cup campaign after their quarter-final exit.

Blatter suggests that Vogts' inability to stay in the west African country during his reign could have been responsible for Nigeria's worst Nations Cup display for 25 years.

"My old friend Berti Vogts was in charge of Nigeria and he didn't even live in the country - that surely can't be the correct way proceed?," Blatter asked.

"Vogts was not living in Nigeria because he said his players weren't there. But to feel a team you must feel the country."

Only four coaches out of the 16 teams at the recent African Cup of Nations were from the countries they were leading.

But Blatter believes national team coaches should come from the same country as the players and wants foreign coaches to be banned from national teams.

"In Africa recently, many of the countries competing in the Cup of Nations had foreign coaches but all have now gone," Blatter said.

"Of course, national associations are free to choose who they believe is the right man but I do think that the cause of international football would be made stronger with indigenous coaches.

"I cannot believe that it is possible to properly bring young players into international football and motivate them and bring improvement through a translator.

"I will bring it to the Technical Committee on Monday. If we had such a rule maybe it would impact on the freedom of the associations. But we can take up this matter."

Akolawole:
1) I metioned the game at the bridge and i stand by it. JM wouldnt care for a match that we never lost.

5) I am not a nonetity when it comes to UK immigration. Denilson just like Mikel were allowed because they have played for their countries in age-grade competitions. Denilson was Brazil's You-19 captain. On players first application, he must have played 75% for his national team(s) and your country must be in FIFA's 100 country list. The exception is if you hold EEC passport or married to EEC national.

1.) What does the game at the Bridge have to do with it? I am talking about the game at the Camp Nou.

2.) OK - you explain how Anderson Da Silva got work permit to play for Everton - and now Barnsley, despite the fact he has never played for Brazil at any level - and no, he does not have EU citizenship. You have not answered the question - did Roman ask Mourinho to take Alex back on loan from PSV or not? If Roman knew Alex would not get work permit, would he have even suggested it?

And no, I am not in PH, I am in Dubai at the moment but I am based in London.

somze:
(1.) It's funny, you only claim to be with Chelsea from 1996 after I said I've been with them for 12 years. Not that I'm accusing you of lying but it's just weird

(2.) If you were in fact there at that time you would have desisted from this baseless arguments you continually put up.


(3.) This is too hilarious for me to handle!!!

(1.) I came to England in 1996. At the time I used to watch Italian football and Zola, Gullit and Vialli were instantly recognisable so I chose Chelsea. My brothers chose Arsenal and Liverpool respectively. Not to mention my mother and grandfather are Chelsea fans - so please don't start any "I was here before you contest". I am half English - before you start making any funny jokes again.

(2.) This is why I am grateful for Roman Abramovich - and if Jose Mourinho clashes with him, then I know which side I am on. Instead of directing your gratitude at Jose, you should direct it at Roman because if not for Roman, there would be no Jose and we would be in League one. I don't believe that Jose did anything spectacular that another top coach could not do with the resources. There are many Jose's - there is only one Abramovich.

(3.) Laugh all you want. If I tell you I have a friend sitting on the Chelsea bench right now (part of the staff), you would laugh even more. If I tell you me and my mate used to go to matches with free tickets from Babayaro and Gallas, you go laugh till you fall for ground.

Akolawole:
1) He did not make a single mistake against Barca, in fact that was his best match for chelsea when he pocket Ronaldinh completely and chelsea won by Drogba's goal. I wonder if you watch the matches sef.

2) Essien can even play as a goalkeeper, heis too good a footballer. He came to Chelsea as an attacking midfielder from Lyon. was converted to Defensive midfielder.  The only problem he has in Defense is his height Nothing more. Heis our best player last season. Paoulo and Michael are better than your Buldozer.

3) we so much need a right back. Essien had been overused, JM did not want to buy from Abroad because of their usual "time to blend", Tal is probably our cheapest option then.

4) And Roman is so fool to bring Sheva at £30m and Ballck at £130,000 a week even though his contract had expired.

5) I am sorry to say this: You are a first class liar  Alex cannot play in England at that time because UK immigration cannot allow him to play in england because he has not play 75% for his national team. For your information, He was even removed  administratively when he arrived at heathrow because of his work permit complications. Please read this:

http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,,2138173,00.html

and

http://www.theoffside.com/leagues/england/english-premiership/alex-can't-beat-airport-security-defense.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/chelsea/6274174.stm

6)Only Last monday, Sheva was the captain of our reserve team. The english press says he had one shot at goal for 90 minutes. JM spirit is killing him true true

7)Is Benni the only striker in Porto. Is Benny similar to DD?

Probably you live in Chelsea's training camp for you to know that.

(1.) No - he made a mistake in the second leg against Ronaldinho - maybe I should be questioning whether you are a Chelsea fan or not instead of the other way around.

(2.) Yeah - the problem was his height, his playing of offside trap and his positioning. He is NOT a defender. Take off your rose-tinted glasses. Paulo and Michael maybe better than Bouhlarouz but NOT AT CENTRE-BACK!

(3.) Cheaper than Alex?

(4.) Ballack wages were high BECAUSE his contract was expired. As for Sheva, don't come here and act like he wasn't a World star before he came to Chelsea. Every team would have loved to have him. Stop your revisionist history.

(5.) How many games had Denilson played for Brazil before he went to Arsenal? Alex would have easily gotten work permit because of his pedigree in the Champions League and because he plays for the best country in the world. There are many players who get work permit who do not even come close to fulfilling the criteria.

(6.) He is already finished.

(7.) Maybe you never watched Mourinho's Porto. McCarthy was used as a battering-ram.

(8.) No - you don't need to live in training camp to know these things - but I do have some connections with the club - I will not mention how close - let us just say that I have never had to pay money to go to any Chelsea match in my life.


@ Somze and Akola -

As for listing the number of mistakes Essien and Ferreira made, why not read my original post. They are listed.

Look - the crux of the matter is this - we lost the league because Mourinho refused to take Alex back from PSV. END OF! No discussion.

And finally, unlike you, I am not JJC. Chelsea since 1996.

somze:
Robben was brought into the squad during JM's time. What did the manager during this time achieve. Note that Ranieri spent in a season much more  than what JM spent in a season.

No - The Petr Cech and Arjen Robben deals were agreed in January 2004. Mourinho joined in July. Mourinho didn't sign them - he just recieved delivery of them.

somze:
Now following your point, Arsenal has only got 3 good season in 10 years of Wenger? Arsene should be sacked then for such lousy perfomance. How ridiculous!!!

I also think it is ridiculous to compare Arsene Wenger with Chelsea or Man Utd. Arsenal have less net spending than teams like West Ham and Tottenham so it is even a credit to Arsene that his team are even in contention - and they do it without compromising the beauty of the game. Arsene also BUILT a stadium for Arsenal whilst keeping them in contention with his shrewd fiscal planning. Emirates should be called "Arsene Wenger" stadium. Did Mourinho leave us any such legacy except tens of millions of debt year in and year out? Anyway, enough praising of Arsenal before I am accused of being something I am most definitely not.

somze:
3. Man Utd won last season  because of our crisis in management, our manager was refused the funds needed to get a replacement defender. Remember Gallas was given to you guys against his wish. The whole of last season JM was not in control of player acquisition.

I think your adoration of Mourinho is clouding your objectivity here.

Our centre-back Boulahrouz was being played at right-back when he made a mistake against Barcelona. After that Mourinho refused to speak to him and preferred to play Essien or Ferreira at centre-back when Terry and Ricky got injured. This decision cost us points against Reading, Fulham, Liverpool and Tottenham in the Carling Cup and also left us weak in midfield. Ferreira and Essien were brutally exposed in the air and both made mistakes in every game over december and January when we lost points. Now, I don't care who you are - you cannot tell me that Essien and Ferreira are better centre-backs than Boulahrouz. Yes, Boulahrouz made a mistake in the last game of the season - but that was after 6 months of inactivity and low-confidence instilled by Mourinho. Before that, he was always reliable both for Hamburg when they won the German league and for the Dutch national team. I will come back to this point later.

OK - In January, Mourinho asked Roman for money to buy Ben-Haim whose contract was up in 6 months. Bolton wanted £4m. Chelsea were willing to pay £2m. Bolton refused. Mourinho became stubborn and started making all sorts of bruhaha against Roman for not signing him. But Roman is no fool to pay £4m for a player whose contract is expiring. So Roman told Mourinho to take Alex back from his loan at PSV. Mourinho said no - and went out of his way to make a DVD for Roman showing all of Alex's faults. He insisted on Ben-Haim. Meanwhile we continued to drop points with Essien filling in at centre-back whilst Boulahrouz was made to rot in reserve. History has proved Roman right. We can all see now that Alex is a better defender than Ben-Haim - and in the process of his stubbornheadedness, Mourinho LOST US THE LEAGUE!

Also, you claim Roman signed Sheva and Ballack. Has Mourinho ever publicly come out and said he didn't want Sheva and Ballack? NO! Roman signed them - but he cosigned the deals. Also, he should deal with it - its not like Roman went and bought League one players for him. Besides, do Moratti, Jean-Michel Aulas and Berlusconi not sign player? Yet their teams are succesful. The fact is that Mourinho killed Sheva - as he did to Boulahrouz and Ferreira. You cannot tell me Sheva lost all his class over the course of one summer. Mourinho got a Rolls Royce and tried to turn him into a work-horse. In the process Sheva started running too hard and lost all the power in his legs as well as his confidence. Sheva even employed extra fitness trainers in his anxiousness to please Mourinho and in the process, he flogged himself into the ground. Now, his legs are gone. If you doubt, go and watch the first Charity shield match he played for Chelsea and compare it to now - you will see that he has lost all the power in his legs. All because Mourinho wanted to turn him into a Didier Drogba type of player. If you look all through Mourinho's career, he only likes playing with big strong African battering-ram strikers. For Drogba, substitute Benni McCarthy. Hence - Hernan Crespo did not succeed at Chelsea.

Finally, the fatal flaw in Mourinho was that he alienated members of his squad - and whenever we had injuries, it came back to haunt him because his substitutes did not have the confidence to produce. From Damien Duff to Ferreira to Boulahrouz to Kezman to Arjen Robben to Wright-Phillips. Mourinho used to take things personal when players underperformed and would not even speak to them. Hence, when we had injuries, he would try to fit square pegs in round holes (as with Essien) or the substitutes would just not perform. He would scare the first team players with his harsh treatment of the substitutes. That was Mourinho's psychology. This "untouchables" and "touchables" style of management certainly works - but what happens when the "untouchables" are injured and the substitutes have to play, all of them bereft of confidence? The chickens came home to roost last season when we started getting one or two injuries and this flaw in Mourinho's management style was brutally exposed. Have you noticed that with all Mourinho teams that the first-team are always World Stars while the substitutes are always big flops?

Unfortunately, this abrasive management style does not last long. Eventually, it catches up with him - hence his fight with John Terry just before he left. Mourinho is a good manager to have for four seasons - but not a manager to build decades of success on. Let us look at the top teams we all love. They are defined by managers who introduce a football culture. Johan Cruyff introduced Barcelona's culture and they have never departed from it. Even if you are watching black and white TV, you know when Barca are playing. Till today, Barca play the same style - short sharp passes in midfield with exilirating wing-play. Johan Cruyff's legacy lives on. Same with Arsene and SAF. You know Arsenal's style of play. Even if they change manager, they still play the same way. It is instantly recognisable. As for Mourinho, we couldn't WAIT to change the style of football he introduced when he left. His legacy does not last. Chelsea is too big a club to be playing league-two tactics.

Mourinho did great to win our first league since '55. It seems like Chelsea fans want to idolise him forever because of that. No - the fact is we are a big club. Roman spends lots of money and has a right to ask for a certain style of football. We spend enough money, not only to win - but to win handsomely. And any other top manager in the World would produce with Roman's money - not only Mourinho - and they will also do it with a better style of play. Mourinho is just lucky to be followed by an idiot like Avram Grant. It makes him look good. The fact is, if Mourinho was followed by someone like Guus Hiddink, you would have forgotten Mourinho's name by now. So please let go of your emotional ties to Mourinho. He does not deserve cult status because he didn't do anything another top-manager wouldn't do with the money he had. In my opinion, he even wasted 50% of the money he was given.

Finally, Mourinho is an extremely difficult character who makes childish unreasonable demands. He has fallen out with everyone from Cruyff to Rijkaard to his own players. I do not blame Roman for falling out with him - it is something that happens frequently with Mourinho. Roman has also made many mistakes but he has also saved our club from bankruptcy otherwise we would be like Leeds are. So do not blame Roman - because you would probably be supporting Arsenal by now if not for him.

Anyway, sorry for the long essay - I just wanted to clarify some points which you guys seem to be missing.

Can good fruit come from rotten seed?

Hehehe - just finished watching the David Haye / Enzo Maccaranelli fight. What a knockout!

Anyway, back to this issue - Ill just leave you fellow Blues with this quote from the BBC website:

It's results like this that make all the pundits look foolish when they say things like: "the sign of a good team is being able to grind out results when they're not playing well, ". The fact is Chelsea play like this most of the time - this IS how we play - and now we are seeing results not go our way. TBH, we're fortunate to be 3rd in the league, our goal difference is the worst of the big four and comparable to the teams in 5th-6th. We can't just blame Grant though, as the uncreative play all started under Mourinho. We have so much quality in the side, it's frustrating that we don't play better. I think there needs to be a management clearout in the off season. We need a proactive well-planned solution, not a stop-gap 'big name' manager.

Face it guys - Jose Mourinho started the rot and he left us with average footballers. He can't handle truly talented players because he likes to be the boss all the time. Anyway, we can see what the result is - we are left with substandard players and we paid £20 million a piece for them. @ Somze and Nateevs - you mentioned that Mourinho was not in control of transfers. He was until 2007. I guess Roman just got tired of all the mediocre players he was signing for World Class fees. And no - we were never in for Nani.

nateevs:
I do agree that Arsenal and ManU have better flair players. . . but you must remember that JM was brought in to satisfy the Roman's unsatiable desires for cup glory. . .

He was brought to win trophies. . . If Arsene goes this season with out a trophy . . he still won't be sacked. . So is Alex ferguson. . no coach will come under Roman and go on for 3 seasons without a trophy all in the name of playing sexy football. . .

I watched porto very well . . . when JM was there and there was nothing like the type of football he brought to Chelsea. . because the conditions for work were different. . .

So when he cam e to chelsea he had to live up to expectations. . he had to win. . . as a mata of fact Roman promised him a milliom pounds if he won the CL in his first season. . . If Jose was brought in to build a team of the future he would have done something different. .

My guy, who said you cannot win playing good football. And no - Mourinho's Porto team was not exciting to watch. It was a 1-0 team. They were just lucky to face Monaco in that final. They had Costinha, Pedro Mendes and Maniche as DM's. They only had three attack minded players,  namely Deco, Carlos Alberto and Benni McCarthy.

Look - my eye does not lie. The first time I saw Ronaldo playing for Portugal Under-21, I knew he was going to be one of the greatest players in the World - this was even before he came to Manchester United. I said the same about Quaresma the first time I saw him play for Barcelona  and I say the same about Nani - Nani will be a world star. The eye no dey lie. Mourinho is the kind of guy who would see Okocha and choose Olofinjana instead. I mean - look at how he has turned Mikel into a DM. I don't know how any coach can see Nani and Ribery and then decide to buy Malouda instead. Nani was £15m (in installments), Ribery was £17m. Malouda was £13m. Only a man like Mourinho would choose Malouda over the other two. The guy is even willing to pay £25m for a right-back (Dani Alves). What stupidness! Look at Essien, Drogba etc. In my eyes, all these players are wastepipes - their first touch is too poor. Abeg I don tire to talk about Mourinho. The fact is SAF is winning the league with flair players, no problem. Barca were doing the same till recent. Football has changed abeg. The Ronaldo/Luis Figo type of player is the future.  

Abeg, we are turning into the Juventus of England. I'd rather we were the Barcelona of England. After all, does anyone outside Italy support Juventus despite the X amount of trophies they've won?

somze:
Ibime
What does JM have to do with players not performing?

He bought all these nonsense players - lets face it, Mourinho didn't bring a single world class player to Chelsea - and I am not talking defenders or defensive midfielders or Didier Drogba. I like to see players like Nani and Quaresma, not Malouda. I don tire for all these gra-gra Mourinho players abeg. It is absolutely boring and too mechanical. We saw it against Liverpool in CL last season where they didn't create a single chance. Do we have to play boring football to win? Anyway, Im not blaming Mourinho for the Barnsley defeat - but trust me, Arsenal or Man Utd would wipe Barnsley 5 - 0 because their players have flair. If they had gone a goal down, they would have created chances. Unfortunately, Chelsea do not because our players no get scope. We always create less chances than our opposition, only that our defence and goalkeeper save us.

Oh Jesus - what can I say? I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

Anyway, here is my verdict -

Chelsea are too mechanical in their style of play. As long as you win the physical battle, you will beat Chelsea. We need a total clearout of the squad and we need to bring in some flair players. Abeg, I don tire for all this gra-gra percentage football. We need to start creating some clear cut chances - none of this half chance shit. For God sake, they only had one shot on target. Even Liverpool created loads of chances against Barnsley.

Mr Avram Grant - please do the honourable thing and resign. Nothing more needs to be said.

Malouda - Please go back to Lyon. I have never seen a winger who can neither dribble or cross. Malouda looks like a left back playing left-wing.

Essien - Mr "I must not pass ball with my left foot." I have never seen a so-called World Plass player counting leg like this guy. It is horrible to watch. At least Mikel and Makalele have some imagination with their passes.

Wright-Phillips - No invention, no imagination. Gotta go!

Ballack - Very poor performance. Can't dribble or take players on. Im dissapointed.

Not to mention Cudicini - bad mistake. However, Chelsea should not live or die on one mistake against a team like Barnsley.

Mourinho brought some very average players to Chelsea and we are seeing it now. They cannot play under any other manager but Mourinho because they have no skill. Their game was based on motivation and gra-gra. While Arsene and SAF were buying Nani, Anderson, Denilson etc, Mourinho was busy paying World Class prices for work horses like Essien and Malouda. Disgraceful!  I mean look at Lassana Diarra's performance today and for France. Essien is not fit to clean his boots.

the guy don old - wetin you expect? - abi na because him get baby face?

First he reported his minister to EFCC - not to mention that he is the only President ever to declare his assets - now this - he is sacking 9 ministers for incompetence - what do you guys think?


http://odili.net/news/source/2008/mar/6/13.html

[b]NINE members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and some Presidential aides have been pencilled down by President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua because of reports of non-performance on their part by a Presidential Monitoring panel.

The nine ministers are to be relieved of their appointments before the first anniversary of his regime - May 29, 2008.

The assessment panel, chaired by President Yar'Adua, has been meeting every Saturday between 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. since the first week of December, with each minister and top directors in the ministry briefing the panel on what they were doing, the challenges and what they can achieve between now and 2010.

The decision to monitor the performances of the ministers followed reports of absence of planning at all levels and in all sectors, waste of scarce resources which has often resulted in uncompleted or abandoned projects leading to duplication of projects.

Others in the committee are Vice President Goodluck Jonathan, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Ambassador Baba Gana Kingibe, Chief of Staff to the President, Maj.-Gen Abdullahi Mohammed (rtd), Head of Service and the Ministers of Finance, National Planning and Transportation.

The source said that "though the situation is still fluid and political considerations may eventually determine who goes and who remains. President Yar'Adua has said he will make some very key changes in the next one month. Many of the ministers will have to go because they have been found to have under-performed since joining the administration. The President is really worried that some of the ministers don't really understand their briefs.

"But I can assure you that within the next few weeks, certainly before May 29, there will be a cabinet reshuffle. The president is really worried that some of his ministers don't really understand their briefs. The President is complaining that many of the ministers do not know their briefs and is worried that their continuous stay in government would drag the government back in implementing some of its cardinal programmes."

The source told The Guardian that the impending cabinet reshuffle would afford the President the opportunity to dispense with some of the ministers who were "imposed" on him by virtue of the roles they or their political godfathers played in his emergence as President.

Furthermore, the source noted that the President is bidding his time and waiting for the outcome of this Saturday's national convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) before he makes his final list.

The President has been emboldened by last week's judgment by the Presidential Elections Tribunal, which affirmed him as the victor in the April 2007 election, a development that has boosted the confidence of the President to discard some of the ministers, and pick his own men to enable him run the administration his own style.

Some of the ministers have been blamed for misleading the President on some policy issues or making pronouncements that put the administration in bad light, while some others are believed to be simply redundant and incapable of manning the ministries.[/b]

Read it here -

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/chelsea/7281395.stm


Jose Mourinho has revealed plans to "kill" Chelsea when he returns to football management.
The former Blues boss is eager to meet the club in European competition next season and knock them out.

"If I play them in the Champions League, I want to go there and kill them - that's my message," he said.

Meanwhile, the 45-year-old denied he had signed a pre-contract agreement with Barcelona but said he was ready to return to management.


Interview: Jose Mourinho

I was speaking with Mr Abramovich and chief executive Peter Kenyon because we keep in touch

Jose Mourinho

Despite expressing his desire to beat Chelsea in Europe next season, he admitted he still felt a close connection with the club.

"I still feel Chelsea is a part of me, I'll have Chelsea in my heart forever," added the Portuguese.

"I left and for five months you couldn't get a bad word from me in relation to the club and you cannot do it in the future too."

And Mourinho said his relationship with the club's owner Roman Abramovich was good after reports at the time of his departure in September 2007 suggested he left Stamford Bridge because of a rift between himself and the Russian billionaire.

"I think it was last week that I spoke with people from the club," he said.

"I was speaking with Mr Abramovich and chief executive Peter Kenyon because we keep in touch.

"I was telling them I wish them always good, I wish them always to succeed, I wish them always to win."

bababuff:
All the highlighted above are known facts. The West and The East controls everything. You guys are parasities.

You say them chop Government money, no be your southerner brothers teach them how to carry money to Swiss accounts.

Look who dey call who parasite - wetin una dey produce?

The fact that the South is prospering has nothing to do with governement intervention - it is solely down to the enterprise of Southerners. If una like make una no go school, na soso suffer una go dey suffer.

Well, what are we to say? The Judges's name should be published so that we can find out which Judges in our judicial system are corrupt - because Odili obviously paid this fool. Odili is a billionaire (in dollars) - Common Odili who didn't have two kobo before he became Governor. The same Odili who was vice-governor in the early 90's. God punish him!

hmmmm - I'm surprised at the number of people attacking Obama in this thread - no comment.

Everybody wants to see themselves in elevated positions, but soon as another black man want achieve something, they are quick to tear him down.

This goes way beyond your views on his 'economic policy' - this is about a liberation of attitudes - about bringing hope to the x amount of black children, including ourselves that we too can make it to the very top. Instead, I just see some peeps brainwashed into defining themselves along party partizan lines. OBAMA IS MY MAN, nothing spoil - he will still win this shit.