Thursday, April 25, 2013

MOURINHO 'CHELSEA BOSS' AND FALCAO 'SIGNED FOR HIM BY ROMAN'

I HAVE been saying it for months - Jose Mourinho will be the next Chelsea boss - as many other Fleet Street hacks have put down money on Pellegrini or some other loser.

Now  I can confirm that it is '95 per cent certain' that Jose will indeed be back at the Bridge in June.

Not only that - Falcao will also sign for Chelsea in June...and my spies tell me that he is coming in at Jose's request as his 'new Drogba'.

I predict that next year's Premier League will be a straight fight between Man United and Chelsea now that Jose is back. He needs a new left-back, a new centre-back and a midfield enforcer to join Falcao. He could also do with a class winger - Moses is not good enough.

Of the current squad these players are good enough to win the Champions League - Cech, Ivanovic, Oscar, Mata, Hazard, Ramires, Luiz and Falcao. Mikel is too laborious and slow and I am assuming Ivanovic will play right-back rather than centre-half. Ramires plus one will be the defensive twosome in midfield, the three creators are excellent: Oscar, Mata and Hazard and Falcao is indeed the business up front alone. I also think Lukaku is better than Torres and Ba as Falcao's stand-in.

I hear Jose may bring Di Maria from Madrid as his No 1 winger and that he would dearly love to also take Ronaldo with him.

Under Jose's guidance I believe Chelsea could well win the Champs Lge trophy next season to end all this nonsense about a 'new cycle' emerging because Bayern beat Barca.

Barca will be back and I am more than a little bemused by all the talk of how brilliant Bayern are now and how Barca's tika-taka isn't really that wonderful.

For the last 5 years the papers have been telling us Barca are the best thing since sliced bread and that English football - with its power play - is on its death bed.

Now Bayern beat Barca in a distinctly English way - with power and speed - and they are the new gods!

Truth is Bayern are more English than some English teams and only Dortmund of the current Champs Lge semi finalists have been truly inventive - and their style is based more on Barca's creativeness and genius than your traditional power play.

Let's not forget that the feted Bayern were almost eliminated in the last 8....by Arsenal!

No, next season the challengers for the Champs Lge will be Chelsea, Barca, Real, Man United and Bayern. But the Germans could well go out before the semis as they are caught between two stools - wanting to continue their power play (English) but with a manager who wants them to be more inventive and creative (a la Barca). Pep Guardiola has an almost impossible job if Bayern win this year's Champions Lge - upon reflection in a year's time he may well have wished he had gone to Chelsea rather than letting Jose back in.


Wednesday, April 24, 2013

BAYERN SIGN LEWANDOWSKI

HAVE just heard from my friends in Germany that Bayern have also signed Robert  Lewandowski, the Dortmund No 9.

That is a double blow for volatile Dortmund boss Klopp just hours before the start of their most important game for a decade.

Surely Bayern aren't trying to nobble their German rivals' chances of success against Real Madrid? Not.

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

KLOPP RECONSIDERS CHELSEA/MAN CITY MOVE

I HEAR that Jurgen Klopp - the German answer to Mourinho - is suddenly more amenable to talking over a move to Chelsea.

He turned down a request for talks earlier this year as he believed he could take Borussia Dortmund as far as he would Chelsea.

But he has apparently changed his mind after Dortmund agreed to sell their best player - Gotze - to biggest German rivals Bayern Munich.

It makes him feel that others will follow and that he will never catch Bayern if his own club become a selling club.

I had been told that Mourinho was odds on to return to the Bridge - but this may now blow the whole thing apart.

Don't be surprised if the odds on Klopp ending up at Chelsea - or even Man City - drop dramatically over the next couple of days.

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

VAN PERSIE HAS GONE GREY AT MAN UTD!!

What a difference Robin Van Persie has made to Man United. His goals have helped secure a 20th title and he has been inspirational.

But what a difference Man United has made to Van P! I have never seen a footballer age so much in one season. The Dutchman has gone grey overnight!

Fergie will have to tell him to stop worrying - his first Prem title medal is in the bag and other medals will follow over the next couple of years.

And maybe it's time for a bit of the old Grecian 2000, Robin, old chap!

BAYERN WILL BEAT BARCA

The Champions League semi finals brings together three of the best four teams in Europe.

And the fourth - Dortmund - are probably the fifth best so it is quite a tasty prospect.

I believe that Barca are ageing in central midfield and that they are no longer the best team in Europe. Both Real and Bayern are better on their day as Barca look increasingly like a one-man team (Messi)

I take Bayern to beat them over two legs and to set up a tremendous final against Madrid at Wembley.

ANDY CARROLL 'HEADING HOME TO NEWCASTLE'

I HEAR that Newcastle boss Alan Pardew is ready to bring prodigal son Andy Carroll back to St James' Park.

He is likely to return this summer after his loan spell at West Ham expires.

The deal will involved one Newcastle player heading to Liverpool along with a fee of around £7million.

That means the one Toon player will be valued at £10million - so you don't need to be a rocket scientist to work out it is likely to be a top star at the club.

More than likely a midfielder who is French and whose surname is Ben Arfa.

STOKE 'LOOK TO BENITEZ'

LAST week I said that Rafa Benitez was eyeing up the opportunity of taking over at Aston Villa in the summer.

Well, things have moved on since then.

Apparently Villa are going to stick with Paul Lambert even if they go down. They like the way he is working with the club's promising youngsters and want to give him time to turn things around.

That has prompted a new slant on Benitez's hopes of employment after his interim role comes to a conclusion at Chelsea next month.

It seems Tony Pullis may be leaving Stoke - and that Benitez is one of the leading candidates to take his place.

That suits Stoke and the Spaniard. He gets a job where he can go home every night (his family are based near Liverpool) and they get a manager who can bring a different style of football to the Britannia - but still keep them in the Prem.

Monday, April 8, 2013

MANCINI 'OUT OF CITY THIS SUMMER'

I HEAR disturbing noises coming out of the Etihad for Man City fans today.

Even before tonight's Manchester derby, it appears City have decided to dispense with Roberto Mancini this summer.

It seems the club's new Spanish No 1 and No 2 (both former Barca head boys) do not want to continue with the Italian.

They would have liked Guardiola to take over but now that he has gone to Bayern, they are seemingly keen on Manuel Pellegrini, the Malaga boss.

I think it is a mad move - Mancini has brought the club their first title and FA Cup for years and may even win the latter again this term.

But the Barca boys obviously disagree if the noises coming from the Etihad prove to be correct.

Thursday, April 4, 2013

BENITEZ IS EYEING VILLA JOB

MY SPIES tell me that Rafa Benitez would like the Aston Villa job if Lambert is dismissed.

His confidence borders on arrogance sometimes but he is a competent manager, whatever people might say. His assessment of the squad he inherited at Chelsea certainly supports that view.

Having said that, I would not want him in charge of the club I support. And I believe Villa would be better served sticking with Lambert.

DI CANIO WILL KEEP SUNDERLAND UP

I DON'T particularly like Paolo Di Canio - and I certainly don't like his politics.

But I believe he will prove to be a good manager at Sunderland.

He is young, organised and enthusiastic - and determined to be a winner. He also has an exceptional take on tactics.

I reckon he will keep Sunderland up this season and do well next season - if the board keep faith with him.

ASTON VILLA FUTURE IS BRIGHT

ASTON Villa may be desperately battling for Premier League survival - but the future looks fine for boss Paul Lambert if he can somehow keep them up.

The club has a brilliant set of youngsters coming through - some pundits have even claimed they are on a pair with the so-called Fergie Fledglings at Man United in the 90s.

Proof of their abilities came this week when they won were crowned kings of Europe after beating Chelsea to win the NextGen Series final - a competition that included teams from Europe's biggest clubs.

So the future is looking good - especially as Lambert is the sort of manager who will encourage youth to flourish through the ranks.

WHY MARTIN O'NEILL FAILED AT SUNDERLAND

MARTIN O'Neill had a fairly frosty relationship with his mentor Brian Clough.

Clough would wind O'Neill up because he was a footballer with a hinterland that included an education.

And O'Neill would refuse to bow down to Old Big 'Ead and creep.

Yet O'Neill has quite rightly - and fairly - reflected on how Clough helped mould his views as a manager.

So it puzzles me that O'Neill did not put two and two together and realise that he was going to fail - just as Clough declined - if he repeated the one major mistake Clough made.

I am talking about how Clough was only half the manager he had been when he split with Peter Taylor, his assistant.

Similarly, O'Neill suffered at the Stadium of Light because he was without his long-time assistant, John Robertson.

Like Taylor, Robertson was an exceptional conduit between the boss and the players. And, like Clough, O'Neill struggled without the man who had his ear to the ground.

Uncanny how history sometimes has a habit of repeating itself.