Transfer news...

Transfer news...

[h=1]David Sullivan: Scott Parker stopped tackling hard at West Ham United[/h] • 'Parker knew injury would prevent move to Tottenham'
• Fears Green may leave if West Ham are not promoted




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David Sullivan fears losing key players such as Robert Green if West Ham are not promoted to the Premier League this season. Photograph: Tony O'Brien/Action Images

West Ham United have high hopes of promotion from the Championship but the severe cost of failing in that aim is as much of a motivation as the desire to make an immediate return to the Premier League. The co-chairman David Sullivan understands not just the allure but also the harm done if the club fails to get there. He knows that the goalkeeper Robert Green, an England international, would then be restless – just as Scott Parker was before his move to Tottenham at the beginning of the season.
"Green's contract is up this summer," said Sullivan. "We have made him a fantastic offer, subject to us [getting promoted and] staying in the Premier League. But if we don't stay in the Premier League, we won't be able to afford him and he won't want to stay. So we have to go up."
Sullivan, who took control of the club with David Gold in January 2010, has spoken frankly about his time at the club in an interview for westhamtillidie conducted by the West Ham fan and political blogger Iain Dale. The views of Sullivan are frank. He is scathing about Avram Grant but also scolds himself. "We picked a bad manager," said Sullivan. "Simple as that. We are as much to blame as the manager."
Grant could not preserve West Ham in the top tier but Sullivan recognises other factors, citing Demba Ba and Parker. "Those two alone should have kept us in the top flight," he said, lamenting Parker's plea for a move at the start of this season.
"This might not please many people but look at Scott Parker's performance in the first five games of this season. To me it didn't look like he was doing the tackling you'd normally expect him to do," said Sullivan. "He was running about, he was doing OK but he wasn't doing the tackling we know he can do because he knew that the one thing that would stop a move for him would be an injury.
"To me it looked like he didn't want to be there. He told us he didn't want to be there. There's no player who has given more for the club in recent years, so to make him stay against his wishes … He was protecting himself either consciously or subconsciously. He's gone to Spurs and he is back to his old self."
In Ba's case Sullivan admits allowing the striker to leave for free in the summer was one of his biggest mistakes. West Ham paid little more than an initial £400,000 to the German club Hoffenheim for Ba because of a medical issue, with further sums related to appearances, but his value has since soared at Newcastle where he has scored 16 Premier League goals in 21 appearances. "It's probably one of the worst mistakes I have ever made in my life," he said. "It just didn't enter our heads. It didn't enter anybody's head that he'd score enough goals that we'd want to give him £40k a week and his old club £15-20k an appearance and we'd still be relegated."
Sullivan claims Newcastle are in danger of losing Ba for as little as £3.5m at the end of the season. "I'm told he's got a £7m get-out at Newcastle and he gets half the money, so if they sell him for £7m, they'll only net about three," he said. "Getting £3m is not bad but, for a player of his quality, it's not fantastic."
Sullivan states that £45,000 a week was offered in the close season but Ba chose to go to Newcastle United. The player had not experienced a soothing environment at Upton Park. "I think there was a foreign group and an English group," Sullivan says of the squad.
"I think the English group were plotting against the manager." He adds that Sam Allardyce, the current manager, "wouldn't have stood for it" had he been in charge.
West Ham was at least appealing to Ravel Morrison in January. Manchester United sold the turbulent yet highly accomplished teenager to them for a small, initial fee despite Sullivan's dread that Harry Redknapp would buy him for Tottenham Hotspur instead. "I suppose he was in court at the time and couldn't pick up the phone to Sir Alex Ferguson," Sullivan joked of the legal action that Redknapp then faced.
The co-chairman is concerned with more than team-building. There is also the issue of Upton Park and the possibility of taking up residence in the Olympic Stadium instead. He is cautious on the topic. "We have a stadium that could have a 45,000 capacity," he said of the present home. "We have a hotel. We have 3,000 corporate hospitality guests, a stadium we own. We say how, when and who, so to give that up we have to be 100% sure the deal is right for the club."
 
[h=1]Carlos Tevez issues unreserved apology to everybody at Manchester City[/h] • 'My wish is to concentrate on playing for Manchester City'
• Fine still possible for comments about Roberto Mancini




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Manchester City's Carlos Tevez leaves following a training session at Carrington. Photograph: Dave Thompson/PA

Carlos Tevez has issued an unreserved apology "to everybody I have let down" at Manchester City following his five-month battle with the club and declared his hope that Roberto Mancini will now allow him to return to action.
The striker had a dramatic fallout with his manager after refusing to warm-up during a Champions League group game at Bayern Munich on 27 September and then went awol, returning to his homeland in Argentina without permission for three months. Although Mancini is yet to see Tevez since the latter returned to the club last week, the manager is said to be at ease with the development.
Tevez said: "I wish to apologise sincerely and unreservedly to everybody I have let down and to whom my actions over the last few months have caused offence. My wish is to concentrate on playing football for Manchester City."
It is understood that Tevez, who has been training in the afternoons away from the first-team squad as he regains fitness, met the director of football, Brian Marwood, at the club's Carrington complex and other members of staff on Tuesday afternoon. Mancini had already left when Tevez arrived at around 3.30pm for the session, that included a two-hour work-out before gym work, but was kept fully informed.
Earlier in the day, the manager had been asked about Tevez before Wednesday evening's Europa League last-32 second leg with Porto at the Etihad Stadium but, unaware that the striker was about to apologise, he refused to talk about the subject, saying: "We have another three months to talk about Carlos Tevez."
With Tevez's apology being unreserved and unconditional, the next issue is whether Mancini will consider selecting him as he seeks to guide City to a first championship since 1968. Immediately after the incident at Bayern the Italian declared Tevez as "finished" at City and on Monday last week, on the day before his return, Tevez gave an interview in which he accused the Italian of treating him "like a dog".
With Tevez also announcing he has withdrawn his appeal to the Premier League for the £1.2m fine – approximately six weeks' wages – for his decision to fly to Argentina, it remains to be decided whether the club will fine him for the outburst last week. If so, Tevez can expect to forfeit two weeks' wages, amounting to £400,000.
The striker would apparently be welcomed back into the dressing room by his team-mates – last week James Milner stated he "did not understand the difficulties" regarding Tevez's return to the club and hours before Tevez's apology Samir Nasri said: "I think he's an important player for us and any team in Europe because he has quality. I don't know what happened but if he has to apologise he has to do that because then he will be in the squad. We need someone with that quality to win the Europa League and the Premier League but it's up to Carlos and the club to deal with."
 
[h=1]André Villas-Boas defends strategy after Chelsea's Euro hopes floored[/h] • Villas-Boas leaves out Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole
• 'We still have every chance to go through' manager claims


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André Villas-Boas says Chelsea 'have quality players who can turn it around' in their Champions League second leg against Napoli. Photograph: Salvatore Laporta/AP

Chelsea's hopes of progressing into the quarter-finals of the Champions League are hanging by a thread after they were beaten comprehensively by Napoli on Tuesday night, with André Villas-Boas left to defend a controversial team selection that saw Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard start on the substitutes' bench.
The England internationals had expressed their intense disappointment at being omitted in conversation with the manager before kick-off, both insisting they felt they could offer plenty to the team in such a critical tie. But Villas-Boas, who had already been denied John Terry, who will on Wednesday undergo an exploratory arthroscopy on his knee that will rule him out for up to two months, stood by his lineup in the aftermath despite his team, who had led through Juan Mata, succumbing 3-1.
The selection took on greater significance given the undercurrent of discord that has emerged from within the squad over recent weeks, discontent which prompted the manager to admit last week that not all his players had bought into his approach. "I had a conversation with Ashley and Frank before the game," Villas-Boas said.
"As normal, given the players they are and the experience they have, they felt they could have helped the team. That's perfectly understandable. In the end, Ashley had the opportunity to come on for [José] Bosingwa with his injury [after 11 minutes with a pulled hamstring], and Lamps later on in the game. Of course they were disappointed but they were decisions they have to accept and move on.
"It was a technical decision. Regarding the formation, with Mata playing behind the striker in a 4-2-3-1, we chose two sitting midfielders tonight who are two hard workers in front of the defence. That's not to say that Lamps could not do it – for sure he could – but that was the decision we took. It was about sitting and covering up for the amount of gain the wing-backs of Napoli get. With Ashley, it was a difficult decision but he had just two days of training with the team. From tomorrow's training onwards, he will continue to fight for his position as he normally does. People can have an opinion [on the selection] but it was based on what was the best team in my thoughts."
Only three teams have recovered from a two-goal first-leg deficit in this revamped competition to prevail, and Villas-Boas can add the hamstrung Bosingwa and the suspended Raul Meireles to his list of absentees for next month's second leg. Yet, while Chelsea were arguably fortunate to escape trailing only by that amount – Cole scrambled an attempt from Christian Maggio from the goal-line in the latter stages, while both Ezequiel Lavezzi and Edinson Cavani might have added to the hosts' plunder – the manager insisted his side can still prevail at Stamford Bridge to progress into the last eight.
"We are sure we can turn this result around at the Bridge, just because of the amount of chances we had," Villas-Boas said. "Being more clinical and more efficient in front of goal was the difference between the teams. They had an efficiency we couldn't find, while we paid a heavy price for the mistakes we made. But I'm confident. We created a lot of chances tonight and, if we do that in the return match, we'll have every chance of getting through.
"We will analyse strongly what we did wrong because a couple of things need to get better. I agree we have to focus on reorganising this relationship between this back four and solve these mistakes at the back. We need to get our concentration right, for sure. At the moment, without John [Terry] – a very important player for the team – we have suffered a lot of goals recently. We have missed him, but we have full belief in these players and we have to continue to work with them to get it right."
The result will merely serve to increase the pressure on Villas-Boas, who has seen his side win only two of their past 10 Premier League games, slipping to fifth place in the process, and held by Birmingham City of the Championship in a fifth-round FA Cup tie on Saturday. "We know he [Villas-Boas] keeps working hard for us," said the goalkeeper, Petr Cech. "He prepares every game with 100% commitment and we appreciate it as players. But if you have players on the pitch making mistakes he can't help it.
"At the moment, we always say we keep working hard on the training ground but unfortunately we don't seem to transport that onto the pitch. We have quality players who can turn it around but it could be better because we don't have time to recover. We have a lot of games coming up and we are not in a position to drop many points in league. It's not an ideal situation, but we are still in the Champions League and we will fight to the end."
 
[h=1]Manchester United bank balance falls by £100m in six months[/h] • United now have a bank balance of £50.9m
• Champions League exit expected to hit income




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Manchester United's acquisition of new players, including Phil Jones, contributed to a rise in the club's capital expenditure. Photograph: Jon Super/AP

Manchester United's bank balance has fallen by almost £100m in six months, according to the club's quarterly accounts, as a result of buying back bonds, player arrivals and stadium improvements.
The latest accounts show that while revenues continued to rise as a result of increased TV income and corporate hospitality revenue, plus new commercial contracts, higher wages contributed to sharply increased operating costs.
Overall revenues in the six months to the end of 2011 increased to £175m from £156.5m a year earlier, driven largely by rises in media and commercial income, including a new training kit deal with DHL. But operating costs rose to £110m from £96.9m.
The club will point to investment in refurbishing hospitality boxes, which has led to an increase in income, as evidence it can go on squaring the circle of shouldering debt interest repayments while continuing to invest in the squad and facilities.
The sharp fall in United's bank balance, from £150.6m to £50.9m, over the space of six months was largely a result of the £47m net outlay on transfers in the summer and £5.3m in the most recent quarter alone spent on buying back bonds. Protesters against the Glazers have long feared that the money in the account would be spent on further financial engineering rather than players.
The club, owned by Malcolm Glazer and his family, has now spent a total of £92.8m buying back bonds originally released as part of a contentious £512m bond issue in 2010.
Even though most of the repurchased bonds have been at a higher price than the initial sale value, it makes financial sense because it reduces the interest burden on the club. Despite the buybacks, the net interest paid during the last half of the year went up slightly to £24.5m but the club said this was due to when certain payments fell due compared with the previous year.
But supporters' groups, who have long protested against the Glazer model, will argue that money invested in buying back bonds is not being spent on the playing squad.
Since the sale of Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009 and a sponsorship deal with Aon that involved a substantial upfront payment, the Glazers have been able to point to United's healthy bank balance.
But the purchases of Ashley Young, David de Gea and Phil Jones have substantially reduced that cash pile, which stood at £164m at its height in June 2010.
The signings and new deals for existing players, together with an expansion in the club's commercial operation off the pitch, drove a sharp rise in staff costs. Wages rose to £38.7m during the final quarter of 2011, an increase of 17.3% compared with the previous year.
Despite the strong revenue growth, results in the second half of the year are likely to be affected by the club's elimination from the Champions League after the group stages. As a result, all of its Champions League income for the season has been booked in the first-half accounts and revenue from the Europa League will not compensate.
Detailed plans to float a stake of up to 30% on the Singapore stock exchange in a bid to realise $1bn in value have been put on indefinite hold due, according to club insiders, to the global economic uncertainty.
Manchester United Supporters' Trust said: "Manchester United revenues continue to grow strongly although costs are increasing just as quickly so pretty much negating that growth. However the key figures of interest to supporters show the Glazers have now spent every penny of the money received from the sale of Ronaldo, and more. That's now £92.8m spent on buying back their own bond debt that they loaded on to our club. So statements at the time that all of the Ronaldo money would be made available for reinvestment were clearly just spin."
"Since the sale of Ronaldo [in June 2009] net transfers [not including Ronaldo] have totalled just £90m while they have taken out of the club £225m to cover their debt payments and interest. What could the club have done with that extra £225m? Cheaper tickets for loyal fans, investing massively in the squad and stadium, developing and retaining the best youth players, competing on an equal basis with the very best teams in Europe. This is the true cost to Manchester United of the Glazers' ownership."
 
[h=1]Throat infection rules Wayne Rooney out of Europa League tie with Ajax[/h] • Forward hoping to return against Norwich on Sunday
• Tom Cleverley set to continue his comeback from injury




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Wayne Rooney has been suffering from a throat infection since last week's first leg in Amsterdam. Photograph: Valeriano Di Domenico/AFP/Getty Images

Wayne Rooney will miss the second leg of Manchester United's Europa League last-32 tie with Ajax due to a sore throat, but Tom Cleverley should continue his comeback from injury. The midfielder hopes a return to consistent action will help gain him selection for the England squad at this summer's European Championships.
Sir Alex Ferguson, whose side defeated Ajax 2-0 in the opening leg at the Amsterdam Arena, said on Wednesday: "Rooney's out. He's had a really bad throat. There were traces of it last week in Amsterdam but we gave him medication. But it's got worse, he's been in bed over the weekend. He came in today for the first time and we're trying to get him in side for Sunday [at Norwich City]."
Of Cleverley, who played 60 minutes against Ajax before being replaced by Paul Scholes, the manager said: "He is a very clever footballer. He has got a quick brain in terms of appreciation of passing. An hour last week was fantastic for him, that was just enough for him. Hopefully he will play a full game tomorrow. He gives us more ammunition in the midfield area, which a few months ago everyone was starting to worry about.
"But with Scholes, [Ryan] Giggs and [Michael] Carrick, whose form has been fantastic, and Anderson now back in training with the first time we have some good options now."
Of Cleverley's England prospects Ferguson added: "I think before his injury he was involved anyway – along with [Chris] Smalling, [Phil] Jones and [Danny] Welbeck. There's indications there that he is in the frame anyway."
If Giggs plays against Ajax it will be his 900th appearance for the club and Cleverley, born just two years before the Welshman made his debut, struggled to recall his first memory of the Welshman.
"I can't remember exactly but I remember pretending to be him in the back garden and things like that. Him and Scholsey are good for us younger players to have around and learn from," he said.
While Ferguson stated that he does not think the poor showing of English clubs in this season's Champions League suggests a long-term slide, Michael Owen is back running following a thigh injury and should "be joining us in two weeks time".
United's potential title decider with Manchester City on Saturday 28 April will now be played at 8pm on the following Monday, with both clubs possibly asking for extra rest days to due to potential Europa League commitments ahead of the previous date.
Ferguson praised Roberto Mancini for his handling of Carlos Tevez after the forward offered an apology on Tuesday. "It's been a long saga really. Being in [Manchester City's] Premier League 25 [-man squad], I think everyone expected him to apologise. There was no way they were going to put him in the 25 unless he apologised so that was always going to be on the cards. I think Roberto Mancini has handled it very well."
 
[h=1]André Villas-Boas contemplates a Chelsea ruin in the shadow of Pompeii[/h] Decision to leave Frank Lampard on the bench left Chelsea on shaky foundations with little to build on in the second leg


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André Villas-Boas gives instructions to Daniel Sturridge during Chelsea's 3-1 Champions League defeat at Napoli. Photograph: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

If Vesuvius had erupted during the match and sent its molten lava rolling down the hillside to engulf the old San Paolo stadium, the archaeologists of a future generation might have unearthed the remains of a youngish man, charred scraps of a rather fussy belted raincoat clinging to a corpse frozen for all time in a strangely contorted position, perhaps crouched down on its haunches, its hands fashioning an urgent gesticulation.
The historians would have noted the anguish on the man's features and assumed it to be the result of the shock and pain caused by the lava flood, like the victims in nearby Pompeii almost 2,000 years ago. They would be wrong. André Villas-Boas's pain was all caused by his football team, or rather his difficulty in making his players function according to his blueprint.
In their 3-1 defeat at the hands of Napoli, at least Chelsea were not as utterly hopeless as another London side in a different part of Italy last week. Chelsea scored an away goal, one which may yet turn out to be significant, although you would not rate their chances of turning the tie round much very higher than Arsenal's, given the counterattacking skills of Napoli's Edinson Cavani and Ezequiel Lavezzi, the scorers of all the home side's goals.
Now Villas-Boas will have to beware the Ides of March. On 14 March, the eve of the Ides, his team face Napoli again in the return leg, and in the view of much of the outside world he now has exactly 90 minutes to save his "project" and prove to the many sceptics that, at 34 years old and with very little serious experience, he is capable of managing a side at this level. Failure would make the following morning's conversation with Roman Abramovich a very difficult one.
Naturally Villas-Boas leavened his disappointment with a reaffirmation of his belief in the three-year plan undertaken at the owner's behest. In his eyes, the club's vision of a fresh future remains undimmed. "We have our idea very focused on the future," he said, "but we have to understand that we are committed to the present."
The names on the team sheet suggested that he was prepared to gamble continued progress in this season's Champions League on his desire to continue the process of weeding out some of the squad's senior figures. With John Terry ruled out on Monday night and Ashley Cole relegated to the bench, with only two days' training after returning from a calf strain, the manager made the resonant decision to leave another vastly experienced England international among the substitutes. Frank Lampard would not have taken easily to the idea of being demoted in favour of Florent Malouda, whose form this season has been so consistently dismal that most of the fans at Stamford Bridge cannot wait to see the back of him.
By contrast with Lampard, who always expects to be picked, Fernando Torres probably saw it coming. His lamentable scoring record gave him no right to expect a starting place in a match so important to the club's short-term prospects and Didier Drogba's return from the Africa Cup of Nations made it logical for the Spanish forward to stand down. The Ivorian, who will almost certainly be heading for Shanghai after his contract expires this summer, was given the captain's armband, an implied endorsement of the geeing-up he gave his team-mates against Birmingham at the weekend.
All day the schoolchildren of Naples had been parading the streets of the old city in masks and costumes to celebrate Carnevale, and their footballers started the match as if they were planning to confirm the impression they made on Manchester City by enjoying a pre-Lenten feast of attacking football and goals. Although they allowed their visitors to take an early lead, the three goals they went on to score constituted a restatement of the qualities they showed against the Premier League leaders earlier in the season.
Chelsea's rearguard, with the untempered combination of David Luiz and Gary Cahill at its heart, were never up to coping with the combination of Cavani and Lavezzi. Napoli may be lying only sixth in Serie A, with a mere nine wins in 24 matches this season, but El Matador and El Pocho (or Tubby, as Lavezzi is known) tend to make the most of the scope offered them by English defences.
Villas-Boas could take a little comfort from his side's spirit, which was certainly superior to Arsenal's, but the decision to invite Lampard to start the game on the bench will be closely scrutinised and heavily criticised.
The manager suggested that he had done it because he needed two primarily defensive midfielders in front of the back four, yet Napoli had enough chances to double their score.
"Whatever the explanation, it would be fantastic if we won the game," the manager said in words that could one day provide the epitaph for his time at Chelsea. "Any explanation now is useless, given the result."
 
[h=1]André Villas-Boas contemplates a Chelsea ruin in the shadow of Pompeii[/h] Decision to leave Frank Lampard on the bench left Chelsea on shaky foundations with little to build on in the second leg


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André Villas-Boas gives instructions to Daniel Sturridge during Chelsea's 3-1 Champions League defeat at Napoli. Photograph: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

If Vesuvius had erupted during the match and sent its molten lava rolling down the hillside to engulf the old San Paolo stadium, the archaeologists of a future generation might have unearthed the remains of a youngish man, charred scraps of a rather fussy belted raincoat clinging to a corpse frozen for all time in a strangely contorted position, perhaps crouched down on its haunches, its hands fashioning an urgent gesticulation.
The historians would have noted the anguish on the man's features and assumed it to be the result of the shock and pain caused by the lava flood, like the victims in nearby Pompeii almost 2,000 years ago. They would be wrong. André Villas-Boas's pain was all caused by his football team, or rather his difficulty in making his players function according to his blueprint.
In their 3-1 defeat at the hands of Napoli, at least Chelsea were not as utterly hopeless as another London side in a different part of Italy last week. Chelsea scored an away goal, one which may yet turn out to be significant, although you would not rate their chances of turning the tie round much very higher than Arsenal's, given the counterattacking skills of Napoli's Edinson Cavani and Ezequiel Lavezzi, the scorers of all the home side's goals.
Now Villas-Boas will have to beware the Ides of March. On 14 March, the eve of the Ides, his team face Napoli again in the return leg, and in the view of much of the outside world he now has exactly 90 minutes to save his "project" and prove to the many sceptics that, at 34 years old and with very little serious experience, he is capable of managing a side at this level. Failure would make the following morning's conversation with Roman Abramovich a very difficult one.
Naturally Villas-Boas leavened his disappointment with a reaffirmation of his belief in the three-year plan undertaken at the owner's behest. In his eyes, the club's vision of a fresh future remains undimmed. "We have our idea very focused on the future," he said, "but we have to understand that we are committed to the present."
The names on the team sheet suggested that he was prepared to gamble continued progress in this season's Champions League on his desire to continue the process of weeding out some of the squad's senior figures. With John Terry ruled out on Monday night and Ashley Cole relegated to the bench, with only two days' training after returning from a calf strain, the manager made the resonant decision to leave another vastly experienced England international among the substitutes. Frank Lampard would not have taken easily to the idea of being demoted in favour of Florent Malouda, whose form this season has been so consistently dismal that most of the fans at Stamford Bridge cannot wait to see the back of him.
By contrast with Lampard, who always expects to be picked, Fernando Torres probably saw it coming. His lamentable scoring record gave him no right to expect a starting place in a match so important to the club's short-term prospects and Didier Drogba's return from the Africa Cup of Nations made it logical for the Spanish forward to stand down. The Ivorian, who will almost certainly be heading for Shanghai after his contract expires this summer, was given the captain's armband, an implied endorsement of the geeing-up he gave his team-mates against Birmingham at the weekend.
All day the schoolchildren of Naples had been parading the streets of the old city in masks and costumes to celebrate Carnevale, and their footballers started the match as if they were planning to confirm the impression they made on Manchester City by enjoying a pre-Lenten feast of attacking football and goals. Although they allowed their visitors to take an early lead, the three goals they went on to score constituted a restatement of the qualities they showed against the Premier League leaders earlier in the season.
Chelsea's rearguard, with the untempered combination of David Luiz and Gary Cahill at its heart, were never up to coping with the combination of Cavani and Lavezzi. Napoli may be lying only sixth in Serie A, with a mere nine wins in 24 matches this season, but El Matador and El Pocho (or Tubby, as Lavezzi is known) tend to make the most of the scope offered them by English defences.
Villas-Boas could take a little comfort from his side's spirit, which was certainly superior to Arsenal's, but the decision to invite Lampard to start the game on the bench will be closely scrutinised and heavily criticised.
The manager suggested that he had done it because he needed two primarily defensive midfielders in front of the back four, yet Napoli had enough chances to double their score.
"Whatever the explanation, it would be fantastic if we won the game," the manager said in words that could one day provide the epitaph for his time at Chelsea. "Any explanation now is useless, given the result."
 
[h=1]Next time Villas-Boas's Chelsea vision may get past the wastebasket[/h] These matches in which the Premier League's top clubs see Naples and die expose a real problem for English football



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The Chelsea manager André Villas-Boas may look to place Daniel Sturridge at the centre of his plans. Photograph: John Sibley/Action Images

He is already the first foreign manager in the Premier League whose command of English is too extensive for his own good, and now we know that André Villas-Boas also appears to possess elegant handwriting. The sheet of hotel notepaper that found its way on to the Gazzetta dello Sport's website in the hours before Tuesday night's match - presumably fished out of a waste basket by a member of the Grand Vesuvio's housekeeping staff - is so beautifully inscribed that it could almost be framed and hung in the Moscow art gallery that Roman Abramovich bought for his girlfriend.
The leaf of paper contained a notional Chelsea formation: rather an interesting one, given that it had Daniel Sturridge at centre forward, flanked by Ramires and Juan Mata, with no sign of Didier Drogba or Fernando Torres. Sturridge, who yearns for a central role, would have been delighted had it been for real. Unfortunately for him, it turned out to be fiction, or at least a passing fancy. Neither John Terry nor Frank Lampard, both included in the sketched-out team, made it into the actual starting line-up, for different reasons. Drogba started, with Sturridge out wide and struggling to make an impression on the game.
Whether Villas-Boas had left the paper behind in the knowledge that it would be found, as a kind of black propaganda to fool his opposite number, will probably never be known - assuming he really did write it, of course, although the use of the names "Ash", "Studge" and "Raul" (for his compatriot Meireles) indicated authenticity. After the match the manager explained that his eventual choice of midfield combination was determined by a desire to include two players, Ramires and Meireles, in defensive positions, leading to the exclusion of Lampard. Clearly he was looking for a more dynamic energy than the English veteran can now provide. But, like so much else the young manager has tried over the past six months, it did not work, and Chelsea were overrun by the devoted workers in Napoli's midfield: the perceptive Gokhan Inler and the prodigious little Walter Gargano, assisted by two adventurous wing-backs in Christian Maggio and Juan Zúñiga.
Like Manchester City before them, Chelsea found themselves up against something more than just a team, or even the spectators inside the stadium.
In the unified passion that encouraged the home side it was possible to see the special benefits that can accrue from being a city's only representatives. In Naples there are no divided local loyalties, as there are between the fans of Roma and Lazio, Milan and Internazionale, Juventus and Torino, or in Manchester, Liverpool and London. It was as if Newcastle, Leeds or Stoke were mounting a challenge in the knock-out stages of the European Cup: a very special kind of exhilaration.
These matches in which the Premier League's top clubs see Naples and die also expose a real problem for English football, which is that of absentee owners. There in the tribuna d'onore was Aurelio De Laurentiis, the film producer who saved Napoli from extinction a few years ago, taking pleasure and pride in his creation and, as another goal went in, accepting a smacking kiss on the lips from a woman who may have been his wife.
England's big clubs should be so lucky. How often are the Glazers, Stan Kroenke or Sheikh Mansour seen at matches, sharing the fans' joy and pain? Or even Abramovich, who does turn up sometimes but skipped Tuesday night in Naples.
What we may be glimpsing, as the Premier League suddenly struggles to make its customary impact at the highest level of European competition, and in three weeks' time may find itself without a representative in the last eight of the Champions League for the first time since 1996, are the consequences of a willingness to sell the family silver. There is no longer a genuine relationship between the very top of such clubs and the base of their traditional, local support. When things are going well, it doesn't seem to matter much. It is in bad times that the nature of the bond, which lacks intimacy and true empathy, can threaten stability.
Perhaps Villas-Boas will turn it around at Stamford Bridge on 14 March, but it is hard to be optimistic about his prospects. Had Ashley Cole not blocked Maggio's shot on the goal line in the 89th minute, there would have been no doubt about the outcome of the tie. As it is, there is just enough room for hope.
From where, though, are they going to get the goals needed to overcome a 3-1 deficit, particularly since few would bet against the chance of Edinson Cavani or Ezequiel Lavezzi contriving an away goal to match the one Mata gave Chelsea in Naples?
Drogba is no longer the intimidating force of old, Fernando Torres has exhausted his credit, Nicolas Anelka has left, Salomon Kalou appears to have been discarded, Lampard's 20-goals-a-season form is behind him, and Mata can hardly be expected to fill the void by himself.
Perhaps that beautifully composed aide-mémoire held part of the answer in its hint of a real commitment to Villas-Boas's famous "project", which involves resetting the compass of a team currently adrift amid conflicting tides. Daniel Sturridge will certainly think so.
 
[h=1]Wolves left embarrassed as Walter Smith rejects short-term contract[/h] • Latest attempt to replace Mick McCarthy falls through
• Smith joins McDermott and Curbishley in rejecting offer




Walter-Smith-007.jpg
Wolves want Walter Smith to replace Mick McCarthy on a short-term contract. Photograph: Matthew Childs/Action Images

Walter Smith has turned down the chance to take over as the Wolverhampton Wanderers manager until the end of the season. Wolves' approach to Smith was the latest in a drawn-out recruitment process that has seen several managers turn the Premier League club down since Mick McCarthy was sacked at the start of last week.
Smith has been out of work since leaving Rangers at the end of last season and is known to be keen to return to management. Wolves are understood to have presented a short-term contract offer to him for the remainder of the season, having been rebuffed with a longer-term deal. But the Scot has rejected the move, leaving the club in a highly embarrassing position.
"It's true I'm not going [to Wolves]," Smith said. "I was totally unsure whether I really wanted to do it or not. It was a purely personal thing, nothing to do with Wolves. I know Jez Moxey [the Wolves chief executive] and knew I was more of a fall-back than anything. We didn't even get as far as discussing money.
"There was never a face-to-face meeting and we never discussed finance. If someone asks you, you're pleased to be asked, but the longer you think about it, you start to ask yourself whether it was right."
Terry Connor, the assistant manager, will stay in temporary charge for Saturday's Premier League game at Newcastle United. Wolves are in the relegation zone after a dismal run of form that has seen them pick up only 14 points from their past 22 league matches.
Wolves may now return to Steve Bruce, who was interviewed last week and is beginning to look like the last man standing.
Alan Curbishley was interviewed and approached a second time after he had initially ruled himself out. Neil Warnock was interviewed last week but took the Leeds United job a few days later. Wolves turned their attention to Brian McDermott but the Reading manager preferred to stay at the Madejski Stadium and on Wednesday signed a three-and-a-half year contract with the Championship club.
 
[h=1]Football transfer rumours: Theo Walcott to Chelsea?[/h] Today's fluff is whole again



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Yes! Chelsea! Photograph: Tony O'Brien/Action Images

Bye-eee, Ashley! Do one, Frank! Sod off please, JT! That's the underlying message of Thursday's main rumour: Roman Abramovich is fed up with Ashley Cole (European trophies: zero in 12 seasons) sniping at André Villas-Boas (European trophies: one in one season) and will this summer be sending the full-back skittering down Wandsworth Bridge Road upon his buttocks and straight into the Thames. Wheech! Splash! Bye! "Mr Abramovich is fed up with the senior players moaning," says Mr Abramovich, via the mouth of some well-remunerated lackey or other. See you, then, lads! See you!
Admittedly there's technically not a word yet said about getting shot of either "fuming" Napoli substitute Lampard (European trophies: zero in 12 seasons) or the knackered Terry (European trophies: zero in 11 seasons), but if this isn't a shot across the bows of Chelsea's superannuated golden trio, who have collectively won zero European trophies over a cumulative total of 35 seasons, compared with the much-derided Villas-Boas who has landed one in one, a differential of 100% achieved in 408 fewer months, we don't know what is.
Clever Roman! Who knew?
Oh, and where are they all going? Well, you see, we don't entirely care about that.
Anyway, Chelsea are planning to replace their pensioners with Arsenal's Theo Walcott. Ah. So there went hope, flashing in and out with the speed and accuracy of … no, we can't think of anyone.
Andrey Arshavin is also leaving the Emirates. He's being pursued by Zenit St Petersburg, who are No1 in a field of one for his signature.
Wolverhampton Wanderers need a new manager, and Walter Smithmay be the very man. Wolves are beginning to panic now, you see, having sacked Mick McCarthy without lining anyone up, and been unable to persuade last century's Alan Curbishley to take over. So one of the men who made Rangers the force they are today will have to do. Well done, everyone!
Tottenham Hotspur are planning to offer Harry Redknapp a new deal. Is there interest in Redknapp from somewhere? Has anyone said?
Juventus are going to offer Liverpool £30m for Luis Suárez. The Reds will spend £500,000 of that booty on the 17-year-old Portsmouth defender Sam Magri, and loan him straight back to the south-coast club. So that's them £29.5m up, but with the playing staff diminished. It's kind of like when they sold Fernando Torres and bought in Andy Carroll, only then they were £15m up, but with the playing staff diminished. Onwards and upwards.
Finally, Juventus, along with Chelsea, are after the highly promising Paul Pogba of Manchester United, who if this story is anything to go by seem to have given up.
 
[h=1]A great result for Redknapp and the FA... but a disaster for Spurs?[/h]
Mirror+Football+Blog+profile+pic

By Martin Lipton in Mirror Football Blog
Published 13:03 08/02/12




Winners+and+losers



Harry Redknapp walked free from Southwark Crown Court today - and opened the way clear to become England manager.
Redknapp's entire career and life, not just his reputation, was in the hands of the jury.
But as the 64-year-old Redknapp's 13-day ordeal was ended as the Jury forewoman announced two "Not Guilty" verdicts to the charges of tax evasion, the relief was palpable.
Redknapp was hugged by co-accused Milan Mandaric bas the Jury was discharged, swaying back and forth in the dock as he nodded his delight.

And as Redknapp and Tottenham put the finishing touches to the statements read out on the steps of the court, both sides knew his exit from White Hart Lane to an office at Wembley had come a massive step closer.
Redknapp learned his fate at the same time as Fabio Capello was in that office, preparing for his meeting with FA Chairman David Bernstein.
The expectation remains that Bernstein and the Italian will reach an uneasy compromise, keeping Capello at the England helm.
It seems likely that Capello will see out his contract, which ends at the close of England's Euro 2012 campaign.
But suddenly, at a stroke, the FA have a viable, available and publicly acceptable alternative should Capello's relationship with either his employers or his players be deemed to have broken down irretrievably.
Spurs, of course, will not give up their manager without a fight. Chairman Daniel Levy knows he is in the box seat and under no obligation to let the FA take his man.
Indeed, even if Capello were to depart in the next few weeks, the FA would not seek to undermine the rest of Tottenham's season.
But there would be nothing to prevent Redknapp taking hold of the England tiller the moment the Spurs campaign ends.
It means Bernstein's hand has been strengthened considerably, Capello's fundamentally weakened.
At the end, the one party that might suffer is Spurs.
Laying down his club for the good of his country, though, would prove Levy's greatest act of service.
The future for England is Redknapp. The question, now, is merely when that
future begins.
Odds slashed on Redknapp taking England job
Redknapp: It's been a five-year long nightmare
Redknapp not guilty! Celebrate with 50 amazing images from our vaults
 
[h=1]Why lack of an ideal candidate could be real reason AVB isn't handed his P45 by Chelsea[/h]
Mirror+Football+Blog+profile+pic

By Martin Lipton in Mirror Football Blog
Published 21:30 22/02/12




andre-villas-boas-chelsea-cropped



Andre Villas-Boas is still clinging to his job at Stamford Bridge despite the worst season of the Roman Abramovich era.
But while Abramovich may have considered making a change in the hot-seat the list of potential alternatives could be the single biggest reason he will stick with the under-fire Portuguese.
Abramovich's most obvious fall-back option - asking Guus Hiddink to do the same Red Adair-style fire-fighting job he undertook when Luiz Felipe Scolari was axed in 2009 - went out of the window last week when the Dutchman took over at Russian money-bags Anzhi Makhachkala.
Hiddink's removal from the list leaves few short-term fixes on the table.

While the lure of a lucrative Chelsea contract would tempt many, the runners and riders are not all obvious fits:
Rafa Benitez: The former Liverpool boss is available and would love to return to the Premier League, but appointing him would be an incendiary avt in the eyes of many Chelsea fans who view him as an enemy of the club.
Marcelo Bielsa: Argentinian who managed Chile to the World Cup and is now coach at Athletic Bilbao. Believed to have a limited grasp of English and no great knowledge of Premier League football.
Unai Emery: Valencia coach who's heralded as the next bright young thing in La Liga. Having boobed by appointing one relative novice in AVB, would Abramovich really repeat such a gamble?
Fabio Capello: Suddenly on the market after walking out on England, but only the cash on offer would tempt him to live in London full-time. His defensive approach hardly fits Abramovich vision of Chelsea becoming "Barcelona in blue shirts".
Brendan Rodgers: Has done a superb job at Swansea and knows Chelsea inside out from his time there under Mourinho. Hard to see Abramovich appointing a British manager.
Mark Hughes: Thought he was a genuine contender last time round, but was never really in the frame. The Welshman, now operating down the road at QPR, has an in at the Bridge via his agent Kia Joorabchian.
Pep Guardiola: Who better to deliver Abramovich's dream team than the man currently in charge of the best footballing side on the planet? Has hinted that his Nou Camp time could soon be up but would need to be convinced of Chelsea's suitability.
Jose Mourinho: The man pretty much every Chelsea fan would love to see back in SW6. Mourinho is no longer at war with Abramovich, but the Russian would be admitting a mistake by re-hiring him and that is not in his nature. And we all know it would end in tears again.
 
[h=1]Rio: We want to win the title to 'shut up' all the new City fans[/h] Published 12:21 22/02/12 By David McDonnell


rio-ferdinand-manchester-united-cropped


Rio Ferdinand says he wants to "shut up" Manchester City's growing support by retaining the title.
City hold a two-point lead over Manchester United in the title race and Ferdinand said he had noticed their support increase since they became credible contenders.
"Now that they are up there challenging we're seeing more Manchester City kits around town and more people are talking about them," said Ferdinand.
"You didn't see that years ago. Now we want to shut those people up too."
 
[h=1]Why the painful process of breaking up Mourinho's Chelsea cannot be put off any longer[/h]
Mirror+Football+Blog+profile+pic

By Martin Lipton in Mirror Football Blog
Published 22:30 22/02/12




Breaking+Bad



It has been promised, expected, for the last three summers.
Instead, a series of Chelsea managers have put off the fateful decision, merely tinkering with what remained essentially the Jose Mourinho team.
But as Andre Villas-Boas led his bedraggled and divided squad out of the Stadio San Paolo, their Champions League hopes hanging by a slender thread, the day of Stamford Bridge reckoning had arrived.
No matter who is in charge, the 30-somethings who have been the foundation stones of the Chelsea glory era, the one-time "untouchables" have become expendable.

The pre-game ruck which saw Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard voice their anger at being omitted against Napoli - branded "managerial suicide" by Sky pundit Jamie Redknapp - was part of the inevitable process.
Lampard's astonishing 11 years of service count for little in Villas-Boas' world, while Cole may have been England's first choice left-back since 2001 but suddenly is not as trusted as the terraces' Aunt Sally, Jose Bosingwa.
Both, though, are now men who are seen as having given their best, to be in decline, to be ready to be shipped out.
Such a call on Lampard, scorer of 21 Champions League goals in his 81 appearances, and Cole seemed madness in Naples, all the more so when both ended up on the pitch, alongside Michael Essien.
Yet there is a logic to some of the thinking, which clearly is now the view of the club - for which we can read Roman Abramovich...
The purge of the old guard leaves Didier Drogba and Florent Malouda looking like certainties to follow Nicola Anelka and Alex out of the club.
Lampard, Cole and Essien also appear surplus to requirements, while the impending court case in July may determine if club icon John Terry is around next year.
Salomon Kalou and John Obi Mikel, too, seem victims in waiting as Chelsea finally go through the process that we thought had started in 2010, when Michael Ballack, Ricardo Carvalho, Deco, Juliano Belletti and Joe Cole were all released.
However, then-boss Carlo Ancelotti began the defence of his Double with nine squad members who were 30 or over by the end of last season. And seven of those veterans still in Villas-Boas' squad.
In Naples, even with the younger legs of more recent recruits David Luiz, Gary Cahill, Ramires, Raul Meireles and Juan Mata to call upon, Chelsea looked like an old, tired and labouring team, not the dynamic, pacey team that is implicit when Villas-Boas speaks about the "project" he and Abramovich share.
Villas-Boas would unquestionably appear more assured if he had a few more dressing room disciples - acolytes willing to tell the rest of the squad why they have faith in him, despite the man-management issues that are a major character flaw.
His targets would be three of his former charges at Porto, Uruguayan left-back Alvaro Pereira, Portuguese midfield schemer Joao Moutinho and Colombian striker Radomel Falcao, who's now at Atletico Madrid.
Fernando Torres, whose misery at the Bridge shows no sign of ending, could be the hook to secure Falcao in a player plus cash deal, allowing the Spaniard to return to the club that was his first love.
There is also a crying need for a right-back - probably Marseille's Spanish defender Cesar Azpilicueta.
Chelsea are also, still, keen on Shakhtar Donetsk's Brazilian Willian, while the trio of Belgian youngsters, keeper Thibaut Courtois, left winger Kevin De Bruyne and raw-boned striker Romelu Lukaku, may find themselves propelled closer to the front line.
The way Edinson Cavani and Ezequiel Lavezzi destroyed Chelsea on Tuesday suggests the Napoli front pair could both be targets, alongside Lille playmaker Eden Hazard, even if there is a different manager.
Cole, Essien and Torres are the three disposables for whom Chelsea could get serious money - up to £50m in total -which would make a difference in the era of UEFA's Financial Fair Play rules.
That need to start balancing the books more is an issue, too.
Although transfer fees for incoming players would be "amortised" - split over the length of their contracts - for accounting purposes, there is still a requirement to get cash in, especially if the anticipated £35m-plus of Champions League revenue is suddenly not on tap.
All that makes the rebuilding project trickier.
But it starts, soon.
The Mourinho blueprint, finally, will be torn up.
PSG target 'fuming' Frank Lampard
Why lack of an ideal candidate could be real reason AVB isn't handed his P45 by Chelsea
Ivanovic admits: Chelsea have a lot of things wrong
 
[h=1]Cahill: Chelsea have 'no excuses' for Napoli horror show[/h] Published 12:56 22/02/12 By MirrorFootball


Napoli-Chelsea-Fernando-Torres-Juan-Mata-Gary-Cahill-Champions-League+cropped


Gary Cahill says Chelsea can have "no excuses" for their capitulation against Napoli on Tuesday night.
The former Bolton defender made his Champions League debut in the match but it turned out to be a night to forget for the 26-year-old.
January signing Cahill once again found himself thrown in at the deep end after John Terry failed to recover from injury and he was once again found wanting in last night's 3-1 last-16 first-leg defeat at Napoli.
Napoli 3-1 Chelsea: Lavezzi and Cavani give Villas-Boas the Blues

It was another defensive horror show from Andre Villas-Boas' struggling Blues, leaving them in real danger of crashing out of the competition.
Cahill said: "I'm ridiculously disappointed. Disappointed with the result, the night, the Champions League debut.
"So it was a pretty low night for myself, actually."
As on Cahill's Chelsea debut against Manchester United, his new side threw away a lead yesterday after Juan Mata netted what could still prove a crucial away goal.
Basic mistake after basic mistake followed and Napoli were more than worthy of their two-goal cushion.
"It started off brilliantly," Cahill said.
"We were frustrating them early doors, they made a mistake and we got the goal.
"For some reason, it seemed really open after that instead of really solid.
"We should have shut the door, made everything really compact and gone in at half-time 1-0 up, but it wasn't to be. I think we were too easily cut open."
Cahill claimed a soaking pitch saw players "slipping all over the place".
"But it's no excuse for simple, basic things," he added.
"The goals came for a lot of long balls, which is bread and butter for people like myself. If we were getting caught open it might be different, but it was bread and butter things that went wrong.
"They had good players all around the pitch, but I think we made their job a little bit easier.
"We are still in it.
"To score two goals at Stamford Bridge is by no means beyond the realms of possibility.
"The third goal killed us a little bit, but we need to pull our finger out in the next leg and put in a better performance."
Chelsea have now gone five matches without a win and it is hard to see them turning the tie around unless they can stop the rot before the second leg in two weeks' time.
Cahill said: "It's a sticky situation at the minute. I have come in right in the middle of it.
"As soon as we get results, I think it will turn the corner, but it's difficult times."
Next up is Saturday's Barclays Premier League clash with the Bolton side Cahill left just over a month ago.
"It has come round pretty quickly," he said.
"It is going to be a weird situation knowing the lads and knowing how they play.
"But, if selected, we need to get a result and put in a better performance in that game, for sure."
The last thing Chelsea need is an injury to another key player and will hope Mata is able to play through the pain of what he feared was a broken finger.
The winger said: "We have to check it. Maybe it is broken."
AVB admits row with Lampard and Cole over Napoli team selection
Villas-Boas on borrowed time as his Charge of the Light Brigade backfires
Tweet my Goal! The best gags from Napoli 3-1 Chelsea
 
[h=1]Campbell gets first England call-up[/h] Published 11:26 23/02/12 By Martin Lipton


Frazier+Campbell+of+England+celabrates+after+scoring+the+first+goal+during+the+UEFA+U21+European+Championships+match+between+England+and+Spain


Sunderland striker Fraizer Campbell was the shock new face in the England squad for next week's friendly with Holland.
Pearce backs 'exciting talent' Campbell to shine for England
Caretaker boss Stuart Pearce, who as expected left out a crop of senior players including Rio Ferdinand, Michael Dawson, Joleon Lescott and Jermain Defoe, also named uncapped Manchester United midfielder Tom Cleverley.
There was a recall, too, for Manchester City right-back Micah Richards, who fell out of favour with Fabio Capello but is still in competition with Glen Johnson and Kyle Walker.

But Arsenal's teenage flier Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who had been lined up by former boss Capello for a debut call, was instead named by Pearce in the under-21 squad for their European Championships qualifier with Belgium at Middlesbrough.
While Pearce did leave out some established stars, including Frank Lampard, he still included likely skipper Steven Gerrard, Scott Parker and Wayne Rooney - even though the Old Trafford striker is suspended for England's opening Euro 2012 games against France and Sweden.
Liverpool's Andy Carroll was also an absentee, along with Peter Crouch.
Robert Green replaced Fulham's David Stockdale among the three keepers, with Pearce, without injured John Terry, set to choose two from the Manchester United pair of Phil Jones and Chris Smalling and Chelsea's Gary Cahill.
Ashley Young returns after injury with Danny Welbeck likely to make his first full start up front.
Full squad:
Goalkeepers: Scott Carson (Bursaspor), Joe Hart (Manchester City), Robert Green (West Ham United).
Defenders: Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Leighton Baines (Everton), Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Phil Jones (Manchester United), Micah Richards (Manchester City), Chris Smalling (Manchester United), Kyle Walker (Tottenham Hotspur).
Midfielders: Gareth Barry (Manchester City), Tom Cleverley (Manchester United), Stewart Downing (Liverpool), Adam Johnson (Manchester City), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), James Milner (Manchester City), Scott Parker (Tottenham Hotspur), Ashley Young (Manchester United), Theo Walcott (Arsenal).
Forwards: Darren Bent (Aston Villa), Fraizer Campbell (Sunderland), Daniel Sturridge (Chelsea), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Danny Welbeck (Manchester United)
Oxlade-Chamberlain misses out on England call-up

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[h=1]AVB: I had to explain my tactics to Abramovich - but I still have his full support[/h] Published 14:38 23/02/12 By MirrorFootball


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Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas says he has no regrets about his team selection for the 3-1 defeat in Napoli - and insists he retains the support of owner Roman Abramovich.
The Portuguese controversially left out Frank Lampard, Michael Essien and Ashley Cole for the first leg of the last-16 tie in Italy, which Chelsea led before a defensive horror show saw them concede three goals.
He stood by his team selection today, although he did admit that he had to explain why he chose the starting XI he did to the club's hierarchy.
He said: "No, I do not have any regrets about team selection... It was completely right.

"I have spoken to the persons near to him (Abramovich). He is disappointed and asking questions about how we set up the team, which were duly explained."
The 34-year-old's future has been the source of speculation over the last few weeks and reports have claimed there are rifts within the Stamford Bridge dressing room.
But when asked whether he still has the backing of Abramovich, Villas-Boas told a press conference this afternoon: "Yes. Of course."
Villas-Boas denied reports that Cole had questioned his tactics.
"This is not true," said the Chelsea boss, who has won just four of his last 14 games.
Villas-Boas continued by denying that Cole had been left out of the XI that played in Italy because he had fallen out with his manager.
"He had two training sessions before that game. That made an impact on the selection process," Villas-Boas said.
The former Porto manager, a surprise recruitment to succeed double Champions League winner Carlo Ancelotti last summer, insists he is not feeling the strain despite the club's failings on the pitch.
"It doesn't affect me at all," Villas-Boas said.
"Last year I was linked with lots of different clubs whenever results didn't go [right for them], it is the same with this club."
Lampard was a regular under Villas-Boas' predecessors but he has become an increasingly marginal figure under the young Portuguese boss.
He was unhappy at being omitted from the Chelsea team in Naples but Villas-Boas claims the incident has been blown out of proportion.
"In the end it is the decision of the manager and Frank accepts it," Villas-Boas said.
"It's difficult for him to take with the involvement he's had in the Champions League and I wouldn't expect it any other way, but it is the manager's decision and although it's difficult to take it's for the benefit of the team.
"We had a discussion. There is nothing to resolve."
Lampard's contract expires at the end of next season and he has been linked with a number of clubs, but Villas-Boas is keen for the former West Ham man to stay.
"I hope he is here next season," the Chelsea manager added.
As vice-captain, Lampard is in line to captain the Blues for the next few weeks as John Terry recovers from a long-standing knee injury.
Villas-Boas' team have struggled without Terry at the back and the Chelsea boss admits losing the former England skipper is a massive blow.
"We badly miss him. It is a massive, massive loss," Villas-Boas said.
"He is a leader and a great performer even through adversity.
"He has had his knee operation and he will be out for between five and six weeks, hopefully sooner."
 
[h=1]EXCLUSIVE: Spurs to tempt Redknapp with new deal[/h] Published 22:31 22/02/12 By Darren Lewis


Harry-Redknapp+cropped


Harry Redknapp is being offered a lucrative new deal at Tottenham to keep him out of England's clutches.
White Hart Lane supremo Daniel Levy is ready to act as his manager enters the final 12 months of his £4million-a-year contract after this season.
Levy wants Redknapp to stay beyond that, after the 64-year-old's success at transforming Tottenham from relegation candidates into title contenders.
Although Redknapp is the runaway favourite to take over from Fabio Capello at England, Spurs want to make it as difficult as possible for him to quit by offering him the chance to create a dynasty and splashing the cash this summer.

They are already trying to pull off a major transfer coup in signing £30million-rated Lille winger Eden Hazard - one of the most sought-after players in Europe.
Spurs are also still very much in the hunt for £22m Marseille striker Loic Remy - to offset the return of on-loan Emmanuel Adebayor to parent club Manchester City at the end of the season - and Brazil and Internacional frontman Leandro Damiao.
Redknapp has been involved in discussions over all three players.
It is understood the FA have not yet made formal approach either to Redknapp or to Spurs over the England position.
The FA have always insisted they do not want to distract from or jeopardise Tottenham's bid for honours by attempting to lure away their manager before the end of the season.
Spurs are set to use that window of opportunity to try to tie Redknapp down.
Redknapp has been open about his interest in the England job, and views it as the top job in the country.
The chance to work with the cream of the nation's players at the European Championship this summer holds an obvious appeal for him.
But Levy is hoping the chance to establish Tottenham as a major European force proves a bigger draw.
 
[h=1]Wenger needs to ship out half his team of 'failures' - O'Leary[/h] Published 16:35 23/02/12 By MirrorFootball


David-O-Leary+cropped


Arsene Wenger has been let down by many of his leading players and the Arsenal boss needs to ship out half a dozen of his stars in the summer, according to David O'Leary, the club's record appearance holder.
O'Leary believes the Gunners should keep faith in Wenger but that the manager needs to wield the axe and bring in fresh blood.
Wenger should have more than £50million at his disposal for new signings - and perhaps more should Arsenal finish fourth and qualify for the Champions League - and O'Leary believes the Frenchman should not hesitate to act.
He said: "Arsenal need to change about half a dozen players. I think Arsene has been let down by a group of players he had a belief in.

"That group have been failures in my eyes and now a change is needed.
"Just look at the AC Milan game last week - they were well and truly beaten but what will disappoint Arsene Wenger is that this Milan side was not nearly as good as the other Milan sides he has played down the years.
"Arsenal are now fighting it out with Chelsea for fourth place - and they only good thing for them is that Chelsea are struggling too."
Stan Kroenke, the American who is Arsenal's majority shareholder, attended a board meeting at the club today after which the club announced a price freeze on general admission season-ticket renewals for next season.
Arsenal and Tottenham have also issued a joint statement warning fans that anti-social behaviour during Sunday's north London derby will not be tolerated.
Spurs' former Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor is the biggest concern - he was the target of abuse during the first meeting between the sides at White Hart Lane in October.
The statement read: "A north London derby is always a special occasion and we hope this game will be remembered for both the action on the pitch as well as the positive support for both teams off it.
"All fans should be aware that breaches of ground regulations - including anti-social behaviour - will not be tolerated."
Adebayor has endured a poor relationship with Arsenal since leaving to join Manchester City in 2009.
In his first game against the Gunners, the 27-year-old ran the full length of the pitch at Eastlands to celebrate in front of the travelling fans after having been verbally abused throughout the match.
The striker caused even greater fury when he raked his studs over the face of now Gunners skipper Robin van Persie during the same game.
Arsenal fans have never forgiven Adebayor for his conduct during that match in Manchester.
When the rivals met in October some chanted "It should have been you, it should have been you... shot in Angola. It should have been you" in reference to the deadly gun attack on the Togo team bus in 2010 which Adebayor survived.
The Gunners are only a place behind Tottenham in the league table - but there is a 10-point gap, and defender Johan Djourou says Arsenal need to forget about that and "go to war".
He told arsenal.com: "When you play them, you forget the table; it is a battle and the best team will win.
"They are in great shape this season, they have been playing a lot better than before but you have to forget about that and go to war.
"It is up to us to show that we are the kings of London."
Djourou said he is looking forward to testing himself against Adebayor again but he did not fear his old team-mate.
He added: "He is a great player, he showed that when he was here. He works hard, he is very good on the ball and obviously he will be a tough opponent but I am not scared of anyone. I am happy to have the opportunity to face him."
 
[h=1]West Ham win Green red-card appeal[/h] Published 17:32 23/02/12 By MirrorFootball


robert-green-west-ham-cropped


West Ham goalkeeper Robert Green has had the red card he received against Blackpool rescinded by the Football Association.
Green was dismissed for denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity when he brought down Blackpool striker Roman Bednar outside the area.
Hammers manager Sam Allardyce appealed, claiming they had defenders covering.
Green, who was replaced by midfielder Henri Lansbury in goal as the 10 men went on to register a 4-1 win, avoids a one-match ban and is now set to be in the side which hosts Crystal Palace on Saturday.

The decision caps a good day for the 32-year-old after he was called back into the England squad by caretaker manager Stuart Pearce for next week's friendly against Holland.
 
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