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[h=1]José Mourinho and Pep Guardiola make intriguing contenders for Chelsea[/h] Chelsea will find the two giant rivals of Spanish football offering great managerial acumen and presence



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José Mourinho, the Real Madrid coach, has spoken of his affection for England and the Premier League. Photograph: Harry Engels/Getty Images

Could the man who never really went away be about to come back? Or could it be the only man to have succeeded in overshadowing him who touches down in London? As if captured by the Spanish game, by the two giants forever condemned to confrontation, Chelsea may be about to take José Mourinho versus Pep Guardiola to another sphere.
André Villas-Boas succeeded in following Mourinho into Porto but he could not succeed in following his legacy at Stamford Bridge. Picking up where Mourinho has left off has rarely been easy, so dominant has his presence been. So powerful is Mourinho's identification with success, so close his relationship with the dressing room, so complete his communion with fans, that a part of him always remained. He never forgot and nor did they. Rafa Benítez found that at Internazionale; now Villas-Boas has found it at Chelsea.
The man who is now Chelsea's ex-manager, their fifth in four and a half years spoke of the Special One this week. "His is a presence ever felt in the club. The most successful part of this club's history is related to José," he said. "But the only place where José's shadow is not lurking is Barcelona. It is everywhere else in the world. If you can train a manager to be the best in the world, everyone wants him."
He had a point: Barcelona chose Pep Guardiola over Mourinho. Guardiola won everything. The following season Mourinho, by then at Inter, did the same. Two trebles in a row. Guardiola has failed to win just three of 16 trophies available to his team. Two of those three were denied him by Mourinho.
He, meanwhile, denied Mourinho two of three trophies in his first season at Madrid and he has faced him 10 times, losing just once. Along the way, the conflict grew so great that a reconciliation in Catalonia is now impossible for the Portuguese. Even in times of success, there was something missing after Mourinho's departure from Chelsea and in some ways this remains his club. In part, because the nucleus of his team remains: that core that Villas-Boas found so difficult to circumvent.
Grant, Scolari, Hiddink, Ancelotti. All came, none truly conquered. Not only have Chelsea missed him; he has missed them. On those occasions that he has spoken about foreign fields, he has spoken with warmth and affection about England. It has not always been about Stamford Bridge specifically; rather, his horizons have been broader. "The Premier League," he said, "is my passion." Put simply: he has not enjoyed Spain as much as he enjoyed England.
Chelsea spoke to Benítez's camp about him taking over, but the offer on the table would only have been to the end of the season, at which point they would think again and other managers would be on the market. Benítez was not convinced. Nor, indeed, were Chelsea's supporters. Those European clashes weigh heavily; trenches previously occupied are not easily vacated.
Timing is everything and it could prove propitious for Mourinho. La Liga is likely to be Madrid's now, wrested from Barcelona for the first time in four years. Mourinho can depart a winner, another record notched up – league title winner in Spain as he was in Portugal, England and Italy. There is still the European Cup to come too: Mourinho is acutely aware that lifting the trophy with a third club would be unique, his place in history assured. Achieve that and his work here will be done. If Guardiola was to do so, it would be three in five years, Barcelona would become the only club to retain the Champions League in its expanded form.
Mourinho has consistently refused to comment on his future. Others have sent messages for him. The message has been clear: José wants to come "home". Chelsea are not the only club that offer an English return, but there is attraction in sorting out the superficial mess left by his former friend and now rival. Few others will have the ability to handle the generational change needed – among those who must have their careers prolonged or brought to a close are some of Mourinho's most loyal players.
From Chelsea's point of view, there are few apparent candidates. If Benítez was a serious long-term option, he would already be in place. Guus Hiddink took up employment elsewhere. Fabio Capello has hardly seen his reputation enhanced with England, although his support of John Terry would make his landing smoother. If he was an option, though, why not now?
As for Guardiola, Roman Abramovich has tried before to import Barcelona, while the Spaniard's delay in signing a contract extension at the Camp Nou gives Chelsea some hope. Guardiola's messages have been very different from Mourinho's, though: his actions have felt more like those of a man withdrawing from the spotlight not leaping back into it.
Spanish football has boasted of the greatest rivalry in sport, often reduced to its key players, handy representatives of differing identities and different approaches: Madrid v Barça, Ronaldo v Messi, Mourinho v Guardiola.
Abramovich can be forgiven for being seduced by their different charms. They may not be seduced by his.
 

[h=1]Rafael Benítez makes a pitch for Chelsea job[/h] • Spaniard suggests Liverpool fans would forgive him
• Benítez has had offers from clubs and a national team




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Rafael Benítez says he is a manager with experience in the Champions League, in Spain and in Italy and is open to offers. Photograph: Jasper Juinen/Getty Images

Rafael Benítez has become the first high-profile candidate to declare an interest in the vacant Chelsea manager's position and suggested he would be forgiven by Liverpool supporters if he were to return to the Premier League at Stamford Bridge.
The Chelsea hierarchy are scrutinising their options after dismissing André Villas-Boas on Sunday a little over eight months into a three-year contract, with the London club fifth in the Premier League and risking a failure to qualify for the Champions League for the first time under Roman Abramovich's stewardship. The owner is to sound out Barcelona's Pep Guardiola, whom he regards as his ideal appointment, and José Mourinho at Real Madrid to ascertain if either would be willing to take over in the summer.
Yet, although their futures in La Liga are in some doubt, there is an acknowledgement at Chelsea that negotiating either manager's smooth passage to London would be complicated and costly – even for a club who have paid £64m and counting in compensation to clubs and managers over the past five years – with that reality offering hope to other contenders.
The merits of Borussia Dortmund's Jürgen Klopp, Tottenham's Harry Redknapp and Germany's Joachim Löw will be discussed, and Benítez, whose Liverpool enjoyed a fierce rivalry with Chelsea, particularly during the Mourinho era, will cling to the fact that he was tentatively approached last month over the possibility of taking up the reins on a short-term basis until the summer.
The Spaniard rejected that scenario, insisting on at least an 18-month arrangement, with Chelsea's interest having cooled significantly since. Yet the former Internazionale manager pushed his own case for consideration on Monday night in the belief that he would not fracture his relationship with fans on Merseyside in the process. "Can anybody argue [against the fact] that the Liverpool fans love me? No," said Benítez. "If we agree with this, what do you want for somebody who you love? The best for him. I cannot be waiting at home for five years. Everybody understands that I will need a job.
"If they want me to have the best, they can say you can manage a team at the bottom of the table or manage a team at a top of the table and try to win trophies. That is my idea, to have the option of a top side and try to win trophies. If they love me, they will understand.
"I have had two or three offers from clubs and one from a national team. I want to win trophies; it's not just a case of wanting a job and having some money. It has to be something. They have now Roberto Di Matteo in [temporary] charge, and I have to respect the manager in charge. I have to wait and [see] if something happens in the future. As a manager with experience in the Champions League, in Spain and in Italy, I am open to offers."
Whether Chelsea fans would accept his appointment is open to some doubt and an offer is likely only if the hierarchy's principal targets are deflected – Sven-Goran Eriksson also put forward his own name last night but is not a candidate – with one of Abramovich's former managers, Luiz Felipe Scolari, having warned that whoever takes the position will face a daunting challenge. "Villas-Boas was a champion and he will continue to be," said Scolari. "He needed to replace at least seven or eight players [players who had been at the club] even since I was there, but he failed. It will be hell for whoever succeeds him."
Abramovich is seeking a sixth permanent manager in under five years yet Benítez, who succeeded Mourinho at Internazionale but was sacked after less than six months, would have no qualms working for "one of the new owners in football who are investing big money". Perhaps more significantly, heBenítez claimed Fernando Torres – Chelsea's underperforming £50m British record signing from Liverpool – can still return to the prolific form of his Anfield days as the striker still has "potential, quality and desire".
Di Matteo, who has been joined on the coaching staff by his former No2 at West Bromwich Albion, the former Chelsea midfielder Eddie Newton, will oversee the side for the first time against Birmingham City on Tuesday evening in an awkward fifth-round FA Cup replay at St Andrew's. The squad were made aware of Abramovich's intense frustration and anger at a season of underachievement during an hour-long meeting at Cobham immediately after Villas-Boas' sacking on Sunday – the Portuguese was the owner's personal appointment – with the players accepting they must now attempt to salvage the campaign.
"I think we have to start again," said Juan Mata, a player bought by Villas-Boas from Valencia last summer and one of the team's more consistent performers. "We are not in a good moment, we are not in a good run of results but we all want to change it. I think we are ready to change it. We have a very good squad and we have two months to achieve our objectives in the Premier League, in the FA Cup and Champions League."
 
[h=1]Man claims church ruined his chances of playing for Manchester United[/h] • Former semi-professional sues Baptist church for £10m
• Believes years spent as 'fervent evangelist' ruined career




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Arquimedes Nganga, 46, believes he could have played for Manchester United had he not converted to the Baptist faith. Photograph: Don McPhee

A retired semi-professional footballer is suing the Baptist church for £10m, claiming the 19 years he spent as a "fervent evangelist" ruined his chances of playing for Manchester United.
According to the London Evening Standard, 46-year-old Arquimedes Nganga, who currently lives in Forest Hill, London, but used to play for a third division side in his native Portugal, quit the sport at the age of 25, two years after he converted to the Baptist faith. He believes he could have earned £20,000 a week, despite never making more than £200 a month playing semi-professionally.
"I could definitely have had a long career in the Premiership," Nganga said. "I see many players playing today who I am not inferior to – and perhaps even better than. Most midfielders are either defensive or attacking but I was both. I had something new."
Nganga has filed papers at the high court, accusing the leaders of the Baptist Union of Great Britain of destroying his social life, causing him "psychological harm" and defrauding him of money through compulsory donations.
The church said it will vigorously contest the claim.
 
[h=1]Hundreds of millions later Chelsea still lack the ultimate pot of gold[/h] Roman Abramovich has displayed ocean-deep pockets and a ruthless streak in his desire to win the Champions League




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Roman Abramovich's millions have secured some of the world's best managers.. Photograph: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

[h=2]Season One 2003-04[/h]Roman Abramovich's £60m takeover of an institution with debts of around £80m was accompanied by a blaze of eye-catching signings, from the likes of Damien Duff for £17m to Hernán Crespo at £16.9m, as Claudio Ranieri constructed a squad aimed at challenging both domestically and in Europe. More than £110m was spent overhauling the playing staff and the second-place finish secured behind Arsenal's "invincibles" represented the club's best in 49 years. Indeed, their rivals were defeated at Highbury in the Champions League quarter-finals, only for Ranieri, long tagged a "dead man walking" as a remnant of a previous regime, to tinker too much in the semi-finals and succumb to Monaco. Abramovich duly wielded the axe and recruited José Mourinho and his entourage, as well as the Dutch scout Piet de Visser to bolster his scouting options.
No honours; League position 2nd
Net spend £111.6m
[h=2]Season Two 2004-05[/h]A new manager instigated another overhaul of the playing squad, with Didier Drogba (£24m) and Ricardo Carvalho (£19.6m) among high-profile incoming transfers, with the squad given a flavour of that which had claimed the European Cup with Mourinho at Porto the previous season. The self-styled Special One's impact was immediate,, a remarkable league campaign culminating in a first title in half a century with 95 points amassed en route and only one defeat sustained. There was League Cup success as well and, while Uefa imposed a two-match ban on the manager for claims made against the referee Anders Frisk at Barcelona, the only sour note was provided by Liverpool in the semi-finals of the Champions League, where Luis Garcia's "ghost goal" denied Mourinho's side passage to Istanbul.
Premier League and League Cup winners Net spend £103.4m
[h=2]Season Three 2005-06[/h]Mourinho had secured more lucrative terms after protracted, and occasionally tortuous, negotiations and his squad was lavishly tweaked, rather than rebuilt, ahead of the new campaign with Michael Essien (£24.4m) and Shaun Wright-Phillips (£20.6m) the most notable arrivals. Nine consecutive league wins at the start of the season set the tone for another upbeat campaign. So dominant were Chelsea that they ended up claiming their second successive title by defeating Manchester United at Stamford Bridge in April, Mourinho hurling his medal and blazer into the crowd at the presentation ceremony. Frank Arnesen, who had been lured controversially from Tottenham for some £8m in compensation, filled the role of sporting director to offer the club a semblance of structure away from Mourinho's entourage, while the club also started training at a 140-acre site in Cobham, purchased for £20m, which would take two years to develop fully.
Premier League winners Net spend £37.6m
[h=2]Season Four 2006-07[/h]The cracks that had appeared the previous season with Mourinho's mood swings steadily widened. Andriy Shevchenko's British record £30m arrival from Milan was on Abramovich's whim, the Ukraine international scoring only four times in the league all season. His omission from the starting line-up was considered political, regardless of his form, and he was not even included on the bench as Chelsea again exited the Champions League at Anfield. That tested the relationship between owner and manager, and the latter was seemingly further undermined by Avram Grant's arrival as director of football. The Israeli was a friend of Abramovich's and appeared to be his stooge. Amid the back-drop of resignation threats and general discord, success in both domestic cup competitions went almost unnoticed.
FA Cup and League Cup winners League position 2nd
Net spend £28.8m
[h=2]Season Five 2007-08[/h]The summer appeared to mark a change, the manager declaring himself "mellow Mourinho" in pre-season and relations with the owner apparently restored. The club's transfer policy was more conservative, too, with Florent Malouda at £13.5m the main arrival and free transfers adding to squad numbers. Yet it took only two months for normal service to resume, with Mourinho sacked after a relatively sloppy start to the campaign. Grant was promoted from director of football and, having been granted funds to sign Nicolas Anelka for £15m, finished second, reached the League Cup final and was a penalty kick away from delivering the Champions League. Yet John Terry slipped, Anelka missed and Grant was subsequently sacked. The compensation eventually paid to Mourinho, Grant and five members of the coaching staff amounted to some £23.1m.
No honours; League position 2nd
Net spend £10.7m
[h=2]Season Six 2008-09[/h]Luiz Felipe Scolari, a World Cup winner with his native Brazil in 2002 and the bane of also the bane of England's hopes while with Portugal, was appointed on a three-year deal worth around £6m a season, his immediate task to persuade Frank Lampard to remain at the club amid interest from Internazionale. A new five-year contract worth around £150,000 a week was eventually agreed, with Jose Bosingwa and Deco the main arrivals and the squad actually trimmed. Yet Scolari's tenure, after a bright start, deteriorated dramatically and, by February, the board's concern at potentially missing out on Champions League qualification prompted the axe after barely seven months in the role. Compensation amounted to some £12.6m. Guus Hiddink was hired until the end of the season and won the FA Cup, while Abramovich courted the Milan manager, Carlo Ancelotti.
FA Cup winners; League position 3rd
Net spend £8.8m
[h=2]Season Seven 2009-10[/h]Ancelotti was unveiled on a three-year deal worth £6m a season, with Yuri Zhirkov, purchased from CSKA Moscow apparently for £16m, the only major arrival, John Terry secured on new terms worth over £150,000 a week and Peter Kenyon, the chief executive, a high-profile departure. A transfer ban imposed by Fifa following Gaël Kakuta's controversial arrival from Lens served to limit the activity, with the club subsequently cleared by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The campaign ended in a glut of goals to secure the title, and FA Cup success over Portsmouth, though Ancelotti had been hired to secure the European Cup. To that end, a loss to Mourinho's Internazionale in the knock-out phase was damaging.
Premier League and FA Cup winners Net spend £16m
[h=2]Season Eight 2010-11[/h]Ancelotti's second season began with the release of senior players such as Joe Cole and Michael Ballack and demands from the ownership to make better use of the youth-team players recruitedat relatively substantial expense by Arnesen, though during a mid-season slump that policy was ditched in spectacular style with the signings of Fernando Torres and David Luiz for a combined £73.3m. By then, faith in the Italian was on the wane. Ray Wilkins, the assistant manager, was sacked and Michael Emenalo, a former Nigeria international who had joined the club under Grant, was incorporated into the backroom staff. Defeat by Manchester United in the Champions League quarter-finals sealed the manager's fate, and he was sacked after finishing second to be placed on gardening leave until taking a position at Paris St Germain in December 2011.
No honour; League position 2nd
Net spend £71.7m
[h=2]Season Nine 2011-12[/h]It cost Abramovich £13.3m to secure his primary target, the young Europa League winning coach André Villas-Boas from Porto, in the summer with the new man's brief to overhaul and revitalise the playing staff. Money was spent in the market, principally on Juan Mata (£23m), Raul Meireles (£12m) and Gary Cahill (£7m) with further funds invested in youth. Romelu Lukaku, Thibault Courtois, Kevin de Bruyne and even Oriol Romeu represented recruits for the future, though only the last bore the hallmarks of a Villas-Boas target. The others, as the Portuguese put it, were "club signings". Yet, predictably enough, there was resistance to attempts to move on some of the established senior players, and fall-outs with the influential Lampard and Ashley Cole undermined Villas-Boas' standing in the dressing room. Results suffered as the team failed to grasp the style of play the manager wished to impose and Chelsea have rather limped out of the top four as a result. They are now three points adrift and trailing Napoli after the first leg of their Champions League knock-out tie, a reality that prompted Abramovich, much to his own irritation, to dismiss the Portuguese 256 days into a three-year contract. The squad is still imbalanced, the entrenched senior pros still appearing to dictate policy, with the next permanent manager facing the onerous task of culling the dead wood and then creating a team of contenders. That will most likely have to be done without the lavish funding enjoyed by some of his predecessors given the imminent application of Financial Fair Play rules. Chelsea's clout in the market would suffer even more should they fail to reach the Champions League for the first time in the Abramovich era.
Current league position 5th
Net spend £46.5m
 
[h=1]José Mourinho favourite to replace sacked André Villas-Boas at Chelsea[/h] • Mourinho in frame to make shock return to Stamford Bridge
• André Villas-Boas sacked after eight months and 40 games




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André Villas-Boas carried the can but Chelsea's hierarchy also blamed the players for the manager's short-lived reign. Photograph: Eddie Keogh/Reuters

Chelsea will approach José Mourinho and Pep Guardiola about taking over at Stamford Bridge in the summer as the club begin their search for a replacement for André Villas-Boas, who was sacked yesterday after 256 days in charge.
Villas-Boas was dismissed within 24 hours of his side's Premier League defeat at West Bromwich Albion after being summoned to a meeting at the club's training ground by Roman Abramovich, the director Eugene Tenenbaum and the chief executive, Ron Gourlay.
The 34-year-old took training in the morning with a shadow squad of those who had not featured at The Hawthorns, and was left bitterly disappointed by the news, having believed until recently that he would be allowed to see through a three-year "project" aimed at overhauling the club.
He departs eight months and 40 games into a £4.5m-a-year contract and is now technically on gardening leave, with Internazionale expected to sound him out as a successor to Claudio Ranieri at San Siro. The first-team fitness coach, José Mário Rocha, and Daniel Sousa, the head opposition scout, are also expected to leave. The assistant first-team coach, Roberto Di Matteo, will oversee the side for the rest of the season. The former West Bromwich manager's first game in charge will be against Birmingham City on Tuesday in an FA Cup fifth-round replay at St Andrew's.
The Italian, who is out of contract in the summer, could yet be joined on the coaching staff by his compatriot, Gianfranco Zola, on a short-term basis with Chelsea having opted against offering Rafael Benítez an 18-month contract to take up the reins. Instead, Di Matteo's involvement will now buy the Chelsea hierarchy time to identify a sixth permanent manager in five years, a process that will include exploring the possible availability of either Guardiola or Mourinho, who could both depart Spain in the summer.
Guardiola has yet to agree a contract extension at Barça and remains Abramovich's dream appointment, though whether he would be prepared to move to London and work at a club who have proved so trigger-happy with its coaching staff remains to be seen.
The possibility of Mourinho returning to Stamford Bridge, where he claimed two Premier League titles, two League Cups and an FA Cup during a glittering if fractious three-season spell, would galvanise the support. The Real Madrid manager, who has led his team clear at the top of La Liga this term, has declared his intention to return to the Premier League and was photographed last week looking at properties in London. However, while his relationship with Abramovich has improved in recent years, he is likely to seek assurances he would be granted complete control on footballing matters, including transfer policy, if he is to return.
Whether the owner would grant him that leeway is open to question, with Chelsea now left to count the cost of another failed regime. A fee of £13.3m had been paid to Porto to secure Villas-Boas's services last summer, an amount that took the compensation outlay on managers fired or hired to a staggering £64m in a little over four years. While recent results had made Villas-Boas's departure inevitable, with Chelsea fifth in the league and three points outside the Champions League qualification places, there is intense frustration among the hierarchy at the part the players appeared to play in the manager's downfall.
Abramovich, Tenenbaum and Gourlay were joined by the technical director, Michael Emenalo, in addressing the first-team squad in one of the changing rooms on Sunday, when their dissatisfaction with the squad's performances were made clear. Those present were warned in no uncertain terms to step up their efforts to rescue the current campaign after mustering only five wins in 16 matches, with the owner – who had personally recruited Villas-Boas last summer – indicating he holds them as responsible as the manager for a disappointing season. The recognition that the squad needs to be overhauled remains, with senior players, many of whom were resistant to Villas-Boas's attempts to reduce their involvement in the side, still expected to depart in the summer.
The midfielder Juan Mata posted a message on his Facebook page, saying: "It hasn't been an easy day for those who, like me, are part of Chelsea. I would like to thank the manager and wish him luck. We have to keep working hard and better days will come. Thanks for your support!"
Villas-Boas did not attend that meeting but did linger at the training ground to bid farewell to staff and some of the players. The anaemic manner of Saturday's 1-0 defeat at The Hawthorns convinced the hierarchy that radical action was required now if fourth place was still to be claimed.
"The board would like to record our gratitude for his work and express our disappointment that the relationship has ended so early," read a Chelsea statement. "Unfortunately the results and performances of the team have not been good enough and were showing no signs of improving at a key time in the season."
 
[h=1]Chelsea make their move for Guardiola[/h] Published 22:31 05/03/12 By Martin Lipton


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Chelsea have made their initial approach to tempt Pep Guardiola to Stamford Bridge as the Barcelona boss was warned he would be walking into a living "hell".
The Mirror revealed on Sunday that Nou Camp chief Guardiola is Roman Abramovich's prime target to replace sacked Andre Villas-Boas.
Tentative feelers have already been put out by intermediaries seeking to put a deal together which could see Guardiola quit the world and European champions to be Abramovich's eighth manager since 2004.
Sven Goran Eriksson and former Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez have also put themselves in the frame.

As it emerged Abramovich would have to offer a three-year deal worth a staggering £50million to secure either Guardiola or "Special One" Jose Mourinho, the last man to suffer Villas-Boas' mid-season fate suggested Chelsea has become a footballing hell .
Luiz Felipe Scolari was sacked by Abramovich in 2009 when the Blues owner believed he was leading the Stamford Bridge side out of a Champions League slot.
Scolari was replaced by hired gun Guus Hiddink, who restored the team spirit of a mutinous and fractured dressing room to take Chelsea to a heartbreaking Champions League semi-final defeat by Barcelona and lift the FA Cup, but Villas-Boas' deputy Roberto Di Matteo has filled the SW6 breach this time round.
Di Matteo's first act saw him reunited with former Stamford Bridge team-mate Eddie Newton, his deputy at MK Dons and West Brom, who has joined the Chelsea coaching staff to the end of the season.
The former Chelsea midfielder said: "It has been a very difficult 24 hours for a lot of people at the football club but I will have to move on for this club and try my best with the players we have here."
While Guardiola is top of the Abramovich hit-list, the Catalan, who benefits from the low taxes in Spain, would need a package in excess of £15m per year just to match his Nou Camp terms, even if he is persuaded to leave the best team on the planet for the one with the most unrealistic expectations.
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DI MATTEO'S MANAGERIAL RECORD
P W D L
MK Dons 52 27 11 14
West Brom 83 40 19 24
Sacked Villas-Boas 'in tears as he left Chelsea'
Di Matteo tells stars: Show me you love Chelsea
Sven: Chelsea's not an impossible job - I'd take it
Sacking AVB could cost Chelsea £50m - report
Roberto Di Matteo takes first Chelsea training session (Pictures)
Birmingham v Chelsea preview: Brum fear post-AVB backlash
Team news: Birmingham missing EIGHT, Chelsea's Cole doubtful
 
[h=1]Sacking AVB could cost Chelsea £50m - report[/h] Published 14:45 05/03/12 By MirrorFootball


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The cost of dismissing Andre Villas-Boas as Chelsea manager could set Roman Abramovich back as much as £50million, according to reports.
Abramovich had already paid a record £13.3m in compensation to buy out the 34-year-old's contract at Porto only last June.
Another £10m was spent in paying off former manager Carlo Ancelotti and his backroom staff to make way for the Portuguese.
AVB has spent 36 weeks at Stamford Bridge on wages of around £90,000 per week - totalling £3.5m for 40 games in charge.

And, the Chelsea owner is expected to have to pay out another £11m to remove Villas-Boas from his Blues contract.
The cost of installing a new high-profile manager is likely to take the total expenditure into the region of £50m - a mistake as costly as buying Fernando Torres.
 
[h=1]Mourinho will return to Chelsea for £12m-a-year... AND Ronaldo (report)[/h] Published 23:51 05/03/12 By MirrorFootball


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Jose Mourinho wants a £12million salary to return for a second spell as Chelsea boss - and will also demand that he brings Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid with him, according to a report.
The back-page story claims Barcelona's Pep Guardiola is first choice to replace the sacked Andre Villas-Boas, but Chelsea face the double problem of convincing him to leave Barca and then, having done so, talking him out of taking a year off.
The piece adds that former Manchester United star Ronaldo, who shares an agent with Mourinho, is frustrated with interference in team affairs by Real president Florentino Perez.
The Spanish giants paid United £80million for the Portuguese forward, who has since scored 96 goals in 88 games for them.
 
[h=1]United on the road to title glory - Ferdinand[/h] Published 22:30 05/03/12 By David McDonnell


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Rio Ferdinand has hailed the remarkable turnaround in Manchester United's away form for keeping them in hunt for the title.
United's 3-1 victory at Tottenham on Sunday was their 10th away win in the Premier League this season - that is double last term's haul, when it was their formidable home record that ultimately secured the title.
And Ferdinand, who excelled in United's win at White Hart Lane, pointed to an improved focus from Sir Alex Ferguson's players as the reason for their remarkable change of fortune on the road.
"Last year, I don't know what it was," said Ferdinand, "it could have been complacency, expecting to win games, whereas at the moment we're being very professional.

"We're hard to break down, hard to beat and we know that we've got players on the break who can beat anybody.
"White Hart Lane is a tough place to come. Spurs are a team with talented players. We've had that over the years, we've never had an easy win here.
"We knew we had to work hard and they made us work hard for the win."
United's fine Premier League away form has included wins at Everton, Aston Villa, Arsenal and now Spurs, with Ferdinand pointing to the professionalism and defensive discipline of Ferguson's side.
"You've got to make sure you defend well if you're going to come away with anything," he said. "Jonny Evans played really well again - I thought the whole team defended well, to be honest.
Rio: We have to play 11 Cup Finals to clinch the title
United keeper David De Gea, who has endured a turbulent first season at the club, produced another impressive display in goal, and Ferdinand acknowledged the progress made by the young Spaniard.
"David has made some good strides in goal," said the defender. "He's learning, he wants to be a better goalkeeper and he wants to improve. That's vital in a young player's make-up."
Spurs dominated possession on Sunday, but United's two-goal hero Ashley Young said the champions were happy to win without playing well, as keeping in touch with leaders Manchester City is the priority at this stage of the season.
"All of the players knew that we weren't playing to our full potential," said Young. "We had to show it in the second-half and we did well to get the two goals and the three points.
"We felt comfortable when the second goal went in. We just wanted to go on and we knew we could get more goals. We knew if we kept on working hard then we'd get a third and we did that.
"As long as we stay as a team and a solid unit, which we did, then we know we can get a goal. We nicked one in the first-half and then came out and got another two.
"We weren't at our best in the first-half, but we went 1-0 up and went on the front foot in the second-half."
Kolo Toure: City are as good as Arsenal's Invincibles
 
[h=1]FA ask Redknapp to confirm he wants the England job[/h] Published 22:31 05/03/12 By Martin Lipton


Tottenham+Hotspur-Harry+Redknapp+cropped


Harry Redknapp and the other England managerial contenders have now been urged by the FA: "Tell us you want the job."
FA chairman David Bernstein is heading the hunt for Fabio Capello's successor, with Spurs boss Redknapp the red-hot favourite for the job.
Bernstein and his colleagues, Sir Trevor Brooking, Alex Horne and Adrian Bevington, are understood to be compiling a three-man short-list after making discreet soundings to high-profile figures in the game, including one non-British option.
But there is an awareness that they have to make an appointment with popular support - which points firmly at Redknapp, as the only realistic choice who would be greeted with national acclaim.

And while Bernstein insisted he will not do anything to undermine the last few months of his chosen target's club season, he does want the wannabes to make it clear they wish to steer England's footballing future.
Bernstein said: "We are treating this with the greatest urgency, under no circumstances should our taking time over this be taken as anything other than dealing with it professionally and urgently.
"Rushing this process is not going to be good for arriving at the right conclusion.
"We are treating clubs and managers with the greatest of respect. Most of the people we are looking at are in positions, and whatever we do we ought to try to do it in a way which enables clubs to finish their season with the minimum of disruption.
"We have now arrived at a number of target names. We intend to deal with this at the back end of the season but if certain things fell into place and the key appointment came, it could be earlier.
"Our next step is to narrow that target list down to a very small number of key people who, of course, we believe actually want the position. There may be people who don't actually want this position and we want to eliminate those who don't want it.
"I think the position is so unique that the right person will want to do it on a sensible basis for the right reasons. But it is a very fluid situation."
Bernstein believes an appointment can be confirmed before the end of the domestic season, although it is likely that the deal on the table - less than the £6million per year paid to Capello - would be incentive-based, with a large bonus element for success.
The FA's priority is to appoint a full-time boss to take England to their Euro 2012 base in Krakow, with the idea that he would be in charge for the full cycle up to the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil, with the option of an extra two years pending events at that tournament.
However, it has emerged that should the chosen candidate tell the FA he would prefer to wait until August to take up the reins, then that stance would be accepted.
England Under-21s boss Stuart Pearce would then be likely to fill the breach again, as he did for last week's friendly defeat by Holland.
 
[h=1]Gunn-ho! Arsenal set to play FOUR up front[/h] Published 23:00 05/03/12 By John Cross


arsene-wenger-Arsenal-AGM-cropped


Arsene Wenger is ready to go all guns blazing and play FOUR forwards to try to pull off the greatest escape in Champions League history.
Wenger is considering fielding Robin van Persie, Theo Walcott, Gervinho AND Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in a desperate attempt to overhaul mighty AC Milan's 4-0 lead from the first leg of their last-16 tie.
Arsenal boss Wenger insists he will go for the jugular at the Emirates, and is convinced his men can pull off a miracle.
Wenger said: "I can take a risk, because I have no choice, basically. I have only two midfielders - (Alex) Song and (Tomas) Rosicky. That means we have to play with four strikers.

"I can play six strikers if I want - I have enough strikers: I have (Marouane) Chamakh, (Ju Young) Park, Van Persie, Gervinho, Walcott and Chamberlain.
"I'm tempted. I have to see if Rosicky is available or not. If Rosicky is not available, I will be in a very difficult situation, because I don't know what I can do then."
Rosicky is nursing a groin injury but trained on Monday.
Mikel Arteta misses out after being stretchered off at Liverpool on Saturday after a whack on the head but should be fit to face Newcastle next Monday.
Former Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti was in charge when Milan surrendered a 4-1 lead to Deportivo La Couna in 2004, the Spanish club winning the second leg 4-0.
Wenger admitted it would be his greatest ever achievement if he can overhaul that first leg deficit.
"It would certainly be that," he said. "I would be extremely happy if we could do that."
***
ARSENAL v AC MILAN: PROBABLE TEAMS
Arsenal: Szczesny; Sagna, Koscielny, Vermaelen, Gibbs; Oxlade-Chamberlain, Song, Rosicky, Gervinho; Walcott, Van Persie
AC Milan: Abbiatti; Abate, Mexes, Thiago Silva, Antonini; Nocerino, Van Bommel, Emanuelson; Aquilani; Ibrahimovic, Robinho
Wenger: It's Mission POSSIBLE for us
Arsenal out of Europe? Maybe not - Six European comebacks to give Gunners fans hope (video)
We CAN avenge Milan massacre - Gibbs
Milan boss: English sides never surrender
 
[h=1]Gunn-ho! Arsenal set to play FOUR up front[/h] Published 23:00 05/03/12 By John Cross


arsene-wenger-Arsenal-AGM-cropped


Arsene Wenger is ready to go all guns blazing and play FOUR forwards to try to pull off the greatest escape in Champions League history.
Wenger is considering fielding Robin van Persie, Theo Walcott, Gervinho AND Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in a desperate attempt to overhaul mighty AC Milan's 4-0 lead from the first leg of their last-16 tie.
Arsenal boss Wenger insists he will go for the jugular at the Emirates, and is convinced his men can pull off a miracle.
Wenger said: "I can take a risk, because I have no choice, basically. I have only two midfielders - (Alex) Song and (Tomas) Rosicky. That means we have to play with four strikers.

"I can play six strikers if I want - I have enough strikers: I have (Marouane) Chamakh, (Ju Young) Park, Van Persie, Gervinho, Walcott and Chamberlain.
"I'm tempted. I have to see if Rosicky is available or not. If Rosicky is not available, I will be in a very difficult situation, because I don't know what I can do then."
Rosicky is nursing a groin injury but trained on Monday.
Mikel Arteta misses out after being stretchered off at Liverpool on Saturday after a whack on the head but should be fit to face Newcastle next Monday.
Former Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti was in charge when Milan surrendered a 4-1 lead to Deportivo La Couna in 2004, the Spanish club winning the second leg 4-0.
Wenger admitted it would be his greatest ever achievement if he can overhaul that first leg deficit.
"It would certainly be that," he said. "I would be extremely happy if we could do that."
***
ARSENAL v AC MILAN: PROBABLE TEAMS
Arsenal: Szczesny; Sagna, Koscielny, Vermaelen, Gibbs; Oxlade-Chamberlain, Song, Rosicky, Gervinho; Walcott, Van Persie
AC Milan: Abbiatti; Abate, Mexes, Thiago Silva, Antonini; Nocerino, Van Bommel, Emanuelson; Aquilani; Ibrahimovic, Robinho
Wenger: It's Mission POSSIBLE for us
Arsenal out of Europe? Maybe not - Six European comebacks to give Gunners fans hope (video)
We CAN avenge Milan massacre - Gibbs
Milan boss: English sides never surrender

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[h=1]Transfer news, rumours and gossip from Monday's papers[/h] Published 08:05 05/03/12 By Football Spy


PaperTalk.jpg


The transfer window may be shut, but managers up and down the country are already plotting for when the next one opens, and we've got all the gossip from all the papers right here.
Transfer stories from today's Sunday Mirror
Exclusive: Tottenham lead chase for cut-price Blackburn midfielder Junior Hoilett deal

Chelsea Roman Abramovich wants Barcelona's Pep Guardiola to replace Andre Villas-Boas

Ipswich want to take Aston Villa keeper Brad Guzan on loan

Leeds boss Neil Warnock offers Luke Varney escape route from Portsmouth

Stories from other papers and websites
 
[h=1]Abramovich wants Pep to deliver 'Barcelona in blue shirts'[/h] Published 22:30 04/03/12 By Martin Lipton


Pep+Guardiola-FC+Barcelona+cropped


Roman Abramovich will ask Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola to become the next full-time Chelsea boss after Andre Villas-Boas was sacked last night.
Villas-Boas' reign lasted just 257 days before being put out of his misery by Abramovich in a terse meeting at the club's Cobham training ground yesterday, less than 24 hours after the 1-0 defeat at West Brom.
Why even Guardiola won't be the quick fix Ambramovich craves, by Martin Lipton
The 34-year-old Portuguese's assistant, Roberto Di Mateo, was put in charge until the end of the season as the club announced "the results and performances of the team have not been good enough and were showing no signs of improving".

And while that decision was a signal to the rebellious players that there will still be a close-season clear-out of the old guard at Stamford Bridge, Abramovich will seek to entice Guardiola to leave the Nou Camp and come to SW6 in the summer.
Former boss Jose Mourinho is also a contender - although it would mean Abramovich admitting his biggest mistake was getting rid of the "Special One" in 2007 - while the outsider is Borussia
Dortmund boss Jurgen Klopp, who has impressed at the Bundesliga champions.
But Guardiola is Abramovich's stand-out first option, with the architect of the finest team on the planet the man the Russian believes can deliver his vision of "Barcelona in blue shirts".
In the mean-time, Di Matteo - sacked barely a year ago by West Brom when Villas-Boas' final opponents feared relegation under the Italian - has been handed the reins although former Stamford Bridge favourite Gianfranco Zola could be recruited to his temporary coaching staff.
The end for Villas-Boas came after he had taken training at Cobham, when he was called into a meeting with Abramovich, the Russian's chief lieutenant Eugene Tenebaum and chief executive Ron Gourlay.
A Chelsea statement put the Villas-Boas situation in perspective, with the club fifth and facing an uphill battle to stay in the Champions League as it added: "We aim to remain as competitive as possible on all fronts. With that in mind we felt our only option was to make a change at this time."
Once Villas-Boas was dismissed, Di Matteo was asked to take the helm, with the trio then joined by technical director Michael Emenalo to let the squad know what had happened.
It is understood that while Villas-Bioas carried the can, Abramovich holds the players responsible for their part in his failure, with the wholesale overhaul of the Chelsea squad now certain in the summer whoever is in charge.
Why next Chelsea boss must finish AVB's work and purge the old guard for good, by Martin Lipton
 
[h=1]Could Moyes' plan for compulsory Prem pay cuts work?[/h]
David+Anderson

By David Anderson
Published 12:16 05/03/12




The+Everton+Column



I've said before that David Moyes would make a good Chancellor of the Exchequer and he's talking sense again after proposing that everyone in the Premier League should take a pay cut.
Moyes was seen how football's finances have spiralled out of control with clubs such as Portsmouth and his hometown team Rangers in serious danger of going under.
Most Premier League clubs are in debt and are only surviving because of the generosity of wealthy benefactors or sympathetic bank managers.
This is despite TV money being at a record high as this increase in revenue is going straight to players and managers with clubs paying more and more to try and achieve success.

At the other end of the scale, some clubs have had to put up ticket prices to try and increase revenues with the result that many fans are being priced out of going to see their team.
The Everton boss feels a way to break this vicious circle would be for everyone to take a 20 per cent pay cut to allow the clubs to feed this saving back to the fans in the form of reduced ticket prices.
Such a move would transform overnight the image of footballers for the general public. At a time when most people in Britain are losing their jobs, having to accept pay freezes or pay reductions, players continue to live a life of luxury with most earning well over £500,000-a-year.
Moyes said: "Everyone in the Premier League should take a 20 per cent pay cut to put football finances back on an even keel and allow a significant reduction in ticket prices to make football more affordable for the ordinary fan.
"Every family in the country at the moment has to finance correctly. They can't overspend. Why is football different?
"Football's been around for 150 years and it has come a long way, but we have to make sure we don't take it away from its roots. We must not get too far away from people."
What Moyes is advocating makes perfect sense and it would pull football back from the brink.
But, of course, expecting someone to agree to a 20 per cent wage cut is like expecting a turkey to look forward to Christmas.
Unfortunately it won't happen and instead football will continue along the road towards self-destruction as warned by Moyes.
***
Read David Anderson on Everton every Monday - and follow @MirrorAnderson on Twitter
 
[h=1]Comolli warns Liverpool fans not to expect any 'massive' transfer deals in the summer[/h] Published 10:17 02/03/12 By MirrorFootball


damien-comolli-liverpool-cropped


Liverpool's director of football Damien Comolli says fans should not expect a rush of new signings in the summer.
Last summer manager Kenny Dalglish brought in seven players to add to the two, Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez, who were signed the previous January.
About £120million was invested in the squad, although almost £60million was recouped from departures, but Comolli does not anticipate there being major changes this time around.
"It is early days. We will probably make some adjustments in the summer but nothing that we've done before," he said.

"We signed nine players since Kenny came back so there will be a few adjustments but nothing massive.
"We have done the hard work and now it is a question of making some adjustments in certain positions.
"Kenny has said it several times that we have a very competitive squad and all positions are covered by two or three players, quality players, and we have a lot of young players coming through as well."
After lifting the Carling Cup last weekend, the club's first trophy for six years, matters now turn to the Barclays Premier League.
Comolli believes tomorrow's visit of Arsenal is a match the Reds have to win if they are to boost their hopes of a top-four finish.
The Gunners' stunning 5-2 win over Tottenham last weekend, having been 2-0 down, meant Arsene Wenger's side are currently in pole position for the final Champions League qualification spot.
However, Chelsea are only below them on goal difference and Liverpool need to claw back a seven-point gap - although they do have a match in hand, albeit the Merseyside derby at Anfield later this month.
"We have a massive game against Arsenal at the weekend," said the Frenchman.
"The next priority is to win the next game. When you see the results at the weekend with Arsenal beating Spurs we definitely need to win on Saturday." Comolli believes victory in the Carling Cup on Sunday, securing the club's first trophy for six years, can only positively impact on the club and the players.
"It is a fantastic statement and also we are back in Europe early in the season," he added.
"We know it will bring us positive dynamic for the rest of the season.
"It is a fantastic way to end February with a trophy already but we know we have a lot to play for until May."
 
[h=1]Transfer news, rumours and gossip from Tuesday's papers[/h] Published 08:08 06/03/12 By Football Spy


PaperTalk.jpg


The transfer window may be shut, but managers up and down the country are already plotting for when the next one opens, and we've got all the gossip from all the papers right here.
Transfer stories from today's Sunday Mirror
Exclusive: Aston Villa have targeted Matty Gilks of Blackpool to replace keeper Brad Guzan
Al-Ain are confident of keeping on-loan Asamoah Gyan despite interest from other clubs

West Ham are interested in Portsmouth keeper Stephen Henderson while Doncaster have secured a loan for striker Frederic Piquionne
Stories from other papers and websites
Roman Abramovich has made direct contact with Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola about taking over at Chelsea (The Times)
Chelsea will have a mass clearout of playing staff in the summer (Telegraph)
Andre Villas-Boas has had a secret meeting in February with Franco Baldini about taking over at Roma (Goal.com)
Nani is close to signing a new contract at Manchester United until 2016 (The Times)
Ajax defender Jan Vertonghen has reiterated his desire to come to the the Premier League - with interest from Tottenham and Newcastle (Sky Sports)
Liverpool face competition from Porto for Columbia striker Jackson Martinez (talkSPORT)
Defender Mats Hummels has ruled out a move from Borussia Dortmund to Manchester United (Metro)
Hamburg are hoping to take Chelsea striker Roman Lukaku on loan (Daily Mail)

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[h=2]We Recommend[/h]



[h=2]From around the web[/h]
 
[h=1]Chelsea have NOT contacted Benitez, says agent[/h] Published 12:57 05/03/12 By MirrorFootball


Rafael+Benitez-Inter+Milan+cropped


Rafa Benitez has not been contacted by Chelsea regarding the possibility of replacing Andre Villas-Boas as manager, according to the Spaniard's agent.
Recent speculation suggested that the former Liverpool manager had been approached to take charge at Stamford Bridge - even before Villas-Boas had been dismissed.
Benitez was installed as an early favourite to succeed the Portuguese with some reports claiming he had been offered a sort-term deal until the end of the season.
However, the manager's agent Manuel Garcia Quilon claims there has been no offer for his client to return to the Premier League.

"He is open to discuss any important options at the moment. So far there is no offer from Chelsea.
"We've heard the rumours but they are not true - we have had no contact," Quilon told Spanish news agency EFE.
Chelsea are becoming an 'embarrassment', says LMA chief
Scolari welcomes next Chelsea manager...to HELL
Wilkins: Blues tried to change their ways too quickly
 
[h=1]Undisclosed Qatari club make bid for Gyan[/h] Published 11:24 05/03/12 By MirrorFootball


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Sunderland have received a bid from a Qatari club for striker Asamoah Gyan.
Press Association Sport understands a club in the Gulf state have tabled an offer for the 26-year-old Ghana international, who is currently on a season-long loan deal in the United Arab Emirates with Al-Ain.
Gyan will have two years of the contract he signed when he joined the Black Cats from Rennes during the summer of 2010 remaining at the end the current season, and his future could have a major bearing on manager Martin O'Neill's transfer plans.
The club's identity has not been disclosed.

Gyan arrived on Wearside on the back of a series of impressive displays for his country at the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa as then manager Steve Bruce invested a club record £13.1million in him.
It took Gyan time to get used to the Barclays Premier League, but he announced his arrival in earnest with is first goal for the club at Wigan on September 11.
He managed 11 goals last season as he, Darren Bent and Danny Welbeck vied for places in the starting line-up before Bent's January departure for Aston Villa, and also scored for Ghana in a friendly against England.
He ended the campaign as the club's only fit striker as injuries to Welbeck and Fraizer Campbell took their toll on Bruce's squad.
Gyan was linked with a summer move to Tottenham as Bruce renewed his interest in former target Peter Crouch, and despite the manager's repeated insistence that the African was going nowhere, the noises coming out of player's camp were not encouraging.
It nevertheless came as something of a shock when, hours before the club's home clash with Chelsea on September 10, they announced that Gyan had joined Al-Ain on loan for a fee of around £6million.
The terms of the deal meant he could not be recalled when Martin O'Neill replaced Bruce as manager in December.
Sunderland are understood to have sought talks over his future plans as they attempt to find a way forward amid speculation that Al-Ain want a permanent deal, and that there are other interested parties.
 
[h=1]Podolski keeping schtum over possible Arsenal move[/h] Published 11:20 05/03/12 By MirrorFootball


Lukas+Podolski-Cologne+cropped


Cologne striker Lukas Podolski refused to comment on a possible move to Arsenal this summer after earning his side a point in a 1-1 draw with Hoffenheim.
The Germany striker still has more than a year left on his contract with Cologne, but has repeatedly expressed his disappointment at how his hometown club is being run and has been widely linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium at the end of the season.
Cologne have not given up hope of convincing him to sign a new contract, and Podolski himself has not given anything away.
"I will give all I have got to the very end," he told reporters at the Rhein-Neckar Arena. "We have 10 more very tough matches.

"Every game is a final for us. On Saturday we have an important game against Hertha (Berlin) and we need to win that game at all costs."
When pressed on whether he would be leaving Cologne to join Arsenal in the summer, Podolski said he had "nothing to say" on the issue, asking only for the next question.
Cologne director of sport Volker Finke was equally tight-lipped, telling the Bild newspaper: "We don't want to give any indication at all as to what stage we are at."
But coach Stale Solbakken said Podolski would "give everything for Cologne in the last games" before adding "whether he moves or not."
Wenger vows to do 'anything possible' to keep RvP
 
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