The silly season has officially kicked off and while players can't move yet that is not the case when it comes to Managers. Stray thought, would be fascinating if Managers were restricted in movement the same way players were...
Anyway, first up is AC Milan boss Carlo Ancelotti becoming the 6487th new manager at Chelsea since the Special One left. Lots of opinion all over the map about this appointment which is curious for a manager who has won two Champions League titles. Yes, as I've noted in the past, Liverpool more lost to AC Milan rather than the Rossoneri winning but still nothing to sneeze at.
One criticism I've seen is that Ancelotti isn't any good at bringing through youngsters. Which means he's probably the perfect coach for an aging Chelsea team to make one last run at glory before having to blow up the team and rebuild. Ancelotti's appointment changes the dynamic of next season.
You could lay out a scenario next year where Chelsea struggled allowing Everton, Villa and hopefully City to challenge for the 4th Champions League spot - I believe Arsenal will be vastly better next year - but this appointment seems to me to be the right manager at the right time for the personnel that Chelsea have.
Meanwhile the Tevez saga is only days old and already is the leading contender to win Silly Story of the Season. The print media are falling over themselves to report that Tevez's agent/advisor/owner Kia Joorabchian is going to move the Argentinean hitman to City to "spite" United. Admittedly Joorabchian seems something of a shadowy figure but no one has ever accused him of being anything less than a very smart businessman. Joorabchain will make the deal that makes the most sense. "Spite" or payback against United for not signing Tevez is unlikely to play any role whatsoever.
Down at West Ham the decision of Lucas Neill to turn down a new contract has led to immediate speculation that the Australian central defender could be on his way to City. Given City's needs and the stage of Neill's career I can't see any way that this would be considered an acquisition for a starting role. With the need for at least one starting central defender and one or two squad central defenders this off season you could see Neill filling the latter role for a season but anything more would appear to strain credulity.
Comments
Posted by Martin Nazimek on 06/02/2009
Ok, so this is the worst time of the year. What am I to do with myself for the next 2 months? The only thing I can is to listen to rumors of who is coming and going. With that, like I said in the past, we need to bolster the defense and midfield. Smart teams build the foundation first then think about strikers, but if Teves lands in your lap I will be the first one with a smile on my face. players of his caliber dont come around often.
Posted by Matthew Chacko on 06/03/2009
Martin, this is what you do with the next two months. Watch World Cup Qualifiers and the FIFA Confederations Cup. Try to be like your hero Stephen Ireland and get a whole bunch of tattoos. Watch out for big spenders City and the transfers that they do make(see Gareth Barry). Spend the rest of the time in a pub or trying to get laid or both.
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Wallace Poulter is an award winning video game producer, designer, industry consultant and writer. He has been a football fanatic since the day he moved in next door to Brian Clough. "Cloughie" being the acknowledged genius that he was promptly moved out and went to manage Derby. A serviceable senior school left-back in his youth, Poulter played one season of Sunday league football as a striker proving conclusively that he was a serviceable senior school left-back! Today Poulter remains involved with football as a licensed referee and most recently as a consultant on a Football MMO.
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