Archive for April 17th, 2009

Arsenal and Chelsea battle this Sunday April 19^th  in the semifinals of The FA Cup. Chelsea’s super striker Didier Drogba was quoted by Associated Press that Luiz Felipe Scolari’s sacking was the turning point in both his and the Blues season.

I do have a problem with Drogba’s comment. It’s hip and cool to blame all your problems on the previous coach. Yes, it was true the Blues struggled mightily under former Brasilian nation coach and World Cup winning coach.

How much of it was a language problem? How much of it was a problem adjusting to a different style of futebol?

How much of the problem was due to the fact that Scolari could pick and choose the players he wanted at each position?

Being a national team coach, you have more control of the players you want and the style futebol you want to play.

At the club level, you have to deal with the day-to-day operations of the club, player shenanigans and egos, as well as a daily constant pressure from the owner and the fans to win. 

I don’t think Scolari was a good fit for Chelsea. In plain and simple terms, the choice was wrong. It was bad. It stunk.

Scolari does have a good track record as a national team coach but when you closely examine his record as a club coach you will find he has very limited success at the club level.

Maybe the problem was that Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich decided to hire a big name manager instead of a proven club manager with a winning record. I believe this move was in response to all of the crap Abramovich received from the hiring and firing of Jose Mourinho. As well as the crap, Mourinho bestowed upon the owner and other clubs and their managers.

Jose Mourinho is good but he creates way too many problems for the club that hires him. In the short run Mourinho is a good fit but for the long term. NOT. 

This is just a guess.

Now let me take Drogba to task for his comments. First off dude it is your responsibility to play well. If you are hurt, take the proper time to rehabilitate your injury.

You’re a professional athlete so that means you are paid to perform at high level so don’t give me the excuse that the coach doesn’t have faith in you. BS my man. It is your responsibility to show him you are ready to perform at a top level.

Remember this one little phrase, when you point the finger at someone else, make sure you see the three fingers pointing back at you.

 Enough said on that subject.

The Chelsea-Arsenal FA Cup semifinal should be great match up between two top-level clubs.

My team Manchester United takes Everton in the other FA Cup match on Sunday April 19^th.

Manchester United now has two games in hand as we head down the final month and a half of  The EPL season.

With the big boys off this weekend due to FA Cup matches lets look at the race for the relegation zone.

There are three huge encounters on Saturday April 18^th   and Sunday April 19^th that will go a long way on who will get the thumbs up and stay and those who will get the heave hoe and you’re outta here.

First up Sunderland takes on Hull City. Sunderland is 17^th spot with 32 points. This is one step away from going down.

Hull City is in 15^th spot with 34 points. Two points separate these two clubs.

The loser will be in danger of dropping into the relegation zone.

West Brom takes on Manchester City. West Brom can win but I don’t think so even though Manchester City has been a major disappointment all season long. Man City has 38 points.

Middlesbrough battles Fulham. Fulham has 43 points and they are nine points shy of the sixth spot in The EPL table and with that goes a berth in The UEFA Cup.

Fulham has an outside chance to claim this final spot.

Fulham badly needs to win this match.

Newcastle has a tussle with Tottenham. The Magpies are two points behind Sunderland. If Sunderland losses on Saturday this means Newcastle will have a chance to move ahead of Sunderland in the table and out of the relegation zone.

Lot’s of fun stuff happening so we’ll keep ya updated with all the latest from The EPL, Brasil, and Argentina.