UK News

from Reuters Soccer Blog:

Why Chelsea should keep Andre Villas-Boas

Three Premier League defeats in four games and Champions League last 16 qualification compromised. The last few weeks have been very tough for Chelsea coach Andre Villas-Boas.

Previous managers Jose Mourinho, Luiz Felipe Scolari, Avram Grant and Carlo Ancelotti were dismissed seemingly for less by ruthless owner Roman Abramovich.

Ancelotti won a league and cup double but was axed after the following season while Grant moved on despite being a John Terry penalty slip away from winning the Champions League.

However, there are several reasons to believe Villas-Boas may stay in his post long-term despite Wednesday's 2-1 loss at Bayer Leverkusen.

The first is the 13 million pounds Abramovich shelled out to Porto so the Portuguese could move back to Stamford Bridge in the close season. It may seem like peanuts to the Russian billionaire but he also has business sense. Then again, Villas-Boas mentioning this as a reason to be kept on probably isn't so wise.

Another factor is the merry-go-round of managers at Chelsea has to stop at some point. Alex Ferguson's success at Manchester United and Arsene Wenger's achievements at Arsenal, including pulling them out of their recent rut, demonstrate the pluses of longevity.

Chelsea invested in AVB for a reason and that reason can not have been completely destroyed by a bad patch of form less than halfway through the season.

from Reuters Soccer Blog:

Have City knocked United off their perch?

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini was quick to say that his team’s 6-1 mauling of arch-rivals United meant little more than another three points in the bag, but the Italian must surely be hoping it could signal a shift in the balance of power.

Having knocked Liverpool off their perch when they won a record 19th league title last season, United now face the prospect of playing second fiddle to City in England and Manchester, should their heaviest defeat to their neighbours in 56 years prove to be more than just a temporary setback.

Ferguson and several pundits wasted no time in pointing out United were undone after central defender Jonny Evans was sent off for a professional foul early in the second half.

But City were already on top at that point and earned their extra man on the pitch by carving United open with a defence-splitting pass -- which left Evans only with the alternative of letting Mario Balotelli run through on goal.

Fielding his unpredictable compatriot Balotelli instead of Edin Dzeko up front turned out to be a masterstroke by Mancini, much like his entire strategy which worked to devastating effect.

Any hopes of a trademark United comeback when Darren Fletcher made it 3-1 vanished after late substitute Dzeko scored a brace to throw the blue half of Manchester into raptures, prompting Ferguson to adopt an unfamiliar line in his post-match reactions.

“We just kept attacking. It’s alright playing with the history books but common sense has to come in at times. With the experience we had at the back, we should have realised that and settled for what we had when it went to 4-1,” Ferguson told the club’s official website (www.manutd.com).

from Reuters Soccer Blog:

Who can Arsenal actually buy?

With Cesc Fabregas gone and Samir Nasri possibly on the move too, there is a lot of gloom around Arsenal at the moment and Saturday's 2-0 home defeat by Liverpool did nothing to help the mood.

Arsenal fans are for the first time questioning the stewardship of Arsene Wenger and have demanded some top signings to prevent yet another trophyless season.

But who could Arsenal actually bring in? Would a really top player want to go to a club resembling a sinking ship? The Gunners also don't have the same financial clout as Manchester City, United, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and even Liverpool nowadays. (The Italian clubs are worse off though).

Valencia winger Juan Mata seems destined for Chelsea after Arsenal's initial interest but even he is not the wow signing Arsenal fans want to ease the pain of Fabregas going back to Barca.

But Wenger's great strength has been buying near unknowns and making them great. Vieira, Henry and of course Fabregas.

There is no value in the market right now and really top players are not available. Trying to develop Jack Wilshere and Co into the new Fabregases looks like Wenger's only option.

Fans will give him the season to prove he can work miracles again but come this time next year, the rumblings of discontent in north London could be full-blown protests.

from Reuters Soccer Blog:

Treble? Manchester United’s season could still collapse

Strong belief in emulating the 1999 treble must surely be gripping Old Trafford after Manchester United’s somewhat fortuitous 1-0 win at Chelsea in their Champions League quarter-final first leg, but Alex Ferguson and his troops will also be aware they are still a long way from crossing the finish line first in any competition.

With Wayne Rooney losing his appeal to have a two-game ban reduced and the ever-present threat of injuries crippling a squad well short of the talent of the 1999 crop,  United will once again have to dig deep into their resources as the strength-sapping season reaches its climax.

United are seven points clear of Arsenal in the Premier League but what belies this seemingly big advantage in the run-in is the fact that Arsenal have a game in hand and only the league title to play for, which could be a telling factor when United visit the Emirates Stadium on May 1.

With Rooney out of the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City on April 16 there is no chance of him repeating the spectacular overhead kick which gave United a 2-1 win in their league fixture and Ferguson’s men may well find the going much more difficult against their fired-up neighbours, who have no other chance of silverware.

Rooney’s temporary loss could be a huge blow to United and the few who have jumped to his defence after the striker’s lack of anger management in United’s 4-2 win over West Ham at Upton Park could plausibly argue that a hefty fine might have been more appropriate punishment.

Here’s why: There is no excuse for what Rooney did but it would take some level of hypocrisy to say that swearing is not part of the game, on and off the pitch, just like horrific tackles such as the one that kept former Arsenal striker Eduardo sidelined for 18 months.

Birmingham defender Martin Taylor was handed a three-game ban after the late lunge which resulted in a triple leg fracture and nearly ended Eduardo’s career in Feb. 2008, when the Brazilian-born Croatia striker was at the peak of his powers.

from Reuters Soccer Blog:

Everton and Moyes running out of options

By James Illingworth

Sympathy for the plight of their rivals may be kept to an absolute minimum by the red and blue halves of Liverpool but even the staunchest of Kopites should spare a thought for David Moyes.

Having seen his side claim partial revenge for their 2009 FA Cup final defeat by knocking Chelsea out on penalties last month, Moyes could not prevent first division Reading ending Everton's cup run in the fifth round on Tuesday.

Forced to operate a sell-before-you-buy policy and with the club failing to attract investment, the 47-year-old Scot is beginning to cut an increasingly frustrated figure.

"We let the supporters down tonight, we didn't play well enough and we got what we deserved," Moyes told Everton's website. "We didn't have enough, enough craft, enough guile to break them down. I thought we did try to take the initiative but we weren't good enough."

Without star performers Tim Cahill and Marouane Fellani, whose ankle injury will keep him out for the rest of the season, the Blues' limited squad was exposed against Reading.

They remain a team capable of matching any side on their day, but without significant investment, Everton will surely stay on the fringes of the Premier League's top teams.

from Reuters Soccer Blog:

Van Persie to miss Barca clash…Arsenal’s chances gone?

Arsenal hitman Robin van Persie injured himself while scoring against Birmingham City in the League Cup final on Sunday and will now miss his team's last 16 second leg clash against Barcelona on March 8. Not good news for the Gunners.

However, beat Leyton Orient in the FA Cup on Wednesday to set up a quarter-final with Manchester United, and keep the pressure up on their great rivals in the Premier League who have just lost to Chelsea, and there are still honours to be won.

But the Champions League? Without Van Persie, who scored against Barca in the first leg, the London club are a bit thin on the attacking front.

That said, Marouane Chamakh remained upbeat after the galling last minute defeat on Sunday, and the Morocco international could be just the man to fill the void.

How do you rate Arsenal's chances of landing some silverware in 2011? Discuss this and other stories in world soccer on the Reuters Soccer Facebook page.

from Reuters Soccer Blog:

“Big Ziggy” primed to keep Birmingham up

With Europe beckoning and their first trophy since 1963, Birmingham City fans have a lot to get excited about.

However they also face a nervy rest of the Premier League season with relegation looming. Cue towering striker Nikola Zigic to the rescue.

My arm still hurts after holding aloft a recording device to his mouth for a mere four minutes at Wembley following the Serbian international's role in helping his side to a 2-1 League Cup final over Arsenal, and as a tallish goalkeeper I departed the stadium only to have nightmares about what it would be like if he approached me at a corner.

Spare a thought for the Premier League defenders who will be doing their utmost to stop the 2.03 metre attacker as he attempts to keep Birmingham in the top flight.

Read more here about a player coming into form at just the right time for the blue half of Birmingham.

Discuss this and other stories in world soccer on the Reuters Soccer Facebook page.

from Reuters Soccer Blog:

Rooney wonder strike could make United’s season

Wayne Rooney said it was his greatest goal and Alex Ferguson said he had never seen anything like it. Even opposition manager Roberto Mancini had to applaud.

So many times you see players fall flat on their faces as they attempt an overhead wonder goal but any smirks that might have been rising as Rooney embarked on what looked like mission impossible were quickly replaced by utter disbelief at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Rooney was lurking in the box when Nani sent his cross in from the right and the England striker jumped high and swivelled his body while stretching out his right leg to acrobatically strike the ball over his head and into the top right corner.

It was a sort of pinch yourself moment. A stunned silence -– a sort of "did we really just see that?" -- erupted almost immediately into a deafening roar as Rooney grabbed the winner against neighbours and fellow title contenders Manchester City.

Rooney said he had not attempted anything like that since his school days -– and the likelihood is that if he tried it again he would end up in a messy heap on the turf with the ball high in the stands.

It is the sort of manoeuvre school children across the country will be trying to copy at break time next week –- teachers, get your plasters ready!

In that one second of brilliance, Rooney achieved many things.

from Left field:

West Ham given Olympic stadium nod but can soccer co-exist with track and field?

So now we know: Premier League soccer club West Ham United will take over the Olympic Stadium in London following the 2012 Games, assuming there are no late objections from the British government or the city's mayor.

The decision will be greeted with relief by many fans of the rival bidders Tottenham Hotspur for one simple reason -- soccer does not generally co-exist very well with athletics.

As far as I know there are just two football league clubs in England who play at a stadium incorporating a running track -- Brighton and Rotherham, though happy to be corrected if there are more -- and none in the top tier Premier League.

There are still some around Europe, but a bit of digging around by our reporters this morning suggests a general discontent with the situation.

Certainly, Bayern Munich fans were delighted to see their team move out of the Olympic Stadium and into the Allianz Arena, purpose built for the 2006 World Cup. Hertha Berlin play their games at Germany's other Olympic Stadium and from my own experience there the atmosphere is never great.

The problem soccer fans usually come back to again and again is that the running track puts too much distance between the fans and the pitch, destroying the atmosphere and making the ground a more comfortable place for the opposition to play.

So if West Ham are to preserve the Olympic legacy London promised they may have to make fans unhappy in the process. We shall see. Can't wait to see a game there post-London 2012 in any case.

from Reuters Soccer Blog:

Torres is a one-goal striker and a steal for Chelsea

Will Fernando Torres ever recapture that heady mix of fearlessness, ruthlessness and irresistible skill he showed in his first 24-goal season at Anfield?

Is £50 million enough to buy you a strike rate of a goal every 1.375 games?

You know what? It doesn't matter.

Liverpool needed a 24-goals-a-season striker but Chelsea don't. Chelsea have spent so much money for a player who can score one goal rather than 24, or to put it another way, the goal.

Chelsea would love to win a Premier League and FA Cup double every season, I'm sure, but domestic dominance is not the target for Roman Abramovich and hasn't been for a while. It is no secret that the trophy Abramovich and everyone else at the club really want is the Champions League and in Torres they have acquired a player to take them over the line.

Forget the forlorn figure who limped his way around the World Cup in South Africa and recall the man whose pace and touch left Germany's Philipp Lahm for dead and produced the winning goal for Spain in the final of Euro 2008.

If Torres scores one Chelsea goal all season he will be judged a success, as long as that goal is the one that edges his new club past Barcelona in the semi-finals, say, or clatters past Edwin van der Sar and in off the post in the final at Wembley.