Jose Mourinho: Moving to Manchester United or Chelsea?

It is a question that provokes curiosity among the football fans from around the world. Over the years, Jose Mourinho has earned lots of praise for his ability to produce quick success.

First Mourinho showed his talent in native Portugal; then proved his quality at a bigger stage in England with Chelsea, and then he conquered Italy with Inter Milan. Not many coaches, at the age of 48, could win as many titles as Mourinho did so far.

However, Mourinho’s time at Real Madrid is not going very well as his side is 5 points behind leader Barcelona in La Liga. Moreover, their performance in Europe is not that much satisfactory.

Now, there are rumors in the media he could leave Real Madrid at the end of the season and he has also revealed his wish to return to English Premier League, but this time as Manchester United manager.

However, his former club Chelsea is now reportedly offering him £10 million yearly salary. Now, let us see where Mourinho is going.

Related article:

Daily Mail

Chelsea Once again Facing Investigation

English Premier League club Chelsea could be the subject of another investigation regarding signing under-aged player. The West London club is now heavily interested in Dutch club Feyenoord’s 15-year-old prodigy Nathan Ake. Reports out in the media suggest that the club has agreed a £670,000 deal to land the promising player, but according to rules in Netherlands no player under the age of 16 can contact with agents and sign professional deal.

So, his agent Dan Kramp is also facing investigation from Netherlands FA. During Christmas holiday Ake accompanied Kramp to London to have trial at Stamford Bridge and the player even wrote about his trip to London in his Twitter account.

Tjaeerd Vekken, a member of parliament from Labour Party, even took the issue to parliament and asked the FA to look into the issue and stop this deal to be materialized.

Here, it is noteworthy that Nathan Ake turns 16 this Friday. Now, the question is if the deal has already been done or just on the discussion table. A spokesperson from Dutch FA has said that the Dutch football’s governing body would investigate on the issue to see if anyone is involved in any wrongdoing.

In 2009, Chelsea was involved in the controversial Gael Kakuta deal and was imposed a transfer ban for two transfer windows by FIFA. Though the ban was lifted later on, Chelsea is expected to be cautious while dealing with under-aged players.

On the issue regarding Nathan Ake, a Chelsea spokesperson has said that the club has not breached any rule as it kept regular contact with Feyenoord regarding their interest in the player.

Chelsea Could Offload Star Players in Summer 2011

Chelsea’s double swoop for David Luiz and Fernando Torres, costing the West London club around £75 million in the January transfer window, has created a lot buzz in European football. There are many who raised question over the Blues’ expenditure in relation to the financial fair play rules devised by UEFA.

A report published in The Sun says Chelsea could offload as many as five players in the Summer transfer window in order to meet UEFA’s rules. Here, it is noteworthy that Chelsea has reported a yearly loss of £70.9 million recently. So, the club owner Roman Abramovich is desperate to meet up the financial rules.

According to a Chelsea source, players like Didier Drogba, John Obi Mikel, Florent Malouda, Yuri Zhirkov and Jose Bosingwa could be shown the exit door in order to balance the club’s accounts. It seems Chelsea is moving towards a new start as the defending champions have suffered some humiliating defeats this season and are currently 10 points adrift of leader Manchester United.

However, some people see it as Chelsea’s strategy to motivate its players to give their best in the remainder of the season because the players would consider it as the last chance to save themselves from being a summer casualty.

Chelsea Looking to Capitalize on Physical Advantage against Arsenal

Chelsea assistant manager Ray Wilkins has clearly indicated that his team would like to outperform Arsenal in terms of physical strength in Sunday’s home fixture. Leader Chelsea is currently leading the point table with 15 points, 5 points above the third placed Arsenal.

Chelsea may have got off to flying start to the season, but the Blues were brought down to the land last weekend when they lost at Manchester City. However, Wilkins believes that his players can fully capitalize on their physical advantage over the Gunners.

Ray Wilkins said, “Our league is physical, isn't it? You have to be ready for that. If it gets thrown up, in your face, then you have to combat that. We didn't quite combat that at Manchester City, therefore we lost.

We won 3-0 last year at the Emirates Stadium (in November) but we never touched the ball for 20 minutes - that shows our resilience. But they are a super footballing team. They are ageing together and learning to play together.”

Chelsea has a number of physically strong players like Didier Drogba, Michael Essien who can outmuscle their opponent. Arsenal players are also pretty much aware of the physical strength of the Chelsea players. In fact, Drogba has always created problems for the young Gunners and scored 12 goals in 10 appearances against Arsenal.

Swansea City Keen to Sign Jack Cork from Chelsea on Loan

Swansea City has shown interest in Chelsea’s Jack Cork who is also planning to leave Stamford Bridge looking for more game time. Cork signed for Chelsea in 2006, but is yet to feature for the Blues senior side. Over the last four years, the 21-year-old played for 6 different clubs on loan.

Now, it seems Jack Cork wants to settle down at a club permanently without making loan appearances for other clubs, despite being a Chelsea player. Swansea manager Brendan Rodgers, who was earlier at the helm of Chelsea youth team, is now looking to secure Cork’s service on a loan deal.

Jack Cork spent the last season at Burnley who relegated from the Premier League. However, Chelsea has not revealed anything on Swansea’s interest in Cork.

Jack Cork could not yet impress Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti and it is clear that the Italian is not going to keep him in his Premier League roster. So, another loan deal for the versatile player looks imminent now.

Jack Cork can play as a defender at any position in the defense as well as a defensive midfielder. However, he is yet to flourish his potential. He has already represented England at several age levels.

Overall, it seems that Jack Cork would have another loan outing next season and Swansea City is one of his most probable destinations.

Brazilian Midfielder Ramires Eager to Join Chelsea

Brazilian midfielder Ramires has reportedly requested his club Benfica to let him join Premier League outfit Chelsea who have shown serious interest in him. Benfica is now mulling over a €20 million Chelsea bid for the 23-year-old midfielder.

Ramires has caught the attention of Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti and the West London club is now ready to splash €20 million to secure his service. Ramires is now considering the Chelsea move as a ‘dream-come-true’ and eagerly waiting to play alongside Chelsea players like John Terry and Didier Drogba.

The Brazilian revealed to the media, “I know there has been a bid for me from Chelsea, this is a great honour, it is like a dream come true. I have dreamt of playing in the Premier League and now to have the opportunity to play for the best team in the Premier League and for a club with so much history - it would be my dream...

... In the process I would like everyone to know I had a fantastic year at Benfica, and I respect them a lot, but this is a dream that I cannot let go.”

It is pretty much understandable that Ramires is looking to capitalize on his recent good form and make a big move. It is not that he is not getting enough first team football at Benfica, but the thing is that any player of his age would love to join a club of Chelsea’s stature.

Now, it would be interesting to see if Benfica decides to keep hold on Ramires or holding out for a lucrative amount.

Ron Gourlay: Didier Drogba will be a Chelsea player next year

Chelsea chief executive Ron Gourlay has clearly said that the club’s Ivorian striker Didier Drogba is not for sale and would stay at the club, dismissing reports linking the player with a move to Manchester City.

Recently, Drogba’s agent said that City had shown interest in his client and there could be a ‘surprise’ move before the transfer window closes. There were many who could not just rule out the possibility of Drogba’s transfer to City as his agent indicated, considering City’s spending spree and financial capability.

Didier Drogba, though at 32, has been in impressive form. Last season, the Ivory Coast international was instrumental behind Chelsea’s triumph in Premier League and was the highest scorer of the season. Naturally, Chelsea would not like someone of Drogba’s quality to leave with the Blues looking to strengthen their squad in their attempt to defend the title.

Drogba joined the Blues in 2004 in a move away from French club Marseille. Since then, he has been one of the most reliable and consistent performers of the West London club.

During his 7 seasons with Chelsea so far, Drogba scored 131 goals in 260 appearances in all competitions, and thus, becoming the 7^th highest goal scorer in the history of Chelsea. At Chelsea, he already won 3 Premier League, 3 FA Cup, 2 League Cup and 2 Community Shield titles.

Meanwhile, Mr. Gourlay has indicated that the club would arrange funds, if coach Carlo Ancelotti thinks his squad needs reinforcement. However, he has also said that new players could arrive at the Stamford Bridge only at the right price. So, it could be an indication that Chelsea would not go for Liverpool striker Fernando Torres with a bucket full of money.

Sporting Lisbon Eyeing on Chelsea’s Michael Mancienne

Twenty two year old, Chelsea defender, Michael Mancienne, is looking forward to get into Wolverhampton Wanderers but Portugal’s Sporting Lisbon and Spain’s Málaga CF, Sevilla Fútbol Club S.A.D. are bidding for him.

According to the reports of The Mirror, the Chelsea defender, who is on loan at Wolverhampton Wanderers, submitted his transfer request to Wanderers manager, Mick McCarthy. He spent last two seasons, at Wolverhampton Wanderers.

McCarthy is looking forward to seal the deal for £4 million but now it is not possible as three other club is asking for Mancienne.

However, it is not sure whether Chelsea would let go Mancienne as Chelsea center back, Ricardo Carvalho, revealed his interest to play with Real Madrid. If Chelsea does not find any suitable replacements, then Mancienne would have to spend next season with Chelsea.

Born January 8, 1988, in Isleworth, London, England, Michael Ian Mancienne is an established under-21 English player. He was spotted by Chelsea as a 9-year-old Kingstonian. He started his career for the Chelsea Reserves while he was at the school. In January 2006, he signed professional contract. Though he was called onto the bench for the final match of the 2005-06 season, he was not used. In November 2008, before a friendly match against Germany, he received his first call for the senior squad.

Chelsea Captain John Terry Fit for FA Cup Final against Portsmouth

There was a doubt over the availability of Chelsea captain John Terry in Saturday’s FA Cup final against Portsmouth. The defender took a blow to his leg during a training session and the nature of the injury provided a fear at the Chelsea camp for the time being, just before the scan results showing nothing serious to worry about.

That means Chelsea is not going to miss its most experienced player for the Portsmouth clash at the Wembley Stadium on Saturday. Chelsea is now full of confident after clinching the premier league title last week. More than that, the FA Cup final looks to be an easy affair for the Blues, considering Portsmouth’s poor form this season.

Portsmouth was relegated from premier league this season. However, Chelsea’s in-form striker Didier Drogba said that Chelsea needs to remain focused on the game without needing to consider the current form of Portsmouth. Moreover, Drogba, who won the golden boot in premier league season with 29 goals, revealed that he was still hungry for goal and would like to help Chelsea win the match.

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Goal.com

Chelsea A Step Closer to Premier League Title

A 2-0 win over Liverpool has brought Chelsea just a step away from their fourth Premier League title. Manchester United has kept the title race alive with a 1-0 win at Sunderland. However, if everything goes well for the West London club against Wigan Athletic in the season ending clash, then Chelsea would clinch the title this season, ending Manchester United’s run of 3 consecutive premier league titles.

Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard scored at Anfield on Sunday to prick up full 3 points against Liverpool. With this defeat Liverpool has lost their last chance to clinch a top four finish in what would have been a key to Champions League next season.

Manchester United won at Sunderland thanks to a fist half winner from Nani who ensured that the title will be decided on the last day of the premier leagued season.

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The Province

Chelsea Defeated Stoke City 7-0

Chelsea pulled off an emphatic 7-0 victory over Stoke City yesterday. With this victory, Chelsea has once again moved to the top of the pole with an advantage of one point over second placed Manchester United, who grabbed the first place after its 3-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur. With just 2 rounds to go before the league comes to an end, the competition for the title has become stiffer with Chelsea and Manchester United vying with each other. United has been premier league champion for three years now, while Chelsea last won the premier league in 2006.

Chelsea dominated over Stoke City throughout the game and with this victory they also increased their goal difference which could be decisive if they finish the league with the same point of Manchester United. Ivory Coast international Salomon Kalou scored a hat-trick while Frank Lampard struck twice. Sturridge and Malouda also scored once each.

However, Chelsea is going to face Liverpool in their next game. Naturally, the Blues will play for 3 points, while the All Reds would do everything to win the game in its bid to clinch the Champions league spot for next season. On the other hand, Manchester United does not have any big opponent to face in the next two rounds, but the Red Devils might miss the service of their in-form striker Wayne Rooney for both the games as he is out of action with a groin injury.

Carlo Ancelotti Defends John Terry

Chelsea captain John Terry is now under pressure following his sending off during last Saturday’s 2-1 loss at Tottenham Hotspur, a slip-up that brought Manchester United within 1 point of the Blues. However, manager Carlo Ancelotti has defended his skipper saying that sometimes players can lose their control and that is what happened to Terry. He has also admitted that the England international is now under pressure, but the manager is not surprised at all as he believes everyone is under pressure with the title race becoming closer. Second placed Manchester United moved within a point of Chelsea following their derby win over Manchester City recently.

There are only 3 games left in the season and Chelsea is going to miss Terry for the Stoke City game. Missing a key defender like Terry at this stage of the league is definitely a blow for the West London club and it would be interesting to see if they can get over the hurdle and remain at the top of the table.

Related article:

BBC

Will Chelsea Become Champion This Season?

Chelsea started the season in a very pride way and dominated much of the season in Premier League point table. Even now, they are in top form and they are doing well. However, it seems that from time to time they are falling down and Manchester United and Arsenal are coming back. Chelsea players are in good form and in particular, their striker Drogba is causing all kind of problems for the opponent teams. However, the main problem is that now the team is too much dependent on Drogba.

Some people are saying that because Chelsea got out of Champions League it will be a good thing for them. This way Chelsea will have less pressure focus on English Premier League title only. I agree with them and at the same time I think that it shows the weakness of this club. They should not have got out so early in Champions League. They should have been able to play another one or two rounds. 

Roman Abramovich Unhappy again with Chelsea Coach

It is true that Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is very passionate about football and he gives a lot of attention to his club. He is generous with spending money and with his money, Chelsea has been turned into a world class football team from a mediocre club in England. All the transformation happened within five years. However, I feel that Roman Abramovich has one bad quality and he in the end is impatient. When something goes wrong then he gets angry with the coach and he fierce them very easily.

Of course, it is his money and he has every right to do whatever he wants with his club. However, a football club is not only just a club or a money making thing. It is more than that and it should be always the fans who are the next important for a club. Now, there is report that Roman Abramovich is unhappy with Carlo Ancelotti who is the current coach of Chelsea football team. He is annoyed because Chelsea lost to Inter Milan and was out of Champions League this season. 

Chelsea out of CL 2009-10: Sweet Revenge for Jose Mourinho

Last night Chelsea lost to Inter Milan and got themselves out of Champions League 2009-10. This is a very big blow because for Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich and all the supporters. Champions League was a very important trophy to win. The bad part is that they could not even reach the quarterfinal and they got out from the round of sixteen. To add some insult to the injury, this defeat came against Inter Milan club of which the coach is Jose Mourinho. Mourinho was the former coach of Chelsea and he was removed in a very bad way by Roman Abramovich. So, it was a very sweet victory for the former coach.

The bad part of Chelsea this season is that when they look very strong then they stumble. At one stage, it looked like that they would easily win the trophy of English Premier League. Now, they are level on points with Arsenal having played one game less then Arsenal. The irony is that Chelsea has defeated Arsenal twice in this season. But yet they could not do well against weaker opponent.

Now, both Manchester United and Arsenal are very close to Chelsea in the point table and anything can happen. Manchester United coach Sir Alex Ferguson has stated that he is more worried about Arsenal than Chelsea in the league table race. May be, he is right after all. We have to wait another few weeks to see what happens.

Frank Lampard Eyeing on Chelsea’s FA Cup Scoring Record

Frank Lampard has an opportunity to go closer to Chelsea’s all time top scoring record of 25 goals in FA Cup when Chelsea takes on Stoke City in the quarter final of FA Cup on 7 March 2010. Lampard has always shown excellent performance in FA Cup and the midfielder is now just 9 goals away from Bobby Tambling’s record 25 goals in the tournament. The English midfielder said that he would like to score more goals in the tournament, specially in the upcoming rounds.

He says, "Normally I have managed to score a few in the earlier rounds," Lampard is reported to have told ITN.

"But I would rather score them in the later rounds when they can be really important.”

"The FA Cup has been really good for me,"

Frank Lampard has been in good form now and Chelsea would expect some good performance against Stoke City so that they can easily reach the semi final of the tournament.

An Important Day for EPL Today: 27 February 2010

Later today, both Chelsea and Arsenal will be in action. Chelsea will host Manchester City while Arsenal will go and play against Stoke City. The result of these two matches could have important reflection in the league table. Right now Chelsea is leading the point table 61 points from 27 matches and if they win against Manchester City then they will have 64 points. Manchester United is on the second position and they have 60 points. United will not play together. United is going to play tomorrow. Arsenal has 55 points from 27 matches. So, if Arsenal wins today then they will be trailing Manchester United by two points. On the other hand, if Chelsea wins then they will lead Manchester United by four points in the league table. Manchester City has something to play two. They have got 46 points from 26 matches and if they can defeat Chelsea then they may rise to the fourth position. It seems that the title race will be mainly limited to Chelsea and Manchester United and Arsenal. Tottenham, Manchester City, Liverpool and Aston Villa will have to fight for the important fourth position. The fourth position has a lot of significance. If a club is on the forth position then they have the opportunity to play in the Champions League of next season. So being fourth means an additional huge amount of revenue and at the same time a lot of prestige of playing in Champions League.

Updates: Chelsea lost to Manchester City by 2-4. So, if you are an Arsenal supporter pray for your team now to win against Stoke City.