www.timesonline.co.ukFragile peace is under threat from Henk Ten Cate’s ‘bad cop’ routine
Matt Hughes
The fragile peace that has existed at Chelsea since the departure of José Mourinho six weeks ago is already under threat amid complaints about Henk ten Cate. It is understood that the new assistant coach has made an immediate impact since arriving a fortnight ago by taking control of the majority of the first team’s training sessions, but his methods and mannerisms have not gone down well with some members of the squad.
Ten Cate is a confident character with a reputation for plain-speaking, but his determination to assert himself appears to have turned people against him. Several players have complained privately about his perceived arrogance and brashness, while others have criticised an alleged desire for total control. The Dutchman told friends in the Netherlands before his appointment last month that he would be running the show at Chelsea.
It is also understood that Steve Clarke, Avram Grant’s other assistant, has begun to feel marginalised. The popular Scot held the fort almost single-handedly in the aftermath of Mourinho’s departure, planning and taking all training sessions for the first month, but since then he has had a more peripheral role. The pair have been able to work together effectively during matches, however, both urging Grant to change Chelsea’s system as Leicester City poured forward during the second half of the thrilling Carling Cup fourth-round tie on Wednesday.
Clarke was content to play second fiddle to Mourinho, but was assured by Peter Kenyon, the chief executive, last month that he would enjoy equal billing with Ten Cate. The first few weeks have not worked out that way, while Clarke has yet to receive an offer of an improved contract despite being told that it was imminent. The former Chelsea defender is unlikely to stay for ever as he has managerial ambitions of his own.
Chelsea’s hierarchy remain relaxed about such tension, attributing it to personalities getting to know each other and players being oversensitive. The club see Grant and Ten Cate as a “good cop, bad cop” combination, an inversion of the usual manager-assistant relationship, although where the structure leaves Clarke is unclear.
Of more immediate concern is Chelsea’s defensive frailties, with Frank Lampard telling teammates that they must improve if they want to win silverware. The absence of Paulo Ferreira for several weeks with an ankle injury will not help, although Wayne Bridge should be fit to make his first league appearance of the season away to Wigan Athletic tomorrow.
Chelsea are considering turning down the opportunity to join the G-14 group – an organisation made up of Europe’s leading clubs – when it is extended to 40 teams this month. The club have been lobbying for several years for an invitation but after finally receiving it, may choose to pursue their political interests through Uefa, with which Kenyon holds key positions on the European Club Forum and the European Professional Football Strategy Board.
Engeland en Schotland
Moderator: mods
Speciaal voor Wimpey:
There is only one difference between a madman and me. I am not mad.
Salvador Dali
Salvador Dali
Even om het beeld compleet te maken:
Henk Ten Cate fits the Roman mould
Ajax’s Henk ten Cate may be the man to come to the rescue of understaffed Chelsea, who take on Bolton todayIan Hawkey
HENK TEN CATE drew sharply on a cigarette and exhaled through a broad grin. An hour or so earlier, his Barcelona team had reached their first European Cup final for 12 years. Ten Cate was particularly satisfied with the special credit manager Frank Rijkaard gave to his coaching team for a tactical juggling of personnel that had nullified Milan’s Kaka in the closing stages of a semi-final that Barcelona won 1-0 on aggregate. He looked forward to a final against Arsenal that would celebrate “pure footballing teams”.
Ten Cate often talked like a purist while at Barça and left there with plaudits for his role in winning the Champions League and successive Spanish titles as Rijkaard’s No 2. Then he was on his way back to his native Netherlands as No 1 at Ajax. In his absence, Barça lost their momentum. Now Ten Cate could soon occupy a similar position under Avram Grant at Chelsea, although the manager broke off from preparing for today’s match at Bolton to make it clear that such a move would not mean that Steve Clarke, No 2 under Mourinho, must leave Stamford Bridge.
“In the last two weeks it was a transition period that we didn’t have staff,” Grant said. “I made it clear in the past that we have lost four people from the previous staff and we are looking for replacements. There are many possibilities. Henk has a good record as an assistant at Barcelona and I’m still looking for an assistant. We are checking the possibilities.”
Grant added: “Steve Clarke was in charge of training at this time and although he didn’t do it before, he was very, very good. But I think things are going to be different. I decide what kind of football will play. They put me in charge because they want another style of football, so I decide what the football will look like, how it will be in the training, and then I look for the right people. I want Steve to stay for sure. If I didn’t want Steve, I could have told him two weeks ago that I don’t want him. But if something happens, we will handle this then. At the end of the day it will be one European assistant from the top of the line.” Ten Cate certainly made an impact at Barcelona, and his absence has been tied to declining form. The winger Ludovic Giuly, who left Barça in the summer, said the squad had missed Ten Cate, “who was somebody who bossed us around a bit. After he had gone, Rijkaard let things go that wouldn’t have happened here”.
The job of deputy tends to be scantly scrutinised, but details of Ten Cate’s contributions at Barcelona are several. He did most among the coaches to persuade the striker Samuel Eto’o not to abandon the field of play after an evening of loud racist abuse at Zaragoza, and his relationship with the Cameroon player was close. The Barça squad seemed to be more openly ratty with one another in the season after Ten Cate left. “He’s a good man,” says Edmilson, Barcelona’s Brazilian midfielder. “We have missed some of the things Henk brought to the team,” acknowledged Eusebio Sacristan, another of Rijkaard’s deputies. “He gave us experience and character.”
That experience has been spread widely. As a player, Ten Cate had a middling career at smaller Dutch clubs, with an interlude playing in Canada, and describes himself as a winger capable of mastering both flanks “a bit like Marc Overmars”. We must assume the comparison is purely technical: Ten Cate is a big, bearish man. He apparently once bellowed “Fatso” at a Barcelona star he deemed was underperforming.
As a coach, he has exceeded his profile as a player. Should Ten Cate move to London, he will be coaching in his fifth different country. Before he became friends with Rijkaard after holidaying in the same ski-resort, he made early successes of the Dutch clubs Go Ahead Eagles, NAC Breda and Vitesse Arnhem, taking the last two to record highs in the Eredivisie table. He has twice been elected best domestic coach in Holland and was a popular appointment when Ajax took him on after Barcelona. His first season there marked a upturn in the club’s form and to lose the title on goal difference on the final afternoon of the league campaign, as Ajax did to PSV Eindhoven last May, must be considered unlucky.
But Ten Cate’s Ajax have fallen shy of expectation in Europe, eliminated from the Uefa Cup by Dinamo Zagreb on Thursday. Although the club is top of the league going into this weekend, the absence of European football beyond October counts against him.
But he talks the right talk for Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich. “Football is not just work,” he once said. “It’s joy as well. If footballers play with joy and confidence, it is all much easier.” Not that he’s a softy. “A coach,” he added, “has to establish his authority. I think you can be part of the group and stay above it to the extent that you keep control.”
www.timesonline.co.ukChelsea humiliate Manchester City
Avram Grant's Chelsea gave a performance of clinical brilliance that left Sven-Goran Eriksson’s Manchester City humiliated
David Walsh, chief sports writer
During those wild days of mid-September when Jose Mourinho was shown the door, perhaps Sir Alex Ferguson offered the most insightful comment. Asked about Chelsea without The Special One, Ferguson said they would still have the same players. In other words, Drogba and Lampard wouldn’t stop scoring goals; Carvalho, Terry and Cech wouldn’t stop saving them.
Trapped in the wrong place on the wrong afternoon, poor Manchester City are now fully aware that good players remain good, regardless of who sends them on the pitch. And so an afternoon at Stamford Bridge in search of answers about City ended up offering us fresh ideas about Chelsea. Like a wanton boy swatting a fly, they killed City with a ruthlessness that was cruel. If this is how Chelsea mean to continue this season, they will be right there at the end, challenging for everything.
Were Chelsea as good as 6-0 suggests? They were. Did they tear City apart limb by limb? They did. A man who attends every Chelsea game, home and away, sat in the next seat and judged it Chelsea’s best performance since the 4-1 defeat of West Ham in April, 2006. That’s 18 months and a lot of games under the reign of Jose.
Avram Grant speaks endlessly of wanting to consider the future, not the past, but there is no getting away from Chelsea’s recent past. “The thing is, we loved Jose,” a Chelsea supporter said dolefully as we walked to the ground. So, consider the significance of yesterday’s result. Chelsea never scored six under Mourinho in the Premier League and in his final full season at the club, they didn’t often play with the sustained intensity that overwhelmed yesterday’s opponents.
City are not a bad side and there was no fluke about their excellent start to the season. Third in the table, there had been loose talk about a Champions League challenge and hints that they might be the team to end Chelsea’s three-and-a-half-year unbeaten home league record. Pie in the sky-blues, you could say.
Chelsea were quick, sharp, energetic and fiercely determined to put City to the sword. Then, they twisted that sword and it had to have been about the longest 90 minutes of Sven-Göran Eriksson’s managerial career. Before yesterday, his biggest defeat has been a 5-1 loss to Arsenal when he was manager of Gothenburg.
Eriksson came to Stamford Bridge with the appreciation of the football world. He has turned City into an exciting side. No longer are they scavenging for one-nils, because with Martin Petrov and Elano, they now have creators and scorers in the midfield. But yesterday was a day of reckoning and City were rather like a deer caught in the head-lamps, blinded by Chelsea’s speed and accurate passing.
Petrov and Elano can play, but so too can Mikel, Lampard and Michael Essien. The difference was that Chelsea’s midfielders do it at both ends of the field. They attack and they defend. City’s two most creative players don’t do much defending. Therein lay the imbalance – all Chelsea players were prepared to accept every responsibility.
There was even a heart-warm-ing moment when Essien was fouled by Elano. He could have gone down and in this sometimes cynical modern age, you expected it, but he carried on. His pass to Drogba was excellent but the striker’s touch was uncommonly heavy and the chance was lost. Essien turned and raced back to his position, never uttering a word of complaint nor pointing any finger at Elano. Referee Mike Riley took it all in and as he passed Essien, he gave a warm pat on the back. Mike, you spoke for all of us.
What was most impressive yesterday about Chelsea was the hunger for excellence. They didn’t want to simply beat City, they wanted to deliver a special performance and they were intent on sending a message to Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool. Lampard was magnificent, playing with the zest and sharpness that can make him such a terrific midfield player. As much as Drogba, he terrorised the City defence, constantly getting into scoring positions.
He set up the first two goals and it was interesting to watch Roman Abramovich as Riley sounded the half-time whistle and sent Chelsea to the changing room with their two-goal lead. Standing from a seat in his corporate box, the owner smiled and applauded. This, you knew, was the kind of football the boss wanted. The owner’s day would have been completed by the sixth goal, scored by the replacement, Andriy Shevchenko.
In the dugout Avram Grant sat with new coach Henk ten Cate, and it was interesting to watch the two. Ten Cate wore a suit and didn’t have the quiet body language of, say, Steve Clarke. He gesticulated, he occasionally caught the attention ofa Chelsea player and delivered a tactical message. With his Dutch confidence and assertiveness, he will make an interesting No 2.
And what of the unlikely Grant? His record is beginning to look half-decent but there was no chant from the Shed for the unlikely one. “It is not easy to sing my name. Try it, it’s Israeli,” he said afterwards. But the score and performance produced lots of singing from the faithful and Stamford Bridge was a passionate place yesterday afternoon.
As the players trooped off at the end, each shook the hand of Grant. Not warm, not cold, just respectful. Except one. As Shevchenko came past, he stopped and hugged Grant. It was an interesting little moment at the end of a very interesting, and entertaining, afternoon.
There is only one difference between a madman and me. I am not mad.
Salvador Dali
Salvador Dali
Perez lijkt me niet de maatstaf.LucaS schreef:Allemaal Perezzen daar bij Chelsea!
Maar het lijkt me vrij logisch dat Ten Cate botst met spelers van Chelsea. Bij Chelsea was er onder Mourinho sprake van een groep van circa negen 'untouchables', dus die jongens zullen niet al teveel kritiek gewend zijn.
Sportweek.nlDrogba noemt transfer naar Chelsea walgelijk
Datum: 3-nov-2007 15:32
Door Michel Abbink
Didier Drogba’s relatie met Chelsea is een nieuwe klap toegebracht door openhartige uitspraken van de Ivoriaan op een dvd. ‘Het is walgelijk dat ik Frankrijk heb verlaten voor Chelsea. Het is moeilijk om te begrijpen. Mensen kijken al snel naar de financiële en sportieve aspecten, maar ik was er gewoon niet blij mee.’
De dvd, getiteld The Incredible Destiny of Didier Drogba, is sinds deze week verkrijgbaar. Het is onduidelijk wannéér Drogba zijn gal spuwde. ‘Het zal fans van Chelsea wellicht doen schrikken, maar ik wilde helemaal niet weg bij Marseille. Ik deed zelfs absurde dingen. Vlak voor de medische testen prevelde ik een gebed in de hoop dat ze wat zouden vinden in m’n knie, zodat de transfer zou afketsen.’
Enkele weken geleden, vlak na het ontslag van manager José Mourinho, gaf Drogba nog een geruchtmakend interview aan France Football. Opvallendste citaat: ‘Niets kan me weerhouden van een vertrek. Ik weet dat Chelsea in de markt is voor Kaká en Ronaldinho, maar zelfs hun komst zal me niet van gedachten doen veranderen.'
Ik heb nog een mooi filmpje voor de ware Ten Cate-haters. Kijk, Ten Cate had er bij Barcelona nog een functiebij! 
Prima assistent!Thomas schreef:Ik heb nog een mooi filmpje voor de ware Ten Cate-haters. Kijk, Ten Cate had er bij Barcelona nog een functiebij!
There is only one difference between a madman and me. I am not mad.
Salvador Dali
Salvador Dali
vi.nl'Ferguson vindt zijn huidige team het sterkste ooit'
12/11/2007 15:11
Sir Alex Ferguson is van mening dat het huidige team van Manchester United het sterkste is dat hij in de 21 jaar dat hij manager is van Manchester United onder zijn hoede heeft gehad.
De Schot heeft wel enig vergelijkingsmateriaal: hij leidde Man United naar negen titels in vijftien seizoenen. Maar met al negen zeges van de tien duels in dit seizoen is hij nu welhaast lyrisch over zijn tegenwoordige selectie.
'Dit is een goed, jong team waarin alles bij elkaar komt en dat perfect speelt', zegt Ferguson in The Guardian. 'Het team speelt moedig, je ziet dat ze prijzen willen winnen. De kans is nu erg groot dat dat ook gaat lukken. Dit is het sterkste team waarmee ik ooit heb gewerkt.'
De manager van Man United zegt dat hij geen liefhebber is van korte termijnwerk. 'Ik zie graag hoe spelers zich tot iets speciaals ontwikkelen, dat gebeurt nu op Old Trafford. We hadden al jonge spelers als Cristiano Ronaldo en Wayne Rooney, daar zijn Carlos Tévez, Nani en Anderson nog bijgekomen.'
'Ik ben niet geobsedeerd door jonge spelers, want je kunt ook niet om de ervaring van Paul Scholes en Ryan Giggs heen. Die gaan waarschijnlijk door tot hun 36ste, als ik naar hum manier van leven kijk.'
Volgens Kroatische media heeft Mancini bij Wenger aangeklopt en 14 miljoen euro en Adriano geboden om Rosicky te laten verkassen naar Inter, om daar Luis Figo op te volgen. Er is al meerder jaren interesse voor Rosicky uit Italië. Als opvolger van Rosicky bij Arsenal zou Modric dan door Wenger gehaald worden.
-
raymon
- Site Admin & AT WC 2014 winner, Toto winner 16/17
- Berichten: 23606
- Lid geworden op: di sep 02, 2003 9:59 am
- Locatie: St. Neots, UK
- Contacteer:
www.bbc.co.uk
Jol rejects Birmingham approach
Jol was sacked following Spurs' poor start to the season
Former Tottenham boss Martin Jol has rejected an approach from Birmingham to discuss the vacant manager's job at St Andrew's.
The club are currently hunting for a replacement for Steve Bruce who left Blues on Monday to join Wigan.
"We did speak to Martin over the weekend," said City's plc chairman David Sullivan.
"Martin thanked us for our interest but said it was too early for him to consider coming back to football."
The usual suspects will be on everyone's lips but this could be a fresh start for Birmingham
Blues plc chairman David Sullivan
Jol was sacked from his position at Spurs in October after three years at White Hart Lane.
The Dutchman was replaced in controversial fashion by former Seville coach Juande Ramos, who was courted by Spurs whilst Jol was still in charge.
Who do you think will be next in the St Andrew's hot-seat?
Meanwhile, Sullivan, whose club received £3m in compensation from Wigan for the loss of Bruce, said the search would continue for a new manager of a similar calibre to Jol.
"Martin is the type of coach we are looking at - someone with a pedigree that will excite supporters," he said.
Sullivan added: "The usual suspects will be on everyone's lips but this could be a fresh start for Birmingham.
"We are looking at candidates of a certain level. It is difficult to try to get someone in who the dressing room will respect.
"Do you take a chance on an unproven coach at this level with a group of young players who will need guidance and will be looking for inspiration?
"Or do you go for a more experienced voice, someone respected in the world of football?"
"De waarheid is een geheel van maatschappelijk geaccepteerde leugens"
Die past niet bij Arsenal. Rosicky is zeker niet overschat al is er wel plaats voor verbetering. Maar een mooie voetballer die qua style prima bij Arsenal pastThomas schreef:Daar wordt Arsenal alleen maar beter van. Rosicky is toch wel wat overschat, Modric een toptalent en als Wenger Adriano weer aan de praat krijgt heeft hij er een geweldige spits bij.
IK GELOOF!!!!!!