Crystal Palace boss Alan Pardew says
managers and referees should meet during
the week to review decisions made by
officials during the previous game.
Pardew was left frustrated over what he
thought was a harsh yellow card and
subsequent red handed out by Mark
Clattenburg to striker Dwight Gayle in last
weekend’s 3-1 defeat to West Ham.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho also voiced
his grievance at the decisions of officials
following a shock 3-1 loss to Southampton
earlier this month, criticism which resulted
in a hefty Football Association fine.
Pardew believes the quality of refereeing in
the Premier League is high, but feels more
can be done to improve standards including
greater communication with managers.
“There was frustration [at Gayle’s red card].
In the time I’ve been here there’s never
been a player sent off for the opposition
team, even though we have three flying
wingers,” he said ahead of Saturday’s trip to
Leicester City.
“There’s been a couple of times a call hasn’t
been good for us now. Sometimes the stats
don’t lie, I don’t understand it. In all the
games we’ve played we’ve had three or four
challenges against us after a yellow card.
“I don’t know if there’s too much that can
help them [referees]. Maybe better training,
better facilities, better analysis after games
or maybe analysis from managers for our
view.
“We’re asked our view but I’m not sure it’s
taken on board sometimes. Maybe there
could be a bit more feedback for them to
help us.
“I don’t think an hour after a game is an
appropriate time [to meet] because
emotions are running high. The best time is
on a Monday or Tuesday. There can be a
better review system. My view is that the
standard of refs is high, but it can be
improved.”
Pardew, who hopes to have striker Connor
Wickham back from a rib injury in the next
two weeks, takes Palace to the King Power
Stadium to face a Leicester side that have
lost just once in the league this term and
boast the division’s top scorer in Jamie
Vardy.
But the former West Ham boss feels it
would be careless to focus solely on the in-
form England international, whose double in
a comeback 2-2 draw at Southampton last
week took him to nine for the campaign.
“They have various offensive options all of
who are problematic,” he added. “Nathan
Dyer came off the bench and did great at
Southampton last weekend.
“He [Vardy] is the sharpest striker in the
league at the moment. Coming where he’s
come from, the route he has taken, it’s
astonishing. Credit to the boy he’s done
fantastically well.”
Monthly Archives: October 2015
Mourinho accused of meltdown as FA crusade continue
Jose Mourinho has been accused of being
close to a ‘John Carver-esque meltdown’ as
the Chelsea boss continues his crusade
against the Football Association.
According to several of Thursday’s
newspapers, Mourinho plans to refer to
officials as “weak and naive” whenever
frustrated by their displays, having seen
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger escape
punishment for using the phrase.
Mourinho used it for the first time following
Chelsea’s Champions League draw at Dynamo
Kiev on Tuesday night, with UEFA yet to
decide whether his comments constitute a
breach of their rules.
Irrespective of the outcome of that probe,
Mourinho believes he is on safe ground using
the phrase after Premier League games, with
Wenger escaping punishment for describing
Mike Dean’s performance as “weak and naive”
following Arsenal’s 2-0 defeat at Stamford
Bridge last month.
Mourinho, meanwhile, is appealing against
the £50,000 fine and suspended one-match
stadium ban given to him after he described
referees as being “afraid” to award decisions
in Chelsea’s favour.
He said last week: “I know I’m not English. I
know my English is just good enough to work
in this country, but it is not perfect. But the
difference between ‘afraid’ and ‘weak and
naive’, the difference is £50,000 and one-
match stadium ban.
“We can push people in the technical area. We
can, no problem. So anything in the technical
area, we can push. The word ‘afraid’ is a
punishment and a hard punishment. But to
say the referee was ‘weak and naive’,
referring to one of the top referees in this
country and in Europe, we can do.”
Mourinho on verge of meltdown?
Former Liverpool midfielder Dietmar
Hamann says Mourinho’s behaviour makes it
appear as though he is “begging for the sack”.
“Some of the stuff he (Mourinho) is coming
out with at the moment and over recent
weeks is not far from a meltdown,” Hamann
told talkSPORT. “It’s John Carver-esque.
“I don’t know what’s going on with the owner
and what the circumstances are, but to me at
times it looks like he’s begging for the sack.
“The thing that worries me about Chelsea is
that he seems to be falling out with all the
players. If you want to get a reaction from a
player and you put him on the bench like he
did with [Eden] Hazard the other day, it’s not a
problem. But you don’t bring him on in the
89th minute to humiliate him and embarrass
him even further.
“And he’s done it with most of the players.
[Branislav] Ivanovic has been labelled as a
player who hasn’t performed this season,
which may be true, but if you do it with one
or two players to get a reaction that’s fair
enough, but I think he has done it to most of
them now.
“If you want to be successful, come Saturday,
Mourinho can’t score the goals. You need your
players, your main players, on board.
“If he wants to keep his job until the end of
the season you’ve got to see a different
Chelsea over the next few months. Can I see
it? I’m not too sure, I don’t think they can. I’ll
be stunned if he’s there by the end of the
season.”
IT’S A GOOD TIME TO PLAY CHELSEA:BILIC
Slaven Bilic is optimistic West Ham will
catch Chelsea at the right time when they
host their struggling London rivals in the
Premier League on Saturday.
Former Besiktas boss Bilic has impressed in
the opening months of the season at Upton
Park, guiding the club to fourth on the
table, having orchestrated impressive away
wins at Arsenal, Manchester City and
Liverpool.
Defending champions Chelsea, meanwhile,
have toiled and languish down in 12th with
just three wins from the opening nine
games.
“This is a good time to play Chelsea, but
they need to have a few good results,” Bilic
said in Thursday’s news conference.
“Chelsea looked sharp against [Dynamo]
Kiev and I watched the game [a 0-0
Champions League draw]. I was not happy
afterwards because they looked really good
as a team.
“It is a big challenge for us and a big test. It
is not me against [Jose] Mourinho, it is West
Ham against Chelsea.
“They are the champions and he is the best
manager around. I am looking forward to it.
“I know Mourinho’s team are always hungry
and no-one expected them to be where
they are now. Sometimes that happens in
football.
“I have watched all their games. If there
was something major wrong he would be
the first to change it. I see them finishing in
top four.”
JOHAN CRUYFF DIAGNOSED WITH LUNG CANCER
Dutch football icon Johan Cruyff has been
diagnosed with lung cancer, Barcelonas.
Reports emerged in Spain on Thursday
morning that the 68-year-old, who won
three consecutive European Cups with Ajax
before playing and managing Barca, had
fallen ill, though no further details have
emerged so far.
Cruyff, who underwent a double heart
bypass in 1991 while in charge at Camp
Nou, is thought to be undergoing tests to
determine the extent of the disease.
A spokesman for Cruyff confirmed to Dutch
news channel RTL that the three-time
Ballon d’Or winner will give a statement
later today.
The stylish playmaker spent 11 years across
two spells at Ajax, winning eight Eredivisie
titles as well as the European Cup on three
successive occasions in the early 1970s.
Cruyff lifted one La Liga title during a five-
year stint at Barca, and, after a spell in
charge of Ajax, he returned to Camp Nou to
manage the Catalan giants, where he won
four successive Liga crowns while also
leading what became known as ‘The Dream
Team’ to European glory for the first time
in the club’s history in 1992.
A World Cup finalist in 1974, Cruyff was the
main playing protagonist of the ‘Total
Football’ style employed by both Ajax and
the Dutch national team in their prime in
the 1970s.
Belgium manager hoping Hazard leaves Chelsea for Real Madrid
Belgium national team manager Marc Wilmots
believes a move to Real Madrid will be beneficial for
Chelsea midfielder Eden Hazard.
The Spanish giants are reportedly interested in luring
Hazard to the Bernabeu next summer and are
prepared to pay a large transfer fee to do so.
The Mirror is reporting Wilmots has been concerned
about the high work rate that is asked of Hazard at
Chelsea and believes a move to Madrid would lower
the 24-year-old’s fatigue levels.
Wilmots sees Hazard as a key figure in Belgium’s hopes
of success at major tournaments and reportedly feels
the demands of playing Premier League football week-
in, week-out are having an adverse effect on the
midfielder.
Rumours are circulating that Hazard has already told
his Chelsea teammates he plans to the leave the club
this summer.
Sevilla coach Emery frustrated after late Man City win
Sevilla coach Unai Emery was left frustrated by their
late Champions League defeat at Manchester City.
Kevin De Bruyne struck a 91st-minute winner to ruin
Sevilla’s night as Manchester City once again left it late
in the Champions League.
City had to come from behind after the lively Yevhen
Konoplyanka had given the visitors the lead on the
half-hour. An Adil Rami own goal six minutes later
made it 1-1 ahead of De Bruyne’s winner.
Emery stated afterwards:
“We can look at the game in two ways, although
logically one overshadows the other. On the plus side
there is progress in the team, but the final score is a
blow. We have to keep working on aspects of our play
and we have to remember the things we did well.
“But this was a great opportunity. We tried to do a
good job here and we were capable of doing it, but we
lacked that little bit extra, and we have to keep
working towards achieving that little bit extra. The
positive part was that we tried right till the end.
“We lost possession and that set off the [winning]
counterattack for City. We worked hard from minute
one till minute 90. That fact they scored from a
counterattack – well, you learn from your mistakes.
“I think we would do the same again, to try to win the
game – play on the front foot, even if we do get
caught. I would say it was a positive experience
tonight, part of our apprenticeship as a side.
“This game was a defeat, but you also need to
understand what we have shown as a team. As
individuals and as a group we have taken a lot of
positives. I think we can be optimistic for the future
but we can’t get those points back unfortunately –
those three points are gone.
“The next game is at home, where the team normally
performs to a high level. We’ll have our fans behind us
so I’m not going to give up [on second place] yet.
We’ve seen what we can do today. We have competed
at this level today and we could have won the game.
Certainly, we’ve got chances to win the next game and
if we do, we will be right in with a shout. We might be
frustrated at the moment but we’ve got to be satisfied
that we’ve discovered things about ourselves, and
about how we’ve improved as a team. This
performance will make us better as ateam.”
Van Gaal ‘very happy’ with Man Utd showing at CSKA
Louis van Gaal rued a “stupid” moment from
Anthony Martial but was happy
with Manchester United’s overall
performance at CSKA Moscow.
Martial scored a fine diving header to
earn United a 1-1 draw in their third
Champions League game at the Khimki Arena,
but the Frenchman was to blame for gifting the
Russians the lead.
Martial raised his right arm going into a
challenge with Mario Fernandes in the 15th
minute and the ball struck it, leaving the
referee with no option but to point to the spot.
David de Gea saved Roman Eremenko’s
penalty, but Seydou Doumbia scored the
rebound to put CSKA ahead.
Martial’s second-half header saved United’s
blushes, but their manager was disappointed
with his star striker for the error that led to the
hosts’ goal.
Van Gaal said: “They had the present of an
Anthony Martial penalty.
“Martial is a human being, he reacts and it is a
stupid reaction, but sometimes these things
happen.
“He said it is the first time it happens to him, if
it always happens with me it’s a pity.”
Draw deserved, says Van Gaal
Although Van Gaal was unhappy with the French
teenager for effectively handing the hosts the
lead, he was pleased to escape from his trip
east with a point.
United froze in the first half on a sub-zero
night in Russia, but improved after the break
following the introduction of Marouane Fellaini
and could have snatched all three points in the
second half.
The draw leaves the Red Devils in second place
in Group B at the halfway point of the group
stages, with home matches against PSV and
CSKA, as well as a trip to Wolfsburg, to come.
“I was very happy with the performance,” Van
Gaal said.
“I knew in advance that it would be a very
difficult game because CSKA are very well
organised and compact.
“The tempo was too slow in my opinion, I said
that at half-time, and improve our tempo and
switching the game from side to side.
“We did that better in the second half than the
first half. We created more chances and could
have won, but I think it is a deserved draw.
“I will be happy with a draw better than a win,
we now have two home matches and you can
say we are very strong at home and I hope we
can win these games so we are nearly qualified
or qualified, but we also have a game away to
Wolfsburg.
“We are on schedule (to qualify) after the PSV
Eindhoven defeat, which was a very strange
defeat for us.”
I’VE NEVER PLAYED AS A STRIKER:DE BRUYNE
Kevin De Bruyne admitted he was surprised
to find himself playing as a striker after
scoring the winner in Manchester City’s 2-1
Champions League win over Sevilla.
The Group D tie was all square in the 76th
minute when City manager Manuel
Pellegrini replaced Wilfried Bony – the only
recognised striker in his injury-hit squad –
with defensive midfielder Fernando.
Belgium international De Bruyne, who
normally plays as a winger or a No.10,
moved into the central role vacated by
Bony, and it paid off as he struck in injury-
time.
“I never played so much in my life as a
striker to be honest,” De Bruyne said
afterwards.
“Obviously we don’t have so many strikers
at the moment and if the manager asks me
to play there I will try.
“I’m a different type of a player –
[operating] in the space and these type of
things. Maybe the manager thought that
could cause a little bit of trouble for them.”
The 24-year-old – who now has five goals in
his first seven games for City – believes his
versatility gives him an advantage.
“Even when I was on loan at [Werder]
Bremen [from Chelsea] I played in six
different position,” De Bruyne said.
“I think it is more of an advantage for me
than a disadvantage. You can be shuffled
around but it’s fine.”
City take on rivals Manchester United on
Sunday in the Premier League but De
Bruyne doesn’t expect Wednesday’s result
to have any bearing on that encounter.
“[The impact will be] nothing – it’s a totally
different league,” he added.
“Every game we play, the next game is a
different league and a different tension to
the league.
“Obviously we feel good. In the last games
we did OK so hopefully we can do the same
on Sunday.”
RELATIONSHIP WITH BENITEZ FIXED:RAMOS
Sergio Ramos insists the chapter is closed
on his war of words with Real Madrid
manager Rafael Benitez.
The Spanish defender was criticised by
Benitez for giving away a penalty in the
draw with Atletico Madrid and he
responded by questioning his coach’s
substitutions in the same game.
However, speaking after his side’s goalless
draw with Paris Saint-Germain in the
Champions League, Ramos says he has no
problems with the former Liverpool boss.
“Everything is fixed with Rafa Benitez,” the
29-year-old said. “We talked the next day,
after my last statements.
“I have one opinion and he has another, but
in the end all that has made our
relationship better.
“At the end of the day, the players and the
coach have to talk — that’s what
consolidates the relationship. It’s all quite
clear [with Benitez].”
In Paris, Ramos was making his first
competitive appearance for Los Blancos
since the fall out after the Atletico game.
He missed Spain’s two recent games due to
a shoulder injury and was not deemed fit to
play in Madrid’s win over Levante last
weekend, but he had a pain-killing injection
to ensure he could feature against PSG.
“There is always a risk,” he explained after
admitting that he had needed an injection
to take part in the draw.
“Forgetting the pain is important in these
types of games — I am the first person to
make myself available for the team,
especially with all the injuries [Madrid
have].
“I suffered in the last 15 minutes; it was a
little uncomfortable because it’s an injury
which takes time to heal.”
Next up for Ramos and his team-mates is a
trip to Celta Vigo on Saturday, a team who
currently sit at the top of La Liga level on 18
points with Madrid and Barcelona.
I AM A LONELY GUY IN THE MODERN WORLD OF FOOTBALL:MOURINHO
The 52-year-old believes people prefer
to criticise him during tough times
rather than praise his achievements
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho says he
feels out of place in modern football and
has claimed he does not have many friends
in the game.
The 52-year-old has courted controversy
throughout his career as a result of multiple
disputes with opposition managers, players
and match officials.
Mourinho was recently fined £50,000 and
given a suspended stadium ban following
comments he made about the referee in
the aftermath of Chelsea’s defeat to
Southampton.
The incident continued his and the Blues’
nightmare start to the season, which sees
them sat 12th in the Premier League after
winning the title last term.
“I feel lots of affection, more than I could
imagine. I feel affection from my players,
lots of people in the street. I have lots of
affection,” Mourinho told The Irish Times.
“It’s the football world that is changing. I
feel that I am a strange case because my
world is football. I love it, I love my job.
This is the job I always wanted and I
dedicate myself to it.
“But I don’t belong, I don’t belong to what
Desmond Morris called many years ago ‘The
Tribe of Football’ (sic),” he said, referring to
1981 book The Soccer Tribe.
“I belong to the tribe in the Desmond
Morris concept of the tribe of football, but
in the modern concept of the tribe of
football, I don’t belong.
“I live in a different world. I’m not with the
power. I’m a lonely guy in this modern
world of football. I do my work. I’m not a
politician, I’m not a PR, I don’t care what
people think about me. I don’t, you know,
I’m just [am] what I am.
“When I am in a great moment it looks like
nothing’s happened; when I am in a bad
moment, I pay for this a little bit. I don’t
have many friends in the football world.”
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