bridge views - the thinking fan's chelsea blog

Week of change for Chelsea despite World Cup lull: exits, Benayoun and Mutu

Having gone on holiday for a few weeks after the 09/10 season finally drew to a triumphant close, I came back to enjoy the start of the World Cup. Whilst most of the country was drawn to a complete standstill as the tournament kicked off in South Africa however, changes at Chelsea were afoot.

First of all, the departure of three Chelsea players was confirmed: Beletti, Ballack and Joe Cole. Beletti’s exit was not entirely unexpected – while he had gained somewhat cult status at Stamford Bridge and been a useful utility player over the last two seasons, the Brazilian wasn’t getting any younger, and Chelsea have a wealth of right backs to call on. Ballack’s exit was only slightly more surprising, but his departure probably points to a desire to lower the wage bill and freshen up the squad with younger, quicker legs.

Letting Joe Cole go has obviously been far more controversial. Chelsea’s plans for the England midfielder have been the subject of much speculation for months now – not least on this blog, which questioned his supposed demands for a payrise – so the eventual decision isn’t much of a surprise either. While losing an English player who adds something genuinely different to a team that occasionally lacks creativity is a shame, Cole’s injury record and form over the last couple of seasons in no way warranted a payrise. If the rumours are true that he was demanding more money then, sadly, it is the right decision to let him move on. More analysis on each of the Chelsea departures this summer will follow on this blog – and there are sure to be more. Deco, anyone?

Chelsea’s apparent pursuit of Liverpool’s Yossi Benayoun has been genuinely surprising, however. It seems like he is the chosen replacement for Joe Cole, and it doesn’t immediately feel like a step up. The Israeli – who has a decent scoring record at Anfield of around one goal every four games – is two years older than Cole and wasn’t deemed good enough to make regular starts up on Merseyside (although perhaps Benitez’s habitual insanity had something to do with that). I have always seen him as a steady but capable squad player, reliable in front of goal and with the odd spark of creativity from the right, but maybe chasing his signature was an early, genuine sign that Chelsea are no longer in the market for the bigger names in world football.

Having not seen too much of him play however, I thought I would check out a Liverpool messageboard to see what fans with far more knowledge of the player thought of Benayoun and his potential move to London. As it turns out, the scousers are far more respectful of his abilities than I was. Comments included:

• “We simply can't afford to lose creative players”
• “We won't find another player like Yossi for 4 measly million”
• “Gutted, like I would say he’s one of our 5 best players”
• “I'm ambivalent about this: on the one hand, he is a really creative player, and you never really know what he'll do next. But equally, he often finds himself running into dead-ends”
• “Definitely worth more than this. superb player. this will be a terribly long season. assuming that masch is also hinting at an exit, thats already 2 of our best 5 gone”

So perhaps £6m isn’t such a bad deal, but it’s hard to see how Chelsea view him as a cheaper option than Joe Cole if they were planning on giving Benyoun the reported £60k a week four-year contract. On his own, Benayoun probably isn’t a great signing. If he is intended as a squad player and his signing is followed by other, younger and more promising transfers, it could turn out to be a very shrewd move indeed. Let’s wait to see what happens.

Elsewhere this week, former Chelsea striker and drug addict Adrian Mutu has been ordered to pay the Blues £14.3m by the Swiss Federal Court. thechelseablog.org has done a great round up of the decision here, but it’s about time Chelsea saw some cash. Mutu was offered help to tackle his addiction by Chelsea, refused it and continued to use illegal substances. It was right to sack him and pursue compensation. Sending a message that certain behaviours, regardless of who you are or what you do, are unacceptable, has to be a good thing.

Hopefully bridgeviews.co.uk will now be back in action, but what do you think of the developments this week? Friends of this blog over on facebook had a mixed reaction to news that Benayoun could be on his way. Post a comment!

Odious Tevez adds to the farce with pointless outburst on Chelsea's John Terry

As if his behaviour during Saturday’s game wasn’t enough, Carlos Tevez has added further fuel to John Terry/ Wayne Bridge fire, a fire which had otherwise seemed to calm in recent days.

Denying that his squaring up to the Chelsea captain in the second half of Saturday’s clash had anything to do with Wayne Bridge (and who would doubt him?) the Argentine paragon of virtue went on to say in the Sun:

“It’s complicated to say something about what Terry did to Bridge. I don’t think you can do that with the wife of another player. In my opinion, Terry has no moral code for what he did.” He continued: “In my neighbourhood if you do that, you lose your legs, or more – you don’t survive”.

It’s interesting that Tevez places moral judgement on John Terry and the supposed brutal dearth of a moral code in his ‘neighbourhood’, all in one sentence. It is a pathetic, needless and rather childish attack.

The diminutive City player then turned his attention to Ballack and, unlike most footballers on the planet, didn’t shy away from revealing his hatred for another player. “I have always had problems with Ballack…it is just football, not personal issues between us. I don’t know, maybe he doesn’t like me, as I don’t like him. On the field, I have never understood what he is saying to me, but I am sure he didn’t understand me either”. He seems to have taken normal on-pitch banter – which I suspect Ballack is pretty good at - none too well.

So Tevez, you don’t like Terry or Ballack. Well we don’t like you either (I can be childish too). It’s a shame that Tevez has revealed himself as such an obnoxious, odious individual, both on the pitch – we remember the Champions League final - and off it, because in fits and starts he was quite brilliant against Chelsea on Saturday. 

As we have seen with some of Chelsea’s own (Drogba in previous years springs to mind), a player’s conduct is often more influential than their footballing ability when it comes to people forming an opinion of him. City fans won’t care – and why should they – but Tevez may just be getting it wrong.

A quick note: sorry to regular readers for bridgeviews.co.uk going under the radar over the last few weeks. All sorts of un-fun things have been going on has meant I haven’t been able to devote any time to it (I have kept the stats page up-to-date here, though). Anyway, hopefully there will be more times over the coming weeks. Anyone have any thoughts on either Tevez or the last few weeks? Please post a comment…

Ballack stays and Carlo quits

Breaking news this afternoon: Michael Ballack has signed a one year contract extension at the club. A slight surprise, this one: there’s been plenty of speculation that 08/09 might be his last year at the club. He certainly hasn’t had his best season – from my perspective he’s always looked half a yard off the pace – but I think on balance he’s worth another year. On song he’s the footballing equivalent of a Rolls Royce but, aside from his ability, I’d like to see him get another chance at winning the Champions League. For a player of his quality to have missed out on the biggest trophies in football is a travesty.

 

More significant, Carlo Ancelotti has left AC Milan ‘by mutual consent’. Technically I suppose he could still join another club (Real Madrid?), but I’d lay money on the journalists being proved right and him being unveiled as Chelsea manager tomorrow.

 

I’m no expert on Italian football, but he would seem a strange choice for a number of reasons:

1. One Scudetto during his tenure isn’t a good enough return for a club of Milan’s stature and with the players they’ve had available – points deductions or no. Making a more effective challenge for the premiership is what the fans will prioritise next season – if not Abramovich

2. Roman supposedly wants the team to play more attractive football. Italian teams and coaches aren’t renowned for their style and flair, and Ancelotti’s Milan have been criticised by fans this season for their negativity

3. The importance of speaking English – does Ancelotti speak it well enough and does it matter?

4. The comments he made in his autobiography. Leaked last week, Ancelotti's comments seem both unprofessional and misguided. Surely it's a gross misjudgement to reveal the club's negotiations with prospective managers? Worse still, he states that during discussions Roman Abramovich said the team had no character or 'identity'. How will this make the players feel? Does the boss want this in the public domain? Furthermore, no openly slate Mourinho won't help him win over the fans. Good start, Carlo. The Telegraph wrote a good overview of all these autobiography comments - you can read that article here.

Of course, he has won two European Cups – something not many others have achieved. Sure I’ll post more on the subject if and when his appointment is announced...