Two Premier League clubs at either end of the table panic and sack their managers. Chelsea, fourth in the table and seven points behind leaders Manchester United, dismiss Luis Felipe Scolari while less surprisingly Portsmouth sack Tony Adams as they sink to within one point of the relegation zone. Scolari had 36 games as Chelsea boss after replacing Avram Grant in June. He is Chelsea's third manager in a year! Adams took control after Harry Redknapp left for Spurs at the end of October and won just 2 of his 16 Premier League matches. Results are the only real name of the game in football.
Scolari, 60 years of age, won the World Cup as Head Coach of Brazil in 2002 and went to manage Portugal. But it did not work out at Chelsea with 57 per cent winning return only and talk of unrest with strikers Didier Drogba and Nicholas Anelka while players were complaining about his tactics and boring training. The last straw came with the 0-0 home draw with Hull. Chelsea used to be unbeaten for several seasons at Stamford Bridge but this season they have only won 6 PL matches out of 13. Owner Roman Abramovich, according to Scolari's camp, made the decision. The Russian had dismissed the successful Jose Mourinho and Avram Grant went after losing the European Champions League final after a penalty shoot out to Manchester United.
Portsmouth appointed their number two Tony Adams as manager after Harry Redknapp left for Spurs at the end of October. I was heating my Pukka Pie at the time and remember thinking how often do assistants really do the business? Not very often! Adams is a strange man. A brilliant player, but management material? I doubt a person on that score, when in one of his first interviews he says he does not like people. That's like some-one saying to the True. He said he was not given much money to spend. £I 2 million in fact, so that is true. Adams says he did not have much time but he has only taken two points from the last possible 27. He appeared to be getting muddled in the high pressure situation. The Pieman believes in fair play mate. I defend players, managers and referees when I can. But I think Portsmouth had to cut their losses and make a change. They made a mistake and should compensate Tony Adams accordingly. Fair play mate.
The referee Martin Atkinson missed Manchester City's Shaun Wright-Phillips kicking out in retaliation in an incident that saw Stoke's Rory Delap quite rightly red-carded for violent conduct. Delap is serving a three match suspension for being sent off. The FA studied the video of the game and gave Wright-Phillips the same punishment. He will miss Manchester City's away games at Portsmouth, Liverpool and West Ham. Fair play mate. Often it’s the retaliation that is spotted and not the original offence. However, you just cannot fight back, tempting as it is. What would I do if someone nicked my Pukka Pie? Give them a kiss and hope that some-one would deal with the thief? Steady on, Pieman, it’s not that serious...... But what does really upset me is the daft rule that if a referee and particularly a linesman sees an incident and takes no action then the FA still take no action. Take the recent Liverpool-Chelsea match. Referee Mike Riley sends off Frank Lampard but later admits he was wrong and the red card is rescinded afterwards. But in the closing minute the Chelsea defender Jose Bosingwa is clearly seen kicking Liverpool's Yossi Benayoun up the backside near the corner flag right in view of the close-up linesman who takes no action. Hardly fair play mate! The law needs adjusting.
Meanwhile Manchester United return to the top after the Champions won at West Ham - their sixth 1-0 win in their last 8 PL matches. Ryan Giggs scored the goal which makes him the only player to score in each of the 17 Premier League seasons. Fair play mate! United, in the process kept their consecutive 13th clean sheet (no goals conceded!) which is a British record. 1212 minutes without conceding passing Glasgow Rangers’ (with Chris Woods in goal) record of 1196 minutes set in the 1978-79 season. Next on goalie Edwin Van Der Sar's horizon is the World Record of 1275 minutes set by Atletico Madrid (Abel Resino in goal) in the 1990-91 season. The United defence is terrific and Vidic quite rightly was chosen as the Barclays Premier League player of the month for January. Sir Alex Ferguson won the manager of the month. He's got more medals, trophies, Cups and titles than even this Pieman has eaten pies, let alone hot dinners.
A word about Joe Kinnear, the Newcastle manager who suffered a heart attack in 1999 when Wimbledon's boss.Joe has had a hard time of it this season since taking over from Kevin Keegan and he had to be taken to a Sutton Coldfield hospital in the West Midlands before the away win at West Bromwich Albion, feeling unwell. Joe was suffering from high blood pressure but hopefully he is recovering well. Joe is one of the great characters in the high pressure world of football management.
It’s International week with England playing a friendly in Seville against the current FIFA ranked number one country, European Champions Spain. Others are involved in both World Cup qualifiers and friendlies. Then it’s the FA Cup at the weekend. Plenty to reflect on in my next blog. The next Pieman and Tom Ross internet radio show on this website will be available this Friday (13th, but hopefully not unlucky). Bad weather prevented Tom travelling to the studio last week but he was more upset that I ate his pie!
I will finish this blog with more of what they wish they had not said:
"If there's one thing Derby have lacked this season, it's pace and power." ALVIN MARTIN
"With apologies to Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, will it be Wolves
or West Brom who are singing in the rain tonight?" IAN WINTER
"A tremendous free kick! It probably would have gone in if he had put it where he intended to put it." STAN COLLYMORE
"Some Hull City supporters have had to wait 104 years for this day." RADIO 5 LIVE
"He (David Beckham) has lost his legs at the highest level." CHRIS WADDLE
"Diouf is the master of the dark art of the winger: draws you in, sucks you off...." GARRY BIRTLES
"There's not many players who would have hit him (Fabio Capello) in the eye and made him put his hat on." GLENN HODDLE
Scolari, 60 years of age, won the World Cup as Head Coach of Brazil in 2002 and went to manage Portugal. But it did not work out at Chelsea with 57 per cent winning return only and talk of unrest with strikers Didier Drogba and Nicholas Anelka while players were complaining about his tactics and boring training. The last straw came with the 0-0 home draw with Hull. Chelsea used to be unbeaten for several seasons at Stamford Bridge but this season they have only won 6 PL matches out of 13. Owner Roman Abramovich, according to Scolari's camp, made the decision. The Russian had dismissed the successful Jose Mourinho and Avram Grant went after losing the European Champions League final after a penalty shoot out to Manchester United.
Portsmouth appointed their number two Tony Adams as manager after Harry Redknapp left for Spurs at the end of October. I was heating my Pukka Pie at the time and remember thinking how often do assistants really do the business? Not very often! Adams is a strange man. A brilliant player, but management material? I doubt a person on that score, when in one of his first interviews he says he does not like people. That's like some-one saying to the True. He said he was not given much money to spend. £I 2 million in fact, so that is true. Adams says he did not have much time but he has only taken two points from the last possible 27. He appeared to be getting muddled in the high pressure situation. The Pieman believes in fair play mate. I defend players, managers and referees when I can. But I think Portsmouth had to cut their losses and make a change. They made a mistake and should compensate Tony Adams accordingly. Fair play mate.
The referee Martin Atkinson missed Manchester City's Shaun Wright-Phillips kicking out in retaliation in an incident that saw Stoke's Rory Delap quite rightly red-carded for violent conduct. Delap is serving a three match suspension for being sent off. The FA studied the video of the game and gave Wright-Phillips the same punishment. He will miss Manchester City's away games at Portsmouth, Liverpool and West Ham. Fair play mate. Often it’s the retaliation that is spotted and not the original offence. However, you just cannot fight back, tempting as it is. What would I do if someone nicked my Pukka Pie? Give them a kiss and hope that some-one would deal with the thief? Steady on, Pieman, it’s not that serious...... But what does really upset me is the daft rule that if a referee and particularly a linesman sees an incident and takes no action then the FA still take no action. Take the recent Liverpool-Chelsea match. Referee Mike Riley sends off Frank Lampard but later admits he was wrong and the red card is rescinded afterwards. But in the closing minute the Chelsea defender Jose Bosingwa is clearly seen kicking Liverpool's Yossi Benayoun up the backside near the corner flag right in view of the close-up linesman who takes no action. Hardly fair play mate! The law needs adjusting.
Meanwhile Manchester United return to the top after the Champions won at West Ham - their sixth 1-0 win in their last 8 PL matches. Ryan Giggs scored the goal which makes him the only player to score in each of the 17 Premier League seasons. Fair play mate! United, in the process kept their consecutive 13th clean sheet (no goals conceded!) which is a British record. 1212 minutes without conceding passing Glasgow Rangers’ (with Chris Woods in goal) record of 1196 minutes set in the 1978-79 season. Next on goalie Edwin Van Der Sar's horizon is the World Record of 1275 minutes set by Atletico Madrid (Abel Resino in goal) in the 1990-91 season. The United defence is terrific and Vidic quite rightly was chosen as the Barclays Premier League player of the month for January. Sir Alex Ferguson won the manager of the month. He's got more medals, trophies, Cups and titles than even this Pieman has eaten pies, let alone hot dinners.
A word about Joe Kinnear, the Newcastle manager who suffered a heart attack in 1999 when Wimbledon's boss.Joe has had a hard time of it this season since taking over from Kevin Keegan and he had to be taken to a Sutton Coldfield hospital in the West Midlands before the away win at West Bromwich Albion, feeling unwell. Joe was suffering from high blood pressure but hopefully he is recovering well. Joe is one of the great characters in the high pressure world of football management.
It’s International week with England playing a friendly in Seville against the current FIFA ranked number one country, European Champions Spain. Others are involved in both World Cup qualifiers and friendlies. Then it’s the FA Cup at the weekend. Plenty to reflect on in my next blog. The next Pieman and Tom Ross internet radio show on this website will be available this Friday (13th, but hopefully not unlucky). Bad weather prevented Tom travelling to the studio last week but he was more upset that I ate his pie!
I will finish this blog with more of what they wish they had not said:
"If there's one thing Derby have lacked this season, it's pace and power." ALVIN MARTIN
"With apologies to Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, will it be Wolves
or West Brom who are singing in the rain tonight?" IAN WINTER
"A tremendous free kick! It probably would have gone in if he had put it where he intended to put it." STAN COLLYMORE
"Some Hull City supporters have had to wait 104 years for this day." RADIO 5 LIVE
"He (David Beckham) has lost his legs at the highest level." CHRIS WADDLE
"Diouf is the master of the dark art of the winger: draws you in, sucks you off...." GARRY BIRTLES
"There's not many players who would have hit him (Fabio Capello) in the eye and made him put his hat on." GLENN HODDLE
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