Maple Lions

The Beeb gives the lowdown on the draw for the next phase of the Champions League.

Paul Canniff

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The Special One takes a page from Michael Corleone in defending his uneasy striker:

“Sheva is not untouchable because of the way he is playing. I play the best players at the time.”

The Ukraine striker has scored just three Premiership goals since his move from AC Milan in the summer.

Mourinho added: “Claude Makelele, Michael Essien and Frank Lampard are untouchable because of the way they play, not because I love them.

“Michael Ballack is untouchable because of the way he plays. John Terry is untouchable. Ricardo Carvalho, Ashley Cole and Didier Drogba - they are untouchable.”

[…]

“We need to give Sheva time. I give him time. The good thing is that he is not happy with the way he is performing. If he was happy, we would have a problem.”

Paul Canniff

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Because it’s certainly not making contact with a ball on the sweet spot. Andriy Shevchenko opens the door publicly to an exit from Stamford Bridge:

“But if it happens, I am ready to pack my bags,” he said. “I’m a completely self-confident person. If I don’t suit somebody then I’ll go back to Italy and prove how good I can still be.

“I’m not finished as a player. On the other hand I have nothing to prove. Everybody knows what Andriy Shevchenko is capable of.”

Odd how a self-confessed completely self-confident man wanders the pitch dazed and confused like Grandpa Simpson. And thus no one but Shevchenko actually knows what he is capable of.

Among supporters of many stripes I have found a consensus that Sheva does not appear to have adjusted psychologically to the English game. And I agree: if anyone should be packing his bags in January, it should be Sheva and not SWP. Chelsea needs reliable striking power in depth… fast.

Update:

All that’s missing from the lame official Chelsea FC response is the opening phrase, “TASS is authorized to announce that…”.

Paul Canniff

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Today Old Trafford witnessed a classic turnaround by the Red Devils while Porto and la Légion Étrangère were locked in an epic paint-drying battle. All English clubs finished at the top of their respective groups to advance to the knockout stage.

Here the final stats from the group stage:

1. Liverpool: 13 pts., GD +6
2. Chelsea: 13 pts., GD +6
3. Manchester United: 12 pts., GD +5
4. Arsenal: 11 pts., GD +4

The Scouse just edge out the Blues for top spot by scoring 11 goals versus Chelsea’s 10. Liverpool was the fourth-highest scoring team in the entire group stage, behind Real Madrid, Lyon and Valencia.

Thus far, Didier Drogba remains the CL’s top-ranked individual scorer with five goals, with Lurch and Louis Saha just behind him with four goals in fourth and seventh position.

Your polling feedback was a tad at variance with reality, but then the wonder of football lies in its capacity to surprise.

Paul Canniff

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The rhetoric is heating up in advance of Chelsea’s visit to Old Trafford on Sunday. While Peter Kenyon, the Chelsea chief executive suggests a move from Stamford Bridge is in the works, Cristiano Ronaldo tries to emulate Muhammad Ali’s wit but ends up sharing only his kicking skills from five yards out:

Blues’ chief executive Kenyon also said they will have to quit Stamford Bridge.

“By 2014 we want to be internationally recognised as the number one club,” he said. “But I think it’s pretty clear we can’t get to where we want to here.”

But United winger Cristiano Ronaldo hit back, saying Chelsea would fall apart if boss Jose Mourinho left the club.

He said: “Mourinho is a great coach and he is Portuguese, so I can’t speak badly of him.

“I would like to see what would happen if he were to leave Chelsea. Perhaps they would stop getting good results.”

Paul Canniff

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Here’s how the English sides stand today:

• Liverpool: 13 pts., GD+7
• Chelsea: 10 pts., GD+4
• Arsenal: 10 pts., GD+4
• Manchester United: 9 pts., GD+1

Some points to ponder as the dust settles:

1. While the Scouse are holding their heads high in Europe, is it Raffa’s rotation strategy that is leaving them laid low back home?
2. Has the Special One’s estimation of his audience’s intelligence sunk so low that he actually believed we might pay heed to his latest pre-match puffery? Yup, he was playing for keeps today.
3. The two luckiest men today: Gordon Strachan and Fergie’s bartender.

Paul Canniff 

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Manchester United and Chelsea respectively hold the first and third slots in the latest ESPN World Club 25 rankings; in contrast, Barça and Real Madrid hold down sixth and tenth.

Back in the Champions League, here’s how the English sides are faring as we come up to matchday 5:

1. Chelsea: 10 pts., GD +5
2. Liverpool: 10 pts., GD +5
3. Manchester United: 9 pts., GD +4
4. Arsenal: 7 pts., GD +2

Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United are at the top of their groups, while Arsenal holds second place.

Among the top eight scorers in CL action are Didier Drogba in first, followed by Peter Crouch in fourth and Luis Garcia in eighth.

Paul Canniff

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While the Telly’s roundup of the papers reports that Andriy Shevchenko is pining for Milan, the Sun claims otherwise.

The observation from Soccer Steve in Edmonton may be bang on, that Sheva needs some down time to clear his head and make a proper mental adjustment to the English game. A string of flashes of brilliance does not make up for Drogba taking up the full burden of striking power, even if Didier is doing so masterfully.

Paul Canniff 

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I’m sure all of us wish Petr Cech a speedy and full recovery after his injury in last Saturday’s match against Reading. But don’t we also hope that sometimes the Special One would just shut the hell up instead of grandstanding on shaky assertions?

Has the footballing world really been seeking a fusion of the managerial skills of Bill Shankly with the rhetoric of Hugo Chavez?

Paul Canniff

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Mid-way through the group stage, here is how the English sides rank, first on points and then goal difference:

1. Chelsea (6 pts., GD +4)
2. Arsenal (6 pts., GD +3)
3. Manchester United (6 pts., GD +2)
4. Liverpool (4 pts., GD +1)

Interestingly, all of the English clubs are top of their respective groups.

Paul Canniff 

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