Source: Daily_Mail
LEO'S LONDON: Florent Malouda will get nowhere with his Frank talking - Lampard is Mr Chelsea
Florent Malouda insists he didn't say 'anything bad' about team-mate Frank Lampard or manager Carlo Ancelotti. [LNB]The interview the Chelsea midfielder gave in France was 'badly translated', apparently. [LNB]But after falling back on that lame and clich?get out, key questions about Malouda's future remain. [LNB] Lost in translation: Malouda (left) insists he was misunderstood[LNB]The piece that provoked him into a PR campaign last weekend moaned about Lampard getting preferential treatment and had the Frenchman deciding it was time to leave. [LNB]Even if Malouda thought his sentiments had been far more sensitively and less categorically put, he really does not have a case. [LNB]Malouda has been brilliant and awful in his time at Chelsea, but he is at his best when out wide. [LNB] More from Leo Spall... LEO'S LONDON: Super Cesc proved he is Arsenal through and through30/12/09 LEO'S LONDON: Harry's handling of Christmas bash has been spot on22/12/09 LEO'S LONDON: It's time the FA came down hard on the likes of Benoit Assou-Ekotto 16/12/09 LEO'S LONDON: Forget Beckham, Milner and Wright-Phillips... Aaron Lennon is the right choice for England09/12/09 VIEW FULL ARCHIVE Ancelotti's diamond formation doesn't help much with that so his response should be to knuckle down and adapt. [LNB]Hoping to oust Lampard is misguided. The England midfielder is one of Chelsea' s best players and most consistent scorers. [LNB]It is Malouda's bad luck that Lampard plays on the left for Chelsea and is seldom injured, so he should accept it is a squad game and maybe look further forward for more playing time. [LNB]The France midfielder's game record for his club this season has not been bad. [LNB]There have been nine starts and six substitute appearances in the Premier League, which is more than Jose Bosingwa, Joe Cole, Deco and Salomon Kalou and only one less than John Mikel Obi. [LNB]Malouda has started 10 games in the other competitions too so the toys are coming out of the pram a little early - even if they are being thrown sensitively and the lobbing is not misinterpreted as hurling. [LNB] Consistent: Lampard rarely puts a foot wrong in the Chelsea midfield[LNB]But if he really isn't happy with his lot at Chelsea maybe he should think about reinvention. [LNB]Chelsea have a problem during the Africa Cup of Nations with a lack of convincing strikers and when Malouda joined he claimed to be comfortable as a second forward, somewhere he has played before. [LNB]So why not push for a place alongside Nicolas Anelka up front as well as a midfield berth? It has got to be better than the alternatives. [LNB].............................................................................................The romance of the FA Cup was in short supply at the weekend, most third-round games were pretty dull and some simply awful. [LNB] Leeds provided the only major shock and West Ham's defeat by Arsenal, an entertaining game with a conclusive outcome, was one of few exceptions. [LNB]Nine ties in the round were either drawn or postponed and while there is little that can be done about the weather; the FA can force more positive results. [LNB] Scrapping replays in the early rounds - as Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has suggested in the past - is the answer. [LNB] Derby delight: Eduardo was the Arsenal hero against West Ham[LNB]Imagine if, in addition to Leeds win at Manchester United, Reading had finished Liverpool off on penalties on Saturday night and Nottingham Forest eliminated Birmingham in extra time. [LNB]The romance of the FA Cup is all about shocks and giantkillings andthere is more chance of both if poorly performing big clubs don't get asecond chance. [LNB]This season's draw for round four hasproduced more potential for surprises and the FA have always defendedthe competition's heritage. [LNB]But the top teams continue to drive it down towards the prestige level of the Carling Cup by fielding weakened sides. [LNB]The Cup's slide was demonstrated not only by the trouble some clubs had attracting reasonable crowds last weekend. [LNB] Cup cracker: Jermaine Beckford stunned Manchester United at Old Trafford[LNB]The value of television rights had also been cut in half when ESPN agreed last month to step into the void left by Setanta's demise. [LNB] That deal to screen Cup ties doesn't start until next season and a revamp is required before then.[LNB]............................................................................................. [LNB]Tottenham's Jamie O'Hara should count himself lucky after the shambles at Portsmouth gave him a way out. [LNB]The south-coast club will be unable to extend the midfielder's loan if their transfer embargo is not lifted. [LNB] It looks unlikely that it will be - and it certainly deserves to stay in force after the way they have been run - but that could serve O'Hara well. [LNB] On the up: O'Hara could benefit from leaving the south coast[LNB]While he may not enjoy the disruption of going back to Spurs and then leaving on loan again, a move to Bolton or Everton could give him a better platform. [LNB]O'Hara is a good player, a tenacious tackler who, at 23 years old, still has potential to get better and would benefit from being at a club whose prospects are not exclusively depressing. [LNB]............................................................................................. Flavio Briatore's success in overturning his life ban from Formula One is bad news for new QPR boss Paul Hart and whoever follows him into the manager's office at Loftus Road, where the Italian is co-owner. [LNB]It means the man who played a prominent part in 'Crashgate' on the race track is set to be allowed to continue driving QPR's car crash approach to managerial changes.[LNB] Ivory Coast accuse Chelsea of treating striker Drogba like a 'machine'Chelsea 5 Watford 0: Sturridge off the mark as holders sail into fourth roundManchester United flop Juan Sebastian Veron claims to have snubbed Manchester City Gareth refusing to Bale on Spurs as defender eyes a run in Harry Redknapp's teamMatthews sparks transfer tussle as United and Arsenal track Cardiff kid [LNB]
