Source: Daily_Mail
It's another new Blue at Chelsea but Ferguson marks his 36th year as boss
Time for another new Chelsea coach in west London. Another fresh start. Two hundred miles north on the outskirts of Manchester, it was status quo.
'Here we go again,' said Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson as he took his seat before the media. 'Thirty-six years of this. God must be punishing me for something.'
Tomorrow at Wembley, Ferguson - beginning his 36th season in management - will face the 13th Chelsea coach of his two-and-a-half decades at Old Trafford.
The latest, Carlo Ancelotti, is one he knows; even if he struggled yesterday to get the Italian's name right. 'Carlos will take up the baton from where Guus Hiddink left off last season,' said Ferguson. 'And Chelsea will provide another great challenge
for us. They always do.'
Tomorrow's pre-season showpiece once more has the feeling of a meeting between the country's top two.
Despite their struggles under Luiz Felipe Scolari last season, Chelsea ended at a gallop once Hiddink got hold of them and, in Ancelotti, they now have a coach accustomed to success at club level following eight years at Milan.
Indeed, they have a coach who broke Ferguson's heart in dismantling United 3-0 at the San Siro in the Champions League semi-final in 2007.
'It is impossible to repeat a certain match, but the 3-0 victory over Manchester United was the best performance of my time at Milan,' said Ancelotti yesterday. 'To win against Manchester United you have to be at the top of your game 100 per cent of the time. After that Milan game, Sir Alex Ferguson congratulated me.
'I don't know Sir Alex very well but this is a very important match. With a victory we can start the season well, with good confidence in our quality.'
Ferguson would perhaps disagree with regard to the importance of tomorrow's game. After five appearances at the new Wembley - and only one goal - he is already a little disillusioned with a stadium he feels has been let down by a poor pitch.
Nevertheless, Fergie would agree that both he and Ancelotti face fresh challenges. The Italian must get to grips with a new team and a new league, while Ferguson must remodel his United side following the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ferguson said: 'None of us (United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal) have really gone into the market in a big way.
'We have sold Ronaldo, Liverpool have sold Alonso, Arsenal have sold Adebayor. It has been really quiet in terms of the big four.'
'John Terry staying will keep Chelsea stronger. He is a good centre half, no question.
'We will cope without Cristiano. For any player, whether it is Wayne Rooney or (Federico) Macheda or (Danny) Welbeck or Nani - all the forwards - they all have to say, 'Well, this guy was exceptional'. And the only way that any player can achieve an improvement is by practice on the training field.
'People in our game mis-read what a training session means. It is not just to fill your morning. It is to improve yourselves as footballers and we are lucky that some of the players we have here at the moment have that desire to improve.'
Ferguson did confirm that defender Nemanja Vidic will miss the start of the season after being ruled out for up to two weeks with a calf injury.
The 27-year-old Serb joins Gary Neville, Wes Brown and goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar on the sidelines and Ferguson said: 'Vidic is another week or two away and Edwin's injury is a bad one. He is out for eight to 10 weeks.'
While Ancelotti rightly pointed out yesterday that Chelsea are the only big club not to have sold a key player, he will also know that he has his own tactical challenges to meet.
Nevertheless, Ancelotti remains undaunted by the high level of expectation at Stamford Bridge. He said: 'I don't think about the ghost of Hiddink or the ghost of Mourinho. I want to work my maximum for Chelsea and I certainly don't have any ghosts. I am confident I am not a disappointment for the players.'
Ancelotti was understandably quizzed about the roles of his two central forwards, Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba.
Certainly, it will be interesting to see if he can accommodate both in his starting side. Ferguson, on the other hand, has Michael Owen who, at 29, is expected to be left out of the England squad for next week's friendly against Holland but seems sure to be recalled once the competitive action kicks off.
'England are not endowed with a bunch of top strikers,' said Ferguson. 'So that gives Michael Owen a chance. But his name and reputation will not get him into the World Cup. It is what he does with us over the next season.'
Ferguson is right. As Ancelotti is about to find out, reputations can only get you so far in the Premier League.
