Source: Daily_Mail
I've got this cracked! Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti insists his ageing side can still cut it
For Carlo Ancelottiand Chelsea, it allstarted here a yearago. Out of his comfortzone after acareer in his native Italy andinto a well-worn ejector seatat Stamford Bridge. [LNB]At Wembley, ahead of theCommunity Shield, he was greetedby Sir Alex Ferguson, who smiledand gripped the hand of the 13thman to manage Chelsea during hisquarter of a century in residence atManchester United. [LNB]'He said, 'Welcome to Englishfootball',' recalled Ancelotti, whopromptly won the Shield, then thePremier League and then the FACup, a haul of silver to satisfy theclub's very demanding owner andcondemn United to finish theseason with only the Carling Cup. [LNB] Captain Carlo: Ancelotti leads Chelsea to another shot at glory[LNB]'Sir Alex is a very kind man. Aboveall, when we won the League, hesent me congratulations. I washappy. I hope he is sending meanother message in May.' [LNB]Behind the bonhomie, Fergie willhave been annoyed. Two years afterclaiming Chelsea were past theirbest, they pipped him to the title.There may have been only a pointin it, but the Blues clinched theirfirst Double without much fuss.[LNB]'I am not surprised with what weachieved,' said Ancelotti. [LNB]'When Icame to Chelsea, I knew thestrength of this team. I was not surprisedto achieve what we wantedto. Our aim was to win the PremierLeague or the Champions League.[LNB] Friendly foes: Ferguson and Ancelotti share a joke[LNB]'After a fantastic season, it wasvery difficult to change the squadbut we can repeat the same seasonthis year with these players. [LNB]'I had more doubts last year whenI started, but we start this seasonin a different situation. I have moreknowledge about the players andthe club, the atmosphere in Englandand the teams. [LNB]'It was a fantasticexperience last year and I havesurely improved my knowledge.' [LNB]Older, greyer and wiser, just likehis team. Academy starlets likeJeffrey Bruma and Gael Kakutacan expect more action but DidierDrogba and Frank Lampard are intheir thirties and John Terry willjoin them in December. [LNB]'They have one more year experience,like me,' said Ancelotti,although he accepts he must managetheir energy levels. [LNB] Vintage blue: (left to right) John Terry, Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole, Didier Drogba and Florent Malouda are all in or approaching their thirties[LNB]'You have topay attention to the players over 30but Lampard and Drogba are veryprofessional and physically good. We have to maintain the same jobwe did last year. [LNB]'Controlling therest is very important, to controlthe load of the training. I don'tthink we have more problemsbecause they're a year older.' [LNB]As proof, Drogba will start on thebench at Wembley, as will YossiBenayoun, but Ancelotti has noqualms about next week's internationalfixtures, including England'sgame against Hungary. [LNB]UnlikeHarry Redknapp and ArseneWenger, who have criticised thefriendlies, Ancelotti is happy torelease those players who were inaction at the World Cup and didnot report for pre-season traininguntil the end of last month. [LNB]'The players who came back onJuly 26 need to play,' he said. [LNB]'Theyneed to improve their condition,they need games.' [LNB] Enlarge Ancelotti expects United to beChelsea's closest opponents againbut both he and Ferguson are waryof emerging forces, especially free-spendingManchester City.'What they call the Big Four hasbeen squashed,' said Ferguson. [LNB]'Tottenham have come into it andyou'd think they'd make progress.Man City have bought again andyou obviously have to put them inthe equation.[LNB] Everton, after all theinjury problems they had last season,will come into it. [LNB]Enlarge 'There couldbe a lot of dangers.' [LNB]Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelkaeven named Spurs as potential titlewinners. [LNB]'I rate Tottenham veryhighly,' said Anelka. [LNB] 'For me theyare absolute favourites. This willbe the most thrilling season in thehistory of the Premier League.' [LNB]The buzz around an unpredictabletitle race extends beyond City'ssplurge to the fact United andChelsea have not reinforced significantly,and Arsenal have lostdefenders and been forced to fightoff a bid for Cesc Fabregas. [LNB]Staying: Chelsea defedner Ashley Cole[LNB]Ancelotti flatly refused to speakabout the imminent arrival of Benfica'sBrazil midfielder Ramires andpulled faces through questionsabout Ashley Cole's future. [LNB]'No, no, no,' snapped the Italian inresponse to a suggestion that Colewas ready for a move to RealMadrid. [LNB]'He is a fantastic playerand there is no price to sell him. Idon't need to speak to him.' [LNB]It is worth noting that Ancelottiended last season by insisting JoeCole would still be a Chelsea playerat the start of this one. [LNB]'Joe Cole was a financial problem,not a technical problem,' said theChelsea manager. [LNB]'They didn'tachieve agreement with the clubabout his salary. [LNB]'This is not the problem of AshleyCole. He has a contract and I wantto respect this. We have not heardanything from Real Madrid.'[LNB] Kaka knee op scuppers Chelsea's chances of landing brilliant BrazilianCesc Fabregas saga won't disrupt Arsenal's bid for glory, insists Gunners hero Ray ParlourCHELSEA v Manchester United: Drogba on the bench for Community Shield curtain-raiserTransformers 3: Josh Duhamel shoots dramatic explosion as filming continues... while Shia LaBeouf gets a stunt double[LNB]
