Source: Daily_Mail
MARTIN SAMUEL: Abramovich's real goal is to make Chelsea Masters of Europe
Carlo Ancelotti was not happy. He signalled for Didier Drogba to come to the touchline and much arm waving ensued. Ancelotti's complaint appeared to centre on the lack of urgency Drogba was displaying as Chelsea coasted to victory. Ancelotti's comments after the game confirmed his displeasure. [LNB]Having seen Manchester United surrender a two-goal lead at Everton in injury-time, he made it plain he had not instructed his players to take it easy at Upton Park, despite leading 2-0 after 18 minutes. That had been their decision. [LNB]While the inferior nature of the opposition was obvious - Chelsea won comfortably 3-1, even at training-ground pace - perhaps the performance was simply a confirmation of priorities at Stamford Bridge this season.[LNB] Eyes on the prize: Roman Abramovich (left) is desperate for Carlo Ancelotti to win the Champions League[LNB]Most of Chelsea's players have been around the club long enough to know what the owner wants; and with the first Champions League fixture against MSK Zilina taking place in Slovakia on Wednesday night, they thought it wise to leave plenty in the tank. [LNB]Despite his love of European competition, Sir Alex Ferguson has always insisted that winning the league is the priority for Manchester United. An old-fashioned football man, he understands the rest stems from that. [LNB]Liverpool were the exception in 2005, contriving to be hopelessly inconsistent domestically yet relentless in Europe. In the last four seasons, however, the winners of the Champions League have combined their triumph with a domestic title. [LNB]Ancelotti no doubt shares Ferguson's opinion that one feeds the other, but he is not the loudest voice at his club. Roman Abramovich may be as chatty as Harpo Marx in public, but privately nobody at Chelsea is under any illusions about what he wants from this season. [LNB]It is no coincidence that his current choice of manager is a man who has won the European Cup four times, including twice as a player, nor that last season's failure to overcome Inter Milan was followed by a summer clear-out of players perceived to have under-achieved, including Michael Ballack, Joe Cole, Deco and Ricardo Carvalho.[LNB]Winning the league was not enough to save them, in Abramovich's view. [LNB]For a team that has never lifted the Champions League trophy, Chelsea have become the team to beat for aspiring conquerors of Europe. In five of the last six seasons, the club that has knocked them out has gone on to win the competition. [LNB] More from Martin Samuel... Martin Samuel: Stifling European night at Old Trafford with such a sorry twist14/09/10 Martin Samuel: No wonder Sunderland want to pull up the ladder behind them 12/09/10 Town hall fools are playing children's lives - just look at what happened to Henry Webster09/09/10 Martin Samuel: Sorry Frank Lampard, you've lost centre stage08/09/10 Martin Samuel: From kiss and tell to all is well (until he gets home, anyway)08/09/10 Martin Samuel: McLeish is no Jose, but he's far too Special for this treatment 07/09/10 MARTIN SAMUEL: No one likes Ashley Cole, but you have to admit: He's good06/09/10 MARTIN SAMUEL: What HAS Capello got to learn from Wenger and co05/09/10 VIEW FULL ARCHIVE Inter Milan in 2010, Barcelona in 2009, Manchester United in 2008,Barcelona in 2006 and Liverpool in 2005. Only in 2007, when Chelseasuccumbed to Liverpool again at the semi-final stage but AC Milan wonthe final, did they lose to less than the eventual champions of Europe.[LNB]It is a remarkable record, but one they would give anything to avoid maintaining this season.[LNB]Chelsea's group this time is no breeze. It includes the champions of France, Marseille, the littleknown Zilina and an arduous trip to play Spartak Moscow, but for a team of such calibre anything less than top spot would be disappointing. [LNB]Winning the group would at least guarantee the advantage of playing at home in the second leg of the last 16, although that proved no insurance against the resilience of Inter Mi lan in the last campaign.[LNB] That loss over two legs should worry Chelsea most of all, as it represents one of the few times the club has been eliminated from Europe without cause for complaint.[LNB]Against Barcelona in 2009 they were the victims of a terrifyingly abysmal refereeing performance by Tom Henning Ovrebo (one of UEFA's many Over-Promoted Useless Scandinavian Officials), and in Moscow in 2008 they were the better team against Manchester United before John Terry's fateful penalty miss. [LNB] What have I gone and done? John Terry cuts a dejected figure after he missed a golden chance to win the European Cup for Chelsea in Moscow[LNB]Preceding this is a litany of ghost goals, bitterly disputed red cards, enemies of football and even the bizarre tactical choices of Claudio Ranieri against Monaco, which date back to another semi-final debacle in 2004. [LNB]Some believe these were the years in which Chelsea should have been champions of Europe, and the ship has now sailed. It is said Ancelotti's squad is advanced in age and will no longer be a match for Barcelona or a Real Madrid team galvanised by the arrival of Jose Mourinho. AC Milan are tipped to be useful again, too. [LNB]Yet the claims of Chelsea's rivals sound overplayed. For all the oceans of ink sucked dry to eulogise Barcelona, they were beaten fair and square by Inter Milan last season and it took a travesty of sporting justice to put them in the final the year before. [LNB]Real Madrid, AC Milan and Inter Milan are works in progress under new managers, while Manchester United were undoubtedly stronger before the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo and Bayern Munich were incredibly lucky to overcome them last season. [LNB]A GRAY AREA FOR SKY As inspiring as it was to see Tony Pulis spark a 2-1 victory for Stoke City on Monday, having arrived at the Britannia Stadium mid-match following the death of his mother, it was equally unavoidable to note that the winning goal came from a horrid dive by Jermaine Pennant to win a free-kick.[LNB]In the Sky studios, Andy Gray stood before his bank of computer screens. He proved that Stiliyan Petrov of Aston Villa did nothing to make Pennant fall over, that the assistant referee should have spotted this and that - less significantly - the free-kick was taken some 15 yards farther forward than it should have been.[LNB]Yet Gray then laughed it all off with some old guff implying the end justified the means. 'Do the Stoke fans care? Not a bit,' he announced. By his side, Richard Keys sniggered accordingly.[LNB]What is the point in having all that technology, all that information, unless the men in control are prepared to call a cheat a cheat?[LNB]There is only one word for it: diabolical. [LNB]As for dark horses, it is 13 years since the Champions League was won by a club that had not previously lifted the European Cup (Borussia Dortmund in 1997, Chelsea would be the first club to do it this century), so this is not a competition for outsiders.[LNB]The conclusion, then, is that there is no single outstanding team in Europe and Chelsea have as much to recommend them, if not more. [LNB]So can they win it? Most certainly, yes. Will they win it? A cautious yes to that, too. [LNB]The pillars of the team, Drogba, John Terry, Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard, remain undiminished, while Ancelotti has quietly transformed Florent Malouda into one of the most potent midfield players in the country. He talks of Michael Essien, returned from injury, as if he is a new player, while the acquisition of Ramires is a shrewd one. The Brazilian gives Chelsea increasing midfield options, able to go box to box yet with the capability to be a wiry ball-winner in the Claude Makelele mode. [LNB]It also helps that Chelsea have enjoyed a fortuitous start with their opening four Premier League games, West Bromwich Albion, Wigan Athletic, Stoke City and West Ham United, a relative cakewalk. [LNB]Having looked unconvincing in the summer friendly tournaments, they have been allowed to play themselves into form, and are now brushing opponents aside without reaching top gear, as happened at Upton Park. [LNB]Even their first Champions League game, MSK Zilina away, is hardly the test it could have been, while Sunday brings the visit of Blackpool. [LNB]Liverpool were made to hit the ground running against Arsenal, before travelling to Manchester City and visiting a Turkish outpost to face Trabzonspor. By comparison, Chelsea have been stress-free for a month, as they mount the latest attempt to deliver the prize Abramovich values above all. [LNB]This single-mindedness may cause Ancelotti more frustration on the touchline, but he will come to realise it is for a good cause; not least in maintaining his continued employment, which another boring old league title win may no longer guarantee.[LNB] Relax Sam, the England audition is just starting Bulgaria, England's opponents in Group G of European Championship qualifying, have already lost manager Stanimir Stoilov. He offered to resign after the 1-0 home defeat by Montenegro and no-one stood in his way. [LNB]Bulgaria have played two matches, lost both, have conceded five goals, are yet to score and lie bottom of the table. That is a crisis. [LNB]So quite why in England we are trying to create one, after two straight wins and seven goals scored, is a mystery. Why the constant speculation about who will succeed Fabio Capello? Why the debate over whose hat deserves to be in the ring? [LNB]The FA must shoulder some of the blame for encouraging thesedeliberations with populist statements about Capello's successor. FAofficials know the public mood is for an English appointment, but themore they proclaim agreement, the more Capello is made to feelunwanted, almost a contractual obligation. It is as if we need to getthis Italian out of the way, so that a local lad can come in to do aproper job.[LNB]That is surely the reason Capello is so insistent he will depart when this contract ends, meaning his successor will also have an imperfect tenure with the main event, the World Cup, coming first, allowing him to find his feet for the lesser test of the European Championship. It should be the other way round, of course. [LNB]The problem will not go away while Capello is perceived to be working his notice. In the last week, Sam Allardyce, Steve Bruce, Harry Redknapp, even Steve McClaren, have been sounded out about the England job at press conferences. Allardyce claimed that Roy Hodgson has been anointed almost two years in advance on the back of a good season with Fulham. [LNB]Yet if Capello is departing for certain on July 2, 2012, the day after the final of the European Championship, we are currently embarking on a two-year audition for the job. Nothing is decided and Allardyce appears to be getting his excuses in early if he is conceding to Hodgson already. Hodgson has two difficult seasons at Liverpool ahead and his achievements at Fulham will be a distant memory by the time the FA sit down to discuss candidates. [LNB]If Allardyce (above right) is not on that list it will not be because of pre-judgment, but because the football his teams play is not what is required of England. Allardyce is an outstanding club manager, and his methods are highly effective, but they are the ways of the battling underdog and England are rarely that. [LNB]The England manager may face superior opponents at Finals but, in that eventuality, it is unlikely the game plans that have served Bolton and Blackburn well will perturb the likes of Brazil or Spain. [LNB]In qualifying, however, England have to be on the front foot. They go into almost every group match needing to make the play and the manager must be familiar with that challenge. [LNB]Allardyce's teams play better football than is acknowledged, but their strengths are counter-attacks, set-pieces and physical competition. Allardyce will argue he has never been given the opportunity to play any other way, and this is a valid point. Serious opportunities for English managers in the Premier League are crucially limited. [LNB]Yet Hodgson and Redknapp do not have these issues; nor does Bruce. And it cannot be because they have spent their careers managing or playing for big clubs, are favoured by the southern media, or any of the many excuses advanced on Allardyce's behalf. [LNB]It is simply easier to see Redknapp's style of football at Tottenham Hotspur transferring to the international stage than it is Allardyce's methods at Blackburn. [LNB]Yet it remains within Allardyce's power to change perceptions. He is a good manager and could demonstrate versatility of approach over the next two campaigns without compromising Blackburn's ambitions. [LNB]Better that than the standard moan that the field was nobbled from the start. [LNB] [LNB]
