Source: Telegraph
Uncertainty stalks Gianfranco Zola as relegation clouds gather over West Ham
Italian coaches will be everywhere at the Bridge. The Impossible Job has become the Italian Job. [LNB]Marcello Lippi has won the World Cup while Giovanni Trapattoni wins friends with the Republic of Ireland. Zola, though, is under pressure. [LNB] Related ArticlesChelsea v West Ham: previewWest Ham 1 Bolton 2Sullivan threatens to counter-sue YeungBehrami 'a happy Hammer'Tensions rise between Zola and SullivanSport on televisionWidely considered one of the nicest men in an often heartless profession, the Sardinian who made the ball smile as an elegant maestro with Napoli, Parma and Chelsea, among others, now battles to keep West Ham United in the Premier League. [LNB]Zola's team delivered an impoverished display last time out, his players demonstrating insufficient relish for the fray in the home defeat to Bolton Wanderers, so increasing the stress levels. Talk of Mark Hughes' arrival in the summer follows Zola around, adding to the air of uncertainty. [LNB]Zola handles it all with typical grace. Yet as he concluded training yesterday, a pall hung across Chadwell Heath; a bonfire in an adjacent back-garden was spewing out smoke, reflecting the dark clouds around the club amidst the spluttering form. Zola, his sure-footedness enduring from his illustrious playing days, glided through the complex oblivious to the acrid smoke. [LNB]After chatting with Pierluigi Casiraghi, the visiting Italian Under-21 coach, he settled down to reflect on why his country nurtures so many managers. "In Italy the tactical side of the game is very important and historically the Italian managers have always been very good,'' said Zola. "We have a good (coaching) school, Coverciano, but also we have a good philosophy. We work a lot on all aspects of the game and that makes the managers sharper.'' [LNB]Serie A has always been a natural breeding ground for managers, grooming players in the finer tactical nuances of the game. Yet Zola argued that the increasing sophistication of English football, with players using their head as well as their heart, meant that home-grown managers would inevitably emerge from Premier League playing squads. [LNB]"Right now in this country, the players are getting more mature and they know how to play in different ways. English players are getting sharper and better. Apart from his goals, I'm also impressed with the way Wayne Rooney moves, with his composure on the ball and his understanding of the game. That's great. He works on his game a lot and that is what's making him better and sharper. [LNB]"English players play with their heart but also they are learning to play tactically and technically. They are developing. That's why the results for the national team are getting better and better. A few years ago when I first came to England (to Chelsea in 1996), there were not many teams playing different systems. Now there are teams playing 4-4-2, 4-5-1, trying different things. In football the more things you know the better. For me, the big advantage in Italy in the 1990s was we had different coaches and that made Italian football better.'' [LNB]As West Ham's travails would indicate, Zola has not made an effortless transition from playing to management. "Different skills,'' replied the former Italian international. "I was more an off-the-cuff, instinctive player. As a manager, you have to use your instinct but a lot is about planning, about being logical. You have to be methodical.'' [LNB]Zola has certainly had the calculator and fixture list out, working out that West Ham probably require 10 points from 10 games for safety. Given their poor away record, having collected only two points from their last seven trips, visits to Chelsea, Arsenal, Everton, Liverpool and Fulham may not yield too much. That leaves West Ham utterly reliant on home games with Wolves, Stoke, Sunderland, Wigan and Manchester City to reach what Zola believes will be the magical mark of 37 points. [LNB]"Everyone is fighting very hard for their lives so there will be surprise results,'' said Zola. "This is a job where you are always under pressure. My commitment to West Ham is total. We have enough quality here but we have to improve our consistency. Everybody has to be together and everybody has to work hard for each other.'' [LNB]Most observers predict applause but no points for Zola on his return to the Bridge. "If Chelsea are better than us, then fine but we will fight to the end. Chelsea have great players but they have some faults. We will see whether we have the strength to take advantage of those weaknesses.'' [LNB]Carlton Cole is expected to spearhead a 4-5-1 formation, testing the fortitude of John Terry. Zola knows Terry well and has been in touch "every now and then'' during the defender's off-field woes. "It's admirable,'' Zola said of the Chelsea fans' support for their controversial captain. [LNB]"They know he's got problems and issues but because he's a Chelsea legend everybody is sticking by him. That's great because he feels loved. Players really respond to that.'' Another Chelsea player Zola greatly admires, Joe Cole, seems unappreciated by Ancelotti. "Joe Cole was doing very, very well when he was here at West Ham. The reason why he didn't progress over there [at Chelsea] was maybe because he picked up injuries at important moments. [LNB]"If flair players produce something good for the team they are always very much appreciated. Some flair players are spectacular but sometimes not effective. Big players like Lionel Messi are very spectacular and very effective.'' [LNB]Zola loves talking about the beautiful practitioners of the game but what he craves currently are points, even if acquired in ugly fashion. Unfortunately for Zola, another Italian manager, Ancelotti, aims to prevent that. [LNB][LNB]Fabio Capello to look at Carlton Cole [LNB]Fabio Capello will on Saturday assess the merits of Carlton Cole, the West Ham United centre-forward who takes on Chelsea's John Terry at the Bridge. [LNB]With Capello planning to take Wayne Rooney, Jermain Defoe, Peter Crouch and Emile Heskey to the World Cup, Cole knows that a good display against Terry will give the watching England manager real food for thought. [LNB]Henry Winter[LNB]
