On this day 23 years ago, a certain Alexander Chapman Ferguson was appointed as the manager at Manchester United. Today Sir Alex is the most decorated manager in British football history.

His tactical genius, inspirational personality and tremendous focus have put him in a league above others. Probably the only indispensable chink in the Man United armory, his achievements speak for themselves but to dominate the game for two decades takes more than just tactical astuteness and good man management skills.

Eye for talent

“If we look after him the right way he is going to be one of the stars of football.”- on Ronaldo

Sir Alex’s ability to unearth raw talent and develop them into superstars is probably unmatched, though Arsene Wenger too is accomplished in this regard. What separates him from the rest though is that he doesn’t just spot a player’s skill; he can also judge one’s character and ability to perform under pressure. This was seen in the Champions League final when, Anderson, a teenager in his first season at the club, stepped up and coolly converted his penalty whereas, some more experienced and accomplished players failed to do so. Beckham, Giggs, Scholes, Vidic and Ronaldo were all relatively unknown when they arrived at the club but were instrumental in the European cup wins. Cantona, Schmeichel and van der Sar were signed in bargain deals.

Discipline

“You can never allow the players to run the football club and you can never allow the supporters to run the football club. Somebody has to be in charge, and the manager is the best man.”

He is known to maintain very high standards both on and off the pitch. His strict policy has seen superstars like Beckham, Stam and Nistelrooy thrown out of the club when they crossed the line. He also managed to bring the best out of Cantona, who had previously been involved in several scuffles with teammates and bosses. He has also helped hot-headed players like Rooney and Ferdinand get a grip over their temper. His now famous “hair-dryer treatment” has been lashed out to some of the biggest names in football.

Protecting his players

“Wayne understands, as Ryan Giggs understood and Cristiano understands, we will not ask him to climb the mountain tomorrow. The big danger with young players is always that you ask too much of them too quickly. We will let him mature and develop as easily as we can.”

Though a tough taskmaster, he has always protected his players during their rough patches. He kept Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney away from over-exposure to the media when the burst to the scene as “Wonder-kids”. He has constantly protected Rooney despite criticism for his lack of goals, stood behind Cantona during his infamous Kung-Fu kick incident and saved Ronaldo from the public’s wrath after the 2006 World Cup

Hunger for titles

“At the end of this game, the European Cup will be only six feet away from you and you’ll not even able to touch it if we lose. And for many of you that will be the closest you will ever get. Don’t you dare come back in here without giving your all.”- At half-time in the 99 Champs League final

Sir Alex is a born winner. He hates loosing and instills the same feeling in his players, an attitude which has seen his team win the Champions League final after trailing for most of the game and on another occasion saw Utd bounce back from a 3-0 deficit at half-time against Spurs to win 5-3. He has postponed retirement plans on several previous occasions insisting that he still has the desire to win more titles.

Whether it was the problem of getting his team accustomed to the different style of play in the European tournament in the 90’s or the more recent issue of the Rooney-Tevez pairing up-front, Sir Alex has always managed to find a way out of difficult situations.

When he started out his rivals were the likes of Souness, Venebles and Dalglish who despite being about the same age have faded away which shows that he has constantly evolved with the changing cultures in the football, in the process introducing revolutionary ideas and tactics (and even phrases like “squeaky-bum time”). While his attitude and tactical knowledge have put him at the top, it’s his personal drive and ability to evolve which have helped him stay there for more than two decades.

Eccentric style

“They say he’s an intelligent man, right? Speaks five languages! I’ve got a 15-year-old boy from the Ivory Coast who speaks five languages!” on Arsene Wenger

Sir Alex has at several times used the media to his advantage. Now famous for his mind games and mischievous swipes at opposition managers, he on several occasions has also lavished praise on his players in public. Never one to be afraid of taking a gamble, he dropped Jim Leighton ahead of the 1990 FA Cup final, signed a certain Eric Cantona, already famous for his indiscipline, and replaced most of his double winning squad with youngsters, in 1994, which prompted Alan Hanson to say “You’ll never win anything with kids”. Just like this time, he has forced his critics to eat their words on several occasions.

When this fiery Scot took over a talented but title hungry Man Utd in 1986, his sole aim was to knock Liverpool “off their perch”. 23 years on, he has achieved so much more. He has taken the club to heights that were not reached even during the time of the legendary Sir Matt Busby.

Unlike several other managers who now lay more emphasis on a patient and disciplined approach, as the financial stakes increase constantly, he has achieved it all while playing “the beautiful game” the way it should be played. As famous for his catchy one-liners as for his style of chewing gum, Sir Alex is held in the highest esteem among fans and rivals alike.

With his declaration that he wants a third Champions League title before retirement (straight after he won his second!), the man who reportedly was about to be sacked in 1990 has once again warned his rivals that the fire in him still burns.

“Alex has given Manchester United the most fantastic ride, and he has made the club what we always thought it was – number one” – Sir Bobby Charlton

Sir Alex Ferguson is assured legendary status in football and his achievements have been recognised by football fans worldwide – even those that prefer spending their days playing Football Manager than playing football.

Ferguson topped a poll carried out by Sports Interactive (makers Football Manager 2010) with 26 per cent of the vote.

Sir Alex is followed by the late, great Sir Bobby Robson (potentially a sympathy vote) with Liverpool manager Bill Shankly scored third spot and Brian Clough took fourth. Another Old Trafford legend, Sir Matt Busby, who despite Fergie’s efforts still holds the record as the longest serving Manchester United manager of all time, was voted into fifth place.

The top ten also included Sir Alf Ramsey, ‘Special One’ Jose Mourinho, Arsene Wenger, Bob Paisley with Jock Stein bringing up the rear.

The poll was taken by over 1,000 UK football fans (and is therefore should be titled ‘Greatest football managers in the UK’) – here’s the top 10 with their percentage of votes received:

Sir Alex Ferguson – 26%
Sir Bobby Robson – 14%
Bill Shankly – 9%
Brian Clough – 8%
Sir Matt Busby – 6%
Sir Alf Ramsey – 5%
Jose Mourihno – 4%
Arsene Wenger – 3%
Bob Paisley – 2%
Jock Stein – 1%

Football Manager 2010 is out in the stores on Friday 30th October and you can pre-order your copy right away.

Share your thoughts on who you think is the best football manager – past or present – in the comments below.

Former England manager Sir Bobby Robson has died of cancer aged 76. He had been battling the disease in various forms since 1992.

Robson will be best remembered for taking England to within a penalty-shoot out at the 1990 World Cup, but he also enjoyed success both domestically and with European clubs and had the kind of record that few modern managers can equal.

Born in County Durham in 1933, Robson gave up an electrician’s apprenticeship to sign for Fulham in 1950, aged 17. It would be one of only three teams he would play for in his career and during his time at Craven Cottage he scored 69 goals in 152 appearances.

His skill, pace and awareness on the pitch attracted both the attention of West Brom and England and in 1957 Robson was handed his England debut, where he netted twice in a 4-0 win over France.

But his international career was ended after injury in 1962 and he missed that year’s World Cup, and never played for his country again after earning 20 caps.

It was as a manager, though, that Robson far eclipsed his achievements as a player. He had unsuccessful spells at Vancouver Royals and Fulham, famously finding he’d be sacked by the latter by a billboard outside Putney station.

What followed next went on to cement Robson’s reputation as one of the best coaches England has produced.

Finding himself at Portman Road in 1969, Robson benefited from a hands-off approach from the club’s owners. In his 13 years at Ipswich, he established the club as a domestic and European force by winning both the FA Cup and UEFA Cup.

What’s more, he kept Ipswich punching above their weight and led them to two runners-up spot. The small team from Suffolk were punching above their weight and Robson was the reason for this.

He was also ahead of his time as a coach, bringing in foreign flair to his Ispwich team, and both Arnold Muhren and Frans Thijssen played a key part in bringing the UEFA Cup to Suffolk. Muhren went onto Manchester United and won the European Championship with Holland.

When England came calling in 1982 after Ron Greenwood stepped down, Robson got the call. Although it was a wrench to leave Portman Road, his record as the national boss is the World Cup finals was second only to Alf Ramsay.

Robson didn’t get off to the best start, failing to qualify for Euro ’84, in both 1986 and 1990 England became genuine contenders for the title.

Diego Maradonna’s inspired performance and famous ‘Hand of God’ account for England in 1986 and, despite dominating against Germany, missed penalties from Stuart Pearce and Chris Waddle saw England fall at the semi-final stage in 1990.

Despite England’s success in 1990, Robson endured a relentless barrage of hostile coverage in the run up to the tournament.

His team had been poor at Euro ’88 and, after being effectively told his contract wouldn’t be renewed after the World Cup, Robson fixed himself up with a job at PSV Einhoven – a move that was seen as treachery by the press.

But, by the time England returned home, Robson was given a hero’s welcome as his move to national treasure status began.

Lesser managers may have decided to call it a day after a successful World Cup run but Robson threw himself into management on the continent.

At PSV, he won back to back league titles, before doing a league and cup double at Porto and the Spanish Cup, Spanish Super Cup and European Cup Winners Cup at Barcelona, during which time he signed a young Brazilian forward known as Ronaldo.

But it was back home that he took on one of his biggest – and most personal – challenges. Newcastle United, his first love, were stuck in mid-table following the sacking of Ruud Gullit and ridden by player egos and attitudes.

Yet Robson maintained the fair but firm attitude than saw him succeed in some of Europe’s biggest clubs and soon his team containing the likes of Alan Shearer, Keiron Dyer, and Craig Bellamy challenged at the top of the table, finishing 3rd, 4th and 5th respectively. England even considered him as a stop-gap before Sven was appointed.

It was Robson’s failure to make headway in Europe combined with a slow start to the 2004/05 season that saw chairman Freddy Sheppherd dismiss the popular manager. But, always one to conduct himself with dignity, Robson never came across as bitter and remained well loved on Tyneside.

It was in 1992 that Robson was first diagnosed with cancer, yet it was a measure of the man that he beat the disease not just once but four times. In recent years, though, his health had been failing and a stroke plus two operations in 2006 saw him enter retirement.

Last year he launched the Bobby Robson foundation to raise money and awareness about cancer prevention, and last weekend saw The Bobby Robson Trophy charity match at St. James’ Park for this cause.

Robson, typically, insisted on meeting and speaking to all the players involved before the game. As ever, he received a rapturous reception from the fans, none of whom knew it would be the last time he would take a seat at the stadium.

In an era where football rivalries have become more pronounced, it said something that not one player nor fan had a bad word to say about Robson and while his presence loomed over the game, he was never the kind of manager to let his ego dictate his actions.

Warm, dignified and a brilliant manager, Bobby Robson’s influence extends to all parts of football, from Holland to Newcastle, from Ronaldo to Mourinho. Football has lost a true legend and the game will be all the poorer for his passing.

RIP Sir Bobby Robson 1933 – 2009

Some things in life are inevitable; Politicians will never win popularity contests. You will always have a soft spot for your first love. Police officers will look more and more like 15-year-olds the older you get and football managers will be sacked.

The demand for instant success ensures most managers will be sacked several times, with only two or three of them escaping the experience.

Premiership managers live in the spotlight almost 24/7 these days. Some take pressure in their stride whilst others constantly feel the strain and crumble underneath it. Managing at a big club the size of AC Milan or Real Madrid is a tall task, but outside a couple of clubs in Europe, there might not be a tougher place to manage in the entire world than in the Premier League.

The season hasn’t even started and already there are grumblings at a number of clubs regarding the current manager. But which one is destined to get the boot first? Well here’s my view on which Premiership managers are safe and those who could be looking for work before the end of the 2009/10 season.

Arsenal - Gooners fans are irritated by the club’s lack of silverware. Trophy-less for four years, Arsene Wenger’s legendary thriftiness in the transfer market needs to change if his growing band of critics are to be silenced. A blind man on a galloping horse can see a Vieira-like midfielder is essential and at least two more experienced players are needed too. Sack-race verdict: Still safe.

Aston Villa – Martin O’Neill’s men faded badly towards the end of last season when they looked like serious contenders for a Champions League spot at one stage. With several ‘big’ clubs sniffing around his younger players, particularly Ashley Young, the Irishman needs to hold on to these prize assets if Villa are going to move further forward. Sack-race verdict: Safe.

Birmingham City – Any manager of a newly-promoted club is vulnerable. Likely to yo-yo between the Premiership and Championship for the foreseeable future, avoiding relegation will be Blues one and only target this season. Alex McLeish is up for a scrap. You have to be resilient when you have ginger hair. Sack-race verdict: Safe (providing Blues are not in the bottom three at Christmas).

Blackburn Rovers – Sam Allardyce’s tactics suit Rovers perfectly. They are both boring. Hardly likely to challenge the top half of the table, I expect Blackburn to have another mediocre season with at least a flirtation with the bottom three at some point. Sack-race verdict: Vulnerable (though I wouldn’t want be the one who sacks him!)

Bolton Wanderers – Even if they won the Premiership this season and followed it by winning the Champions League, Bolton fans would still want Gary Megson to get the boot. Let’s face it Meggers has the charisma of a plant pot and he’s also got ginger hair. Not a great combination. Sack-race verdict: Very vulnerable.

Burnley – I’m old enough (unfortunately) to remember the last time the Clarets graced the top division with the likes of Steve Kindon and Paul Fletcher playing some very attractive football. Burnley thoroughly deserve their place in the Premiership and I hope they stay up. I fear they haven’t got a chance, though with Owen Coyle at the helm they will put up a good fight. Sack-race verdict: Safe (even if they do get relegated).

Chelsea - Big Phil was a big flop, Big Guus was a big hit and Big Chelsea need to win the Champions League. New man Carlo Ancelloti must deliver that elusive piece of silverware to the Kings Road pretty pronto. No-one doubts his pedigree, having won it twice as a player and twice as a manager, but the former AC Milan supremo will be under more pressure than any other Premiership manager. Sack-race verdict: Needs to win the Premiership at the very least.

Everton – David Moyes quietly gets on with the job and his reputation is growing all the time. Despite the lack of World-Class players, Everton’s 5th place finish last season is testament to Moyes qualities as a manager. Sack-race verdict: Rock solid (far more likely to go to a ‘big club’ than face the sack).

Fulham – Despite looking more like a favourite uncle, Roy Hodgson was arguably the Premiership’s top manager last season. Anyone who could transform rag-bag Fulham into a respected club must be admired. The Cottagers never really looked like being involved in a relegation battle and I believe they have enough quality to survive again this time round. Sack-race verdict: Safe.

Hull City – The second half of last season is likely to be mirrored throughout the entire campaign next time round. The Tigers victories at Arsenal and Spurs were tremendous. Treasured memories to be savoured, as it will be a long, long time before occasions like these come round again. Many consider Phil Brown’s infamous half-time blast of his players at Manchester City in December to be the turning point in Hull’s season. Unfortunately for the tanned one, it was an embarrassing turn for the worse. Sack-race verdict: Very, very vulnerable. A serious candidate for the first Premiership sacking of the season.

Liverpool – The Reds astonishing victory at Old Trafford proves they can beat anyone on their day. The problem is ‘their day’ doesn’t come round as often as it does for Manchester United, as illustrated by the two tame 0-0 draws against Stoke City. Every season is billed as a make-or-break season for Rafa Benitez, and with the distraction of huge financial problems at Anfield, the situation is unlikely to change. Rafa needs to do all he can to keep Torres and Gerrard fit. Liverpool aren’t the same when they’re missing. Sack-race verdict: Vulnerable.

Manchester City – With a seemingly endless supply of cash burning a hole in his pocket, Mark Hughes should be feeling like the proverbial kid in a sweetshop. Unfortunately for Sparky when it comes to charisma he’s a close second to Gary Megson, with an expression akin to a politician caught fiddling expenses. Unless World-Class players are attracted to Eastlands, and City are in the top six by the end of September, Hughes may be looking for alternative employment. Sack-race verdict: Put your shirt on Hughes being the first Premiership manager to be shown the door. Perhaps even before the season starts.

Manchester United – For my money United’s defeat in the Champions League is the best thing to happen in English football. Apart from the Old Trafford faithful, who wants to see them win everything year after year? Certainly not me. Hopefully, the endemic arrogance which runs throughout the club has taken a knock. With endless talk of Tevez walking and Ronaldo’s Real Madrid move perhaps United won’t be as invincible in the Premiership. Even if they had Deidre Barlow and Rita Sullivan playing in the centre of defence they’d still be the team to beat. Need I say anything about Sir Alex Ferguson’s job security? Sack-race verdict: More likely to sack the board than the other way round.

Portsmouth – It all started to fall apart as soon as Harry R ran off to White Hart Lane. Whoever took the decision to promote Tony Adams as Redknapp’s successor clearly had a sense of humour. Everyone else knew it would be a disaster. Latecomer Paul Hart did a good job in steering Pompey to a very creditable 14th place finish, but he’s likely to be overlooked for the manager’s job by prospective new owner Sulaiman al Fahim. Sack-race verdict: Vulnerable (whoever is in charge).

Stoke City – The Britannia Stadium was an absolute fortress last season and the Potters can afford to drop plenty of points away again if life at home remains the same. If you’ve ever had a night out in Stoke you’ll know what a hostile place it is. Visiting teams just don’t like it there. Tony Pullis made sure his charges played to their strengths and, providing City don’t suffer from second season syndrome, they’ll be OK. Sack-race verdict: Safe.

Sunderland – Like Birmingham City, Sunderland have become a yo-yo club bouncing between the top two divisions. Appointing Steve Bruce as the club’s new “Gaffer” could be a real masterstroke. He’s never had a lot of money to play with and should be fine working without a massive budget. He has the skills and experience to stabilise Sunderland and keep them in the Premiership. Brucey may have been a better bet for Newcastle than Shearer. Time will tell. Sack-race verdict: Safe.

Tottenham Hotspur – I was genuinely surprised when Harry Redknapp turned up at the Lane. I didn’t see that coming at all and wasn’t convinced it would work out at the time. Shows what I know! An inspiration appointment. Having steadied what was fast becoming a sinking ship last season I expect Harry to take the club further this time round. Sack-race verdict: Rock solid.

West Ham United – With the “under new ownership” sign going up on Monday, it will be interesting to see how everything maps out at Upton Park in the next few months. The club’s new Chairman, Andrew Bernhardt, has already publicly backed Gianfranco Zola, but that is often the kiss of death. Hopefully the new owners will bring stability to the club, allowing the Hammers to move forward with optimism and confidence. Sack-race verdict: Vulnerable.

Wigan Athletic – Chairman Dave Whelan overcame his disappointment at losing Steve Bruce to Sunderland by bringing in Roberto Martinez from Swansea City. Martinez was a huge hit during his playing days with Wigan and the little Spaniard’s popularity could sky-rocket this time around. Swansea fans were devastated to see him go as his brand of free-flowing football won the club many admirers over the last couple of years. Bruce is a hard act to follow, but Martinez should be more than capable of building on his legacy. Sack-race verdict: Safe.

Wolverhampton Wanderers – Like all newly promoted clubs, Wolves will inevitably find it tough. Having tasted the Premiership a few seasons ago may help, but the lack of quality players will inevitably make Wolves one of the favourites to go straight back down into the Championship. In Mick McCarthy they have a manager who has seen it and done it all before and his experience will be invaluable if they are to survive. McCarthy “tells it like it is”. An admirable quality in any man, but a policy which sometimes gets him into trouble. Sack-race verdict: Very vulnerable.

It will be interesting to see how my thoughts map out over the coming months. One thing is for sure; there will be a few casualties! Some may come as a shock to all of us. Place your bets now.

In life there are only a handful of things that are certain. You will watch Big Brother. It will irritate you. MPs will lie through their back teeth (and their front ones). Summer does make girls more attractive. And makes you feel less so. People who ring in radio stations with traffic updates are idiots.

And then there is the transfer window. That beautifully annoying invention that basically restricts trade in what should, theoretically, be a free market. That rumour-filled bearpit where the slightest whisper can suddenly become the dominant story, not just in football, but in society it would seem. MPs expenses or Ronaldo to Real? You decide? New series of Big Brother or David Villa’s future? Your choice.

The silly season is officially here, and if you listen to what you read and hear, there are more futures up in the air this summer than at an EasyJet recruitment convention.

Starting with the managers. Guus Hiddink had barely vacated his makeshift office at Chelsea by the time Carlo Ancelotti had arrived, laden with Versace luggage. The Italian will take command at Stamford Bridge officially from July 1st, but talk, incredibly, is already beginning to edge towards potential successors to his throne should he fail to deliver the kind of success Roman Abramovich apparently demands with such passion.

Elsewhere in the Premier League, Sunderland have moved swiftly to replace Ricky Sbragia- who departed tearfully minutes after his side had avoided relegation on the final day of the season- with Wigan’s Steve Bruce. Bruce’s Newcastle connections have been played up neatly by the media, but ignoring such playground mentality will enable Black Cats fans to see they have made what looks a very shrewd appointment. The fact that Bruce’s Wigan finished five places above Sunderland last season would confirm this. Certainly his appointment makes a lot more sense than the one touted by Roberto Mancini prior to Bruce’s appointment. One wonders if the former Inter Milan chief had received some sort of prank call as he gleefully announced that he was all set to arrive at the Stadium of Light, before being forced into an embarrassed climb-down only days later.

And for every departure, there must be an arrival of course. The Bruce-shaped hole at Wigan will be filled- metaphorically speaking- by Swansea’s Roberto Martinez, subject to the agreement of a compensation package. Martinez has made steady progress at the Liberty Stadium, but as a former Wigan favourite, and with his reputation significantly enhanced by the aesthetic qualities of his Championship outfit, the time seems perfect for a step up into the top-flight.

Even outside of the Premier League, things are looking strange. Steve Coppell’s vacation of the Reading hotseat in the wake of their Play-Off semi final defeat to Premiership newboys Burnley meant that chairman John Madejski had to act quickly. An approach for Peterborough’s Darren Ferguson was rebuked, so in sauntered Watford boss Brendan Rogers. Rogers had only just taken delivery of a personalised name-plate for his office at Vicarage Road before he was digging out his suitcase and zooming from Hertfordshire to Berkshire, having spent just five months at Watford.

And the Championship’s most illustrious disastrous club, Newcastle, should not be forgotten. Alan Shearer has already made the least surprising U-Turn since Sven-Goran Eriksson tried to walk past Ulrika Jonsson’s hotel room by announcing his intention to stay on as manager at St James’ Park, but the ownership situation on Tyneside has meant that such an appointment has been forced to stay on ice. Good news for Joe Kinnear then, who was set to sign a two-year contract this summer before the arrival of a sharp dressed messiah put him firmly in the shade.

And then there is Celtic. Wee Gordon Strachan, patronising nickname notwithstanding, decided the time was right to bring an end to his four year stay in Glasgow in the wake of a disappointing end to the SPL season, and will not be particularly missed by certain sections of Parkhead. But Hoops fans who have long questioned the credentials of a flame haired former Aberdeen man would be wise to remember the old adage “Be careful what you wish for” as former Wycombe & Portsmouth failure Tony Adams throws his hat into the ring for the role of Strachan’s replacement. Unless Adams has been receiving the same kind of calls as Mr Mancini- unlikely considering the pair’s background differences- it is a worrying situation for Celtic, especially with more suitable candidates in David Moyes & Owen Coyle distancing themselves from the inevitable speculation, and Tony Mowbray keeping an equally low profile.

So what about the players? Well the football world has been riddled skulduggery in the past twenty years anyway, but this summer things look set to escalate. If it isn’t nailed down it is unsafe, so it would seem. Cristiano Ronaldo’s will-he-won’t he move to Real Madrid this year may well be the most tiresome saga since, erm, last years saga of the same name, but with Florentino Perez targeting players like Big Brother contestants target fame, it is likely to rumble on long into the summer.

Real are not looking to stop at Ronaldo either, they have already secured Villarreal coach Manuel Pellegrini to lead the revolution, a notoriously ego-free coach in a notoriously egotistical club is a dangerous thought. Spanish football writer Sid Lowe was asked this week to predict Real’s starting eleven for next season, and incredibly went for this- Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Bruno Alves, Gael Clichy, Ronaldo, Xabi Alonso, Lassana Diarra, Franck Ribery, Kaka, Diego Forlan/David Villa. Impressive to say the least, and such transfers would set in motion an incredible snowballing effect surely, with ripples felt as far north as….well, Manchester I suppose.

Of those signings, Alonso looks unlikely. Liverpool’s owners may well be losing more money than Steve Claridge in Cheltenham week, but with Gareth Barry having swapped sixth placed Aston Villa for tenth placed Manchester City in a bid to secure Champions League football, Alonso is expected to stay on Merseyside. One man who resisted overtures from City, Kaka, is high on Madrid’s wishlist, and sources close to the club and the player claim a world-record deal is close to completion, despite rumoured interest from Chelsea.

Should Kaka leave Milan then it will give Silvio Berlusconi & Adriano Galliani license to spend some of their lucre in a more flamboyant manner, although the likelihood is that they will offer the lot to LA Galaxy for three more weeks of David Beckham. Emmanuel Adebayor has long been on their list, although English media reports suggest that Chelsea may make a bid to gazump them in that respect, providing they can wake the Togolese striker up from his twelve month slumber in the meantime.

Chelsea are supposed to be spending big this summer. After all, they only paid £14m for a right back to replace their £13.2m one last summer, along with £9m for a luxury midfielder, following a £25m splurge in the January 08 window. Small fry. Kaka & Adebayor aside, rumours abound that David Villa, Franck Ribery and….erm…Daniel Sturridge will be arriving at Stamford Bridge, though no concrete bid has been reported as of yet.

And what of Manchester United. Ronaldo and Tevez are looking able to leave, whilst Berbatov looks barely able to run, but Ferguson is a wily old fox. Having already added two Serbian stars in Zoran Tosic & Adam Ljajic in January, the man from Govan is likely to be looking bigger this summer, with Ribery, Lyon’s Karim Benzema, and even Arjen Robben spotted apparently. Should Ronaldo leave, the funds freed up would arguably cover two of those players, though little has been said by the man himself. He has left that to rent-a-quote Ronaldo.

Liverpool meanwhile are looking a little bit less adventurous in the wake of their owners’ confirmed £42m losses last year, a £2m bid for Portsmouth’s Sylvain Distin is unlikely to get pulses racing, and there are fears that they may be priced out of a move for Tevez, Valencia duo Villa & Silva, or even another Portsmouth defender in Glen Johnson. Still, Andriy Voronin is back from a loan spell in Germany, and Jermaine Pennant will return from Portsmouth too. Like having two new signings that.

At Arsenal, Arsene Wenger is scouring Football Manager searching for young talent. The signing of Andrey Arshavin in January may have bucked the transfer trend at the Emirates, but Wenger will be more concerned about rumoured interest in Robin Van Persie & Cesc Fabregas from Barcelona at the moment, with Thierry Henry & Aliaksandr Hleb doubtless whispering sweet nothings in their ears. Barcelona are looking to add a left back to their European Cup winning squad, so don’t be surprised to see Gael Clichy appear on their radar at some point also.

And what of Manchester City of course. Barry’s arrival, said Mark Hughes, will not be the last. They have already been linked with 4562 players, including Samuel Eto’o (unlikely), Xabi Alonso (very unlikely) and Carlos Tevez (ridiculous). Armed with cash, expect City to get hold of some eye-catching signings before August is out. And then expect them to still be inconsistent and self-destuctive.

Elsewhere there have already been some big moves, Bayern Munich’s response to missing out on the Bundesliga title was a big money splurge on VfB Stuttgart’s goal-machine Mario Gomez, to add to Zenit St Petersburg skipper Anatoliy Tymoschuk, moves which could well pave the way for Ribery to depart for Real, Barca, Manchester United or Chelsea. Two of their rivals have already been weakened then, Diego swapping the green of Bremen for the stripes of Juventus, who have also recaptured (and it isn’t hard considering how slow he moves these days) Fabio Cannavaro from Real Madrid.

Serie A champions Inter have already made moves to strengthen also, swapping Ricardo Quaresma & Hernan Crespo for Genoa duo Diego Milito & Thiago Motta, with doubts lingering over the future of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, although his wage demands and apparent lack of success in Europe may see him remain at the San Siro.

So with Ronaldo going to Real, meaning Ribery goes to United, meaning Hleb goes to Bayern, and Fabregas goes to Barca, so Kalou goes to Arsenal, so Villa goes to Chelsea, so Drogba goes to Milan, so Kaka goes to Real, so Van der Vaart goes to Arsenal, so Van Persie goes to Barca, so Eto’o goes to City, and so forth until we all experience an aneurism, expect the spectacular, expect the astonishing, expect the unexpected. Expect to get slightly bored by it all and start watching the Ashes. I know I will.

With the recent appointment of Carlo Ancelotti as the new Chelsea manager and the recent announcement that Andriy Shevchenko will be coming back to the Bridge now that his one-year loan deal with AC Milan has expired, there are questions being asked of what Ancelotti / Chelsea will do with the 32-year-old striker.

While Shevchenko and many Chelsea fans are not optimistic about his future at the Bridge, Sheva still has great potential to finish his career in style and justify the money that was spent on him. The article discusses the following points:

1. Why Shevchnko did not live up to his potential at Chelsea
2. How Chelsea could have made better use of the Ukrainian international
3. Why Shevchenko deserves one more season as a Chelsea starter under Ancelotti.

The time was fall of 1997 and the place was one that has become extremely familiar to Chelsea fans recently – the 98,000 capacity stadium in Barcelona – Camp Nou. The Spanish champions were taking on the 5 time Ukrainian Champions Dinamo Kiev in the Champions League group stage. After losing 3-0 to Dinamo in their hometown, Barcelona, led by Van Gaal, was looking to bounce back from their shocking defeat.

However, Barcelona had their hopes demolished by half-time after a hat trick from a phenomenal young Ukrainian – his name was Andrei Shevchenko. Would any blue-blooded Chelsea fan seriously say that they would not have wanted that Shevchenko to have played on the starting squad against Barcelona in this year’s semi-final?

Ever since Andrei Shevchenko joined Chelsea for a record transfer fee of 30 million pounds in the summer of 2006, it appeared inevitable that with such a star studded team; Chelsea would reign supreme over England and Europe. After nearly three years have passed, various pundits, analysts, and Chelsea mangers from Jose Mourinho to Felipe Scolari have leveled severe criticism about my hometown hero’s lackluster performance. However, those former Chelsea managers never used Sheva properly as they did not understand him.

First of all, in order to understand how Shevchenko operates, you must first understand Valeriy Lobanovsky, the old Dinamo Kiev manager whose unique philosophy made him the star that he eventually became. Shevchenko has stated on many occasions that he owes all of his success to his deceased old manager and he went as far as leaving his Champions League medal on his grave.

In a nutshell, Lobanovsky (a plumber by trade) was a pioneer in football theory when he became the first Soviet Manager in the 1960’s to request a computer to be used by his football club. The theory he developed was dubbed “scientific football” in which certain numerical values were assigned to each “action” in the game such as tackles, passes, and shots. (Foer 159, “How Soccer Explains the World”) and the computer would calculate each player’s “intensively” (tackles and goal shots), “activity” (tackles and passes), “error rate” (unsuccessful actions), and “effectively” (tackles, goals, assists, passes).

Lobanovsky considered the football team to be a collective (not unlike the Borg) and judged how each individual contributed to the team’s overall performance without specific positions for players. While this led to a focus on defense, it created highly disciplined teams and largely kept egos in place. He saw pace and cohesion as the keys to victory. Not only were his teams much fitter than opposing sides, the players also seemed to have a near-telepathic understanding of each other. A result perhaps of one of his favourite drills: blindfolded five-a-side matches.

When Lobanovsky took over the struggling Dinamo again in the fall of 1996, he implemented the system once again and stated that the team is a collective and not centered on individuals. Hence, the victory over the individual focused Barcelona a year later was not only due to Shevchenko’s brilliance, but each player doing their part in making the defense, the midfield, and the strikers effective.

After Shevchenko joined AC Milan in ‘99, the team, under Carlo Ancelotti (2001-2009) eventually adapted somewhat to Shevchenko’s collectively oriented style by having the team work together in an almost Christmas tree formation to get the maximum number of goals to Shevchenko and his partner up front Inzaghi. The Balon d’Or and the CL goal scoring records set by Shevchenko overlooked the fact that AC Milan, similar to Dinamo Kiev in the 1990’s was a well oiled machine that worked tirelessly on all parts of the pitch to make the team succeed. Shevchenko was simply performing his role to his best ability.

Since Roman Abramovich acquired Chelsea in 2003, his eyes were set on the brilliant striker. However, the owner of Milan, Silvio Berlusconi, who became Shevchenko’s Godfather, did everything possible to hold on to his “son” until Roman finally made the offer Silvio could not refuse – the record breaking £30.8 million pound transfer in May of 2006. At this point Roman was becoming very impatient with Mourinho’s Chelsea coming up short of winning the Champions League and decided to “help out” Jose by acquiring Ballack , Kalou and Shevchenko against the manager’s wishes. As a result, Shevchenko was in a bad situation from the start as the Chelsea midfield became destabilized while the manager was not happy to have him.

To elaborate, from 2004 to 2006 the Chelsea midfield had been very cohesive with the combination of Lampard and the Iceland international Eiour Godjohnsen, who was one of the most versatile players around as he had performed as a central-midfielder; as a right or left winger; as a holding-defensive midfielder or as a striker. He was replaced by the slower and older Ballack who just did not seem to give the necessary effort. Hence, the midfield feeding mechanism to the strikers such as Drogba, Shevchenko and Kalou had become weak. In addition, Shevchenko, in spite of being tired after Ukraine’s World Cup performance and having to go from a very mild Mediterranean climate in Milan to the cold and humid climate of England compounded the problem.

Despite all of this, Shevchenko scored in his Chelsea debut in the Community Shield in the 2-1 loss to Liverpool, and quickly delivered again in his first Premier League goal against Middlesborough. After this, Shevchenko’s exhaustion caught up with him and he fell into a bit of a drought. The back-to-back trophy-winning Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho blamed all of Chelsea’s problems on Shevchenko and benched him as a result. He went as far as saying that Shevchenko considered himself above the other players and was expecting preferential treatment. However, Jose was wrong to have Shevchenko take the blame as an individual for the collective lackluster performance of the team.

The breakdown of the locker room atmosphere at Chelsea has been well chronicled in Claude Makalele’s recent biography Tout Simplementu. “For two years at Chelsea we lived as a group of friends, dining together, getting drunk together, going to training together and winning matches together,” wrote the French international. The team resembled Lobonovsky’s vision of a collective. But then all of a sudden Mourinho broke the solidarity by treating certain players that he was instrumental in acquiring such as Drogba as stars.

The catalyst for this may have been Roman encouraging the team to play a more open and offensive oriented game, which Jose flatly refused to do. He began treating players that he perceived as being close to the Roman such as Shevchenko and Terry with contempt. Makelele was stunned that the “Special One” had forgotten to value the contribution of players and began taking credit for all success and blaming individual players for any failures. “He no longer believed that players were responsible for success but only his methods did.” In short, Jose’s ego was clouding his judgment.

In response, Roman, who was obviously good friends with Shevchenko due to a common language and perhaps not wanting to see his investment wasted, forced Jose to play Sheva. Andrei proved to be invaluable in the FA Cup when he scored the goal of the year on January 19th, 2007 against Tottenham by curling the ball into the Spurs net from an impossible angle. He would prove equally useful in the Champions League by scoring key equalizers against Valencia in the Group Stage and Porto in the Quarterfinals. Unfortunately, an untimely injury and the subsequent hernia operation would keep him out at the end of the season when Chelsea needed him most.

All in all, despite all of the problems, Shevchenko ended up having an adequate season with 14 goals, well short of his 24 goals for Milan in the award winning year of 2004 but by no means was a terrible performance as Jose implied. Shevchenko gave the following explanation: “The real problem is that I cannot find any continuity. I was doing well this season, scoring seven goals in my last 10 matches, but then I suffered a back injury. Before I am judged I would like to enjoy a decent run in the side now that I have adapted to English football. Italian football is about tactics and logic, whereas England is different, it is all about speed and instinct.”

During the summer, Shevchenko did everything he could to get back in shape and work on his speed after surgery, even going as far as training with an Olympic sprinter to bring himself up to form. Roman even brought in Avram Grant as Director of Football to help Andrei, which was interpreted by Jose’s as undermining his authority. However, the training would prove to be useful as Andrei scored the equalizing goal to prevent a humiliating loss to Rosenborg BK in the Champions League Group Game. Apparently, Jose could not stand Grant and Roman being right and left “by mutual consent” as a result. It appeared that now under Grant as head coach Shevchenko would finally shine. Unfortunately, Shevchenko only scored 5 goals in the Premier League that season and Grant appeared to have given up on him when he transferred in former gunner Nicholas Anelka to essentially take Shevchenko’s spot as backup striker, leaving Shevchenko on the bench once again.

When Scolari took over the Chelsea reigns in the summer of 2008, he promised to give Shevchenko a “fresh start” but later contradicted himself by playing Deco in his place in the season opener against Portsmouth. Shevchenko was sent on loan to Milan and has begun regained his form. His goal against England in the World Cup qualifier illustrated his resurgence.

The newly appointed Chelsea manager and Sheva’s old AC Milan manager, Carlo Ancelotti, stated that Chelsea’s mistake was that they did not use Shevchenko properly by persistently using the one-striker system with Drogba upfront rather than being more flexible and adjusting the midfield to feed the ball to two strikers (Drogba and Sheva) upfront like Milan did. In addition, Shevchenko never prospered because he never felt welcome in London – mostly because of Jose’s arrogance. The unjustified blame game under Mourinho certainly took its toll on him and likely hurt his subsequent performance.

All in all, with Drogba facing a possible 5 match ban from the Champions League, the Boys in Blue are in dire need of a second striker besides Anelka. In my humble opinion, Shevchenko could fill this role provided that the team is willing to accept him and the midfield is willing to adjust to accommodate the two striker strategy.

Why spend another 30 million pounds on Tevez or David Villa when Chelsea already has Sheva under contract and the real problem is in the midfield? Just like a roofer would not spend money on buying a customized golden drill bit when the drill battery is dead and the power cord is broken, Chelsea must fix the truly broken part of its team (midfield) rather than spending enormous sums fixing something that is working reasonably well (offense).

Despite his age of 32 (top players like Zidane, Beckham, Pele, Maldini played well into their 30’s), Shevchenko still has the skills and now has something to prove to Chelsea fans. Under Ancelotti, who understands Sheva and how to make a team play a common strategy rather than a group of individuals, Sheva may once again become the top striker we know him to be.

Sources: How Soccer Explains the World by Franklin Foer

Additional research and reporting by Mark Gallinsky.

Steve Bruce has been announced as new Sunderland manager after the North East club finally agreed a compensation package with Wigan and personal terms with Bruce himself.

The delay in concluding the deal was attributable to Bruce’s demand for a profitable ‘Image Rights’ package, it is rumoured. Bruce’s resemblance to former Robot Wars hero Shunt has proven very profitable during and since the BBC 2 shows run, with spin off t-shirts and lunch boxes selling well to petrolheads the world over.

Bruce will replace former manager Ricky Sbragia who resigned shortly after he had managed to keep the Wearsiders out of the drop zone (a Robot Wars hazard), despite losing four of the last five games.

As he passes a tearful Roberto Mancini, who apparently thought just ‘showing up’ would have bagged him the job, and enters his new office, there will be a briefcase crammed with around £60m of Ellis Short’s money, money which has been earmarked for summer transfers and money which is undoubtedly the most contributing factor in his decision to swap the North West for the North East. Wigan will never have that sort of cash available, not until they are taken over by their very own oil rich, PhD wielding Arabian gentleman at least.

Bruce, who has signed a 3 year contract, described his new role as “the perfect job at the perfect time” adding “this is what I’ve always wanted, a big club”. Sunderland, while clearly have a bigger fan base and stadium, did finish five places below Wigan last season, indicating Bruce believes his new clubs financial muscle will allow him to go out and make serious improvements to the current playing staff.

Indeed he may be tempted to return to the JJB and take the likes of Antonio Valencia, Maynor Figueroa and Paul Scharner back with him to The Stadium of Light. Maybe even Titus Bramble. Or maybe not.

Bruce, a (former) Newcastle fan, will find his first challenge and arguably most difficult will be to win over the Sunderland fans, who wont be thrilled their new manager is a Geordie. He quickly made light of the issue, wryly stating “I hope I can do as well as Bob Stokoe” as he was unveiled by Niall Quinn. Stokoe, a Sunderland legend, led the Black Cats to FA Cup glory in 1973, having previously given 10 years playing service to Newcastle.

Of course, this appointment leaves the Wigan hotseat vacant. It only took the name ‘Roberto’ to be mentioned in the gossip columns for Mancini to speed off in his Ferrari in the vague direction of Dave Whelan’s house, intent on offering his managerial services to the Latics chairman. Imagine his horror when he is informed it is Swansea City boss Roberto Martinez that is wanted. The spaniard, who played for Wigan for 6 years, is the bookmakers favourite to get the job.

Last weekend’s FA Cup final merely served to rubberstamp what we all knew anyway, Guus Hiddink is something of a managerial genius. Indeed, it is a testament to how the Dutchman has gotten his Chelsea side to perform over these past 3 months, that even when Everton opened the scoring at Wembley, there was still an inevitable sense that they would recover to turn it around.

So it proved, with the Blues of SW6 clicking into gear and putting in a display typical of the Hiddink era, effortlessly overpowering their Merseyside opponents on the way to one of the most comfortable 2-1 wins you are ever likely to see.

But despite the near perfect ending, the wily old Dutch master will have left Wembley on Saturday, after all the celebrations, the cigar smoking and the dancing with Roman Abramovich had finished, with the nagging sense that there is unfinished business between him and the Kings Road club. Hiddink knows that while his Chelsea record of 22 games, 16 wins, 5 draws and a solitary defeat may be outstanding and the Cup win memorable, the real prizes have eluded him.

The man from Varsseveld is nothing if not a born winner, and the fact that he arrived at Chelsea too late to mount a serious Premier League challenge, and that his side were desperately unlucky not to reach the Champions League final will be scant consolation to him. In particular, that most dramatic of nights at Stamford Bridge against Barcelona will live long in the memory, with the sense of injustice still as strong now as it was then, as he admitted in the build up to Saturday’s Final.

Equally for Chelsea, a period of transition is on the horizon, and they need desperately to re-establish some kind of stability. Star performers like Lampard, Carvalho, Ballack and Drogba are all north of 30, and soon thoughts will have to go to who is going to replace them. Another worry is the form of goalkeeper Petr Cech, who has developed a David James-like Jekyll and Hyde approach to goalkeeping, whereby stunning saves are followed up swiftly by Sunday League howlers. These are both problems and they need to be addressed, but at the minute it is impossible for any kind of long-term plans to be implemented with the revolving door policy the club has, with new man Carlo Ancelotti being the 7th of Abramovich’s reign.

Stability of course is going to be difficult to find when everybody at the club, from the chairman to the players to the fans really knows that the manager they want, they can’t have. Such is the strong feeling for Hiddink around that particular area of South London, it is almost an impossible job for any new manager, even one as decorated as Carlo Ancelotti.

Looking at it objectively, Ancelotti may well be the better man for Chelsea. Two recent Champions League wins and the ability to get the most out of players older than time itself, it seems a match made in heaven. But in football, perception is 9/10ths of the law, and the current perception at Chelsea is that Hiddink is the man for the job, and anyone else is effectively just keeping his seat in the dugout warm. The Italian will need to win over the entire club, without being able to speak any real English or having any experience of English football, an uphill task to say the least.

Ancelotti’s English is improving, but it’s far from perfect, and it’s going to prove to be a massive obstacle to overcome. You could argue that not being fluent in the language has been no barrier for Fabio Capello, but the day to day running of club management is a world apart from that at international level, especially at Chelsea.

The Stamford Bridge dressing room is one filled with big ego’s that need the kind of man management that the likes of Hiddink and Mouriniho can offer, and it’s hard to see Ancelotti inspiring a similar level of devotion among his players without being able to speak the language.

There will be a brief honeymoon period, after all, Ancelotti’s past achievements deserve that at least, but after a couple of early season losses the vultures will start to circle. The spectre of Hiddink is one that will loom large over Stamford Bridge, and it is likely that fans and players alike at Chelsea will always have at least one eye on the fortunes of the Russian side, hoping that they fail to qualify for the World Cup.

Indeed, should Russia be unsuccessful in their quest to reach the finals in South Africa, Hiddink will be available from around October time onwards. Can a man even as reknowned as Ancelotti succeed with the Dutch master waiting in the wings on his white horse ready to save Chelseas season all over again?

The result? Inevitable. As good a manager as Carlo Ancelotti is, he appears to be on a hiding to nothing, and Hiddink will return to Chelsea. It is only a matter of when.

Update: Chelsea have announced that Carlo Ancelotti will take over as manager in a 3-year deal.

Carlo Ancelotti’s contract at AC Milan has been terminated by mutual consent and technical director Leonardo will replace Ancelotti as manager next season.

Ancelotti:

“In agreement with the club, we have decided to bring forward the expiry of my contract. This beautiful adventure at Milan is over. I can’t say anything else official. I have not made any agreement with any other club. I am certainly not staying in Italy.

I have agreed to leave Milan. The decision was by mutual consent. But a move to London is not certain yet.”

Ancelotti had previously stated that he was 100% certain to stay at Milan next year (perhaps it’s part of his contract to lie?) but had added: “I am open to anything. It’s obvious I would say yes if you ask me if I would love to coach Chelsea.”

And as it has been reported elsewhere, Ancelotti has written in his autobiography – ‘Preferisco La Coppa’ (I Prefer The Cup) – that he met Abramovich last year and recommended that they sign Ribery and Alonso to turn Chelsea into a team that plays attractive football.

Although there has been no official statement from Chelsea, it is expected that Ancelotti will be signed as Chelsea manager next week. Earlier, Michael Ballack who has verbally agreed to extend his contract by another year, had said that about the Ancelotti deal that: “It’s not done yet but it looks like he will be coach.”

The question now is whether Leonardo will be able to deliver on the expectations placed on AC Milan, and also where this leaves Frank Rijkaard, who has been out of management for an year and was expected to re-enter management this summer with Chelsea or AC Milan reportedly his most likely destinations.

Who will be Chelsea’s manager next season?

Whilst the fans ferventely hope that it is current interim boss Guus Hiddink who stays in his position, the chances of the Dutch mastermind staying on are quite slim – considering he’s told everyone he’s not staying, as has the chairman. The bookies have been taking bets on everyone from ex Barca gaffer Frank Riijkard to Mourinho to Mourinho’s predecessor, Roberto Mancini.

But one name that has been overlooked quite a fair bit is current Everton manager David Moyes. The Scot took over at the Merseyside club in 2002, and has transformed a once mid table side into one of the most consistent and talented teams in the Premier League. Some have even forget that under Moyes led Everton to a top four finish in 2005 – something that the much-hyped Tottenham and Aston Villa teams have been unable to manage in recent years – on, importantly, lesser funds than the aforementioned teams.

His transfer dealings are impressive, with some of the best players in England’s top division brought in. Some of those names include Australian Tim Cahill, goalscoring centreback Joseph Yobo, the talented Mikel Arteta, custodian Tim Howard and also Joleon Lescott, fierce striker Yakubu, rated left-back Leighton Baines and many more. That’s an impressive list of players, all brought in hardly earth-shattering fees. Indeed, the most he has paid is fifteen million for Marioque Fellaini, who proved to be a great acquisition this season. Imagine the possibilities at hardly cash strapped Chelsea.

Also important to note in Moyes’ CV is his persistence in Everton’s 2004 campaign which had many board members and fans crying foul of conspiracy and turmoil. He managed to keep his head up during these turbulent times, even during Wayne Rooney’s dragged out transfer to Manchester United.

As Andy Burham, the Secretary for Sport, Music and Culture in England has said:

“Mr.David Moyes is probably a fine example to everybody in Government of stability and making the right decisions for the long term.”

Sounds impressive, what the Pensioners need in their new manager and what Chelsea could and should, be taking on board when it comes to decision time for Hiddink’s successor.

Hopefully there is never a decision time though…

Troy Palmer writes on The Chelsea Blue.