Another aggravated assault over the weekend has landed a 19 year-old Boise man behind bars.

Monday, June 16th, 2008

By the time Chelsea’s managerial pursuit had officially begun, with the sacking of Avram Grant in May, it appeared that they had limited options to choose from. Sven Goran Eriksson, thought to be Roman Abramovich’s first choice back in 2003 after ‘purely a social meeting’, had already been courting the Mexican FA after being axed by Thaksin Shinawatra. Frank Rijkaard was mentioned, but he hasn’t enjoyed as much success as he did whilst Henk Ten Cate was involved with the coaching at Barca.

Ten Cate is also a man who, ironically, has also just been sacked by Chelsea. Marco van Basten had already signed a contract to take over at Ajax after this summer’s Euro tournament, back in February. Similarly, Jurgen Klinsmann was already in line to replace the retiring Ottmar Hitzfeld at Bayern Munich, a deal that was arranged at the turn of this year. AC Milan claim that Carlo Ancelotti has been pursued by Chelsea, yet would he have even been the right man for the Russian owner so adamant on his footballing investments playing an attacking brand? Ancelotti has come under fire for favouring a defensive style of football, and could well have ended up like Capello under the Madrid regime of you’re out if you win ugly.

You have to give credit where it is due though, and Scolari did mastermind three successive international tournament knock-outs to the English national team. It just strikes me as odd that if you are scouting the Euro internationals for footballing talent, in terms of both players, and managers, then why not go for one of the up and coming coaches who are certain to have successes in front of them given the right opportunities.

In the English leagues stability and success seem synonymous. Look at Manchester United and Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsenal and Arsene Wenger, and even, to a lesser degree, Hereford United and Graham Turner. All at their clubs for 22, 12, and 13 years respectively. Wenger was a little known French coach with experience in the Japanese J League and French Ligue Une, and Ferguson had enjoyed successes in the Scottish Premier division.

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Chelsea confirm Ten Cate deal

Saturday, January 19th, 2008

Chelsea’s injured midfielder Michael Ballack has given the manager, Avram Grant, a boost by confirming he has no intention of quitting the club. The former Bayern Munich midfielder, struggling to regain full fitness after two ankle operations, wants to remain at the club for the rest of his career.”I feel very happy here and would like to end my career here,” he told the German TV station ARD. “Although I want to end my career at Chelsea, if I am still fit when my contract runs out, why should I not play on for another two years?”Ballack’s desire to stay at Stamford Bridge is matched by the striker Didier Drogba, who felt Jose Mourinho’s departure more than most. “Chelsea is my destiny today. I do not want the adventure to change. Milan? What a good club. But I have spoken to nobody,” he said.Guus Hiddink, who has been linked with a move to Chelsea, has agreed a two-year extension to his contract as coach of Russia. The 60-year-old admits he has talked with the London club’s owner, Roman Abramovich, but denies they spoke about the possibility of creating a working relationship.”Even before [Mourinho] left his job I had already discussed my future with Russia so it had absolutely no bearing on my decision to stay here,” he said. “Every now and then I’ve had good contacts with some of the Chelsea players as well as the club’s management and on my recent visit to London [last month] we had a chat with Mr Abramovich over a cup of coffee but not to discuss the Chelsea job.”

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Hiddink plays down Chelsea speculation

Saturday, January 19th, 2008

“We have a project to reshape Russian football by 2014, with the 2010 World Cup as the first phase,” said Hiddink. “Given Abramovich’s long-term commitment and vision, it seems very unlikely that he would try to disrupt that process.”Hiddink also said that any meetings with Abramovich - who contributes towards his salary as national manager - had nothing to do with the Chelsea job. “Since people continually associate me with Roman Abramovich, I thought it would be a good idea to explain a little bit about our relationship,” he said. “I have met him five times: four times in London and once at the PSV [Eindhoven] training complex. As for all those stories about me being a candidate for the Chelsea job, we never discussed it. I know that you can never say never in football, but that option would not have made sense.”Hiddink, whose Russia side face England in a vital Euro 2008 qualifier in Moscow next week, believes the Chelsea shake-up of recent weeks is part of Abramovich’s desire to see his side play attractive football. “At Chelsea, Abramovich has invested a lot of money in players and not so much in longer-term development,” he added. “And you need to be able to show the world that with the players that they have, you can get results, but that you can also play attractive football. I think he felt that the latter was missing.”Meanwhile, Michael Ballack has admitted that he hopes to stay at Chelsea for the rest of his career. Ballack has struggled to make an impact at Stamford Bridge since arriving from Bayern Munich and is currently sidelined with an ankle injury which has kept him out of action since April.But he insists he wants to remain at the club beyond the expiry of his current contract in 2009. “I feel very happy here and would like to end my career here,” he said. “Although I want to end my career at Chelsea, if I am still fit when my contract runs out, why should I not play on for another two years?”Chelsea are also on the brink of reaching an agreement with Henk ten Cate to join their coaching staff. Ten Cate quit his post at Ajax earlier this week after Chelsea agreed a compensation figure with the Dutch club for his services. Chelsea now expect to finalise the deal within the next 24 hours in order for Ten Cate to take up his role under head coach Avram Grant and alongside assistant Steve Clarke. A statement on Chelsea’s official website read: “Chelsea have reached agreement with Ajax for the release of Henk ten Cate. We expect to finalise his contract with Chelsea in the next 24 hours as assistant first-team coach.”

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Ballack hoping to end his career at Chelsea

Thursday, January 3rd, 2008

Chelsea’s injured midfielder Michael Ballack has given new coach Avram Grant a major boost by confirming he has no intention of quitting the club.

The former Bayern Munich midfielder, struggling to regain full fitness following two ankle operations, wants to remain at the Barclays Premier League side for the rest of his career.

Content: Michael Ballack says he is still happy at Stamford Bridge

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