Findcate

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.

Tags: ac milan, ajax, arsene wenger, avram grant, bayern munich, boise, carlo ancelotti, cate, chelsea, defensive style, first choice, ford, frank rijkaard, french coach, french ligue, goran eriksson, graham turner, henk, hereford united, j league, jurgen klinsmann, knock outs, manchester united, marco van basten, ottmar hitzfeld, roman abramovich, sir alex ferguson, ten cate, thaksin shinawatra

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That the Israeli triumphed so impressively could be attributed to the efforts of two of his predecessor’s staunchest allies. Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba were immense again, the midfielder central to the first three of Chelsea’s goals, the forward driving home numbers two and three. While some wondered whether the betrayal of Mourinho would have come so early in the season had this pair been fit from the start of it, this was undoubtedly a day for Abramovich and Grant to savour.’I smiled,’ said Grant. ‘I enjoyed it for the winning and the way of the winning. I enjoyed that we are in the middle of a process and we continue to do it step-by-step. Maybe today it was two steps.’We have concentrated on attacking football, on how to move right, on how to behave right, how to get the best from the players and how to make them better. That’s what we want from them, but I think it’s more important that they ask it from themselves.’Sven-Goran Eriksson enjoyed not a minute of it. ‘I’m very disappointed,’ said the City manager. ‘It’s the first time in my life that I lose 6-0 and I’m sure it’s the first time for most of my players. I was very kind to Avram today. I didn’t want to be that kind. I’m sure he will do well, but we made him and Chelsea better than they should be today; we were awful defending. It is a wake-up call for all of us.’Henk ten Cate had spent much of his first week of hands-on training delivering a wake-up call of his own to the Chelsea squad. The %26#163;40,000-a-week ‘assistant first-team coach’ began riling them on Monday when he halted his first full session to chastise some for laughing. Matters worsened on Thursday when the Dutchman put the team through a full programme of sprinting, box-to-box running and a 10-versus-10 half-pitch game the morning after their Champions League victory over Schalke. This is a radical departure from Mourinho’s calibrated regime, in which players engaged only in light sessions post-match.How much smoother the regime change at City, where Eriksson has turned over half his playing staff, established an economical counterattacking style and guided the club to long-forgotten heights. His men started the stronger here, filtering the ball to Elano at every opportunity. Like much of the Premier League before him, John Obi Mikel struggled with the quick-witted Brazilian, hacking him down twice in early breaks. One of the playmaker’s deft chips put Stephen Ireland free on goal where a too-delicate header was parried away; a thunderous 35-yard free-kick was wonderfully clawed out of the top corner by Petr Cech.Between those opportunities, though, possession and pressure was mostly Chelsea’s, their power regularly taking them to the edge of Hart’s penalty area. After 16 minutes, Mikel combined with Lampard to release Michael Essien, who strode onwards, collected himself and dragged the ball low across Hart and in. A similar sally into the space between Micah Richards and Javier Garrido all but allowed Drogba to add a second. It was only a postponement.Richards ill-advisedly wound up Lampard in a tangle for possession and, after both had been booked, Chelsea’s captain extracted beautiful revenge. Collecting possession from Salomon Kalou 40 yards out and with his back to goal, the midfielder turned and spun a pass of forensic precision behind the City defence. Unlike his opponents, Drogba saw it coming and cantered on to strike through Hart’s legs.The game was now stretched and Kalou almost extended Chelsea’s advantage. At the other end, Ireland was a foot away from reducing it when teed up by Garrido and Michael Johnson’s quick interplay.It was only an interlude. As Thaksin Shinawatra, the City owner, took his turn at looking glum, Drogba and Kalou worked Lampard into a shooting position and though Hart parried that effort away, the ball fell to Drogba to carry back across the area and wallop past the City goalkeeper in the 56th minute.Unused to such deficits, the visitors continued to push forward, leaving larger and larger gaps for their opponents to exploit. After an hour, Drogba nodded Joe Cole into a particularly broad one and the right-winger ramped up the volume again. Kalou took the total to five from one fine Essien pass, Andriy Shevchenko made it six with another.’Boring, boring Chelsea,’ sang a contented home support still not ready to put Grant’s name into voice. A few more of these and they just might.Man of the match: Frank Lampard (Chelsea)

Tags: cate, champion, champions league, chelsea, dutchman, goran eriksson, henk, lampard, pace, premier league, smile, team coach, ten cate, thaksin shinawatra

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