Odds and Sods

Liverpool 2 - Tottenham 2: Robbie Keane would be the best striker in the Premier League, if he could perform consistently.  Liverpool continued their dismal run of form, with Torres saving them at the end.  They don’t look sharp at the back.  Their midfield was absolutely dreadful.  There was no link between the defenders and the strikers whatsoever.  They were the true English side hoofing the ball forward and hoping for the best.  With the exception of Finnan, I wouldn’t trust anyone on their team to execute a proper pass.  The result helped neither club.

Arsenal 3 - Sunderland 2: Arsenal haven’t exactly been impressive lately.  But, like a Mourinho led Chelsea side, they are still winning.  Keane deserves praise for giving Arsenal a game as well.  They played like a team that thought  they could win.  The quality isn’t quite there yet, but they look like a squad determined to stay up.

Manchester United 4 - Wigan 0: Finally, we saw the potential firepower from United in the second half with Tevez, Ronaldo (twice), and Rooney all scoring.  It would be wise to be cautious, however.  They don’t really have a competent holding player with Carrick and Hargreaves both knacked.  Against a decent side, their lack of depth could start to show.

Bolton 0 - Chelsea 1: Little Sam’s seat is simmering.  The only reason he is still there is that it’s difficult to get a sexy name to come to Bolton.  Chelsea scored their first Premier League goal in 460 minutes to earn the 1-0 victory, but Bolton probably deserved to get a result from their performance.  It wasn’t exactly a ringing endorsement of the Avram Grant era.  Neither is the fact that he is already clashing with the sensitive genius about why he isn’t in the squad.

Tottenham 4 - Aston Villa 4

Spurs celebrated after the miraculous comeback, storming back from a 4-1 deficit at home to tie on Kaboul’s late equalizer.  However, it doesn’t bode well that they went down 4-1 in the first place, particularly to Aston Villa.  Tottenham still sit in the relegation zone with a terrible six points from eight matches.  That nauseating smell is Martin Jol’s patented tracksuit burning on the hotseat.

Chelsea 0 - Fulham 0

Both sides had a number of chances left begging.  Has anyone actually seen Shevchenko even break into a sweat in a Chelsea shirt?  He was terrible.  Terry is starting to resemble the Black Knight flopping on the ground.  “It’s just a flesh wound!”  The iconic moment was the Chelsea faithful singing “Jose Mourinho, Jose Mourinho.”  They are in trouble.

Portsmouth 7 - Reading 4

Someone must have drugged the goalkeepers before this match.  Marcus Hahnemann looked completely lost and out of position on nearly every goal attempt.  One would think that a high-scoring match would be exciting, but this was just a disgusting spectacle.  They could have pulled someone out of the crowd to play in goal and gotten a similar result.

Wigan 0 - Liverpool 1

Benayoun saved Rafa the Gaffer the further embarrassment of yet another bore draw in the league against a rubbish squad.  Liverpool resemble last year’s squad more with every performance.  The rotation system works, when you have the players.

West Ham 0 - Arsenal 1

This was a match that last year’s squad probably would have lost.  The squad held their composure in the derby match and got the win.  The true measure of a championship squad is not dominating everyone, but being able to go into a tough away tie and come out with three points.  The Ewing theory may need to be renamed the Henry theory.

Arsenal 5 - Derby 0

It was another confident performance from the Gunners, as they outclassed and disposed of a pathetic opponent at home.  Arsenal have been racking up points by picking off the weaker teams, but as Man U proved last season, that is how titles are won.  Cesc should start clearing space on his mantle for the Player of the Year trophy.

Manchester United 2 - Chelsea 0

Chelsea did not exactly get the new manager bounce in this one, as they were thoroughly throttled by the Red Devils.  The only time they even remotely resembled their former selves was while intimidating the referee after Obi Mikel’s red card.  Avram Grant may end up being the undertaker in more than just nickname, as it is hard to see the current squad staying in the Champions League or finishing in the Top Four.

Manchester United, with nearly everyone healthy and not suspended, looked rather frisky for once, in their first multi-goal match of the season.  Rooney and Tevez look like a dangerous pairing, and if Ronaldo can ever find his form, they have the potential to start flying like they did last season.

Bolton 1 - Tottenham 1

Both clubs qualified for Europe season, and both clubs now reside in the relegation zone with a combined 9 pts from 14 total matches.  This wasn’t exactly the thrilling result that both managers need to keep them with their present employer.  How long before Berbatov is dropped ?

Liverpool 0 - Birmingham 0

Rafa the Gaffer will be taking heat for sitting star Spaniard Fernando Torres (He had to rest up for that important Carling Cup tie at midweek).  They looked like a different Liverpool to start the season, but, with a result like this, they are back on form.  It is these type of results that nip title ambitions in the bud.  Will boring their way into the later rounds of the Champions League be enough to keep around next season?

Uzbek billionaire Allsher Usmanov  increased his stake in Arsenal once again on Tuesday.  Usmanov co-owns Red and White Holdings Ltd., which purchased the 14.65% holding of boardroom bete noire David Dein for 75m GBP in August.  His recent acquisitions have brought his share in the club to 21%, leaving him the second largest shareholder, only trumped by Danny Fizman who owns a 24% stake.

The move brings Usmanov 9% short of 30% of the club, which, under the club’s guidelines, would force him to make a takeover bid.  Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood has reiterated that the board are not willing to sell their shares.

Arsenal are set to release their financial documents on Monday, and it is widely speculated that they will announce an annual turnover of 200m GBP, making them the first British club to have done so.

The prospect of a takeover bid itself has Arsenal supporters understandably sceptical, worried how the change in ownership would affect the running of what has been a remarkably successful club under Wenger’s tenure.

However, they should also be cautious about the figure of Usmanov, himself.  The oligarch has launched a legal attack on Arsenal supporters’ websites and blogs.  His legal group, Schillings, have warned sites that have posted the allegations against him by former British ambassador to Uzbekistan Craig Murray to remove them immediately.  Schillings have referred to said allegations as “false, indefensible, and grossly defamatory.”

Odds and Sods makes no claim as to the truth of any of the allegations made against Mr. Usmanov (we are not experts on Uzbek politics), so it is not our place to comment.  However, freedom of speech and the right to information halt for no man, no matter how many billions he may have.  His attacks on blogs and websites with no political agenda except a love for their club have been dictatorial and downright shameful.

The BBC, as well as other media outlets, have reported that manager Jose Mourinho has “severed” all ties with Chelsea Football Club by “mutual consent” over his differences with owner Roman Abramovich.  He reportedly informed senior players at the squad via text message that he would be leaving the club the following morning

A rift became readily apparent between the two last season, with Abramovich becoming increasingly frustrated by Chelsea’s effective, though often cynical and uninspiring, style of play.  The two had a very public feud, which came to a head in January 2006, when Abramovich denied Mourinho’s request for further transfer funds to supplement the squad.  This, a power struggle with Frank Arnesen, and discord among the players over the Michael Ballack and Andiry Shevchenko signings left tensions at the club extraordinarily high, and clouded over what was a moderately successful season.

Mourinho returned for this season, though it was widely speculated to be his last.  Chelsea performed well on paper, sitting 5th in the Premier League with 11 pts from 6 matches.  However, their performances were often sub-par and unconvincing, and the club struggled mightily without prolific goal scorers Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard.  The club’s recent poor results at home against Blackburn and Rosenborg as well as Abramovich’s frustration at the inability to add a marquee name after the sale of Arjen Robben to Real Madrid were thought to be the tipping point that caused Mourinho to leave.

The “Special One” was the most successful manager in Chelsea history over his three seasons, winning two domestic titles (2005,2006), two league cups (2005,2007), and an FA Cup (2007).  He was instrumental in transforming Chelsea into an elite European side, though the elusive Champions’ League title remained outside their reach.

The future should be bright for Mourinho.  Coming off two extraordinarily successful stints with Porto and Chelsea, and being still a young man at 44, he will be the hottest name linked with every high profile managerial job that comes available.  The savvy pick would be for him to replace Frank Rijkaard at Barcelona next summer.

Chelsea, however, has a far more uncertain destiny.  The club was already mired in discord.  Mourinho leaving will only exacerbate the tension rather than alleviating it.  In the short term, they will need to find a replacement to stabilize the situation and prevent this season from spiraling out of control.  In the long term, they may be forced to rebuild their squad, with many high profile players (notably Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba) having their Stamford Bridge future tied to Mourinho’s presence.