As I pen this column I suspect Mauricio Pochettino is packing a bag and heading for the Channel Tunnel which connects France to the UK. He won’t be stopped along with all the other hopefuls trying to get into England and will be welcomed with open arms if he decides to become manager of one of the the world’s most famous football clubs. Pochettino is not hero worshipped in Paris because PSG fans say he hasn’t achieved anything. PSG might be 11 points clear at the top of Ligue 1 but that is the minimum expected with a team boasting players such as Neymar, Messi and Mbappe, arguably the most lethal strike force at any club. PSG fans want nothing less than Champions League success however many people have observed that the players have a direct link to the owner and are more powerful than the manager. Always remember that Thomas Tuchel has won the Champions League with Chelsea and turned them into a world beating side but at PSG, his previous job, he won the Champions League and was then forced out of the club. PSG like to change their managers regularly and often. Pochettino is keeping cool, reserved and has not committed to either United or PSG long term and the next week will be interesting and especially as interim caretaker manager Michael Carrick has done an excellent job with a notable win over Villarreal and achieved qualification for the last 16 of the Champions League.
Chilwell could miss rest of season
News from Chelsea’s Cobham training ground is that Ben Chillwell could well miss the rest of the season after suffering a serious knee injury against Juventus in the Champions League. The defender had a scan on Wednesday and it is feared he has sustained cruciate ligament damage. Chelsea are being forced to wait until January to learn if Ben will need surgery and the usual recovery period is six to nine months. The news is devastating for both Chelsea and England because the international has been in great form lately and even scored four goals. He could even miss most of England’s early games leading up to next year’s Qatar World Cup.
Tuchel hopeful of keeping Rudiger
I spoke with my Chelsea contacts again this week regarding Antonio Rudiger’s position at the club. Chelsea’s wing-backs are excelling under Thomas Tuchel’s game plan and Reece James and Ben Chilwell have contributed five assists and seven goals between them so far this season. Tuchel said he is confident Rudiger will sign a new contract before his current deal expires next summer. He said, “We want him to stay. This is clear and he knows it.” The problem is that Rudiger wants £200k a week to reflect his seniority in the squad and Chelsea have so far refused to go above £150k.
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Gerrard and Conte ban tomato ketchup!
New managers arrive in the Premier League and the tomato ketchup war hots up. Antonio Conte laid down the rule at Tottenham when he pronounced “no more ketchup with your meals!” Steven Gerrard arrived at Aston Villa and immediately declared his war on ketchup. Conte said, “To be professional means you have to take care of your body. The training and the game is only the final part of your work. You have to prepare your body, your mind and also your heart.” New managers bring new training routines and food menus prepared by specialist chefs who are told not to use ketchup. When Fabio Capello managed the English national team, he too banned ketchup. Manchester City even tried to introduce blue ketchup at its hospitality locations within the ground because United and Liverpool both play in red! But of course it is not all about ketchup itself. Ketchup is a symbol and banning such a tasty and delicious food which is quite addictive is meant to strengthen the mind. These managers believe that to crave and then be denied their favourite sauce will strengthen the players mentally. To be denied it toughens up players and makes them more focused in their training and enables them to be stronger by beating an addiction. Time will tell if this strategy works but for Gerrard and Conte it proved to be a winning formula last weekend even if the players did miss their ketchup. Crazy rubbish or psychological mind games…only time will tell at Spurs and Villa.
Oxlade-Chamberlain ready to claim regular start
Liverpool midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain says he wants more game time to prove he can be a regular starter for the Reds. Alex started last weekend for only the third time this season. Injuries have been his main problem but ironically as I reported last week, it is injuries in Liverpool’s midfield that have given him his chance to shine. He said, “After I had a good game against Arsenal it is about looking forward and keeping the momentum, keep trying to help the team achieve all our goals. If I keep working hard things will fall into place so I’ll be working harder for that and we’ll see what happens”.
Carrick changes character!
Manchester United’s caretaker manager Michael Carrick always looks calm and composed, even when United are being soundly beaten however the players know a different side to him. During travelling to away matches at their hotel the players often play computer games, competing in competitions, sometimes FIFA Football, sometimes war games and they tell me that Carrick changes character and turns into a shouting, screaming, full of energy gamester. The players have knicknamed him Havoc!
Fans vote for next United manager
17,000 thousand Manchester United fans took part in a “Who should take over from Ole Gunner Solskjaer?” poll. Top of the list and gaining 34% votes is Ajax boss Erik ten Hag. Ex-Madrid boss Zinedine Zidan, came second in the poll with 19%. Leicester’s Brendan Rogers scored 13%. Lokomotive Moscow’s Ralf Rangnick registered 12% however Mauricio Pochettino, who is the board’s favourite, received the lowest percentage of votes with only 8%. Despite that poll it is highly possible that Mauricio Pochettino’s personal life will encourage him into the manager’s seat at Manchester United. He has never settled properly in Paris and his family still live in London from his time at Tottenham.
Vieira getting everything right at Palace
The first thing you notice when meeting Patrick Vieira is how softly spoken he is. For a man who holds medals showing he has won the Champions League, Premier League and Serie A titles and a World Cup win, he is surprisingly humble and displays no signs of having an ego. Whereas other candidates for the Palace manager’s job wanted to bring in large staffs such as Nino Espirito Santo who wanted to bring eight people with him, Vieira was happy to work with the team which Chairman Steve Parish had assembled over several years. Whereas his predecessor Roy Hodgson built his team on a solid defence, Vieira has released the talents of players like Wilfried Zaha to express themselves in an attacking style, chasing goals and instead of feeding off infrequent attacks on the opposing side’s penalty area. Vieira has his players chasing every ball and getting it upfield. Vieira admits that strategy also brings problems because he would rather chase a second goal instead of sitting comfortably on a one goal advantage and hope to see out the game. One of Viera’s strengths is to give young players confidence. He believes in bringing in academy players and giving them first squad opportunities. On-loan Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher was persuaded to give Palace his best instead of returning his parent club and he has turned the youngster into such an impressive force that England manager Gareth Southgate has included him in his national squad.
