| Fifa medical officer concerned by 'criminal' tackles in top-flight football Dr Michel d'Hooghe becoming increasingly concerned by number of serious injuries caused by dangerous tackles. telegraph.co.uk |
Fans Could Have A Say Under New Owners - Liverpool CEO LONDON (Reuters) - Liverpool fans could have a voice in the running of their club under their potential new American owners, chief executive Christian Purslow said on Sunday. feeds.nytimes.com |
Premier League action in pictures In pics: all the best images from Saturday's Premier League games. telegraph.co.uk |
Roar celebrate cherished win Brisbane Roar lap up arguably their most cherished win of the A-League season beating Melbourne Victory 2-1 at Suncorp Stadium. foxsports.com.au |
Ancelotti's options leave rivals trailing Even at half-pace Chelsea can make the kind of adjustments in style and personnel that make another league title likelyNeeded, urgently, by the Premier League's other 19 clubs: a formula to stop Chelsea. Try skill and enterprise and they will reach for their finer attributes. Test them with aggression and they will usually win the grapple.Opponents are bouncing off Carlo Ancelotti's side, even when the champions fail to shine, as they failed to in this 2-0 victory over Wolves. Already five points clear of Manchester City after nine games – and eight ahead of Arsenal and Manchester United – Chelsea advance without obvious weakness.JosĂ© Mourinho's back-to-back title-winning teams were more dauntingly mechanical but this one has a greater range of styles and more strength in each position.Example: at right-back they now have JosĂ© Bosingwa restored. Out for a year with knee-ligament damage, Bosingwa made an impressive return to the starting XI in a position Branislav Ivanovic had been looking after with considerable authority. Ivanovic shuffled along the line to join John Terry at centre-back, where Chelsea can also call on Alex. Further over, Ashley Cole is in his pomp.No wonder the defending champions have yet to concede in the league at Stamford Bridge. A two-man screen of Mikel Jon Obi and Michael Essien hangs in front of a dependable back four. On the flank Florent Malouda brings adventure – and goals. A good gauge of managerial talent is how many underachievers are brought in from the cold. Malouda, who scored Chelsea's first, has recovered his gift for fantasy under Ancelotti.This week, before a certain transfer saga was resolved, it was all the rage to query the age of the forward line. Soon Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka would be joining the Chelsea Pensioners. Granted, these two aristocrats sometimes claim the same turf. But Ancelotti is alert to that risk. Half an hour into this match he shifted Anelka out to the left to stretch the Wolves defence. Both are in their 30s now but no defender would want Drogba and Anelka bearing down on him in one afternoon."They're the best team in the league," declared Mick McCarthy, the Wolves manager. "They've got loads of ability, loads of pace, they've got one of the best goalkeepers and they're clever. They look like they're going to pass one way, then they slip someone else in. They trust each other with the ball. They know they're going to get someone making a run.""Tomorrow we could have Manchester City two points behind," said Ancelotti, hosing down expectation. "We didn't play so well, we conceded too many shots from distance and should have closed the game down before. We usually have, this season. Our fans have seen us play very good football and when we don't they are impatient."This last point was in answer to a question about the restlessness of the crowd. Watching Chelsea at home confers many pleasures. But there are days that could be called mundane "two-nillers". These are the afternoons when a low-table side induce a kind of ennui in this part of London. Chelsea start out sure they are going to win. They exert themselves only as much as necessary. A glimmer, here, for City, United and Arsenal. Complacency sometimes afflicts Ancelotti's plans. But we always see a correction.When Bosingwa tired, Chelsea sent on Paulo Ferreira, a Champions League-winning deputy. When Yuri Zhirkov's aimlessness required a remedy, Ancelotti dispatched young Josh McEachran to replace him. McEachran's presence is rich in symbolism. To Chelsea fans he arrives on a wave of youth. A craving here is that all Roman Abramovich's investment at academy level will sustain the club when Drogba and Terry have shuffled off. Chelsea were all about the moneyed present. Now they aim to stake out a homegrown future.Frank Lampard, Ancelotti says, will train with the first team this week and return at Blackburn on Saturday. Lampard has been out since the end of August. More trouble for the other top teams. Such is the depth of resource here that Chelsea have hardly missed their midfield goal-getter. When a player comes up short in this side it is immediately conspicuous. Zhirkov scored beautifully at Spartak Moscow in midweek but was Chelsea's least effective player against Wolves. He is neither good enough to displace Cole at left-back nor sufficiently gifted to thrive at outside-left.This was the weekend when United, City and Arsenal were left in doubt, though, about how high the bar is raised. On the evidence so far the sense is that Chelsea will win consecutive Premier League titles for the second time in a decade. But this acts as a provocation to the other contenders.With the Wayne Rooney issue "put to bed" with a cup of Horlicks, United now have a target to chase. City inflicted Chelsea's only defeat thus far partly by matching their physicality. That lapse will not be repeated often on Ancelotti's watch. It was an early warning not to assume power will always work when a more attacking spirit deserts them."The difficult moment will come, and we have to be ready," Ancelotti said.He talks as if he has it all worked out.ChelseaCarlo AncelottiPremier LeaguePaul Haywardguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |