Carlo Ancelotti Urges Chelsea Not To Panic After Spurs Defeat

Chelsea's manager Carlo Ancelotti has urged his players to hold their nerve in the Premier League title race following their defeat at Tottenham.

Manchester United could be back at the top of the league by the time Ancelotti's men kick-off against Stoke next Sunday after Sir Alex Ferguson's men defeated Manchester City before Spurs' 2-1 win against the Blues.

The results also mean Spurs are back in the Champions League places, with their victory over Arsenal in midweek backed up with goals from Jermain Defoe and Gareth Bale, while Chelsea had John Terry dismissed before pulling one back through Frank Lampard.

"We had a problem with soft defence," said Ancelotti. "We didn't put pressure on the ball. Lampard scored at the end but when we lost Terry it was impossible to recover the game with 10 against 11."

Chelsea will win their first title since 2006 if they defeat Stoke, Liverpool and Wigan. "We know what we have to do in the next three games," Ancelotti said. "We must not have a panic now. We are top of the league with only three games left so every team wants to be in our place. We have two at home and one difficult game away. We can be the best again. A one-point lead is not bad at this stage of the season. I am always confident. I am less confident than yesterday but we are still in the best position."
Ancelotti made his final two substitutions at half-time before Didier Drogba pulled up with an apparent groin problem just before the restart.

"Didier never said anything at the end of the first half," the Italian added. "He had a problem but after five minutes he was good to play to the end of the match without a problem. Now he doesn't have a problem."

Ancelotti also refused to comment on whether he thought Terry's dismissal, for fouls on Roman Pavlyuchenko and Bale, was harsh. "We are disappointed because we have lost John Terry for the next game but I don't have to say anything about the decision," he said. "Everyone is under pressure at this moment. He is the captain and involved in this exciting race."

Carlo Ancelotti Grateful That Premier League Title Is Still In Chelsea's Hands

Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti remained defiant about his side's Premier League title chances despite a 2-1 defeat to Tottenham.

The league leaders went into the tie at White Hart Lane having seen Manchester United narrow the gap to just a solitary point after victory over Manchester City earlier on Saturday afternoon.

But Ancelotti told ESPN that the stress at the top does not concern him: "I think at this moment all the teams have pressure, all the teams have their own aims - it's normal.

"There are only three games left; the title is still in our hands. We have to look to the next game against Stoke."

The Italian conceded that Chelsea deserved to lose following first-half goals from Jermain Defoe and Gareth Bale, but disagreed with John Terry who had earlier in the week said that the players are beginning to feel the nerves at the top.

"No, I don't think that," said Ancelotti. "We knew we had to do our best, but we didn't today.

"Tottenham played very well, as they did against Arsenal - this is football, sometimes this happens."

Ancelotti saw his captain sent off for two bookable offences in quick succession in the second half, but he offered no criticism of referee Phil Dowd.

He added: "I have no complaints about the sending off - I don't want to talk about the decision of the referee.

"I am disappointed only that he [Terry] is not able to play the next game, but Ivanovic is fit so we have a good substitution for him."

The former AC Milan boss did, however, state that his players need to regroup with the season drawing to a close.

"I think that this team played very well until this game," he continued. "This game was not good. We have to refocus and play better in our next game."

Chelsea To Decide On Mancienne Future This Week

A report in the News of the World today claims Chelsea will decide on Michael Mancienne ’s future this week.

The 22-year-old has spent the whole season on loan at Wolves and has impressed in a holding midfield role despite naturally being a central defender.

Neil Ashton claims that "Chelsea director of football Frank Arnesen is under pressure to make a Blues academy player a first-team regular - and Mancienne is earmarked to be the one."

Wolves, following a successful season, would be happy to sign Mancienne and are willing to spend five million pounds on the England Under-21 striker.

Mancienne has played 28 games for Wolves this season and has been booked six times. Last season he made five appearances for Chelsea.

Chelsea Chase £17m Rated Palermo Striker Edinson Cavani

Chelsea have targeted Palermo striker Edinson Cavani , according to a report in The People today.

The 23-year-old striker has been a major factor behind Palermo’s chase for a Champions League place and has impressed Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti and his scouts in Italy.

Cavani has claimed 10 goals in 29 appearances for Palermo in 2009/2010 and at 6.0ft should be able to deal with the physical nature of the Premier League.

A number of clubs have been tracking Cavani and Chelsea face competition from Juventus, Roma, AC Milan, Manchester City and Manchester United to bring the Uruguay international (13 caps/2 goals) to Stamford Bridge.

Palermo will also be eager to hold on to Cavani who has been at the club since 2006/2007 and is contracted to the Serie A side until 2014/2015.

Sturridge Helping Kids Achieve Thier Goals

Daniel Sturridge joined guests of honour and young people at Cobham to launch a unique programme to help tackle youth crime in Surrey.

The guests and youngsters were from the borough of Elmbridge within which our training HQ is located.

Chelsea's Goalz project is funded by the Premier League's Creating Chances initiative and operates within Elmbridge working with young people aged 12-16yrs.Police and the council's Youth Justice and Youth Service Departments identify youngsters at risk of offending and refer them onto the programme which operates three nights a week, 48 weeks of the year, ensuring long term contact and positive engagement with the young people.

Participants are offered the opportunity to take part in football and a variety other sports all of which are linked to a series of workshops incorporating education, advice on drugs and alcohol abuse, health and a variety of social issues relevant to the young people.

After joining in with a kickaround and a session of head tennis, Sturridge spent time chatting to participants, answering a wide range of questions.

'I enjoy doing things in the community, especially with disadvantaged kids that have obviously had a hard upbringing,' said the England Under 21 international.

'Everyone in life deserves the chance to get what they want and sometimes it is a bit difficult for them to just live a normal life. It is always good to talk to them and give them a bit of hope that they can achieve what they want in life.

'Football can make a difference. It is a worldwide sport and Chelsea is a worldwide club and football is one of those games that brings joy and happiness to people's lives. I am happy to be part of a football family.'

The Surrey police have proved vital to the success of the programme. Sergeant Jerry Milford was on hand throughout the day joining in with the activities.

'We have referred some people we think are on the verge of getting into real difficult times and some of them are absolutely blooming now after four or five months,' he said. 'You saw some of the people ask questions to Daniel Sturridge with confidence but they didn't have that confidence five months ago.'

Chelsea and the partners involved in the project are confident that by the end of their time on the course the young people will have gained qualifications, improved their self esteem and that anti-social behaviour, and youth offending levels in the borough will have been lowered.

The Mayor of Elmbridge, Cllr. James Vickers, was impressed with what he saw.

'Elmbridge are involved with Chelsea a lot and we are very much involved with youth and sport. With Chelsea on our doorstep here, they are great colleagues and friends to have around and I am delighted to support projects like these. Seeing the enthusiasm involved, I think it has a great future and will really take off.'

Youth development officer Howard Jones added: 'It is great for the Youth Service to have a prestige partner like Chelsea. I believe that the engagement and divergent schemes work. Any activity with young people has an element of crime diversion, but the specific engagement schemes when the young people are referred have a very good track record.'

Chelsea Pensioners Get Carlo Ancelotti's Vote Of Confidence

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti has given the clearest indication yet that he will retain faith with his ageing core of players next season.

With the club on the brink of the first league and FA Cup Double in their history, Ancelotti believes that this current group has answered questions about their collective age and does not foresee any need for a significant summer spending spree.

"I don't think it's necessary for us to spend a lot of money," he said. "I said that at the start of the season, that I was happy to have these players. I really do have a very good squad."

Ancelotti has already recommended that Joe Cole's contract is extended, while Michael Ballack, Nicolas Anelka, Juliano Belletti and Deco will also hold negotiations this summer.

Chelsea have had a long-time interest in both Franck Ribery and Sergio Aguero, yet there is a feeling that neither is worth the sort of fee being demanded in a market that has been inflated by Real Madrid and Manchester City.

Chelsea are overwhelming favourites to win a third title in six years, although captain John Terry did admit that nerves were evident in the edgy midweek win over Bolton. Ancelotti, however, clearly regards complacency as the biggest danger.

Youth Report: Leiceister City 3 - 2 Chelsea

Youth team defeat away at Leicester on Saturday compounded a disappointing weekend, but coach Dermot Drummy was impressed with his young side's display.

With only goalkeeper Sam Walker of the regular FA Youth Cup side involved, it was a mixture of first year scholars and schoolboys that fell 2-0 behind early on against a side now unbeaten in 25 league games.

Our hosts took the lead on 10 minutes when a slip in the Chelsea defence allowed Welsh Under 21 international Elliott Chamberlain to slot home from the edge of the area, and within two minutes the same player had doubled the lead from inside the six-yard box.

With Leicester firmly on top in the first half, it was Chelsea who dominated the second. Half-time substitute Nathaniel Chalobah pulled us back into the game with a far-post volley from Johnny Cane's cross, before Nikki Ahamed rifled home a 30-yard equaliser after a move involving Ben Sampayo and Danny Philliskirk.

Six minutes from time though Leicester scored the winner in slightly controversial circumstances, it being uncertain whether the ball had crossed the line when sub Ollie Norburn turned it goalwards following a City corner.

Despite defeat, Drummy was proud of the lads, and has an FA Youth Cup Final first leg to prepare for, the first leg against Aston Villa being on Thursday 29 April at Villa Park.

'Leicester were really direct and physical and we had three under-19s playing, but the rest of the boys were youngsters. We were very pleased although we lost and we were able to give a couple of young players a chance.

'For the Youth Cup, Adie Viveash and I travelled to Newcastle on Friday to watch the semi-final with Aston Villa, and they will be tough opposition but we look forward to it.'

Chelsea's £150m Wage Bill Has Bought Them Success: Arsene Wenger

Just when Chelsea looked to be marching unhindered to their third title in six years, along come Tottenham to remind us, on a day of high drama at White Hart Lane and Old Trafford, of football’s capacity for the gloriously unpredictable.

And few will have enjoyed it more than Arsene Wenger as he prepares his Arsenal side for their match at Wigan Athletic, suddenly handed a championship lifeline by the north London rivals he was cursing, rather than thanking, just a few nights earlier following their own derby defeat.

His pleasure will be all the sweeter as he remains a firm opponent of the kind of spending that has taken Chelsea to the top of the table.

In fact, Wenger thinks Chelsea should be stopped from what he sees as buying titles.

The Stamford Bridge club’s newly released accounts reveal that they spent a staggering £142.6million on players’ salaries last year, the highest sum in English football history.

It is over £20m more than Manchester United’s playing budget and £40m more than Arsenal’s. ‘What is not normal is not our wages bill, but their wages bill,’ said Wenger, who resents Chelsea being able to continue to splash out more than his club — and United — despite not bringing in the same revenue.

‘That should not be allowed.’ Indeed, the Arsenal manager believes the game’s governing bodies should legislate to prevent Chelsea spending the record sums on wages that could carry them to the Premier League and FA Cup Double.

Chelsea and their fans will be shocked by Wenger’s comments. After all the big spending in the early years of Roman Abramovich’s ownership, the club has been positively frugal by comparison this season as the Russian seeks to rein in the spending.

Only Yuri Zhirkov and Daniel Sturridge arrived this season, at a cost of £23m — just £4m more than United paid for Antonio Valencia and Gabriel Obertan and which does not begin to compare with the £80m Real Madrid forked out for Cristiano Ronaldo alone.

But the belief that English football at the top level is impoverished as a result of the recession is undermined, not just by Manchester City’s spending power but also by Chelsea’s wage bill.

Wenger’s attack on Chelsea and lament for the financial imbalance may have something to do with his frustration at his perception, before Saturday’s new (slim) hope, that his side had fallen short in a trophy campaign for a fifth season in a row. It also had much to do with his chagrin at the authorities failing to act quickly to prevent what he sees as unfair spending.

New UEFA rules have been drawn up aimed at preventing clubs accumulating debt while still spending heavily, which is why Abramovich converted many of his loans to Chelsea into equity and also one reason why Liverpool’s indebted co-owners, George Gillett and Tom Hicks, are seeking a new buyer.

Recently, however, the big clubs of Europe persuaded the governing body to delay implementing the rules from 2012 to 2015. Wenger turned 60 this season. Time is slipping away for him.

Dredging up defiance after recent setbacks, he insists, however, that his club can compete on the field with Chelsea and big-spenders United, despite having lost twice to both this season, and even surpass them next season.

‘We cannot compete for wages but I believe we can realistically compete on the pitch,’ he added. ‘I’m convinced of that. As well, we can overcome them. We were for a while not investing, maybe because we were building the stadium. But I think now our financial situation is much stronger and that we will be capable of buying the players we need to buy.

‘Not all the top players can go to Chelsea. There are top players Chelsea don’t want to buy who are still good enough for us.’

New Pitch For Wembley

A new pitch is to be laid at Wembley following criticism of the playing surface at English football's national stadium.

The pitch was heavily criticised by three of the four managers of the the FA Cup semi-finalists and PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor described it as an "embarrassment".

The FA Cup final between Chelsea and Portsmouth is the next match to be played at the stadium.

"Wembley Stadium can confirm that a new pitch will be installed, with work commencing today," a statement on Sunday said.

"We will continue working with The Sports Turf Research Institute (STRI) to install and maintain the new turf.

"The pitch will be the same type as was used in the latter part of last year.

"We will continue to refine the installation and maintenance regime to build on the formula that was successful during that period.

"Wembley and STRI feel confident that we will be able to deliver and sustain a good pitch at Wembley for our busy football schedule in May."