Fabio Capello Needs To Give Joe Cole The Chance To Shine

Der Kaiser reckons England play kick-and-rush and you have to wonder why the silky skills of Joe Cole have been ignored by Fabio Capello.

Although he has the initials JC he is not viewed as the potential saviour of his country.

Cole – released last week by Chelsea – spent England’s first game of the World Cup on the bench, watching England produce the sort of stuff which led to Franz Beckenbauer’s savage attack.

That seems to be the story of Cole’s career of late – a footballing gem not treasured by club or country.

Rated a boy genius at West Ham and likened by then boss Harry Redknapp at 17 to Gianfranco Zola, his huge ability on the ball has probably never reached its peak – or been allowed to reach its peak.

He remains a player who appears to frustrate his managers as much as excite them.

In the hurly-burly of the Premier League and England internationals, Cole’s artistry appears to be viewed now as superfluous.

It is not difficult to imagine his various bosses telling Cole what he is doing wrong, not what he is doing right.

There is something about the Islington-born star that has provoked managers into criticising him publicly – for giving the ball away, not tackling back and straying out of position.

Even Sven Goran Eriksson – that most mild-mannered Swede – had a dig in 2002 when Cole gave away possession which ended in a goal for Italy in a 2-1 defeat by the Italians at Elland Road.

Jose Mourinho at Chelsea did not hold back, slamming Cole after he scored the winner against Liverpool for neglecting defensive duties and hauling him off the pitch soon after his goal.

Mourinho famously described Cole as a player “with two faces” – one he liked (Cole’s flair and technical ability) and the other he did not (Cole’s alleged lack of enthusiasm for defensive duties).

You cannot imagine Eriksson or Mourinho acting the same way with Frank Lampard.

Perhaps Cole is too nice. One of the most pleasant footballers you could wish to meet off the pitch, he must have been gutted to see Shaun Wright-Phillips sent on for the out-of-sorts James Milner against the USA on Saturday.

Despite that he still found the time to say “safe journey home lads” to the waiting media after the game.

Redknapp, now at Spurs, is looking to snap up Cole on a free transfer with Harry stating what Cole really needs is a boss who makes him feel wanted.

Hopefully, Redknapp can give him that, but imagine how he would be embraced in Spain, playing for a top La Liga side.

Cole has improved massively when it comes to defending but the impression remains he has lost his identity as a footballer.

Maybe after Saturday’s deeply disappointing draw against the USA, Capello, who made Cole sweat on his World Cup place right up to the last minute, will turn to the playmaker at some point against Algeria tomorrow.

Maybe the Italian might tell the 28-year-old to go out and express himself.

Let’s hope so, because we might witness the resurrection of JC in South Africa.

David Silva Wants To Leave Spain For England

David Silva, the Spain international midfielder, has had a change of mind about moving to England and is deliberating whether to choose Manchester City or Chelsea amid firm interest from both clubs.

Silva's reluctance to leave Spain was described as unflinching when City opened formal talks with Valencia at the end of last season but the player has gradually come round to the idea of playing in the Premier League, not least because of the realisation that Real Madrid's new manager, José Mourinho, is not keen on recruiting him.

Barcelona also have other targets, having already signed David Villa from Valencia, and Silva is now left with a choice of remaining at Valencia or moving to England. His representatives have informed Valencia in the last 48 hours that he would like to take the option of a transfer.

That now boils down to a straight choice between City or Chelsea depending on a financial arrangement being agreed with his current club. That, however, is proving far from straightforward, with Valencia asking around €40m (£33.2m), a fee that is considered exorbitant at Eastlands and Stamford Bridge.

City were the first club to register an official interest in the 24-year-old and have the financial power to offer more than Chelsea in terms of both the transfer fee and the player's salary, which currently stands at £3m a year and could easily be doubled if he were to join Roberto Mancini's team. Chelsea, however, have the lure of playing in the Champions League next season and of joining a club that has just deposed Manchester United as champions.

Silva is described as open-minded but it is understood he marginally favours Chelsea on the basis that City's reputation in Spain is not yet of one of Europe's more powerful clubs, at least not in football terms. The likelihood is that he will wait until after the World Cup in case a good tournament persuades Madrid or Barcelona to look into his availability.

City's pursuit of Silva partly originates from their knowledge that two of their more creative players, Robinho and Stephen Ireland, both want to leave the club this summer. Robinho, one of Brazil's more impressive players in the 2-1 defeat of North Korea, has made it clear he does not want to return to Manchester when his loan arrangement with Santos expires on 4 August and his representatives are due to meet the City chief executive, Garry Cook, to make that official. That meeting was due to take place today but will now be held next week.

Chelsea Join Arsenal & Manchester City In Race For £20m-Rated Germany Star Mesut Ozil

Chelsea are set to join Premier League rivals Arsenal and Manchester City in the battle for £20 million Werder Bremen midfielder Mesut Ozil.

The Germany international is one of world football’s most talented young players and Arsenal is keen to replace Cesc Fabregas with the 21-year-old this summer.

City is also interested in Ozil after seeing the midfielder develop in the last year, but Chelsea is prepared to beat everyone to the German star, according to the Daily Mail.

Ozil, who joined Werder Bremen from Schalke two years ago, has 12 months left on his current contract and has refused to accept a new deal from the Bundesliga club.

Chelsea have been interested in Ozil since he made his move to Werder Bremen and the defending Premier League champions are seeking a midfield replacement for departed veteran Michael Ballack.

Chelsea Stun Real Madrid With Offer To Triple Star Defender Sergio Ramos' Wage Packet

Chelsea have rocked Real Madrid by offering right back Sergio Ramos an £8.3 million-a-year wage packet to move to west London, according to Sport.

Ramos, 24, has developed in to one of the best defenders in the sport since moving to the Bernabeau in 2004. Although set to star for Spain at World Cup 2010, he is currently paid just £2.5m per annum, a figure the Blues intend to eclipse.

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is a personal fan of the player, and has sanctioned a £48 million bid. With current right back Jose Bosingwa sidelined with a long-term knee injury, there is space in manager Carlo Ancelotti's side for the superstar defender.

Arsenal Beat Chelsea To Sign Dutch Youngster Ebecilio

Arsenal have beaten Chelsea in the race to sign Feyenoord starlet Kyle Ebecilio, according to the Daily Mirror.

The 16-year-old midfielder will join the Gunners on a three-year deal on July 1st. Arsenal will have to pay Feyenoord compensation for Ebicilio's training costs of around £500,000.

A strong and powerful attacking midfielder, Chelsea had thought that they were about to do a deal for Ebecilio but Arsenal's outstanding record of youth development under Arsene Wenger has apparently counted in the Gunners' favour.

Nonetheless, Feyenoord are disappointed to lose their young talent, having seen Ebecilio's cousin Jeffrey Bruma move to Chelsea in similar circumstances.

Feyenoord technical director Leo Beenhakker said, "We did what we could do by offering the kid a contract on time. But he wanted to wait, again this is his right. That he now goes to Arsenal, means that we only get a training allowance.

"This is the story of (Chelsea defender Jeffrey) Bruma, he was also a great talent that unfortunately never played for us. I treasure Ebecilio highly."

Ebecilio has represented Holland at under-15 and under-16 level.

Drogba: I Can't Believe It, But By The Grace Of God I'm Playing At The World Cup

Didier Drogba admitted he could not believe his World Cup dream was still alive after breaking his arm a week before the tournament started.

Drogba looked to be out of the World Cup after suffering the break in a warm-up game against Japan, but he made a remarkable recovery and came on for the final 25 minutes of Wednesday’s 0-0 draw with Portugal.

And Chelsea striker Drogba, who said he will be fit to start Ivory Coast’s next game, against Brazil on Sunday, said he could not believe he was still able to play after fearing he would miss the tournament.

“I was very disappointed at first when I got the injury, but then the doctor said to me that I still had a chance to be in the squad,” said Drogba.

“So then we did everything in our hands just to try the impossible and, by the grace of God, the impossible has happened. It’s amazing. The work the doctors have done is incredible. It’s not easy to recover quickly from surgery and a broken bone and I’m just so, so grateful to be here and playing.

“Every time you put your foot on the pitch there’s a risk, but with the protection I had it was clear that there wasn’t any more of a gamble by me being there.

“The only problem I would have had was if I had fallen over. But even if I had fallen over it would only have been pain that I would have felt. Pain, I can cope with that. I wouldn’t take the risk.

“If I thought I couldn’t have played I wouldn’t have been on the pitch. Brazil is going to be a difficult game, but I hope I will have those few days to improve my condition and look at the parts of my game I couldn’t work on because I was at the hospital. But I’m confident.”

Why Frustrated Anelka Is Firing Blanks

A month after Aimé Jacquet decided against including a precocious young Nicolas Anelka in his final squad for the 1998 World Cup, L’Équipe went to visit the then Arsenal striker in Trappes, the town just half an hour outside of Paris he calls home.

They found him watching France’s second round match against Paraguay, which had the entire nation on the edge of its seat. The game went to extra-time and was ultimately decided by a strike in the 113th minute from Le Président himself, Laurent Blanc.

When asked if he would like to have been a part of it, an indifferent looking Anelka apparently replied: “It’s not that I don’t care about Les Bleus, but, at some point, you have to say stop. Otherwise you spend your life in front of the TV.” Anelka was just 19.

Four years later in 2002, an unconvincing spell on loan at Liverpool meant he was overlooked again despite performing well at the European Championship in Holland and Belgium. When Jacques Santini called Anelka up to replace the injured Sidney Govou in November, he point-blank refused, saying that he didn’t want to be ‘a stop-gap’. Anelka later demanded that Santini “get on his knees and apologise.”

His international career already appeared to be over and under Raymond Domenech it didn’t look like being resurrected as Anelka was ignored again in 2006. “I will not watch the World Cup,” he grumbled. “I feel Domenech called me back just so I could show my potential. I even scored. I think that right from the start, he had no intention of taking me on board anyway. I deserved a place.”

However, since November last year when he scored the winning goal in the first leg of France’s controversial play-off against the Republic of Ireland, Anelka has become a pillar of Domenech’s side. In fact, if he plays tonight, Anelka will set a personal record of starting eight consecutive matches for Les Bleus.

Nevertheless, his troubled history with France means the 31-year-old’s commitment still frequently comes into question. Wednesday’s L’Équipe even inquired whether Anelka really considers this summer’s World Cup in South Africa to be the pinnacle of his career, it of course being his first.

If Anelka does consider it to be so, why then is he having so much trouble working for the team as a lone central striker in both a 4-3-3 and a 4-2-3-1 formation? In each of France’s last four matches, Anelka has persistently dropped back into midfield to find the ball instead of maintaining his position and acting as the reference point for the attack as both systems clearly demand.

It’s the sort of role David Trezeguet excelled in; often disappearing, not playing any part in the build up, just being there when the move needed finishing. But Anelka, out of a need to touch the ball and feel included, can’t or maybe won’t make it work. The net result: he hasn’t recorded any shots on target in his last four matches and Les Bleus are struggling for goals.

“A centre-forward must call for the ball to be played deep and get on the end of crosses like Miroslav Klose did on Philipp Lahm’s ball for Germany’s second goal against Australia,” explained Bixente Lizarazu, left back of the great side of 1998 and 2000.

“Anelka does what he wants. He does what he likes. He will play the same match in whatever position you put him. If you put him at right-back, he would still play as a false nine.”

Statistics from France’s opening game against Uruguay last Friday show that Anelka received the ball just once in the opposition penalty area, but collected it 13 times around the half-way line. Luis Fernandez, his former coach at Paris-Saint Germain, claims this is indicative of the fact Anelka has never liked playing on his own up front.

“He grows frustrated very quickly in this position and rapidly ‘unhooks’ himself from the attack to find the ball. In Paris, with Jean-Louis Gasset, they were always saying to him: ‘Call out to the wings for the ball, then move, and ask for it in the box’. He didn’t want to. He always wanted to touch the ball.” Anelka’s apparent reluctance to play any other way supposedly led one former France manager to believe he didn’t like football at the highest level because of its emphasis on executing tactics to the letter, restricting his freedom of expression.

However, as Roger Lemerre’s former assistant René Girard countered: “It’s difficult to say that a player who is a regular at Chelsea with an Italian coach doesn’t like constraints.” World Cup winner Christophe Dugarry also believes Anelka has no problem playing as a lone striker, as he used to do everything required of him in that role when Zinedine Zidane asked him to do so; the implication being that there currently isn’t an authority figure within the French camp.

Of course, all the blame for France’s problems up front shouldn’t be left squarely on Anelka’s shoulders, even if his record at international level stands at only one goal every 300 minutes. Domenech has lined up seven different attacks in his last 12 matches, preventing his strikers from developing an understanding of each other’s movements and responsibilities.

It’s likely to be different again tonight against Mexico even though Domenech will persist with the 4-2-3-1 he used against Uruguay. Thierry Henry looks set to return to the starting XI as France’s central striker, but Anelka won’t be dropped. Instead, he’ll move to the right-hand side where he featured regularly during qualifying, taking the place of Sidney Govou

Anelka’s Chelsea team-mate Florent Malouda is certain to be back after his spat with Domenech last week. He will play on the left-hand side, meaning Franck Ribéry moves into the hole behind Henry at the expense of Yoann Gourcuff, undoubtedly the biggest casualty of France’s recent travails.

Chelsea Will Start Title Defence By Hosting West Brom

Chelsea begin their defence of the Barclays Premier League title with a home match against newly-promoted West Brom.

The match on August 14 means a return to Stamford Bridge for former Blues midfielder Roberto Di Matteo, now manager of Albion.

Next up for the champions will be a trip to Wigan, where they were beaten last season, before Stoke visit Stamford Bridge on August 28.

The title holders have to wait until October 2 for their first match against one of the big four clubs, when they face Arsenal at home, with the return fixture on Boxing Day.

Carlo Ancelotti's side first play Manchester United on December 18, with the two shaping up at Old Trafford on May 7 - the Blues' penultimate away fixture.

United, runners-up in 2009-10, also start with a home match against a newly-promoted team. Sir Alex Ferguson's side takes on Newcastle on the first day.

And Blackpool, the third of the sides promoted from the Championship, provide the Old Trafford opposition on the last day of the season, May 22.

There are two intriguing matches between top-four hopefuls on the opening day.

Liverpool starts the post-Rafael Benitez era with a home match against Arsenal, while Tottenham and Manchester City meet at White Hart Lane.

Aston Villa faces West Ham and Everton travel to Blackburn, while Blackpool's first match in the Premier League is at home, to local rivals Wigan.

Elsewhere on the opening day, Steve Bruce's Sunderland are at home to Birmingham, one of the clubs he previously managed.

Wolves and Stoke clash at Molineux, while Bolton and Europa League runners-up Fulham meet in the north-west.

Summary Of A Season: Ricardo Carvalho

Having declared the 2008/09 season 'the worst of my career', his hamstring tearing three times being the prime reason, playing 11 games more in 2009/10 and collecting a championship winners' medal at the end of it allows Ricardo Carvalho to consider his sixth Chelsea year more of a success.

It was however another season hit by injury at the end for the hugely-respected defender who has spent half the last decade as a league champion in Portugal or England.

He did total 22 league games and five Champions League appearances and it all began very well. His diving header against Manchester United in the Community Shield was Chelsea's first competitive goal of the season.

With Alex's summer groin surgery chipping two month's off the start of the Brazilian's season, Carvalho's return to fitness was all the more important and he was there in his familiar position alongside John Terry for the first league game, but was left on the bench for the midweek visit to Sunderland three days later with Branislav Ivanovic coming in.

This was a pattern repeated in the early months when two games a week where scheduled. Care was being taken with muscle tissue that proved vulnerable the year before.

Matches against Fulham, Burnley, Porto and Spurs all had Riccy in defence and were won with no goals conceded but he was also there for defeats at Wigan and Villa when the team's set-piece defending came into question, as it had the previous season.

Alex came back into the frame in October but after rotation, Carvalho returned to start November's visit by Manchester United to the Bridge. He was the team's outstanding player on the day, making important blocks from Darren Fletcher and Wayne Rooney. Chelsea won 1-0.

A week earlier he had crossed with the outside of the boot for Ivanovic to head a fourth goal at Bolton.

A 3-0 win at Arsenal followed soon after the Man U win and Ancelotti during this period said:

'In this moment defensive players are doing very well. We have Terry, Ivanovic, Carvalho, and Ashley Cole. The defensive line is working very well.'

Beginning with defeat at Man City, December was less secure and although our Portuguese centre-back joined the collection of overseas players to make 200 appearances for the club that month, by Christmas he was firmly locked into a game-by-game rotation with Alex as Terry's partner.

It was a policy shelved in February, partly down to an Alex niggling injury. Carvalho played four in a row for a second time in the season but defeat in the San Siro to Inter was followed by the home low point - a 4-2 reverse against Man City. Carvalho was substituted 69 minutes in with Chelsea losing 2-1.

From then on in Alex was first choice. Carvalho did start a month later at Portsmouth but lasted only 36 minutes before suffering ankle ligament damage that ended his club season, although happily not his World Cup.