Players That Plan on Leaving!



Owen Hargreaves



Very soon after winning the Premier League, Sir Alex Ferguson announced that Owen Hargreaves would be leaving the club.  Hargreaves has been hurt for the majority of the last three seasons of his career.  He's a very talented footballer, and I'm sure he will be going somewhere very prestigious after he leaves Manchester United.

 

Sturridge and Kalou with
teammate Bosingwa



Two Chelsea forwards claim that they want out if they aren't going to get first team football.  Solomon Kalou has played a lot of first team football for the team, and is a valuable part of their offense.  But, after the acquisition of Fernando Torres, Kalou is looking kind of shaky on getting starting roles.  Torres, Drogba, and Anelka are all in front of him in starting chances as a forward.  So, Kalou stated that if he wasn't going to get many starting chances, he was going to have to look elsewhere.  Daniel Sturridge, who spent most of the season loaned out to Bolton, also who spent most of the season claiming that all he wanted was to go back to Chelsea, has now stated that if he is only going to warm the bench there, that he wants out.  Sturridge is in the same situation as Kalou, except he's got Kalou in front of him as well.  The likelihood of BOTH of these players getting a lot of starting time is very unlikely.  So, my guess is is that atleast one of them will leave Chelsea this summer.



Denilson and Fabregas

  Arsenal also has problems on the interior.  Arsene Wenger has stated that they are going to do a lot of transfering this summer in order to improve the squad.  So, amidst all of this, three players have openly stated that they want out, as well as a player that will probably leave.  Denilson, Arsenal midfielder has been at the club for 5 years.  After those 5 years, he claims that he came here to win trophies, and since he's arrived, he hasn't gotten any.  He plans on leaving in the summer.  Also, forward Nikolas Bendtner hasn't gotten a lot of playing time, and he's looking to leave so he can get some playing time I'm assuming.  Gael Clichy is tired of Arsenal and will most likely be leaving in the summer for either Inter or Bayern Munich.  And also, the discussion of Fabregas has been going on for years.  He's losing his ability to perform here at Arsenal, and he's been linked with a move back to Spanish club Barcelona.  Fabregas is still only 23, and he's got a bright future in football.  It's very likely he could go back to Spain.


Forlan and Aguero

 Athletico Madrid might lose some players this summer as well.  Both of their master forwards, Diego Forlan and Sergio Aguero, have said that they wanted out of Athletico.  I talked about a potential move for Forlan in my previous post, which stated that he was being eyed up by Diego Maradona, the new coach of Al Wasl.  Aguero has attracted a lot of attention from top name clubs in the years he's been at Athletico.  But finally, he's stated that he wants to win trophies.  He will most likely move to either a top name English or Italian club in the summer.

Many other players are attracting a lot of attention with a potential to move in the summer.  Here's a quick list of those players so you know to be looking for their names in future headlines.

• Ashley Young of Aston Villa
• Luka Modric of Tottenham
• Gael Clichy of Arsenal
• Rafinha of Genoa
• Robbie Keane of Tottenham

Hope this helps on all of our quest to find out who will end up on our favorite teams next season.  Comment below!

Ancelloti No Longer a Blue!

Roman Abramovich made the decision that Ancelloti can do nothing more for Chelsea F.C.  After winning no silverware this year, and barely finishing 2nd place, Roman decided that Chelsea needed a new manager.  Carlo Ancelloti has just finished his second year as coach of Chelsea, which is the longest a coach has been there in recent years.


Ancelloti will no longer
coach Chelsea FC

 In the 2009/10 season, Ancelloti led Chelsea to a double, winning the League and the FA Cup, something they had never done before.  They won the league scoring over 100 goals.  Didier Drogba, Chelsea striker, received the Golden Boot and Petr Cech, Chelsea goalkeeper received the Golden Glove.  The 2009/10 season was very successful for the club.

During the summer, Chelsea let go of Joe Cole, Michael Ballack, Juliano Belleti, Ricardo Carvalho, Deco, and many more.  They brought in only four players to counter all the releases, bringing in Yossi Benayoun, Ramires, and others.  In my opinion, this is where Chelsea's downfall began.  This is where the domino's began to fall.  By letting go of three key midfielder players, and only bringing in two, they lost a man in their depth at midfield.  And what happened mid-season?  Yossi Benayoun suffers a major injury, as well as Frank Lampard.  Now, you really wish you still had the hustler Joe Cole, the powerhouse Ballack, and the crafty Deco.

Over the winter transfer window, Roman brings out the big bucks.  He buys Benefica defender David Luiz and Liverpool striker Fernando Torres.  So far, and this post was written the day Ancelloti was let go, Torres has scored one goal in a Chelsea jersey.  David Luiz has scored more goals than he has.  Now, I'm not doubting Torres' abilities, the man is absolutely amazing.  However, I for one believe that it will take time for Torres to become comfortable with the Chelsea attacking style.  Chelsea likes to hold possession and make their goals as fluent as possible.  Liverpool were very "jerky", and when Torres was healthy, much of their attack was giving him the ball in either a long ball or through ball and letting him do his thing. 

Fernando Torres
Chelsea Striker

Now, I'm 100% sure that either Chelsea or Torres will tweak their style just a little to accomodate the other effectively and precisely.  If Torres can effectively use the other amazing players that help him on the attack, they will be unstoppable.  However, this syncing did not happen in the 4 months he's been there, and no one should have expected it too.  Now, he's got a long summer, and this will give them time to slow down, and become accustomed with each other as a team.

It seems as if things simply just "went wrong" for Carlo this year.  Injuries, and a lot of missed chances failed to give Chelsea any silverware this year.  However, no one should forget the high points of Chelsea's season.

Up until Week 15, Chelsea was in 1st place.  After a winless six weeks, they dropped as far as 5th.  They bounced between 5th and 4th up until Week 28.  5th place...a week later, 4th place...2 weeks later, 3rd place...4 weeks later, 2nd place.  In Week 36, they had the chance of the season to secure the Barclay's Premier League title.  But, they were stopped short by Manchester United, and the title went out of reach.  Prior to that game, they were on a 10 game non-losing streak, and a 6 game winning streak.  Chelsea F.C. overall have a good season, but it just wasn't quite enough, and they decided a managerial change was in order.

Next season, I don't believe Chelsea need to spend a lot of money.  One quality midfielder will do the trick.  They have a lot of youth coming back from loans (Mancienne, Kakuta, Sturridge) and should look forward to next year, and simply look back at this season as a "bump in the road".

Ancelloti did a fabulous job as Chelsea's manager, and I wish him luck in wherever he plans on going next.

What do you think on Chelsea's season and the removal of Ancelloti?

Fighting in the rest of the Table: EPL

Not only is the relegation zone going to come down to the final match, but many other places in the table will be decided on the final game of the season.  Here's a breakdown of the rest of the teams (excluding the teams fighting against relegation; those reviewed in the previous post) and their potential spots following Gameweek 38.



Sir Alex Ferguson will be delighted
to receive the Title once again

 1 Manchester United: (Home vs Blackpool)
Manchester United have secured the title after drawing with Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park in Week 37.  They lead Chelsea 6 points going into the last weekend.

2 Chelsea: (Away vs. Everton)
Chelsea cannot pass Manchester United to become champions.  However, Manchester City statistically still have a chance to move into second.  Chelsea lead them by 3 points and have a +12 goal difference better.  So, in order for Chelsea to drop to 3rd, Manchester City needs to win, Chelsea need to lose, and in one game, Manchester City needs to gain 13 more goals on goal difference then Chelsea.  For example, Chelsea needs to lose 6-0, and Man City needs to win 7-0.



Roberto Mancini, manager of Man City
Qualified for Champions League,
and won FA Cup this season

 3 Man City: (Away vs. Bolton)
Manchester City have a mathematical chance to hop to 2nd place (explained above), but it is very unlikely.  The real thing to worry about is Arsenal who are behind them by only one point.  Manchester City need to win to secure 3rd place.  Anything else could potentially drop them to 4th.

4 Arsenal: (Away vs. Fulham)
Arsenal are far clear of 5th place Tottenham, and can only go up from the last week.  They trail Man City by one point.  Arsenal cannot lose if they want to go up a place.  Winning, and anything but a Man City win will advance them.  Also, if Man City lose, and Arsenal draw, Arsenal will become 3rd place on goal difference.

5 Tottenham: (Home vs. Birmingham)
Tottenham have no chance in catching 4th place Arsenal.  Liverpool trail them by one point.  If they win, they will secure 5th place, and Europa League football.  Anything else will give Liverpool a chance to hop ahead of them.

6 Liverpool: (Away vs. Aston Villa)
Liverpool are in the same situation as Arsenal, except with Tottenham.  A win would be ideal, but it can be done with a draw.  They lead Tottenham on goal difference, so if Tottenham lose, and Liverpool get some sort of points, Liverpool will take 5th place.

7 Everton: (Home vs. Chelsea)
Everton cannot catch 6th place Liverpool.  However, Fulham trails them by 3 points.  So as long as Everton takes points from their next game against Chelsea, they will secure 7th place.  Fulham leads Everton on goal difference, so a loss will give Fulham a decent chance at hopping over them.

8 Fulham: (Home vs. Arsenal)
Fulham have a chance at catching Everton as explained above.  But they only lead Stoke, Bolton, and West Brom by two points.  Also, they only lead Newcastle and Aston Villa by three points.  As long as Fulham win, they will secure 8th place.  Even drawing will give them a very good chance at keeping their place.  All of the other teams have atleast a 7 goal less goal difference, so goal difference should go in their favor if it comes to that.

9 Stoke City: (Home vs. Wigan)
Stoke City are two points behind Fulham.  A victory, and a Fulham loss will boost them ahead of them.  Stoke have the same amount of points as both Bolton and West Brom.  Also, Newcastle and Aston Villa trail by one point, and Sunderland by two.  If any of these teams acquire more points then Stoke this week, they will advance ahead of them.

10 Bolton: (Home vs. Manchester City)
Bolton trail Fulham by two points.  A win, and a Fulham loss will boost them ahead of them.  However, 4 teams are within two points of them, plus Stoke are only ahead of them on goal difference, which is one goal more.  Any teams below Bolton gaining more points then Bolton, will give them a very good chance of advancing past them.  And Bolton are playing Manchester City, which will be a very tough opponent.



Peter Odemwingie
West Brom's Star Striker

 11 West Brom: (Away vs. Newcastle)
West Brom are tied with Stoke City and Bolton on points, but trail on goal difference.  They're ahead of Newcastle and Aston Villa by one point, and Sunderland by two.  A victory will secure atleast 11th place, and they have a chance to rise a few places in the table if things go right for them.  A draw or loss is unpredictable, and they could drop as low as 14th.

12 Newcastle: (Home vs. West Brom)
Newcastle trail Fulham by three points.  They trail Stoke, Bolton, and West Brom by two points.  They lead Aston Villa on goal difference, and lead Sunderland by one point.  A win will secure them atleast 12th, and could potentially rise them to 8th.  A draw or loss could go anyway, and they could drop as low as 14th.

13 Aston Villa: (Home vs. Liverpool)
Aston Villa trail Fulham by three points, Stoke, Bolton, and West Brom by two, and Newcastle on an 11 point goal difference.  They lead Sunderland by one point.  Aston Villa can secure 13th place with a win, and could potentially raise them to 8th.  A draw or loss is unpredictable, and could lower them to 14th.  If they draw, and Sunderland draw or lose, they will stay at 13th.

14 Sunderland: (Away vs. West Ham)
Sunderland do not have to worry about dropping places, they lead Wolves and Blackburn by 4 points.  However, with a victory, they could potentially go up the table as far as 9th place.  It's very unlikely, but possible.  They only trail Stoke, Bolton, and West Brom by two.  They trail Newcastle and Aston Villa by one.

SUMMARY: Teams in parenthesis are teams that could get that spot
1st place - Secured (Man U)
2nd place - (Chelsea and Man City)
3rd place - (Man City and Arsenal)
5th place - (Tottenham and Liverpool)
7th place - (Everton and Fulham)
8th place - (Fulham, Stoke, Bolton, West Brom, Newcastle, and Aston Villa)
9th thru 14th - (completely up for grabs between Fulham, Stoke, Bolton, West Brom, Newcastle, Aston Villa and Sunderland)
15th thru 19th - (completely up for grabs between Blackburn, Wolves, Birmingham, Blackpool and Wigan)
20th place - Secured (West Ham)