Rafael Benitez’s Redemption Song

Ball Harambee by Bagga Wilks



Raphael Benitez has no chance of being appointed anything but Chelsea’s interim manager. Nonetheless, if the Chelsea team continues to click, then Rafael will be able to end the season in a bit of glory. He would have silenced the hooligans who have been harassing him shamelessly since the billionaire owner appointed him to replace Di Matteo.

Under Benitez’s tutelage Chelsea played initially unimpressively. No one questioned the abundance of talent but there was no chemistry or leadership and Chelsea lost games that under different circumstances, they should have won.

With eight matches to play and other cup games, Chelsea is in fine form and even the most critical Chelsea fans are now gratified by the team’s recent success. One of the issues that plagued Chelsea at the beginning of the season was who should play where and what should be the starting eleven. Chelsea was and is a strange blend of the old and the new and for the first half of the season, the chemistry remained elusive.

Benitez seemed to have gotten it together and has settled on a starting eleven. The experiment of playing David Luiz in mid-field has been abandoned and he and Cahill have become the two starting central defenders. John Terry, the former England skipper, has been relegated to the bench.



There has been much indecision regarding Frank Lampard. The aging Lampard has returned to being a main stay in mid-field and as is typical throughout his illustrious career, Lampard keeps popping up in the right places.

This weekend against West Ham, he scored his 200th goal in the EPL. The team now starts without a defensive mid-fielder and Ramirez is the box to box mid-fielder. Mikel is brought in during the closing minutes of the game to seal the victory.

Chelsea’s offensive players have begun to play like a symphony. Ba has replaced Torres as the sole striker and behind him is a trio that may be the most creative in English football. Hazard, Mata and Oscar constitute an ever present danger to full backs and central defenders. Against West Ham this weekend, Hazard and Mata were spectacular. They break down defenses with ease and grace. And all three kick with uncanny accuracy.



Unfortunately, Rafael will not be around next season to enjoy the three ring circus but based on the job he has done at Chelsea, he will have no difficulty obtaining work at a top tier club and wherever he turns up in his post-Chelsea career, the new fans will appreciate his knowledge of the game.

Arsenal & Chelsea: Searching for the Right Fix

Ball Harambee By Bagga Wilks



From the opening whistle to the final whistle, Mancini’s Manchester City outplayed Benitez’s Chelsea. Benitez didn’t come with a match plan and Manchester City dominated mid-field for the first twenty minutes. The Chelsea manager failed to make an adjustment.

Last season, Yaya Toure came back from the African Cup somewhat fatigued. This year before going, he looked like a spent force. This year, Toure returned from the African Cup rejuvenated. In the match up against Chelsea, the Ivorian gave his best performance for the season. He scored in the second half after Frank Lampard had missed a penalty.



Yaya Toure is a well paid mid-fielder and demonstrated on Sunday why he is regarded as one of the better mid-field players in the world. When he and David Silva are clicking, City becomes a formidable offensive force. Aguero was not at his best in this most crucial of games. When Tevez joined the fray in the second half, he showed his worth as his strike put City up 2-0. That was match and game.

What ails Chelsea? They performed like players who are not well paid and nothing is at stake. Juan Mata, their playmaker, was missing. Lampard was outplayed in mid-field. Chelsea in big games lack chemistry. On the field, they appear leaderless.



Manchester City ran all over them. Ramires did not play well. And when Benitez made a change and brought in Victor Moses and Oscar, both failed to have an impact on the game. Chelsea has an abundance of talent and a wealth of resources but their season is a reflection of their purchase of Torres for $50 million. Money has been squandered and the owner will have to recognize that greatness is not achieved overnight but through steadfastness and sticking with a coach who, over the years, hopefully sooner not later, will be able to synchronize the abundance of talent.

Arsenal and Chelsea are sailing in similar boats. The boats are experiencing choppy waters. In the case of Arsenal, the boat is not yet sinking but it is taking in water.

Arsenal was trashed Bayern Munich at home in the first leg of the UEFA Champion’s League 3-1. They barely pulled out an eleventh hour victory against Aston Villa this past weekend.



The newly acquired playmaker, Cazorla, came alive in this game and netted a pair of goals. Arsenal has slipped from the days of Henry, Viera and Berkamp. The players acquired over the summer are still adjusting to the rigors of the EPL. As in yesteryear, Arsenal’s defense is porous. With the departure of Alex Song, there is no specialist defensive mid-fielder and the only creativity in mid- field is Wilshire.

Arsenal’s acquisitions have panned out to be duds. And the young players on the farm are still struggling with their development. Whither Wenger? He is a coach who has lost his luster. He achieved greatness many moons ago. He should exit graciously. Wenger is now ready for Arsenal’s wax museum.

Up and Down the Aging Staircase

Ball Harambee By Bagga Wilks

Chelsea disposed Brentford in the F.A. Cup and will go on to the quarterfinals. Brentford gave it their all and held Chelsea to a scoreless draw in the first forty-five minutes. In the second half, Juan Mata opened the scoring and then came the floodgates. Chelsea triumphed 4-0 and since they are out of the league title and the Champion’s League, the F.A. Cup might be their sole opportunity at silverware for the 2012-2013 season.

Chelsea has had a puzzling year. They began the season like gangbusters, and looked poised to be a serious contender for the title race. Then under Di Matteo, Chelsea went into a slump that caused the firing of Di Matteo.

His replacement, Rafael Benitez, who will, unlikely, be the permanent manager, if there is such a thing at Chelsea, has been struggling to find the right mix, the right chemistry on the field. Chelsea has a challenging mix of the old and the new. John Terry, their central defender, Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard have entered their third decade and that is a precarious age for ball players. Their star striker for the previous year, Didier Drogba turned 34 and had to seek his soccer fortunes elsewhere, initially in China and now at Galatasaray, Turkey. Ashley Cole, still a starter at left back for England, was only given a one year extension on his contract. John Terry’s future at Chelsea is still undetermined and it appeared that Frank Lampard was definitely on his way to sign with Los Angeles team in the MLS in the United States.

The Lampard situation is exceedingly curious. Lampard is still a starting member of the English team who scored the decisive goal against Brazil at Wembley a few weeks ago in a friendly. For Chelsea, his work rate is not what it used to be but he has scored decisive goals for the club since his return from an injury. Does the club treat Lampard like a wounded thoroughbred and simply put him out of his misery by sending him to the MLS? Chelsea must find a better way to blend the old with the new.

One of the reasons for the optimism at the beginning of the season was Chelsea’s richness of youth. Juan Mata, Ramires, David Luiz, Demba Ba and Mikel are all players in their prime. Victor Moses, Hazard and Oscar are playing with great potential and if that talent is realized in the near future, then Chelsea should be a powerhouse in the E.P.L. and in UEFA in the years to come. One can see the development of Oscar in his first season playing in the EPL. He will finish the last third of the season very strong. Hazard is hazardous to defenders and his improvement throughout the season is readily discernable. Moses has just returned from the Africa Cup triumphantly as his team, Nigeria, defeated Farkina Faso in the final.

It will be interesting to see how Chelsea performs for the remainder of the season. All three tiers of the team have to blend, the aging, those at peak age and those in the making. The Chelsea owner is busy searching for a new manager. Obviously, Rafael Benitez is a mere interim manager but the new manager will have to blend the assortment of talents. Failure for the owner, Abramovic is not an option but whoever is chosen will have an uphill task synchronizing the abundance of talent that has been assembled at Chelsea.

The EPL Heats Up Under Wintry Conditions

Ball Harambee By Bagga Wilks

Another battle of the giants in the EPL occurred in wintry conditions. The snow in London showed no signs of letting up but even under these brutal conditions, Manchester United and Tottenham rose to the occasion. The game ended with a 1-1 tie as Clint Dempsey, the American, scored in the closing minutes to rob Manchester United of a coveted victory. The incredible Van Persie opened the scoring in the twenty-fifth minute.

Tottenham fought back in the second half. The ex-Fulham acquisition, Dembele, and Dempsey played important roles for ninety minutes. Lennon had an outstanding game and kept beating Evra with his speed and guile. Manchester United’s lead has been cut to five and Manchester City is breathing down their necks. A loss by Manchester United would easily change the dynamic of the race if Manchester City can keep winning.

Rafael Emerges Triumphant

Chelsea mesmerized Arsenal in the first half as Mata, Oscar, Hazard and Ramires played like Jack Rabbits, running, interchanging and making rings around Arsenal’s back four.

In the second half, Chelsea, up by 2-0, the Jack Rabbits went back into their holes and Arsenal had Chelsea pinned in their own half, particularly in the latter part of the second half. Walcott boosted Arsenal’s chances with a magnificent goal. Walcott is much more effective playing in the striker’s role than Giroud who, like Gervinho, has a penchant for missing the target. Arsenal hustled and huffed and puffed but they failed to come up with the equalizer.

Ramires again “bossed” midfield, breaking up plays and making dangerous runs in the box. From one of his runs, Szczesny brought him down and with the penalty awarded, the departing Lampard made no mistake. Ramires is emerging as one of the top mid-fielders in the game. But Chelsea will have to stiffen its spine and recognize that a football match runs for ninety-minutes, not for forty- five minutes.

The Race to the Bottom

All signs point to a mad scramble at the end of the season to determine who will stay and who will go. Queens Park Rangers almost stole three points from West Ham. That game produced not only two teams battling to stay up, but individual players struggling to save their professional careers.

Chamakh, who failed miserably at Arsenal, started for West Ham, put out a lot but never was able to clinically put the ball in the back of the net. He was replaced by Carlton Cole who is always overlooked but was instrumental in West Ham drawing level as he stretched Julio Ceasar with a superb header that the resurrected Joe Cole placed in the back of the net. Joe Cole, having returned to West Ham, is trying to re-establish himself as a premier player in the English Premier League.

Aston Villa vs West Brom

The Aston Villa experiment is not going well. They have not learned to close out a game. They led West Brom 1-0 at half time and West Brom came back to knock them out of three points with a 2-1 victory.

Lukaku, the Chelsea youngster on loan to West Brom, is developing into being a big league striker. That will mean Chelsea will have an excess of strikers and questions the future of Torres at the club as the Spaniard is not in the same class as Demba Ba.

Liverpool vs Norwich

Unlike the experiment at Aston Villa, the Liverpool experiment is falling into place. The Sturridge acquisition gives them more potency up front and the combined play of Sturridge and Suarez is an investment that is paying immediate dividends. Gerrard is back contributing in mid-field and Wisdom at right full back and Sterling in the wings or in mid-field augurs well for the future.

Rodgers has gone about his building program most astutely. They are still missing vital pieces at the central defender position but Liverpool has demonstrated how to reconstruct a team without tycoon spending.

A Battle of Contrasts

Stoke City has beaten the odds in avoiding regulation. They almost never win on the road. They play ugly, old time English football but they have an excellent record playing at home. On Saturday, they traveled to Wales and were drilled in the art of modern soccer by Swansea. It wasn’t much of a contest as Swansea has mastered the art of the beautiful game. They have made their mark in the EPL and with the right influx of cash could easily become one of the elite teams. At home, they easily dismissed Stoke City 3-0.

Rains and Drought of Goals

Ball Harambee By Bagga Wilks

This week the rains pelted the ballplayers as they tried to execute passes in the last third under trying conditions. Even before the rains cometh, coaching storms have been brewing in the E.P.L. Di Matteo has made an early exit from Chelsea as Chelsea made a pre-mature exit from the Championship League. Di Matteo won the Championship League last season but Abramovich spends his millions and demands immediate gratification. Rafael Benitez will now walk the Chelsea tightrope.

Chelsea vs Manchester City

Under difficult conditions Chelsea and Manchester City played to a deserving nil all draw. Both Chelsea and Manchester City pack potent offenses but the respective defensive unites closed down the passing lanes in the last third.

Manchester City was more fluid in their passing and Yaya Toure as usual was the general in mid-field. But his strikers could not create the necessary spaces to be effective.

Soccer must be admired not just for the offensive prowess of forwards but the defensive grit of central defenders and full backs. Chelsea’s central defender, Kompany, has emerged as one of the top defenders in the E.P.L.

Swansea vs Liverpool

Brendan Rodgers is walking on thin ice at Liverpool but the management at Liverpool are not as trigger happy as Chelsea’s Abramovich. Liverpool also played to a nil all draw against Swansea. Liverpool is still a work in progress and one wonders if the Liverpool squad as presently constituted can rise to the top of the heap in the E.P.L. There is Suarez and Sterling and Gerard but Liverpool suffers from a dearth of mid-field creativity.

Liverpool created most of the chances yet Swansea possessed the ball with greater ease but lacked finesse in the last third.

Arsenal vs Aston Villa

Arsene Wenger is not in danger of being fired but there is something rotten in the state of Denmark. Villa and Arsenal played to a scoreless draw. The new acquisitions at Arsenal have not demonstrated much offensive guile. At this rate, Arsenal will fall below the top four. They failed to score against a porous Aston Villa defense, a team in the regulation zone. Arsenal’s finances are in fine shape and their financial success is a far cry from what is being accomplished by Wenger’s ammunition-less Arsenal.

Manchester United vs Queens Park Rangers

The Queens Park Rangers’ crew gave Mark Hughes a great deal of rope but he kept using it to hang himself and to trip up the team. Q.P.R. owners’ cups eventually ran over and they have put Hughes out to pasture and brought in Tottenham’s ex-boss, Harry Redknapp.

Unfortunately, Q.P.R. was up against the best finishing team in the League. Manchester United have parked Nani but they are firing on all cylinders with Van Persie, Rooney, Welbeck and Young. Their problem is what do they do with “Chicharito” Hernandez, the scoring machine. How do you not play Van Persie and Rooney?

Manchester United spanked Q.P.R. 3-1 to return to the top of the table. If they continue to score goals in bunches, then they will soon break away from their rivals in the E.P.L.

Rafael Benítez sacked by Inter

Rafael Benítez's unhappy six-month tenure at the European champions, Internazionale, ended tonight when the Spaniard's contract at San Siro was terminated, with the parting of the ways set to be formally confirmed in the next 24 hours.
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Coaches and Superstars

By
Bagga Wilks

The Brazilian, Robinho, was transferred from Real Madrid to Manchester City with a great deal of money and even greater fanfare. Robinho never found his footing under Mark Hughes or his successor, Roberto Mancini. Robinho played fairly well his first season in the English Premier League. In his second season, he got injured playing for his country and after his recovery never really got back his ‘samba” rhythm. He lost confidence in his game and the Manchester City coaches lost confidence in him.
Robinho was in a hostile work environment and went back on loan to play for his old club in Brazil, Santos. He recovered his form and confidence and played decently for his country in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa under Dunga.

TORRES HITS 2 GOALS TO SINK CHELSEA

Fernando Torres struck twice in the dying minutes against Chelsea to keep Liverpool's title dream alive in a dramatic finale at Anfield. Rafa Benitez's side looked to be heading for another frustrating draw as Chelsea held out after Frank Lampard's second half dismissal for a lunge on Xabi Alonso.