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| Jose's last attempt to egg Sheva on. | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Sep 18 2007, 10:00 AM (18 Views) | |
Papa Lazarou
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Sep 18 2007, 10:00 AM Post #1 |
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Always business,never personal.
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"Jose's last attempt to egg Sheva on Last updated at 10:45am on 18th September 2007 Should Roman Abramovich need proof Jose Mourinho has changed his style this season he need only study the head coach's public handling of Andriy Shevchenko. His hopes for an attractive winning formula may still be a work in progress on the pitch but the head coach is providing some new colour off it. Where once Mourinho would have revealed his feelings about Shevchenko with a sharp public put-down, today he is letting the Ukrainian suffer with a bizarre analogy. The Portuguese was loath to talk about the striker directly, instead choosing to compare the quality of his second choice players to low quality eggs. But nobody was left in any doubt that the striker's prospects under this management regime remain dim. Mourinho brought Shevchenko back against Blackburn last weekend after leaving the striker out completely for the start of the season when he ran out of other options. Three good chances missed and a goalless draw later and Mourinho's response to an upbeat TV interviewer trying to draw praise for Shevchenko's efforts was: "Yes, he nearly scored." When asked about the Ukrainian's performance ahead of tonight's Champions League group B opening game against Rosenborg at Stamford Bridge, he said: "You saw the same game that I saw and can write what you think. You don't need me to give my opinion." Shevchenko plays tonight because injuries to Didier Drogba's knee and Claudio Pizarro's calf have not cleared up, but the significance of his runout should not be overegged. His return against Blackburn was billed as a last chance to impress but in reality that, along with far too many scoring opportunities at Chelsea, had already been missed. At the end of last season Mourinho warned the striker he would only welcome him back for a second campaign if he showed an eagerness to adapt. On the pre-season training camp in Los Angeles he remarked: "He is still the same Shevchenko", and the striker's body language has been downcast since. If the striker had not cost £30.8 million when he joined from AC Milan last year he would probably have left by now, and as a goalscorer who has failed to prosper under Mourinho at Chelsea he is in good company. Mateja Kezman, Hernan Crespo and Eidur Gudjohnsen have all failed to fit the bill up front. But Blackburn's Benni McCarthy, who played under Mourinho at Porto, ticks the right boxes for the sort of powerful, mobile, targetman's characteristics the coach likes in his strikers. He said: "He expects you to deliver and if you don't, no matter how big a name you are, he puts you on the bench and you will be out of his team until you prove you are worthy of another chance." Shevchenko would have to go more than the extra mile to earn another genuine chance of a long run at Chelsea. Mourinho said: "Pizarro is the second target man on the team, so he should be the direct replacement for Didier Drogba." Shevchenko may have to gamble on outlasting Mourinho if he is to properly find his feet at Chelsea but as he turns 31 years old this month he cannot afford to wait too long. There are still those among the club's fans and mystified pundits still waiting and willing him to come good short-term. Marcel Desailly, who played for Chelsea and AC Milan like Shevchenko, is among them. He said: "It is very difficult to leave AC Milan because it is a family club. You need time to set up psychologically and he had a lot of problems to adapt himself to the English game and a new club. "For the moment, he is not performing. Let's wait and I'm sure he will help Chelsea win the Champions League." Shevchenko's fall from grace as one of the game's greatest strikers has been spectacular. But the tactics of Rosenborg's Knut Torum explain why Mourinho will not put him on a pedestal. The Norwegians' coach thinks the way to stop Chelsea is to prevent them using their main characteristics of strength, speed and power. It is what Mourinho's side are founded on and what Shevchenko has failed to show at Stamford Bridge. That the head coach has always wanted him to play second fiddle to Drogba has not helped either after being treated like a king in Italy. Even Desailly admitted: "He likes to be the one that everyone is focused on." Tonight, a temporary spotlight is there for the striker to take." |
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Blue is the colour
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Sep 18 2007, 10:16 PM Post #2 |
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And Football is the game.
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Well, either way you look at it, Sheva is a world class striker. :ale: |
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Sheddy
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Sep 18 2007, 11:50 PM Post #3 |
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Fun Gestapo
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eggs actly :ale: |
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