Mutiny at the Bridge!

To say that Andre Villas-Boas' brief tenure at Chelsea has been a tumultuous one is no exaggeration. Yes, the Blues are in fifth place in the league and have a genuine chance of finishing in the top four or, dare I say it, in third place.

It's been sometime since the Blues celebrated over a third place finish, which is why billionaire owner, Roman Abramovich, decided to step in to hold a summit with his manager and players to root out the cause of the decay at Stamford Bridge.

And as if taking a cue from the media, several Chelsea players were reported to have pointed the finger right at Villas-Boas.

The reports don't indicate which player led the mutiny except to say that they included several senior players. According to the reports, the players blasted their Portuguese manager's tactics - or lack off - when Villas-Boas decided to give them a dressing down in front of Abramovich.

It's hard to tell just what Abramovich will do next. His history would suggest a sacking is in order but as Villas-Boas himself has pointed out, it cost the Russian tycoon EURO 15 million to bring the Portuguese manager to Stamford Bridge from Porto. Sacking him would then lead to hefty compensation package.

All in all, it makes absolutely bad business sense. But this is pocket change for Abramovich who may have initially wanted to give Villas-Boas until the end of the season to prove himself. But this new episode with the players certainly suggests the fact that he's lost the confidence of the squad. And if they don't believe in him, expect more defeats to come Chelsea's way.

Much ado about nothing

In a week where England lost its manager, you would think that the narrative dominating the media over the weekend would've focused on the country's prospects for this summer's EURO in Poland and Ukraine.

Instead, a handshake - or the lack of one - seems to have sent the English media in a frenzy. One only wonders what they would do with themselves without a sensational non-issue to blowup.

Seriously, a handshake? In case you're from a different planet, here's what happened. Liverpool's Luis Suarez, who had just served an eight-match ban for racial abuse - one that he still denies was intended to be racial but we'll get back to that later - refused to shake hands with Man Utd's Patrice Evra, who accused him of said crime prior to the kickoff of Saturday night's league encounter between the two sides.

That handshake snub has now rocked the very foundations of English football if you believe what's been written in the media over the last 48 hours.

Was Suarez acting immaturely and perhaps a little stupid by snubbing Evra who extended his hand? Sure. If anything, the Suarez-Evra saga's gone on too long and it's time (for everyone) to move on.

But surely, one can see why Suarez wouldn't have wanted to shake hands with Evra. After all, Suarez still insists he wasn't trying to racially abuse Evra during the Premier League encounter between both sides at Anfield earlier in the season.

Nonetheless, in spite of the many protests on his behalf by his manager and the club and a lack of witnesses or video footage to the alleged crime, the Uruguayan forward still ended up serving an eight-match suspension and was fined GBP40,000. So, yeah, he might've been holding a grudge.

Still, it's odd that all this fuss is surrounding the refusal of a Liverpool player to shake the hand of a Manchester United player. Gary Neville, are you serious? There's very little love lost between the two sides and pretending otherwise is plain stupid. Don't forget there are players on both teams who have professed their desire at obliterating the other on many an occasion.

No prizes for guessing correctly but for the uninitiated, you want to check Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney.

But as trivial as this episode has been, I can only hope it doesn't deteriorate into a fiasco similar to the one unraveling at the English FA. In case you missed it, Fabio Capello resigned last week due to his disagreements with the FA's manner in handling another racial abuse allegation concerning John Terry.

The FA, in an unprecedented move, stripped Terry of his captain armband following allegations of racial abuse by the Chelsea defender at QPR's Anton Ferdinand. Unlike the Suarez case, this one's landed in court and could have harsher consequences on the Blues' captain if he's found guilty. But that's still an if. Nonetheless, the FA decided to take it upon themselves to preempt any court decision by stripping the England captaincy from Terry.

Capello was right to have come out and defended his man. Italian wasn't condoning racism but merely asking the FA to grant Terry the same rights meted out to individuals who have carried out crimes that are far graver: innocent until proven guilty.

But more than that, Capello was right to go public with his views when the FA decided to override his authority in the dressing room by making a unilateral decision on Terry. Even if Terry is found guilty, Capello, as England manager, should have had the responsibility in deciding the best course of action for his club.

And while we are on the subject of racist English footballers, does the Terry decision mean footballers who have been convicted of a crime will never play football for England again? As I recall, Johnathan Woodgate, who was found guilty of attacking an Asian student in Leeds in 2000, has featured several times for the Lions in recent years.


Speaking of Terry, the FA canceled a pre-match handshake between Chelsea and QPR when the two sides met recently to avoid what happened at Old Trafford on Saturday. Ironic huh?

Mike Ashley did what?

Just when you thought Mike Ashley was finally done screwing Newcastle United, he does this. For those in the dark, Ashley has sold the naming rights to St James Park to Sports Direct Arena. As such, from now on, Newcastle United's home grown will be called Sports Direct Arena - a name that will inspire or intimidate no one.

In short, Ashley has thrown Newcastle's tradition and history under the bus by selling the rights to one of the most famous grounds in English football.

Sure, Ashley isn't the first. Clubs like Arsenal and Man City have done it too but would Ashley re-channel proceeds raised from the sale into the club? His past actions seem to suggest otherwise.

Will the silly season end already?

With only a few days remaining in the transfer window, activity in the market is expected to intensify until the final hour on Aug 31. And as always, we can expect some major last ditch (or panic) signings on deadline day that will eclipsed anything that happens on the pitch this weekend in the Premier League.

Thankfully, one of the longest transfer sagas of our time (Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona)is behind us but there are still several purported rumors that have plagued the transfer market all summer that are expected to go into fifth gear in thr coming days. These rumours are:

1. Samir Nasri to Man City

Like many talented French footballers of the last decade, Samir Nasri has been labeled the next Zidane by many commentators in his home country. And while Nasri's no Zidane, very few can deny the fact that the Frenchman has been one of the most talented and intelligent footballers in the Premier League. As such, it was no surprise that Man City was going to come knocking on Arsene Wenger's door sooner or later for the French national. After a series of denials by the Gunners, and some jeering from the home crowd, it appears as though Roberto Mancini will finally have his man. And Arsenal would have lost two of their most important players in a span of two weeks.

2. Wesley Sneijder to Man Utd

When Cristiano Ronaldo left Man Utd two seasons ago, he left a huge gaping void behind. Znevermind the fact that his old club still managed to win the Premier Leafue for a record 19th time the season right after his departure. United somehow managed without him in the league but against Barcelona in the Champions League final in May, the absence of a game-changing footballer in the team was sorely missed. Add to that the retirement of club legend Paul Scholes and it would appear as though there is a serious dearth of options in the creative department at Old Trafford. And so, enter Wesley Sneijder. The Dutch midfielder has been in sensational form for both country and Inter Milan over the last few seasons that it's no surprise that Sir Alex sees him as the final jigsaw piece to his squad. Furthermore, the Scotsman has been lucky with the Dutch in the past ( Jaap Stam, Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Edwin Van Der Sar). so far, Sneijder's salary requirements have been a stumbling block but with reports indicating the midfielder is willing to accept a pay cut, a deal could be imminent. As long as Sir Alex admits he's interested. Until then, we are in for some big Sneijder- Man U rumors in the days ahead.

3. Luka Modric to Tottenham

Here's another one that just won't go away. Like Nasri, Modric had a great season in 2010/11. As expected, the Croatian midfielder has come under the radar of several clubs including Roman Abramovich' Chelsea which is undergoing yet another rebuilding project under new management. With Harry Redknapp slowly warming up to the idea of losing his best player (he's set his sights on using the cash to buy Emanuel Adebayor), it appear as though a deal may be in the offing. But despite Redknapp's indirect overtures to Stamford Bridge, there's no word yet if the Blues will move for Modric. Adding to that is the fact that Chelsea see, closer to signing Juan Mata from Valencia instead. But I have a bigger question. If Modric does go to Chelsea, what will happen to Frank Lampard?

It's about time!

At long last, FIFA has come to its senses and may introduce goal-line technology.

It is perhaps a bit of an understatement to say that the football's international governing body has been slow to embrace technology.

Football, after all, is still one of the few major sports that hasn't adopted video replay technology to assist referees.

As such, despite the immense wealth in football and the fact that no other sport is televised as much, embarrassing errors occur every weekend much to the chagrin of millions of football fans.
 
And while it still seems as though FIFA is still light years away from sanctioning the use of video replays in football matches, the governing body has at least signaled that its ready to introduce goal line technology.

But don't get too excited yet. Here's what Sepp Blatter had to say about it:

"In March next year, we will have a final decision on goal-line technology. If it's proved to be accurate and affordable, it's possible that the international board will adopt this technology during the 2014 World Cup," he said, ABC News reported.

March next year? What exactly needs to be discussed from now until March for something as clear cut as goal line technology?

If there's an agreement in March, reports say goal-line technology can be implemented by FAs from the 2012/13 season onwards.A key factor in making this happen, according to Blatter, is accuracy and affordability.

Still, this is positive news for football fans. For years Blatter was an integral member of the anti-technology/ anti-common sense caucus in FIFA. But Frank Lampard's disallowed goal against Germany in World Cup 2010 changed his mind on the subject. The question of why no decision to implement goal-line technology since then is yet another mystery.
 
But one does wonder if the announcement of goal-line technology has come about at the right time to shed some positive light on FIFA following its recent corruption scandal.

In the meantime, here some famous incidents which could have used goal-line technology.

A midfield connundrum

Liverpool FC today denied that captain Steven Gerrard's rehabilitation may take longer than expected and keep the England midfielder out of Kenny Dalglish' squad for the beginning of the 2011/12 season.

The Reds captain has been sidelined with a groin injury since mid-March and underwent surgery towards the end of the season. Considering how this isn't the first time Gerrard's been hit with a groin injury, the medics at Anfield have kept the midfielder out of Liverpool's pre-season tour of Asia or it's recent 3-0 defeat in a friendly with Hull City.

Defeat to the Tigers in a pre-season friendly with an experimental side shouldn't concern Dalglish as much as the scoreline would suggest. Nonetheless, the friendly would have certainly highlighted the various challenges awaiting the Liverpool manager when the season kicks off in less than three weeks.

The obvious problem at the moment is the sudden abundance in midfielders at the club. Including new signings Jordan Henderson, Charlie Adam and Stewart Downing, there are at - at last count - 14 midfielders in the squad. And this doesn't include prospects from the youth squad.

Most pundits and 'tacticians' in the press have assumed Dalglish will employ a rotational policy to accommodate the various talent available in the squad. Well, no points for stating the obvious. The big question is who he intends to field each game and, more importantly, who he intends to drop.

A fit again Steven Gerrard would be a welcome boost to a squad that now possesses plenty of attacking options. But at the same time, the inclusion of Gerrard would amount to the omission of someone with the capabilities of Raul Mereles, Henderson or Adam as all four players operate best from the middle of the park.

Then again, both Adam and Mereles have been deployed on the wings during Liverpool's pre-season matches although it would seem highly unlikely either one of them will be used on the left following the arrival of Stewart Downing.  It would appear then there might be some room for change on the right side of midfield.

Dutch striker, Dirk Kuyt has spent over three seasons operating as a right-winger and while he certainly isn't a natural wingman, his work rate and penchant for goals almost makes him indispensable to the squad.

And speaking of indispensable players, let's not forget Liverpool's Brazilian midfielder, Lucas, who's transformation last season from a much-maligned player into one of the club's most reliable midfielders. More importantly, Lucas' defensive contributions have made him an integral player in Kenny's squad.

So, to reiterate my earlier query, who will Kenny be willing to sacrifice? Despite Lucas' popularity, the Brazilian may be dropped in games in which the Reds need more firepower than muscle in the field. Dirk Kuyt may also be another casualty as the Dutch striker may find himself being used more often from the subs bench than on the right-side of midfield.

But would Kenny risk dropping Gerrard? Dalglish often says no player is bigger than the club but Kenny also realizes that he can't afford to relegate Gerrard to the bench after all his years of service to the club. The last time Gerrard was unhappy at Anfield, he nearly signed for Chelsea and despite being much older now, many top level clubs wouldn't think twice of snapping the England international up if he were open to a transfer out of Liverpool.

Still, based on the Reds' performance against Hull, it is abundantly clear that it will take some time before the new midfielders in the Liverpool squad gel together. And Kenny may end up needing Gerrard more than ever.

Is Van Persie losing it?

It was always going to happen sooner or later.

After the season Arsenal's had, someone was going to crack. And it looks as if Robin Van Persie's the first casualty.

The Gunners' striker launched a tirade today against what he believes to be unsporting behaviour by Spain and Chelsea players. Van Persie has slammed these players for supposedly putting referees under pressure to produce a yellow card against an opponent player.


"They [Spain players] always go up to referees in an attempt to get an opponent booked. They are trying to screw colleagues! That kind of behaviour really annoys me.


"People who are watching the game on television and fans really do not want to see these kind of things. If you want to witness a lot of complaints, you should just go the bakery or something. There's always people nagging there as well.

"Chelsea players are always bitching against the referees. I really cannot understand that. Just shut the f*** up and focus on playing football," Van Persie said, Soccernet reports.

Hmm. I'm inclined to agree with Van Persie here.

It is annoying when footballers surround referees to get them to book or send off an opponent.  But it's also annoying when footballers, out of frustration or just a lack of maturity, choose to fight with their opponents when thing don't go their way. Sound familiar Van Persie?

And while we're at it, if you're looking to "witness a lot of complaints," the bakery is hardly the place to go.

No, if you want to meet a serial complainer, the place to be would be an Arsenal post-match press conference with Arsene Wenger. Now, that's where you get some Grade A bitching, Van Persie.