And so the Chelsea manager carousel starts again. Roberto Di Matteo, in his few months in charge of Chelsea, managed to deliver the FA cup and, the Holy Grail for Chelsea and Abramovich- the Champions League. But that wasn't quite good enough for the Russian in charge, and after less than a day Rafael Benitez was installed as his interim replacement. Firstly, the speed of the appointment raises questions as to how much contact Benitez had with Chelsea before the sacking of Di Matteo. How long was Abramovich planning to get rid of the Italian? It appears ever since Chelsea beat Tottenham in a fantastic display back in October, their form hasn't quite been the same; with only 2 wins in the last 7, and one of those in the League Cup. To be honest, if, as it looks like, Chelsea crash out the Champions League, Di Matteo can't have any complaints regarding his dismissal. His lack of response to the Juventus substitutions and resulting comeback in Match-day 1 was predictable and also the depressing defeat to Shaktar Donetsk, when Di Matteo rushed back an unfit John Terry and paid the price. And as good a side Juventus are, to be beat 3-0 without offering any threat meant that Gabriel Clarke on ITV was already asking the awkward questions post match. You would have thought a man who delivered the holy grail to Chelsea would be given more time, but such is the nature of being the Chelsea boss. Abramovich never really wanted the former West Brom manager anyway, but was forced to give him a contract for the heroics in Munich. Di Matteo did spend over 80 million in the summer, but then again... can Rafael Benitez realistically expect to do any better? We shouldn't- as is the tendency in England- think light of Benitez as a coach though. The Spaniard led Valencia to two league titles, an unthinkable achievement now. He also won the Champions League and the FA Cup at Liverpool (albeit both on penalties), and if Gerrard and Torres had been fit all year, would probably had delivered the title in 2008/2009. It appears that Benitez has been brought in to get the best out of 50 million man Fernando Torres, and boy, he needs to start firing soon with the big shadow of Falcao hanging over him.
Chelsea 0-0 Man City
Well, one think we've learnt from this dour, dreadful and dire game of football is that Benitez is hilariously unpopular so far. There was a clearly audible chorus of boos when Benitez was introduced by the stadium announcer, and Stamford Bridge was awash with banners and signs wishing for Di Matteo- as shown by the applause in the 16th minute, Di Matteo's number as a player. The new man claimed he didn't hear the hostile reception, saying "I'm just focused on the game" and also argued once results started to fall into place supporters would get behind him. On the pitch, Benitez oversaw a first clean sheet in 11 matches to deny City the win that would take them top. But Torres was again awful, and Benitez will have to work miracles to get the striker back to his 2009 vintage.
The Clattenburg debacle: Why are Chelsea not being punished?
In the aftermath of Chelsea's 3-2 defeat at home to Manchester United, a racial storm erupted- and John Obi Mikel was convinced he had been racially abused by the referee. It has been found out that Chelsea were horribly wrong, as no credible evidence was put to the FA. Mikel's involvement had been that he was told by Ramires(who struggles to speak English) that Clattenburg had insulted him, and Mikel understandably felt aggrieved. The fact that no other Chelsea employee heard the insult should have given Chelsea a clue on how to act. Chelsea implicated a referee in a potentially career damaging case based on the flimsiest of evidence. Clattenburg couldn't referee for weeks with the scandal hanging over him, and Chelsea have still not given an apology. It wouldn't suprise me for the referees' union to sue Chelsea later on.
Top two's defensive problems continue
You can't keep a good man down. And currently in the premier league it seems impossible to take the lead against Manchester United or City and hope to win, because Edin Dzeko and Javier Hernandez just can't stop scoring from the bench. I wrote a couple of weeks ago now about the frailties shown by both clubs at the back his season, and although they are by no means solved, they seem to have improved, with clean sheets against Swansea and West Ham pointing to he truly miserly defence of last year. Having said that, City's quite disastrous Champions League form including conceding 10 goals in 5 European ties is threatening to shorten Roberto Mancini's time in the hot seat. The slick interplay of Ajax and messing around with a back three did for them in Amsterdam, but what was more worrying was the 2-2 draw at the Etihad last Tuesday, with both Siem De Jong goals coming from poor defending at set-pieces. However United haven't improved either - conceding 2 against Chelsea and Stoke, being 2 down to Braga and Aston Villa, plus conceding first in Portugal on Wednesday. United then lost 1-0 to both Norwich and Galatasaray, as well as conceding first again, this time against QPR. Sir Alex Ferguson seems to be actively forfeiting the chance of a clean sheet by playing a very offensive line up, but when you have such fire power as Robin Van Persie, Wayne Rooney, super sub Hernandez, and the marginalised for now Danny Welbeck, perhaps you can afford to take some risks.
Superb win in
