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JOSE NOT HAPPY

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The manager of Chelsea, Jose Mourinho, is not happy with the preparation of his team for the Champions League game against FC Basel which will be played at St. Jakob Park next Tuesday.

Because of the international break, Mourinho had been without his main players since the last few days as all of them were out playing for their respective national sides. They have just returned from the break and they will be off to Switzerland tomorrow for that game against FC Basel. Mourinho is not happy about all that. He reckons that the preparation of his team is not the best for the upcoming game.

Talking to the reporters yesterday, Mourinho said, “In the last 10 days or so, there were only 4 first team guys at the club. The rest were out on national duty and I had no idea what they were doing. All I could do was to watch them on TV.”

“That was not an ideal situation to be in as a manager. Before such an important game, you want to know how your players are training and if they are taking enough rest or not, but, I couldn’t do that because I didn’t have my players around.”

“They have just come back and I don’t know how they are mentally and physically. When a guy returns after playing for his national team, you are not sure about his fitness.”

Chelsea is in a good position in the Champions League at the moment. They are leading the points table of their group which is Group E. They have secured 9 points from 4 games with the help of 3 wins.

Even if the Blues stop Basel on a draw on Tuesday, they would make it to the Knockouts.

IMPRESSIVE

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Chelsea was captain Frank Lampard has said that he is very much impressed by the attitude shown by Spaniard Juan Mata after being dropped by manager José Mourinho in the last few matches. There has been a cold war going on between Mourinho and Mata since the arrival of the Portuguese in the summer. After being a first-team regular in the last few seasons, Mata has found himself on the bench. Mourinho said that he must prove that he will be capable of adapting to the new style of play that will be implemented at Chelsea this season.

After an impressive performance against Swindon, Mourinho revealed that the 25-year-old will be starting the crucial Champions league encounter against Steaua Bucharest. Even though he was dropped from the team, Mata has shown fantastic attitude to be able to impress the manager according to Lampard. Mata proved to be the game changer in the recent 1-1 draw with Tottenham. He created the goal for John Terry’s equaliser after Chelsea had fallen to a first-half goal from Sigurdsson. Even though Mata did not start the match, he was introduced as a substitute at half-time.

It made all the difference and Lampard has praised the midfielder. During his two years at the club, Mata has won all major competitions like the Champions League.

“He played well, linked the play, put in the ball for the goal. He has been a vital player ever since he came to the cub. His attitude has been first class. Every player understands there is a lot of competition, especially in midfield. If you are not playing, and we have all been there, you have to stay and train well, keep the right attitude. Juan has done that,” said Lampard after the Tottenham match, which left Chelsea in the fourth place.

JOSE BACKS SPURS

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Tottenham have been demanding when it comes to the transfer of Gareth Bale. So far, they have said that the Welsh international is not for sale at any price. However, it is believed that internally the chairman – Daniel Levy – is willing to accept an offer of around £ 100 million for the 24-year-old. This would make the world record holder for the highest transfer fee paid for a footballer. The record is currently held by Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo, who cost to the club £ 80 million when he moved in 2009.

It is believed that Real Madrid are considering paying this exorbitant transfer fee for the player, who was signed for around £ 5 million from Southampton a few years ago. Chelsea manager José Mourinho, though, thinks that Spurs are right to demand the fee for the player. Bale has been one of the outstanding players in the Premier league over the last few seasons. He has been a major reason towards Tottenham inching closer towards a regular top four finish. The club has had two top four finishers in the last four years. However, the lack of Champions league football could be detrimental to the club’s effort of keeping Bale.

“He is fantastic. He has this quality that has made the difference when the team was not able to make the difference. This is what makes the value of the player very high. This guy wins matches. He has an unbelievable shot, an unbelievable action, goals in the last minute, goals when it looks like they are going to draw and they win, goals when it looks like they are going to lose and they draw. So when I listen and read some numbers I think this kid will be worth every pound people are speaking about,” said Mourinho.

MOU WILL BE A SUCCESS

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Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard is of the opinion that Portuguese manager José Mourinho will be able to repeat his success at Stamford Bridge if he arrives at the club for a second spell. Mourinho has widely been linked with a return to the club in the summer. His fall out with most of the Spanish media and the players at Real Madrid is widely expected to lead to his departure. Mourinho has hinted on several occasions this season that he may return to a club where he is loved. Mourinho enjoyed a lot of success with Chelsea, which led to him being adored by the fans even now.

During his 30 months at the club, he managed to lift six major trophies. After recently signing a one-year contract extension, Lampard believes that a possible return of Mourinho could signal another era of domination by the West London outfit. The future of Lampard was in a huge cloud of doubt only a few weeks ago, but he has managed to agree terms with Chelsea and sign a new one-year deal. He recently became the record goalscorer for the club after scoring his 203rd goal against Aston Villa. He went on to lift the Europa league title as well.

“There’s no way he’ll come back and rest on any laurels or rest on anything that happened before. With him at the helm we are going to give it a great go. I certainly think he can because he is a workaholic. He’s got desire. It is not confirmed yet [but] the idea of working with him is brilliant. His talent and ability as a manager for me is the best – certainly the best I’ve worked with. I think he will take the club on again,” said Lampard in an interview to the BBC.

PRESSURE INCREASES

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The pressure on the Chelsea manager Rafa Benitez has increased once more after the 3-2 defeat at the hands of Newcastle United during the weekend. Chelsea appeared to have taken all three points after a remarkable comeback in the second half, but a collapse late in the match meant that Tottenham have closed the gap on to the European champions in the table. Benitez said after the match that he was extremely disappointed with some of the refereeing decisions. He pointed out to the lack of a penalty and a red card when Fabricio Coloccini challenged Demba Ba in the penalty box.

In trying to go for the ball, the Argentine defender had a high boot that eventually resulted in the eventually resulted in the striker suffered in a broken nose. The 27-year-old was then substituted for Fernando Torres, who was ineffective in the second half. The defeat now means that Chelsea have a slender one-point advantage over Tottenham in the table. The Argentine Jonas Gutierrez opened the scoring for Newcastle in an amazing first half, as they overpowered the European champions. However, two goals from Frank Lampard and Juan Mata meant that Chelsea were able to come back in the second half. The January signing Sissoko then scored two goals to help Newcastle to an amazing victory.

“I think there were too many mistakes. I could see a red card that was not shown for Coloccini. So we had a chance, he [Demba Ba] had the ball, he received a kick and got a broken nose, it was bleeding. It was so simple, if it was in the middle of park you would go back and give a free-kick. It is very simple and very clear – penalty and red card because it was a chance. It’s a strange rule and the penalty could have changed everything,” said Benitez.

TIME TO UNITE

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The Chelsea manager Rafa Benitez has suggested that it is time that the fans and the media started moving on from the past and into the future. He has suggested that the club will be focusing on new players rather than the old legends, which has suggested that the likes of Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole will definitely leave the club at the end of the season. The two players are out of contract at the end of this season and there has been no negotiations for both the players. Lampard is regarded as one of the club legends due to his 11 year spell at the club in which he has scored close to 200 goals.

The 34-year-old is cherished by the Chelsea fans, but Benitez reckons that it is time that the club moved on from the past. He has also paid tribute to the achievements of the players at the club during the last decade. Chelsea have come a long way since their first trophy – League cup – in 2005. Many of the players who were part of the team like Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole, John Terry, and Petr Cech have been the backbone of the team in the successes that have followed.

“It’s easy to talk about the legends and we have to have a lot of respect for them. What they have achieved at this club is fantastic, but we have to have new players — English or foreign, it doesn’t matter — and carry on winning games. Everyone knows the legends have been here and what they have achieved, but we have to see new players coming in. It’s part of life. I can see the club are changing things and thinking about being successful again,” said Benitez ahead of the League cup semi-final match against Swansea.