Transfer season: who will emerge the biggest winner in three-cornered ‘fight’?

THE transfer season has opened with a bang as Real Madrid looks to have claimed Kaka’s signature, with Chelsea launching a late and desperate bid.

Meanwhile, Manchester City has ‘stolen’ Gareth Barry from right under the noses of Liverpool, even though the Citizens are not even playing in the new Europa League, much less the Champions League football the England midfielder had previously said he craves.

The scene seems set for a three-corner battle among the cash-rich clubs Chelsea, Manchester City and Real Madrid in the transfer market, making the likes of Manchester United and Liverpool look like paupers.

New Real president Florentino Perez is keen to revive his infamous Galacticos project at the Bernabeu, with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Xabi Alonso in his crosshairs.

On the other hand, City are continuing their rebuilding, following last season’s influx of oil money from the Middle East. On top of Robinho and Barry, the club is hoping to persuade Carlos Tevez to defect to the blue side of Manchester, along with Everton’s Joleon Lescott.

And meantime in London, Roman Abramovich has once again loosened his purse strings for Carlo Ancelotti, in an attempt to revitalise his ageing squad to clinch the Champions League trophy that he so covets.

It will be an interesting three months of transfer activity ahead, as big money gets thrown around carelessly by these three clubs. The question is – which of these three will come up tops by the end August?

Can Ancelotti cut it at Chelsea?

Can Ancelotti make it at Chelsea, where fellow non-English speaking manager Luiz Felipe Scolari failed? (Picture: http://www.dirtytackle.net)

CARLO Ancelotti became the fifth manager to fill the Chelsea hotseat after the Russian Revolution when he signed up with the London club last night (Singapore time).

While the Italian comes with a huge reputation, one cannot help but wonder his credentials as a coach, having won one Serie A title and two Champions League titles in his eight seasons with Milan.

Furthermore, Ancelotti has a weak grasp of the English language, and had never managed a club in England before.

Does that sound a tad similar to a certain Luiz Felipe Scolari? We all know what happened to the Brazilian, don’t we?

Given the circumstances, and Roman Abramaovich’s famous impatience and intolerance to failure, do you think Ancelotti can cut it Chelsea?

Has Hiddink really got the Chelsea dressing room under control?

Salomon Kalou and William Gallas – foes now, teammates next season?
(Picture: Reuters)

SALOMON Kalou has caused a stir among Chelsea and Arsenal fans by saying that he is a fan of Arsene Wenger and is very open to playing for the current Arsenal manager (see story here).

The 23-year-old made the comments right after Chelsea’s 1-0 victory over Juventus in the Champions League, and hot on the heels of recent revelations of a fractured Chelsea dressing room under the reign of former manager Luiz Felipe Scolari.

While Didier Drogba has whined – one too many times – about wanting to leave in the past, and shocking rumours of a player mutiny (with Drogba, Petr Cech and Michael Ballack being fingered as the main culprits), Kalou is the first player outburst to come out of the Chelsea dressing room since the arrival of Guus Hiddink.

Will Hiddink’s magic touch bring Chelsea the European Cup this seaon?

CHELSEA continue their rehabilitation under Guus Hiddink early this morning with a dominant display against Juventus, winning their first-leg Champions League game by a solitary goal.

Didier Drogba was in particular form, scoring the winning goal and putting in a performance that seemed to suggest that he is back to the same level that he was playing under Jose Mourinho.

Can Hiddink’s magic touch last long enough for Chelsea to finally allow owner Roman Abramovich lift the European Cup this season?

After all, Vicente del Bosque did it on short notice with Real Madrid in 2000; Chelsea still have largely the same players as they had last year and Europe calls for more experience and is less demanding on ageing legs.

If you were Guus Hiddink, what would you do?

GUUS Hiddink faces an uphill task reunifying a fractured dressing room, while managing the demands of a ruthless and ambitious club owner, and not having the luxury of signing players he think would be helpful in reviving Chelsea’s fortunes.

If you were thrown in the hotseat, how would you reverse Chelsea’s slide?

THE POSTMAN LIM SAY HENG says: I say the first thing would be to show the same ruthlessness that Roman Abramovich has shown to his managers.

Sir Alex Ferguson has not survived the managerial axe for more than two decades by turning the other cheek when undermined by his own players, no matter how good they were.

Question of the Weekend (Apply for the Chelsea post)

Hi all,

The Postman’s Question of the Weekend: IMAGINE yourself as a football manager interested in the Chelsea managerial job and write a humorous and creative cover letter to Roman Abramovich applying for the position.

Will Hiddink survive the Chelsea cauldron?

(Video by RT)
NEWS has emerged late last night that Russia national coach Guus Hiddink – who is incidentally a close friend of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich – will take over managerial duties at Stamford Bridge for the rest of the season while still managing the Russian national team.

The Dutchman is to international football what Harry Redknapp is to English football – Hiddink has managed to bring out an extra edge to the national teams he managed, bringing Holland to the 1998 World Cup semi-finals, South Korea to 4th place in the 2002 World Cup, and guiding Australia to the 2006 finals for the first time in 32 years.

But as a club manager, his results have been mixed. The 62-year-old seems to perform his best in his native Holland, winning a total of one European Cup, six Eridivisie titles and four Dutch cup titles in his two stints with PSV Eindhoven, but also unremarkably stints with Real Madrid, Real Betis, Valencia and Fenerbahce.

The question is: Can Hiddink bring his international Midas touch to Chelsea?

THE POSTMAN LIM SAY HENG says: While Chelsea fans may rejoice at the short-term coup (which could very well turn into a long-term deal, given the close friendship Hiddink and Abramovich share), I have my doubts as to whether Tsar Hiddink can survive the demands of the Premiership, as well as that of his close friend.

It’s all Roman’s fault

LUIZ Felipe Scolari’s 224-day reign as Chelsea manager has ended late last night Singapore time, after the London club gave him the boot following a string of poor results in the Premiership.

Ironically, his much-detested predecessor Avram Grant survived longer in the Blues hot seat than the Brazilian, lasting 227 days after taking over from Jose Mourinho in late 2007.

THE POSTMAN LIM SAY HENG says: Much has been said about Scolari’s management style, language barriers and the transition between managing national teams to clubs.

But I feel that Roman Abramovich is to blame for making Chelsea into an English version of Real Madrid, sans the success.

Is the English Premiership doomed?

NEWS has emerged that a wealthy Kuwaiti family are in talks for a possible takeover of Liverpool from its American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr. At the same time, a group of German investors are interested in buying out Roman Abramovich at Chelsea.

THE POSTMAN LIM SAY HENG says: The English Premiership may just start to decline if and when these takeovers materialise.

Already, there is a gap between the Big Four clubs and the rest of the Premiership, in terms of financial muscle and reputation around the world, which directly affects the quality of players that they are able to attract.

And we have seen how clubs – newly rich from the takeovers – have spoilt the market when it comes to transfers.

Chelsea have shown this with Abramovich’s entry in 2003, and Manchester City are now threatening to up the London club’s ante.

While this may mean good news for fans of these clubs, neutral football fans will rue the widening gap between rich clubs and the rest.

What would Chelsea do without Roman?

AND so, common sense has prevailed and Team Football has pulled a goal back against Team Money. But while everyone is going gaga over Kaka over these few days, one piece of Chelsea news has slipped by rather quietly.

It seems that Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is trying to auction the London club off to the highest bidder in the Middle East, after his personal fortune took a battering following the global financial meltdown.

The New Paper‘s Iain Macintosh brought up several points in his comment piece today, and doesn’t it make you wonder how Chelsea would be like if the Russian billionaire leaves without a similarly rich (or richer) owner taking over?

THE POSTMAN LIM SAY HENG says: Since his takeover, Abramovich has had Chelsea hanging by his purse strings, and success is bred at the back of his bucks, not via a healthy mixture of player transfers and young players coming through the youth ranks.

With Chelsea’s global scouting network trimmed in response to the global financial crisis, as well as the lack of quality players coming through the academy, coupled by the high average age of the Chelsea first team, it does seem like the Blues will suffer if their Russian owner does decide to ditch the club.