Chelsea And Arsenal Fined By FA Over London Derby

The Football Association has fined both Chelsea and Arsenal Football Clubs over failing to control their players in the recent London derby.

Tempers flared during an excitable game at Stamford Bridge on the 19th of September; a game in which two Arsenal players were sent off. Gabriel was sent off for an incident with Diego Costa, though his red card was later overturned, and Santi Cazorla was sent off after 79 minutes when he fouled Chelsea’s Cesc Fabregas.

The incident between Costa and Gabriel led to players from both teams becoming involved in a fracas on the edge of half time, with Costa having since been banned for three games for elbowing Laurent Koscielny in the face.

Gabriel became involved with Costa after the incident, with both players being issued with a yellow card. Costa then provoked Gabriel into a reaction of kicking out, meaning he was issued with a straight red by the referee Mike Dean.

Although the Arsenal defender’s red card was overturned he was still given a one match ban and fined £10,000. Chelsea have been fined £40,000 and Arsenal £30,000 for failing to control their players during the fiery London derby.

Mourinho Charged With Misconduct By FA

Jose Mourinho has been charged with misconduct by the Football Association following his comments in the aftermath of Chelsea’s game against Southampton on Saturday.

Mourinho felt his team was treated unfairly by the referee in the game and said, “…clearly the referees are afraid to give decisions for Chelsea” during a seven minute rant in his post match interview.

He went on to say, “if the FA wants to punish me, they can punish me. They don’t punish other managers, they punish me, but it’s not a problem for me. I want to repeat because I think my players deserve it, Chelsea fans deserve it, I am a Chelsea fan too, and I want to say it again: referees are afraid to giving decisions to Chelsea. Why? Because when they give, there is always a question mark from you [the media]. There is always a question, there is always a critic, so we are always punished. We are punished because Diego Costa is suspended with images. In other matches we see the same thing and that doesn’t happen. Clear penalties are not given and with us it’s one and one and one and one…”.

The FA have decided that Mourinho’s comments “imply bias on the part of a match official” and have therefore chosen to charge him. The loss to Southampton at Stamford Bridge leaves Chelsea closer to the relegation zone than to the top of the table, given that they are four points above the former and ten points away from Manchester City at the top of the league.

Mourinho’s outburst included reference to people inside the club who must ‘accept their responsibility’. He said, “I think this is a moment for everybody to assume responsibilities. I assume my responsibilities, I think the players should assume their responsibilities, there are other people in the club who should also assume their responsibilities, and to stick together. This is what I want”.

His comment led the club to issue a statement offering him their support but made it clear that they consider they have lived up to their responsibilities. The club statement said, “As Jose has said himself, results have not been good enough and the team’s performances must improve. However, we believe that we have the right manager to turn this season around and that he has the squad with which to do it”.

Mourinho has until 18:00 hours on the 8th of October to respond to the FA’s charge.

Terry: Mourinho’s The Best Man For The Job

John Terry has offered a defence of his manager Jose Mourinho in the wake of Chelsea’s worst start to a top flight campaign since 1978 – 1979 when a win was only worth two points rather than three.

The Blues’ captain, speaking in the aftermath of the club’s second home league defeat of the season, said, “If anyone is going to get us out of this hole it is going to be Jose Mourinho. We have the best manager, who we remain behind, and we remain together”.

Southampton came from behind to score three against Chelsea, meaning they have now lost four of their eight Premier League games and sit in sixteenth place in the league on eight points after eight games.

Terry’s comments appear to put to bed the idea that there is a rift between the self-proclaimed ‘Special One’ and some of his playing staff, with Terry himself having been substituted in the defending Premier League champion’s game against Manchester City and named in the starting line up for only the second time in the last six matches in all competitions against the Saints.

The former England captain said, “We are looking low on confidence. But we have a big group of players in that dressing room and we need to stand up, which we will do. We must win at home to Aston Villa after the international break, which is maybe a good opportunity for players to go away and clear their heads and come back after that and really kick on. Once you can get one win you build on that”.

Mourinho has won the title for Chelsea three times over six seasons in charge at the club during two different spells and said after the match, “If the club want to sack me they have to sack me because I am not running away from my responsibilities or my team”.

Mourinho Has ‘Full Support’ Of Chelsea Board

Jose Mourinho is under immense pressure as the manager of Chelsea Football Club, but has today received the ‘full support’ of the club’s board, according to reports.

The self-proclaimed ‘Special One’ has overseen Chelsea’s worst start to a season in the top flight division in England since 1978-1979, losing five matches in all competitions since the start of the season. They have drawn two matches and won four during the same period.

After Saturday’s match, which finished 3-1 to Southampton at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea are 16th in the league with just eight points after eight league games. Mourinho said in the aftermath of the match, “I want to make it clear. One, I don’t run away. Two, if the club want to sack me they have to sack me because I am not running away from my responsibilities or my team”.

This comment from Mourinho has led to the board clarifying their position and giving Jose Mourinho their support. They released a statement saying, “The club wants to make it clear that Jose continues to have our full support. We believe we have the right manager to turn this season around and that he has the squad with which to do it”.

Losses at home to Crystal Palace and Southampton combined with away defeats to Everton, Manchester City and FC Porto mean that Chelsea need to respond well after the international break. A home tie against struggling Aston Villa combined with an away tie against Dynamo Kiev, who are yet to be beaten in the Champion’s League, could provide the perfect antidote to Mourinho and the defending Premier League champion’s worries.

Mourinho: Sack Me If You Want But I Won’t Quit

Jose Mourinho used the aftermath of Chelsea’s game against Southampton to issue a stark warning to Roman Abramovich and the Chelsea board, telling them they’ll need to sack him if they want him out of the club.

The defending Premier League champions lost 3-1 in their match against the Saints at Stamford Bridge, leaving the club 16th in the league with eight points after eight games. It is Chelsea’s worst start to a top flight campaign since the 1978 – 1979 season, a time when a win earned two points rather than three.

Mourinho said, “I want to make it clear. One, I don’t run away. Two, if the club want to sack me they have to sack me because I am not running away from my responsibilities or my team. To be champions now is very difficult because the distance is considerable. But I am more than convinced that we will finish in the top four, and when the season is so bad if you finish in the top four it is OK. Third – and I think this is even more important than the first and the second – it is a crucial moment in the history of this club. You know why? Because if they sack me they sack the best manager this club had”.

Whether managers like Carlo Ancelotti or Guus Hiidink would consider Mourinho to be the best manager that the club has had is up for debate, but there can be no question that Mourinho is feeling the pressure in the Stamford Bridge dugout. The self-proclaimed ‘Special One’ is known to divert attention away from his under-performing team by creating headlines elsewhere and this weekend is no exception. The Portuguese manager was critical of the match referee, Robert Madley, in his post match press conference.

Radamel Falcao went over in the box when challenged by Southampton’s ‘keeper Martin Stekelenburg but the referee waved away their protests. Mourinho said, “He was afraid to give it like everyone else is afraid to give it.
Why? Because there is always a question mark from you and always a critic so we are always punished. The penalty in this game is more than crucial because my team, at the moment, the first negative thing that happens… they collapse. After that the team lost even more confidence. Mentally, psychologically, the team is unbelievably down. If the Football Association wants to punish me they can. They don’t punish other managers”.

When Southampton’s manager, Ronald Koeman, was asked whether he agreed with Jose Mourinho’s comment that the result may have been different had the referee awarded a penalty he pointed out that Southampton had two of their own spot kick shouts turned down. He said, “Maybe so. It would have been 5-2 then, even worse for them. Maybe, if they had [claims for] one penalty we had [claims for] two penalties, that’s a decision for the referee to make”.

So far this season only Sunderland, who sit 19th in the league, have conceded more than Chelsea’s 17 goals. Mourinho said that their current is self-perpetuating and that he isn’t the only one who needs to take some responsibility for the club’s failings. Mourinho: “I assume my responsibilities. The players should assume their responsibilities. There are other people in the club that should also assume their responsibilities and to stick together. This is what I want. You know I have a big self-esteem and a big ego. I consider myself the best, having the worst period and worst results of my career. Doing that as a professional hurts me a lot and doing that at Chelsea hurts me twice. I want to carry on, no doubt. Sadness brings sadness and bad results attracts bad results”.

FA Did Not Ask Carneiro To Testify

The Football Association has come under renewed criticism after Chelsea’s former club doctor, Eva Carneiro, revealed that ‘at no stage’ was she asked to give evidence to the FA during their investigation into allegedly derogatory remarks made by Jose Mourinho.

Mourinho was cleared of any wrong doing by the FA after their investigation into his reported use of the phrase ‘filho da puto’, which is Portuguese for ‘son of a bitch’. Their linguistic experts decided that the phrase was not specifically aimed at Carneiro and was uttered in a general sense, despite the fact that Women In Football’s own language experts felt it was very deliberately aimed at Carneiro herself.

The incident occurred during the defending Premier League champion’s opening game of the season against Swansea City at Stamford Bridge. Carneiro and Jon Fearn, Chelsea’s physio, ran on to the pitch to treat Eden Hazard after being called on to do so by Michael Oliver, the match referee, several times. Because he was given treatment he had to leave the field of play, temporarily leaving Chelsea with nine men as their goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois, had already been sent off for a foul on the Swans striker Bafetimbi Gomis, hence Mourinho’s anger and frustration with his medical team.

The head of the FA , Greg Dyke, has criticised Mourinho and suggested he should apologise. Asked about the incident itself and Dyke’s suggestion, the Portuguese manager said, “For the last two months I did not open my mouth and I will keep like this. One day I will speak, and I will choose that day… I am quiet about it for a long time. I read, and listen, and watch, and I am quiet”.

Carneiro, speaking about the matter publicly for the first time, said, “Incidents such as these…make it so difficult for women in the game… I wonder whether this might be the only formal investigation in this country where the evidence of the individuals involved in the incident was not considered relevant”.

The former club doctor has chosen not to return to work at Chelsea after the incident occurred and Mourinho decided to downgrade her role at the club. She said that the whole experience has left her disillusioned with the game and mentioned an occasion last season when the FA failed to ask her for a statement after she was subjected to obscene chants. She said, “Last season I had a similar experience at a game at West Ham, where I was subject to verbal abuse. Following complaints by the public, the FA produced a communication saying there had been no sexist chanting during this game. At no time was I approached for a statement despite the fact that vile, unacceptable, sexually explicit abuse was clearly heard”.

Mourinho: I’m In The Worst Spell Of My Career

Jose Mourinho feels he is suffering from the ‘worst period and results’ of his professional career, it has emerged today. The defending Premier League champions have won just two and lost three of seven games in the top flight so far this season, leaving them in fourteenth position in the league.

The Portuguese manager, who called himself ‘The Special One’ when he first arrived in the Premier League, said in his press conference before the weekend’s game against Southampton, “I get it as a fantastic experience – an experience that I don’t want to repeat. To come after 15 years is too late but it’s helping me to be better. It is a great negative experience”.

Despite not having a great start to the new season and having some high profile incidents with his own players – such as dropping John Terry from the starting line up when fit for the first time during his time as manager at Stamford Bridge – Mourinho has claimed that there are no problems between himself and the players. He said, “The players, when they make a mistake, they know and they feel. We speak openly, no prima donnas. When you make a mistake you have to speak about it. I call it ‘coaching’”.

Mourinho Blames Ridiculous Moments For Porto Loss

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has blamed the club’s Champion’s League defeat against Porto on some ‘ridiculous moments’ as the Blues suffered their fifth loss of the season in all competitions.

Chelsea went behind to a Bras Andre goal after 38 minutes in the match against Mourinho’s former club before Willian brought them level with a superbly struck free kick just before half time. The Blues were beaten 2-1, though, when Maicon headed the Portuguese outfit in front after seven minutes of the second half.

Mourinho said, “We watch dozens and dozens of repetitions of Porto taking corners. We were completely ready for that… When the game is under control we concede a goal that is ridiculous”. The defeat means that, despite beating Maccabi Tel Aviv 4-0 in the opening game of group G, Chelsea are third in the table behind Porto and Dynamo Kiev.

With Chelsea also sitting fifteenth in the Premier League it is not the first time this season that Mourinho has felt that luck has gone against the defending Premier League champions. He said, “They hit the post from a similar mistake. Apart from that the game was balanced. Two ridiculous moments and we were punished”.

In the aftermath of Chelsea’s 2-2 draw with Newcastle in the league last weekend Mourinho said that the Blues were worthy of ‘minus one out of ten’ for their first half performance. After the match in Portugal, however, he was glad to have seen some form of response from his players. He said, “The team played well and there were good reactions from the goals we conceded. We had chances to equalise and had desire. When you feel everything is going against you it is disappointing. The team tried until the end so I have nothing to say against them”.

The Portuguese maestro also denied that there are any problems between him and his players, despite the fact that last year’s PFA Player Of The Year Eden Hazard was dropped to the bench in the game. He said, “I have no problems with anyone and have a fantastic relationship with everyone”. He also played down the importance of the loss, making clear that he feels Chelsea are still in an excellent position to make it through to the knockout stages of the competition. He said, “We are third in this moment with three points and have another difficult match against Dynamo Kiev coming up. We have matches at home and we think we can qualify”.

Mourinho Cleared Of Wrong Doing Against Carneiro

The Football Association have cleared Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho of any wrong doing as far as discriminatory comments towards the club doctor Eva Carneiro is concerned, infuriating many people including the campaign group Women In Football.

Mourinho was involved a foul mouthed tirade towards Carneiro during Chelsea’s opening game of the season against Swansea City at Stamford Bridge. Having already had his goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois sent off for a challenge on Swansea’s striker Bafetimbi Gomis, Mourinho was angry to see the club doctor, Carneiro, and the physio, Jon Fearn, run on to the pitch to treat Eden Hazard who was lying on the floor apparently injured in the final moments of the game. It meant that Hazard had to leave the pitch for treatment, momentarily leaving Chelsea with only nine players against Swansea’s eleven men.

According to lip reading experts Mourinho appeared to call Carneiro a “filho da puto” in Portuguese which, roughly translated into English means ‘son of a bitch’. He also spoke after the match about the incident and appeared to belittle Carneiro with a sexist barb when he said that even a “secretary on the bench” should know the rules of the game.

Women In Football said, “Our own language expert made it abundantly clear that the abusive words used by Mr Mourinho on the touchline that day were specifically directed towards a woman, as indicated by the grammar of his sentence. Other Portuguese speakers we contacted in gathering evidence also emphasised this point. We therefore find it extraordinary that any expert or Portuguese speaker would report otherwise”.

The statement from Women In Football was in response to the FA’s own statement that said it was ‘satisfied the words used do not constitute discriminatory language under FA rules’.

In a strongly worded statement Women In Football made clear their disdain towards the FA and the manner in which it operates, saying, “It’s another example of the FA failing to tackle discrimination. We are concerned by the serious flaws in the process of such investigations”.

Carneiro found that her role at the club was to be downgraded after the incident, with her presence on the bench during matches and at the sideline during the defending Premier League champion’s training sessions no longer required. She subsequently decided to leave the club meaning one of the few high profile women in important positions in the game was no longer there.

It is not the first time the Football Association have been embroiled in a decision over the interpretation of language, with the case against Luis Suarez in the aftermath of his incident with Patrice Evra being a prime example. In that case Liverpool Football Club’s lawyers and language experts claimed that the language used by the Uruguayan forward towards the French defender was in no way racially motivated, with the FA’s own experts disagreeing.

In this case the FA said, “Both the words used, as translated and analysed by the independent expert, and the video evidence, do not support the conclusion that the words were directed at any person in particular”. The decision means that Mourinho will not undergo any reprisals for the words he chose to use an will continue to be able to manager Chelsea from the sidelines during games as he hopes to get their season back on track.

Chelsea v Southampton preview (Premier League) – 3rd October 2015

Chelsea are hoping to get their season back on track this weekend, with Southampton the visitors to Stamford Bridge. After a draw against Newcastle and a defeat at Porto, they’ll need to get back to winning ways, so they’ll be targeting a solid victory here. The Saints are struggling themselves, but they’re a resourceful side so could they put another dent in Chelsea’s season here?

Southampton come into this match on the back of a 10 game winless run away from home in the league, which will surely be a boost to Jose Mourinho. He knows how badly his side need a win, since they’re currently 14th in the table. Given how the south coast team have picked up results at the Bridge twice in the three seasons since their promotion, they could well cause a shock.

Expect to see a few more changes following the Porto defeat. Eden Hazard was dropped to the bench for that game, while Loic Remy and Radamel Falcao weren’t in the squad. After another poor display at the back, it’s likely that something will change in the defence. At this stage, Abdul Baba Rahman surely deserves to take the place of Branislav Ivanovic, who can’t seem to stop making mistakes.

One change we’ll definitely see is up front, as Diego Costa serves the final game of his suspension. It’s likely that Remy will be given the nod up top, he’s had the edge over Falcao so far this season. We should also see a formation change, moving back to the 4-2-3-1 from Tuesday’s 4-3-3. That’ll give Remy a little extra support in the final third. We also expect Mikel to drop out, with Oscar coming back in.

There’s still a question over Cesc Fabregas, who hasn’t been at his best this season. He kept his place for the Champions League game, but will he retain his position in the starting XI here? Given Ramires’ fine recent displays, it looks like the Brazilian will get his chance in the team, as Mourinho really needs to try a new approach. Fabregas looked set for a promising career at Chelsea a few months back, but now his future is unclear.

Fabregas and Hazard – the best players last season – are both out of form while Costa is suspended, so someone really needs to step up and fill that void. Willian has arguable done that with his goals lately, but he’s not yet doing quite enough. Hopefully Oscar can step up given the chance, as he hasn’t really had a run in the team recently. He was a vital part of the highs of last season, but can he reach that level while others are struggling?

This game will once again see questions asked of Mourinho. He seems strangely clam after defeats, which could be a good sign, although it feels a little worrying. The manager needs a response in this game, and he needs to do something to wake his players up. Even grinding out a win would put his side back on track.

LCN Verdict: Chelsea to win 2-1