Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti seemingly aimed a parting shot at new Liverpool signing Joe Cole by implying that Cole isn’t as tactically aware as his replacement at Stamford Bridge, Yossi Benayoun. Ancelotti has been quoted on Skysports saying:

“Joe Cole is quicker than Benayoun but Yossi is better tactically. He understands what I tell him.

“Yossi is a very intelligent player. He knows everything about the game.

“Cole and Benayoun are different players and everyone has their own opinion, but we are happy to have Yossi here at Chelsea.”

The media have been quick to jump on Ancelotti’s back following his apparent back-handed comments about a former Chelsea favourite. However, like many things in life, there is more in these words than meets the eye.

Ancelotti’s quotes could in one way be construed as a thinly veiled attack on Cole, insinuating that the England international was unable to follow tactical orders and therefore difficult to manage. Worse still for Cole, Ancelotti could also be saying that he is unintelligent due to his inability to adhere to the manager’s wishes.

At times, Cole’s lack of tactical awareness was indeed evident. Cole has always been a mercurial talent and it is this unpredictability that is a huge facet of his game. With his technical ability, Cole always had the potential to produce something out of the ordinary. This was most clearly evident in Cole’s audacious backheel winner against Manchester United that effectively ended the Red Devil’s title challenge.

Being played out of position on the wing, Cole’s natural instincts as an attacking midfielder caused him to frequently drift infield. As a result of this tendency, Cole often found himself operating against the manager’s wishes as the wingers in the team are supposed to create width rather than diminish it.

Similarly, Ancelotti isn’t the only Chelsea boss to have noticed a lack of tactical discipline in Cole’s game. Jose Mourinho routinely chastisted Cole for his reluctance to track back and defend, causing the then Chelsea manager to haul off Cole on a number of occasions. The Portuguese manager has said of Cole:

“There are two faces to Joe Cole. One is beautiful, and the other I don’t like.”

“He scored a very important goal for us today, attacked really well, but from the moment he scored the game finished for him. I needed 11 players for defensive organisation and I only had 10. There is still a lot he needs to learn. That was not good enough for me, and I was very critical from the dugout.”

However, on closer inspection, Ancelotti’s quotes do not tell the whole picture. Here is the quote in full as taken from the official Chelsea website:

“He[Benayoun] is an intelligent player, tactically he knows everything very well,’

“I tried to put him as a right midfielder in this pre-season and he can also play in his usual position as a winger.”

“He has to train, to improve his condition, but I think for us he is a good player to play because tactically he is very intelligent.”

“Everyone can explain his opinion, we are happy to have Yossi here. I think Joe Cole in Chelsea did a fantastic career but this year is another story.”

“Joe was quicker, with respect to Yossi, but tactically I think Yossi is better.”

When presented with the whole context of the interview, it is clear that Ancelotti’s comments are not meant to be a slight on Cole. His words are simply used to indicate his confidence in Benayoun and to show that the club has since moved on from the release of Joe Cole.

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With the PL season nearly upon us, let’s see the WAGS that will be keeping the players on their toes. Click on image to VIEW gallery

Aston Villa caretaker-manager Kevin MacDonald will think long and hard before deciding whether to go for the job on a permanent basis.

MacDonald stepped in following Martin O'Neill's surprise departure on the eve of the new season.

He will remain in charge for the second leg of Thursday's Europa League qualifying play-off against Rapid Vienna and also Sunday's Premier League encounter with Everton.

MacDonald will then make a decision about his long-term future.

"It's got to be thought out very, very closely," he said.

"It would be a great opportunity for me, but it would be a great opportunity for anybody who could take over this job because it is a big club."

Meanwhile, MacDonald claims he doesn't know whether Sunday's 6-0 defeat at the hands of Newcastle United has harmed his chances of being offered the job on a full-time basis.

He conceded:"I think people on the outside would probably look at it that way.

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"But from my own point of view it hasn't changed my stance towards what I was trying to do.

"Whether it's damaged my opportunity, I've not thought of it as that yet."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

It seems like every other day that a live football game graces our screens and we are treated to the valuable insights and whimsical ramblings of our esteemed football commentators. On occasion, some of their more bizarre utterances can be disorienting for the uninitiated, so for those left wanting for an explanation of the mind of these beautiful people, here is a plausibly competent look at some of the more confusing sayings in their vocabulary.

“He couldn’t have hit it any better” – This is usually said when a player hits the woodwork, or if the keeper pulls off a dramatic diving save. It’s wrong of course, especially in the case of post or bar hitting because yes, yes he quite clearly could have hit better. Even the most rudimentary of calculations would conclude that any method of actually scoring would fall under the definition of “hitting it better”. In fact even the commentators themselves know this as sometimes they may even declare…

“He’s almost hit it too well” – Which of course he hasn’t, because he’s hit it straight at the keeper. Like 110%, this is also completely impossible.

“He could have had a hat-trick today” – This is often said when a player misses 3 or more goal scoring opportunities. The implication is obvious but displays a glaring lack of understanding of relative cause and effect. In short, no he couldn’t have.

“Away goals count double” – This one is a constant bugbear of sensible people as it leads to far too much needless confusion amongst idiots. No they don’t count double, not even when the scores are level. That would be ridiculous and incredibly hard to keep up with. They’re just a novel way to decide tied matches.

“On his day he’s as good as anyone” – This is just a nice way of saying he’s an incredibly inconsistent player who often isn’t very good.

“If that was on target it’s in, cos the keeper was never getting there” – This of course depends wildly on whereabouts on the target it would have gone in the fertile imagination of the commentator, and a completely pointless observation anyway. Basically, it would have gone in if it had gone in the place he wanted it to go in, which it didn’t.

“It’s a real six pointer” – This is used when two teams near each other in the table meet. No more than 3 points are ever, and have ever been at stake for such matches. Or indeed, any matches.

“It’s early doors here” – This simply means it’s early here. I’ve no idea where the doors come in, or why they would even need to. I’ve never encountered an early door in my life. I’d like to though, if only to see what it was.

“He’s made a meal of it” – This means a player has made a challenge look more painful or dangerous than it actually was. What kind of meal he may have made of it is up for debate A particularly extravagant dive could equate to a seafood platter for example, whilst a prolonged feigning of injury is clearly a Tandoori Chicken with Basmati rice.

“Back of the net” – The actual back of the net is behind the goal facing the fans. You’d have to be incredibly rubbish to actually hit it and It would probably require the willing (or unwilling) participation of the stewards. It doesn’t really have a “Roof” either, but apparently you can score “into it” somehow.

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“Great cross but no on was in there” – This means the player hit a hopeful inaccurate cross into the box that wasn’t aimed at anybody. This would generally be seen as an appalling cross.

“Hoping to get something out of the game” – Which basically means, they’re playing for a draw. This can also be used as “We’re hoping for a result” which is a standard pre-requisite of any football match anyway.

There are countless more which currently escape me, but if you – the reader – can think of any, please feel free to mention them. I’ll then edit them into this article and pretend I thought of it in the first place.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed that Wayne Rooney has told him he does not want to sign a new Old Trafford contract and is keen to leave the club.

However, the veteran United boss denies that he has fallen out with the former Everton star and says the 24-year-old will not feature in Wednesday's Champions League clash with Bursaspor because of an ankle injury.

"David Gill spoke to Rooney's agent at the end of last season and he intimated he would not be signing a contract and he wanted away," said Ferguson.

"I was shocked as, in March, Wayne had said he was happy, he was at the best club in the world and wanted to sign a new contract.

"I then spoke to Wayne and he told me, in his own way, that he wanted away.

"The offer is there and, although money has not been spoken about, I doubt whether many other clubs could match such an offer.

"We'll keep everything open to Wayne as he's such a good player. We've done everything we can for Wayne since he's been here, so it's disappointing it's ending like this. We're bemused why he wants to leave.

"I've never had an argument with Wayne at all. He got an injury against Rangers last month and I spoke to him before the Sunderland game and, because he wasn't playing very well, we decided not to play him then.

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"He would then have ten days to recover and he could play for England against Montenegro, get his form back and kick on from there.

"It was disappointing to hear him say after that game that he was not injured. A scan has shown a minor injury and he needed treatment on it."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

It would not surprise many that the name that springs to mind is Robbie Keane. Redknapp clearly does not have great faith in him to spearhead the attack, having made only two starts this campaign. The rise to prominence of Van der Vaart being played in a role just off a lone striker in a new system, entails the club is unlikely to need four out and out strikers. Indeed even with Defoe being injured, a player who would surely be considered above Keane in the pecking order at White Hart Lane Keane is unable to muscle in to the first eleven. Yet there are many questions raised over the quality of the two strikers left who are rotating that sole striker’s position between them, Pavlyuchenko and Crouch. If a forward of the highest calibre to improve the first team is what is desired by Spurs fans, and I believe that it is, then there is no question that there is no room for Keane.

A player that is evidently considered so far from the first team by the management cannot continue to receive such high wages at the club. It is astonishing that being one of only two players to take home more than £50,000 a week as a basic wage, the other being Van der Vaart, he plays so rarely for the club. It is therefore important for Spurs to clear him off the books. Although Keane has previously been a great servant of the club, he cannot continue to be such a drain on their resources whilst not playing enough football to justify it. This is why he must be got rid off even if the transfer fee is not particularly high, which in all likely hood it would not be as he is a 30 year old striker who has not been playing much football.

Looking across the midfield of the team, I don’t think there is much justification in keeping onto both Bentley and Kranjcar. Neither are part of the first team and both seem to struggle when they do come into the team only sporadically as most players do. As I feel he has a more varied game, can contribute more and is a general more diverse squad player I would opt for keeping on to Kranjcar at the expense of David Bentley. Although putting in ok performances for the last two games, Bentley did not shine and based on last seasons form, particularly his scoring I believe given a chance Kranjcar would be able to.

Other than that I don’t think anyone else is ready for the exit unless someone is bought in first, but if that was the case in midfield I think both Palacios and Jenas positions could come under scrutiny. Whilst Jenas has improved on his rare outings this season meaning he is not an immediate tip for the exit. Palacios’ form however has gone drastically the other way and should only be saved form the exit door as he is the only mature midfielder at the club that’s game is focused around breaking down the opponents attack. A position where I feel at least one is required at the club, and Sandro is still a bit too young to be the only player to fulfil this role.

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Defensively there should be no need for exits again unless someone is bought in first. Despite the club having six recognised centre backs, the prevalence of injuries ensures that at the time being this is a necessity. Although I wouldn’t be surprised to see Bassong shown the door if both Dawson and King make full recoveries and reform a solid partnership, as Kaboul and Gallas for cover should be sufficient.

Brazil is widely regarded as the most successful football nation on earth and the South American country lives and breathes football. The largest soccer fan club in the world belongs to São Paulo’s Sport Club, Corinthians Paulista. Their supporters, Gaviões da Fiel, are renowned for being the biggest organized rooting association in the world. They have over 80,000 supporters, and among them you will find soccer muses, a samba school, and arguably the most impressive float at São Paulo’s Carnaval. In short, they inspire passion like no other club. We hang out with them on match day as they get geared up at their clubhouse, fill the busses to head to the stadium and ultimately go nuts in the stands.

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For an insight into the We Are Eleven series check out our interview with producer Santiago Stelley.

Chelsea 0-3 Sunderland – With most of Chelsea’s England contingent picking up their monthly pre-International tournament injuries, a depleted Chelsea side were left with the task of pulling away from the drawing drawing Manchesters. It was a task in which they failed miserably, much to the surprise of absolutely everyone and their dog as Sunderland achieved – according to Match of The Day – “one of the greatest results in their history.” Which is certainly an achievement (and presumably a surprise) for a club who’ve won 6 League titles and 2 FA Cups in their time. The margin and nature of their victory will have surprised even Steve Bruce (still failing miserably to prevent his slow transformation into a fat lesbian, unhelped by wearing a woman’s skiing jacket) and certainly the bookies who priced the 0-3 score line at 250-1. Luckily for them that outcome seemed so ludicrous at 3pm yesterday evening they can be safe in the knowledge that absolutely no body would’ve taken it. Without Ray “Butch” – Uncle Fester – Wilkins to stare at them with terrifying sunken-eyed menace from the sidelines, the Blues seemed to capitulate entirely and were picked apart by a vibrant, adventurous Mackems side in a manner reminiscent of swaggering Champions League regulars. A clean sheet for the home side would’ve seen Petr Cech collect his 150th clean sheet (can you collect clean sheets? Is it like England caps only with linen?) but that looked a tricky prospect right from the off, as the away side peppered his netty frame with shot (19 in all) right up until the fat lady sung. They even had about 5 attempts in the build up to their opener, before Nedum Onuoha decided to casually walk past everyone before slotting neatly beyond the helmeted one. Asamoah Gyan continued to bolster his growing cult hero status by being the only one of Sunderland’s scorers to actually play for them, even if his now customary mid-electrocution funky chicken celebration was partially ruined by a silly white man with no rhythm trying to get in on it.

Everton 1-2 Arsenal – In a nice break from tradition, football acknowledged that some stuff might have happened at some stage before 1992 as the longest running game in top flight football recommenced at Goodison park. Arsenal became the only team to take advantage of Chelsea’s unexpected humbling by doing their usual Arsenal thing of passing it around a lot and occasionally shooting, only this time without winning a penalty. At one point Samir Nasri almost scored Michael Owen’s 98 Argentina goal and Chamakh missed an open goal from 3 yards out because it wasn’t on his head but in the end it was left to Sagna (ED: and not Song. Definitely not Song) and Fabregas to steal the spoils. Everton rallied but couldn’t do a Man United, like they’d done against Man United. For some reason in my head Diniyar Bilyaletdinov sounds more like a sentence than a name.

Spurs 4-2 Blackburn – With legendary Lilywhite and Tommy Chong/Cracked out old wizard look-alike Ricky Villa in attendance, Gareth Bale fittingly continued his weekly price hike and cyclical transformation from overrated Welshman to the greatest British player in the history of sporting awesomeness. Added to his repertoire of astonishing skills now are majestic heading and the ability to feign a scuffed shot for the purposes of bamboozling the keeper and slotting it right in the corner. The boy is an undoubted genius. Which was helpful for Spurs, having one of those incredibly fun looking days where they attack with free flowing abandon and defend in exactly the same way, because Roman Pavlyuchenko was trying his bestest to take woefully awful shots on goal throughout, even when he was given a free one from the spot.

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Villa 2-2 United – Meanwhile, at Manchester United’s second favorite English ground, Aston Villa conspired to throw away a game both Andy Gray and Alan Green had already declared they’d won before United somehow conspired to not win it despite equalizing with a full 5 + 5 minutes left. Frederico Macheda put his rather limited party trick of only scoring spectacular and important goals against Aston Villa to good use in one of the two yearly fixtures he can, after the home side had taken a commanding, deserved and comfortable looking two goal lead with 15 minutes to go. Nani continued to be a big gangly ball of contradictions as he whined and dived and failed to beat the first man from all 437 of his corners before delivering an absolute peach of a cross for Vidic to equalize. As far as “end product” goes, he’s been well above most this season, his Holy Baleness included.

Stoke 2-0 Liverpool – Down at the home of the only team in England to employ football as a tactic for when things aren’t going their way, Liverpool realized there actually are lower levels to sink to, as they were comprehensively outplayed and deservedly beaten by Tony Pulis’ side despite using their Big Four get out of Stoke away free card of favorable refereeing decisions. One hundred year old leather striker Ricardo Fuller put the home side ahead with a shot he seemed to make accidentally leading fans in the away end to start chanting “Dalglish”. And there was me thinking demanding knee jerk personnel changes based on past glories, club legend and nostalgia was solely the preserve of Newcastle United fans.

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Other things I noticed. I’ve never seen a goal scored in front of a full Wigan end. Paul Merson is the punditry equivalent of that Chelsea fan who said “yeah” a lot. Johan Elmander is the new Lionel Messi. Carlos Tevez is rubbish at the hand of God but has had some kind of hypnotically powerful connection to the fans of all the clubs he’s ever played for and that famous Ricky Villa cup final wonder goal isn’t actually that wonderful.

You can follow Oscar on Twitter here; http://twitter.com/oscarpyejeary where you can join his campaign to get Audley Harrison to give him his £15 back.

If Aston Villa fans had wanted indications that Gerard Houllier would be looking to strengthen his squad in the January transfer window, the Villa manager’s statements this week have suggested a potential clear-out in the New Year, with fresh faces replacing them at Villa Park.

With the long-term futures of goalkeeper, Brad Friedel, and midfielder Steve Sidwell in major doubt, there is certainly hope that after a relentless period of games over the next few days that Houllier will be given licence to breathe life into a faltering campaign.

Tottenham have no such concerns over the strength of their squad, in fact chairman Daniel Levy has mentioned the need for offloading some squad players over the coming weeks.

Both sides need a result, however for slightly different reasons. Villa’s season has not yet been scuppered by an inconsistent start but games like these are important for building player confidence for a push up the table. Spurs have shown themselves to be the marauding entertainers of the division and will give Villa’s defence a torrid examination- particularly if Richard Dunne is risked at centre back after his recent run of poor form.

Apart from death and taxes, the one certainty in this most bewildering of Premier League seasons is that Spurs will score. The concern for Harry Redknapp is that they will probably concede as well. They must fix this problem if they are to challenge for the title into the home stretch.

Prediction: 1-1

[poll ]

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You can get odds of 11/2 on a 1-1 draw

AC Milan have slapped a £7m price tag on Ronaldinho, in order to attract Premier League interest.

The Brazilian has found himself on the San Siro fringes this season and Milan are desperate to get rid of him in January, given his contract expires in the summer.

The Serie A leaders are desperate to recoup some sort of fee and it was thought that a return to his hometown club Gremio was on the cards in January, but they are reportedly unwilling to meet the Italians asking fee, which has meant that a move to Europe is now a distinct possibility.

Ronaldinho’s agent Robert de Assis confirmed that his client is not wanted at the San Siro anymore and refused to rule out a European move

“There are many Brazilian clubs interested in Ronaldinho, but I won’t rule out a European move. It seems clear his time with the Rossoneri is at an end.” Daily Mail

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Ronaldinho has scored 25 goals in 82 appearances for AC Milan, since his move from Barcelona in 2008.

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti believes his team have turned a corner by beating Bolton 4-0 and has fired a warning at Manchester United.

Chelsea are still seven points behind English Premier League leaders United and have played a game more than their rivals.

But Ancelotti’s side are yet to play United both home and away and are refusing to give up hope after an impressive display at the Reebok Stadium, in which Didier Drogba looked back to his best and scored an outstanding opener before strikes from Florent Malouda, Nicolas Anelka and Ramires.

“It was an important performance, we turned a corner and now we have to look forward with confidence,” Ancelotti said.

“I said before when you are able to move on you can be stronger. The most important thing is to maintain composure. We have to stay focused.”

“It is not easy to win the trophy because in this moment Man United is so far (ahead) but we have to try to do everything we can. I think step-by-step we can do it.”

“Of course, it also depends also on the performance of Man United and obviously we have to win the games against them, the first on March 1, and we must use all our power, strength and personality.”

Ancelotti was delighted with the performance of Drogba, who scored a stunning goal from 35 yards to get Chelsea’s comprehensive win underway.

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“Finally he played a fantastic match, and scored a fantastic goal,” the Italian said.

“But it’s not the only reason we have to be happy tonight. Anelka scored, Malouda scored and for a long time they were not able to score. It was a good performance.”