It's official. Ancelotti is the man

[basketmouth]

Ancelotti at Chelsea will probably shoot up Obi's career. For starters, he loves the deep-lying midfielder (Pirlo role) which OBI who is more than capable of providing.

I can see him also favouring Essien who plays a bull-terrier role like Gattusto but also score goals. All in all, I'd expect him to feature both Obi and Essien in most of his matches.

[green4life]

Unless the indoctrinated Mourinho brigade is cleared out, Ancellotio will not be allowed to make progress.
Abramovich has to let everybody know that Ancelotti is here to stay and any player who does not like it should leave...

I agree with Vincent in principle. The locker room politics better be sorted out or he may not make it thru xmas otherwise welcome to Chelsea.

[CMS]

Shite! We are fuvked.. Ancelotti ke? Damn! I no feel confident about this man oh..

[MI5]

The guy is a solid coach and has to UCL wins under his belt... Not a bad player during his days and I expect him to make Chelsea a interesting team to watch...

[Waffiman]

The guy is a solid coach and has to UCL wins under his belt... Not a bad player during his days and I expect him to make Chelsea a interesting team to watch...

Has he ever worked outside of Italy? How good is his English? In Italy, there is a hierarchy of player power, African players come bottom of that chai. In England, there is no such thing, can Ancellotti handle Drogba's ego and power? Scolari marginalised Drogba and he paid the price. Ancellotti had better make sure he does'nt.

This is Roman's appointment, his personal choice. So he cannot blame anybody when he fails. The good thing is, he will give him money for players.

[nana81]

Hope this appointment works out for the best.Hail to the Blues.

[mastermind]

Ancelotti will be a sucess in Chelsea, he's the right coach for Chelsea's aging squad. The only coach that can win CL with a bunch of 30s players is Ancelotti.

I believe he's capable of doing a fine job at Chelsea, he's an experienced coach and he has worked with different kinda players all over the world.

One thing is for sure, Ancelotti is not Scolari, most Chelsea players would respect a 2-time CL winning coach like him.

[cchinukw]

Well based on a BBC article he is also guilty of the same transgression that Mourinho has been labelled with ie. he can't groom new players. Seems a fifth coach in a row will fancy Obi in a DM position.

[Killa Adjei]

Mourinho
Grant
Scolari
Hiddink
Ancelotti

In 2 years

Damn..

[PapaK]

Ancelotti will be a sucess in Chelsea, he's the right coach for Chelsea's aging squad. The only coach that can win CL with a bunch of 30s players is Ancelotti.

I believe he's capable of doing a fine job at Chelsea, he's an experienced coach and he has worked with different kinda players all over the world.

One thing is for sure, Ancelotti is not Scolari, most Chelsea players would respect a 2-time CL winning coach like him.

seems like wishful thinking to me. winning cup competition is less certain than winning league. If Chelsea squad is ageing go and freshen it up with young and fit players. Getting a coach that based on his reputation in Italian league where Inter have won 4 titles in a row will guarantee nothing. Unless, you consider what Milan has done the past two seasons to be success.

[toyin133]

Ancelotti will be a sucess in Chelsea, he's the right coach for Chelsea's aging squad. The only coach that can win CL with a bunch of 30s players is Ancelotti.

I believe he's capable of doing a fine job at Chelsea, he's an experienced coach and he has worked with different kinda players all over the world.

One thing is for sure, Ancelotti is not Scolari, most Chelsea players would respect a 2-time CL winning coach like him.

seems like wishful thinking to me. winning cup competition is less certain than winning league. If Chelsea squad is ageing go and freshen it up with young and fit players. Getting a coach that based on his reputation in Italian league where Inter have won 4 titles in a row will guarantee nothing. Unless, you consider what Milan has done the past two seasons to be success.

The average age of the Chelsea team which started the FA Cup final was just under 28 years old, can we please abandon this ageing team/squad fallacy.

[Vincent.]

Unless the indoctrinated Mourinho brigade is cleared out, Ancellotio will not be allowed to make progress.
Abramovich has to let everybody know that Ancelotti is here to stay and any player who does not like it should leave...

So how did Hiddink make progress with the same 'indoctrinated Mourinho brigade'?

Your hatorade clearly doesn't allow u think straight.

Hiddink made progress not because of them but in spite of them.

What I am saying is that players should not decide whether or not to play for a coach simply on the basis of whether they like him or not. These guys are paid huge amounts of money to perform and they should perform 100% no matter who is coach.

Players like Drogba clearly subverted Scolari while Avram Grant (the coach that took them to the greratest height) managed to succeed despite the players clearly undermining him.

Anyway, it is none of my problem. I am talking because I want Ancelloti to succeed, as long as it is not against Barca. I hope Barca meets Chelsea again in the semi-final next year (everytime Barca knocks Chelsea out in the semi-final, it has gone on to win the CL ).

[PapaK]

Ancelotti will be a sucess in Chelsea, he's the right coach for Chelsea's aging squad. The only coach that can win CL with a bunch of 30s players is Ancelotti.

I believe he's capable of doing a fine job at Chelsea, he's an experienced coach and he has worked with different kinda players all over the world.

One thing is for sure, Ancelotti is not Scolari, most Chelsea players would respect a 2-time CL winning coach like him.

seems like wishful thinking to me. winning cup competition is less certain than winning league. If Chelsea squad is ageing go and freshen it up with young and fit players. Getting a coach that based on his reputation in Italian league where Inter have won 4 titles in a row will guarantee nothing. Unless, you consider what Milan has done the past two seasons to be success.

The average age of the Chelsea team which started the FA Cup final was just under 28 years old, can we please abandon this ageing team/squad fallacy.

just so you know, I dont deserve the credit for the discovery of the ageing Chelsea squad. Give that credit to Alex Fergusson. and on this thread, you have to give the credit to osa. Is the squad ageing or fit? I really dont care. What's more important to me is how we can get one over them next term in a crucial match.

[YUJAM]

Problem with Chelsea fans is a lack of patience. They are football nouveau riches who do not seem to understand what it takes to build a winning franchise.. Hence there view of football as a zero sum game where the ends justifies the means as long as it brings wins. I guess you can't blame them too much cuz the Russian bought himself a team. We can give them a pass but me thinks this mentality will affect how Ancelotti is judged. I have a feeling he won't be around for too long

[Cellular]

Unless the indoctrinated Mourinho brigade is cleared out, Ancellotio will not be allowed to make progress.
Abramovich has to let everybody know that Ancelotti is here to stay and any player who does not like it should leave...

KPOM...this is why I think Ancellotti has a real job on his hands to make them adopt his own approach...they played for Hiddink because he allowed them to play Mourinho style...for the knuckleheads among them Ancelloti should simply remind them that they have failed in the Champions league repeatedly wih Mourinho's style..

You know there's trouble when Arsenal fans start yabbering like Totoham fans... ah mean, has it gotten this bad?


Waffiman, please issue a denial at once...

[Mr. Piffington]

Not that I care but I have a bad feeling about this.

[Waffiman]

Problem with Chelsea fans is a lack of patience. They are football nouveau riches who do not seem to understand what it takes to build a winning franchise.. Hence there view of football as a zero sum game where the ends justifies the means as long as it brings wins. I guess you can't blame them too much cuz the Russian bought himself a team. We can give them a pass but me thinks this mentality will affect how Ancelotti is judged. I have a feeling he won't be around for too long

They cannot wait because Roman is not forever. They must win yesterday or it can all go in a flash.

[YUJAM]

Problem with Chelsea fans is a lack of patience. They are football nouveau riches who do not seem to understand what it takes to build a winning franchise.. Hence there view of football as a zero sum game where the ends justifies the means as long as it brings wins. I guess you can't blame them too much cuz the Russian bought himself a team. We can give them a pass but me thinks this mentality will affect how Ancelotti is judged. I have a feeling he won't be around for too long

They cannot wait because Roman is not forever. They must win yesterday or it can all go in a flash.

[toyin133]

Ancelotti will be a sucess in Chelsea, he's the right coach for Chelsea's aging squad. The only coach that can win CL with a bunch of 30s players is Ancelotti.

I believe he's capable of doing a fine job at Chelsea, he's an experienced coach and he has worked with different kinda players all over the world.

One thing is for sure, Ancelotti is not Scolari, most Chelsea players would respect a 2-time CL winning coach like him.

seems like wishful thinking to me. winning cup competition is less certain than winning league. If Chelsea squad is ageing go and freshen it up with young and fit players. Getting a coach that based on his reputation in Italian league where Inter have won 4 titles in a row will guarantee nothing. Unless, you consider what Milan has done the past two seasons to be success.

The average age of the Chelsea team which started the FA Cup final was just under 28 years old, can we please abandon this ageing team/squad fallacy.

just so you know, I dont deserve the credit for the discovery of the ageing Chelsea squad. Give that credit to Alex Fergusson. and on this thread, you have to give the credit to osa. Is the squad ageing or fit? I really dont care. What's more important to me is how we can get one over them next term in a crucial match.

Difference is that I don't swallow what others say hook, line and sinker.

[juventuss]

Mourinho
Grant
Scolari
Hiddink
Ancelotti

In 2 years

Damn..

you can't count ?

[Waffiman]

From The Times
June 1, 2009
Carlo Ancelotti is a manager in every sense

Gabriele Marcotti, European Football Correspondent
Carlo Ancelotti bade farewell to AC Milan last night without a hint of recrimination towards Silvio Berlusconi, the club’s president and owner, despite the pair reportedly not having spoken since January.

“I can only thank him for what he’s done for me and for the club,” Ancelotti said. “We’ve had our discussions over the years, but today is not about that, it’s a day for giving thanks and saying farewell.”

The way he managed his relationship with Berlusconi over the years may offer clues as to how things might evolve at Chelsea under Roman Abramovich. There are obvious differences between the billionaire owners — not least that Berlusconi never met a camera or microphone he didn’t like, whereas Abramovich is painfully publicity-averse — but their common ground goes beyond enormous wealth and a dip into politics. Both demand success and both have a clear vision of how they would like their clubs to play.

Until earlier this season, Berlusconi was a constant presence in Ancelotti’s life, often ringing before matches to get the latest team news and, some suggest, offering “constructive advice”. One of Ancelotti’s greatest skills has been knowing which advice to follow and which to ignore.
Despite some initial reluctance, he embraced Berlusconi’s diktat that Milan needed to play entertaining, pass-oriented football and that the side should be stocked with players known for skill, rather than workrate. Ancelotti, knowing that Berlusconi’s roots lie in showbiz and salesmanship, found a way to give his owner what he wanted in that department.

He was far more resolute in voicing his “no” to other demands. After one Milan derby in which Ancelotti employed a “Christmas tree” formation, Berlusconi famously came out and said: “From now on, Milan will always play with two strikers. Always. It’s my team and it’s right that I have a say.”

Ancelotti, despite praising publicly his owner for being “so knowledgeable” about football, went on and did his own thing. And Milan won another Champions League.

It’s unimaginable that Abramovich might stop before the cameras after a game and dissect the Chelsea manager’s tactics, as Berlusconi occasionally did. Those who have worked at the club and now no longer do so — and therefore can presumably speak freely — have always denied any direct interference. At the same time, however, it’s an open secret that Abramovich has his favourite players as well and the temptation to please the owner can be very strong, even for the most strong-willed of managers (Andriy Shevchenko — a personal favourite of Abramovich — started 23 of 44 games under José Mourinho).

This past season, Milan signed Ronaldinho and Shevchenko, the latter on loan, largely at Berlusconi’s insistence. Ancelotti limited the Brazilian - who clearly did not fit into the side - to 16 league starts, the last on February 7, while Shevchenko was an even more marginal figure, starting two Serie A matches all season.

The arrangement with Milan over the years evolved into the following: the club (or sometimes Berlusconi himself) bought the players and supplied the grand vision, Ancelotti made it work and kept everyone happy. In that sense, while strictly speaking he may have been a coach, he was the truest of managers.

He managed the players, he managed his owner, he managed his owner’s sizeable court and he managed expectations. Which probably does not make him too dissimilar to the man he is likely to replace, Guus Hiddink, and, perhaps, puts him at odds with Mourinho, an innovator who reshapes clubs in his own image.

Of course, there is a price you pay for being that kind of manager. You are a cog in the machine of a club and it’s easy for the club to believe they can function without you, provided they find a replacement with the same people skills and the same leadership qualities. This is basically what happened at Milan. Berlusconi, like many, is convinced that the club’s strength lies in their organisation and coaching staff, virtually all of whom are loyal to the club, not Ancelotti.

It remains to be seen whether the “people-manager” approach will work at Chelsea. Or, for that matter, whether Leonardo, Milan’s choice as a replacement, can emulate Ancelotti. What appears certain is that Ancelotti will face less interference at Stamford Bridge. And that whatever “suggestions from above” he may face, he will know how to deal with them.

One title in 11 years – is that all you’ve got?

Ancelotti won only one league title and one Italian Cup in 11 full seasons as a coach in Serie A.

Led Reggiana to promotion from Serie B in 1995-96 as first-year coach.

Moved to Parma and led them to second in Serie A. Replaced after they were sixth the next season.

Joined Juventus late in the 1998-99 campaign. They finished second in his two full seasons before he was sacked.

Appointed by Milan early in 2001-02. Sole title won in 2004.

Champions League triumphs came in 2003 and 2007, when Milan beat Juventus and Liverpool respectively. Words by Bill Edgar

[Killa Adjei]

Mourinho
Grant
Scolari
Hiddink
Ancelotti

In 2 years

Damn..

you can't count ?

Mourinho was coach in 07 or no?

[analyzer]

Comes in, looks around and realizes that about > 80% of the posts made on this thread are by none Chelsea fans; furthermore almost 50% of those post are made by Arsenal fans... Interesting....

I wonder why all the interest...

Meanwhile, certain fans must be hurting cos according to them Roman was losing interest and will walk... But so far, everything seems to point to the contrary.... hmm!!!

Welcome Ancelotti.. Not my no. 1 choice but will fully support you until you prove otherwise....

@ Vinny.... DD might not be going anywhere... Word on the street is that Ancelotti is a secret admirer of DD.... They calimed he had asked the Milan board for DD in the past...