Chelsea swipe at 'boring Benitez'
NEIL ASHTON reports from Los Angeles
2nd August 2006
Premiership 2006/07 odds
2/5 Chelsea (favourites)
5/1 Manchester United
7/1 Liverpool
7/1 Arsenal
50/1 Tottenham Hotspur
The English Champions have attacked Liverpool for being "boring". With players such as Michael Ballack and Andriy Shevchenko, Chelsea are favourites to win the Premiership for the third time in a row. Shevchenko recently said that he wants to make Chelsea the No1 team in the world.
Jose Mourinho last night re-ignited his war of words with Rafael Benitez by writing off Liverpool's Premiership title chances.
The Chelsea chief was scathing about Benitez's 'negative tactics' and claimed that only Manchester United or Arsenal can stop them winning a third successive Premiership title.
Mourinho said: 'I still believe Manchester United and Arsenal will be the better teams because of the way they play and the improvements they have made to their squads.
'Liverpool are different. If they score before you score it's very difficult to change it because they defend very well with 11 players. Tactically they are very good and they are potentially fighting with the front pack, but I still fancy the way United and Arsenal play their football.'
Mourinho's damning assessment of his Merseyside rivals came on a day when Liverpool lost 2-0 to Grasshopper Zurich, their second friendly defeat in four days.
Benitez and Mourinho have been at loggerheads since Luis Garcia's 'ghost goal' in the Champions League semifinal two years ago.
Mourinho, with his team on their American tour, added: 'Manchester United will improve a lot by having Michael Carrick. He's a very, very good player and he will improve them. United have had some problems since Roy Keane went to Celtic, but they have a very good team and they don't need 10 players to improve their team.
'Arsenal were not successful in the Premiership, but they still had success. They reached the Champions League final by playing good football and they have some young players with great motivation. Rosicky is also a very important player. I don't want to compare him with Bergkamp but Rosicky can bring that bit of quality. They are a very strong team.'
Mourinho met his players yesterday to outline their targets for the season, but it is clear that he believes complacency is Chelsea's biggest enemy.
The arrival of Michael Ballack and Andriy Shevchenko — plus the imminent signing of Ashley Cole — ensures that Chelsea will have the strongest squad, but he has warned the players that the Premiership will be anything other than a victory parade.
He said: 'In the league, the best team wins. We have been the best team in the Premiership for the past two years, but the biggest fight is against ourselves. We don't need others to put the pressure on us. We must challenge ourselves. Sheva and Bal-lack are not here just to make money, learn English or enjoy London — they have come here for a big challenge.
'I told the players that this group reminds me of my first year. Back then, we were feeling we had a fantastic group of players and a great family.
I think those kind of feelings are back.'
Mourinho is expected to play 4-4-2 to accommodate the new signings, but there will still be a place for Didier Drogba who, despite his unpredictable form, will partner Shevchenko. Mourinho said: 'Drogba was, and is, important. You can say he doesn't score a lot of goals, but his contribution to our success was very important.
'Players with different qualities — such as Salomon Kalou and Shevchenko — can play together, but so can Drogba. It's very possible that he can help people score and also score a few himself.
'Last season we changed to 4-4-2 with seven games left and at this moment, with our maturity and quality of players in our squad, we are more than ready to play with it again.'
n. ashton@dailymail.co.uk
dailymail.co.uk
NEIL ASHTON reports from Los Angeles
2nd August 2006
Premiership 2006/07 odds
2/5 Chelsea (favourites)
5/1 Manchester United
7/1 Liverpool
7/1 Arsenal
50/1 Tottenham Hotspur
The English Champions have attacked Liverpool for being "boring". With players such as Michael Ballack and Andriy Shevchenko, Chelsea are favourites to win the Premiership for the third time in a row. Shevchenko recently said that he wants to make Chelsea the No1 team in the world.
Jose Mourinho last night re-ignited his war of words with Rafael Benitez by writing off Liverpool's Premiership title chances.
The Chelsea chief was scathing about Benitez's 'negative tactics' and claimed that only Manchester United or Arsenal can stop them winning a third successive Premiership title.
Mourinho said: 'I still believe Manchester United and Arsenal will be the better teams because of the way they play and the improvements they have made to their squads.
'Liverpool are different. If they score before you score it's very difficult to change it because they defend very well with 11 players. Tactically they are very good and they are potentially fighting with the front pack, but I still fancy the way United and Arsenal play their football.'
Mourinho's damning assessment of his Merseyside rivals came on a day when Liverpool lost 2-0 to Grasshopper Zurich, their second friendly defeat in four days.
Benitez and Mourinho have been at loggerheads since Luis Garcia's 'ghost goal' in the Champions League semifinal two years ago.
Mourinho, with his team on their American tour, added: 'Manchester United will improve a lot by having Michael Carrick. He's a very, very good player and he will improve them. United have had some problems since Roy Keane went to Celtic, but they have a very good team and they don't need 10 players to improve their team.
'Arsenal were not successful in the Premiership, but they still had success. They reached the Champions League final by playing good football and they have some young players with great motivation. Rosicky is also a very important player. I don't want to compare him with Bergkamp but Rosicky can bring that bit of quality. They are a very strong team.'
Mourinho met his players yesterday to outline their targets for the season, but it is clear that he believes complacency is Chelsea's biggest enemy.
The arrival of Michael Ballack and Andriy Shevchenko — plus the imminent signing of Ashley Cole — ensures that Chelsea will have the strongest squad, but he has warned the players that the Premiership will be anything other than a victory parade.
He said: 'In the league, the best team wins. We have been the best team in the Premiership for the past two years, but the biggest fight is against ourselves. We don't need others to put the pressure on us. We must challenge ourselves. Sheva and Bal-lack are not here just to make money, learn English or enjoy London — they have come here for a big challenge.
'I told the players that this group reminds me of my first year. Back then, we were feeling we had a fantastic group of players and a great family.
I think those kind of feelings are back.'
Mourinho is expected to play 4-4-2 to accommodate the new signings, but there will still be a place for Didier Drogba who, despite his unpredictable form, will partner Shevchenko. Mourinho said: 'Drogba was, and is, important. You can say he doesn't score a lot of goals, but his contribution to our success was very important.
'Players with different qualities — such as Salomon Kalou and Shevchenko — can play together, but so can Drogba. It's very possible that he can help people score and also score a few himself.
'Last season we changed to 4-4-2 with seven games left and at this moment, with our maturity and quality of players in our squad, we are more than ready to play with it again.'
n. ashton@dailymail.co.uk
dailymail.co.uk
