Craig Burley

Ancelotti's putting his reputation on the line

Carlo Ancelotti taking over at Chelsea was the worst-kept secret in football and, now he’s there, he will be putting his reputation on the line.

He won the Champions League twice with Milan but, just as Luiz Felipe Scolari arrived as a World Cup-winning coach, that will count for nothing now.

They key to Guus Hiddink’s success at Stamford Bridge was his ability to bring everyone at the club together.

You can’t say at this stage whether Ancelotti will be able to maintain that unity. It’s a real shame for me that Hiddink has gone as there are no guarantees that Ancelotti can adapt.

It’s all about getting the players to play for him and work with him. Every manager has a different way of dealing with egos and, while Scolari was unable to sort things out, Hiddink got it bang on.

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Everton may just nick it

29 May 2009

Everton have had a tougher run to the FA Cup final than Chelsea.

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In the Drog house - again!

08 May 2009

There will be repercussions. The referee’s had a bad night and Chelsea have over-reacted. Uefa will take action.

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People are too scared to criticise Fergie

20 April 2009

I’ve heard it said over the weekend that Sir Alex Ferguson is spared the level of criticism that other manager receive in the British media, that it is almost an unwritten understanding that you don’t lay into Sir Alex.

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Wenger's tactics didn't suit Arsenal

18 April 2009

Arsene Wenger's tactics were not right against Chelsea.

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Reffing hell hurt Scots - but it's no disaster

29 March 2009

At the end of the day, Scotland were outclassed in their 3-0 defeat to Holland - but referee Laurent Duhamel has a lot to answer for.

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