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Van Gaal to quit Manchester United if he feels chemistry is gone
4 December 2015
Louis van Gaal has revealed that he is ready to quit as Manchester United manager if he feels he no longer has a connection with his players.
The Dutchman has received significant criticism in recent months following United's underwhelming performances, even if they sit third in the Premier League table, just one point off the pace, and have qualification for the Champions League knockout stages in their own hands.
Van Gaal is confident that he still has the backing of the players, though, and has made it clear he would immediately throw in the towel if he felt that was no longer the case.
"The most important thing in my opinion is the chemistry between players and staff," he explained. "That chemistry is the most important thing and when I have the feeling that the chemistry is there, I will always work to my utmost best.
"But when I have a single feeling that it is not like that, I'm the first coach that quits and I have proved that already with my former clubs and former jobs.
"I don't think there is another coach who decides to quit himself because of the money aspect, but I am like that.
"It's fantastic that people are saying when I'm gone, 'Oh, he was very good, he gave structure and was the basis for other things'. But the most important thing for me as a trainer, coach and manager is the chemistry between me and my players and my board.
"It should be good and otherwise I would be gone."
United resume Premier League action at home against West Ham on Saturday, having been held at joint leaders Leicester City last time out.
Their Champions League pool campaign concludes with Tuesday's visit to Wolfsburg, who they will replace at the summit of Group B with a win.
Ferguson backs Mourinho to find a solution at Chelsea
7 December 2015 13:48
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho will find a way to turn the champions' dreadful 2015-16 season around and Roman Abramovich would be wrong to sack him, according to Manchester United managerial legend Alex Ferguson.
The Scot, who led United to 13 Premier League titles and five FA Cups, believes the Stamford Bridge coach will emerge from the current crisis, even though it is the first time he has had to cope with such a situation.
Chelsea are 14th in the Premier League with only 15 points – two clear of the bottom three – after their opening 15 matches this campaign.
Ferguson has recently spoken to Mourinho and felt there were signs the worst has passed for Chelsea, even though they suffered a dramatic setback when they lost 1-0 to AFC Bournemouth on Saturday.
Speaking at the TechCrunch Disrupt London event, he said: "For Jose, I think all good leaders will eventually find a solution.
"I think he will. I think he will find a solution and I think you will get back to normal, which is not looking great at the moment but I know the guy and I know the work he has done in football so I can't see it lasting long - I can't see it.
"[Abramovich] has sacked so many coaches in the last 10 years that I am sure he has learned by it. He has to trust and have confidence Jose can turn around.
"There is no point in sacking one of the best coaches of all time, he has won the European Cup twice, he has won the league in each country he has managed in, he has won the big trophies.
"I have been watching Jose recently and spoken to him a couple of times - this is the first time he has been confronted with non-success.
"If you look at his whole career there has been nothing but a rise all of the time so for the first time in his life he has had to deal with bad publicity, adversity and that is a challenge for him, but there are signs he is getting back to a balanced level although they lost on Saturday.
"I watched the match and they could have won by a few goals, but they lost and then he still has to face that sort of negative publicity."
Ferguson feels the pressure on managers at the highest level is increasing with every new season.
He continued: "Football today is such a big financial industry, the television deal is billions, there is the press involvement, there is pressure from their own fans. It is a very high-risk industry.
"It is never easy for a manager in present-day football because the media attention is huge.
"The sort of average time a manager lasts now is a year throughout the whole country and that is not a big time."
Norwich City have confirmed that Alan Bowkett has stepped down from his role as chairman and director of the Premier League club.
Bowkett joined the board of directors in 2009 when the club were in League One and during his time at Carrow Road Norwich have been promoted to the Premier League twice - including victory in May's Championship play-off final against Middlesbrough.
Norwich announced Bowkett's departure via a statement on their official website that stressed there will be no change in the club's ownership.
"Norwich City can confirm Alan Bowkett has stepped down from his position as Chairman and director of the club," the statement read.
"Mr Bowkett joined the board of directors in 2009 and the directors and all at Norwich City would like to place on record their thanks to Alan for his contribution.
"The club has been working recently to refresh the board of directors and an announcement about new directors and a new chairman will be made in the next few weeks. The ownership of the club will be unaffected by these changes.
"The new directors will bring additional expertise and fresh ideas about growing the business, as Norwich City continues its commitment to maintaining Premier League status and developing the football club on and off the pitch."
Manchester City Football Administration Officer Brian Marwood hopes Patrick Vieira will learn from his experience in MLS before returning to manage the club in the future.
Vieira is to take up the role of head coach at City's sister club New York City on January 1 but Marwood is eager for the former France midfielder to return to the Etihad at some stage.
He told Sky Sports News: "It was important that we could find the next development stage for Patrick and it was still part of the group. That opportunity came about in New York.
"We are really excited, he is really excited by it and I think it is exactly the next step he needs.
"Hopefully, at some point, he'll come back and manage Manchester City, That's the ambition for him and that's the ambition for us. But he has to go through this learning curve."
Marwood credits Vieira with playing an instrumental role in City's development over the past five years following his move from Inter in 2010.
"We always felt from day one that he could make a major contribution to the club," Marwood added.
"The club, at that time, still had a lot of developing to do, a lot of growing up to do and the culture, which is very important to what we are about, needed to be driven by people that had been around winning mentalities, winning culture, humility and trying to have the right values and behaviours.
"We felt Patrick epitomised all of those things, so he was very crucial to where we were in that stage in our development.
"Since he came, he showed that within the dressing room, but we also felt there was a big long-term potential with him. We took him on our journey that saw him for one year working within the business.
"He had lived as a footballer for many years, but probably had not quite grasped or understood the importance of communications, marketing, commercial, legal and all those areas.
"To be fair to him, he immersed himself fully in those 12 months and I think he came away with a different perception of what a football club was about."
Van Gaal not expecting Giggs to join Swansea as Moyes ruled out
11 December 2015
Louis van Gaal says there is no truth to rumours linking his assistant Ryan Giggs to Swansea City's managerial vacancy while another reported target David Moyes has ruled himself out of the running.
The Welsh club parted company with the former captain and manager Garry Monk on Wednesday after a run of just one win in 11 top-flight fixtures.
Giggs served under Moyes at Old Trafford before the Scot was replaced by Van Gaal, but the Dutchman says there is nothing in the rumours regarding Swansea's apparent interest to discuss the role with his number two.
"I never read the papers and think it is the truth," explained the United boss.
"When it is the truth, I think he will come to me."
Moyes was also among the reported frontrunners for the role along with former Swansea boss Brendan Rodgers, with the 52-year-old having been out of work since leaving Real Sociedad in November.
"I'm not interested in the job, I let that be known earlier in the week that it wasn't for me," Moyes told talkSPORT.
"When I was in Spain I was getting offered numerous jobs to come back to England and since I've lost my job I've had several offers to come back here as well as offers to go back abroad.
"I want to spend Christmas at home with the family if I can, but if the right job comes up that really excites me I'm ready to go.
"I'm looking for something that really excites me and gets me off my seat. I'm raring to go again.
"I don't need a rest or a break, but I want to make sure the job is the right one."
Jose Mourinho refused to rule out a potential return to Real Madrid, but will only think about other clubs after the end of his Chelsea contract.
Reports in the British media have indicated Madrid are planning a bid to lure Mourinho - who coached the Spanish side from 2010 to 2013 - back to the Santiago Bernabeu.
Madrid boss Rafael Benitez has come under pressure following their 4-0 Clasico defeat to Barcelona and expulsion from the Copa del Rey for fielding an ineligible player.
Mourinho himself has been the subject of intense scrutiny, with Chelsea languishing a lowly 14th in the Premier League table, just two points above the relegation zone.
The Portuguese's contract at Stamford Bridge runs until June 2019.
Asked if he imagined himself coaching Madrid again, he replied: "I imagine myself finishing my contract with Chelsea, I have three-and-a-half years left on my contract. [Afterwards] I imagine myself managing every club."
Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce described Garry Monk's sacking by Swansea City as a "great shame" despite the team's run of one win in 11 Premier League matches.
Monk was sacked on Wednesday despite the 36-year-old spending over a decade at the club as player and manager.
Allardyce said there needed to be more patience from clubs, despite Swansea sitting just a point above the relegation zone.
"It's that ultimate ringing in the ears of £120million which causes owners to panic that little bit quicker than perhaps they would before, because losing the Premier League status is not the thing to do this season," he told the media ahead of Sunderland's home game against Watford on Saturday.
"Somebody is going to have to lose it. Somebody is going to have to get relegated. [Swansea] obviously feel that the time is right that Garry should be changed.
"It's a great shame considering that last year he got more points than anyone else as the manager of Swansea than any other manager had achieved in the Premier League.
"Hopefully he will bounce back and be a manager somewhere else because I think he deserves an opportunity to manage again, but he'll be feeling very down and very upset at this moment in time."
Allardyce revealed that Jermain Defoe will be back in his squad after an ankle injury, but Sebastian Larsson and Lee Cattermole remain unavailable.
And the Sunderland manager called on his side to produce "top form" to beat Watford, who have already won three away Premier League matches this season.
He said: "We've won all of our games by being the first team to score. It's obviously a trend of ours that we have to continue and hopefully that will be the case for us against Watford.
"The hardest thing to do is win home games this season as stats are telling us this year there are more teams have won away from home than ever before."
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho says surprise Premier League leaders Leicester City can win the title and admits every club is "miles away from what they are doing".
Leicester host Mourinho's men on Monday with the Foxes two points clear at the summit while defending champions Chelsea are down in 14th, 17 points adrift.
Although he conceded his side are currently underperforming, Mourinho preferred to focus on the achievement of Leicester and their manager, former Chelsea boss Claudio Ranieri.
"They deserve to be where they are, let's be honest," Mourinho told his pre-match media conference on Friday.
"I said a couple of weeks ago I didn't believe they could be champions, maybe I have to think twice before I say that. To be top after a good start is one thing, to be there in December is a different story.
"They can win the title. It would be something magnificent, it would be something to impress the football world, but these things can happen."
Ranieri was named Premier League Manager of the Month on Friday but Mourinho thinks the Italian's work should be recognised over a longer period, adding: "I think he should win the manager of the half-term, if you could give an award for the first six months of competition.
"Everybody is miles away from him. Every club is miles away from what Leicester are doing. They are the ones that deserve all this respect and all these compliments."
Chelsea qualified for the knockout stages of the Champions League on Wednesday courtesy of a 2-0 win over Mourinho's former club Porto but their last domestic outing, against AFC Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge, ended in a surprise 1-0 defeat.
"I have to say, the last defeat was something that was far away from what I believed [could happen]," continued Mourinho.
"Before we lost the last three points against Bournemouth, I was convinced of a great December for us, to go for fourth."
Schweinsteiger slapped with three-match FA ban after Reid altercation
10 December 2015
Manchester United midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger has accepted a charge of violent conduct for his altercation with West Ham defender Winston Reid and will serve a three-match ban, the Football Association (FA) has confirmed.
The Germany international was charged on Monday after he appeared to strike New Zealand centre-back Reid with his forearm during last weekend's 0-0 Premier League draw at Old Trafford.
Referee Mark Clattenburg and his assistants did not spot the clash during the match, but the FA took retrospective action after taking a dim view of the incident.
"Bastian Schweinsteiger will serve a three-match suspension with immediate effect after he accepted an FA charge for violent conduct which was not seen by the match officials but caught on video," an FA statement read.
"The Manchester United midfielder was involved in an incident with West Ham United's Winston Reid in the 40th minute of the game on Saturday 5 December 2015."
Schweinsteiger will miss United's Premier League games against AFC Bournemouth, Norwich City and Stoke City, meaning he will next be available for the visit of champions Chelsea on December 28.
The 31-year-old has struggled for consistency since joining from Bayern Munich in the close-season and manager Louis van Gaal criticised his form after the West Ham match, saying: "We have not seen the best of Schweinsteiger - the player I saw at Bayern Munich."
Van Gaal also hauled Schweinsteiger off in the second half of United's 3-2 defeat to Wolfsburg on Tuesday, a result that saw them exit the Champions League.
Schweinsteiger, though, was defended on Thursday by his international manager Joachim Low, who called for Germany's captain to be given time to adapt to English football.
"We know what we have in Bastian. He is still a world-class player and undisputed as our captain," he told Bild.
"Even an experienced player like him needs time to get used to a new league. I'm sure Bastian Schweinsteiger will still have a lot of fun at Manchester United."
Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini believes fewer than 80 points will be needed to win the Premier League this season.
Only three times since the inaugural season in 1992-93 has the title been won with such a low tally, with the 1998-99 Manchester United team the last to achieve the feat.
But the unpredictable first half of the current campaign sees Arsenal topping the table on just 33 points.
Pellegrini, whose City side sit second, said not even 80 points would be needed to be crowned champions.
"It is a very difficult title to win because the amount of points all the teams have now is not normal. You don't have that in every Premier League season," he said.
"Maybe this season the teams are stronger, maybe the games are closer.
"Every season is different but to win the Premier League this season will be very difficult and take less than 80 points."
City will find out their Champions League last-16 opponents on Monday, but Pellegrini's focus is on domestic action.
The Chilean said the league was always his priority.
"For me, I always think the Premier League is the most important," Pellegrini said.
"In the Champions League, you can have a bad game and go out in the semi-final, and nobody remembers what you did.
"The Premier League is the work of the whole year. I always say it must not be an obsession to win the Champions League.
"It's a very important title, and beautiful to do it. But you must not try to win the Champions League and lose focus on the Premier League."
Manchester United players are too afraid to express themselves and are going backwards under manager Louis van Gaal, according to former defender Rio Ferdinand.
Van Gaal has been criticised for his defensive style of play but the under-pressure Dutchman has showed no signs of swaying from his rigid approach despite the club's five-match winless run.
United lost 2-1 at AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday, adding to their Champions League group-stage exit midweek.
And Ferdinand said something has to change, sooner rather than later, with United fourth in the standings, four points adrift of leaders Arsenal.
"Players are playing it safe because they are afraid of the consequences if they try to take chances," Ferdinand told the Sun.
"Manchester United are going backwards again and I don't see that changing because the manager will not change.
"They have to be allowed to express themselves."
Van Gaal is under contract until 2017 but faces an uncertain future amid increasing fan frustration.
Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola and former Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti have been linked with a move to Old Trafford.
Ferdinand added: "Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti will be available this summer and the question is will they be able to do a better job than Van Gaal.
"The board and owners might want to be loyal to Van Gaal after investing so much in him but they also have to do what is best for United.
"And if United finish outside the top four, that will be catastrophic.
"It might rule out the chance of getting either Guardiola or Ancelotti.
"It will be more difficult to attract the best players, too. The next six months are absolutely crucial."
´It was not a friendly game´ - Klopp explains Pulis snub
13 December 2015
Jurgen Klopp has revealed why he refused to shake hands with Tony Pulis after his Liverpool side drew 2-2 with West Brom at Anfield on Sunday.
Klopp's side needed a deflected Divock Origi goal deep into injury time to rescue a point and the German said it had not been a "friendly game" in the Premier League.
"I don't have the biggest talent to remember things like this," Klopp said.
"I only talk about football. I wanted to go to my team."
Klopp and Pulis had clashed angrily during the game, which was marred by a bad injury suffered by Dejan Lovren following a heavy challenge from Craig Gardner.
"We had some words in the game and sometimes it takes more than a few seconds to cool down," Klopp said.
"Usually I shake hands. It was not a friendly game."
The Liverpool manager did acknowledge the tackle that hurt Lovren was a fair challenge.
"It was like this the whole game, on the edge of everything. But he played the ball," he said.
"If he didn't play the ball, we don't have to talk about this. We hope the injury is not too serious.
"We have to wait for the scan. I spoke to [Lovren] and he said it felt not too bad."
Leicester City goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel says he is sick and tired of people who keep comparing him to his father, Peter.
Peter Schmeichel is a Manchester United great after he won five Premier League titles, three FA Cups and a Champions League in his eight seasons at the club.
His son, Kasper, followed the same path as his father and has spent his entire career playing as a goalkeeper in England.
The 29-year-old is also an 18-time Denmark international and is currently enjoying the most prosperous stage of his career at Leicester.
But the Dane says he has grown tired of the comparisons and the jokes that people make about him and his father.
"It's getting worse and worse every month," Schmeichel told the Daily Mail. "I thought it would get better. I don't know why. For some reason, people are more interested in it than ever.
"Maybe they think it gives them an intro. I have always let it slide, let it slide, let it slide but I have reached the point in my life where I am 29 years old, I'm a father. I think, 'No, I'm not going to let it slide any more.'
"My dad hates it, too. And he's ruthless. We were out for dinner a couple of weeks ago and some guy came over and shook his hand and said, 'You're a legend, mate. Your son's doing well but he'll never be as good as you.'
"My dad looked at him and said, 'Just go. You're going to come here and insult my son and think you're going to get away with it?' It's got to a point now where if you're going to talk to me, talk to me.
"Don't come and try and have a laugh and try and half-insult me. I'm happy to talk to anybody but do it in the right manner. I'm not going to buy into it any more.
"My dad was always guarded with that type of thing. He tried to shield me and my sister as much as possible. And I am exactly the same. My wife hates that life. She doesn't live that life. I don't want my kids exposed to that kind of thing.
'Ashamed' Mourinho: Chelsea not in relegation battle
By Tom Webber
Dec 14, 2015 23:16:28
With the Blues sitting one point above the relegation zone, the Portuguese coach is embarrassed but says they are not fighting for survival
Jose Mourinho is "ashamed" by Chelsea's standing in the Premier League, but insists they are not in a relegation battle.
The west London club's woeful title defence continued on Monday as they suffered a 2-1 defeat to Leicester City, leaving them in 16th position and 14 points adrift of the top four.
Although Chelsea qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League last week, the 52-year-old has been embarrassed by their domestic displays.
"We can't finish top four, but we can still finish top six because so many teams are dropping points, but at the moment we're in a zone where I feel ashamed," Mourinho told BBC Sport.
However, the Chelsea coach is adamant his players do not need to concern themselves with a fight to retain their Premier League status.
"I accept we are [near] the relegation zone but I don't accept we are in a relegation battle," he added.
'He's been sleeping all season' - Costa slammed for criticising Chelsea team-mates
By Chris Davie
Dec 14, 2015 23:20:00
Television replays showed the striker berating his team-mates and accusing them of sleeping in Monday's 2-1 defeat to Leicester City
Diego Costa has been accused of "sleeping all season" after the striker was caught heavily criticising his Chelsea team-mates in Monday's 2-1 defeat to Leicester City.
Following Jamie Vardy's opener in the first half, television replays showed the Chelsea striker berating his team-mates and accusing them of falling asleep.
“There’s nothing worse than a player coming back and telling other people what they should be doing, considering he’s been sleeping all season,” former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher told Sky Sports.
"He's done nothing really for Chelsea this season considering what he did last year."
Riyad Mahrez struck after the break to fire Leicester City to the top of the Premier League, while the loss was Chelsea's ninth of the season and they remain a point above the relegation zone.
Mourinho: I have been BETRAYED by my Chelsea players
By Tom Webber
Dec 14, 2015 22:35:07
The Premier League champions slumped to their ninth defeat of the campaign, and the 52-year-old feels his players overachieved last season
Jose Mourinho admits he feels "betrayed" by his Chelsea players following their 2-1 defeat to Leicester City.
Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez fired Claudio Ranieri's side ahead and, despite Loic Remy's 77th-minute header, the defending champions were unable to salvage a point
And after the defeat, the Chelsea boss suggested his team are not following his instructions to an acceptable level and claims they overachieved by winning the title last season.
"We conceded two goals that are unacceptable for me. I know one of my best qualities is to read the game for my players, to identify every detail about the opponent," Mourinho told Sky Sports.
"I feel that my work was betrayed. It's difficult for us to score goals when you have players who are not in their best level. When you have some players, especially in crucial positions, it's difficult.
"It's hard. All last season I did phenomenal work and I brought them to a level that is more than they really are."
Claudio Ranieri insists no team will be able to prise Jamie Vardy or Riyad Mahrez away from Leicester City in January.
The England international scored his 15th top-flight goal of the season in the 2-1 victory over Chelsea, with his Algerian team-mate adding their second in impressive fashion to take his tally to 11.
Such impressive displays are likely to increase interest in the services of the pair when the transfer window opens next month, but the Italian is adamant neither will be leaving the club.
"No one can buy Vardy or Mahrez in January. They don't have the money and they don't have a price," he said.
"Why should I name a price? If I say this high, somebody might add one, so no, I will not do that. But nobody can buy them.
"I think the performance of Mahrez and Vardy was fantastic, but they are only the pinnacle of the iceberg because behind them there is a big spirit who work and help each other.
"We know Vardy and Mahrez are our credit cards, but to do this, it is important that the other players play well too."
Jose Mourinho says Chelsea's chances of finishing in the top four of the Premier League have gone following their ninth defeat of the season at Leicester City.
The defending champions sit 16th in the table, one point clear of the relegation zone following a 2-1 loss at the King Power Stadium.
The frustrated Portuguese admitted he does not think his side will be able to finish in one of the Champions League qualification spots, which they are now 14 points adrift of.
"The top four is gone – clearly," he told Sky Sports. "We were the best team for 20-25 minutes, maybe for a maximum of 30 minutes. They were best team for an hour.
"To turn things around, I know only one way - working at the top level. Day by day in training I have no complaints with them.
"But is it frustrating to see what they are doing in training and what they do in matches."
Chelsea lost Eden Hazard to injury in the first half and Mourinho confirmed it was the player's choice to leave the pitch.
"He made the decision to come off, so it must be serious," he added.
"His first reaction was 'I can't continue', his second reaction was 'I want to try', but after his first step back he said he couldn't.
"He's injured clearly. He tried, but he felt it immediately."
The Blues boss has been linked with a return to Real Madrid in recent days, but he insists he wants to stay at Stamford Bridge for the long-haul
Jose Mourinho has claimed he would be happy to remain as Chelsea manager for the next decade.
The Blues have endured a difficult season after winning the Premier League title last term, and already find themselves 14 points adrift of the top four after 16 matches.
Mourinho has come under heavy pressure throughout Chelsea's dismal campaign, with recent reports linking him with a return to Real Madrid, the side he managed for three years between 2010 and 2013.
But the Portuguese insisted he remains committed to staying at Stamford Bridge for the long-term.
"If Chelsea gives me a 10-year contract, I sign," he said. "I'm saying that the normal situation is when you have a contract, you wish to go to the end of the contract."
The Premier League champions travel to Leicester City on Monday night in 16th place in the table, just one point above the drop zone.
