Ridsdale wastes no time in swinging the axe

Preston chairman has wasted no time in stamping his authority in club, sacking the club’s manager Phil Brown barely a week in the job.

Brown took over the Lancashire club last January and was immediately plunged into a relegation battle.

Those who bet on the Championship certainly fancied Brown’s men to lose their fight against the drop, which they duly did, given the desperate nature of the situation it did not reflect poorly on Brown.

However, what was expected was a sustained assault on the League One title or at the very least a crack at the play-offs.

However, the season has not panned out as expected, with a mid-season run of 10 games without a win plunging them down to 10th – though they are still just five points off the play-off positions.

A statement released by Ridsdale pointed to a poor run of football scores  as the key reason to letting Brown leave, though given Ridsdale has only been in the job eight days I suspect a clean slate was always on his mind.

It will do little to ease tensions among the Preston support, both about their league position and the arrival of Ridsdale. The spectre of Leeds United’s implosion still follows him round, seemingly becoming stronger with each rebuttal of responsibility that comes from his lips.

His repeated declaration that United’s troubles only occurred after he had left, following years of relative success under his watch, was scoffed at and mocked in equal measure, given their years of ‘living the dream’ was largely due to the irresponsible and unsustainable lending by Ridsdale and his fellow directors, and the troubles after – for which they are still paying the price – were similarly linked to his rash spending.

Is time at similarly cash-strapped clubs Barnsley, Cardiff and Plymouth has done little to repair his reputation – rightly or wrongly – and his first act at Preston has only deepened the sense of foreboding as to the club’s imminent future.

Dalglish uses DVD to point out ref failings

Manager’s moaning about referee’s is nothing new, it has always gone and probably will always go on. But Kenny Dalglish took things to another level by playing a DVD during his weekly press conference to point out examples of where his club were hard done by against Fulham last Monday.

The game, which the Red eventually lost 1-0, also landed Liverpool in trouble with the FA after Luis Suarez was charge after giving the Fulham fans the finger, while the club was charged for failing to control their players after they surrounded referee Kevin Friend following Jay Spearing’s dismissal.

Dalglish though was not going to take any punishment lying down, and could not help but let his frustration at the FA pour out in front of the media. The Scot was angered further from he sees as double standards following the FA’s successful appeal to downgrade Wyane Rooney’s England suspension from three games to two, meaning he can play in England’s final group game at Euro 2012.

"If anyone wants to see the truth it's on the screen," Dalglish said.

"If we have infringed rules we will have to accept it and take the punishment, but I'm not certain what the rules are when it comes to disputing a decision," he added. “What I do know is that referees are inconsistent with their interpretations. The only intent in Jay's mind was to get the ball, and normally our discipline is good, as our film clip can prove.

We just want to be dealt with fairly," Dalglish said. "We want the same rules to apply to us as to everyone else. At Fulham I think we got the short end of a lot of 50-50 decisions that on another night might have gone our way. Anyone watching the clips can see that for themselves."

What Dalglish fails to recognise is that he isn’t the only manager who feels hard done by referees. In live football games across the country it is an almost weekly occurrence, and often managers do have video evidence to make their case.

Earlier in the season Dalglish was the beneficiary of a generous sending off by Martin Atkinson of Everton’s Jack Rodwell for a challenge that was barely even a foul. Dalglish, however, said he ‘didn’t see’ the incident.

To be honest I think Dalglish knows decisions swing this way and that, he surely has so too much experience to really think Liverpool – not too long ago one of the ‘big four’ – are picked up by referee’s.

Instead I think he is merely playing the game, trying to influence referee’s by manipulating the press – something Sir Alex Ferguson has mastered over the years.

Will it work and turn the football scores in his favour? Well, he has a task if he is to rescue Luis Suarez’s reputation, mud thrown in the direction of ‘divers’ tends to stick in the English game, rightly or wrongly.

But apart from that I would not be surprised if a ‘favourable’ decision goes the way of the Reds in the near future.

Bruce goes, Kean surely next?

So Steve Kean at least avoided the ignominy of becoming the Premier League’s first coach to be sacked thi season. Poor old Steve Bruce has taken that title for him.

But with Rovers propping up the rest of the division and slung out of the Carling Cup by Cardiff in midweek, most managers in Kean’s position would be nervously awaiting a phone call from the chairman.

But in the bizarre world of Blackburn Rovers such performance earns you a pay-rise. Venkys’ loyalty to Kean is admirable and they do have a point when they say that stability is crucial to success. But that is only if you have the right man in charge.

Kean, with no managerial experience, was seemingly plucked from nowhere to replace Sam Allardyce (though the coincidence that he has the same agent as the company who brokered the Venkys deal raises suspicions).

His run of just six wins in 33 games is well and truly relegation form and his post-match interviews and denials of his teams’ failings are increasingly baffling.

If Ellis Short, Sunderland chairman, pointed to a furious supporter reaction towards Bruce as a key reason to sack his manager then Kean should have gone long ago.

A section of supporters – growing in number despite what Kean says – are demanding his resignation and have held several supporters protests before during and after games, even going as far as hiring a plane to fly a 'Kean out' banner over Ewood Park.

The football betting has Kean favourite to be the next manager sacked, but it seems Venkys are determined to keep their man, with a new contract on improved terms so appallingly timed that it merely acted as a slap in the face for the supporters who had forced the owners to leave a game at Wigan at half time such was the level of abuse aimed in their direction.

Games against Sunderland and Swansea set Rovers up for the bust festive period, with the fear of being bottom on Christmas day looming (only one team in the Premier League era has been bottom on December 25 and stayed up – WBA in 2005). If the club fail to get wins in either of those two games then Venkys would surely be forced to act, if not I would bet on the Championship welcoming Rovers next August.

 But such is the rapid deterioration of the club since they took charge a little over 12 months ago, the question would be – who on earth would want to replace him?

AVB speculation sums up Chelsea’s weakness

"I don't agree [that I need help.] I don't solve problems on my own; I solve problems with my group of people and my group of players.

Says Andre Villas-Boas, who apparently is already under pressure in his role as Chelsea manager.

True, they face a fight to stay in the Champions League and the premier league odds have drifted to 14/1, but it is still a ludicrous suggestion, but one that is symptomatic of the Abramovich era at Stamford Bridge.

When the Russian took over Chelsea in 2003 and promptly set Claudio Ranieri on a wild spending spree designed to turn the club into the world’s best; critics – now doubt fuelled with a tinge of jealousy – argued they had sold part its soul in exchange for riches.

That argument looked weak when Jose Mourinho led the club two consecutive league titles – the first in particular a near perfect campaign from start to finish.

However, Abramovich became greedy and didn’t just want titles, he wanted to do it with attacking flair, rather than Mourinho’s conservative but effective tactics. Not to mention his burning desire to win the Champions League.

That led to him interfering into club affairs and the start of a succession of incidents that have undermined the man in the manager’s hot-seat at the Bridge.

First of all, Abramovich chose to sign Andrei Shevchenko for £30million. A player Mourinho didn’t want but had forced upon him, while also preventing him from having any cash to spend in the following transfer window.

With Mourinho’s position undermined by backroom appointments he called it quits in September 2007, and there began a succession of crises, manager sackings and a seemingly endless spiral of revival and failure.

What also needs to be pointed out is as a clique in the dressing room – we all know the names – that appear to wield a corrosive power at Stamford Bridge.

The unassuming Avram Grant was deemed not good enough despite leading them to second and a European cup final. Luis Felipe Scolari lasted seven months while Guus Hiddink was a temporary fix.

Carlo Ancelotti led them to a magnificent double but standing still is as good as going backwards and a failure to foresee (or able to deal with)  an aging and depreciation of a once great squad - as well as more backroom undermining - cost him dear.

Not that it was all his fault, Abramovich is clearly a man who gets what he wants and reacts wildly if he doesn’t.

So off went Carlo and in came Andre Villas-Boas, to the tune of £13million compensation to Porto. Now with just four months of live football in the Premier League under his belt he is under pressure.

It can be argued that the pressure was hyped up by the media – this is given weight by revelations that Roman has actually backed AVB and denied his job is under threat. English press in over hyping story shocker.


But chaos breeds uncertainty and the press are merely following on the pattern that has been set before.

It may hurt and be an unusual feeling for someone for whom money is the ultimate short-cut, but Abramovich may have to see things get worse before they get better. It may though lead to the type of success he was craving when he breezed into the Bridge eight years ago.

Ashley ends 118 years of history with Newcastle stadium re-brand

Mike Ashley certainly has an impeccable sense of timing. Whenever Newcastle are going well the club’s owner always seems to cause unnecessary disruption and incur further wrath from the supporters.

His latest act is to rename the club’s home – St James’ Park – the Sports Direct Arena, after his own company. With their shirt sponsor due for renewal next summer, Ashley is hoping to provide potential sponsors a taste of what it could be like for a combined shirt and sponsorship deal, similar to the ones seen at Arsenal and Manchester City.

It is a typical hard-nosed business decision from Ashley, a man who holds no room for sentiment when it comes to making money.

However, the uneasy marriage of business and football that has grown since the dawn of the Premier League has often left sentiment – something supporters hold dear – out in the cold.

Newcastle have played at St James’ Park since 1880 and the fans are hugely proud of their history and heritage. They see this move as a slap in the face and ignorant of their history. The timing is also pretty rotten, given the club are currently defying the football betting to sit in third place in the Premier League table following and unbeaten start to the season.

In a statement, United managing director Derek Llambias explained: "Our aim for Newcastle United is to continue to deliver success for the fans and everyone associated with the club. We must make this club financially self-sufficient in order to deliver that success.

"To grow sustainably and allow us to invest in our future, we will need to rely increasingly heavily on commercial income.

"These are very difficult economic times and the board have a responsibility to maximise all revenue streams for the benefit of the club."

The idea makes sense, but given the past few months has seen the likes of Kevin Nolan, Andy Carroll and Joey Barton al leave with much of the cash received banked, the supporters feels their positive football scores this season are despite of Ashley and not because of him. This latest move is the equivalent of asset stripping the history of the club for profit and the fans are now hoping this disruption will not negatively affect a wonderful start that has given them hopes for a bright future after a difficult few seasons.