London

THE SACKED ONE.

So Mourinho has been sacked, and the world wants to know – who will fill the special one’s boots?

The Blues, and Abramovich, have a great history of sacking. No seriously, it works!

MOURINHO GOES, GRANT IN (THE FIRST TIME)

Lets go back to 2007, the first time Mourinho was sacked. Under the Portuguese manager, from 2004 – 2006, Chelsea won their first league title in half a century, and followed it up with another, and had claimed the FA Cup and League Cup. Yet tension has been mounting as Mourinho’s relationship with owner Roman Abramovich became increasingly irritable. The manager caused further quarrel over the appointment of Avram grant as the director of football, a role that Mounrinho opposed. The hierarchy were infuriated over the managers’ behaviour and, with Chelsea fifth, Mourinho was sacked after a disappointing Champions League draw against Rosenborg.

Avram Grant replaced Mounrinho and despite losing to Manchester United in his first league game, Chelsea would go on to lose only one game in 32 under Grant in the Premier League. That season under Avram Grant, Chelsea finished 2nd in the Premier League, were runners up in both the League Cup and the Champions League.

SCOLARI LOST THE DRESSING ROOM AND THE DUTCH MAN FOUND IT

The Brazilian, Scolari, never got to grips with club management at Chelsea. Fan favourites John Terry and Frank Lampard were the biggest names amongst the sceptics that were confused by the managers’ methods. Scolari barely lasted 7 months. The final straw was a nil nil draw against Hull City at Stamford Bridge where the Blues had only won 6 in 13 home matches. Chelsea, at the time, were 4th in the table and still remained in the FA Cup and the Champions League. The Brazilian was gone.

Dutchman, Guus Hiddink, would replace him as interim manager. He is the favourite to take the job again following the sacking of Jose Mourinho this afternoon. Under Hiddink, Chelsea lost only once in 23 matches. He lead the team to a successful Champions League campaign, reaching the semi final only to be put out by FC Barcelona. The Light Blues finished 3rd in the league and won the FA Cup.

THE INEXPERIENCED BOAS, REPLACED BY HIS APPRENTICE DI MATTEO

It all seemed too much for André Villa – Boas. The manager attempted to revamp the squad, while facing constant challenges and opposition during his first taste of Premier League football. The clubs experienced players were quickly dissatisfied with Boas methods’ and the teams’ performance suffered because of it. Results began to decline, Chelsea slid down the table while others moved up. Villa – Boas suffered a 3 – 1 first leg defeat to Italian side, Napoli, in the knock out stages of the Champions League. Soon after, his team would slump to a 1 – 0 away defeat at West Brom. This was the final nail in the coffin. The decision was made, and Boas was gone.

His replacement, and club assistant, Di Matteo would make a lasting impression on the West London club. The Italian had a great relationship with the Chelsea players, and this helped restore some faith amongst the experienced players that were heavily criticised during Boas reign. The league form never really recovered and Chelsea finished in 6th place – the lowest position under Abramovich. However, Di Matteo will forever be remembered for his magnificent cup double. After a poor start Chelsea finished he season as FA Cup winners and under Di Matteo the club won their first European Cup beating Bayern Munich on penalties. Perhaps, Abramovich should have sacked Mourinho sooner – you never know!

SO WHO IS NEXT?

Juande Ramos and Guus Hiddink are the favorites to succeed Jose Mourinho at Stamford Bridge, but Pep Guardiola is the long-term bet. Carlo Ancelotti, Rafael Benitez and even Brendan Rodgers have been named as contenders for the job.

Whoever it may be, the replacement for the most successful manager in the club’s history must ensure safety in the Premier League and hope for a prolonged and successful Champions League campaign.

Chelsea will return to domestic competition when they play Sunderland on Saturday at Stamford Bridge (3pm KO).

 

PAULA RADCLIFFE – Simply the Best!

Virgin Money London Marathon Preview Press ConferencesTomorrow morning Paula Radcliffe, aged 41, will run her final competitive marathon at the scene of her greatest triumph as a long distance runner.

The Virgin Money London Marathon will be host to Radcliffe’s final act. It is the stage where in 2003 Radcliffe set the women’s record time at 2 hours, 15 minutes and 25 seconds. This is seen as one of the most imposing records in world athletics.

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Unfortunately Radcliffe has been forced to bow out of elite competition due to a recurring injury in her left foot however the legacy she has made leaves much to commemorate.

Paula Radcliffe has been a stand out figure in the fight against doping in elite sport. A year before her quite remarkable record beating run, the British athlete asked the International Association of Athletics Federations to increase the frequency of her doping tests.

Radcliffe’s physiotherapist, Gerard Hartmann, even insisted that Radcliffe would meticulously check her water bottles pre race to check that the bottles had not been contaminated without her knowing.

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Paula Radcliffe has been an outstanding British athlete; there is no one quite like her.

Radcliffe has won the London marathon 3 times in 2002, 2003 and 2005. She has done the same in New York in 2004, 2007 and 2008 also winning the Chicago marathon in 2002.

This great athlete has represented her nation in several international competitions including the European championships, World championships, the Commonwealth Games and the Olympic Games.

Sebastian Coe, the man behind the success of the London 2012 Olympic Games, has commented that Radcliffe is a pioneer of women’s sport and has made an impact on wider society, he said:

“She gave women permission to feel they could go out and run and be part of the London Marathon….A generation of runners, male and female, have taken up the sport because of Paula Radcliffe.”

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Radcliffe’s athletic success was testament to her tremendous fitness levels and unique tolerance for pain.

At the age of 17, sports scientist Andrew Jones discovered that a young Radcliffe possessed an unbelievable capacity for oxygen. Radcliffe, at such a tender age, had a VO2 max of 70. This is the highest of any female athlete. (VO2 Max = the maximum volume of oxygen an athlete can use)

Radcliffe was known to run, on average, a staggering 140 to 150 miles a week; running for hours on end in the morning and again in the afternoon.

A magnificent trainer, who pushed herself to the absolute limit, Radcliffe would refuse to simply step off the treadmill. Paula’s sport scientist, Andrew Jones said:

“When we are testing on the treadmill we ask people to tell us when they feel they have about a minute left to run,”

Jones continues….

“Paula would be clearly as exhausted as most athletes ever get but would signal she wanted to keep going. And this would keep going and going. She would rather have gone off the back of the treadmill than be stopped. She would push herself beyond what seemed possible.”

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Radcliffe would peak at the 2003 London Marathon, that day would be her golden moment in time.

Had things gone differently at the summer Olympic Games in Athens the following year Radcliffe believes herself that she would have broke her record.

Athens proved to be a difficult time for the British athlete. Prior to the competition Radcliffe was seen as the favourite to win gold in the women’s marathon. Three weeks before the competition Radcliffe was in the best form of her life. Coach and husband Gary Lough said:

“Three weeks before Athens she ran a tempo run of 24.4 miles in 2hr 15min at altitude,”

Lough continued…

“That was better than a similar run she had done before London. We knew she was in 2:13.45 to 2:14.10 form. She was in unbelievable shape, the peak of her career. That was when the rose had fully blossomed – and then she got injured.”

A freak accident would prevent Radcliffe competing to her full potential at the event in 2004. While out for a jog, a stone hit by a passing car fired into the knee of the athlete which caused a ‘clot and abscess’, and for two weeks Radcliffe was out of action.

Pumped with anti-inflammatorys her body was unable to metabolise food, leading to dehydration and white coloured bowel movements. Despite this, Radcliffe ran on but had to stop 22 miles into the race.

The British press branded Radcliffe a failure and a choker, unaware of her injury. Still most of this flack has continued to this day.

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Tomorrow morning on her return to the London Marathon, Radcliffe aims not to break her record but to run the race in under 3 hours, and to do so would be a huge send off and thank you to the fans and to the sport that she loves.

As an 11 year old girl visiting the marathon, a young Radcliffe was mesmerised by the performance of Norwegian runner, Ingrid Kristiansen. Since becoming a huge sporting success Radcliffe has commented on the inspiration she experienced that day saying:
“It broke down any barriers I had in my head….I thought: why can’t I be in there running and being competitive too?”

Perhaps tomorrow, that kid in the crowd will also say “Why not me?”