I had my rant after the game here which created a bit of a stir (rightly so, and have had some time to think. As a result, I want to focus on the ONLY positive that came out of the defeat at Everton and that was AVB's admission he got it wrong.
Now like I said in my rant, I have been a supporter of AVB from the moment we was announced as our manager right up to the game yesterday, but as we all know, what I witnessed has changed my opinion.

At last we hear that AVB has an angry side with his players aswell as the media!. Up till now we have only seen his angered response to some lines of questioning during pre or post match press conferences when speaking to the media or the written press. It seems as though he let the players see the exact same side after defeat to United on Sunday.

Here are some highlights from the press conferences on Friday of Sir Alex Ferguson and Andre Villas-Boas ahead of the massive game on Sunday at Stamford Bridge:

Sir Alex Ferguson on Cleverly return, squad and more

AVB On Chelsea Team news v Manchester United

AVB hasn't exactly had it easy since he has come to Chelsea has he?. He came into the club as a breath of fresh air speaking of motivation, fine tuning the team and with his technical staff getting the best out of everyone.
Chelsea sit fourth just ahead of the likes of Newcastle, Liverpool and Arsenal and a whopping 12 points behind United and Man City and more importantly seven points and four goals behind Spurs.

Generation 2022: Al-Kass Under-17 International Cup Scouting Report is a post from: Just Football

Always on the lookout for new talent here at Just Football, we sent our man in Qatar to check out the inaugural Al-Kass International Under-17 tournament. A warm welcome to Raphael Nawari, who reports on a competition full of promising youngsters:

In a small secluded part of the world, the new stars of tomorrow are taking part in a newly formed tournament, which in years to come will be considered as one of the better known youth tournaments, rivalling the Milk Cup and others where the likes of Wayne Rooney, Ronaldinho and Lionel Messi have graced us with their precocious talents.

As you probably know, Tottenham coach Harry Redknapp is currently been investigated for tax evasion offenses committed over 3 years ago and things got interesting yesterday when in tape recordings presented to the court, Redknapp said that he could not have fiddled his tax returns because he is illetrate.

"If you prick us do we not bleed? If you tickle us do we not laugh? If you poison us do we not die? And if you wrong us shall we not revenge?" William Shakespeare.
Forget what you think you know about revenge. Sometimes, it's all you've got left. And considering the sorry state in which Arsenal currently finds itself, I would maintain that revenge may just prove to be the last, best option.

In his last two press conferences Newcastle manager Alan Pardew has been asked about what's happening in the transfer market. Alan Pardew - we are there looking at the market In the press conference on Tuesday afternoon, before the Manchester United game, Alan was asked whether Newcastle had made any progress in the transfer market at all.

Photo: Daniel Gajdamowicz

Philadelphia Union

The "2011 in Review" articles for the Philadelphia Union are now up on the MLS website. One provides decent insight, the other, not so much. In the Q & A cobbled together from the last press conference of the season, in addition to relating that Freddy Adu was at "60 percent" for much of the end of the season due to a back injury and the need for defensive additions and competition within the various positions on the field, Peter Nowak discusses the mindset the team needs to win a championship:

"I told you guys at the press conferences we've had all year long that we believe in what we're building, we believe what is the culture around the team.

Andre Villas-Boas should learn from Kenny Dalglish Des Kelly

Look and learn, Andre Villas-Boas, look and learn. In the Punch and Judy show of post-match press conferences and televised media calls, the Chelsea manager could do worse than observe Kenny Dalglish.

View the full story here: The Mail

A news article on 2011-12-09 23:54:57 from: The Mail

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

In arguably one of the most difficult press conferences he has ever had to face being a manager, let alone Chelsea manager, AVB admitted that our run has been unacceptable and continues to believe that he can turn things round.
Here are the key parts of the press conference yesterday:

"We have spoken about results – and results in football are key to a manager's sustainability.

Galaxy-Dynamo preview at SI.com

I haven't heard a thing over two days of post-training player interviews and press conferences here in L.A. to change the way I originally thought this thing would go. I see a close game -- and I'll write more about my prediction Sunday morning. For now, here's my preview at SI.

Yeah... we're just as surprised as you, but the Free Beer Movement will be at the 2011 Major League Soccer Cup Final as credentialed media.
What that means is a whole lot of coverage from us throughout the days leading up to Sunday's final from the Home Depot Center in Carson, California.

Brian Bilello's announced seven-day window from the time of his conference call until the naming of a new head coach is winding to a close, and so far we've learned a few things about the Revolution's quest:

• There were around a dozen candidates identified and interviewed
• Jimmy Conrad announced, to no one in particular, that he was not interested in the job because he hated football lines and had too much respect for Steve Nicol
• Paul Mariner, Steve Ralston, Jay Heaps, and Brian Bliss are definitely among the candidates
• Paul Mariner ruled himself out immediately after interviewing, accepting a 2-year extension with Toronto
• The candidates were gleaned from a diverse array of backgrounds, with MLS and non-MLS experience throughout

It's probably a little late, but I'd like to take this opportunity to put forward my number-one, most prized candidate for the job.

So we are now three months into the season and on yet another International break, so with all things Chelsea quieter than normal I am taking the time today to ask each and every single one of you that reads this post, to give me your verdict on AVB's first three months as our manager.
Now I understand some of you read something like this and do not have the time to comment, but I would love to hear from as many blues fans as possible all over the world on this to get a general feeling from you all.

In the absence of real news, as the Interlull takes hold rather more quickly than we might have liked, I am very grateful of the chance I got yesterday to visit Arsenal.

I took a CattleAir flight, was very kindly picked up and dropped off at the training ground by Lewis Hamilton's driving instructor where I met Tom (from Arsenal).

To mark the 25th anniversary of Sir Alex Ferguson being Manchester United manager, Daniel Taylor has re-released his book This Is The One. This book saw Danny banned from Ferguson's Friday press conferences four years ago and apparently news of the re-release didn't go down too well either.

To mark the 25th anniversary of Sir Alex Ferguson being Manchester United manager, Daniel Taylor has re-released his book This Is The One. This book saw Danny banned from Ferguson's Friday press conferences four years ago and apparently news of the re-release didn't go down too well either.

Liverpool left-back Jose Enrique made his Liverpool debut just 24 hours after signing for the club, and Kenny Dalglish believes that this may have been a positive for the player, who he admits was 'thrown in at the deep end'.
Dalglish is often needlessly antagonistic in press conferences, but today, despite being asked the same question about Enrique for the umpteenth time this season, he kept his cool, but still made his point:
"It's difficult for us to come up with a different answer every week.

In his press conference earlier today, Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish once again displayed his irritation with questions over Andy Carroll, and (unfairly) berated a journalist for asking a perfectly valid question about the striker.
The journalist asked the following question:
"We know Luis Suarez will take the headlines on for Wednesday, but Andy had a really good game.

FELIZ MARTES!! The Champions League finally returns today and you'd better believe that Roberto Mancini loves David Silva as much as the Valencianos still do! There's nothing quite like some hair affection at a press conference and naturally, they picked David to face the Spanish media ahead of the City-Villarreal clash tonight.

"Perhaps we gave our fans too much by winning the Double. Once you've eaten caviar, it is difficult to go back to sausages."

-Arsene Wenger, after a draw against Middlesbrough, 1998.

There is always a certain impishness to Arsene Wenger's comments that draws people towards his press conferences.

The football was nothing to write home about in 2008-2009 but in terms of excitement and nerves, it was one of the best seasons for years. As usual, we were fighting it out for the title, but this time it was against our hated rivals, Liverpool.

United were a few matches behind everyone else at the turn of the year after taking time out to compete in and win the FIFA World Club Cup.

The football was nothing to write home about in 2008-2009 but in terms of excitement and nerves, it was one of the best seasons for years. As usual, we were fighting it out for the title, but this time it was against our hated rivals, Liverpool.

United were a few matches behind everyone else at the turn of the year after taking time out to compete in and win the FIFA World Club Cup.

Rafael Benitez the former Liverpool and Inter Milan coach believes that Manchester United have been successful under Sir Alex Ferguson's reign due to the club's massive wealth.

It isn't uncommon to hear such statement especially from rivals who cannot accept the success of their competitors.

Bruce Buck is given an interview quoted on the BBC Sport website and has spoken of AVB's impact at the club and the fact that he could be our manager for the next 10-15 years. He said:

"We do envy Arsene Wenger at Arsenal and Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United in terms of longevity, but it shouldn't be longevity for longevity's sake.

So it rained like a b*tch in San Jose today, which essentially ruined the day for working photographers who needed to snap the Brazilian players during training! Neymar, David Luiz and Fred just wrapped up their press conferences a few hours ago, and (in all seriousness, graças a deus!

Bem-vindo a Selecao Bootcamp, a Fútbolita tradition! And yes, the Brazilians have been very flashy as of late especially with Dani Alves channeling his inner Usher above as he arrived from Barcelona with Thiago Silva (they usually put players from the same area onto the same flight to South America, Real Madrid's Marcelo included).

Perhaps we are now so used to the gamesmanship of Sir Alex Ferguson in press conferences and interviews that we now look for subliminal messages in everything he says without even thinking about it. His comments yesterday on the nature of the relationship between football and television have certainly provoked debate, though, not least from those that have chosen to reflect upon the irony of the manager of a club that has arguably benefited more than any other from the expansion of television rights into being the main financial mover in the modern game commenting on the influence of broadcasters being to "shake hands with the devil.

Even when it's only a few days, filling the time between matches is often one of the more difficult tasks to accomplish there's mostly just people talking, followed by other people talking, followed by us talking, and then there's a bit more talking before things are polished off for around 100 minutes or so when the playing finally starts and the talking finally stops.

Both Sir Alex Ferguson and Andre Villas Boas held their press conferences today ahead of this weekends clash of the titans. Here first of all is a clip from AVB speaking and then followed by Sir Alex Ferguson on Chelsea and Villas Boas.
KTBFFH
Check out my blog posts on the Official Chelsea Website - http://bit.

Alan Pardew has admitted today that he put pressure on the Newcastle Board to get players through the door during the summer transfer window Alan Pardew momentum has been lost Of course Alan was continually asked at his press conferences what the status was on bringing players into the club, and especially a top striker to replace Andy Carroll.

Morning all,

the silence from inside the club continues. Normally, on a Thursday, there's an interview with the manager and we get a snippet of it, at least, to tell us the latest in terms of the squad for the upcoming game. So far there there hasn't been a peep.

Which I find a bit odd, I have to say.

Since Kenny Dalglish took over the managerial hotseat at Anfield there has been great improvements made on the pitch and off the pitch.
We have bought good players with potential and hunger to win trophies. Many people have said recently Kenny has paid inflated prices for players in the two transfer windows since he has been in charge.

Together we stand

Lately, you can hardly read anything from Arsene Wenger's interviews and press conferences. It was mostly towing the club line and trying to churn out as much positives as possible. Surprisingly, yesterday's one was slightly different. Very refreshing to see to.

With the registration for any new players being limited to only two days (Tuesday and Wednesday), the focus was very much in terms of transfers.

Revealed: How Kenny Dalglish ran rings around the press at the Emirates

There were many reasons I missed Kenny Dalglish when he was out of the game but one was the chance to attend his press conferences. They are always combative but the Liverpool boss has got the sharpest wit of any manager in the Premier League.

Players from Carolina Railhawks and Montreal ImpactThe Price Is Right Host Drew Carey must have felt the pricetag for the Seattle Sounders was close enough without going over, as he partnered up and ponied up to lead that franchise to MLS and beyond. But, would he do the same for an NASL franchise, in other words, are there more big pocket spenders out there ready to take a chance on the NASL?

well certain parts of the Aussie football media has slated Harry over the years. Most recently Roy Master (who knows sod all about the game), and Mike Cockerill and Robbie Slater have also given it to him.
Completely unfairly in my view.
Be interesting to see how those guys cover there arses as the season goes on.

The Philadelphia Union announced new signing Freddy Adu at a press conference at PPL Park today, but that wasn't the big story of the event.

Adu, who last played in MLS with Real Salt Lake, was supposed to be the highlight of the afternoon as the Union's presser aired online live on CSNPhilly.

Ducky's Note: In an effort to compensate for Nicks' unbridled enthusiasm on the Arsenal section of this site, the United section has decided to do what it does best play as a team. Introducing Ashish, BFZ's newsest red, and also our new column High Fives. High Fives, as is evident, will attempt to break down matches, press conferences, transfer rumours, the size of Gervinho's forehead and anything footy-related to five highlights.