MOURINHO PONDERS ON 'PARKING THE BUS'

Jose Mourinho admitted he may have to shut up shop after seeing Chelsea dumped out of the Capital One Cup by Sunderland.

The Blues were leading 1-0 courtesy of Lee Cattermole's own goal and had one foot in the semi-finals when substitutes Fabio Borini and Ki Sung-yueng turned
the tie on its head to first take it into extra-time and then snatch victory at the Stadium of Light.
Mourinho refused to blame his players, but admitted their failure to kill off the Black Cats had left him seriously considering adopting a more conservative approach, albeit against his better judgment.

The Chelsea boss said:

"Maybe the way to rectify it is not to concede goals.
"Maybe the way is to have a different approach and not to concede goals because when you don't score enough goals, when you are a very offensive team
and you don't score enough goals to win matches, maybe the right approach is to be more defensive, concede fewer goals and win matches with the few goals we
score.
"But that's not what I want because that's not what we have in mind in the building up of this team. We want this team to play the way we are playing, we want this team to have evolution, but based on the
football we are playing at the moment.
"We need to score goals to finish
opponents because we feel very
comfortable on the pitch. The possession of the ball becomes easy, the creation becomes easy.
"We had big chances to score goals, but we didn't score."

After a tepid opening 45 minutes, the visitors took the lead 39 seconds into the second half when Cattermole could only bundle Cesar Azpilicueta's cross into his
own goal under pressure from Frank Lampard. But the Londoners failed to build on their lead despite creating a host of chances in the immediate aftermath of the goal, and they were eventually made to pay when Borini latched on to Jozy Altidore's blocked shot and blasted the home side level with two minutes remaining. The Italian had a glorious opportunity to win it in stoppage time, and it was Sunderland who created the better openings in extra time with 41-year-old keeper Mark Schwarzer turning away Ki's goal-bound header, but finding himself
powerless to repel the South Korea
international's 119th-minute shot.
Mourinho said:

"In the Premier League, I
haven't lost one single game because the opponent was better than us. I lost in the Champions League - Basle played better than us in a game where we produced absolutely nothing and we were
punished in the last minute.
"Every other game - here, Stoke,
Newcastle, Everton - every game we have lost, every game, it's the same story: chances and chances and football and football and not enough goals."

MOYES HANDED CARRICK INJURY BOOST

Man Utd Boss David Moyes Handed
Major Injury Boost

December 18, 2013

Manchester United manager David
Moyes has been handed a major injury boost with influential midfielder Michael Carrick set to return to training following an Achilles injury, according to the Daily Mail .

Carrick has been on the sidelines for nearly six weeks after undergoing surgery on a niggling Achilles injury following the
champions 1-0 win over Arsenal at Old Trafford back on the 10th November. The 32-year-old was expected to be out until in to the New Year but the Mail claims the midfielder has already been doing light ball-work training with the
United physios this week and could even be back in full training as early as next week if all goes to plan. Should Carrick suffer no set-back in his recovery over the next few days, there is an outside chance he could feature against Hull City on Boxing Day, or failing
that, make the trip to Carrow Road to play Norwich two days later.
United won’t push the former Spurs
midfielder back too soon in fear of
aggravating the injury, but to get Carrick back playing again over the festive period would come as a huge boost to boss David Moyes.
The Scot has endured a difficult start to life at Old Trafford with the defending champions currently sitting eighth in the Premier League table, but his cause hasn’t been helped by injuries to key
players such as Carrick and Robin van Persie , so it will be a major bonus to have the midfielder back as soon as possible.

MOURINHO WANTS BLOOD AFTER LEAGUE CUP CRASH-OUT

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho
bemoaned his strikers' poor finishing after crashing out of the League Cup in an extra time defeat to Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.

Former Blues striker Fabio Borini scored in the dying stages to swing the tie in Sunderland's favour after Chelsea failed to make their dominance tell. Borini cancelled out a Lee Cattermole own goal to force extra time, before Ki Sung-Yueng struck with a 118th minute
winner for the home side.Chelsea had a total of 22 attempts on goal, with Andre Schurrle,  Samuel Eto'o and Demba Ba all wasting good chances.

“Every game we don’t kill we are in trouble and sometimes web lose matches that we should not”, Mourinho told reporters post match
“'We have to score goals and kill
opponents and not just be dominant in every game and not just be the best team in every game but win matches. You
have to win matches and not be the best team.”

Chelsea's forwards have supplied a total of 14 goals in a combined 45 appearances in all competitions this season. Fernando Torres, the £50 million 2011 signing from Liverpool, has scored six goals, Ba has three and Eto'o has scored
four. The club's top scorer is attacking midfielder Eden Hazard, who has eight goals to his name this term.

JANUZAJ GETS MORE REFERING DECISIONS,SAYS STOKE BOSS,MARK HUGHES

Stoke manager Mark Hughes believes Manchester United winger Adnan Januzaj needs to learn to cope better with the physical demands of Premier League football.

United boss David Moyes called for more protection from officials for the 18-year- old winger following the 3-0 win at Aston Villa on Sunday. However, former United striker Hughes reckons Januzaj needs to toughen up and he also pointed out the number of fouls
the player seemed to win during their game at Old Trafford in October.

"A manager will always protect his
players and he is an outstanding talent and will be a top United player for many years to come,"
said Hughes ahead of United's visit to the Britannia Stadium for
Wednesday's Capital One Cup quarter- final.

Live Capital One Cup Football
Stoke City vs Man Utd
December 18, 2013 , 7:00pm
Britannia stadium

"If David feels the boy needs protection that is why he has given the response he did, but you have to let kids stand on their two feet and get on with it.
"He seems to garner a lot of fouls and a lot of decisions. In our game he came on as sub and got about five fouls in a very short space of time. At the time I didn't think they were fouls."

Hughes also believes that Januzaj can learn a lot from United veteran Ryan Giggs.
"Ryan was playing in theLancashire A and B leagues and had to go to the likes of Marine away," said Hughes.
"When you are a 14-year-old kid coming up against men you learn to deal with that early and I don't think it is a bad thing.
"I would imagine he (Giggs) is mentoring him now because he's been in the same place."

MOYES: WELBECK NEEDS TO EMULATE ROONEY

Moyes: Welbeck must emulate Rooney David Moyes expects Danny Welbeck to push on from his performance at Aston Villa on Sunday and put together a more
consistent goalscoring run throughout the remainder of the campaign.

The 23-year-old scored his second brace of the season at Villa Park over the weekend to take his league tally to four, an already huge improvement on his total
of one from last season which shows that he has recaptured some of his goalscoring touch.
Injuries have curtailed his progress so far this season but he emphatically bounced back against Villa and Moyes wants Welbeck to use that as a springboard for the rest of the season. Moyes said:

”He’s a good player and his
goals will help him.
“He’s important to me and hopefully he can get a level of performance which keeps getting him goals. Due to his Manchester roots, Welbeck is a firm favourite at Old Trafford with the fans desperate to see an academy
graduate become a regular in the starting XI, something Moyes is very aware of.
“Up front is where I want to play
but I’m happy to play my part
anywhere in the team.” Danny
Welbeck He added: “We like Danny a lot. He works well every day, he came up through the Academy and he’s one of United’s own..He’s really important to this club.”

Moyes also pointed to the example of Wayne Rooney as someone Welbeck should be mirroring because he spends time every day practising his finishing despite already being a prolific finisher.
He said:

”I’ve got to say we had a word
with him about a month ago and we said that he needs to be the last off the training field.
“Wayne’s out there practising his finishing each day, whether it’s taking free-kicks, shooting from tight angles or bending them in, whatever it may be Wayne’s
practising . I said: ‘Danny, you need to be out there every day finishing, even if it’s 15 minutes at the end.’”

Moyes has certainly got a love affection for Rooney who can do no wrong this year but you can’t argue with the results on the pitch with Rooney in devastating form.
Although his goalscoring form has been a disappointment for someone of his obvious talents, Welbeck’s statistics for England are impressive and he also bagged a couple of important European
goals in 2013, away to Real Madrid and Shakhtar respectively. The talent is there, it is just a case of bringing it to the surface more often. One factor that has led to Welbeck’s lack of goals is being used out of his natural position as a striker. With both Van Persie
and Hernandez injured, now is the time we may see Welbeck flourish and he has to make sure he takes this opportunity to impress Moyes.

PEDRO: SCORING ALWAYS BOOST YOUR CONFIDENCE

"Scoring always boosts your
confidence," says Pedro
WWW.FCBARCELONA.CAT 

The forward says that he's "pleased with the goals he's scoring for the team and thankful for the opportunities"
"Getafe are complicated at the
Coliseum," he adds
“Scoring goals always gives you
confidence,” said Pedro Rodríguez after the match. The forward took advantage of Montoya’s cross and sent the ball to the back of the net.
He added: “I’m happy with the goals I’m scoring for the team and also for getting these opportunities. We closed out the tie and that’s important. We knew that it was going to be difficult.”
“The fans put in a big effort”
Pedro also thanked the 47,280 fans for coming out to the Camp Nou. Before the game, attendance was expected to be low due to the late kick off time and the result from the first leg (1-4): “The fans
were fantastic given the circumstances of the match. It was a televised game, but the people put in a big effort and I’m thankful.” In reference to the next rival in
the Copa del Rey, the forward said that “it will be a difficult tie, we’re taking this a step at a time. We hope to reach the semi-finals, but Getafe are a tough team, especially at home.”

Here are the statements from some of the players are the game:

SErGi RObErTo

“I’ve been playing more this month and that’s great. Little by little I’ve gained the confidence of the manager.”
“It’s an honour for the manager to speak well of you. I have to keep working and take advantage of my opportunities.”
“We came into this match with the result from the first game, but we approached it like any other game. It took a bit of work because they were closed off at the back.”
(On the fans) “It was great, the people cheered us on and really helps.”
“The Coliseum is a difficult ground and, like any league match, we have to go all out.”

Neymar Jr

“I don’t usually score headers, but I’ve already scored a couple here at Barça.”
“They were closed off a the back but we managed to score three goals.”
“I’m happy to play for a great club like Barcelona alongside big players.” “Manchester City have great qualities and they play great football.”

HENRY: GOING UNBEATEN IN 2003/2004 SEASON WAS AN ACHIEVEMENT

Henry: We needed the mentality 'to kill'

Thierry Henry has spoken about how close Arsenal came to missing out on their 'Invincibles' season.
The Gunners great is the subject of a brand-new documentary - 'Arsenal Legends: Thierry Henry' - which is now available for download on iTunes (UK only).
The Frenchman was a key figure in the Arsenal side that completed an unbeaten season in 2003/04 after clinching the Premier League title at Tottenham.

"It's like a boxer, a boxer doesn't
go in the ring just to have fun.
You go out there to kill and that
was our mentality"
-Thierry Henry

And he admits that it was tough to
maintain the hunger to make history after securing top spot - even in the final game of the season against Leicester City.
"The main thing is to be champions,"
Henry says in the documentary .
"You still have six or five games to go and I remember the boss coming in every morning saying 'guys you are maybe going to be able to something amazing. Are you realising?'
"We were like 'we're champions man, come on!'. It's like a boxer, a boxer doesn't go in the ring just to have fun. You go out there to kill and that was our mentality.
"Suddenly I remember Patrick [Vieira] looking at me and he was like 'There is no fight, I need have the fight, I need to know that we need to get some points.
"We were not realising what was
happening. They [Leicester] go 1-0 up and suddenly you wake up and hope it won't be too late, because you know in this type of game you can hit the crossbar or the post and you can never come back.
"Somehow we came back into it [to win 2-1], and what a finish, I think the skipper scoring the winning goal was the cherry on the cake.
"We had a lot of players that were doing what the game was asking. Winning the Double, it is amazing, but going a season unbeaten, it is an achievement."

PELLEGRINI :AGUERO COULD BE OUT FOR MORE THAN A MONTH

Manchester City manager Manuel
Pellegrini has revealed his star striker Sergio Aguero could be out of action for longer than expected.

Pellegrini had previously said he expected Aguero to be out for up to four weeks after he suffered a calf injury in Saturday's 6-3 thrashing of Arsenal. But there remains uncertainty as to the
true extent of the problem and Pellegrini said it could be worse than first feared. Pellegrini, speaking after City's 3-1 League Cup quarterfinal win at Leicester
on Tuesday, said:

"I am not a doctor. It is very difficult.
"The doctor has said he has at least one month or eight weeks. We will see.
"I don't how many weeks but it will be at least one month. It is very difficult to know at this moment how many weeks it can be."

Aguero's absence for that length of time would be a major blow to City, with the 25-year-old having scored 19 goals already this season. He had found the target again against
Arsenal but then pulled up when under no pressure early in the second half. Aguero is certain to miss the Christmas programme, which includes a home clash
with Liverpool in the Premier League, and could also be out for both League Cup semifinal legs in January. An extended lay-off could also make the Argentina international doubtful for City's
Champions League last 16 tie against Barcelona in February.

INTER REJECT CHICHARITO-GUARIN SWAP DEAL

Inter reject Javier Hernandez swap
deal with United for midfielder Fredy Guarin claim reports

Manchester United have had a Javier Hernandez swap deal rejected by Inter Milan for their midfielder Fredy Guarin, according to reports . The 27-year-old Colombian midfielder is a name that has been thrust into the
limelight over the past weeks and he was strongly linked with a move to Old Trafford, but Gazzetta dello Sport has suggested that Chelsea have emerged as front runners and will be where he moves in an €18 million deal. This seems strange for two reasons. Firstly, why would United consider letting
Hernandez leave in a swap deal? And secondly, why would Inter reject the opportunity to sign Hernandez when they are in need of a striker? In that respect, a
rejected deal like this doesn’t make much sense. However, what does give this potential swap deal some credibility is that United will have a full 25 man Premier League
squad when Ben Amos returns from his loan spell at Carlisle United.

That means that if David Moyes wanted to sign anybody in January, he would have to sell or loan somebody in order to make space in the squad which could go some
way as to explain why Hernandez was offered in a swap deal like the reports suggest. As for Guarin, United are interested in a whole host of midfielders and he
wouldn’t be the last midfield target we looked at and failed to sign, it certainly wouldn’t be our last either.

MOYES: NOBODY WANTS ZAHA ON LOAN

Moyes: Nobody wants Zaha on loan
David Moyes has confirmed that no team has approached Manchester United to enquire about taking Wilfried Zaha on a
loan deal.

Reports suggested that Newcastle were close to securing a loan deal for Zaha but, on the contrary, while Moyes has not ruled out any short term deal for the winger, he reiterated that he was more than happy if he was to remain at the
club.

“I did say to Wilf if I didn’t feel he was getting enough games, I would consider it,” Moyes told MUTV .
“Obviously if we’ve got injuries or other reasons, I wouldn’t take it on board.
“But the truth is we haven’t had anybody phoning up and wanting to do that it the moment.
“While it’s like that, I am fine.”

It is a big surprise if no other team has enquired about taking Zaha on loan, especially Crystal Palace where he joined United from.
However, Moyes’ has shown in the past couple of Premier League games that he is now ready to use Zaha and so long as that continues, there is no need for the tricky winger to leave Old Trafford just yet
which is the right decision.