Luiz Felipe Scolari has suffered his first major setback as Chelsea manager after admitting defeat in his battle to keep long-serving club servant Steve Clarke on his coaching staff.
Clarke, who who has been at Chelsea for over 20 years as player and coach, resigned yesterday because he wants to team up with former Stamford Bridge hero Gianfranco Zola, who was appointed as West Ham’s new manager on Thursday.
Chelsea were officially refusing to release the Scot but Scolari made it clear he was resigned to losing a coach he relied on for insights into his squad and English soccer in general.
Meanwhile Robinho is set to make his Premier League debut today against Chelsea — the club he was set to join until English soccer’s previously unchallenged big-spenders were trumped by Manchester City.
Up until then, few thought any club could have more cash at their disposal than Chelsea, backed by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.
But City’s new oil-rich owners made clear their intention to break into the supposedly closed-shop of England’s top four clubs — Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool — by signing Robinho for a British record £32.5 million (US$57.5 million).
City have repeatedly disappointed their passionate fans. It seemed they would flatter to deceive yet again when former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the man who was supposed to bankroll City back to the big-time, ended his ownership of the club.
However, his decision to sell City to the Abu Dhabi group has opened up new possibilities.
Manager Mark Hughes said Robinho was looking forward to playing his part in today’s clash.
“The intention is that he plays a part on Saturday,” Hughes said. “The one impression everyone has of Robinho is that as soon as he gets the ball you sense something is going to happen and I think everyone will see that at the weekend.”
Elsewhere, champions United face rivals Liverpool in a clash always eagerly anticipated by fans of both clubs. Liverpool have made an unbeaten start to the league season while United, still without the injured Cristiano Ronaldo, have been unconvincing.
But Liverpool’s Alvaro Arbeloa has warned that the champions remain a threat even without last season’s 42-goal top scorer.
“United don’t have Ronaldo — but they still have really good players like Nani, Carlos Tevez, Wayne Rooney and now Dimitar Berbatov,” Arbeloa said.
Extra police have been drafted in for Newcastle’s match at home to Hull where protests against the Magpies board are expected following the exit of fans favorite Kevin Keegan as manager.
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Also See: <a href="http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/sport/archives/2008/09/13/2003423062">Zola agrees deal to manage West Ham</a>
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