My way: Rafa says he calls the shots at Chelsea not Roman

• zocoss

  22 Nov 12, 00:34

  Rafa is ready to manage Chelsea

  

  GO ON THEN, I'LL DO IT ... Rafa Benitez would be happy to manage Chelsea

  Published: 3 hrs ago

  CHELSEA aim to name Roberto Di Matteo’s replacement by the end of the day — with Rafa Benitez top of their wanted list.

  Di Matteo was ruthlessly sacked this morning after the Blues returned to London following a 3-0 defeat to Juventus.

  Last night’s result left the Champions League holders facing elimination from the tournament’s group stage as Juve leapfrogged them to close the gap on leaders Shakhtar Donetsk.

  Benitez, 52, has been out of work since since parting company with Inter Milan in 2010.

  And the former Liverpool boss has made it clear he would be interested in taking charge at Stamford Bridge.

  Spaniard Benitez said: “In football a lot of people are talking so we will see what happens in the next few days.

  “I am looking for a club that can challenge for trophies and Chelsea is one of these clubs.

  “I have to talk with my agent and see what he has been doing the last couple of days.

  “But I am just trying to go to a team that can win.”

• charlize

  22 Nov 12, 00:38

  He is going to buy a lot of bad players.

• zocoss

  22 Nov 12, 00:47

  No worries, roman got lots of money to burn.

  Only thing is he has got to learn to suck up to John Terry then everything will go smoothly... lol.

• charlize

  22 Nov 12, 00:58

  Originally posted by zocoss:

  No worries, roman got lots of money to burn.

  Only thing is he has got to learn to suck up to John Terry then everything will go smoothly... lol.

  If he manages Chelsea, I think Chelsea will end up a mid table team or worse, like the current Liverpool team.

• zocoss

  22 Nov 12, 09:43

  Oh no! Not the 'fat Spanish waiter'! The view from a Chelsea season ticket holder

   

  

  No thanks: Chelsea fan protested when Rafa Benitez was linked in March

  
  

   

   

   

  Oh No, not Rafa Benitez. It’s like some kind of cruel payback for finally being allowed to win the Champions League.

  Maybe people unconnected with the club do not understand why most fans passionately didn’t want him at Chelsea, but it is extraordinary that Roman’s recruiters have come up with this. Have they not heard the songs?

  ‘Fat Spanish waiter, he’s just a fat Spanish waiter’ and ‘You’re not welcome here, f*** off Benitez, you’re not welcome here’. Not exactly a red carpet, is it?

  Here’s why we’re sorry to see him at Stamford Bridge...

  
  

  No-one personifies the dislike between Liverpool and Chelsea more than he does.
  

  It started with him carping on about Jose Mourinho on his way to the luckiest Champions League win in history. (Yes, even luckier than ours).
  

  The Ghost Goal at Anfield fuelled the rivalry and Didier Drogba brilliantly responded to his ill-judged jibes about diving by dumping Benitez out in the 2008 semi-final at Stamford Bridge, celebrating with a glorious slide-past in front of the Liverpool bench.

   

  He’s actually not very good.
  

  Apart from winning the lottery in Istanbul what did he collect with Liverpool? An FA Cup. We’ve got plenty of those. 

   

  His spending makes ours look like careful husbandry

  More than £230million and only Fernando Torres and Xabi Alonso were decent quality. And he fell out with Alonso before letting him go to Real Madrid. He paid £20m for Robbie Keane and  £18m for Alberto Aquilani — need I say more?

   

  

  Signing policy: Alberto Aquilani was a flop after signing for Liverpool

   

  Mess at Milan
  

  Jose made Inter MIlan treble-winning European champions but within six months Benitez was sacked after guiding them to sixth  in Serie A and losing at Tottenham in the Champions League.

   

  I thought we were trying to be the new Barcelona.
  

  Benitez teams are deadly dull and he actually likes zonal marking.

   

  It looks like a pet manager for Torres.
  

  No-one could accuse the fans of not supporting the hapless Fernando but he’s beginning to look like a lost cause. We need to move on and you can’t build a team around such a fragile flower.

   

  

  Was it in? Liverpool's Luis Garcia was awarded the goal against Chelsea

   

   

  We've been here before
  

  Back in 1996, Glenn Hoddle was poached by England and it was reported that Ken Bates had lined up George Graham to replace him. Hoddle’s last game of the season against Blackburn at Stamford Bridge was a great opportunity for supporters to give the chairman a little hint about the future, again in song. 

  The first was a suggestion about where Mr Graham should be stuffed and the second was the solution. ‘Gullit! Gullit! Gullit!’

  Ken listened, appointed the Dutchman and within a year Chelsea had won their first trophy for 26 years and started on the trail which led to Roman wanting to buy the club in 2003.

  This time Chelsea’s hierarchy didn’t wait for our advice. Their latest signing shouldn’t expect a warm welcome against Manchester City on Sunday.

  
  
• zocoss

  22 Nov 12, 09:48

  Squad rotations, poor buys... Rafa was a total flop at Inter Milan

   

  The rumours were circulating long before the confirmation of the deed. Pep Guardiola, Rafael Benitez, even Avram Grant. Let’s be honest, what does it matter?

   

   

  IT will all end in tears.

  The only certainty is this: Rafa Benitez will become Roman Abramovich’s 9th managerial victim.

  Benitez became the only manager in Liverpool’s history to win major trophies in each of his first two seasons at the club.

  Then he landed the Holy Grail — the Champions League trophy in 2005. But then it all imploded spectacularly.

  Rafa managed to upset players, fans and owners with a farcical rotation system that at one stage saw him change the team 99 times on the trot, plus a dodgy transfer spree that saw him sign an incredible succession of dud players.

  And Rafa’s managerial ‘skills’ were further exposed when he moved to Inter Milan — after they had won the Champions League under former Blues boss Jose Mourinho — surviving there for only six months.

  Certainly, ex-Inter defender Marco Materazzi is no fan.

  He insists Benitez was paranoid about following Mourinho’s success at the Nerazzurri — and simply did not measure up.

  The Italian international says of his troubled spell under Rafa in 2010: “I did not get on well with Benitez. He thought he knew everything but he was afraid of his own shadow.

  “He made me remove pictures of the most important moments of my career with Mourinho and Marcello Lippi from my locker.

  “Mourinho was No 1. His secret was to make the players feel involved in the project.

  “In Madrid at the 2010 Champions League final, he told me that he was leaving. I said to him, ‘Damn you for leaving me with Benitez’.”

  And club president Massimo Moratti had his misgivings, too.

  He reflected: “We tried to find positives from this experience until the end... but we didn’t find any. He has his qualities but marriages don’t always go well.”

• shfunny

  22 Nov 12, 11:34

  oh, the same idie/....!!!

  http://www.centplay.com/affiliate/id_7079/

• Bus&Soccer l0v3r (VO3x 1)

  22 Nov 12, 12:33

  oh shyt
  
  torres will be the main striker
  
  
  dun worry after the UCL match
  
  he will have 50% of leading chelsea for the europa league glory

• I.imba

  22 Nov 12, 20:02

  I guess this guy give up hope waiting for Liverpool already. 

  Good luck and try to fight against John Terry first.

• zocoss

  23 Nov 12, 10:37

  Benitez: I didn't disrespect Chelsea fans when I criticised them, I was just defending Liverpool. I'll win them over ... and I'll win trophies!
  

   

  

  I'm back! Rafael Benitez held his first press conference as Chelsea manager at Stamford Bridge on Thursday

   

  
  
  

  

  Under the microscope: Chelsea fans have been given their first glimpse of the new Blues boss

   

  

   

   

   

   

   

  Rafael Benitez had to defend himself from the wrath of supporters in his first press conference as Chelsea manager.

  At his official unveiling at Stamford Bridge this evening, Benitez was grilled on the explosive comments he made against the London club during his time as Liverpool manager.
  

  He said: 'I want to be honest. If I said this or that, I have to analyze the context. We were playing against Chelsea in the semi-finals of the Champions League. If I am a fan I want to see the manager fighting for my club. I don't see this as a lack of respect for Chelsea's fans, just a manager defending his team.

  'I like to do things in the right way for the fans. The fans and manager want to win every single game, nobody wants to win more than than fans and manager.

  'This is a big challenge. I've been waiting for this chance. I could have gone to other countries for big, big money but I wanted to stay in England for a big club.'
  

  Benitez said it was too early for him to pass any comment on Mark Clattenburg after the FA cleared the referee of any wrongdoing over his alleged comments at John Obi Mikel. He also revealed he had not had any direct contact with Chelsea's trigger-happy Russian owner Roman Abramovich.

  Benitez added: 'Di Matteo was doing a great job. Sometimes in football you change managers too soon, but that's life. Have you seen my CV? I have all the trophies you can win at club level.
  

  'I was looking for the right opportunity at a top side to fight for a trophy. I don't care about the short term. I want to win every game - we have five trophies to fight for and at the end we will see what happens.

  'In seven months you can win some trophies and I'm sure at the end everyone will be delighted. I analyzed the squad. Can they win trophies? Yes. How many trophies can they win? We have five opportunities. I have more desire, more hunger to win trophies than before.'

  Asked about what Liverpool fans might think Benitez said: 'I can guarantee a lot of them are saying "We wish you all the best - maybe not against Liverpool..." I don't have two owners who don't talk to each other (like at Liverpool). We have an owner and a technical director.'
  

  The former Inter Milan boss, who also strongly hinted John Terry would stay on as captain, said he was not put off by talk he is simply keeping the hot-seat warm for Pep Guardiola.

  'I have a very good relationship with Guardiola,' he added. 'He is a great manager, what will happen in future I don't know.

  'For sure, I like to do things in the right way for the fans. But I'm sure they will be happy with a manger with a winning mentality and who wants to win games. In the end I hope they will be pleased.'

   

   

  

  Remember me? Rafa Benitez takes his first Chelsea training session on Thursday afternoon

  

  Revival bid: Benitez gets to work on making Torres score goals again for the Blues

   

  

   

   

  

  

  New man: Benitez arrives at their Cobham HQ (right) before assessing his new workplace

    

  

  New man in the hotseat: Rafa Benitez arrives at training at Chelsea's Cobham training ground and told the fans to get behind him

   

  

  Reunited: Fernando Torres arrives at training at Cobham ahead of his reunion with Benitez

  

  Leader: Captain John Terry turns up for training

   

  

  Another man in charge: Gary Cahill turns up for training with his third Chelsea manager in less than a year

   

   

   

   

  Blues fans were still in shock this morning after owner Abramovich completed arguably his most controversial day yet at Stamford Bridge last night by appointing Benitez to succeed Roberto Di Matteo.

  The Russian handed the former Liverpool boss a contract until the end of the season, having seemingly been unable to woo the man said to be his number one target.

  Confirming new 'interim' boss Benitez would meet Chelsea's players today, the European champions said in a statement: 'The owner and the board believe that, in Benitez, we have a manager with significant experience at the highest level of football, who can come in and immediately help deliver our objectives.'

  The length of Benitez's contract appeared the clearest indication yet of Abramovich's determination to land Pep Guardiola once the former Barcelona boss completes his one-year sabbatical.

  And it would be no exaggeration to say Benitez would be the least popular of his eight appointments judging by the reaction of Chelsea supporters on social media.

  Indeed, they are unlikely to roll out the welcome mat for his first game in charge against Barclays Premier League champions Manchester City on Sunday.

  But all that failed to deter Benitez, who agreed his Chelsea contract during a trip to Abu Dhabi and will look to convince them or another big club to give him a longer-term deal.

  It is impossible not to deduce part of Benitez's appeal to Abramovich was his relationship with £50million flop Fernando Torres, who he helped make one of the best strikers in the world at Liverpool.

  Di Matteo finally lost patience with Torres in his last match in charge but he expressed few regrets about his unparalleled eight-month tenure last night.

  'It was an honour for me to be appointed manager of a club that I loved playing for and one that is so close to my heart,' he said in a statement issued by the League Managers Association.

  'I am extremely proud of the successes and trophies that we were able to bring to the club in recent months.

   

  

  Making his point: A Chelsea fan stands outside the training ground with an anti-Benitez sign

   

  

  No thanks: Chelsea fan protested when Rafa Benitez was linked in March

   

  

  Former Blue: Boudewijn Zenden will be one of Benitez's coaches

   

  End of the road: Roberto Di Matteo was sacked following Chelsea's defeat to Juventus

   

   

   

  'Lifting Chelsea's first Champions League trophy, in Munich, was the best achievement in club history and without doubt the highlight of my career to date, both as a player and manager. It is a memory I will treasure for the rest of my life.

  'I have a deep and unreserved passion for Chelsea Football Club and I would like to sincerely thank all of the staff, my players and of course the Chelsea fans, for their tremendous and unconditioned support in the intense time I have been the manager at the Bridge. I wish all of them every success for the rest of the season and beyond.'

  
  
• zocoss

  23 Nov 12, 10:51

  I'd never take the Chelsea job: the words from 2007 that have come back to haunt Benitez (and don't get him started on the blue flags)

   

   

  

  Hitting out: Benitez made a comment about Chelsea fans and their support that was made into a plaque and hung at Liverpool's Mellwood training ground

  

  Not a fan: Benitez hit out at Chelsea fans and their flags

   

   

  Wherever they go we’ll follow our team, For we are the Chelsea and we are supreme,
  

  We'll never be mastered by no northern b******s, And we'll keep the blue flag flying high,
  

  Flying high, up in the sky,  We'll keep the blue flag flying high,
  

  From Stamford Bridge to Wemb(er)ley, We'll keep the blue flag flying high.

   

  EXPLAIN THIS THEN, RAFA
  

  'If Chelsea are naive and pure then I'm Little Red Riding Hood.' (2007)
  

  'I'm sure Chelsea do not like playing Liverpool. When they are talking and talking and talking before the game it means they are worried. Maybe they're afraid?'

   

  'We were good friends until Liverpool started winning, then he started changing his mind.' (on rival Jose Mourinho)
  

  'To me, Arsenal played much better football two or three years ago. They won matches and were exciting to watch. They create excitement so how can you say Chelsea are the best in the world?' (after Chelsea's first Premier League title win)

  'After the game, Sheila, who was sitting right in line, said to me that the ball had crossed the line. She is a very honest person and that was good enough for me. It was a goal.' (on taking his secretary's word that Luis Garcia's 'ghost goal' had crossed the line in the 2005 semi-final)

   

   

   

  Rafael Benitez may not be too familiar with the song but he certainly knows all about the pride Chelsea place in their flags on those Champions League nights.

  So when the club’s new interim boss arrives at the Bridge today desperately needing to build a few of his own, Benitez might struggle to explain comments he made in the past about Chelsea.

  For instance, how’s he going to explain this one from five years ago?
  

  ‘Chelsea is a big club with fantastic players, every manager wants to coach a such a big team,’ said the Spaniard. ‘But I would never take that job, in respect for my former team at Liverpool, no matter what. For me there is only club in England, and that’s Liverpool.’
  

  They loved him at Anfield and Benitez loves them too (he still lives on Merseyside more than two years after leaving Liverpool) which makes it all the more difficult to picture him in charge at Stamford Bridge.

  And in 2007 before one of many epic European clashes between Liverpool and Chelsea, Benitez made a comment that was so popular at Anfield that they stuck the words on a plaque and put it on the training ground wall.

  ‘We don’t need to give away flags for our fans to wave – our supporters are always there with their hearts, and that is all we need. It’s the passion of the fans that helps to win matches – not flags.’
  

  Other versions of this quote refer to ‘stupid plastic flags’ and end with the words ‘Chelsea fans lack passion’, but that will be largely academic when Benitez walks out at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

  ‘I will never forgive him for the statement,’ posted one Chelsea supporter this week. ‘Don’t forget your plastic flag at the weekend!’ wrote another.

   

   

  

  Flag wavers: Chelsea fans wave their flags prior to a game at Stamford Bridge

  

  I'll never take that job: Rafael Benitez said he would never manage Chelsea out of respect for Liverpool

   

  No-one has got under Chelsea’s skin quite like Benitez, which makes his appointment all the more baffling in the wake of the decision to axe Roberto Di Matteo. 

  His six years at Anfield saw Liverpool face Chelsea in the Champions League five years in a row – including three semi-finals – as well as a League Cup Final and an FA Cup semi-final.

  They produced enough controversy, bad blood and, yes, barbed comments to make Benitez’s mission an almost impossible one even before he has walked through the door.

  There was that ‘fact’ rant at Sir Alex Ferguson and the time he upset Everton by referring to them as ‘a small club’, but Chelsea and Jose Mourinho became a particular hobby horse.

  When asked about his relationship with the Special One, who twice refused to shake his hand after games between the two clubs, Benitez said: ‘We were good friends until Liverpool started winning, then he started changing his mind.’
  

  Nothing got to Mourinho more than what he has always called the ‘ghost goal’ from Luis Garcia that saw Liverpool knock Chelsea out of the Champions League semi-final in 2005 en route to glory in Istanbul.

  Benitez risked further infuriating Chelsea and their manager by insisting the ball had crossed the line – on the say-so of his secretary Sheila.

  ‘After the game Sheila, who was sitting right in line in the main stand, said to me that the ball had crossed the line,’ said Benitez. ‘She is a very honest person and that was good enough for me. It was a goal.’
  

  The former Valencia boss has always been reluctant to credit Chelsea and Mourinho for their successes, instead making pointed references to the financial might behind them.

  ‘We know Chelsea are a very good team,’ Benitez once said. ‘In the last five years they have spent big money on players.’

   

  

  It crossed the line: Benitez angered Chelsea fans when he said that Luis Garcia 'ghost goal' in the Champions League semi final crossed the line - say-so of his secretary Sheila

   

  
  
  

  

  No thanks: Chelsea fan protested when Rafa Benitez was linked in March

   

   

   

  After Mourinho helped Chelsea to their first Premier League title in 2004-05, Benitez merely criticised their lack of flair, saying: ‘To me, Arsenal played much better football two or three years ago. They won matches and were exciting to watch.

  ‘Barcelona and Milan too. They create excitement so how can you say Chelsea are the best in the world?’
  

  Another barb followed before Liverpool knocked Chelsea out of the 2007 Champions League semi-final.

  ‘I’m sure Chelsea do not like playing Liverpool,’ goaded Benitez. ‘When they are talking and talking and talking before the game it means they are worried. Maybe they’re afraid?’
  

  And as they prepared to meet in the final four once again a year later, Benitez upset his opponents and striker Didier Drogba by revealing that he had put together a four-year dossier on the player’s diving antics. 

  Given Drogba’s cult status at Stamford Bridge and the fact that Chelsea are now weighing up the possibility of bringing him back on an emergency loan from his Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua, it’s one of several issues that threaten to make life rather uncomfortable for Benitez.
  

  It should be an interesting few months in west London.

  
   
• tripsky

  23 Nov 12, 11:53

  welcome back ah ben!! never fails to amuse me 

  now at chelsea no doubt a match made in heaven 

  rock solid entertainment sia... please last more than 6 months 

• zocoss

  23 Nov 12, 13:38

   

  Hitler Reacts to Di Matteo Sacking... lol.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDKcvX-kfTY&feature=player_embedded

• charlize

  23 Nov 12, 13:50

  Maybe Chelsea will be challenging Liverpool at the end of the season.

   

  Against relegation.

• charlize

  23 Nov 12, 13:50

  Or maybe in a stunning turn of events, Liverpool finishes ahead of Chelsea at the end of the season.

• zocoss

  24 Nov 12, 11:44

  Chelsea hire Rafa Benitez My way: Benitez says he calls the shots at Chelsea not Abramovich

  Zonal marking and playing to get the best out of Torres are fine by the Blues' owner - but new manager shouldn't make plans for Lampard or Cole

  

  In the zone: Chelsea will try zonal marking again now Benitez is in charge

   

   

  Rafa Benitez insists he has received the green light from Roman Abramovich to do things his way at Chelsea.

  But the Blues' new manager has already been told that two of the heroes of the club’s decade of success are on their way out of Stamford Bridge.

  Benitez revealed he had spent “two or three hours” with Chelsea's billionaire owner Abramovich on Thursday night, outlining his footballing philosophy.

  The former Liverpool manager believes Abramovich will back him all the way over the introduction of his preferred zonal-marking system at set-pieces and a style of play designed to get the best out of £50million striker Fernando Torres.

  Yet even as Benitez prepared for his first game in charge against Manchester City on Sunday, he officially confirmed the looming end for Blues stalwarts Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole, who is on Real Madrid's radar.

  Despite clocking up a staggering 848 Chelsea appearances between them, the two England internationals have yet to be offered new contracts even though there are just seven months to go on their current deals.

  “I think they will leave in the summer,” said Benitez. “I don’t have all the information, but I think that’s the case at the moment.

  “Sometimes you’re in a difficult position as a manager because there’s too much to decide on, so it’s better to have a technical director.

  “If they say this or that, I will analyse and give my idea - if I have one. We have to wait and see.”

   

  

  Countdown: New boss Benitez believes this is Cole's final Chelsea season

   

   

  Cole and Lampard, who's been linked with moves to the USA or China, may have known their time at Chelsea was coming to an end, but the news will still be a shock with the fans, who see the pair as part of the heartbeat of the club.

  Benitez, aware that he is likely to be in for a rocky ride on Sunday afternoon - and who has not yet decided whether to risk the wrath of the Blues fans opposed to his appointment by appearing on the pitch before kick-off - was adamant, though, that he will call all the on-field shots.

  He added: “I’ve had 26 years in charge of clubs and I can guarantee I’ve had a lot of different owners, presidents and chairmen.

  “If you have confidence in yourself and explain yourself, everyone can understand.

  “My impression with him (Abramovich) is he’s a nice person. You can talk with him. He understands.

  “He likes to see you have a clear idea: 'I think it’s ‘white’ because of this or that, or this is ‘black’ because of this or that.'

  “When we had dinner it was interesting as we were talking about everything. He knows my ideas about zonal marking, and he knows why [Benitez prefers it].

  “We both spoke. Normally I talk too much.

  "The priority of the owner is whether I’m a good manager, a good coach, if the players understand me, if we’ll be a winning team. He was very clear with that. He’s happy with the things I’ve said.”

  Those things, it seems, are a promise that Benitez will unlock Torres’ scoring instincts and impose defensive discipline on "PlayStation" defender David Luiz - and a team that has not kept a clean sheet in 10 games.

  Benitez has now spoken to the majority of the club's senior professionals, including injured skipper John Terry - described as “a winner, like me” by the Spaniard.

  He will gradually introduce all his ideas, including zonal defending rather than man-marking - a system which was a disaster for Chelsea when they tried it under then-boss Luiz Felipe Scolari four years ago.

  Getting Torres scoring, though, is the prime directive.

  “Fernando is trying his best, like the others,” said Benitez, who managed his countryman at Anfield. “He was fine. He knows what I want and he is trying to do this.

  “At Liverpool, the pace of Steven Gerrard’s passes was very good and Fernando could take advantage.

  

  It's a set-up: Benitez wants Torres on the end of short passes from Mata and Oscar

   

   

  “People think that Fernando needs space and he did have that at the beginning at Liverpool. I didn’t create everything for Fernando, it’s just what happened.

  “But soon after that, we didn’t have that space. We were on top of teams. So he needs to have the movement.

  “We need to put Fernando in a position to score goals. It’s easier to do that from short passes by Oscar or Juan Mata.

  “With Fernando, here, I have seen a player with commitment, with ideas to improve. I know him, he knows me and what we’re looking for. Fernando is easy.

  “My idea isn’t just to improve Fernando, but the team. I can’t just focus on him. We have a lot of tremendous players. I have to spend more time with the others.”

  And Benitez was equally sure any fan backlash would be short-lived. “All fans, around the world, know the manager wants to win,” he added.

  “They prefer a manager with a winning mentality rather than one who finishes seventh or eighth.

  "I will do my best for this club. I’ve been waiting for two years for an opportunity like this, and I’ll do my best for them.”

• zocoss

  24 Nov 12, 12:02

  RAFA BENITEZ BLUNDERS

  

   

  Frank Lampard will not be offered a new contract at Chelsea

  FRANK LAMPARD was left fuming last night as blundering Rafa Benitez, on only his second day in charge at Chelsea, revealed that he and Ashley Cole will be leaving the club at the end of the season. Benitez dropped the bombshell that the England stars will not be offered the new deals they want.

  Sources close to midfielder Lampard said that the player was “furious” that Benitez had let slip details of contract talks, just 24 hours after walking into the club.

  It is a massive own-goal for the Spaniard, who was only appointed as interim manager on Wednesday until the end of the season.

  Lampard, at Chelsea since 2001, is the club’s third-highest scorer with 186 goals.

  He and Cole have been linchpins of the side with 848 appearances between them and were both heroes of last season’s historic Champions League win. But they are each in the final year of their contracts.

  Cole, 31, has been offered only a one-year deal, but is adamant that he wants at least two. But Lampard, 34, has amazingly not been offered anything.

  A source close to Cole said: “Negotiations have been stopped for a long time. We will not be starting them again. We are happy with that.”

  Both are now free to sign pre-contract deals in January, with Paris Saint-Germain ready to make Cole an offer. Lampard is wanted by US side LA Galaxy, PSG and Chinese club Guizou Renhe.

  Benitez said: “I think they will leave in the summer. I’m only here for seven months, I won’t have an influence over the next two or three years. But I think that’s the case at the moment.”

• charlize

  24 Nov 12, 12:40

  Can Benitez last for 7 months?

• I.imba

  24 Nov 12, 23:03

  Come on and give him some slack. His has been out of job for 2 years now and he just want to have some income now. I believe the pay for Chelsea manage is not too bad and he can get a compansation when gets sacked.

  I think he still wants manage Liverpool...

• zocoss

  25 Nov 12, 08:57

  I think its because he has been out of a job for quite some time already and his last job (Inter) was so bad that no big club would risk having him that's why he hasn't been able to get back into top management for 2 years. So when Chelsea called, he jumped at the chance even though it's only for 7 months.

  The guy is desperate. No big club have considered him since he was sacked by Inter just 6 months into that job. Imagine, that treble winning Inter side Mourinho left behind became relegation contenders within months of his appointment...

  I guess he is hoping to do a Roberto Di Matteo, hope at the end of the season Guardiola doesn't want to come and he is offered the job full time. Cos right now, his 7 months is like not a great deal. No compensation is required to sack him come May.

  Anyway, I think he is lucky to get the job as Chelsea have very good players as their start of the season showed... And I suspect he got the job as Roman doesn't want to prove his signing of Torres is a flop. So who else but the guy that Torres is comfortable with most?

• zocoss

  26 Nov 12, 00:13

  Hope the new manager can lift Chelsea and they can hold City to a draw at least...

• charlize

  26 Nov 12, 00:33

  I think RA just wants Rafa to standby until Pep decides to join.

   

  It's no big secret that RA wants barca type style football.

   

  Problem is even Pep knows he cannot recreate the magic in Chelsea.

   

  If Pep really joins Chelsea, everyday he will just be worrying about getting the sack.

• charlize

  26 Nov 12, 00:36

  Even if Rafa wins the league title this season for chelsea, the moment Guardiola says yes to RA, Rafa will be gone.

• charlize

  26 Nov 12, 00:38

  Then again, there are reports that Guardiola is just waiting for Ferguson to retire and taking over Man U.

   

  That could be a better option for him instead of the "hire and fire" policy at Chelsea.

   

  http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/1239806/pep-guardiola-is-reportedly-interested-in-managing-man-utd?cc=4716

• Medicated Oil

  26 Nov 12, 00:49

  If I am Pep, I dun think I want to be AVB II if the team do not perform.

  The BPL is completely different from Li Liga.

  Even Rafa struggle during his first season in Liverpool.

  So, if Alex do not to retire after this season, he may consider going to Man City.

  Jose also eyeing for Manchester United Manager post.

  Unless Jose want to go Germany for his conquest.