Chelsea’s John Terry has hit back at Craig Bellamy after the Welshman’s comments about him following Manchester City’s win at Stamford Bridge.
Striker Bellamy scored twice in City’s 4-2 victory on Saturday and made a blunt attack on the former England captain’s off-field behaviour.
“I know what JT is like, everybody in football knows what he is like. That’s off the field,” stated Bellamy.
“People in glass houses should not throw stones,” said Terry in response.
Bellamy’s comments added further frustration to Blues skipper Terry, who was arguably at fault for at least one of the Manchester City goals.
Defender Terry also suffered the ignominy of seeing Bridge publicly refuse his offer of a handshake before the game.
Bridge’s snub went down badly with the Stamford Bridge crowd and the former Chelsea star was booed by the home fans, a development that baffled some of his Manchester City team-mates.
“I don’t know why the crowd reacted the way it did,” said Manchester City captain Shay Given. “I don’t see what he has done wrong.” Read more…
Ramsey, the 19-year-old Wales midfielder was taken to hospital after a tackle by Shawcross, who was later called up to the England squad to play Egypt next week, in Arsenal’s 3-1 victory .
Arsenal are awaiting news on the condition of their player, who was transported to London for possible emergency surgery.
Manager Arsene Wenger was enraged by the tackle, which he described as “horrendous”, but in a statement issued by Shawcross, the player is adamant there was no intent.
The statement read: “There was absolutely no malice in the challenge.
“I would never, ever go out to hurt a fellow professional.
“I am deeply upset that Aaron has suffered such a bad injury and my thoughts are with him.
“I would like to send him my best wishes too for a speedy recovery.”
Stoke team-mates Danny Pugh and Rory Delap said Shawcross had not meant to hurt Ramsey.
“There was no malicious intent from Ryan, he’s not that kind of player,” midfielder Pugh told BBC radio. “He’s a good lad and and he’s been unlucky that that’s happened.” Read more…
The humiliation of John Terry could scarcely have been more complete. Just after Manchester City had swept upfield, making light of a Chelsea team by then reduced to nine men, and Craig Bellamy had tapped in their fourth goal, Terry could be seen stalking back to the centre circle, a defeated man.
He exchanged angry words with Didier Drogba, though it surely owed more to emotional instinct than rational analysis of what had taken place.
For Chelsea have not experienced a home defeat like this for years and by this stage there was little to argue over:
As they turned to return to their half, Tevez then pointed to Bridge, deflecting the glory to him and indicating the motivation behind a remarkable second-half performance.
It was an afternoon that could scarcely have gone worse for Chelsea or Terry. ‘It was very disappointing,’ said their manager Carlo Ancelotti. ‘We made a mistake and usually in football if you do that, you lose the game. We are still top of the league, if only by a point, but it is a point and that is not bad. That is the only good thing from today. Today is not a good day for us.’ Read more…
Footballer Wayne Bridge refused to shake hands with John Terry today when he came face to face with him for the first time since it emerged his former teammate had an affair with his ex-girlfriend.
There was huge interest in how the pair would behave towards one another ahead of the game between Chelsea and Manchester City at Stamford Bridge, west London,
As the off-pitch tension built up in the wake of allegations about Terry and lingerie model Vanessa Perroncel, the mother of Bridge’s three-year-old son, City player Bridge made his feelings clear by snubbing the Fair Play handshake courtesy to Terry.
As Terry, 29, stood in line with his Chelsea teammates, he held out his hand as Bridge filed past with his fellow Manchester City players.
But while Bridge, also 29, shook hands with the rest of his opponents, he walked past Terry without making any contact.
The ritual was introduced by the Premier League two seasons ago as part of the Get On With The Game campaign to encourage acceptable behaviour.
Such was the interest in the interaction between Terry and Bridge that Sky Sports viewers were able to see the crucial moments before kick-off.
Usually, the broadcaster would screen adverts during the routine and return to the pitch for the main action.
But timings were altered to make sure nothing was missed. Read more…
Although Bridge pulled out of the World Cup, City boss Roberto Mancini feels he is in the right frame to play at Stamford Bridge - and face John Terry.
‘I think Wayne is okay,’ said Mancini. ‘I don’t know what has happened in the last two weeks but I am sorry for him.
But mentally he is fine. He is an important player for us and we want him to play.’
Only a fortnight ago Mancini expressed confidence that Bridge would go to South Africa, despite the obvious issues with Terry over his affair with Vanessa Perroncel, the mother of Bridge’s young son.
So it came as a shock to both Mancini and England coach Fabio Capello when Bridge released his statement yesterday saying that his position within the Three Lions fold was now ‘untenable’.
‘I thought Wayne would stay with the national team,’ said Mancini. ‘It must have been a very difficult decision because I know how important the national team is for any player.
‘He didn’t speak to me before he made the decision. I don’t know what has changed, but he has changed his decision because I thought that he would play for the national team. But I respect what he has done. Read more…
England coach Fabio Capello is hoping Manchester City defender Wayne Bridge will rethink his decision not to go to the World Cup this summer.
Following allegations that his ex-girlfriend had an affair with Chelsea’s John Terry, Bridge, 29, has opted not to be chosen for England duty.
“It surprised me,” admitted Capello of Bridge’s decision. “But the door is always open for him. We have time.
“I hope he will be with us at the World Cup, but I respect his decision.”
BBC Sport understands Bridge is effectively retiring from the international scene, though Capello is clearly hoping the defender will change his mind before this summer’s World Cup.
Terry was sacked as England captain by Capello earlier this month, but in a statement released by his lawyers, Bridge said his position in the national squad had become “untenable and potentially divisive”.
England face Egypt in a friendly at Wembley next Wednesday and despite reports earlier this week suggesting Bridge was considering his international future because he was unwilling to play alongside Terry, Capello believed he would be available for selection.
The Italian stated on Wednesday: “No, he will be with us. No problems about the other things.”
However, Bridge’s statement has shown the left-back remains troubled by the situation.
“It has always been an honour to play for England. However, after careful thought I believe my position in the squad is now untenable and potentially divisive,” said Bridge. Read more…
Wayne Bridge has made himself unavailable for England selection, thereby ruling himself out this summer’s World Cup.
In a statement released by his lawyers, Bridge, 29, said his position in the national squad had become “untenable and potentially divisive”.
The left-back has been in the spotlight over allegations that his ex-girlfriend had a relationship with John Terry.
England coach Fabio Capello stripped Terry of the captaincy this month.
In Bridge’s statement released on Thursday, he added: “I have thought long and hard about my position in the England football team in the light of the reporting and events over the last few weeks.
“It has always been an honour to play for England. However, after careful thought I believe my position in the squad is now untenable and potentially divisive. Read more…
Inter got off to the perfect start when Diego Milito cut inside and fired in with only three minutes gone.
Chelsea rallied from the early blow and after Salomon Kalou was denied a strong first-half penalty claim he was on hand to fire Chelsea level after half-time.
Parity was short-lived, with Esteban Cambiasso drilling in to give Inter a narrow lead to take to Stamford Bridge.
Predictably, Mourinho’s first match against the club he led for two-and-a-half successful and eventful seasons took centre stage but this was an encounter laden with context.
Current Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti led Inter’s local rivals AC Milan with aplomb between 2001 and 2009 and this was the first time he has brought a side to the city since leaving for west London last summer.
In addition, there is the added spice that former Champions League winners Mourinho and Ancelotti - the Portuguese with Porto in 2004, the Italian with Milan in 2003 and 2007 - are managers charged with repeating their feat in Europe’s premier club competition with their current clubs.
Under Mourinho, Chelsea were often accused of an overly cautious approach that came at the expense of entertainment, but Ancelotti affords his charges greater licence to be expansive and, on the front foot, they are an attractive team to watch. Read more…
Despite winning a glut of team and individual honours in the past 12 months, Lionel Messi remains hungry for more as he gears up for FC Barcelona’s first knockout round trip to VfB Stuttgart.
Occasionally when truly great footballers achieve fame, wealth and success, the ingredient in their make-up which is most easily corroded is the powerful hunger which once fired their drive for supremacy.
If that were to apply to Lionel Messi then now would be the moment in question. His club, FC Barcelona, mounted a brilliant campaign to win the UEFA Champions League last season amid a torrent of trophies; the Spanish title, the Copa del Rey, the Spanish Super Cup, the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup.
The Argentinian was also rewarded with a clean sweep of the most illustrious individual awards: being named in the UEFA.com users’ Team of the Year, winning the Ballon d’Or and rounding it off with the FIFA World Player of the Year gong.
Despite all this, Barcelona’s next opponents in their UEFA Champions League defence, VfB Stuttgart, should be aware that Messi remains ravenous for more of the same. “We have already written a page in history but we want to continue doing that,” he told UEFA.com. “We have to take advantage of this great team; all of us feel that. Read more…
