2012 - 2013 Football Thread! - Page 316

On March 10 2013 19:01 Maenander wrote:
Yay for Schalke, that's the kind of performance I want to see from them!
I just hope they are out of the slump now and smash Galatasaray on Tuesday, as they certainly have more potential than they were showing in the last few months.

Since winning Sky's Football Icon 2 back in 2006, Carl Magnay has had an experience that many others would dream of.

However, with injuries taking their toll on the central defender and a club with very little stability, Carl admits it was a very long and difficult journey in his quest to try and get his chance in the Chelsea first team.

How did you feel when Chelsea said they were allowing you to leave the club?

"I was sad to learn I was leaving the club, however it was inevitable. I had spent 5 years as a pro there and not been able to break into the 1st team squad. I loved everything about Chelsea. I played with some fantastic players, made great friends and learnt from some of the best coaches and managers in the game. I was extremely grateful for the opportunities the club gave me and the support I would get from the fans whenever I was down at the Bridge."

"The manager at the time I left was AVB. He separated the young players and placed us in
another building. He had nothing to say. I took a lot of advice from Steve Holland who was a great help to me when leaving the club. He almost set up a move to Swindon for me but it fell through at the 11th hour."

Whilst at Chelsea, AVB asked the youth team to leave the premises. What was that like at the time & what impact did that have?

"AVB's decision to kick us out of the building didn't go down too well to be honest. It upset coaches and players alike. Whilst there, the youth players felt pointless. Regardless of how we performed we were never given an opportunity. He didn't have too much of an interest. He tried to change too much about the club and that includes trying to oust Lamps. He treated Anelka and Alex poorly, banning them from the dressing room and have them train separately on their own. We had recently won the youth cup and the reserve league. We had the best youth set up in the country. I think the final straw was when the first team were short for players, he used to use members of his staff to fill in instead of calling up young players and giving them first team experience in training. One day we were walking in from training and the conditioner was training with the first team as oppose to giving a young player vital experience. That said it all really."


What could Chelsea do to improve as a club?

"Chelsea need to develop more homegrown players and USE them! Millions of pounds are being wasted on young players salaries and transfer fees for them not being able to make an impact at first team level. Also, the club needs stability. A manager who can relax in the knowledge he has a long term deal and be able to implement these changes are important. I think getting Jose back would be fantastic for the club. He is the man to take Chelsea forward again."

And finally, what's your thoughts on Rafa Benitez?

"I don't have an opinion on Rafa as a coach/manager as I've never worked with him, but it's clear he's not the right man for Chelsea. Hopefully the club can finish the season as successfully as possible then appoint the right man for the long term in the summer. Fingers crossed it's Mourinho!"

On March 11 2013 02:43 daSilvaz wrote:
Can't really understand how Defoe even gets called for the national team, not only he does nothing in attack as he also gives free goals to the other team