Sports / Soccer
No respite for Carlo, Roy and Houllier
06 Jan 2011 at 20:10hrs | Views
There is a genuine fear of impending job losses in the managers' rank of the Premier League after sensational defeats on Wednesday night.
Carlo Ancelotti (Chelsea), Roy Hogson (Liverpool), Gerrard Houllier (Aston Villa) and West Ham's Avram Grant are barely clinging onto their positions after defeats in the last matches of the busy festive season programme.
Chelsea were sent spinning to a shock 1-0 defeat at Wolves as the champions fell further behind in the title race.
Liverpool were humbled 3-1 at Blackburn Rovers to pile on the misery for Hodgson. Houllier's Villa's fell 1-0 at home to Sunderland.
Miserable run
An own goal by defender Jose Bosingwa after five minutes handed victory to Wolves, who climbed out of the relegation zone as Chelsea's miserable run of form ' just one win in nine matches ' continued.
Ancelotti, who had admitted before the match that he was lucky not to have been sacked, will now face fresh scrutiny after a result which leaves Chelsea nine points adrift of leaders Manchester United, who also have a game in hand.
"At this moment it's very difficult to explain what's happening to us," a stunned Ancelotti told Sky Sports. "We have to keep going ... we have to stay focused more on the little details. Because the little details
lose the game."
In the battle for second place, Arsenal and Manchester City fought out a 0-0 stalemate at the Emirates. Arsenal dominated throughout but were unable to find their way through a blanket City defence.
The game ended on a sour note after Arsenal defender Bacary Sagna and City's Pablo Zabaleta were given red cards after clashing on the touchline.
The other big headline of the night came at Ewood Park, where Blackburn piled the pressure on Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson with a 3-1 victory over the troubled Merseysiders.
Hodgson, reportedly set to be replaced by the club's American owners, fielded a strong side, with Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres both starting.
But the result was virtually sealed by half-time, with Martin Olsson opening the scoring on 32 minutes before Benjani Mwaruwari doubled the lead six minutes later. Benjani rubbed salt into the wound with
Blackburn's third on 57 minutes.
Carlo Ancelotti (Chelsea), Roy Hogson (Liverpool), Gerrard Houllier (Aston Villa) and West Ham's Avram Grant are barely clinging onto their positions after defeats in the last matches of the busy festive season programme.
Chelsea were sent spinning to a shock 1-0 defeat at Wolves as the champions fell further behind in the title race.
Liverpool were humbled 3-1 at Blackburn Rovers to pile on the misery for Hodgson. Houllier's Villa's fell 1-0 at home to Sunderland.
Miserable run
An own goal by defender Jose Bosingwa after five minutes handed victory to Wolves, who climbed out of the relegation zone as Chelsea's miserable run of form ' just one win in nine matches ' continued.
Ancelotti, who had admitted before the match that he was lucky not to have been sacked, will now face fresh scrutiny after a result which leaves Chelsea nine points adrift of leaders Manchester United, who also have a game in hand.
"At this moment it's very difficult to explain what's happening to us," a stunned Ancelotti told Sky Sports. "We have to keep going ... we have to stay focused more on the little details. Because the little details
lose the game."
In the battle for second place, Arsenal and Manchester City fought out a 0-0 stalemate at the Emirates. Arsenal dominated throughout but were unable to find their way through a blanket City defence.
The game ended on a sour note after Arsenal defender Bacary Sagna and City's Pablo Zabaleta were given red cards after clashing on the touchline.
The other big headline of the night came at Ewood Park, where Blackburn piled the pressure on Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson with a 3-1 victory over the troubled Merseysiders.
Hodgson, reportedly set to be replaced by the club's American owners, fielded a strong side, with Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres both starting.
But the result was virtually sealed by half-time, with Martin Olsson opening the scoring on 32 minutes before Benjani Mwaruwari doubled the lead six minutes later. Benjani rubbed salt into the wound with
Blackburn's third on 57 minutes.
Source - Byo24News Sports/AFP
