ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: ROMAN ABRAMOVICH'S disgust at the constant drip feed of lurid allegations about his Chelsea players' private lives prompted him to have his squad summoned this week and warned that any further controversies that tarnish the club's reputation will not be tolerated.
The Russian’s patience finally snapped after a flurry of recent stories involving John Terry and Ashley Cole, and he instructed his chief executive, Ron Gourlay, to convene a meeting at Chelsea’s Cobham training base on Wednesday. Gourlay, flanked by the manager, Carlo Ancelotti, addressed the senior playing staff and said that any further embarrassing misdemeanours would provoke the “severest disciplinary consequences” from which no one would be deemed untouchable.
The players were reminded of their responsibilities to uphold the public image of Chelsea and were told that any further revelations would result in internal club punishments, most likely in the form of heavy fines, though the potential to transfer list serial offenders was not ruled out. It was stressed that, while the meeting was designed to draw a line in the sand after the recent spate of damaging stories, the Chelsea hierarchy would consider taking disciplinary action against players or staff if new allegations came to light on incidents that occurred in the past.
Ancelotti, who has consistently claimed he has no interest in his players’ private lives as long as matters off the pitch do not affect their performance on it, followed Gourlay by stating what he expected of his squad. The meeting lasted a little over 10 minutes with the players also asked for their input before being dismissed and under no illusions that their future conduct is being closely scrutinised.
“We are interested in protecting the image of this club,” Ancelotti said. “This (meeting) was the owner’s idea. Ron spoke for the club, for the owner, and the players listened. We told them they have to pay attention to their behaviour, and explained what is expected of the players at this club.
“The image of the club is very, very important and we expect good behaviour from everyone. Not only the players. From everyone who works at this club. I understood why the club wanted to say this, but this is a line in the sand. We have to look, together, to the future. We hope this serves as ‘prevention’ (against further controversy), but the players now know what behaviour is expected of them. As for any consequences (of further misdemeanours), that is a private matter. They know very well what they have to do.”
The frenzy of stories over Terry’s private life and his alleged affair with his former Chelsea team-mate Wayne Bridge’s ex-partner, Vanessa Perroncel, led to the centre-half being stripped of the England captaincy. The player was granted compassionate leave last weekend to travel to Dubai, where his wife, Toni Poole, and their three-year-old twins were staying.
Terry returned to England on Monday, with Ancelotti impressed by his attitude in training since, though Tuesday brought allegations that Ashley Cole had brought a girl back to the team hotel on two occasions in late 2008, when Luiz Felipe Scolari was in charge, on the night before league games. It was the assertion that those events took place within the confines of the squad’s preparations for matches that proved the tipping point for Abramovich – there remains the possibility that Cole could still be sanctioned – and appears to have prompted him into calling the exceptional team meeting.
Chelsea will hope this stern reminder of the players’ greater responsibilities will serve to ensure the team are not unsettled by further allegations as they enter a critical stage of the season. They may have lost the leadership of the Premier League by the time they kick off without an ill Frank Lampard against Wolverhampton Wanderers this afternoon, and face Jose Mourinho’s Internazionale in the Champions League next week.
The England midfielder should make the trip to Italy, though the centre-half Alex faces longer on the sidelines with a knee injury.
Mourinho warmed up for Wednesday’s collision at San Siro by insisting yesterday that Abramovich had “made some grave mistakes in his time at Chelsea, and especially since I left”. Ancelotti is attempting to prove that assertion wrong, though his side’s prospects at Molineux are threatened by a wretched recent record on the road by this club’s high standards, with six points coming from their last six away matches.
“We haven’t had consistency away from home,” Ancelotti said. “We have played well at places like Sunderland and Arsenal, but we have not been consistent, and the away form has not been as good as at home.”
Guardian Service
