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Saturday, November 07, 2009
CARLO ANCELOTTI’S impressive start to life at Chelsea has not surprised Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson.
The pair lock horns for the first time in Premier League combat at Stamford Bridge tomorrow when United look to leapfrog Chelsea, who have established a two-point lead at the top of the table.
Chelsea’s start is more noteworthy given Ancelotti’s only previous experience of the English game was as an opposition player or coach although even then he usually came out on top, including two meetings between United and AC Milan.
But it is only what Ferguson anticipated once Roman Abramovich had decided who would succeed Guus Hiddink in the summer.
"I thought Ancelotti would do well," he said.
"He was a great coach at AC Milan. He won the European Cup twice and brought a wealth of experience with him to Chelsea. He was also a great player so he has a lot of knowledge.’’
It is still to be established whether the Londoners can combine the rigours of an arduous domestic programme with the loss of key men, including Didier Drogba and Michael Essien, to the African Nations Cup in January.
For Ferguson, it might be tempting to look upon that period as the time when his own side must make their move. Certainly that would have been the case pre-Jose Mourinho, when the Red Devils traditionally found top gear around the Christmas period before pulling away from their rivals.
One of many things Mourinho changed during his time in England was United’s trusted formula. In making their own flying starts, Chelsea forced Ferguson to follow suit, which is why the Red Devils are not thinking beyond tomorrow. "They caught us all on the hop during the two years they won the league because they got great starts," he said. "We had to change our ideas about pre-season training because we always had this vision that it was more important to make sure the bandwagon was rolling in the second half of the season. That is why we shouldn’t be looking at January really. We should be looking at Sunday."
The obvious problem for United is that having lost at Burnley and, more recently, Liverpool already, and scraped an Old Trafford draw with Sunderland, they have already proved themselves to be vulnerable.
Throw in the fact they have not won at Chelsea — where they traditionally used to do well — since 2002 and it is easy to see why many pundits are predicting a home win.
"We have to get our act together because our record down there has not been good for the last six years," said Ferguson. "It is a strange situation because we used to have a terrific record down there up until a few years ago. But we have let it slip.
"The players all realise it is going to be a big game and their performance is going to be important."
The return of Nemanja Vidic from a calf strain is well timed and Ferguson is optimistic Dimitar Berbatov will be involved despite missing Tuesday’s six-goal thriller with CSKA Moscow after taking a bang on the knee-cap.
There is some gloomy news though as Rio Ferdinand’s injury problems have resurfaced.
Ferguson felt Ferdinand’s present complaint was calf related. However, with no easing of the pain, there is a worry it could be a nerve being aggravated in his lower back, which would bring the spectre of an extended period of the sidelines.
"There is no improvement," said Ferguson. "We don’t know whether it is a calf injury or a nerve thing in his lower back but there is no sign of him recovering."
Ferguson is certain United will not be as defensively fragile at Chelsea as they were in the Champions League this week.
If United are to win Ferguson knows there must be no repeat of the shoddy defending that saw them concede three goals against CSKA Moscow this week that nearly ended their 23-match unbeaten home record in European combat. "We won’t be as open as we were on Tuesday," vowed the United chief.
"In a way, we experimented a little bit and it didn’t particularly work.
"But I know we are capable of getting back to the form we showed last season because we are a team with great ability."
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