Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho says his Manchester United counterpart David Moyes should shoulder the blame for Wayne Rooney’s desire to leave Old Trafford after suggesting he was a second-choice striker. The clubs meet in the Premier League on Monday, with Chelsea’s pursuit of the unsettled forward adding spice to the early season clash between the two title contenders.
Chelsea have made two bids for the England international and have not ruled out making a third, with Rooney reportedly upset by comments Moyes made in pre-season that he would have to play second-fiddle to Dutch striker Robin van Persie. ‘They are against me?’ Mourinho was reported as saying by The Guardian newspaper on Monday, when asked whether he would get an angry reaction from the United crowd.
‘But I didn’t say (to Rooney) you will be a second-choice for me. And they are against me? ‘We are trying to get a pl ayer that a manager told ‘You will be a second option’ for him. We are not going for van Persie. ‘They don’t have to be against me. If I say Ramires is a second option for me and he plays when ( Frank) Lampard is tired or injured, if someone comes here to get Ramires, nobody is upset.’
He was then asked if Moyes should take the blame, to which he replied: ‘Of course.’ Mourinho later softened his stance, saying that every team had good players that were second-choice. ‘The point is if the players are happy to accept that situation,’ he added.
<span lang="EN">Arsenal fans have been brain-washed: Arsene Wenger
LONDON: Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes that the Gunners fans have been ‘brainwashed’ by the constant negativity surrounding his team. Wenger came under fire from large sections of the Emirates Stadium crowd following Arsenal’s 3-1 defeat against Aston Villa on the opening day of the season. That barrage of abuse followed several incidents of barracking from angry fans last season as Arsenal’s trophy drought stretched to eight years.
‘It’s always excessive reactions,’ Wenger said. ‘We lost one game since the beginning of March. That’s why it (the Villa loss) was a shock. ‘The defeat was a shock, because it’s the first game of the season.’ We won in the Champions League away at Bayern (Munich, in March), we won 3-0 at Fenerbahce.
‘It’s just like that at the moment. You (the media) have brainwashed a little bit the Emirates. ‘Maybe rightly so, because we haven’t won trophies for years; its negative.’