Chelsea players have reacted with disbelief and anger to the enforced promotion of Michael Emenalo to Carlo Ancelotti's coaching staff.
Emenalo, who replaces the sacked Ray Wilkins as assistant first-team coach, has never held a coaching position at a professional football club and arrived at Stamford Bridge after being employed as a girls' team trainer at a little-known US football school.
Installed on Chelsea's bench by Roman Abramovich, the former Nigeria international had been operating as opposition scout since being brought to the club by Avram Grant, the former manager.
Emenalo's influence has increased as he has developed a strong relationship with the club's owner, attending team meetings and questioning players on their performances in the Chelsea dressing room.
Emenalo's actions have aroused the suspicion of senior players who have compared his promotion to Grant's installation as director of football in 2007 - a move that presaged Jose Mourinho's dismissal as manager. "It's like Avram Grant all over again," one veteran said of Mourinho's contentious exit.
Ancelotti has also been unimpressed by Abramovich's latest display of authority. In a team meeting following Wilkins's departure, Chelsea's manager made it clear to his players that the dismissal had been enforced from above and that he had attempted to keep his English assistant at the club. Speaking publicly for the first time about Emenalo's promotion, Ancelotti made it clear that he did not want the change of staff and would not allow the Nigerian to train his players.
"I am not here to explain how I feel at this moment because it is not the right moment," Ancelotti said. "I'm professional. I will continue to work. I want to stay focused on my team. The club made this decision after the decision on Ray. But nothing has changed, for me. Emenalo has been working with me before. He started when I came here last year.
"He was the opposition scout and was supporting me. He's not been involved in the training, and won't be, because Paul Clement has been and will remain doing that. But nothing changes. It was not my decision, but he is working with me for a year and a half anyway."
Despite winning a league and FA Cup double in his first season at Chelsea, Ancelotti was not allowed to reinforce his team in the summer.
Instead, five senior internationals were released or sold, leaving Ancelotti with the thinnest squad of the Premier League title contenders. Also, player and staff bonuses were cut and economies made at the training ground.
Accustomed to working under an authoritarian and unpredictable owner in his previous position at AC Milan under Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian prime minister, Ancelotti has not complained publicly.
The Italian's contract expires after the 2011/12 season, but Abramovich has yet to make any attempt to renegotiate. Sources close to Ancelotti said that he is unhappy with aspects of his handling by Chelsea and aware that significant opportunities might arise for him elsewhere in the English game. He has already stated his interest in succeeding Fabio Capello as England manager.
Meanwhile, Wilkins yesterday described the sudden termination of a contract that was due to run until next June as "unfair dismissal" in a statement released through the League Managers Association.
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The specs: 2019 Cadillac XT4
Price, base: Dh145,000
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged in-line four-cylinder engine
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Power: 237hp @ 5,000rpm
Torque: 350Nm @ 1,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.7L / 100km
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The specs: 2018 Mercedes-Benz S 450
Price, base / as tested Dh525,000 / Dh559,000
Engine: 3.0L V6 biturbo
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Power: 369hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 500Nm at 1,800rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.0L / 100km
Directed: Smeep Kang
Produced: Soham Rockstar Entertainment; SKE Production
Cast: Rishi Kapoor, Jimmy Sheirgill, Sunny Singh, Omkar Kapoor, Rajesh Sharma
Rating: Two out of five stars
If you go
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Funchal via Lisbon, with a connecting flight with Air Portugal. Economy class returns cost from Dh3,845 return including taxes.
The trip
The WalkMe app can be downloaded from the usual sources. If you don’t fancy doing the trip yourself, then Explore offers an eight-day levada trails tour from Dh3,050, not including flights.
The hotel
There isn’t another hotel anywhere in Madeira that matches the history and luxury of the Belmond Reid's Palace in Funchal. Doubles from Dh1,400 per night including taxes.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Dr Amal Khalid Alias revealed a recent case of a woman with daughters, who specifically wanted a boy.
A semen analysis of the father showed abnormal sperm so the couple required IVF.
Out of 21 eggs collected, six were unused leaving 15 suitable for IVF.
A specific procedure was used, called intracytoplasmic sperm injection where a single sperm cell is inserted into the egg.
On day three of the process, 14 embryos were biopsied for gender selection.
The next day, a pre-implantation genetic report revealed four normal male embryos, three female and seven abnormal samples.
Day five of the treatment saw two male embryos transferred to the patient.
The woman recorded a positive pregnancy test two weeks later.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
