Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
NO-DOUBTING THOMAS
Tuchel confident that his treatment of young Hudson-odoi will not have lasting consequences for Chelsea
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CHELSEA manager Thomas Tuchel insists his public humiliation of Callum Hudson-odoi will leave no long-term rift with the player or his team-mates.
The German dragged Hudson-odoi off in the 1-1 draw at Southampton, only 31 minutes after putting him on as a half-time substitute. And
Tuchel followed that up by blasting the player’s attitude and energy in post-match interviews.
Hudson-odoi (circle), looking to make Gareth Southgate’s Euros squad, had started recent games under Tuchel, but the coach was unhappy with his lack of impact off the bench.
Asked if the tough treatment might send damaging shock waves through the dressing room, the Blues boss said: “Not at all, it is absolutely not a big thing for me.
“I talked to Callum, I talked to the whole group. It’s not a big thing for me. If people want to talk about it like a big thing, then OK. For me, it’s not.
“It’s on Callum to show he is a reliable guy when he comes from the bench, like he is when he starts.
“He has started a lot. We cannot even create the slightest cut between me and Callum. He takes a hard decision here. OK, swallow it, and be there tomorrow and you have every chance of starting against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday.”
Risky strategy that could backfire or ruthless masterstroke? That remains to be seen in the months ahead. Either way, it was an afternoon on the South Coast when Tuchel’s tough-guy side was unveiled to the Premier League.
If Chelsea’s players were in any doubt as to what is demanded of them under the German manager, that has all been removed.
In the next four weeks alone the Blues face La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid twice, Manchester United, Liverpool and Everton, and both unity and performance levels must be high.
After a draw that left Ralph Hasenhuttl’s Southampton far happier as they ended a six-game losing streak, Tuchel laid it out starkly for Hudson-odoi and the rest.
He added: “We cannot play 99 per cent, it is not possible. You play in the Premier League, and this is our standard. Our demand to ourselves is to be 100 per cent sharp.”
But as Match of the Day pundit Danny Murphy believes, Tuchel’s man-management of the 20-year-old is a high-risk strategy that could backfire.
He said: “I was flabbergasted as to why he brought him off and then publicly criticised him. That’s not the way to go for me. You have to be careful who you choose as your victims. Callum is a young lad that has done well for him in recent weeks.
“He has publicly shamed him by bringing him off, then criticised him verbally in the interview.
“It is not just the lad that has to recover from the confidence blow, it is his team-mates who are thinking, ‘Hold on, that’s not the type of manager I respond to’.”
Saints had gone in front through Takumi Minamino (below) as he dummied to leave Cesar Azpilicueta and Edouard Mendy on their backsides before dinking the ball home.
But Chelsea secured a point and made it six games unbeaten for Tuchel in the League from Mason Mount’s 53rd-minute penalty.
Mount’s influence, in addition to winning and scoring the penalty equaliser, impressed Tuchel rather more than Hudson-odoi’s contribution.
The 22-yearold has certainly picked up what is required under the new and demanding regime. And that may also serve
Mount well when it comes to the Euros with England.
Mount said: “I felt we could get the second goal, but it didn’t come so that is something we will look at.
“There are some huge games coming up in the Champions League and Premier League, so that is very exciting.”
BRIGHTON v CRYSTAL PALACE Amex Stadium, kick-off 8PM ROY HODGSON has told Crystal Palace fans to be careful what they wish for – or they could end up like Charlton.
Eagles supporters angry with their team’s ambition hung a protest banner at the club’s training ground this week, and some want manager Hodgson gone.
But the Palace boss has warned them to remember what happened when Alan Curbishley (below) was hounded out by their south London rivals.
He said: “People need to be careful. When Alan Curbishley left Charlton many years ago, they were constantly in the top half of the table.
“It was because fans were not happy and thought that finishing in the top half wasn’t enough and that they needed to kick on. They did – they kicked downwards and that is the only problem. You have to be careful.
“As a manager or player, you’re going to be criticised for performances and people are going to read into things from performances that are not always there.
“As owners, you’re also going to face a lot of criticism. The so-called ‘lack of ambition’ – it covers a multitude of sins.
“It is not a bad achievement for a team that has actually spent not very much money, and worked within a reasonable budget, to be in the Premier League every year.
“If people want more than that, it is going to take an enormous amount of investment, a massive expenditure.”
Palace can match their bestever points tally after 25 games in the Premier League with a win over Brighton tonight. But they go into the match having lost back-to-back games to Leeds and Burnley.
Hodgson added: “Nothing has changed enormously, other than the fact we haven’t played as well. But things will get better.
“If the fans have suggestions about what they would like to see the club do, they will have to address that to the people who actually own it.
“I’m an employee and just trying to do my job as best I can. I am not in charge of that aspect of the club. It’s a question for the chairman.”
GRAHAM POTTER accepts he may be forced to lose his Brighton rising stars if the price is right.
But the Seagulls boss (above) is satisfied the club can continue to move forward if they are hit with big-money bids for their in-demand youngsters. Ben White, Yves Bissouma and Tariq
Lamptey in particular have earned praise for their performances this season and attracted attention from bigger clubs. And Potter, whose side face Crystal Palace at the Amex Stadium tonight, says he is happy with Albion’s forward planning if they receive an offer they cannot refuse for one of their star names.
Potter said: “In order for us to develop and grow, you have to have the confidence and ability to make a sale at the right time for the right price. It isn’t anything to be afraid of, it’s something to be proud of.
“But what you have to ensure is you carry on improving, otherwise it has a negative effect.
“That’s where the challenge is. But for us to move forward, it is something we have to understand as a club.
“Otherwise, what happens is you stick with your players, the salaries increase and hit a point where your structures have gone awry.”
Mali midfielder Bissouma (above) has been linked with Arsenal, Manchester United and Real Madrid.
But Potter insists there is more to come from the player.
He said: “We are trying to help him to understand what it takes to be a top player.
“He has taken some steps there and there is some more to come from him which is exciting.”
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RINGMASTER Scott Parker has fired up Fulham to survive the relegation circus by sending in the clones.
After Ademola Lookman’s fourth goal of the season (below), and a slice of outrageous penalty fortune at the death, it looks like 2008 all over again at Craven Cottage.
Bear Grylls might be able to survive cold nights round a camp fire in the Outer Hebrides, but could he take seven points in a week from Everton, Burnley and a grim, dog-eat-dog battle with doomed Sheffield United?
Fulham overturned a six-point deficit with just three games to go under Roy Hodgson
13 years ago – this time, they are making a break for the stalag’s barbed wire much earlier.
And manager
Parker’s trump card is a bundle of energy whose supreme ferreting gives Fulham a platform for creativity in the final third. Swap former England midfielder Parker’s quiff for Harrison Reed’s shock of copper hair and you would struggle to tell them apart as players.
Reed’s dynamism, link-up play and assured passing have been eye-catching features of Fulham’s season.
If the £6million bargain from Southampton (celebrating the winner with Lookman, right) is their water-carrier in midfield, he doesn’t just bring a bucket from the river.
He serves bottled Perrier in a cut-glass tumbler on a silver tray. If he ever needs advice on how to go about his job, he only needs to knock on Parker’s door.
Reed said: “The boss has been great for me from the moment I walked through the door here.
“He was an unbelievable player in that position and the way he went about it, so I’ve got a perfect role model.
“To have someone of his experience and knowledge as a reference point is a great help, and he simplifies the game when he talks to me.
“I’m grateful for the trust he puts in me and the responsibility he gives me, when I am asked to do a job for the team week in, week out in the Premier
League.
“It’s true that he is a massive influence on me – the way he played, the energy he brings to the side – and the comparison with him is a massive compliment.”
Fulham were written off as relegation fodder after losing their first four games but have learned to win ugly.
Sexy football is an honourable virtue but this was more Nora Batty than Naomi Campbell.
Reed said: “It’s been a big week because we’ve had to mix it up and show both sides of our personality as a team.
“At Everton, we produced pure football, brilliant to watch and everyone was singing our praises. Then we had to scrap for our lives to get a point at Burnley, fighting for every second ball.
“This was not the prettiest win – but gritty or pretty, it was all about the result.
“We would rather scrap and stay up by grinding out results, than get pats on the back for playing good football and find ourselves back in the Championship.
“But it’s important not to get ahead of ourselves. When the fans are allowed back into Craven Cottage, we want to christen that new stand as a Premier League club, but there is still a lot to do.”
Full marks to Parker: even after Fulham’s false start, he has never faltered. He said: “I realised the journey was going to be pretty bumpy and when we lost the first four there was a constant Monday morning sense of, ‘OK, this is what we need to do to improve’.
“I have had experiences of what cripples teams and takes them down, but I believe in every single one of these players because of what I see on a daily basis.”