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AFTER starting the season as ­everyone’s favourite joke, it may be time to take Chelsea seriously.With their warring owners having splurged £1.2billion on under-performing ‘talent’, the Blues were ripe for a kicking.Chelsea have lost just one of their last 10 games in all competitionsCredit: GettyEnzo Maresca is beginning to create a more positive culture at Stamford BridgeCredit: GettyBut there now appears to be at least some sort of plan and they are just one point behind Arsenal after nine games.Cole Palmer has developed into one of the best players in the Premier League.And Nicolas Jackson has been transformed from a misfiring, yellow-card collecting figure of fun into a clinical striker.Moises Caicedo, all £115million of him, appears to be a capable footballer after all — having looked out of his depth following his huge switch from Brighton last year.READ MORE ON CHELSEABoss Enzo Maresca has turned Chelsea from a clown car into — if not quite a Ferrari — something far more sensible.When he was plotting his next move in the summer, many would have forgiven him for snubbing the Blues.There was interest from his native Italy, across Europe and also other Prem clubs.Chelsea was far from the easy option — especially as he had never previously managed in the top flight.Most read in FootballCASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO WELCOME OFFERSTodd Boehly has spent more than £1billion in his two years as ownerCredit: GettyBut against a lot of noise and fury he has taken a firm hold on the club.Maresca — who won the Championship for Leicester in his first full season as a manager last term — has taken to the job with an authority few with such little experience can command.The History Of Chelsea’s Logo He arrived weighed down by comparisons to former mentor Pep Guardiola. He was labelled Pep 2.0 or Diet Pep.But through a combination of charm, resilience and — most importantly — results, Maresca has made his own way.As early as the club’s pre-season tour of America — already a challenge with a ludicrous five games in five different ­cities — the new manager was up against the Chelsea circus.Star midfielder Enzo Fernandez publicly divided the squad after being accused of singing a racist song, while fans’ favourite Conor Gallagher was forced out.Meanwhile, Raheem Sterling’s exit was frantic and mishandled.But Maresca emerged unscathed.While from the outside the tour looked a nightmare, travelling with the squad a sense of calm came from the manager.Rarely did he say anything to inflame situations that were largely out of his control and ordered from on-high.Those around Maresca have tried to ensure he can set a firm tone when speaking to supporters via the media and get his ideas across with clarity and authority.Having seen his former West Brom team-mate Graham Potter suffer under the Stamford Bridge spotlight, he had to be ready.Maresca’s agency Wasserman — who also represent Potter — enlisted the help of Adrian Phillips, a former Chelsea senior communications manager, to prepare the coach for his step into the unknown.That support has helped guide Maresca not only through the controversial sales of players but also to shut out the noise as co-owners Behdad Eghbali and Todd Boehly fell out.Everyone knew the job was never going to be straightforward but Maresca was still privately ­surprised early on by just how much chaos surrounded him.Whether it was the boardroom rows or transfer acrobatics.A near 40-man squad was cut down and added to — sometimes in places where it did not need it.Maresca wanted another centre-back but ended up being given Joao Felix.However, the young, bloated group has been brought together through tough love and some lighter touches.Noni Madueke and Mykhailo Mudryk were criticised for a lack of focus and consistency while only last week the boss scolded Reece James’ leadership ability.Risky steps but ones which appear to be paying dividends.Madueke has four goals in eight Premier League games while Mudryk — though left out of some squads — is showing signs of promise in Europe.While he has been hard on some, the players seem to generally be on-side.The squad enjoyed his training sessions from the off, seeing far more of the ball than under previous coaches — while Maresca himself has also joined in sessions.The former Manchester City and West Ham coach has introduced moments to celebrate individual achievements — such as first goals or international call-ups — when players receive a guard of honour from team-mates as they emerge for training.A level of competition has also been added ahead of those sessions, activation in the gym designed to pit players against one another and keep levels high.It is all bringing the best out of players who looked to have the weight of the world on their shoulders last season.Jackson has gone from an erratic forward to a clinical finisher while Caicedo is now back to his best in midfield.Six strikes in nine games have taken Jackson to 20 goals in a Chelsea shirt, while Caicedo has made more tackles and interceptions than any other top-flight player.All of that is underpinned by Palmer’s genius. Concerns that he would not have the freedom to impact games under Maresca are a thing of the past.READ MORE SUN STORIESPredecessor Mauricio Pochettino began the upturn last season — but a summer of turbulence threatened to undo all of that.Now, Maresca seems to be turning Chelsea back into a serious football club.Chelsea player ratings vs NewcastleCOLE PALMER was once again the star of the show.His perfect pass for Neto set up Nicolas Jackson’s opening goal and then he scored the second in a 2-1 win over Newcastle.He was class – but not all the Chelsea players were.Here’s how SunSport’s Lloyd Canfield rated the players at Stamford Bridge…Robert Sanchez – 3/10Pretty poor in all honesty.A liability in terms of distribution, and while a decent shot-stopper, he consistently seems to be a big question mark in this Chelsea eleven.Malo Gusto – 3It looks as though Chelsea may have to choose between Gusto and Reece James to start on the right with themFailed to impact the game much attacking-wise, and was bettered by Lewis Hall who crossed for Alexander Isak’s equaliser.Wesley Fofana – 6Picked up a knock early on and played the rest of the game with a strapped-up knee.Nonetheless, gave as good as he got against the powerful Alexander Isak for large parts of the game, and made some crucial blocks and tackles throughout.Levi Colwill – 6Was fortunate to get away with a clumsy tackle on Bruno Guimaraes early in the first half, but was still fairly solid.For a man with such an impressive passing range, it felt like he couldn’t quite put it to use today.Seemingly prevented Alexander Isak from levelling with his aura alone…Reece James – 2Playing as a left-centre back it’s hard to see how Chelsea will get the best out of what could be one of the finest attacking wing backs in the world.He didn’t look comfortable in that position, and let Alexander Isak run away from him for Newcastle’s equaliser.He came up with two crucial blocks in the second half to deny Isak from making it two or three, before giving him a golden chance to do so which was not taken.Romeo Lavia – 7Followed up a brilliant performance in the loss to Liverpool with another good showing in the middle of the park here.Starting to look like a bargain with performances like these if he can stay fit, as he claimed the assist for Cole Palmer’s fine finish.Moises Caicedo – 7Effective in breaking up play for the Blues, and it was a solid showing from a midfield player who has been so good this season.Steps into challenges nicely at just the right time, and is becoming a dependable figure in the same mould in which N’golo Kante and Claude Makelele were in their time here.Noni Madueke – 5Quiet in the first half, but better in the second as he looked to trouble Lewis Hall more.Was outshone by Pedro Neto on the opposite flank this time out, before being swapped out for Mykhailo Mudryk.Pedro Neto – 8So much pace down the left-hand side which was utilised perfectly to leave Livramento in the dust to set up Nicolas Jackson’s opening goal.Could have had a goal early in the second half as he rattled the post with a header after leaping like a salmon.Cole Palmer – 9Started the game well with a cracking finish which VAR ruled out, only to cook the Newcastle defence a matter of moments later with an incisive pass for Neto to set up the opener.Newcastle simply could not handle the midfield man, who lit up Stamford Bridge early in the second half to claim his sixth goal of the season.Nonchalance personified, cool Cole showed why he will attend the Ballon d’Or ceremony tomorrow night, and why he can win it in coming years.Nicolas Jackson – 8A superb first-time finish opened the scoring for the Blues, and the Senegalese forward did well with the little service he had in the first half – often needing to drop deep to pick up the ball and link up the play.14 goals in his last 14 Premier League games – leave the Didier Drogba comparisons at home, this is a superstar in his own right.SUBS:MYKHAILO MUDRYK (NONI MADUEKE, 67) – 5Had a big chance to add a third to Chelsea’s tally after replacing Madueke, but his left-footed strike was saved by Nick Pope, who didn’t have to move.ENZO FERNANDEZ (ROMEO LAVIA, 72) – 5Didn’t add anything which Lavia wasn’t already giving, but ultimately wasn’t given much time to really impact the game.MARC CUCURELLA (MALO GUSTO , 78) – 5Individually, didn’t have a lot of time to show what he’s made of, but Chelsea look like a better team with him in the side.He plays the inverted left-back role well, allowing Chelsea to get the most out of their right-side.CHRISTOPHER NKUNKU ( NICOLAS JACKSON, 78) – 6Had a half-chance late on, which wasn’t taken as he dilly-dallied on the ball on the edge of the box.Thought he had won a penalty on the stroke of the 90th minute after going down under pressure from Dan Burn, but it was ruled out by VAR.Click here to read more on Chelsea. 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IT will take years to unpick this mess, years. Try maybe five at best.If anyone thinks Ruben Amorim or any other new manager at Old Trafford is going to turn water into wine, or rather champagne, then forget it.The ‘betrayal’ of Erik ten Hag has seen him sacked after a poor start to the seasonCredit: AlamyThere will be no quick fix for his successor, tipped to be Ruben AmorimCredit: GettyIt is a mess of Manchester United’s own making. Or that of part-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe.Mind you, he has washed his hands of such problems, claiming it is in fact the new ‘management team’ or whatever they are called, who take these decisions.The Glazers have washed their hands of it, too, despite still counting the dollars.Omar Berrada, Jason Wilcox and Dan Ashworth all claim to have arrived too late to be involved in the decisions at the end of last season. See how the buck is getting passed.READ MORE IN FOOTBALLTo recap, that was when Ratcliffe thought Dutch boss Ten Hag should go but a shock 2-1 win over Manchester City in the FA Cup final suddenly turned the tide of popular opinion.Still, he and his right-hand man Sir Dave Brailsford — how do you get these knighthoods? — tried to sound out other candidates.Nobody wanted it. Who can blame them. What player or manager has come to Old Trafford in the last 11 years and enhanced their reputation?So, they went back to the man they had in the first place, knocking on his holiday home door in Ibiza to ask if he still wanted to be the boss after all.Most read in FootballFOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALSYou can’t make it up. Except with United you can and it comes true. Yes, Erik, even “fairytales”.The problem was this past summer immediately set in motion the problems that have now resulted in 54-year-old Ten Hag being sacked.Erik Ten Hag SACKED by Man United – here are the SIX candidates to replace himPlayers, fans and everyone around the club knew he was a dead man walking. A new contract was in fact an extension of the old one.There was almost a feeling of sympathy for him as the club embarked on their pre-season tour in the US.ETH kept telling us that the “leadership team” — is that another title they have? — were behind him, everyone was on the same page and the future was bright.And yet and yet… In a briefing with Ashworth and Berrada at the start of the season, they made it clear they were behind the manager.But it was far from convincing. Indeed, Ten Hag had reservations about the Ineos group from the start.He was unhappy they had not given him public backing when Sir Jim first took his stake in the club back in February and ended up running the football side of it.Ten Hag was wary of media who he felt backed Ineos and not him.He always felt he was fighting a battle with the very people who held his future in their hands.Behind the scenes he was desperately trying to get a team plan, spirit and style of play to work.He had been criticised for his handling of Cristiano Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho and Harry Maguire, with the England defender being stripped of the captaincy.Let us not forget Sir Alex Ferguson ditched David Beckham, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Jaap Stam when they were all at their best.That trio under Ten Hag’s management were far from that. The problem now is he has spent £545.9MILLION on a bunch of bang average players.He has been backed with a new coaching team. Everyone seems to be either Dutch or been involved in Dutch football.It is a bit of a myth that everything on the pitch that comes from the Netherlands is going to be beautiful and successful.The last Dutch team to win the European Cup? Ajax in 1995. Before that, PSV Eindhoven in 1988.A new manager, Sporting’s Amorim for instance, would arrive at Old Trafford, see this bunch of players and wonder how on earth he is going to turn them into title challengers.The current most expensive player in the ranks is £85.5m Antony, who was last seen running down the right, cutting in on his left and firing wide of the far post. That is all he does.Who thought Joshua Zirkzee or Rasmus Hojlund were going to become United goalscoring legends?If Bayern Munich are happy to let two players go as they did with Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui, then you have to wonder why?Still it went on. Ten Hag said he needed time to stitch all this together.Indeed, it was only just over a week ago that he was calling for patience at a Manchester Football Writers’ Dinner.He was in great form, happy and buoyant after a victory over Brentford and very positive about the future.All the time the plots were going on behind his back to replace him.He kept backing up his worth with those two trophies — the Carabao Cup in 2023 and last season’s FA Cup.And yes, that was good. Still, as United pointed out yesterday “neither the results or performances have been good enough across last season and this one”.There have been some shockers too, not least in Europe where they have won ONE of their last 11 games.Domestically, just this season there have been 3-0 defeats at home to Liverpool and Tottenham.Last season they lost consecutive home games by the same scoreline to City and Newcastle and were humbled 4-0 at Crystal Palace in May.In 2022-23, Ten Hag’s first year, there was a 6-3 defeat at City and 7-0 at Liverpool. Shocking.The hierarchy wanted to give him the chance to improve things under a new structure and it did not work.They were not seeing the “momentum and progress” to believe they were on the right path.They said there were “no excuses” for the current level of performance, even though ETH constantly pointed to injury problems and the time needed to integrate new players.The boss did not see this coming, which is why he held a press conference ahead of tomorrow’s Carabao Cup last-16 tie against Leicester following Sunday’s defeat at West Ham.READ MORE SUN STORIESHe will feel betrayed having believed everyone was on the same page and it was a long-term strategy. Berrada even told us a dip in results would not lead to his exit.Ten Hag is a good man. Just another chewed up and spat out by a club walking on sand as they try to rediscover that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.Why NOBODY is the right man to replace Erik ten Hag at Man UtdSunSport’s DAVE KIDD explains what’s wrong with all the potential candidates to replace Erik ten Hag at Manchester United.THIS is a mid-table squad at an underachieving club, with a lot of unwanted players on big money.And Ratcliffe is an instinctive cost-cutter who may not pay top dollar to the next manager.If this club wasn’t called ‘Manchester United’, it wouldn’t be an especially desirable job.The good news for United is that their new sporting director, Dan Ashworth, is a very decent judge of a manager.He has been instrumental in three previous managerial appointments — Gareth Southgate for England, Graham Potter for Brighton and Eddie Howe for Newcastle.None were wildly popular at the time, all were conspicuous successes.Interestingly, Ashworth’s No 1 choice for the Newcastle job was Unai Emery, who turned him down to stay at Villarreal but has since proved that judgment right by excelling at Aston Villa.And the Spaniard would be an excellent fit for United — yet there is next to no chance that he would abandon Villa’s Champions League campaign to take the Old Trafford job, not least because he isn’t a stark raving madman.Howe would be another good candidate to succeed Ten Hag but, although he has become frustrated on Tyneside, the Saudis would surely not allow Ratcliffe to poach Howe, as they reluctantly did with Ashworth.Potter is available but his Chelsea experience and lack of charisma would make him a tough sell.Which brings us to Southgate, who remains close with Ashworth and is an excellent man-manager who was seriously considered by United last spring.Yet, despite having led England to two of their three major finals, Southgate’s reputation for over-caution was only enhanced during the Euros.Mauricio Pochettino, passed over twice by United, is out of the equation having taken the United States job.Thomas Tuchel would also have been a popular and gettable option – but England got in there first.Likewise, Roberto De Zerbi, now at Marseille after his brief Brighton stint sparkled then fizzled out.Kieran McKenna — a gifted former United coach who has won back-to-back promotions with Ipswich Town — is an intriguing candidate but the imminent vacancy may come a year or so too soon.Marco Silva, the extremely under-rated Fulham boss, has been on United’s radar and should not be discounted.Sporting Lisbon’s Ruben Amorim, last season’s ‘next big thing’, was passed over by West Ham as well as Liverpool this summer and is not an easy man to pin down.Zinedine Zidane, who has taken over from Alan Curbishley as a 20-1 shot for every Premier League job, is a ‘figurehead’ manager and not an Ashworth type.Ruud van Nistelrooy, the former United goal machine who joined Ten Hag’s coaching team in the summer is the bookies’ favourite. Simply because he’s in the building and he’s Dutch.So, yes, getting rid of Ten Hag is the easy part. More

SIR JIM RATCLIFFE has assembled one hell of a brains trust at Manchester United.And it seems, by closing in on Ruben Amorim, that they have started to get brainy.Sir Jim Ratcliffe is making Man Utd sensible againCredit: PAMan Utd are closing in on appointing Ruben AmorimCredit: GettyThey have started taking intelligent decisions.They are making Manchester United sensible again.The Red Devils have fallen so far behind Liverpool and Manchester City in recent years that they have been little more than a speck in the rear view mirror of either of their North-West rivals.Yet the Kop giants and City have both been strongly linked with Sporting boss Amorim, the hottest young property in European coaching, and it is United who are on the brink of landing him.READ MORE ON MAN UTDAt one point Amorim was favourite for the Liverpool job when Jurgen Klopp announced his decision to quit Anfield early this year.He had been favourite to succeed Pep Guardiola at City since his Sporting colleague Hugo Viana agreed to take over as director of football at the Etihad. So this is a coup for the crew Ratcliffe has put together to run United’s footballing operation.He poached Dan Ashworth from Newcastle as sporting director, Omar Berrada from Manchester City as chief executive and Jason Wilcox from Southampton as technical director.These men sit alongside Ratcliffe’s chum, Sir Dave Brailsford, the former British cycling chief and marginal gains man, as the Old Trafford decision-makers.Most read in FootballBEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERSIn the summer, when Ratcliffe made the expensive mistake of handing Ten Hag a new contract after the shock FA Cup final victory over Manchester City, his cabinet hadn’t been fully constructed.But now that the delusional Erik ten Hag is gone — ranting on about media ‘fairytales’ over his imminent sacking and denying results he didn’t like — they are taking a shot at sanity.Erik Ten Hag SACKED by Man United – here are the SIX candidates to replace himTen Hag will justify himself with boasts about two domestic knockout trophies.Yet he assembled a former Dutch Eredivisie All Star XI to lead United to 14th place in the Premier League and 21st in the Europa League.The £85.5million fee paid to his former club Ajax for winger Antony is a towering monument to an era of staggering incompetence.Hiring Amorim promises to be an altogether smarter piece of recruitment.In his first full season in the Sporting job, he won the club’s first title in 18 years and they currently sit top of the Portuguese table with a 100 per cent record.And if you want any omens, United recruited well from Sporting in the past.The best Cristiano Ronaldo, to a lesser extent Nani, and then Bruno Fernandes, who especially in his first year at Old Trafford was a very rare post-Sir Alex Ferguson transfer-market hit.Amorim is only 39. He has only ever operated outside of his native Portugal for a few months on loan in Qatar as a player in the 2015-16 season.He is heading into one of the most high-profile jobs in world football and there are no guarantees of success, especially given the mess of a squad he will inherit.The fact that he strongly favours a 3-4-3 system with wing-backs means the Red Devils will have to recruit some more — there are few obvious elite wing-backs in their current squad.Man Utd ratings vs West HamTHE LONDON STADIUM was the venue for the latest defeat in a shocker of a season.To be fair, it was a hugely controversial VAR call in the dying moments that handed West Ham a 2-1 win.And the first half from the Red Devils was impressive.Here’s how SunSport’s Jack Rosser rated the players…Andre Onana – 6Very loose with the ball at his feet early on but soon settled.Manchester United conceded from West Ham’s first shot on target, though given Ings’ deflected strike there was little Onana could have done about it.Diogo Dalot – 5Delivered one of the most entertaining missed chances you will see all season – doing so well to clip the ball past Lukasz Fabianski before smashing the ball high and wide of an open goal.Despite that, had little trouble from those in claret and blue attacking down his side until Summerville was introduced. The former Leeds man tested Dalot a number of times with his pace.Redeemed himself a touch with the header back in ahead of Casemiro’s equaliser.Matthijs de Ligt – 6Hard done by in conceding the penalty for what looked a soft challenge on Hammers striker Ings.Restricted West Ham well for the most part but United never looked entirely comfortable at the back and a more potent attack could have caused much more trouble.Lisandro Martinez – 6Struggled at times to deal with the strength and direct nature of Michail Antonio, who tested all across United’s back line well until he was replaced by Ings.Noussair Mazraoui – 5Struggled to keep a handle on both Bowen and former Manchester United man Aaron Wan-Bissaka for the most part and was thrown around by Michail Antonio at times.Having looked soft at the back he also offered very little going forwards down the left.Casemiro – 6Started strongly dominating in the middle but struggled to wrestle that back when West Ham picked up.Was denied a first half goal by Fabianski’s superb save but got one eventually as he refused to give up and made sure the ball.Christian Eriksen – 5Some flashes of creativity in the first half but could not help United keep control in the second after West Ham perked up.Marcus Rashford – 4Entirely absent throughout the hour he was on the pitch. Played down the right he was easily managed by Emerson Palmieri who had little of note to do before the winger went off.Bruno Fernandes – 7Caused huge problems for West Ham and created plenty of chances which his teammates put to waste.Fernandes made a fine run to meet a Casemiro cross but headed over the bar and had to watch both Garnacho and Dalot pass up huge chances after his good work to set them up – especially the latter, a wonderful looped ball to cut out the entire West Ham defence.Alejandro Garnacho – 5The young winger should have had two goals inside the opening eight minutes. One chance was rattled against the bar before a poor finish sent the second wide of the far post.He continued to cause trouble down the left but faded as the game went on and crucially gave the ball away in the build-up to Summerville’s goal.Rasmus Hojlund – 5Drew a couple of saves from Hammers keeper Fabianski but neither looked too difficult.The Dane was rather comfortably dealt with by West Ham’s central defenders and never looked too much of a threat.SubstitutesAmad Diallo – 6Added some life and threat to a forward line which had offered little after the break and lifted a clever ball over to Dalot in the build-up to Casemiro’s goal.Joshua Zirkzee – 5Claimed an assist but did not know a lot about it and struggled to have an impact from there on.Victor Lindelof – n/aUnused subs: Altay Bayindir, Manuel Ugarte, Jonny Evans, Ethan Wheatley, Harry Amass, Jack Fletcher.But Ashworth, who has led the process of replacing ETH, has a very decent track record for appointing managers.Gareth Southgate for England, Graham Potter for Brighton and Eddie Howe at Newcastle, where his first choice was Unai Emery — now, pound-for-pound, the best manager in the Premier League at Aston Villa.That is what United paid £10m in compensation to Newcastle for. This is why they waited while he pruned his roses on gardening leave for four months. So he could get this decision right.Most major managerial hunts start out like this:Who is the best man for the job? Guardiola. Can we get him? No. Has Pep got any mates? Yes.Some of Pep’s mates are doing pretty well — Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta, Enzo Maresca at Chelsea — and so Ratcliffe will surely have asked his chief executive, Pep’s former pal Berrada, whether the Spaniard has any other friends. Hence the one-time Barcelona playmaker and manager Xavi became a major contender.But Xavi couldn’t hack the pressure of managing Barca.And that sort of ‘kid on a Fifa computer game’ mindset isn’t Ashworth’s way.Amorim will be a more popular appointment than any of the others who have been among the bookies’ favourites in recent weeks.This lot were never going to go down the ‘give it Ruud van Nistelrooy until the end of the season’ route. They simply aren’t the sentimental types.As for others with Old Trafford links, it is way too early for Ipswich’s Kieran McKenna or Middlesbrough’s Michael Carrick.Thomas Frank seemed to be the bandwagon candidate and was sounded out by United this year but his style of football at Brentford is direct and could the Red Devils really have appointed the only manager whose team has lost to them in the last eight games?Southgate says he is taking a year out, during which he will literally be knighted for the job he’s just done with England.But he still wouldn’t have been fancied by supporters of any major club. Because, I don’t know, handbrakes or something.Brailsford offered Potter the job at Ratcliffe’s other club, Nice in France, but he has been out of work since failing in his only elite managerial role at Chelsea.READ MORE SUN STORIESHowe would have been intriguing given the fact he has become unsettled by behind-the-scenes changes at St James’ Park.But Sir Jim’s Rat Pack have been impressively decisive in choosing Amorim. Now he must justify the trust of the United Brains Trust. More