The ethics of Jose Mourinho

Jose Mourinho has criticised striker Romelu Lukaku for refusing to disclose the real reason he was sent on loan to Everton.

Lukaku joined Everton in a season-long deal on transfer deadline day and has been a hit Goodison Park, scoring 7 goals in 8 appearances.

But following comments from the Belgian this week that Mourinho has not been in touch to check on his progress, the Chelsea boss has responded by suggesting that the 20-year-old has something to hide.

“Romelu likes to speak. He is a young boy and he likes to speak,” Mourinho said.

“But the only thing he didn’t say was why he went to Everton on loan, that’s the only thing he never says.

“My last contact with him was to tell him exactly that. ‘Why do you never say why you are not here?’

“So it’s something he should [say] because he likes to speak, it’s something he should say.”

But when pressed to explain what he meant, Mourinho refused. Instead, opting for his now familiar passive aggressive mode, which allows him to damn Lukaku whilst excusing himself from any malicious intent.

“I keep private my conversations with my players,” he added.

“There are things in our lives we have to keep for ethical reasons.”

Although exposing a young player to the harsh glare of media intrusion in this fashion, does not suggest a person too closely acquainted with an ethical lifestyle.

Andre Villas-Boas asks for abusive fan to be removed

A spectator who kept reminding Andre Villas-Boas, that he was “getting sacked in the morning” was thrown out at the request of the Tottenham boss during Spurs 2-0 Europa League win at Tromso.

After Spurs’ 6-0 thrashing at Manchester City on Sunday, Villas-Boas said he grew a thick skin after his brief stint as Chelsea manager and was immune to criticism. Apparently not.

Speaking to Norwegian newspaper Nordlys, Reidar Stenersen Jr, who supports Manchester United, revealed: “I first sung after five minutes that he would be ‘sacked in the morning’ and he looked at me.”

“At the half-time whistle, when it was still 0-0 and I started the same song, he pointed at me and suddenly the security came and threw me out.

“I know he is under a lot of pressure so I think my words hit him, even though I am only a little guy in little Tromso. He was being a bit petulant. This is the same thing that can be sung by 60,000 at the Emirates Stadium or other grounds.”

Tromso’s head of security, Hans-Thore Hanssen, confirmed that a fan had been moved after Villas-Boas made a complaint to Uefa. “He was asked to move to the other side,” Hanssen said. “I was not there when the incident happened so what he may have shouted, I cannot say.

“But I know that he [Villas-Boas] had spoken to the Uefa inspector who, in turn, spoke to our security. The situation was handled correctly. If there is verbal abuse shouted, the supporter should be spoken to and, in some cases, thrown out. In this type of match, there is greater security.”

Villas-Boas and his Spurs side take on Manchester United at White Hart Lane on Sunday, and he will be hoping for more proficiency from his team in front of goal. Spurs have had a whopping 207 attempts in the Premier League this season – more than any other team, but have only scored nine goals in the division, with under half of their attempts (84) hitting the target.

Quote of the Day

“I will resign in the next few days, probably after the match against Ajax. I understand that there comes a moment where it’s time for change, but not like this. My reputation has been damaged. This should have been treated a bit more delicately. I don’t know yet how my future will look like. I will take some time off first and then I will make a decision.”

Adriano Galliani, Milan CEO since 1986, the man who saw the club win five European Cups and eight Serie A titles, leaves under a cloud, after his record in the transfer market was questioned by Barbara Berlusconi.

Goal of the Day

Lazio’s Brayan Perea performs the unusual trick of setting himself up for a header by heading the ball to himself.

Germany to be handsomely rewarded if they win World Cup

Germany’s players stand to each earn a payout of 300,000 euros if they win next year’s World Cup in Brazil.

The German Football Federation says team captain Philipp Lahm and the rest of the players agreed to keep the same incentive scheme that was in place for last year’s European Championship in Poland and Ukraine.

Under that scheme payment only kicks in after the second round, with each player receiving 50,000 euros for reaching the quarter-finals, 100,000 euros for reaching the semi-finals and 150,000 euros for the final — doubled if successful.

DFB general secretary Helmut Sandrock says “the national team wants sporting success in Brazil. And if they’re successful there, it should also be rewarded accordingly.”

Three hundred thousand euros is not to be sniffed at, but if you take a look at the annual salaries for the Bayern Munich squad (listed here), you’ll see that for some of the established names in the Germany squad, it amounts to little more than a fortnight’s wages.

Footage of stadium collapse emerges as fears grow over delays

The accident at Sao Paulo’s World Cup stadium may delay its opening until February, but FIFA is unconcerned about it being ready on time to host the tournament’s opening game in June, a source told Reuters.

A preliminary investigation into Wednesday’s accident, in which a crane collapsed and killed two workers, indicated that damage was confined to the concourse area and did not affect the stands – which could have taken longer to fix.

The damaged concourse area took about 35 days to build, and the expectation is that it will take about twice that time to clear the wreckage and rebuild, the source said.

“The reconstruction is not a difficult thing to do,” the source told Reuters. “Everyone is mourning the workers, but calm about the construction itself.”

FIFA has said that all of the stadiums to be used for the event must be finished by the end of December, but according to the Reuters source it would be willing to extend the deadline in the case of Sao Paolo.

“The timeline needed to open the stadium is guaranteed,” the source said.

Meanwhile, footage of the crane collapsing on to the stadium has emerged.