Ghana star midfielder Michael Essien has written his blog for February for his personal website and his club Chelsea and talks about press conferences and quotes.
\nBelow is the full interesting article:
\nHello everyone and a warm welcome to February \u2013 the month of love \u2013 according to my brother. I am told it is the only month a woman can propose to a man. Whether it\u2019s true or not, I have been told to put it in the blog so there it is.
\nThis month I have decided to give Chelsea fans something to laugh about because we have put you through hell with some of our results over Christmas and New Year. We are turning the corner and hope to give you more joy in the coming months but in the meantime here is something to cheer you up.
\nI have been to many press conferences and have given a lot of quotes but in our business sometimes everything has to be done in such a way that it is stage-managed quite a lot. At times reporters are told not to ask certain questions and almost everything is controlled for the image and PR of our clubs.
\nDon\u2019t get me wrong \u2013 I have nothing against good image and PR but at the same time it is refreshing to come across people in our game who are willing to speak their mind and tell it as it is.
\nWe all remember Rafa Benitez having a go at Sir Alex with his famous \u2018Fact\u2019 quotes which took everyone by surprise and got us all wondering how much research had gone into that. Then there is the famous Eric Cantona seagulls and sardines quote which took me a while to understand, and there is also my own beloved Carlo Ancelotti\u2019s \u2018If it is only one person then there\u2019s no problem,\u2019 quote when a protestor hung a banner outside our Cobham training ground calling for him to quit.
\nIn this job we have to take all kinds of questions and provide answers and if you are not careful you will regret what you say but three managers stand out for me in terms of humour, honesty and having a refreshing take on football. They try to put things into perspective, vis-\u00e0-vis life and football, and that is impressive
\nIn reverse order they are Gordon Strachan, Ian Holloway and Jose Mourinho. They have provided laughter and made a mockery of journalists\u2019 questions. They have also been honest on occasions and stated things as they see it.
\nHere are some quotes and Q & As from Gordon Strachan which made me laugh\u2026
\nReporter: So, Gordon, in what areas do you think Middlesborough were better than you today?
\nStrachan: What areas? Mainly that big green one out there\u2026.
\nReporter: There\u2019s no negative vibes or negative feelings here?
\nStrachan: Apart from you, we\u2019re all quite positive round here. I\u2019m going to whack you over the head with a big stick, down negative man, down.
\nReporter: This might sound like a daft question, but you\u2019ll be happy to get your first win under your belt, won\u2019t you?
\nStrachan: You\u2019re right. It is a daft question. I\u2019m not even going to bother answering that one. It is a daft question, you\u2019re spot on there.
\nReporter: You don\u2019t take losing lightly, do you Gordon?
\nStrachan: I don\u2019t take stupid comments lightly either.
\nStrachan: I\u2019ve got more important things to think about. I\u2019ve got a yogurt to finish by today, the expiry date is today. That can be my priority rather than Agustin Delgado.
\nMy second favourite has to be Ian Holloway for his refreshing press conferences. Ever since Jose left we have been crying for such funny and refreshing take on football and I love him for that. Enjoy what he has been saying below\u2026
\n\u2018Yeah that\u2019s great. We\u2019ll change the date of the planet\u2019s greatest tournament because you nuggets have given the World Cup to a country where it\u2019s so hot\u2026 Maybe they could do the same with Christmas. My turkeys will be delighted. I\u2019ll go and tell them they\u2019ve got a bit of respite because Fifa have said they\u2019re going to move Christmas this year. The whole thing is ludicrous. They are a law unto themselves these governing bodies. There is no common sense. Ridiculous. Enough said.\u2019
\nIan can also tell jokes like this one \u2013 \u2018I remember my dad telling me a joke where a boxer sits on his stool between rounds and his trainer says: \u201cCome on, he isn\u2019t laying a glove on you\u201d. The boxer replies: \u201cYou better watch the referee then, because somebody is hitting me.\u201d\u2019
\nReporter: \u2018Ian, have you got any injury worries?\u2019 Holloway: \u2018No, I\u2019m fully fit, thank you.\u2019
\nI tune in to watch Ian whenever I can and I cry with laughter sometimes because he has a way of putting things and handling press conferences \u2013 it\u2019s brilliant.
\nFinally there is the greatest of them all in my view \u2013 \u2018the special one\u2019 Jose Mourinho. When it comes to press conferences and quotes my ex-boss is special without doubt and here is a selection.
\nYou all remember his first quote in English football which got everyone going: \u2019Please don\u2019t call me arrogant, but I\u2019m European champion and I think I\u2019m a special one.\u2019
\nThat set the tone and since then he has delivered consistently\u2026
\n\u2018For me\u2026pressure is Bird Flu\u2026I\u2019m serious the Bird Flu in Scotland is bothering me more.\u2019 \u2013 Said during the week bird flu was discovered in Scotland and Manchester United close the gap at the top of the Premier League to 7 points \u2013 April 2006.
\n\u2018If I wanted to have an easy job\u2026 I would have stayed at Porto \u2013 beautiful blue chair, the Uefa Champions League trophy, God, and after God, me.\u2019
\n\u2018If they don\u2019t touch me, I won\u2019t touch anyone. If they touch me, I\u2019ll be ready to hit back even harder\u2019 \u2013 on Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger.
\n\u201cI am prepared. The more pressure there is, the stronger I am. In Portugal, we say the bigger the ship, the stronger the storm. Fortunately for me, I have always been in big ships. FC Porto was a very big ship in Portugal, Chelsea was also a big ship in England and Inter was a great ship in Italy. Now I\u2019m at Real Madrid, which is considered the biggest ship on the planet.\u201d
\n\u2018Look, I\u2019m a coach, I\u2019m not Harry Potter. He is magical, but in reality there is no magic. Magic is fiction and football is real.\u2019
\nMourinho summed it all up recently when he said: \u2018I live in a world where you can\u2019t say what you think, can never say the truth. Not being a hypocrite, a diplomat and a coward is my biggest defect\u2019.\u2019
\nOn the subject of Press conferences one story caught my eye last month\u2026
\n\u2018Levski Sofia basketball coach Konstantin \u201cTiti\u201d Papazov conducted a post-match interview entirely in mime after the domestic federation fined him 2,600 levs ($1,788) for his outspoken comments earlier in the week and for bringing the game into disrepute.
\n\u2018He responded by showing his skills as a mime artist, answering eight questions with a series of more and more animated gestures, and without saying a word.
\n\u2018\u201dWell, I\u2019m obliged to answer the reporters\u2019 questions and I think they understood everything I wanted to say,\u201d Papazov told Reporters the next day.
\n\u2018\u201dSo, I\u2019m considering whether to continue in this way in the future. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s a bad idea.\u201d\u2019
\nMaybe we should all resort to miming if we are not sure what to say and may get away with it\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ghana star midfielder Michael Essien has written his blog for February for his personal website and his club Chelsea and talks about press conferences and quotes. Below is the full interesting article: Hello everyone and a warm welcome to February \u2013 the month of love \u2013 according to my brother. I am told it is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-275594","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\n