Chelsea boss Antonio Conte must heal rift with David Luiz quickly - confrontations like this rarely end well

  • David Luiz was dropped by Antonio Conte for Chelsea's win over Man United
  • The decision proved to be the right one as Andreas Christensen impressed
  • However Conte is playing a dangerous game by causing rifts with his players 

For a manager supposedly on the brink of the bullet every other week, Antonio Conte has won some very significant matches. Tottenham and Atletico Madrid away, now Manchester United at home. He's not keeping pace with Manchester City, of course, but he is hardly alone there.

Quite why he would wish to pick such an open fight with David Luiz, however, is a mystery. Surely he needs allies in a volatile environment?

Conte fell out with Diego Costa, too, but we understood. Costa was high maintenance and prone to sulking.

David Luiz was left out in the cold by Antonio Conte for Chelsea's match against Man United

David Luiz was left out in the cold by Antonio Conte for Chelsea's match against Man United

Conte appears to have fallen out with the Brazilian  following his side's 3-0 defeat by Roma

Conte appears to have fallen out with the Brazilian following his side's 3-0 defeat by Roma

He disappeared in Jose Mourinho's final season and was inconsistent for Conte in the second half of the last campaign. Conte may not have played the smartest game politically but he wasn't wrong. As long as Chelsea could replace Costa's goals, they were well rid of his drama.


Luiz would appear a very different character. He has played through injury for Conte, he was crucial to the changes made to team shape, and popular in the dressing-room.

He seems a genuinely decent guy, too. It is hard to imagine him as the leader of a faction so poisonous it merited this very public dressing-down.

Beating United made Conte's timing perfect. It is hard to take issue with any decision after such a result. Yet this spat shouldn't be allowed to fester. The manager has made his point. He has shown great strength.

Now he must show leadership, particularly with the departure of technical director Michael Emenalo adding to the uncertainty. This involves bringing back a contrite Luiz into the fold and moving on.

It is a delicate balancing act. Conte can't be a soft touch but nor can he be a wrecking ball. Confrontations like this rarely end well at Chelsea.

Star striker Diego Costa was let go by Chelsea after he lost the trust of the ruthless Conte

Star striker Diego Costa was let go by Chelsea after he lost the trust of the ruthless Conte

 

Unsworth's drop of courage

David Unsworth's first victory as Everton manager on Sunday was made even more special by the stand he took over Morgan Schneiderlin and Kevin Mirallas.

When the two played up in training, Unsworth dropped them from the team. Considering how important it was for Everton's season, this was a bold call.

It may be his last decision as Everton manager, but Unsworth got the result that may turn around their season. It will be interesting to see if his successor is as brave.

Morgan Schneiderlin and Kevin Mirallas were both left out of Everton's win over Watford

Morgan Schneiderlin and Kevin Mirallas were both left out of Everton's win over Watford

 

City warning from history

The sole comfort for those looking up the table, is that the last team to dominate the early season programme as Manchester City are doing finished fourth, eight points behind West Ham.

That was Manchester United in 1985-86: 10 points clear of Liverpool and Chelsea after 11 games, two more than City lead by now. The consolation for City fans is that Sheik Mansour probably won't do as United did then — and sell the best player to Barcelona halfway through the season.

Mark Hughes was the inspiration for United's lead. He was 21 and close to unstoppable. Strong, brave, incredibly gifted, bundles of skill, bags of aggression — he could make as many goals as he scored, and he scored plenty.

Mark Hughes joined Barcelona against his wishes and  United suffered after his move

Mark Hughes joined Barcelona against his wishes and United suffered after his move

The first game of that season was against Aston Villa at Old Trafford, United won 4-0, Hughes scored twice. Whoever was going to win the league would have to find a way of stopping him. In the end, they didn't need to. Manchester United stopped him themselves.

In the first 14 league games, Hughes scored 10 goals. United were strolling it, but by then there was speculation about Barcelona's interest and it was plain the club would sell. Hughes did not really want to go. It affected him and his form dried up.

The transfer was announced on March 21 but Hughes had known United's position long before. He was allowed to meet Barcelona in January. 'The situation just snowballed,' he recalled.

'I was talking to one of the greatest clubs in the world but thinking, 'I really don't want to be here'. I was led a certain way and before I knew it, I'd signed. Even getting on the plane, I was thinking maybe something will change and I won't actually go.'

Through November to March 19, during which time the move was being negotiated, Hughes scored three goals, and at the time of the announcement, United were third.

The club ruined their best player, and their title chances. Had Hughes remained focused, they would have won the league.

Instead, by the end of that year, Ron Atkinson had been sacked and a chap from Scotland called Alex Ferguson was in charge. So, every cloud and all that, but it's fair to say City won't be making the same mistake.

Ron Atkinson's costly mistake of selling Hughes to Barcelona led to his Old Trafford sacking

Ron Atkinson's costly mistake of selling Hughes to Barcelona led to his Old Trafford sacking

 

Brough finishes on a bitter note

Following a 74-6 defeat by New Zealand, three members of Scotland's Rugby League World Cup squad were sent home from the tournament after being judged too drunk to board their Christchurch flight.

Sam Brooks, Danny Brough and Johnny Walker will now miss the must-win group fixture with Samoa. It is the last game Brough, 34, will play for his country having led them through most of his 23 games. Not got much chance when one of the miscreants is your captain, have you?

 

I loved Henry but he doesn't make my top 5 foreign stars 

Sergio Aguero started it, really. Standing on the Eithad pitch, holding his commemorative blue glass boot, details of every record-breaking goal for Manchester City inscribed on the plinth.

It gets a person thinking. Where would he sit, amid the greatest foreign players to join our Premier League? The best from his continent, that is for sure. 

It is hard to think of a finer visitor from South America, not even among the Brazilians. But what if we were to whittle it down to, say, five? Just a handful of names across more than a quarter of a century.

Sergio Aguero was given an award on Sunday for becoming Manchester City's top goalscorer

The Argentine forward was given a standing ovation by past and present footballers

The Argentine forward was given a standing ovation by past and present footballers

Would he make that list, would he survive such an exacting cut? So many to choose from. An entire XI could be picked from, say, Chelsea alone. Petr Cech, Branislav Ivanovic, Ricardo Carvalho, Marcel Desailly, Cesar Azpilicueta, Claude Makelele, N'Golo Kante, Eden Hazard, Gianfranco Zola, Arjen Robben, Didier Drogba. And still no room for Diego Costa, Michael Essien, Michael Ballack — or Ruud Gullit.

The problem with any exercise of this nature, even for fun, is who to leave out. Cheating is an option, obviously, expanding it to 10, fitting in all the greats. But who wants a list without tough decisions or surprises? It is the selection process that is key, really. The criteria used to make the final call.

I might as well tell you now. Thierry Henry is not in my list. I know. I'm pretty angry about it, too. I'm thinking of writing myself a strongly-worded letter on the subject right now. What was I thinking? Well, I know what I was thinking. At least hear me out.

Were the Premier League's top five foreign players based on aesthetic qualities alone, Henry would walk it. He epitomises the beautiful game. He is not missing because there were flaws or failures, I am not about to pick holes in the career of one of the finest footballers of the modern era. 

Henry scored 30 goals or more in five consecutive seasons for Arsenal. He was Footballer of the Year three times. His technique was out of this world, his poise sublime, his game intelligence gave him an extra yard, as if any were needed. I loved watching Henry. I wouldn't trust a soul who didn't.

But here is why he is absent. This list needs a deciding factor. There is too much talent, too much greatness to make it just about the player alone. This is the clincher: I want revolutionaries. I want players who were the pioneers; who changed the culture at their club; who made such a difference here the game wasn't the same again.

Thierry Henry netted goals for fun at Arsenal with the striker scoring 30 or more goals a season

Thierry Henry netted goals for fun at Arsenal with the striker scoring 30 or more goals a season

Luis Suarez almost led Liverpool to the Premier League title before joining Barcelona in 2014

Luis Suarez almost led Liverpool to the Premier League title before joining Barcelona in 2014

And Henry wasn't there for the first stage of Arsene Wenger's transformation of Arsenal. He wasn't around for the Double in 1997-98, when Wenger became the first foreign coach to win an English league title. Henry joined when Arsenal were already a force. And, yes, he made them even stronger, even smarter, even better to watch.

Yes, he was an Invincible. But so were others who were there for the whole ride. So I've gone with one of them. I feel guilty about Luis Suarez, too. He nearly won the league on his own. But that is the criteria: those who changed the game, not just the 90 minutes. And there is a fairly obvious place to start.

 

5. ERIC CANTONA

Transformed Manchester United. People forget the club Cantona joined. United had handed the title to Leeds the previous season and were eighth in the league. 

They had won two games in 13 and scored nine goals across that spell. Dion Dublin, the striker signed in the summer had broken a leg. United failed in moves for Alan Shearer and David Hirst and were considering an offer for Mick Harford.

When Leeds called about signing Denis Irwin, the first player United enquired after was Lee Chapman. It was Ferguson who, in a moment of inspiration, switched to Cantona. He later described him as 'the can opener' because, through Cantona, United's players achieved ever greater levels of performance.

Cantona's insistence on extra training each day influenced his new team-mates, and the treble-winning generation of Manchester United's youngsters, too. 'He opened my eyes to the indispensability of practice,' said Ferguson. 'We were in awe of him,' echoed Gary Neville.

Eric Cantona changed the mentality at Manchester United by leading extra training sessions

Eric Cantona changed the mentality at Manchester United by leading extra training sessions

4. SERGIO AGUERO

Transformed Manchester City. It is not just that he gave the Premier League its defining moment in his first season; or that he was even faster to 100 goals than Shearer; or has the best goals-to-minute ratio of any player in this modern era. It was Aguero's arrival that propelled his club into the elite. City won their first league title in 44 years on goal difference, his goal difference.

Yes, one could argue that Yaya Toure was as influential in the creation of the modern Manchester City, but Aguero is now spanning two eras in a way Toure will not.

His award before Sunday's game with Arsenal was far from the ceremonial marking of a fading talent. Aguero is a vibrant part of Pep Guardiola's great leap forward, preferred on occasions to the younger Gabriel Jesus, the player it was thought would replace him. No sign of that yet, as the records continue to fall.

Aguero (right, pictured with Raheem Sterling) has gone from strength to strength at City

Aguero (right, pictured with Raheem Sterling) has gone from strength to strength at City

3. N'GOLO KANTE

Transformed the sense of possibility at every small club in the country. It would be wrong to say, looking at the last two seasons, that Kante changed Leicester. There are limitations to even his endurance. What he did, though, is altered all perception of what could be achieved.

Leicester's title win in 2015-16 is the greatest in the history of English football. It would not have been possible without Kante's tireless commitment across 37 of 38 games in the heart of midfield. 

He then went to Chelsea, who had finished 10th the previous season, played 35 times and won the league there, too. No player in 129 years of English football has won back to back titles, with different clubs, playing a full season for each.

Kante's achievement stretches far beyond the Premier League era and what he did with Leicester resonated around the world. There are many players prettier to watch but few that have been as influential.

N'Golo Kante has shown he is one of the world's top midfielders at both Leicester and Chelsea

N'Golo Kante has shown he is one of the world's top midfielders at both Leicester and Chelsea

2. DENNIS BERGKAMP

Transformed Arsenal. Yes, so did Henry in his time. Even more so, it could be claimed, so did Patrick Vieira. Yet Bergkamp is acknowledged as the catalyst for some of the greatest football this country has witnessed, the best hat-trick the Premier League has seen — against Leicester, in 1997 — and there is barely a team-mate who does not attest to his supremacy.

Henry insists he is Arsenal's greatest player, Nigel Winterburn says he was the finest he played with. 'If Thierry says Bergkamp was the best, that sort of sums it up,' admits Lee Dixon. 

Bob Wilson, who knows Arsenal as well as anyone, claims Bergkamp, more than any other Arsenal player, was the summation of Wenger's philosophy. 'He epitomised everything Arsene goes to bed thinking about, and wakes up thinking about,' he said. 

This might explain why Wenger is cheerful in the morning. Dig out that hat-trick against Leicester and you will be, too.

Dutch forward Dennis Bergkamp helped to transform Arsenal into Premier League title winners

Dutch forward Dennis Bergkamp helped to transform Arsenal into Premier League title winners

1. CRISTIANO RONALDO

Transformed it all: the league, its perception, individual goal totals, you name it. It wasn't even what Ronaldo did at Manchester United, specifically, it was his impact on the way the Premier League was viewed around the world. As, very briefly, the best. 

Season 2007-08, the campaign in which Ronaldo scored 42 goals from wide, was the year when only English clubs eliminated English clubs from the Champions League.

Liverpool beat Arsenal in the quarter-final, Chelsea beat Liverpool in the semi-final, Manchester United beat Chelsea in the final.

Ronaldo was at the pinnacle of it all. He scored a goal every 88.6 minutes, he beat a record held by George Best, he won the league and Champions League, redefined what could be expected of a forward and was voted World Player of the Year. And he was 23. There has never been anyone quite like him.

Cristiano Ronaldo won the Premier League title three times before joining Real Madrid

Cristiano Ronaldo won the Premier League title three times before joining Real Madrid

The comments below have been moderated in advance.

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

We are no longer accepting comments on this article.