Sunday, April 4, 2010

“[Ads by Yahoo!] philosophy: Official Site” plus 1 more

“[Ads by Yahoo!] <b>philosophy</b>: Official Site” plus 1 more

[Ads by Yahoo!] <b>philosophy</b>: Official Site

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Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Gianfranco Zola vows he will not change attacking <b>philosophy</b> at West Ham

Posted: 03 Apr 2010 02:40 PM PDT

By Oliver Brown
Published: 10:30PM BST 03 Apr 2010

The pair have not spoken since before last Saturday's abject loss to Stoke, when Sullivan left for Dubai on holiday, and Zola, having resolved to remain as manager until the end of this season to help stave off relegation, was not in acquiescent mood.

Pressed on his style, which many believe has left West Ham United far too vulnerable defensively, Zola argued: "I won't change it. I will try to find solutions that guarantee some results. It's the only reason why I'm in football because it's my dream to play in a certain way.

"I'm here — and I've decided to fight to the end for these players. The owners gave me their support after the Stoke game. It's enough for me. I'm going to work at proving that they were right."

Zola is also at odds with the club's hierarchy over West Ham's official complaint to the Premier League over Fulham's team selection against Hull City a week ago, believing Roy Hodgson's decision to field a weakened side was an honourable one.

But then, it has always been the Sardinian's lot to play the loner, from the moment he left his native island, as an outrageously talented teenager, to join Napoli amid inflated expectations that he could be the club's successor to Diego Maradona.

The rancour that has engulfed Zola over West Ham's sharp slump has left him appearing more isolated than ever — a curious fate, for a man so popular, although he claimed to have been inundated with messages of support from friends and several fellow Premier League managers.

"I've had a few people who have been calling me, very close friends," he said. "I don't like to mention them without telling them, but I have also had very good messages from some managers, very encouraging ones.

"Football-wise I have always had a difficult career. I always had to do things the long way. I had to make my own way through, make sacrifices — that's what we have to do right now."

The sense of personal responsibility that Zola feels for West Ham's predicament is acute. While a consensus appears to have formed that he is leaving Upton Park this summer, his decision last week not to abandon the club in mid-stream was plainly one taken seriously.

"Before I was on my own, as a player. Now I have responsibility for players, and I know they are working very hard," he said. "What keeps me happy is I think I am doing the right thing — results are not going my way but I'm trying my hardest, my best. I'm doing it with honesty. Even if results are not coming my way now it doesn't stop me from trying."

A devout Catholic, Zola has tended to keep his faith a private matter, but it needs few guesses to work out who features in his prayers this Easter morning ahead of a critical game at Everton. "In my own way, I pray. We put a lot of faith in what we do. We do everything right and we lose the game — it has happened so many times this year. We have to keep positive.

"I have the players, the staff, behind me. We are all together in that. If I have people who are not committed then it wouldn't be a problem but I don't think that is the case. I pray all the time — for me, for my players."

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.
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