Chelsea have dismissed reports that captain John Terry and star striker Diego Costa were involved in a training-ground row, prompting an apology from talkSPORT’s Stan Collymore.
As reported by Sami Mokbel of the Daily Mail, the former Liverpool and Aston Villa forward had claimed the pair had a scuffle at the club’s Cobham training complex. But Collymore took to Twitter to apologise for the accusations he had made, which were denied by Chelsea press officer Steve Atkins:
… [Atkins] stated that at no time did John Terry or Diego Costa have a "bust up".
I take great care and pride in making sure any suggestions, stories or rumour that i suggest on air or in print are verified by not one but sometimes more than two separate sources. This was the case on this occasion, and i stated this to Steve Atkins.
However, i'm not beyond getting things wrong, am happy to hold my hand up and say i was on this occasion, so therefore it is right and proper to apologise unreservedly to Diego Costa, John Terry and Chelsea Football Club for any inconvenience caused.
Things certainly aren’t all rosy for the Blues, though. They’ve lost three of their opening five games of the Premier League season, with the latest being an emphatic 3-1 defeat at the hands of Everton. In the aftermath of that clash, manager Jose Mourinho lost his cool with Everton manager Roberto Martinez, hurling expletives the way of the Catalan.
These frustrations are a product of some poor performances on the field; Squawka Football put the Blues’ plight into worrying context:
According to Mokbel, the players “fear they have already blown their chance of retaining the Barclays Premier League title” just five weeks into the season. Indeed, the Blues are a staggering 11 points behind rampant leaders Manchester City already, with no end to their awful form in sight.
Some peculiar measures seem to be being taken in order to garner some renewed focus at Stamford Bridge, too. According to Matt Law of the Daily Telegraph, the Chelsea team have “banned all banter” in an attempt to get a little more serious and kick-start their season into life.
Naturally, these reports set social media ablaze. One of the more humorous takes on the issue came from Simply Spursy (h/t Bleacher Report UK):
For a squad that seems to be lacking any sort of enjoyment, a more serious tone doesn’t really appear to be the best way to go. In the early stages of last season Mourinho let the shackles off this Blues side and they responded with some daring, incisive football. A more relaxed approach would surely bring the best out of the toiling attacking talents of Eden Hazard and Cesc Fabregas.
Indeed, as noted by Bleacher Report’s Chelsea correspondent Garry Hayes, so far this season things have seemed far too robotic for the Blues:
Whispers of bust-ups may have been unfounded, but the fact remains that while things fail to improve on the pitch, there will be rumours continually emerging about what’s going on behind the scenes at Chelsea. You suspect the majority will be negative as well.
Making things even more regimented is unlikely to make much of a difference. There has been much talk about the Blues’ poor defensive structure, but this is a group of players who look as though they need to rediscover the joy of football.
via http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2566895-john-terry-and-diego-costa-bust-up-denied-by-chelsea-stan-collymore-apologises
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