He made only 20 appearances scoring four goals and missed the final six matches as Rovers finished next to bottom
He made only 20 appearances, scoring four goals, and missed the final six matches as Rovers finished next to bottom.With the 26-year-old Sutton's signature secured on a six-year contract, Vialli was able to confirm the decision he made last month to retire as a player Not that he will ease up on himself in training. Chelsea have got some very experienced players and hopefully I can blend in."Sutton missed a large part of last season through injury and his absence had a major bearing on Blackburn dropping into the First Division. There was a feeling about the place when I first joined Blackburn five years ago and there's a similar one here. I just hope I can emulate those who have done well here over the years."It's very important coming to Chelsea now. "He's not a cheap player - pounds 10m is a lot of money - but I think sometimes you have to spend money if you want to improve the team and strengthen the team, and that's why we've signed him."Sutton, relishing the chance to challenge for honours with Chelsea, said: "I'm looking forward to getting started. "He can be a tough player on the pitch, which is something sometimes that we missed last season and he's got a great personality," the Italian said. He attracted interest from Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and Aston Villa, whose enthusiasm waned when Rovers valued him at pounds 12m. The fee is the third highest between English clubs after the pounds 15m that Newcastle United paid Blackburn for Sutton's former strike partner, the England captain Alan Shearer, and the pounds 12.6m Aston Villa received from Manchester United for Dwight Yorke.Chelsea's striking options have been reduced by injury to the Italian Pierluigi Casiraghi, who missed most of last season with knee ligament damage, the departure of the Dane Brian Laudrup and Gianluca Vialli's decision to stop playing and concentrate on his managerial duties.Vialli thinks the 6ft 3in presence of Sutton will add another dimension to Chelsea's play.
THEY LED the way in signing foreigners, but yesterday Chelsea put their money back into the English game by securing Chris Sutton from Blackburn Rovers for pounds 10m. The striker, who has managed only one appearance for England (as a substitute against Cameroon) was keen to leave Ewood Park from the moment they were relegated to the Nationwide League. The European Cup-Winners' Cup holders also announced they had signed the Swedish forward Kennet Andersson from Bologna, the Argentinian defender Nestor Sensini from Parma and the young striker Simone Inzaghi from Piacenza.. He has also brushed aside suggestions that Juventus and Parma may try to gazump Lazio in order to secure his signature.Anelka said: "I have not heard anything about Juventus or Parma, but it's Lazio that interests me anyway - it's a very big club."Lazio confirmed yesterday they had signed Argentinian midfielders Diego Simeone and Juan Sebastian Veron.
We have no intentions of selling the player and such comments are unhelpful." A Roma spokesman said the club chairman, Franco Sensi, was preparing to travel to London for talks today or tomorrow, adding: "The deal should be finalised within a couple of days."There was more Italian interest yesterday when the Lazio chairman, Sergio Cragnotti, arrived in London hoping to finalise a deal with Arsenal for Nicolas Anelka.According to reports, the club officials were accompanied by the 34-year- old striker Roberto Mancini, though it was unclear whether he is to be part of an exchange deal for Anelka or is talking to Chelsea about a move.Anelka, 20, is rated at pounds 20m and has told Arsenal he will not play for them again. The Italian sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport even reported yesterday that Ferdinand has agreed to a five-year contract. Roma declined to discuss details, but the Hammers' secretary, Graham Mackrell, said, "It's just nonsense We haven't been in negotiations with Roma. On the one hand, Roma were saying they have already secured the services of the England defender, while West Ham were insisting that they had not even been in contact with the Italians. THERE WERE conflicting reports over the future of Rio Ferdinand yesterday. A case perhaps, of "if at first you don't succeed, let someone else fail".. Although Palace missed three of theirs and Brighton scored, the Eagles won the match 2-1.The most-missed individual spot-kick came in 1973, when three different Notts County players all failed to score the same penalty, which was ordered to be re-taken twice.
In March 1989, Crystal Palace were awarded four and Brighton one in the space of 27 minutes at Selhurst Park. The win put Colombia into the quarter-finals and left Argentina to fight for a place with Uruguay, whom they meet in their final group C game tomorrow.Only one match in British football history has seen five penalties awarded. He had the character to offer to take the second penalty after missing the first and the same thing with the third," Bielsa said."There's always a first time for everything and today I saw it,"Javier Alvarez, Colombia's coach, said.Not to be left out, Alvarez's own side got in on the fluffing act, with Hamilton Ricard, the Middlesbrough striker, missing from the spot before his team-mate, Ivan Cordoba, showed how it should be done by being the only player to score out of the five penalties awarded. He hit the target, but his shot was saved by Miguel Calera.Argentina's coach, Marcelo Bielsa, sympathised with his player "He's the one with the job of taking penalties.
Undeterred by his previous failures, Palermo offered to take the kick without hesitation. He had a second attempt in the 75th minute for what would have been an equaliser, but he fired his shot wildly over the bar. His third effort, in the 89th minute, with Colombia 3-0 ahead, was for nothing but a consolation. On Sunday, everything went pear-shaped.Palermo missed his first penalty in the fifth minute when a goal would have given his team the lead, blasting a powerful shot against the crossbar. The Boca Juniors striker, a prolific scorer at club level, had been called up by his country when the first choice forwards, Gabriel Batistuta and Hernan Crespo, asked to be rested after a tough season in Europe. Last Thursday, Palermo became a national hero after scoring two excellent goals - his first for his country - in a 3-1 win over Ecuador.