Back Page Betting: Scolari fires early broadside in the annual battle of wits

Premier League / Ralph Ellis / 28 July 2008 / Leave a Comment

If there were any nervous Chelsea fans out there worried that Big Phil would be bullied by Sir Alex Ferguson (which we seriously doubt), any fears were somewhat put to rest this week as he responded confidently to Fergy's claim the Chelsea squad are past it.

It hasn't taken long for Luiz Felipe Scolari to prove that he's more than a match for Sir Alex Ferguson when it comes to the mind games.

Fergie had his first go at winding up the new Chelsea manager last week by claiming that the Stamford Bridge squad was too old to make rapid progress (while quietly ignoring the fact that the average age of the two teams was exactly the same). Scolari let that roll off like water from the proverbial duck's back - and has now come back with some talk of his own. The Brazilian reckons his squad are good enough to win all four of the major trophies they will contest this season and has set that as a target.

"We have four competitions this season and I will try to win them all," promises Scolari today from Kuala Lumpur where Chelsea are due to play at Malaysian select XI tomorrow. "Of course it will be very difficult, but we have the players to do it. And in my life I have learned one important lesson - never say never. Last year this team arrived in two finals and came close in the league. That is very good news for me. I also want to arrive in finals. I will be happy if we do that because I know the way to win them. And the players understand that."

It's bold talk from Scolari but exactly what his owner Roman Abramovich will want to hear. He's brought in the Brazilian and given him the money to sign Deco with the aim of not just winning everything, but doing it in some style.

So, is it possible? Well despite Chelsea going goal happy at the weekend, at the moment the pre-season programmes of both sides mean little. United are flying round making money and won twice at the weekend, beating Kaiser Chiefs 4-0 in South Africa before jetting to Nigeria to notch a 2-1 win over Portsmouth. Chelsea too are on a long-haul mission, and their 7-0 win over Chinese side Chengdu Blades might be good for morale - and for shifting a few shirts in the Far East - but tells you little more.

But there are some positive signs. Frank Lampard is looking more and more likely to stay (He's now as short as [1.08] to still be a Chelsea player on September 3), so Scolari has certainly got goals in his squad. However there still must be a doubt over how quickly his side will settle. But if you fancy backing his words with some hard cash there's plenty of profit to be made. Chelsea are currently [2.72] to win the Premier League, fractional favourites ahead of Manchester United [2.74]. And they are [6.59] to lift the Champions League - making a very appealing [17.96] double on Betfair multiples. United are [17.6], incidentally, to repeat their double triumph from last season. In the FA Cup Chelsea are [5.7], again just behind United's [5.8]. And in the Carling Cup Scolari's side are clear favourites on [5.8], some two points ahead of United who always play a youth side in the competition and are [7.8].

Five things you might not know about quadruples, doubles and trebles

1. Manchester United's unique 1999 treble winners weren't far from collecting all four major trophies - they lost at 3-1 Spurs in the League Cup quarter-final

2. Celtic were the first and so far the only team to win a quadruple, collecting the Scottish Cup, Scottish First Division and Scottish League Cup when they won the European Cup in 1967

3. Some 15 clubs on 22 occasions have won the double of European Cup and their own domestic league, the most being three by Ajax in 1972, 1973 and 1995.

4. Real Madrid in 1957 and 1958 are the only other club to have done the "double double" in Europe and their own League by retaining both trophies

5. Spurs in 1961 were the first post-war team to do the classic English double of League and FA Cup. Before them it hadn't happened since Aston Villa's side of 1897