Managers’ Excuses Watch: Chelsea boss offers more golden guff

Some managers take it on the chin, while others are not quite so gracious in the face of defeat and that is putting it mildly. Here are few of the latest pearlers from some of football’s best excuse generators.

In the wake of Chelsea’s ill-tempered defeat to Aston Villa, which leaves them infinitely leapfrog-able by new 23/20 title favourites Manchester City, in typical fashion Blues boss Jose Mourinho refused to admit he or his players were responsible.

After several lacklustre performances where Chelsea have ridden their luck to pick up results, Villa finally punished the Blues for failing to create hardly any chances of note, but rather than accept his side were below-par, Mourinho chose to go after referee Chris Foy.

Mourinho said: “We must be very, very unlucky to have another refereeing performance like this one,” said Mourinho.

“This is not about one mistake from a referee. This is about a performance from minute one to minute 94.”

In a break from the norm, entrenched Manchester United manager David Moyes committed a cardinal sin in offering his excuses before a ball had even been kicked against Liverpool, by labelling the Anfield side favourites.

“Their league position suggests they’re ahead of us,” he told reporters. “They possibly do come here favourites.

“I don’t know if you will find out a great deal more in these matches from what we’ve been.”

Meanwhile, Tim Sherwood’s transition from understated gilet-sporting clubman, to gilet-hurling madman was complete in the wake of Tottenham’s bruising north London derby defeat to Arsenal.

“Some of those chances were wonder chances, with the goalkeeper out of the picture, but no one tries to miss chances so I can’t criticise anyone for that.

“I thought we were better than Arsenal and they are title contenders.”

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

Fancy a flutter? Sign up today to claim up to £50 in free bets.