Ancelotti has not been given due praise

Three very successful managers who have been in the British papers quite a bit this week have been Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti and Roy Hodgson - and all three are very different from each other.

Matt Hughes of the Times argues that Ancelotti has not been given due praise for the modest efficiency with which he has led his side to the brink of a league and cup double.

It seems patently absurd that judgments on the abilities of a previously successful, experienced and intelligent manager should effectively boil down to one game at the end of a 38-match Premier League season, yet that is the case for Carlo Ancelotti this Sunday.

A win at Liverpool to keep Chelsea in charge of the title race and Ancelotti will be lauded as one of the best in his field, but drop points to leave Manchester United in control of their own destiny and he will be written off as a nearly-man. The truth, as ever, lies somewhere in between, but football does not deal in shades of grey. The stakes could scarcely be higher.

In conversation with a colleague yesterday we concluded that Ancelotti has not been given the credit he deserves for doing an excellent job in difficult circumstances in his first season at Chelsea, in which his squad has been crippled by injuries and he has been given barely a penny to spend by a previously lavish owner, Roman Abramovich. We also agreed that this was unfair, yet in keeping with this modest man’s seeming absence of ego you will not hear one word of complaint from Ancelotti himself. The Italian has the highest of standards and knows that his target has not yet been attained.

Just seven days ago Ancelotti stated that this season could only be judged a success for Chelsea if they win the Premier League, which brings us back to the importance of Sunday’s trip to Anfield. In such an inconsistent season, where there has clearly been no outstanding team, neither Manchester United, Chelsea nor any other of the Big Four for that matter can take any pride in finishing second, as Ancelotti knows only too well.