Just got off the phone to a mate of mine in Rome who makes all the videos for the Seria A promos. He says there is VERY strong suggestion that RDM will be the next manager of Napoli, IF Cavanni stays, and he wants to take David Luiz and Ashley Cole with him. Personally, while I hope it's nonsense, I don't blame him one bit. He's on a hiding to nothing at Chelsea , now Gourlay and RA are apparently offering 3 year extended contracts to Lampard, Malouda and Essien. Only another rumour, but if true a brain dead decision.
I certainly hope you're right. I think we are stupid enough to let RDM go, not sure about the contract stuff. There are also reports in the World media that RA has changed his mind on the old guard and as a reward for "loyalty", Lampard will get a contract extension and £175 Gs per week, and Essien and Malouda extended deals and a pay rise. No reports on how long extensions are . Hopefully bollocks, but a little worrying for those of us who think a rebuild is crucial.
What worries me is how profligate we are with money especially with FFP looming. For too long the board has allowed heart to rule over head. We all love Lamps but his best days are behind him, he isn't a 150k a week player anymore and it is holding back other players development. Ramires and Mata combined are on less than Lampard. If Lamps picks up one more injury like he did in 2010 he is finished at top level, then we are stuck with a 35 year old injury prone player. Malouda has been rubbish throughout his entire Chelsea career bar one season. Giving him a new contract would be an insult to the fans and others like Kalou who are slightly more deserving of one. Essien again I love the guy and is one of my favourite players of this era but is he a 100k a week player? Even with his injuries he is still 29 and at that age we could comfortably get £7/8m or so for him which would cover the Marin fee. Once he fits that 30 barrier he'll have no resale value.
CP--I think if Gourlay is doing this ,its because he's had the nod from Guardiola! Robbie has played himself into a position as a manager who , the whole world and his dog will be fighting over since his achievements of the last few months! As for the comings and goings of players, I fancy whoever is taking up the reins will want his fourpennorth! Deep down I still hope Robbie stays on --a forlorn hope possibly!
I like Guardiola as a bloke and he was brilliant at Barcelona but I'm sorry, there's no way he suits our club. I am praying we don't get him, especially for these figures being talked about! As Pat Nevin said, keep Robbie on a 1 year rolling deal .
To be fair to Robbie, he's won the FA cup and Champions league. Can he do more at Chelsea or should he take one of the offers that will surely come his way? I think he'll do the latter and who can blame him?
I can't beleive he hasn't been given the job yet. Modern footy is just crazy. Would leaving a Champions League winning manager walk away be a good sign to potential managers? It would indicate that they are signing up to an impossible job.
I hope RDM can take the Chelsea noose from around his neck and move on. He has to still to be successful with the team that Robbie built. Chelsea don't let any manager do that. The board scout and buy the players, the manager only has a small input into that with suggestions. I feel RDM is too close to these players right now and would be reluctant to be party to any axe welding. I think he is still a future Chelsea manager in the making. Don't tell me about his achievements last season. Everything that happened was a culmination of events set in motion long before and RDM was the right man at the right time and got there more or less by circumstance, not plan. I think RDM now has a great opportunity to pick his moment and dictate some of his own terms, but he knows he can't do that at Chelsea now or possibly ever.
I'm with you on RDM. He's already started by putting the whole squad in the right frame of mind, no easy task. With players like Hazard and Hulk on the radar, he's almost there with personnel. Whether he stays or someone else comes, I hope our upstairs dopes have realised that extended success needs extended planning, patience and hard work. The quick fix works quickly, but dies just as quickly when the patients (our players ) are running the asylum (our club )
