I couldn't care about Rafa trying to cover himself for his next job, he's actually done us a favour by declaring himself out of the running for manager next season - we can actually start looking ahead, dispel the bad vibes, and turning Stamford Bridge into the fortress it once was again. So thinking ahead then, I want to raise the old debate as to whether Jose is the best of choices. My view is that Jose is not the right manager to take us forward. i) While he is undoubtedly the best impact coach in the world, possibly there has ever been, you just know that he will just last another 2-3 seasons before it all starts going sour again. What we need is an end to this circus, not an exacerbation of it. ii) There is absolutely no guarantee he will be a success the second time around - espcially with the type of players we have, compared with the type of players he normally has at his disposal. iii) Then there's the youth aspect. Varane aside (who is a 19 year old that plays more like a 27 year old), he's not exactly known for his ability to bring through youth players is he? Given our burgeoning depth of talent at this level, he's exactly what we don't want in this regards. iv) I'm not sure if his prior relationship with JT, Lamps and Cech would be a help or a hindrance - sometimes it's best just to start completely from scratch. While I'll certainly not complain if we resign the Special One - I'll support him 100% - I really don't think he's the ideal choice. There are a lot of other managers out there that would be willing to risk a stint in our mad house for the chance to prove themselves with the fundamental quality of players we have. 1st time around, Jose was absolutely the right choice to take us up to the required level. 2nd time around, Jose is a choice akin to buying the shiniest toy in town with no thought as to whether there is a complementarity there. He's a lazy-minded choice, and we've been majorly guilty of this since RA took over. The thinkers choice is out there, and that is the challenge/job for the board to identify this person. Gourlay really needs to get this right, otherwise he'll be next for the chop no doubt. (Mind you, I'd prefer Jose to Mancini, and anything is better than FSW!)
He has his faults but with FFP etc and the investment we have put in, part of his mandate would have to be to bring through more youth. The way I see it, is Jose is the manager most fans would want and would unite the club the quickest. Short term he is the perfect choice, long term maybe not but there is no obvious candidate out there given how badly the AVB 'project' 'failed'.
No obvious candidate to you or I, but that's fundamentally the challenge for the board, not us - it's their job and it's what they are paid millions to do. High time, they started showing their competence in this respect. They got it wrong with AVB, wrong with Scolari, wrong with RDM, wrong with Benitez, this is their chance, their LAST CHANCE, to get it right. Hell, if we end up signing Jose, Roman may as well have pulled any random Chelsea supporter off the street who could have made that decision for him, for free!
Kind of agree with you Beluga, it's said you can't warm up old coffee. No doubt Jose would mean a huge upsurge in support, morale and ticket sales !!! But long term??? Mind you, long term is an oxymoron at Chelsea. I really think nothing will change until RA rids himself of the synchophants he surrounds himself with, and brings in some football brains. Start with Hiddink. As for the Boards performance, slightly different POV. I think they GOT it wrong with Scolari and Benitez, and DID it wrong with AVB and RDM.
Jose is the obvious choice, but there are other candidates that can take the club forward and help to integrate youth Pellegrini, Simeone, Laudrup and Moyes would all be in the running for the job if Jose does turn us down or is not the choice of the club But for me if we are serious about making the club play attractive football, bring through youth and maintain being a success then the only option is Jurgen Klopp of Dortmund. It depends on whether he wants to lock horns with Pep next year and try to wrestle his title back or whether he wants a new challenge, we have similar players in the attacking third to Dortmund with the likes of Hazard, Mata and Oscar being technically gifted. It could benefit us too in th transfer market as he may bring a few of his boys (Hummels, Bender and Lewandowski) over If not Jose (because that for us is a very 'Special One') then Klopp is my choice
if jose did come back for just 2 or 3 years it would at least be a period of stability for the club which would not be a bad thing at the moment. but it would also need roman keeping his nose out and giving jose control.
What Jose did here was incredible and he'll always be a Chelsea legend! As for Jose pt 2 , I dont think so! It's never the same a second time around and FFP and aging Chelsea stars like Drogs and Lamps will conspire to disappoint us! Bring back RDM Isay!!!
Does Jose have a better personnel though f he did return 2004-05 title winning squad against 2013 Squad Petr Cech, Carlo Cudicini & Lenny Pidgeley Paulo Ferreira, Glen Johnson, William Gallas, Ricardo Carvalho, John Terry, Robert Huth & Wayne Bridge Claude Makelele, Frank Lampard, Alexei Smertin, Geremi, Tiago, Scott Parker & Jiri Jarosik Joe Cole, Arjen Robben, Damien Duff, Mateja Kezman, Didier Drogba, Mikael Forsell & Eidur Gudjohnsen thats 24 and as for end of this season I can guarantee if Jose comes in that Torres, Benayoun and Malouda will leave along with the likes of Hilario, Turnbull and Ferreira. Lukaku will be brought back as his new Drogba and Mourinho loves competition in the GK area. Petr Cech, Thibaut Courtois & Jamal Blackman Cesar Azpilicueta, Branislav Ivanovic, Gary Cahill, David Luiz, John Terry, Ashley Cole, Ryan Bertrand John Obi Mikel, Ramires, Frank Lampard, Oscar & Juan Mata Eden Hazard, Victor Moses, Romelu Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne & Demba Ba and thats 20 with room for 3 or 4 Mourinho signings (ST,CM,WG,CB) in my opinion I think they will be fine, formation is key
Difficult to compare squads with 6 or 7 years between them. Jose had more established players, and we now have loads of excellent though still to get better ones. Can't see Frank here next season, Jose or no Jose. Either way our squad is not at all shabby, and lets not forget, WE ARE in a transition stage. We desperately need 2 strikers, 2 midfield controllers and 1 central defender. Luiz could be one midfielder in my opinion, then we need 2 CDs. Both Terry and Cahill are looking like they have only one more season for me, JT is almost past it, Cahill not good enough. Interesting times, as always.
RDM wasn't the manager, that was Terry and Lampard. You finished in 6th place in the League playing ****e. You won 2 Cups playing ****e - Fair play you won them but played ****e. He continued to play Mikkel who is ****e, continued to play Luiz out of position when from his first game at Fulham you could all see he was a midfielder. Let there be no doubt in your minds - The return of The Special One will be fantastic for the media and an unmitigated disaster for Chelsea. You may as well say goodbye to all the talent you have out on loan. And that's where you're future is - A manager who knows football inside out and has the vision to create not manufacture - in other words a Guardiola/Klopp/Laudrup type as opposed to a Mourinho/Benitez/Moyes. You'd be better off with one of Laudrup (told you in 2009 old 606), Zola or Roberto Martinez. Pray though that you'll get JM because then you'll be an even bigger freak show than us lot!!
Few things. We destroyed Spurs in the semi of the fa cup and for 2/3rds of the final v Liverpool. How exactly is beating Spurs 5-1 (who finished above us) '****e'. As for the C.L, we beat Benfica away, come from 2-0 down v Barca, won 4-1 at home to Napoli, beat Valencia 3-0 in the group...again how is this ****e? Or did you only watch the final? Next, Moyes in the same bracket at Mourinho and Benitez...really? This is a guy whose lived off a shoe string for years and still managed to bring on quality youth products (Rodwell, Rooney etc) and get the best from relatively cheap buys (Arteta, Baines, Jagielka, Lescott) and finish high in the league most years. Unproven at a 'big' club but no more so then Laudrup or Martinez. As for Guardiola, I reserve Judgment. What exactly did he 'create'? He inherited a team with Messi, Iniesta, Busquets, Xavi and Puyol then spent every summer buying 30 million plus players like Villa and Sanchez and Fabregas. The Barca model was long since established by Cruyff from the 90's and Pep benefited from a system truely coming to fruition and players hitting their prime during his reign. He created no more than Jose did at Chelsea.
Actually, some of our play, tactics and our results were bloody brilliant in the CL last year. Not may teams would go to Bayern's home ground and beat them let alone when the pressure of a CL final was bearing down on them. You talk drivel like half the world who jumped on the Chelsea bashing band-wagon.
I can see you looking at the likes of Clarke, Hughton, and Martinez as possible candidates. Not the kind of candidates that most Chelsea fans would want, but you've blindly supported an owner who has raped and pillaged his way through the best of the world's managers and sat idly by on your fat arses lapping up the antics of Terry and Lampard as they lead dressing-room revolt after dressing-room revolt, so you can hardly count yourselves hard-done-by when the likes of Mourhino and Guardiola turn down the opportunity to manage you for 9 months, before getting sacked whether they win things for you or not. Clarke would be an ideal choice. If we didn't already have the best manager of his generation, i'd quite happily have Clarke at Spurs.
Oh good god , seriosly a Spud supporter trying to trash talk chelsea?? remind me when was the last time you lot won at the Bridge??
