WANTED: MIRACLE WORKER
Blues’ next manager must be near perfect to survive
THEY are set on a young manager who can get them back into the Champions League.
Chelsea also want a head coach who plays attractive football, develops young players and can work within their structure.
So, it is not so much a manager they need – more a miracle worker to cope with the chaos at the club.
Sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart are in charge of the process, and want to make an appointment quickly to restore some stability after Mauricio Pochettino’s exit.
Good luck with that. Just when Pochettino was steadying the ship – finishing the season on a winning streak to get Chelsea back into Europe – he left.
Co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali make the ultimate decisions and want more from their £1billion outlay on players, let alone the bigger investment to buy the club in the first place.
It is an enormous demand and will surely send warning signs to anyone in the frame. Not only will the new manager need excellent coaching skills plus his own football identity, he will also require a thick skin and a big personality – although not too big as to upset the ownership.
Pochettino was not afraid to shoot from the hip, and his public soundings and misgivings played a part in his downfall.
Roberto De Zerbi may have the right pedigree but, if he struggled to work under Tony Bloom at Brighton – the owner revered as one of the best in football – then just imagine how explosive it might be at Chelsea.
A young manager like Ipswich’s Kieran McKenna, who plays good football and works with young players, fits the bill.
But such a big step for the Northern Irishman would be a huge gamble in terms of potential reputational damage. You only need to look at Graham Potter to realise how you can go from being the hottest coach around to being sacked by Chelsea.
Stuttgart’s Sebastian Hoeness, Girona’s Michel and Leicester’s Enzo Maresca also fit the profile.
But whoever takes the plunge will know that getting Chelsea back in the top four is a big ask.
They have a wealth of talented youngsters, led by Cole Palmer, Reece James and Conor Gallagher, while Levi Colwill and Malo Gusto also have bundles of potential.
Chelsea would do well to find a manager who can instil some
The owners want success and demand it yesterday!
confidence into Nicolas Jackson, who has all the attributes apart from finishing, which is always handy for a striker.
Or someone who can make Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez play together in midfield, or unlock the potential of winger Mykhailo Mudryk.
The players are all there. They have the talent.
But harnessing it and being given time to do so is quite another matter.
Finishing sixth was not enough for Pochettino, nor were near misses in the two domestic cups.
Boehly and Eghbali have at least kept in touch with the old Chelsea in that they want success – and demand it yesterday!
The end-of-season review was in the diary for a long time.
Pochettino was around the club on Monday and gave no sign that he was about to leave.
But he still knew the writing was on the wall. What does that say?
It tells us Chelsea do not see it as a big thing to hire and then fire a manager.
The owners are now looking to make their third permanent managerial appointment in less than two years.
But even if some have misgivings, there will still be a number of coaches queuing around the block to take the job.