Last night saw Chelsea taste defeat at the hands of Juventus in the Champions League group stages. The result has moved the Champions of Europe down to 3rd spot in the group, and immediately after the game, there were reports and speculation regarding
the future of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Roberto-c31294 Di Matteo at the club.
This morning, the manager who delivered the club’s first Champions League win in its history was given the sack by owner Roman Abramovich. Many will say it had been coming. Chelsea are now without a win in their last 5 games; 2 draws and 2 losses in the
Premier League and last night’s defeat making it 5 successive games.
The news about the manager’s dismissal is still circulating all over the internet, and already the likes of Harry Redknapp, Rafael Benitez and Pep Guardiola have started being linked to the club.
Chelsea have had 8 different managers in the past 9 years, but have continued to win trophies regardless of the turbulent changes in managerial staff. Perhaps the pressure to deliver has brought out the best in all the club’s past managers, but how long
can this go on?
The Blues have been been sustained on vasts amounts of money and the autocratic nature of owner Roman Abramovich. The club’s policy seems to be ‘deliver or leave’, and with more than half the season left, Di Matteo found this out the hard way.
The manager maybe knew what fate awaited him as he saw his men struggle against a vastly superior Juventus side in http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Italy-c2926 last night. Chelsea by no means had fielded a weak team. The club has invested more than £70 million in the squad this season, and have
the likes of world class players such as http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Oscar-c28720. All four players were out on the pitch last night.
But despite these additions, and the presence of existing veteran and experienced players in the team, Chelsea have once again struggled to look like a team. November has always been a bit of a curse for the club, and almost all of the club’s previous managers
received the boot from Abramovich around this time of the year.
The problem perhaps lies with the way the club is being run. It is clear that Roman Abramovich wanted his Chelsea team to play a certain brand of football that will excite fans and earn plaudits from critics and journalists. Far too often, Chelsea had failed
to deliver on that front. Even Jose Mourinho had failed to deliver an attacking brand of football.
Chelsea were a generally disliked club up until Manchester City joined them on top as one of the Premier League’s most richest clubs. Chelsea were successful, but they also had the tendency to bore you to sleep. Defensive football of the highest order without
any sort of excitement and entertainment was a reason why many of the club’s own fans often complained.
Last year, Portuguese manager Andre Villas-Boas was brought in to deliver ‘champagne football’ to the fans who so badly craved it. The manager saw his plans backfire as player power at the club led to his dismissal. Or at least that is the popular opinion
regarding the Portuguese’s downfall at Stamford Bridge.
Villas-Boas got the sack in February after the defeat against West Brom, and Di Matteo took over. Perhaps Villas-Boas made the mistake of bringing about his evolution too quickly, whereas a season of transition would have helped the manager’s cause. Then
again, if Villas-Boas had failed to deliver during the said transition, many will say he still would have received the axe.
Di Matteo was better equipped for the http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Job-c18684. With the likes of the old Chelsea guard out of the club, and new attacking talent coming in, the manager looked set to deliver the football that the fans and the owner desired. But it all happened too soon. While
Chelsea did play beautifully at times, it failed to come together, and they suffered at the back. Chelsea’s depth ran out and it just wasn’t working for them. The previous 5 games are the perfect example.
So where does the club go from here? With their Champions League status unsure and now no manager to guide them, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Chelsea-c38786 are facing troubling times ahead. Will they contend for the Premier League title, or be able to defend their European crown entirely
depends on who Abramovich brings in next to be at the helm of the club. Even though they have been very successful in the past years, Chelsea are a dysfunctional club with a dysfunctional owner.
Disclaimer: the views and opinions expressed in this article do not reflect the editorial policy of Bettor.com
Tags: