Di Matteo sacked

[BaZ87]

Di Matteo to go before Hughes?

Most (if not all) of tonight/tomorrows papers are reporting that Chelsea have already begun talks with potential managers to replace Di Matteo. The general consensus is that RA will make one last attempt to persuade Guardiola to take the job but if he can't be persuaded then, like last season, they'll try for Benitez on a deal until the end of the season. Rory Smith (a Times journo who's very close to Benitez) is reporting that RA has already spoken to Benitez directly.

Benitez at Chelsea doesn't feel right -if it comes to it, hopefully he turns them down again.

 

[BaZ87]

I can't stand Benitez, I hope it's not him.

The only positive (from my point of view) I can see out of Benitez getting the job is it'll **** you lot off more than us.

To cheer you up a bit more, some reports are claiming a certain Spanish forward might be part of the reason Benitez gets the job.

 

[BaZ87]

Liverpool fans around the world will not know how to feel if Benitez does go there, it'll be like he's ripped out their still beating hearts and handed them a Chelsea shirt to stem the blood loss.

Not quite but it wouldn't be right. It'll **** Chelsea fans off far more.

There is one possible appointment that every supporter around the world, no matter who they support, will be happy with. Captain, Legend, Leader, Manager - John the lion heart Terry as player manager.

 

[BaZ87]

so you honestly think RDM would be worse than a temp holding on until the summer, in just for a quick pay day?

Not a chance

If they appoint a decent manager then I'd fully expect them to be better off. Just like they were when Hiddink replaced Scolari.

 

[BaZ87]

Nah it aint, RDM's a massive tool

He's not a particularly good manager but I can't think of anything he's done to be called a tool.

 

[BaZ87]

Don't want him back at Liverpool, but I'm terrified of him going to Chelsea. Think he'd do a very good job for them.

He'd do considerably better than Di Matteo but there's not a great deal that any manager can do in 6 months.

Until Guardiola's in a job, no manager is going to be given time at Chelsea. RA wants Guardiola and he's made it clear he'll make as many stupid decisions as he needs to take to keep the possibility of Guardiola taking over open.

 

[BaZ87]

Ballague saying he is still in Abu Dhabi and hasn't been contacted, seriously hope he is right.

Rory Smith reckons there has been contact and Benitez came out with something about not knowing who his agent has been talking to over the last couple of days.

 

[BaZ87]

Yeah, getting them back there 2 years later was unbelievable considering the funds and where he got us to in his penultimate season. Pity off field matters took too much off his attention in his last one.

He was talking about Inter. And they've not exactly done too well (prior to the first few months of this season) since Benitez left.

 

[BaZ87]

Regardless of what went on at Inter during and after Benitez's spell there, you can't claim he didn't do badly.

Those that try to make out as if he was blameless are just as ignorant as those that lay all the blame at his door.

 

[BaZ87]

There was a bit of talk earlier in the thread about just how good the Chelsea job is and the more I think about it, it's a lot better than it looks at first sight and in a strange way, a 6 month deal is probably better than a long-term deal too.

The only realistic expectation for any manager taking over now is to make sure Chelsea qualify for the CL again next season. And even then, if things go badly, they've got the dysfunctional Chelsea argument to fall back on. However with the squad they've got and with them not being that far behind City, they could (albeit unlikely) go very close to winning the league.

 

[BaZ87]

Oh yeah, lack of knowledge, me certainly.

I apologise for your delusion

If you're going to call people delusional then you're going to need to back up your argument rather than just throw around flippant remarks.

 

[BaZ87]

If/when Benitez does get the job, I hope somebody asks him about the Liverpool/Chelsea semis and Garcia's goal. That'll **** Chelsea fans off a bit more.

 

[BaZ87]

Benitez to Chelsea is about to be announced.

It will be strange when he brings Chelsea to Anfield.

 

[BaZ87]

They've changed that now, they now understand it's him.

They get their info from twitter. It's done - reportedly an 18 month deal too.

 

[BaZ87]

Twitter isn't really the best place to get info from, a Liverpool fan should know that

There's plenty of decent journo's. And even a twitter itk is better than SSN

edit: Only the Telegraph are reporting the 18 month part - others still saying it's until the end of the season.

 

[BaZ87]

The interaction between Benitez and Terry is going to be amazing.

I don't think you'll see Terry on the touchline shouting instructions onto the pitch while Benitez is there.

I'm looking forward to the day he leaves Lampard out of the starting 11 and loses to a goal conceded from a corner while using zonal marking. I think Redknapp might have a fit in the Sky studio.

 

[BaZ87]

I'm quite looking forward to seeing what he can do now & to be fair he's probably the best option the club had in November.

In Rafa we trust.

You'd expect that he'll make the side more organised and improve your defense. A lot has been said about getting the best out of Torres but it won't be just him. Like him or not, he's a great coach and as good as they come tactically and will improve a lot of the young players you've got.

I doubt he'll make any difference either way, a good solid manager is what we need now, an inexperienced assistant is going to do much harm in the 6 months or so he's going to be there.
If Rafa needs a friendly face on his staff so be it.

Has it been confirmed that Zenden's going to be his assistant? Rafa typically doesn't have a single coach that he relies on more than any other. I suspect Zenden's appointment is simply down to his Chelsea connection - I can't think of anybody else Benitez has worked with that has any connection with Chelsea.

He's also taken Paco de Miguel (fitness coach) and Xavi Valero (keeper coach) with him - both of which were at Liverpool too.

 

[BaZ87]

Unfortunately for Chelsea, Benitez only has 2 CL finals to his name.

 

[BaZ87]

Zenden has been confirmed in as much as he's joining the backroom staff, it might just be an appointment to appease the fans a bit.

Knew he'd been appointed, I was asking about his actual job title. Sammy Lee was given the assistant title at Liverpool but the reality was that Pellegrino, Valero, de Miguel etc probably had more say.

 

[BaZ87]

Benitez took over at Valencia at the start of the 01/02 season. Hector Cuper was the manager of Valencia when they got to the CL finals.