Chelsea just don’t do managerial stability, do we?
Despite winning the league in 2017 and FA Cup in 2018, Antonio Conte appears set for the Stamford Bridge exit this summer, meaning the Blues will once again start afresh with a new man at the helm next season.
This isn’t really a problem to most Chelsea fans though; it’s become the norm.
We hire a good manager, spend some money, win some trophies, then it all goes off the rails, we sack him, we hire another good manager and so on.
You can see the current odds for Chelsea’s next boss here, and there is clearly a select list of current leading contenders for the job.
Below is a ranking of these contenders from one fan’s point of view, with an ultimate verdict on who the club should hire.
6. Slavisa Jokanovic (Fulham)
Jokanovic has not only never managed a top team before, but has also never managed in a top European league. The Serbian earned promotion with Watford, but left the following summer. He has now achieved the same feat at Fulham and realistically needs to prove his worth with a run in the Premier League before leaping up to a job like Chelsea’s. However, his connection as a former player at the Bridge could speed up that process.
5. Laurent Blanc (Unattached)
Blanc has won multiple league titles in France with both Bordeaux and PSG. However, this achievement is significantly devalued by the quality of the league – emphasised by the fact that, despite winning three consecutive titles, he was still sacked by PSG!
4. Luis Enrique (Unattached)
Enrique joined Barcelona after a trophyless season and went on to win the treble a year later. He has proven his credentials at the top level, though inherited an incredible team with foundations laid by previous managers. Taking over Chelsea at this stage would be a rebuilding job like nothing the Spaniard has managed to pull off before.
3. Antonio Conte (Chelsea)
How about we keep him? Just for once, eh? Conte arrived at Chelsea when the club was in a far bigger mess than we are now. The Italian took the Blues from tenth to the title in one season and, while his second season deteriorated into a shambles, is still popular among most fans. The player management issue would have to be sorted if he is to stay on though, as we badly missed David Luiz and especially Diego Costa last season.
2. Maurizio Sarri (Napoli)
Sarri moved from Empoli to Napoli in 2015, following the departure of our old friend Rafa Benitez. Benitez’s final season at the club saw them end up fifth in Serie A, while the enigmatic Sarri took the side up to a second-place finish, then a third-place finish, then another second-place finish. Sarri hasn’t won a major trophy so far in his managerial career, so he’s pretty much the Italian Pochettino! But, let’s be honest as there’s no Spurs fans reading this, that’s not a bad thing.
1. Zinedine Zidane (Unattached)
There is still a lot of scepticism surrounding Zidane as a manager, largely because he strolled into his first big job at Real Madrid and inherited a team full of stars. However, Madrid were in a bit of a mess after the departure of Rafa Benitez (yes, him again) and ZiZou took a team who were thumped 4-0 at home by Barcelona to the Champions League in just a few months. We’re really not in a position to be turning our noses up at a man who has just won three consecutive European Cups either! If the Frenchman is looking to jump back into management next season, we should jump at the chance to hire him.
