Chelsea weigh up successors to Ancelotti
A glance at Thursday's newspapers shows that they are almost unanimous in their opinion that Carlo Ancelotti will be losing his job as Chelsea boss this summer, as was the fate of the last two managers to be given a whole season under Roman Abramovich and end up trophyless.
Claudio Ranieri and Avram Grant learned the hard way that the Blues owner doesn't take too kindly to failure and the opinion of the press is that even the memory of last season's historic double success won't be enough to save the Italian tactician from the sack.
Sitting 11 points off the pace in the Premier League, the defending champions are [1.04] to finish the campaign without any silverware following Tuesday's Champions League elimination at the hands of Manchester United, and Ancelotti looks set to be the first man to pay the price.
The Guardian, The Independent and The Daily Telegraph are among those carrying the rumour but each have different theories over potential replacements, a consequence of the shortage of available and appealing candidates, something inevitable when a club constantly chop and change.
The Guardian focus on Marcello Lippi's not so subtle declaration that he wishes to coach in England, The Independent flag up the availability of Rafael Benitez and throw Mark Hughes' name in the hat, with the Telegraph have linked Marco van Basten and Frank Rijkaard with the not yet vacant post.
All three appear to agree that Guus Hiddink would be Abramovich's first choice, though it is considered unlikely that he would walk out on Turkey midway through Euro 2012 qualifying, while perhaps the most interesting contender if former Stamford Bridge employee Andre Villas Boas.
The Porto boss, who started out as a member of Jose Mourinho's coaching staff, is now going solo with fantastic results and looks a certainty to land a big job this summer, and the possibility of continuing to follow his master's career path may be an attractive proposition to all parties.
But who do you want, Chelsea fans? Share your thoughts below...
Published: 17 Apr 2011
Godspower mangibo (April 14, 2011 8:53 AM) said:
Many people was heart broken coz of d failure of d itallian,chelsea should not sell drogba,and dey need coach like hiddink 4 d job.i'm truely and loyal chelsea fan.we are still d best with capable coach lik mouriho.
sky (April 14, 2011 8:56 AM) said:
i wud prefer hiddink,bt if its nt a visible prospect then villas boas is a very gud option
Anonymous (April 14, 2011 9:04 AM) said:
Gv us gus hidink a.k.a he thnks or frank rijkard
Henry (April 14, 2011 10:24 AM) said:
We Want hidink
gospel (April 14, 2011 10:59 AM) said:
well,the problem with the team is majorly in the midfield.lampard is weak;the team needs a creative,young and devoted midfielder.torres has no problem.give him a play maker,you see torres and didi destroy.sack ancelloti nd get us guus hiddink or rijkard,with a right full back.
EKWONYE UCHE FRANCIS (April 14, 2011 11:10 AM) said:
Plz Jose Mourinho is the right man,plz reinstate him and don't sell Didier Drogba.
Henry (April 14, 2011 12:11 PM) said:
The problem with Chelsea is that we continue to sign managers on the down since mourinho. Scolari, Ancelotti, Hiddink ( though I think he can bring short term success like ancelotti.) now lippi, an ageing manager who is obiouslu on the down, like ancelottii was. Ancelotti and experienced managers can brig short term success. But younger managers with flair and provocatation
I think boa, guiedeola or just keep ancelotti and see if he just catches his flair back. T
Betfair Football (April 14, 2011 12:18 PM) said:
Cheers for the comments, Chelsea fans. Looks like there's a lot of Hiddink love. Agree with the last poster that there's definitely a strong case for hiring Andre Villas Boas. He looks certain to land a top European managerial job this summer.
flops (April 14, 2011 1:50 PM) said:
Rafa. Hey, he did win the CL - TWICE for Liverpool :) There is nothing wrong with Chelsea. The entire boardroom just needs to sit where they are and leave the football to the guys who are playing. Any way we can sell you Darron Gibson and Anderson for ooo...say a cool 50mil? :P
lotuseater (April 14, 2011 5:25 PM) said:
A lot of these posts are so illiterate, it is horrific.
Chelsea should hire Harry Redknapp.
flops (April 15, 2011 5:17 AM) said:
young,flair play attacking football? sounds like roberto martinez :) ok I m kidding. seriosly wht is wrong with anc? all u need is ray wilkins back and relegate dennis wise to waterboy...easy peesy
Danson (April 20, 2011 12:18 PM) said:
Its ok wit Rijkard. Anc is only gud 4 Roma. Guird. Wil b a disastr. Beta stil Siasia.