Grant's contract terminated

It was always on the cards - I’m glad I haven’t done the post-season review - it was scheduled today but an excessive amount of Vin Rouge last night with a Man Utd supporting friend in France put paid to me doing anything but surfing the net and moaning loudly.

I fee a bit sorry for the guy because at the very least I’d hoped he would go back to D0F and act as bridge between players/owner/Arnesen and new head coach - but as we have been speculating the most likely reason is that he didn’t fit the profile the club want for the brand. It also seems that Kenyon was once again the playing the smiling assassin.

Someone (Cyril) mentioned Scolari - no thanks. Can't speak English and if AG doesn't fit the profile..........

For me it's Sparky, Rijkaard or SGE.....Jose Mourinho anyone?

Sky are reporting it as if Kennedy has been shot,again.
The only surprise is the timing,nothing else,everyone knew he was going and we can all look forward with baited breath to the start of the next chapter of The Chelsea Story.

For me i would love Laudrup and Zola in. I've been mooting this combination for months. Laudrup is in my eyes the new Jose. A young up and coming manager, who has taken an unknown country side (Getafe) to the Uefa Cup quarter finals. He has style and seems to have adopted Mourinho's love of new scarves every few weeks (improves Chelsea's image compared to Avram's undertaker look). He plays attacking football and with Zola, the good times would surely return. If not Jose, then it has to be Laudrup and Zola. Don't forget that they can both speak English, whereas Mancini and his team can't.

What is in your mind now Roman Abramovich?

Zola please!!!

I would loved to see Jose back!!!

HABS / CYRIL

Have Zola and Laudrup ever even met?

you are very deluded if you think Laudrup is anything close to Mourinho.
(from a Dane).

Why do you think they'll be good? Because they are more handsome than AG or somewhat?

The pool of available talent is tiny at this level. CFC need someone with more than potential (and looks). There are no obvious candidates out there.

Well, at least something good this season.

Laudrup and Franco sounds great. Like I mentioned in the last post, I don't think Rijkaard can change games often enough, which was one reason why people were complaining about Avram.

i feel bad for avram grant because i think he has done a decent job but then again his biggest weakness has been delivering in the really big games like carlig cup final and in moscow i believe this is the right move for our club and my first choice is definiately jose mourninho because he is the best coach in the world realyy hope he cums back to where he belongs....BRING BACK JOSE!!!!!

Hiddink - (But we'll have to wait a bit)
Laudrop - Young and ambitious
Hughes - Good prem experience

or...

...Harry Redknapp?

Mancini= Crap
Laudrup= Mediocre
Rijkaard= Too soft
I don't know guys, but i think someone like Vicente Del Bosque fit the profile for our next coach (but he will be managing Spain national team after Euro 2008...damn)

Well apart from the style issue, which is obviously a factor Kenyon finds important to make us the no.1 'brand' in the world, Laudrup is an ambitious manager who does have talent and Zola as a coach would bring back the flair and attacking prowess our strikers have been missing. Laudrup may not have won anything but neither has Mark Hughes. At least Laudrup is on the way up, whereas Rijkaard is on the way down, and SGE is just too old and boring for the Kings Road. We need a young, ambitious, tactically aware and stylish manager. As for Harry Redknapp. Well Lamps would certainly stay but 1 trophy in 20 years of management isn't great. Even though his defence is 'well he's never had a big club to manage', that doesn't work when compared to Jose who took the small club of Porto to be Kings of Europe. For me:
1. Jose (Swallow your pride Roman and the fans will love you forever).
2. Laudrup and Zola
3. M. Hughes
4. Rijkaard

My money's on Guus Hiddink.

It was ominous. I feel sad for Avram because the CL final was not his fault and I really really thought they'd move him upstairs. Not sack him. Shocked at the timing but not shocked that it happened.

I would love it if Zola came. Oh, what a dream. Or maybe Laudrup or Hiddink...

Talk about taking a break from Chelsea...

All choices below better than AG, who I've grown to respect

=1)Jose M (not Musumba)
=1)Anyone & Zola - Laudrup will do (Getafe have been relatively attractive)
=3) Rijkarrd
=3) Mancini
=5) Hiddink
=5) Scolari
7) Hughes
8) Redknapp
9) Sven

Buck and Kenyon have already been out there saying 2nd is not good enough - did either of them have the cajones to say that to RA before he threw Jose and his toys out of the pram last autumn?

having decided AG must go, at least the powers that be have pulled the trigger early for Chelsea's, AG's and our sake - thank god for small mercies

I miss Avram already

I hope it could be Ottmar Hitzfeld!!

Laudrup has won a tital with Brondby.
Good run in the Uefa Cup with Getafe, and has left them because he won't stand for wholesale ins and outs to the squad

Significant that Laudrup resigned from Getafe last week. After one year and a lot of success, he clearly believes himself to be going to some other, bigger, club. As for pairing him with Zola, I don't think Laudrup was in any way inferior as a player, and his style of play was always attack based, something seen this year with Getafe. If he comes, we would be better served by pairing him with a really good defensive coach. One can never tell, of course, but Laudrup has all the credentials to be a very good top flight manager.

Though he sucked as a manager, I quite liked AG. Certainly we'll never see anyone more gracious in charge of the team. I hope he continues as Director of Football. The official notice did not mention that he was leaving the club, only that his position as manager was terminated.

I forgot to add that I cannot see the club entering into discussions or negotiations with Drogba or Frank without a new manager in place. So expect news fairly soon.

bye

Blimey. I suppose it was always going to happen, but the timing seems pretty brutal to me. Give the guy a few honourable weeks as a plucky loser who is going to help prepare for the future, at least. Or not?

For all the Laudrup debating, all the noises in recent weeks have been coming from the Mancini side.

Munkeyfeet and co. will be happy...

Just occurred to me Rom's buddy Sven will be out of a job soon.

Please, No.

SGE must surely be in the frame. Considering we allegedly approached him when he was England Manager, I hardly see us being woried about upsetting Man City.

@Bluefromtheotherside

Who are you saying bye to? Are you trying to impersonate Grant like 'Guest' impersonated a member of the playing squad?

We have one young and ambitious manager ........... and he is TSO as far as 95% of us are concerned!
I did notice the article about TSO and RA having cosy little chats on the phone just lately.
Surely they haven't the balls to ask him to return, have they?? With God (GZ) as his assistant???

Interesting article from tomorrow's Observer about Jose thinking AG's football philosophy is t5hat of a loser, also, good to see that RA has helped Jose out in his time of unemployment by gifting him a £2+mill Ferrari
LINK

Were waiting for you Frank, and bring Messi and Gio with you :)

Roman's obviously thought about how to get Jose back:

Step 1: Butter him up with lavish gifts. First a ferrari, how about a yacht next?
Step 2: Sack Avram.
Step 3: Offer Jose a ridiculously large contract and an unlimited budget.

Well Steps 1 and 2 are complete. We can live in hope.

I would give anything to have Jose back........ANYTHING!!!!

I never thought I'd say it but I'm going to miss the old glum bastard. Now, let's get back to our regularly scheduled Special One (unfortunately, I think it's Ladrup or SGE).

We have to get Willi Entenmann. He's the best and has a long story of sucess.

Time to move on yet again, whatever our feelings were with regard his abilities, there is no doubting he was a decent guy. I suppose at least the club spared him the indignity of letting him stay on for a few more weeks and the press laying into him.

I just hope that Roman will know look at the model of stability that Man Utd and Arsenal have, and devolop things from there, I was going to say Liverpool as well, but the last thing we want is to become as big a joke as they are currently.

I don't know who I want in at the moment, but as long as they're respected by the players and do the buisness then that's all that matters. But what would most of us give for the second coming?

If I was RA my shorlist would be
1. Frank Rijkaard (I dont care what anybody says, Hes the most PROVEN manager available
2. Michael Laudrup (Just look at Getafe, Before they were a relegation threatened club who never beat a great team, This year they reached the semi finals of the uefa cup and beat both Barcelona at home and Real Madrid away
3. Roberto Mancini (Hes transformed Inter and whether or not he can go all the way in the CL is unknown but hes shown he can win the league consistently in italy

Note : Considering we cant have TSO back because otherwise he would be #1 by miles

I wanted Grant gone but I do feel a bit sorry for him in that he did want to win something. The problem apart from his lack of real managerial skill at the European top flight is that if it were not for a slip he would be a CL medallist and he really took it badly not winning. He misjudged his own friend. WINNING IS EVERYTHING IN FOOTBALL! simple. He pinned all his hopes on the CL which thinking that was the only thing Roman and the board wanted but ultimatley the CL needs a big slice of luck as we all know. Liverpool's ghost goal, Messi Miss, terry's slip etc etc. 2nd is just not good enough. Ferguson knows that. History in 20 years time will be about how many cups you have not how close or gallantly you came close to winning. Still, maybe he's learnt a lesson in life and I hope he gets a good job somewhere so long as it does'nt mean he pushes out someone else's manager.

Good news indeed. I hope he doesn't stay at the club at all. As much as I adore Mourinho, I don't think it is time for him to return: it would be too soon.

My list:
1. Laudrup
2. Mancini
3. Hughes
4. Rijkaard
5. Hiddink
6. SGE

Looks like chelsea are out to try and buy success AGAIN id love to see u lot get jose back and let him run the team how he wants not how roman wants and let jose buy the players he wants not the ones roman wants like sheva after all a manager nose more about football and players than roman could even no

@ Dan
I read an article in the Times a few weeks ago by Martin Samuel which said that Jose in fact did want Shevchenko, so I just thought I should put that in there. I'm not sure about brining back Jose, doesn't Chelsea want to be an attacking team?

ANDREI, I think we wouldve been more attacking with TSO if he was able to buy the players he wanted eg Quaresma and Dani Alves but we will see as we will spend big in the summer according to PK

Dan, Didnt we ban the 10 year olds from here?

"In my philosophy it was a very bad one because in football "almost" means defeat."
"Chelsea almost won the Carling Cup, almost won the Champions League, and almost won the Premier League.
"Almost is nothing."
"After two titles per season for the last three years there were zero titles this season... In my philosophy that means a really bad season...
"Maybe in the philosophy of a loser this was a great season, which I respect."

Go on Jose, tell it like it is.

No real surprise in the departure, but I feel like a big thank you to Avram is in order....... Not for winning us anything, but simply for steadying the Chelsea ship at a time when we really could have imploded, and for being the most gracious manager the Premiership is ever likely to see.

We won nothing, but for a man with no top league experience, he gave it a bloody good shake. He took us to heights we haven't seen before and managed to (somehow!) maintain the unbeaten home record upon which our success has been founded.

After the Carling Cup final, I will freely admit I was one of the 'haters', but he has impressed me with his ability to learn quickly and I too am a little sorry to see him move on.

As for a replacement:

Don't want Mancini
Don't want Eriksson
Don't want Rikjaard

Maybe to Laudrup
Maybe to Hughes
Maybe to Hiddink

Regardless of who it is, they will all fail to live up to the Prodigal Son (JM), so BRING HIM BACK.

At least that way, if he succeeds, Chelsea and Roman win. If he fails, Chelsea can move on without the next boss having to constantly compete.

I came to sojourn on the Isle of Wight and let the strong Solent breeze heal my aching soul (well I don't have TG's money for extended trips to the Midi). I had foresworn blogging for the week and only brought the laptop at the last minute for work purposes (and to keep up with the Giro. That's the cycling not a benefit payment)

Then bugger me it all kicks off again.

A few random thoughts prompted by today's events.

Sadness that once again the door revolves at Chelsea. No stability and no guarantee of any to come.

No trophies this year, but that's what happens in sport. Can we really compare Wednesday's loss on penalties with the Carling Cup defeat. Is the season really such a failure? Maybe.

But the top brass made a management change a couple of months into the start of the season, appointed a man without a track record at this level, gave him a 4 year contract, watched him take the team to 2 finals, and 2nd place in the Prem on the last day of the season and then started making statements that we expect more at Chelsea etc. etc. FFS! It just does not make any sense.

Are you telling me that they expected Grant to win the CL or the Prem, because surely the Carling or FA Cup would not have been enough? If they did then they were the only people this side of the known universe who did.

Then when he, suprisingly to most of us, comes within a fag paper of both they give him the heave ho.

I'm not arguing for keeping Grant, but as with Ranieri the treatment seems shabby, although I'm sure the pay off will help.

But what confidence do you have that these same eejits are capable of a coherent strategy and sensible apointment now? I don't have any, particularly if good looks, youth and a positive effect of the Brand are prized too highly above footballing nous and an ability to manage.

Yes they seemed to get it right with JM but that crashed and burned all too quickly.

Looking to the future:

Laudrup. Does he know Arnesen? Does he get on with him? Would be nice if someone did. A Danish axis, just when all eyes were on the Dutch?

Aadvocat. How does Roman get on with Gazprom? Are they going to let their man go?

No one in the current crop of candidates has managed in the Premiership apart form SGE. Does that matter?

Before taking the poisoned chalice and drinking deep, the candidates should look at how high the bar is set.

Then again how high is it set?

According to Kenyon its the CL or the Prem if I read it correctly.

Well on those terms then I give 'em a year and its all change again because no matter how big we think Chelsea are, how entitled we are to win big every year, its a mighty difficult thing to do.

Just maybe if they can keep the core togther, get lucky with injuries and get the run of the ball, if Utd and the Arse have a few problems, who knows?

But if those aren't the terms and there's a season or two allowed for change and development, then I come back to the business with Grant. If he was a stop gap then why not say it at the time? It would have made sense. If he wasn't then who thought he was capable and why haven't they backed him after he came so close? And what does it say of their ability to pick winning football management.

If they are acting as a coherent group then there is an aura of obfuscation and evasion at the heart of the management of Chelsea. If not then are we watching the results of constant factional infighting? Whatever it is it does not inspire confidence.

However there is still the football to watch and that's the main thing.

Tend to agree with Greenlights sentiments re Grant. I was never a hater but could never really understand the logic of the appointment. But good luck to him and thanks for what was a memorable season if not for all the right reasons.

and finally

@TG Congrats on that mighty rant on Red365. They had it coming the gobshites!

LINK

This shows how much JT cares.

I think that bringing back TSO this soon is probably a bad idea considering how nastily it ended and what the purported reason of desiring attacking football...

My choices:

1. Ottmar Hitzfeld
2. Rijkaard
3. Rafa Benitez (it would anger scousers so much (a big plus) and help us in the CL though admittedly he has been terrible in the Prem)

I dont like Laudrup because I think at this point Chelsea should not be experimenting on up and coming coaches no matter how promising. If we are, then why not stick with Avram or try out Steve Clarke instead of going with a Getafe alumnus? Same problem with Hughes...

Mancini has not impressed and he seems emotionally fragile (the whole breakdown following Liverpool's defeat of Inter was shocking) and until he wins the CL, he has not really convinced me...SGE would not seem as bad now as when he was England manager but it has been a very long time since he has gotten very far with a club team and again, dont think Chelsea is the place for him to experiment...

if we continue changing managers like socks we won't finish good.
avram grant did well in his first season and this just isn't fair.
i hope stupid mancini and idiotic rijkaard will not come.
everybody except them I can accept!
i feel so bad...'cause I liked Avram.

A thank you is very much due for AG not so much for coming 2nd in the league (even CR delivered that for us) but for bringing Chelsea into the CL final and coming within a whisker of winning it. Also not to forget for banishing our Liverpool CL semis demons.

Looking forward I think SGE & RM would be a step back if it is indeed a flowing attacking brand of football that we want to play. As much as Rijkaard had achieved at Barcelona, in the end he showed how poor a man manager he is.

I would agree with some of the views above that ML & GZ would be able to create a good brand of football. With regards to defensive input we already have a very able coach in Steve Clark who offers some continuity and connection to the club. What a team that may be....

42, Fat Rafa? You must be kidding they wouldnt be angered they would be howling with laughter, Benitez is a cup manager and nothing more, Rijkaard is the favorite and I think he will get the job

I mean is AG now a bad manager cause Terry slipped?
Would he be a good manager if Terry had scored?
How can you base a serious decision on something so arbitrary.
Just let him work for one more season and then you can judge him much better in my opinion.

Abramovich,

All is forgiven! Bring back The Special One!

No, Avram is just average in every way. As he put he is just 'the normal one.' For a club like Chelsea we can't settle for mediocre, or run of the mill when it comes to players, staff or management. He was simply out of his depth and dspite being a nice guy, ultimately he would always have come up short as seen by his results this year: 3 2nd places and a defeat to Barnsley. That is why he wasn't good enough for Chelsea.

Thank you, Roman, for roasting the Toad at last!

I had suffered since 20 September 2007, now I feel liberated!

Today... Chelsea are born again!

I admit I do feel a little sorry for AG, He showed he could win the big games and make the right decisions but I think the pressure was too much for him and he couldnt live up to the expectations of such a huge club, Like Ranieri he was a good guy but not a consistent winner and thats what this club needs

Toady was just one spot kick away from keeping his job. So bad luck to him. My heart is crying out for Jose Mourinho.

So apparently Uncle Avi is making a quick return to the prem, the Times is reporting that he's the favorite to land the Man City job, what do you all think of this, how do you think he will be welcomed at the bridge next year?

Can't say I'm too upset - he exceeded expectations (which were pretty low given the early season drama), but he was never the right man for the job in the first place. Credit to the guy for what he's done - he'll always be the man who took us to the biggest game in our history (and within a gnat's cock of winning it); no-one can take that away from him.

@Blue Bayou - there's a coincidence - I'm also resting my tired mind on the IOW... Where are you?

I don't want to rush things, but I think it would be better if we had a new manager in place sooner rather than later. Got next season to prepare for, and all that.

Loads of transfer and drama lies ahead. Im not sure if the new manager would want to rebuild and make the team entirely his own though. Maybe he can extract out the spine of the team who will be main stays for the next 5 seasons e.g. Cech, Terry, Essien and build the new team around them.

I think Avram has done fantastic. As a long standing Chelsea fan I was the first to say he's a stop gap and he better be gone soon. However he proved me wrong, and I think his record speaks for itself. i can't remember how many points off the top we were when he took over but we finished level going into the final game of the season against no doubt one of the strongest United teams of Alex Ferguson's reign.

And anyone who says he can't win big games has got to be kidding me. We beat Arsenal and United in the league, when no one thought we could including me. And I don't care what Ferguson says, even he knows United were lucky not to have lost the Champions League final in the second half. I think Grants luck ran out when Drogba got sent off, i would have fancied him taking the final spot kick.

Either way we have proved once again that Chelsea don't actually look at records (Avram's Chelsea league and cup record is impressive) and instead make snap decisions. We have no patience. Avram wasnt given that chance to buy any of his own players, except a rush buy for Anelka to cover Drogba's African Nations absence. Sure Anelka might not have been a great buy but he was all that was available, and that Russian defender Grant bought will probably be shipped off now but isnt that what we spent millions getting Arnesen for?

We can never become a great club cause we can't see the manager through a bad patch (barely two games in this case). Both United and Arsenal came back stronger after they stuck with their managers through a bad season or two, were will never gonna have that and hence we will never become a consistent and dominant forces.

And for the first time we werent seen as arrogant, I knew neutrals who actually wanted us to win against the mighty United cause Avram is humble. Oh well lets go back to everyone hates Chelsea then.

Rikjaard proved he is clueless without Ten Cats, on the other hand, Ten Cate will NOT agree to work under the Dutch again.
Mancini? Inter only won the league because Kings Of Europe(aka Milan) were crap and Roma remembered too late they were in the competition.

Someone here mentioned Del Bosque (or whatever his name is written), this is an interesting choice...But where is he coaching now?

What's the Russian word for stability? What's the Russian word for Ruthless.. lets ask Peter Kenyon.

Give the job to Sparky. Give him 3 years to rebuild the team no matter what happens. Continuity breeds success. I think he is the man and has the personality to do so.

"Sparky Woods (born December 20, 1953[1]) is the current head coach of the Virginia Military Institute college football team." from Wikipedia

Is this who you mean? :)

Q: What is missing from this quote by TSO:

"I am very sad about what happened. In the last two years this team lost a Champions League final and a Champions League semi-final on penalties. The supporters deserve more, Roman and the board deserve more, top people like [Frank] Lampard, [Michael] Essien, [Claude] Makelele, Ashley [Cole], Didier [Drogba], [Ricardo] Carvalho, [and coaches] Steve Clarke, Mick McGiven and some others deserve happiness. I still think of them as my boys."

A: No Petr Cech, Joe Cole or most interestingly, no John Terry.

Methinks TSO has been closely following what's been happenning at Chelsea (where Petr and Joey have been more vociferous in their support of AG than most). Perhaps TSO cannot forgive JT for the manner of his departure, if you recall JT was meant to have turned against Jose. This obviously adds a dose of reality to our collective fantasy that Jose will be back.

This is our cusp of pain. We can have one but not both. So who will it be for Chelsea, TSO or JT?

@61

It's quite ridiculous to think that it has to be a CHOICE between JT & JM. For all intents and purposes it is most likely he will be heading to Inter and those names that he mentioned are the possible players he could take with him as JT and PC are staying put!

Anybody has any idea who the next manager will be?

WestLondonBlue (#62) No-one said there had to be a choice. But if there was to be a choice, who would people want?

Have to admit my initial reaction when I heard the news late last night was elation mixed with relief that the club had had the sense to bite the bullet swiftly and not risk giving The Almost One a second season to demonstrate that he really was no one's idea of a manager at a top club apart from the board while the core of the current squad disintegrated around him.

This morning I'm most in agreement with Blue Bayou above[@41] that I don't think even a degree in Kremlinology could make sense of the assorted utterances and decisions that come from that deadly triumvirate Buck/Kenyon/Greenberg - how did we go from Kenyon asserting Avram is a permanent appointment with a 4 year contract who has done better than we expected to sacking him just a few weeks later?
Is part of the problem that we only ever hear what Roman thinks or wants via them - or even worse via self-servers like Zahavi, never directly. The glimpses we see of him at matches suggests he behaves more like your average fan on an emotional rollercoaster than one of the stiff-necked suits we see in most directors' boxes and I wonder if that's how he addresses business issues re the club too - his spending on us is only a pimple on the bum of his total mega-billions after all that he could just treat as a bit of light relief from his serious business interests.

I despair at the levels of arrogance that Kenyon's "second is not good enough for Chelsea" quotes are symptomatic of - no wonder so many neutrals now hate us even more than ManUre - as he has effectively set the bar at a level that says we MUST win a trophy every season.

Tell that to Gooners now looking at a bare trophy room for 3 years in a row.

Can any manager with no experience of EPL and looking to build their own side really be expected to attain that level instantly with who knows how high a level of Board interference in team matters- just because TSO managed it doesn't make it an automatic certainty given how many clubs are now spending serious money each year?

Final thought for now - strange that Laudrup seems to have dropped off all the papers' lists of frontrunners, especially after he was in Moscow with the club for the pre-CL celebrations?

Last word on the pro-ManUre bias in the media:

LINK

I think the next manager, should be a person that can work with a lot of superstar players, someone like Del Bosque (remember his work with Los Galacticos?)or SVE (boring guy, but hell...He was good in Lazio during the late 90's era). And for JM...well, i don't know, bad luck mostly happen when good manager back to his old club (Sacchi in Milan in 1996, Capello in Milan in 1997, Radomir Antic in Atletico Madrid, Sir Bobby Robson in PSV in 1998, Graham Taylor in Watford in mid 90's)

What a pathetic decision but typical of the new Chelsea. We never gave the man a chance. Seemed a decent bloke to me. We are in seriosu danger of turning into the new Real AMdrid - a team full of galacticos and rotating the manager every year, constantly underachieving!

Grant had a fantastic record in hios short time here, and was so close to winning 3 competitions. he was also far more tactically astute than anyone in the media gave him credit for. As an example, his substitution of Kalou for Joe Cole in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final at Anfield was a master stroke. The change, and the way he deployed the player, had the Liverpool midfield and defence all over the place in the last quarter of the game - up to that point Liverpool had the game well under control. His tactics certainly caused the additional pressure that led to the mistake by Riise.

@Football Bet Man
"Grant had a fantastic record in hios short time here"
You must be on drugs mate!

To say that sacking Avram was a disgraceful decision is plain wrong. Sympathy towards a nice guy seems to have blinded people to the fact that his record wasn't good enough. Losing 2 finals, costing us the League with his idiotic substitutions against spurs and team selection at home to Wigan, and that embarrassing defeat to Barnsley, shows how he is not good enough for us. It doesn't matter if he is able to get us to finals or the last day of the Premier League still in touch, if you don't win anything, then you're out. He inherited the best squad in the world and three second place finshes and a defeat to Barnsley is the LEAST we should have expected. To not retain our two cups from last year is a shocking achievement from Avram considering our competition. So thanks Avram, but it's time for you to get back to your own level, perhaps a Man City or how about Derby?

It seems unrealistic that Jose would return to Chelsea now.

For sentimental reason, I'd love to see Denis Wise as Chelsea manager, assisted by Zola and Steve Clarke. It's a dream team! :-)

I hear that Roberto Mancini has spoke with Chelsea officials about the prospect of taking over at the end of the season only to be rejected, It seems that Roman Abramovich wants Frank Rijkaard because the thinks that the dutchman can deliver the "sexy football" that the russian owner craves

Thank God he's gone.

Put simply, Chelsea need a manager who is going to take the club forward; under Grant they were just treading water. It isn't about winning trophies, because even if Grant had won the CL he'd have gone, no doubt (just go and read between the lines of the recent interview with Ballack). Grant was our Jimmy Armfield or Stewart Houston or Dave Mackay, only at least those three won things with the teams they inherited.

Grant had to go because wasn't seen as the sort of manager capable of a) reducing the age of the squad; b) introducing the sort of creative players we desperately need. He wasn't popular with players or supporters or the rest of the coaching staff, and when it came to the crunch, he wasn't even good enough to pick up a pot with a group of serial winners. Why on earth let him try and fashion a new team?

The next manager will not be under as much pressure as Mourinho or Grant, because it is now accepted that changes need to be made and they might take time. The immediate future isn't about trophies, it's about building the next great team of the Abramovich era.

Anyone but Riijkiard. If you think you've seen enough 4-4s this season wait till he gets in charge of us - and there will be a few 4-6 losses too! he can take his "beautiful football" and shove it up where the sun don't shine. don't want to finish 20 points below manure (like barca did this season below real) and below spurs (which is like barca finishing below villareal). don't want to finish trophyless in 2 yrs as well and get knocked out in CL without scoring a bloody goal in 180 mins. thanks but no thanks - not "attractive" & "sexy" enough for me...

my choice would be (sack Ten Cate as well and Clarke should stay):

1. Jose Mourinho
2. Phil Scolari
3. Marcelo Lippi (Gianfranco Zola as assistant)
4. Guus Hiddink
5. David Moyes

The others: I like Harry Redknapp a lot but he's too old for a big job like this and he has probably made up his mind to finish his career at Portsmouth. NO to Laudrup. Hughes, Sven and Mancini (with Zola as assistant) should ONLY be considered if the above 5 won't join.

By the way, I know many Chelsea fans have a kind heart but please stop feeling sorry for AG!

Roman still paid him bloody £9m for losing us 2 Cups, PL and CL! AG can happily use that money to open a new chain of AG Kebab shops now!

(AG Kebab is made of toad meat)

I don't feel sorry for him at all. Live by the sword, die by the sword and all that.

@ Peter: Well said.

@ 76. Peter

Yeah, I know you don't. Have a AG kebab on me! ;-)

It's strange that Avram says that he felt betrayed by his 'friend' Roman. Roman did everything he could for Avram. He offered him the Director of Football job at £2m/yr and the only reason he gave him a 4 year deal was so that when he sacked Avram, Avram could get a payoff. It's Roman's way of saying thanks for the job you've done, here's some cash, now just go away. Roman has don't anything to betray Avram, it's simply the ruthless world of football we live in. If you don't bring success to the club then you're out. Avram will soon find that out at City, where he'll soon be out of a job if they don't finish in the top 4.

Well, if you really want people to hate Chelsea again, appointing Dennis Wise would be a great start.

After hopping on a plane thursday there has been a lot of activity at the bridge it seems.. how plausible do you guys think it would be that jose comes back?

oh by the way, as a southern hemispherian, can i just say, nice 'summer' london... outrageous!

A quick diversion from the navel gazing to say as an old-time traditionalist who never quite lost the habit of hating Leeds United I'm devastated to see they've lost in the Play-off finals to Doncaster today [0-1] and are doomed to another year of 3rd tier football - there again if Roman were to walk away anytime soon that could be us a few years down the road....

...and here's a link I just spotted to a handy cut-out-and-keep reference guide to Kenyon and Buck at their most bullshit-fuelled:

LINK

@54 JD
Seaview near Ryde. Came to the IOW a lot as a kid and still like to visit. Everyone talks about how time seems to have stood still a bit over here.

Yes, its always 1955 here. We've just won the league and the FA haven't told us can't enter the European Cup yet.

Ah for simpler times....

If Jose is not coming back, let go and get Frank pls..

The bookies have Rijkaard as the favourite, followed by Hiddink, Mancini, SGE, Hughes, Scholari, then Mourinho! So the special one is a dark horse...

If Sven wasn't good enough for Man City, how can he be good enough for us?

Take a look at this:

LINK

Come on, Sven is crap. He should never come to the Bridge. What about Laudrup guys? He is an amazing manager right?

Don't really know what to make of AG getting the boot really. Everyone knew it was on the cards, whether he won the Champs or not but i still admit to being a little suprised when i heard the news last night. I really expected RA to give him another season, build a team of his own and prove his worth. I was also one of the "haters" earlier in the season when we failed in the Carling and FA Cups but i'll be honest in saying that i NEVER expected him to get us to the Champs Final.
Football, however is a fickle world where you are judged on your success rate, so i suppose on that note, it's understandable that AG got the heave-ho.

Obviously, everyone, given a choice would choose T.S.O to be our Manager but he's already ruled himself out of the running..not a shocker really, considering how he was treated himself.

Out of all the potential successors, i'd personally like to see Rijkaard at the Bridge. Ok, he hasn't done well at Barca this season but out of all the candidates, he's the only one who's won the Champions League...TWICE.
On that score alone, knowing that's Chelsea's Holy Grail, i'd put a week's wages on him being named Manager in the next couple of weeks..

If we are looking for a manager who hasn't won anything big yet, but is clearly on the way up, can I nominate myself? My under-11 team got second place in the Lorain County recreational tournament last season. True, my expertize is in coaching 8 v. 8, but how hard can the transition to a full team and full-sized pitch be? Next stop the premiership, and AG is welcome to take over my team, as long as he doesn't mess with the substitutions or write up the soccer report for the local newspaper.

I just know we've got to get things sorted and get some sort of stability at CFC.

4 Managers in 4 years?! It's getting more and more like Leicester City by the day!!!!!LOL

Here's how it looks like going from now on...

Win prem or CL and you stay the next year. If you don't you're out and the next man's in.

When he's finally had enough, by hiring and firing in this manner, Roman will have amassed a huge bundle of silverware ang got whatever he's wanted from CFC.

4 managers in 4 years? Mourinho was here for 3 seasons. Someone explain please?!

NO.9

I KNOW that..was quoting something SSN said this morning, (hence the question and exclamation mark after the quote), so if anyone can indeed explain, i would also be happy to know..

Manager no.1: Ranieri was sacked in May 2004.
Manager no.2: Jose appointed in August 2004.
Manager no.3: Avram appointed in September 2007.
Manager no.4: Roman now looking for him. Hopefully it's the return of his second manager.

At a guess, they probably mean whoever gets signed up next, will be the 4th Manager in 4 years?
Ranieri went in May'04
T.S.O joined us in June'04-Sept'07
AG joined us in Sept'07-May'08
that leaves a space for a new Manager..

So, when you look at it that way, yeah, it's 4 Managers in 4 years..

HABS

You beat me to it!!

Yeah, sorry about that.

Let you off!!!

Who would you guys like to be our next signing? I want Van Der Vaart

@83 BBD

One is reminded of the well known quote (can't remember who and when)

How do I know he is lying? I saw his lips move.. (or some such)

btw

When I saw the announcement on SSN at about 6pm yesterday Laudrup topped the list at 2/1 to be next. From what I see lately he is now way down the list. Any reasons?

Feel sorry for Avram? I have no scorn for the man, but when you gleefully take over the job of the most popular and most successful manager in the club's history after helping usher him out the door mid-season...

...well I can't be too sympathetic when it is his turn. Turnabout is fair play and all that.

The Guardian has this list of potential targets:

Van Der Vaart
Kaka
Huntelaar (along w/ Villa, Robinho and Quaresma as possible others)
Ramos

Unless Ballack or Lampard are leaving, I don't see much room for Van Der Vaart (without relegating Essien to right back permanently and leaving Mikel out of the side all together). The forwards (longshot Kaka included) seem to depend on the future of both Anelka and Drogba. Instead of Ramos, I think we should shore up Carvalho for a couple more seasons--maybe make a swoop for him in a few years when the defense is aging. Riccy's too valuable at this point to let go.

First of all my thanks to RyanAir for depositing me in Cardiff instead of Bristol and then taking 2 hours to get a bus laid on to take mine and another 2 diverted flights back to Bristol. One bus, 200 passengers.......hmmmmm...still if you only pay 1p for the flight what do you expect? Not much, but maybe some 'human' cabin crew would be nice rather than the dictatorial 20-somethings we got who were more worried about their hair, make up and who they'd be shagging later than actual passenger needs. Still I can safely vouch for the Boeing 737-800 series ability to land in a fierce gale force cross wind and driving rain. I swear the Captains name was Von Richtofen.

So, the post season review is under way and clashing nicely with my OU assignment due Friday. I'll try and get it done this week though but expect a big chunk to be unfulfilled re - the new coach.

Anyone else see that Kenyon has stated that that the squad will be trimmed from 28 to 22 - although I do wonder what the fuck that's got to do with him - I would have expected Mr New Chelsea to have made that call.


I see some names being banded around and see the merit in a lot. As much as I would love TSO to come back through the door I fear it will not happen this time around. I for one would be happy with SGE, who I believe has the 'clout' necessary to get the bigger names if required, a big reputation in Europe and has the media friendly image ready made for the 'brand' - you can't deny that Shagger Sven is amongst the sartorially more elegant coaches. Not good enough for Man City? Ask their fans that question....the more accurate statement is not good enough for well known human rights activist Thaksin Shinawatra.

I would also be very happy with Mark Hughes, despite some earlier detractors who say he has no record. Well, neither had Wenger or Ferguson in terms of 'majors' when they took over their respective teams and in Hughes I do see a very shrewd man who gets respect by the nature of his achievements as a player, plus he has the Chelsea experience behind him - why wait until Manure poach him in 3 years? It's worth noting that Sparky is the Sky pundits hot favourite as well.

As for Rijkaard, guilty of no more than going on too long at a club where 4 years as coach is a veritable lifetime. Remember, Rijkaard put Barcelona back on the footballing map after many years in the doldrums.....bloody hell I remember watching them and Newcastle slug out a 0-0 bore draw about 5 years ago when Barca had the perennial wastrel Kluivert as their big star. I think some credit is due, and there seems no doubt his Keeganesque body language toward the end was borne of the weight of expectation from a set of fans who wanted MORE and MORE! Culturally we're not in that space yet, although our new influx of 'fans' might well expect unending glory.

Mancini is another possible choice but with no English I fear he'd struggle in his first season to get his ideas across...plus when did Italian football ever get described as stylish? My jury is out on him.

In short for the others

Hiddinck - maybe
Moyes - interesting and yes, I think that might be a good call
Lippi - too old
Laudrup - same as for Hughes, young, shrewd another Hoddle/Gullitt type coach who would no doubt link well with Arnesen and an amzing playing playing record as well

For me the big no-no's are Del Bosque and Scolari....you're kidding right? No English, piss poor image that easily matches Grants (yes I know it shouldn't count, but AG was sacked NOT for results, but because his PROFILE wasn't right for the BRAND!) and in Scolari's case a record at international level unmatched by anything at decent club level. I'm not sure his disciplinarian demeanour ould work at our club either.

In short if we go down the 'galactico' coach road then I fear we're doomed. For me the choices are the younger coaches doing well who deserve the leg up, but if you do decide on the older, wiser head then SGE or Hiddinck would be good for another 5 years.

Oh, and to those mourning the AG departure. A dignified and decent man with out any doubt, but read this damning article and if true then it's plain to see that the hierarchy within the club could see why he wasn't the future.

LINK

I would just say thanks Avram for seeing the ship steadily to the next port, whereby we'll happily collect our new Captain and move on to new adventures.

At Blue Bayou - thanks for the Football365 comment - I hate them even MORE than I hate Liverpool!

I think Rijkaard will get the job for DEFINITE and i'll be really happy with that appointment..

I agree with TONY..both Lippi and Scholari would be bad choices. I think that combined, they must have an average age of about 200 haven't they?!! Good God, no thankyou!

Even though he's supposedly "the best tactician in the world", I reckon Hiddink would be a bad choice also. He hasn't won anything outside Holland has he? Likewise Mancini hasn't won anything outside of Italy?

Sparky would maybe be a good choice for the future. I have always respected him but personally i'd like to see him win a trophy first before coming to manage us. Is that fickle?

104, LOLLI, Totally agree about FR. Hes won the league 2 years in a row and the CL with Barca and he has played some great football aswell. Im reluctant to talk up Hughes as a possible manager for us because he hasnt won anything, People can say england is dominated by the top 4 but Portsmouth won the FA Cup because of Harry Redknapp and they hadnt won anything in how many years?

Stowe, Not much room? I think alot depends on the departures, Also I hear that we are playing 4-4-2 next season so lets take a look

Cech

Bosingwa Riccy JT Ash

Joey Ze German Lamps Van Der Vaart

Anelka
Sheva

We could also play him behind the striker in a 4-4-1-1 with Anelka the lone striker, As for Essien, Theres nothing wrong with competition and with all our injuries this season in midfield, Lamps missed over 2 months, Ballack didnt play until December? Im sure Essien will have the chance to make the slot in the middle his own.

That article in the guardian summed up all the limitations of Avram, and how the players were still relying on memories of Mourinho's methods to win games. The lack of authority shown by Avram, and the lack of respect given to him is embarrassing for a supposed 'manager' of Chelsea. He was simply a stop gap and he doesn't deserve much sympathy for bringing us a season of underachievement. We haven't heard from Musumba or Alex lately to defend their great leader have we? Maybe they've finally seen the light. Or perhaps they'll pop up on Man City's blog once Avram gets that job.

As for the future, i agree we need to go for young up and coming managers, with ambition and obvious talent. That's what's always brought us either beautiful football or success: Gullit, Vialli, and of course the God that is Jose. Whenever we have gone for experince: Ranieri, Avram, all we end up with is a series of disappointments and in the end a lot of almosts. We almost won the league and CL under Ranieri, and the same happened under Avram. We should take a small risk on Laudrup or Hughes with Zola as assistant to learn his craft. If not then appointing Lippi or Hiddink will be another stop-gap (a more successful one than Avram) until we find the next best up and coming coach. Jose was a one off, who else at his age has his record of trophies. That is why on paper he must be one of the best coaches EVER. But if not the return of him, in the next few days (although he could be back in 2-3 yrs), it has to be someone young.

This period does have the feeling of post Ranieri sacking. A need to find a new amazing coach, and only a few weeks before the Euro's which we can use to pick off the best talent in Europe. Watching Euro 2004 was great to see Robben, Cech, Ricky, Paulo all exhibit their skills as new Chelsea players. Maybe this year we'll be looking on at Bosingwa, Ramos, Van der Vaart, Villa, Huntelaar as new Chelsea players.

KTBFFH

Being from the states I'm not familiar with British newspapers, is anything written in the Sun truthful, or is it pure speculation? I'm wondering after reading this: LINK

ANDREI

No. It's a crap British tabloid that makes up lies..especially involving CFC, as is the News of The World..avoid BOTH like the plague!!
Besides, T.S.O has already released a statement today on SSN saying that he has ruled himself out of the job.

Speaking of tabloids, the Mail reckons that Chelsea are about to make a £50million swoop for Torres after it's been claimed the club wants to cash in on him to help with debts.
Honestly can't see that happening in a million years..

1) He's still got 3plus(?) years on his contract..
2) He's the only good player they've got!!

Well apparently Sven's not our boy... he's off to coach Mexico.

LINK

As a Chelsea supporter I'm pleased, but as an American I can't decide whether "First half good, second half not so good" will be more or less problematic for us.

Jose back at the bridge? We all want it to happen but thinking he will return to the club that got rid of him less than a year ago in unrealistic, However that Sun article may be semi-true because I can see him returning in the future, Maybe he told RA that he will return after the next manager as the article says "on his terms", The story on Torres is nothing but CRAP, Hes not the player we wont because he underperforms in big games and dives almost as often as Stevie Me

Sven - Off to coach Mexico as GROY says
Hiddink - Says he doesnt want another club or the pressure
Hughes - Hasnt won anything and isnt really ready to coach a big team like us
Lippi - He says hes been offered several jobs in England this year and turned them all down because he doesnt want to coach in the UK, Screw him then
Laudrup - Yes, Hes done great at Getafe and although he hasnt won anything he did get Getafe (usually a relegation threatened club) to 2 finals this year
and hes a young manager and would be very successfull if given time
Rijkaard - Most proven manager available and RA is a huge admirer

Just had a closer look at Laudrup's form with Getafe this year.......

They won 12 games out of 38 in the League, and lost in the final of Copa Del Rey to Valencia! They also fell at the 1/4 finals in the Uefa Cup. Albeit, this was done with an average group of players.

If Avram's performance wasn't good enough, do we really want another nearly man in Laudrup?

I'm leaning towards Hughes or Hiddink now, with Sven and apparently Jose out of the running. If we don't make an announcement in the next few days, expect Hiddink, but not until after Euro's which leaves almost no time to plan for next year.

I meant 1 final and 1 quarter final, Id go for Rijkaard

So the speculation begins. First my thanks to AG for the dignified way he has handled himself (apart from that bizarre post match conference). He is clearly a man of integrity and he deserves some credit and a round of applause from the chelsea faithful for how he steered the club through the remainder of this season. In the end he (and the team) were the width of a post away from being crowned European champions which cannot be ignored evern though some of our football this season has been average at best.

I, like most of this blog and the rest of the world, always believed AG was not a long term appointment, merely a stop gap to see the season out because finding a long term replacement mid season is usually impossible. The club had to wait until the off season to see who was available.

Which brings me to my tip: - Guus Hiddink with Zola as an assistant and hopefully Cudicini as goal keeping coach and Cech's number 2.

Why: - Guus Hiddink is already on the payroll has not signed a new contract with the Russion federation and is dutch! The way he turned Australia into a team will never be forgotten here in OZ. He is a master tactician (like Jose), has a very dry sense of humour and clearly gets on well with RA. He will also pass muster with the players and most importantly will have clout in the transfer market.

Zola is the ideal former Chelsea man to replace Steve Clark who i fear will want to move onto a manager's role in the Championship to continue his career. He will certainly bring back the attacking spark to be harnessed by Hiddink's tactical prowess.

Cudicini would be tempted to stay if he had a dual coaching/playing role.

This would be a powerful team capable of building on Jose's era and move the club forward to the next level.

Rykaard just does not do it for me and having ultimately failed at Barca will count against him. Laudrap is definitely an up and coming manager but I now feel he is too raw for us giving what RA and the club want to achieve.

Sparky.. certainly would be interesting and will be full of passion but he doesn't have the street cred in the world that Hiddink has.

Hiddink, won't be expected to win the Euros with Russia and can certainly start the pre season planning for Chelsea along with guiding Russia at the Euros.

Thats my thoughts... of course only RA and PK really know whats going on...

KTBFFH

How would people feel if we nicked Ramos and Poyet off the Spuds??

Might be a winning combination, and Ramos certainly seems to have a good reputation.

LINK - Pretty interesting read about Grant's exit, he was offered his old job but he refused it.

@ Greenlight,

Has a certain ring to it to put the spuds back in their place but I am not sure Ramos will like working under RA. Gus might be tempted though particularly if we can tempt Zola to join the coaching staff. The rapport Gus and Gian franco would have with the players could be crucial to the main man as Clarkie was for Jose.

For a club like Chelsea we need a 'head coach/manager' supported by selected specialist coaches (attack/defence/goal keeping) and a team that included Gus, Gian Franco and Carlo would be ideal.

@Blue PeterThe Great:
Can't agree more.
What about Clarke then?

@ Aravind

No news but the rumour is he will leave either to join up with Jose wherever he ends up or to manage in his own right... unless they offer clarkie a big pay rise and he likes the new manager. He has been a great servant to the club and will be missed but times move on. Of course all this is speculation, clarkie may choose to stay when he sees who is appointed as senior coach.

Grant never was a permanent appointment. He only got the job because Jose left (he was not sacked as Grant). I was amazed how some so called “fans” could turn against the very club they suppose to support this year though.

Thanks to AG for saving Chelsea’s face this season (could have been lot worse)and giving us the first CL final. But I do not think, even winning the final would have given him the permanent position.

Have no idea who is going to be next manager, would be easier to make a list of those not in consideration than the other way.
I have my preferentions, but so does anyone else and Roman has his. So it is a great time for papers…will try and sell lots of stories.
I think Roman knows what he wants and he will get it, do not doubt about that. I expect more of “a new beginning” than going back to old ways though.
Expect big changes! Whatever happens YOU COULD BE SURE
Chelsea is going to be contender for everything again next year!

I was amazed how some so called “fans” could turn against the very club they suppose to support this year though.

Nobody has turned against the club, I support Chelsea always have done, always will. I get a bit pissed off with assumptions that because you might not agree with an appointment or sacking that we become so called fans.

Firstly, on return of TSO The Sun seems to be only paper saying he's still open to offer rather than going to Inter - but both their article and Sky Sports News online article opposing this are both entirely devoid of quotations or named sources - so I'd say both are bank holiday filler stuff.

I agree Lolli that Sun is generally the worst of tabloids for printing rubbish but someone on here a few blogs ago claimed they were often pretty accurate re Chelsea because they had a good mole at the club - anyone want to own up and comment?

Interesting that several papers are now printing 5 or 6-point job descriptions of what RA allegedly now wants which fail to mention exciting attacking football but include a strong disciplinarian streak - doesn't sound like Rijkaard to me even if he is still the bookies favourite.

I'm surprised no one seems to have brought up the 2 other factors that have occurred to me that might mean Rijkaard isn't too keen on the job:

1) does he want to work for the club which so vociferously impugned his integrity just a few years ago over the alleged "entering the referee's room at half time" row at the Nou Camp in our CL tie? If he does link that with the individuals rather than the club that would presumably still mean the end for Steve Clarke who was almost as voluble as Jose if I remember correctly.

2) he was dismissive to the point of near contempt about the quality of EPL football in interview after this year's CL semis - so would he rather still work elsewhere?

Of course I may be being far too naive and the offer of shedloads of money and a guaranteed juicy pay-off a few years down the line when Roman decides he's not quite what he wants after all may make the challenge of showing the EPL how to do it properly seem just the offer he needs.

Is Torres talk for reals?????!!! Its hard to imagine him in a Chelsea colours and without the scousers(sour fans that they are!) getting really pissed! He could be an ideal fit for replacing BOTH Drogs(I really dont want him to go though :(..) and le Anelka(the lazy bum that he is),I wud prefer Anelka to go instead of our Riccy :(
& as a forward I WANT Messi, he could really create havoc in EPL, if only he is fit, That is the only worry.

sorry for posting the link here, but just FYI

LINK

@ Jiko

Poor Jiko, you must be heart-broken then! I suppose you can still worship the Toad at ManCity if he goes there.

Go on, we know you want to... :-)

The Wacky World of Football seems to be in full swing now:

firstly that 2-year contract extension to 2010 that Hiddink "signed" with the Russian national side weeks ago has now metamorphosed into a verbal agreement which will be reviewed after Euro 2008;

then his agent comes out with quotes that there is "no way" Hiddink is coming to manage Chelsea and all the bookies' odds on Hiddink in that link above [@86] start shortening to extent he's now favourite with William Hill ahead of Rijkaard - you couldn't make it up......

- just checked the link again as I finished this entry and the smart money is obviously now back on Rijkaard and several Hiddink odds including WH are lengthening again - it's hard to keep up!

New Manager

It's going to be Rightguard. Let's get that stright. RM loves him, Barca played the best footy seen in years under his tutelage, then he lost the dressing room/interest.

What do we want?

RM wants sexy football, for all the TSO's abilities sexy football (which did happen on occasion) was merely a bi-product of our play not an essential element.
I love winning, indeed we are now a club of such standing that we MUST WIN. But I want style. Barca did it with style two years ago, grudgingly United have been doing it with 'some' style. So why can't we? It's the manager that dictates the style. The players are merely an expression of the manager.

Laudrup

Let me put forward a case no matter how unlikely getting him may seem. He took a team....lets look for a UK analogy of Portsmouth. Recently promoted and a decent footballing side. They had good players and unlike pompy who's primary weapon is power they used passing the ball as their main weapon. He rocked up and turned De La Red (on loan from Real) into their most defensive player in midfield. De La Red is very much a creative midfielder rather than a destroyer in the mold of Maka or Mikel. I like the idea of this style in our midfield but he won't win the league first time up.

Who do I want?

I'd like Rightguard but only if he's up for it, you can see he lost interest over a year ago.

Oh and the only thing we lack is pace and creativity wide. Queresma I'd like a look at (Euros), Ribery right now, or even Messi (ha ha ha I can dream).

So much to say so little time. statements with no backups arguements.....

Get rid of Drogba. Amazing/devastating player but I've had enough now.
Chain Ricky to the Stamford Bridge gates. Our Best Player.
Cech IS THE BEST

Barcelona want Malouda. Why?

SELL: Sheva, Haim, Anelka, Malouda, Drogba, SWP, Sidwell, Belleti

SIGN: Ribery, Aguero, Villa/Torres, Van De Vaart, Diego, Queresma and Rightguard

@SimonT(oad?) don’t be an idiot…..actually is your choice, no point wasting my time :)

"Chelsea want a tough disciplinarian manager to replace Grant" - sounds like Sparky to me ?!
"Mancini 'very happy' at Inter Milan" - so what next for TSO then?

Fed up reading transfer and manager news. Every paper has a different, contradicting story.

#130

You're damn right. I dont know who to believe. Even Kenyon, who's shit comes out of his mouth. If we cant even trust the words of the Chelsea hirachy, who else can we believe?

HMMMMM...

Very much in agreement with the comments BlueBayou (no 41) and Nawaz (no 57) above…

Somewhat surprised the way things have turned out…I knew the odds were not in AG’s favour but still felt he might be given at least 1 season to run things his way. The guy tried and visibly improved on his match strategies as time progressed. The Chelsea team we saw towards the end of the season was not the same we saw at the beginning. He seamed to have improved on his team selection, half-time talks and match assessment. I think he’d earned more time and should have been obliged… but that’s just MY opinion.

For those of us that constantly benchmark performances, JM’s results would always be a tough act to follow (even for JM himself)…He raised the standards and others (especially Fergie) are ensuring that the standards get raised further with each season…

Some questions came to my mind from these recent happenings….What happens if the new manager fails to win anything at the end of the season?...would he get the boot too?...With this sack, would we not be putting the team and new management under severe pressure to deliver at the end of the season?...can such pressure and sexy, attacking football go hand in hand?...I hope for the sake of the team we don’t resort to ‘a trophy at ALL costs’ per season…where ‘ALL costs’ includes sacking any manager that wins nothing, regardless of how far/well he fared

On the issue of AG’s successor, I’d go for Hiddink or Advocaat…

Rijkaard only knows how to play one way…the smooth passing, sexy way…no steel! And I didn’t like the show he put up against Manure who never broke a sweat in both legs of their semi-final matches…the way his la liga season collapsed also shows he really possesses no hard inner core for the dog fight that epitomizes the EPL
SGE falls in almost the same bracket as Rijkaard and doesn’t strike me like one with enough passion to want to ‘win always’…
I don’t mind a gamble on Laudrup but would have preferred ‘unavailable’? Bilic instead if I had to go out of Gus or Dick…

Whatever happens, its still all about Chelsea, and one would really want to see stability at the club…no serious foundation can be laid on the grounds of inconsistency and uncertainty… I still believe that patience is, and will always be a virtue!

Always Blue!

Sorry to say as a TOON fan I am bitterly dissapointed that Chelski have got rid of Avram . Unfortunately MONEY speaks as ever . Its just a shame , you are like NUFC but with real money and it saddens me to see how you discard your managers so readily when you have just finished 2nd and finalists in the Euro champions league . Its an indictment on how our footy is now . Alex Ferguson is the hero , he has given solid continuity to MANU , and thats what chelski and toon need solidarity , Roman can you hear me ??

Speaking of Advocaat, why aren't there more Zenit players being chased by bigger clubs.

I don't know about you all, but whenever I've seen Zenit, they've looked bloody brilliant. That is the kind of football that would have even Chelsea haters drooling.

With Roman being Russian, I'm surprised he hasn't been looking to bring one or two of those boys to the Bridge.

Do we have to wait until the Euro's and the price for everyone rockets?

Arshavin?
Progrebnyak?

@ TOONBULLY

Moourinho was with us for over 3 years and one of the very few managers in the world who could have had a shot at matching or surpassing RedNose' longer term success.

I believe we as a club will regret his sacking for a long time to come. Not saying he will have brought trophies at the same rate of his first three years
but will have most certainly kept us there or thereabouts consistently for a very long time a la Ferguson!

As for AG, he should have not been appointed manager in the first place and his sacking was always going to be in the cards regardless of the outcome of the final.

Arshavin is available for just £10m, What are you waiting for Roman?

I'm probably in the minority here again, but...

Messi
Kaka
Ronaldo
Ribery

Do we really have to take the stars off our rivals. Those 4 have rose to prominence at their present clubs. Barca, United, Milan, and to a lesser extent, Bayern, made those players who they are. They were obviously big talents, but the clubs gambled on them and are reaping the rewards.

Let us get our own instead. Let us stay clear of those 4 and see if we can find a Messi / Kaka / Ronaldo / Ribery of our own.

Its easy for "toon fans" to SAY AG shouldve had more time but would your club have given another season? No chance in hell