As Chelsea completed their final home game of the season, the Stamford Bridge faithful were very clear about who they wanted in charge next season.
This morning, The Sun reported that Carlo Ancelotti has accepted a move to West London, but if yesterday’s chants of “You can stick Ancelotti up your arse” are anything to go by, the Italian will not exactly receive a hero’s welcome.
So, should Roman Abramovich risk the wrath of his home nation by pulling some strings to steal Guus Hiddink away permanently, or should he formally pursue Silvio Berlusconi’s least favourite manager? Or perhaps it’s time for the oligarch to swallow some pride and bring Mourinho back into the fold? Let us know your thoughts below…
Carlo Ancelotti is now odds-on to take charge in the summer
Following David Beckham’s revelation that Carlo Ancelotti is learning English, the AC Milan boss has been cut to just 4/6 with Sky Bet to be appointed Chelsea’s next permanent manager.
However, while acknowledging that winning the Champions League twice is an impressive achievement, The Spoiler doesn’t believe that the Italian has had enough success domestically to justify being Chelsea’s first choice.
But what do you think? Let us know who the Blues should go for with a vote and comment below:
The Dutchman expects to be in charge for the Aston Villa match
Russia coach Guus Hiddink is almost certain to take over as Chelsea manager until the end of the season after telling Dutch radio station 538: ”Within a few days I will go to London. I expect to be on the pitch next week.”
In an interesting development, Hiddink is the 11/8 favourite with SkyBet to take charge permanently in the summer despite pledging to stay with Russia until the World Cup. Milan boss Carlo Ancelotti is 7/2 with Gianfranco Zola (5/1), Frank Rijkaard (7/1) and Jose Mourinho (8/1) all close behind.
UPDATE: Chelsea have confirmed Guus Hiddink’s appointment.
Unemployment epidemic strikes another top flight club
Hilariously-named Secretary for Children, Schools and Families Ed Balls has today claimed we are in “the most serious global recession in over 100 years,” and those in the secondary sector can now count themselves lucky if they remain in gainful employment.
Yesterday, the effects of all that crunchy credit finally spilled into the Premier League, as two high profile jobs were dramatically culled. Tony Adams earned barely a day’s worth of headlines for his inevitable dismissal, as Chelsea decided to pull the plug on Luiz Felipe Scolari (pictured promoting his role as Lex Luther in the Superman franchise).
Despite reports that Sven may be soon be improving the sex lives of the south coast’s finest middle-aged women, Spoiler readers yesterday decided that Avram Grant is the right man for the Pompey job. But who will be willing to put up with Roman Abramovich’s Draconian man management skills? Our street team has spotted Roberto Mancini lurking around southwest London, while the bookies currently believe unemployed Dutchman Frank Rijkaard is the man for the job.
Let us know your thoughts with a vote and comment below…
Chelsea will be forced to employ a fourth manager in just eighteen months after announcing the sacking of Luiz Felipe Scolari.
Blues fans directed a chorus of “you don’t know what you’re doing” at the Brazilian after Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Hull saw them slip below Aston Villa into fourth but there was no real speculation that the axe was about to fall.
Ray Wilkins has been placed in temporary charge and the leading contenders to take over according to Sky Bet are Guus Hiddink, Avram Grant, Frank Rijkaard and Roberto Mancini. Former assistant Steve Clarke may also be in contention although Gianfranco Zola said this weekend that he has no intention of leaving West Ham.
Let us know with a comment below whether you think Chelsea were right to sack Scolari and who you think should be appointed manager number five of the Roman Abramovich era.
The bookmakers expect Mourinho to swap Milan for Eastlands
It looks like the folks at SkyBet agree with The Spoilerand its readers with the belief that Mark Hughes’ days are numbered after he received the managerial kiss of death earlier this week. They have opened a market on who Manchester City’s next manager will be and the list is loaded with big names. Here are the five leading contenders to take charge of the billionaires:
Jose Mourinho
It’s only five months since The Special One took charge of table-topping Inter Milan, yet he finds himself in the curious position of simultaneously being favourite to become the next manager of Manchester City and Manchester United. The former Chelsea boss became the first man ever to win the Premier League in his first season, but do City really want a manager who will turn their exciting young attacking talent into flair-free workhorses?
Frank Rijkaard
Two years ago, Rijkaard guided Barcelona to a La Liga/Champions League double, but his stock has plummeted since then and he was axed earlier this year after a run of just three wins in thirteen league games saw Barca finish utterly trophyless. The fact his inexperienced successor Josep Guardiola has instantly taken the Catalan club to the top spot while scoring seventeen goals in their last three home games makes you wonder where the Dutchman was going wrong.
Roberto Mancini
The Italian kindly ended Inter Milan’s seventeen year wait for the title by winning three in a row (the first of which was handed to them after Juventus’ enforced relegation and Milan’s points deduction) but his reward for such drastic over-achievement was the
So Chelsea ended months of umming and ahhing last night by appointing Luiz Felipe Scolari as their new manager. The Portugal boss told us that talk of Cristiano Ronaldo’s post-Euro 2008 future could disrupt the team, but he appears to have no qualms over making his own departure public midway through proceedings.
But are Chelsea making a big mistake passing up the opportunity to appoint Roberto Mancini, who won three straight league titles at Inter Milan, or Frank Rijkaard, who won a La Liga/Champions League double while playing utterly sexy football?
Yes, Scolari won the World Cup while managing Brazil, but with the players he had at his disposal and the terrible showings by France, Argentina, Italy and Spain, was that really an amazing feat? After all, it had been done four times before and will be done again many times in the future.
Would Chelsea fans be so welcoming if Otto Rehhagel - the man who took Greece to Euro 2004 glory at Scolari’s expense - was appointed? Probably not, even though his achievement was arguably more impressive than that of the Gene Hackman look-alike.
Avram Grant’s appointment was met with disgust by Chelsea fans but even he had won league titles in Europe (well, Israel, but they play in the Champions League) and achieved reasonable success in international football - going unbeaten with the Israeli national side in a World Cup qualifying group containing France and Switzerland.
After weeks of big names and endless speculation, The Spoiler can’t help but feel Chelsea settled for the wrong man.
Have the Blues made the right call in appointing Scolari? Let us know with a vote and comment below.
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