stroey

The board indeed never backed Jose with transfers and also chopped him with the first possible chance they had. I think they like Pellegrini's type of football more, plays attacking football, calm in the press, a gentlemen image. I think he's more Roman and Emenalo's cup of tea. Maybe the board and Roman will back him more? Simeone is basically just like a mentally fit Jose - he plays pragmatic, counter attack and fighting football with tough players, no tici taca football. Yesterday Atletico hardly took initiative in the game vs Malaga, and this happens often - they even play pragmatic against mid and low table teams when needed, like Jose. The only main difference is his image in the press, he is less arrogant. I am not sure the current players fits his style of play.

ChelsTransfer ‏@ChelsTransfer 6 min.Simeone: "It’s not easy to leave Atlético. More than a team we are a family, and we are a real family" #Atletico #CFC (Guardian) ChelsTransfer ‏@ChelsTransfer 5 minSimeone: "I am the father and the grandfather is a role for CEO Miguel Ángel Gil and President Enrique Cerezo" #Atletico #CFC (Guardian) ChelsTransfer ‏@ChelsTransfer 5 minSimeone: "We have a potential that no one has. Oblak, Giménez, Vietto, Carrasco, Óliver, Koke, Correa, Saúl, Lucas, Thomas" #Atletico #CFC Not easy to leave means he's considering it, good signal.

He played a football they didn't want but they stuck with him - for how long? 2 months? thanks. If you don't want pragmatic football, then don't hire Jose but if you've hired him then back him. Falcao, Pedro, Stones? No he wanted a midfielder and a defender, the reported names were Marquinhos/Stones and Pogba, Pat Nevin said 6 players so probably there are also names that were under the radar.

Chelsea line up Manuel Pellegrini as Mourinho's replacement Emenalo has long been an admirer of Pellegrini's calm and unfussy style of management, advising Roman Abramovich to appoint the Chilean instead of bringing Mourinho back to Chelsea in 2013. The former Nigeria international, who was brought to Stamford Bridge by Avram Grant in 2007 from a position coaching a girls side at Tucson Soccer Academy, is again championing Pellegrini's conciliatory style of handling players and public relations -- historically, key concerns for Chelsea's billionaire owner. According to senior Chelsea sources, financial terms have already been discussed with Pellegrini's representatives and a pre-contract deal put in place. Abramovich is also understood to be considering installing Didier Drogba as one of Pellegrini's assistants, with the hugely popular former Chelsea striker already on record about an agreement to return to the club in a coaching capacity after his spell in MLS at Montreal Impact. http://www.foxsports.com/soccer/story/chelsea-line-up-manuel-pellegrini-as-mourinho-s-replacement-122015 Thanks Emanelo if true

Emenalo is a legend ChelsTransfer ‏@ChelsTransfer 7 min.In a succession plan drawn up by #CFC club's technical director Emenalo, Pellegrini will move from #MCFC to Stamford Bridge in the summer. Chelsea have lined up Manchester City coach Manuel Pellegrini as a permanent replacement for Jose Mourinho (via @DuncanCastles) #CFC #MCFC

Not really destroyed, we won the league and we only need 3-4 signings to be a complete different team: 2 defenders to slowly phase out JT and Ivanovic, a great CM and maybe a great second striker. Regarding Pep, it's the best decision he can make. He has connections there (former Barca people), he can buy who ever he wants without worrying Emanelo will give him Djilobodji/Hector as City are sponsored by themselves. It's a challenge for him to win the CL for City, not super easy.

I am not sure our attacking players (oscar, hazard, cesc etc) will love to play Simeone's type of football. For Simeone, attacking players like Turan/Hazard also need to track back a lot, he plays very pragmatic football. Sometimes he parks the bus even at home against mid table teams. Yes he also plays with attacking backs, but that's because he has great CB's who don't need protection. Pellegrini will give them complete freedom to attack and we saw how happy they were last game vs Sunderland, that's the football these guys wants. If he wins the league this season, he will have won it twice in 3 years time. Proven in the EPL and an attacking manager, why not?

Think he's a bit underrated, at Real he finished above 90+ points with Madrid. With City he could've won 2 premier leagues by the end of the season, it's them or Arsenal as I don't expect Leicester to keep it up. Tomorrow will be a great game: Arsenal - City. He also loves attacking football, all his teams he managed were great in attack. Silva, Aguero, KDB, Sterling etc are all shining under him and all players can express themselves attacking wise, quite the opposite of Mou. Think the likes of Baba, Oscar, Hazard, Willian and Cesc will love to play for him. This season he even will have a chance in the CL, the second round is against CSKA, with some luck they can go far.

Pellegrini is another back up option: City Watch ‏@City_Watch 3 u Chelsea have contacted Pellegrini about taking over there next summer, with Guardiola likely to replace him at City. [Mirror + Radio COPE] He also plays attacking football, the players will love that more than Jose/Simeone's type of football.

Dave O’Connell ‏@DaveOCKOP Pep Guardiola's brother has confirmed he is taking the Man City job. (BeIN Sports)

meanwhile in Madrid the score is: Madrid v Vallecano 9-2, 4 goals for Bale so far. edit: 10-2 now, lol. Hattrick for Benzema too. Goal UK ‏@GoalUK 3 minBENZEMA!!!! That's 10-2 for Real Madrid, as they become the first side in La Liga to reach double-figures since 1960

Thanks for your effort, xPetrCechx. When I see a new message from you in a thread, I at least know there will be some news (doesn't matter rumors or not) On Cesc: he publicly thanked Jose after he departed, 1 of the only 3 players have done that (Azpi, JT) I also don't believe he was the snake. edit: but the media know he is an easy target: a former gunner and playing bad this season.

Blanc just broke the record for highest points in the first half of the season ever: 51 points! Zidane as Real manager and Giggs as United managers are likely and we will have Didier/JT at some point as our manager I believe.

I am sorry but that was absolutely not full backing, they backed him October and sacked him in December. Maybe compared to other former sacked managers, he got 1-2 months longer, that's nothing considering how much he means for the fans and how much he's won for us. Can you imagine Barcelona sacking Pep if he was in the same position as Jose was? For the work Jose has done for Chelsea, he at least deserved the full season and not 4 months. They obviously let him down and didn't back him in the summer when he requested new signings, they could've backed him in January to give him the signings he wanted in the summer, but they haven't. We are qualified in the last 16 as group leaders, if that's not a sign of improvement then I don't know what is. And before you say he spend a lot: the title was won by Chelsea with a negative net spend (profit) plus in the January window in 2015 it was only a replacement for Schurrle because he wanted to leave. Yes Jose needs signings to get the best out of himself and the team, but you're also guaranteed trophies if you let him do that.

regarding managers, this is what I posted in the general football thread: (so strange)

Preparations for the post-Mourinho era are underway, with Hiddink confirming talks with #Chelsea legend Didier Drogba over a return. [Mail]

Football is so strange nowadays, especially this year. Within a year the biggest managers in football will have changed clubs: Klopp: Dortmund>liverpool Benitez: napoli>real madrid>sacked end of season? Carlo:real>bayern Pep: bayern>City*/United/Chelsea Jose: chelsea>United/Madrid/other Van Gaal: United>sacked end of the season to retire? Simeone: Atletico>Chelsea? So strange and if you count, all of them had spells of 3 years or shorter before the move, with exception of Klopp and Simeone at ''smaller'' clubs in Atletico and Dortmund. If it goes on like this, in 15 years time, every club will have managed every big club in Europe. Carlo for example had Chelsea, PSG, Real and now Bayern in 6 years.

Yeah exactly but Guardiola plays "attractive" football, so players won't be turning on him so soon based on style. But imagine Simeone to come in and plays bus parking football which he occasionally does, will the players start playing shit on purpose again because they don't like that style? We cannot let the players run the club.

@Essien19, @didierforever,@Barbara Think this guy sums up our thoughts perfectly.

Chelsea news: Jose Mourinho pleaded for Roman Abramovich's help Jose Mourinho believed that a face-to-face pep talk from Roman Abramovich would help drag his Chelsea first team squad out of their slump in the weeks leading up to his dismissal, and requested that the Russian deliver one, The Telegraph can reveal.But the club’s owner only did so after the sacking of Mourinho, addressing the players after training at Cobham on Friday when he told them that it was their responsibility to turn around the season, starting with Sunderland who they beat 3-1 at Stamford Bridge to climb to 15th place. Sources close to Mourinho said that he has had no contact from those two or others, including director Marina Granovskaia, chairman Bruce Buck and club secretary David Barnard. In his programme notes for Saturday’s match, Buck paid tribute to Mourinho and said that Abramovich and the board had “anguished” over the decision to sack him. Chelsea confirmed that Guus Hiddink would take over the club until the end of the season. The Sunday Telegraph has learnt that on Wednesday Mourinho attended a board meeting with Abramovich, Granovskaia and Tenenbaum all present. He was asked then what he would do in their position. Mourinho responded by saying that he would not presume to be able to run a football club from top to bottom but there were others at Chelsea who should also be asked questions of. The following day he took training, ate Christmas lunch with his players, and returned to his office to find Tenenbaum waiting for him. The Chelsea director, and long-term aide to Abramovich, said that the board had decided to sack the manager. After leaving that afternoon, Mourinho spoke to his players by phone. When he returned at 10.30am the following day they were already training. He cleared his office of personal items and left all his initialled training kit in the corridor outside his door. He then shook the hand or hugged all members of staff at Cobham, some of whom were in tears, but left without seeing any of the club hierarchy. During that morning Abramovich did address the players. Mourinho will return to Portugal in the next few days to see his father Jose Mourinho Felix, who has been seriously ill. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/chelsea/12060234/Chelsea-news-Jose-Mourinho-pleaded-for-Roman-Abramovichs-help.html

bbc5live

Courtois: "I didn't have a problem with the manager. You'd have to ask the other players about them" #cfc @bbc5live lol

after the game