Official - RDM and Steve Holland appointed assistant coaches

[Caeruleus 1,148]

For the record, I think Lampard was out for that long due to different injuries.

I think you are right. Frank seemed to have to have other injuries than just the hernia and that contributed to his subpar season.

Frank had one bad season, so what? At the end of summer he will be ready as he was before first injury. But he will never be the 100% same again, becouse he is 33.

[Naked Mole Rat 437]

I'm kind of surprised Di Matteo decided to become AVB's assistant coach even though he has the experience as a PL manager. Oh well, I guess that just shows how much he loves the team. Really happy about this.

I'm happy for Holland as well. His work finally paid off. Too bad Clement had to go though..

BTW, does anyone know what roles Di Matteo and Holland will be doing as assistants? It's certainly not going to be like the Clement-Emenalo combo, is it?

[Eluwande Yomi 15]

I'm kind of surprised Di Matteo decided to become AVB's assistant coach even though he has the experience as a PL manager. Oh well, I guess that just shows how much he loves the team. Really happy about this.

I'm happy for Holland as well. His work finally paid off. Too bad Clement had to go though..

BTW, does anyone know what roles Di Matteo and Holland will be doing as assistants? It's certainly not going to be like the Clement-Emenalo combo, is it?

Yeah, that combo!, thats wat they are gonna be doin!

[Wilson 358]

Delighted Di Matteos back home Still wouldn't hurt to bring Zola in aswell

[GodZola 630]

Just a few points I've picked up on............

AVB certainly knows his way around managing people by making sure It's not just about individuals but this is going to be a team effort from top to bottom - this will build relationships, everyone will feel like they are part of it & he will know very quickly who doesn't! This will also build moral & provide extra motivation as the divides in the camp will be broken & a team effort will begin.

Like the way AVB has also made it known that even though JT will be Captain he will not be ammuned from being benched or dropped, this was one of the problems we had with Ancelotti who kept picking players despite their poor form - this sends out a message to all the senior players that if you're standards drop you will be on gardening leave! For me those few words are a quality piece of management.

One thing that does worry me though & I'm sure its just a red herring until we do start signing some quality players is that he wants to look at what we've got first before rushing into the transfer market. Someone who is as meticulous as AVB will prob already know who he wants in or out - I will be astonished if some of the mediocre players are still at the club come August 31st.

Lastly, the fact that AVB is making his decisions by personally phoning RDM is evidence that he has ensured that he gained some power over footballing decisions, maybe just maybe Roman has learnt his lesson by his previous mistakes.............

[gary gordon 1,777]

I have a much better feeling about AVB then i did when we announced Carlo as our Manager. Although Carlo did win the Champions League twice, he failed on the domestic circuit, only winning the Scudetta once. I for one believe the Champions League comes down to a mixture of luck and individual brilliance. Some of the most over-rated managers in history have won the Champions League.

AVB is a very tactical manager who has the football brain to change a formation or make substitutions that make sense.. The only thing that could ruin him as a manager is a divided dressing room. Any players who cause unrest throughout the dressing room need to be snuffed out and sent packing. I couldn't give a fuck who they are, If they aren't ready to give there all for the club and commit themselves to our new manager, they can piss off!

[BlueLion. 21,491]

Just a few points I've picked up on............

AVB certainly knows his way around managing people by making sure It's not just about individuals but this is going to be a team effort from top to bottom - this will build relationships, everyone will feel like they are part of it & he will know very quickly who doesn't! This will also build moral & provide extra motivation as the divides in the camp will be broken & a team effort will begin.

Like the way AVB has also made it known that even though JT will be Captain he will not be ammuned from being benched or dropped, this was one of the problems we had with Ancelotti who kept picking players despite their poor form - this sends out a message to all the senior players that if you're standards drop you will be on gardening leave! For me those few words are a quality piece of management.

One thing that does worry me though & I'm sure its just a red herring until we do start signing some quality players is that he wants to look at what we've got first before rushing into the transfer market. Someone who is as meticulous as AVB will prob already know who he wants in or out - I will be astonished if some of the mediocre players are still at the club come August 31st.

Lastly, the fact that AVB is making his decisions by personally phoning RDM is evidence that he has ensured that he gained some power over footballing decisions, maybe just maybe Roman has learnt his lesson by his previous mistakes.............

Fair point, agreed on most cases.

In terms of Roman giving him some leeway... I don't think he'd pay £13.3 million for a manager to keep him on a tight leash.

[Gianfranco_Z 202]

I don't think he'd pay £13.3 million for a manager to keep him on a tight leash.

Let's hope not

[J.F. 1,484]

Apparently Sky Italia(same people who reported Di Matteo on the assistant coach job) is reporting he's in line to be Director of football.

[LDN Blue 7,903]

So there's a popular twitter rumour that Gianfranco Zola is in contention for Director of Football. Not sure how true this will be though.. They say SkyItalia is reporting it, can't find a link though.

[steve5221 91]

Our website is proper shite......still offically has Clement, English and O Driscoll at the club when everywhere else has reported they have gone. Also no news on who the new reserve team manager(McGivern??) will be and no news on what Emenalo's role will be.....have not even bothered to add the two new guys either......

It also has NEVER offically said if Bosingwa was given an extension to his contract which is due to expire tomorrow....

[Bosnian Blue 2,471]

What's with this Zola comeback rumour ?

Is it regular Twitter bollocks or something is really going on ?

[ZanSnake 1,211]

Our website is proper shite......still offically has Clement, English and O Driscoll at the club when everywhere else has reported they have gone. Also no news on who the new reserve team manager(McGivern??) will be and no news on what Emenalo's role will be.....have not even bothered to add the two new guys either......

It also has NEVER offically said if Bosingwa was given an extension to his contract which is due to expire tomorrow....

[Domino- 116]

What's with this Zola comeback rumour ?

Is it regular Twitter bollocks or something is really going on ?

Well I think it's just rumor, speculation

[Kostas 1,468]

It was good to hear AVB called RDM himself, and gave logical reasons for his appointment. It clearly wasn't just a PR move to get the sentimental fans on side.

Here's SI's take on the matter, which I agree with:

6. Roberto Di Matteo. Villas-Boas was generous in his praise for the former Chelsea midfielder and ex-West Bromwich Albion manager, calling Di Matteo, 41, the "perfect man for the job" of assistant manager. It's not precisely clear, however, what Di Matteo's role will entail. He's not expected to take training -- Villas-Boas and new assistant coach Steve Holland are very hands-on in that respect -- so it's safe to assume that Di Matteo will act more as a sounding-board and a kind of liaison officer for the media. The former Chelsea player is also a popular figure with players and supporters. It's impossible to know whether Villas-Boas was gently pushed to appoint this kind of figurehead or himself felt that it was a useful ploy to take some of the heat and attention of him but from the club's point of view, it makes good sense. After the dismissal of Ray Wilkins, Chelsea could do with another recognizable, smiling face among its ranks.

Source: Sports Illustrated

In theory it should work both ways for us and Villas-Boas.