Chelsea in pole position for Guardiola

[The only place to be 11,313]

As far as I'm concerned Guardiola is not a proven manager and I can't understand the love for him from Roman. So far he has only proven that he can win with already built team full of stars, the same thing that his replacement at Barca - Pito Vilanova or whatshisname can do with ease. Now I almost don't care who manages our team because that person is one bad run of matches away from the sack. If there is one I would love to see leading Chelsea that would be Jose. The special one is the only one.

Without wanting to sound rude, you don't seem to have any idea of what Guardiola did at Barcelona. The players he offloaded, the players he bought in and also promoted from withint, the changes in terms of discipline and work ethic, the very idea of what they were supposed to do as employees of Barcelona.

Honestly, if you want to know what he's actually like as a manager and how wrong you actually are I'd suggest picking up the new book on him written by Guillem Balague. It's a nice introduction to Guardiola the manager.

[5354 204]

just because Guardiola won plenty of trophies with barcelona doens't mean he is a god-like-manager.

what makes people think that he can make chelsea so formidable and get 3 points for every match? do ppl really think this is football manager?

whether be it guardiola, avb, rdm and ancelotti, roman should understand that there is seriously nothing as instant/guaranteed success on football level.

guaranteed success to an extent probably exists if it is done from the core or a base to start with, example developing a team of youths with great potential and drilling them the loyalty and passion for the club. only with great passion, loyalty, determination and great teamwork on the pitch, players can excel and do well.

constantly changing the management does not really help.

[The only place to be 11,313]

just because Guardiola won plenty of trophies with barcelona doens't mean he is a god-like-manager.

what makes people think that he can make chelsea so formidable and get 3 points for every match? do ppl really think this is football manager?

whether be it guardiola, avb, rdm and ancelotti, roman should understand that there is seriously nothing as instant/guaranteed success on football level.

guaranteed success to an extent probably exists if it is done from the core or a base to start with, example developing a team of youths with great potential and drilling them the loyalty and passion for the club. only with great passion, loyalty, determination and great teamwork on the pitch, players can excel and do well.

constantly changing the management does not really help.

There's no guarantees in football. All you can do is look at what qualities a person seems to possess and judge whether they are right for your team.

When you look at what he did at Barcelona and how he moulded a team out of a collection of individuals (not all, but many) and you see the issues we have at the club, then I think he is about as good a manager as is around (and available) at the moment.

He is also massively respected throughout the game because he did it both as a player and a manager. Look at the problems AVB had when it came to man-management. Guardilola can be a figurehead for the whole club and he can become that person who changes how we play football at every age-group.

We shouldn't keep changing managers, but you need to find the right manager to stick with long-term and we haven't had that since Mourinho. This club is still very much based on what he instituted - we need another big manager to come in and take us on to the next stage in our development. It's all here waiting for him if he wants it.

[Corner 456]

just because Guardiola won plenty of trophies with barcelona doens't mean he is a god-like-manager.

what makes people think that he can make chelsea so formidable and get 3 points for every match? do ppl really think this is football manager?

whether be it guardiola, avb, rdm and ancelotti, roman should understand that there is seriously nothing as instant/guaranteed success on football level.

guaranteed success to an extent probably exists if it is done from the core or a base to start with, example developing a team of youths with great potential and drilling them the loyalty and passion for the club. only with great passion, loyalty, determination and great teamwork on the pitch, players can excel and do well.

constantly changing the management does not really help.

None of us believe that if Guardiola become our manager then we would have instant success and win every single match.

But if Roman wants to play possession-based football, then Pep is the man for the job. He would have plenty of young players with great technical ability and he would know exactly which players he needs to get of and which to bring in. It wouldn't bring instant success, as you say, but if any manager is going to be given time to implement his ideas at Chelsea, it's Pep.

[Term-X 7,891]

I'm not worried about the City link, we can outmuscle them if we have to, ask Eden Hazard.

[Rambo 1,729]

I have a feeling it's going to be Mourinho instead which I don't mind if he is here for the long haul.

[The Mak 4,459]

I have a feeling it's going to be Mourinho instead which I don't mind if he is here for the long haul.

I feel the same way too. I've a sneaky suspicion Real will win the CL this year, it seems the only thing their players are playing for; then José will leave.

Call it sentimentality or whatever, but I just don't see José managing anyone in the PL except us. Think about it. Who says it's Guardiola Roman really wants? Who said he wants a 'Blue Barca'? Because he certainly doesn't give interviews; and by the looks of the past week and a half, he wants a WINNING team above anything else. Mourinho has made no secret he's still on speaking terms with Roman; advising us, supporting us, speaking of his love for London and the club. It's all there.

As for Pep, I don't see it. He had the bones of a World Cup winning squad and how could you make such a team any better? Messi. He seemed to be in the right place at the right time for Cruyff and Rijkaard's hard work to finally bear fruit. I mean, Barca don't seem to be slowing down now that Tito is manager now do they? I'm sure top European clubs will be stupidly falling over themselves in a couple of years for his services too.

[Hamilton 2,120]

Read an article last week that his agent commented he would only go to England if Ferguson would go at United.

Hm, last time we three fighted for someone he came to us i believe (Hazard)..

[The only place to be 11,313]

As for Pep, I don't see it. He had the bones of a World Cup winning squad and how could you make such a team any better? Messi. He seemed to be in the right place at the right time for Cruyff and Rijkaard's hard work to finally bear fruit. I mean, Barca don't seem to be slowing down now that Tito is manager now do they? I'm sure top European clubs will be stupidly falling over themselves in a couple of years for his services too.

Don't you think that any of the stuff that Guardiola did actually improved the team??

We have something very special at Chelsea potentially, why not get a guy in if all he did was take a good collection of players and turn them into arguably the greatest football team ever?

[The Mak 4,459]

Don't you think that any of the stuff that Guardiola did actually improved the team??

We have something very special at Chelsea potentially, why not get a guy in if all he did was take a good collection of players and turn them into arguably the greatest football team ever?

I'm not saying he didn't do ANYTHING, but he certainly didn't need to do much.

Listen, we all know Barca's system, their youth, their policies, their philosophy etc., but above all so did Pep. He knew the club inside out and so does Tito now. It makes their jobs a lot easier. There is no 'transition' now for Barca managers, as it seems they'll keep promoting from inside the club, as they do with their players.

The wealth of talent they have at their disposal is unmatched and their youth system is the holy grail. This is down to decades of work, not one man. Pep would probably have to snap up the entire Barca B team if he came here, because the English youth teams are no where near as good because they get no real experience as the Spanish ones do in lower leagues.

Also, Messi was practically a teenager when Pep took over and Barca wouldn't be where they are without him. For example, when Spain play the way Barca do (false 9), they look no where near as impressive and quite limp going forward.

Long story short: we are not Barca and we don't have Messi, so I'd really worry if Pep was appointed. Out of Pep and José, I'd gladly choose the proven winner, no matter who he manages.

[The only place to be 11,313]

Long story short: we are not Barca and we don't have Messi, so I'd really worry if Pep was appointed. Out of Pep and José, I'd gladly choose the proven winner, no matter who he manages.

My problem with Jose is the old mantra of 'never go back'. Plus when Jose left, it wasn't as though there was much of a legacy in terms of continual building from season to season. We essentially had what he built and now they've gone we're struggling. That isn't just his fault but it does seem to have happened at Inter.

The idea that Pep Guardiola 'didn't have to do much' really doesn't chime with any of the stuff that I've read about him or his time at Barcelona. They were already strong, but so are we in many respects. What we could do with is the cultural change he effected at Barcelona to build something new here, but something also different than we had before.

You're right about the differences between our youth systems, but we've invested massively in our academy and we need a manager who will utilise the young talent we have and create a conveyor belt system.

My personal preference would be Guardiola, but that's not to say I wouldn't welcome Mourinho back. We'd be lucky to have either one. But based on where this club is, what it aims to do and what Roman wants, I think Guardiola is the best choice.

[Laylabelle 9,534]

Josecoming back..nah never gana happen.Why would he?Was treated like shit in the end and there was a time in January or so when we thought he was getting the sack when he fell out with Roman or something over Sheva?Something daft remember singing his name at the game and him looking so down hearted in the interviews that followed.Make the years without him a waste as well.

Been linked with City in the Sun but not the best source of info.Just can see him taking over Man U when Fergie goes really.

We may have beaten City to the signing of Hazard but thats a whole different situation.He's a player.Plays like crap likely hood is he gets benched, etcwe perform crap and off goes the Manager.We're not attracting anyone with the sackingness of the club.Managers will look at us,see no time is given for them to make an impact and most likely thing sod it and go elsewhere.Although not a top class manager of whatever,Rodgers came out with what probably is thought about us a lot these days 'I want to furthur my career not damage it' during the time he was linked with us...

[-Kaplan- 410]

If I was Pep, I would go off and smoke as much weed with millions as I could, while at the same time having fun.

No reason to jeopardize myself or my cash, right?

[Chelsea? 892]

Pep helped make the best team in the world. What did he do with it? He won EVERYTHING. this guy has the best resume out there, Jose had the best team in the world with us and Madrid and hasn't beaten what pep has done. U don't play like Barca simple because u have talented players. Look at how crap we look, Madrid is crap too. Jose might get ride of Oscar and forget about anyone under 27 getting playing time.

I can't stand Jose, I always root against him. Why the hell would a manager be so rude to the media and actually think he has the right to demand more control at Chelsea let alone Madrid? RDM has done almost more for us than Jose but ppl still treat Jose like king cause he gives himself an ego filled nickname.

We have a young team and we have our future in mind. We don't need Jose messing around with our youngsters head like he does with Ozil. Ozil would be twice the player he is if Jose wasn't his manager.

Look what happens to a team Jose coaches, there's always in house fightin.

[Henrique 9,133]

Roman needs to get real...

Hiring him does not mean that Chelsea will play football like Barcelona and win trophies like Barcelona...

why can't we develop our own style?

Thats why we have Benitez.