Chelsea in pole position for Guardiola

[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 9,305]

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.

[Strike 6,989]

Thats why we have Benitez.

Benitez task - get us top 4 and f*** right off. Only Jose and Pep will be trusted by Roman now

[Chelsea? 892]

Does Redknapp have any secrets? He never seems to lie to the media or stay quiet about a rumour

[Kez 2,727]

Oh fuck off.

Can I change my answer?

I would take anyone else other than the fat one right now.

[Laylabelle 9,305]

Cant we just have a pole?Dress it up stick it in the ground probably more useful...

[Manuf 1,448]

Can I change my answer?

I would take anyone else other than the fat one right now.

lol, after the fat waiter even Guardiola doesn't seem so bad

[Kez 2,727]

lol, after the fat waiter even Guardiola doesn't seem so bad

If we got Guardiola tomorrow it would be christmas come early. I'm so depressed.

[Manuf 1,448]

If we got Guardiola tomorrow it would be christmas come early. I'm so depressed.

I'm still hoping for Jose...

eh. need a drink.

[Kez 2,727]

I'm still hoping for Jose...

eh. need a drink.

I would give anything for Jose, time to start begging Roman.

[The only place to be 11,313]

I would give anything for Jose, time to start begging Roman.

Is Jose the best guy for this club?

Since he's left, we've had a a 5 year long hangover. After he left Inter, they've struggled.

Mourinho is the best manager in the world if you want to win right now. I don't know if he's the best man for building something a little longer term, and that HAS to be the aim at Chelsea.

Guardiola at Barcelona did bring through youngsters and that has to be on the CV of any future Chelsea manager. He's one of the few managers who would get time under Roman because he has the track record.

[termninja 5,290]

Is Jose the best guy for this club?

Since he's left, we've had a a 5 year long hangover. After he left Inter, they've struggled.

Mourinho is the best manager in the world if you want to win right now. I don't know if he's the best man for building something a little longer term, and that HAS to be the aim at Chelsea.

Guardiola at Barcelona did bring through youngsters and that has to be on the CV of any future Chelsea manager. He's one of the few managers who would get time under Roman because he has the track record.

While Jose does give out an impression like that, I ask of you to look at our squad only until a few years ago. Drogba, Lampard, JT, Essien, Mikel, Cole, Carvalho, Joe Cole, Paulo...even Kalou who we kept for quite a while...all Jose's players or players that flourished under him and they still carried on as the spine of the team. What happened with other managers who came here? They only used them with slight tweaks and only until recently we tried to switch the core of the squad with Ramires, Mata, Eden and Torres.

How is that Jose being bad for the future? And yeah, when your side is playing good football that brings trophies, you will have no problems attracting players of all qualities. And when they know they will work with Mourinho?

When he came to Real Madrid he didn't make any big crazy signings, but those he made were just the ones RM needed and from a good side he transformed them into a side with one playing one of the sexiest football in Europe. Being a RM coach is probably the most stressful job for a manager there can be. There, trophies are supposed to rain down more often then the fucking rain in England and the royal bosses of RM expect you to eat crap and shit lighting week and week out. I won't even think about how crazy is to manage all the big stars they have, especially when things don't go their way. It's a big test and Jose is doing rather well.

And I wouldn't be surprised at all if RM's current bad league run is caused by Jose's massive wish to win the CL. He probably lowered the workload and altered the tactics in order to do the best he can in Europe.

Imagine if a manager of Jose's quality decided to finally settle down? Imagine if his decision fell on us? Happy days...

[The only place to be 11,313]

While Jose does give out an impression like that, I ask of you to look at our squad only until a few years ago. Drogba, Lampard, JT, Essien, Mikel, Cole, Carvalho, Paulo...all Jose's players or players that flourished under him and they still carried on as the spine of the team. What happened with other managers who came here? They only used them with slight tweaks and only until recently we tried to switch the core of the squad with Ramires, Mata, Eden and Torres.

How is that Jose being bad for the future?

When he came to Real Madrid he didn't make any big crazy signings, but those he made were just the ones RM needed and from a good side he transformed them into a side with one playing one of the sexiest football.

Imagine if a manager of Jose's quality decided to finally settle down? Imagine if his decision fell on us? Happy days...

You've essentially just agreed with what I said - the spine never changed. The team he built remained the same, but there was nothing coming up to supplement or replace that. Now that might not just be his fault and we can point fingers at the board but the same thing seems to have happened at Inter.

Realistically, how many years does Mourinho stay at Chelsea? 2 or 3 if we're lucky? What about all the baggage that him and Roman have?

It could work. But I'm always wary of people going back to places where they had past glories. It doesn't always work out well. Do we even have the personnel that he would want?

Pep Guardiola has to be this club's first choice and they have to do everything they can to get him, and let him do his job in peace. If not him then maybe Klopp at Dortmund.