The Next Manager?

[Henrique 9,133]

Mourinho is not a good long term guy, as soon as the team is not winning anymore., he creates a bad atmosphere, blaming the board for not buying more players, blaming the referees, blaming the players...

[bushman 2,043]

That's the thing, it's going to scare every manager and probably always has. But managers still took the job and other managers still will. Why? Ambition, ego, determindation... most likely money.

MONEY is the name & Chelsea is the game, I feel.

Even though, Pep or Jose both are loaded with money but still too young to pack it in.

Pep just might be scared stiff to get fired by uncle Roman & Jose is of dubious reputation he just might come in providing Roman hires him.

[bushman 2,043]

7 people want Benitez. The sad thing is that some of them are good posters.

What´s wrong with Rafa ? Perhaps, the good posters know something the rest of you don´t ?

[MADEZ 9]

Frankly speaking i don't want to see pep at cobham and many people think he's gonna conjure magic like how he did at barca,it is two different stories, ''barca academy and desperate to achieve chelsea''

[FriendlyMailman 15]

Simple question. At the end of this season, who do you want to be the next guy in charge?

My preference is Guardiola and he seems to be the club's first choice too. Looking at where we are and where we're looking to go, he seems to be the best choice and he's available......kinda.

Guardiola aint coming.

[The only place to be 11,313]

Guardiola aint coming.

And you're basing that on what exactly? (I have very low expectations of the reply, so even the tiniest insight will impress me).

[MetsajCFC 1,255]

7 people want Benitez. The sad thing is that some of them are good posters.

For me Benitez comes across as an intelligent person. I know he has said things in the past but who cares, if anything then it shows he cares for the club he is managing and sticking up for it, mind games-banter, whatever you call it comes with the job. If he continues doing the job he has done so far, keep in mind the reception he got from the fans and the pressure put on him. It isn't an easy period either with club legends having contract problems, coming in mid-season when we were out of the CL more or less, busy busy schedule coming and so on. From that list, I'd of course pick Mourinho but I'll stick to the reality and face the fact that he won't leave Madrid (unless sacked) and if he did, perhaps some other jobs would be more suitable. Never rated Guardiola that much either, great coach of course but he also had the best squad in history of football to play for him, can't really judge his managerial skills before he took up some other post at another club. Other names are just next AVBs, doubtful they'd get the control from the board Mourinho or Guardiola would. Benitez is just my choice because it seems the most realistic one.

[The only place to be 11,313]

So Guardiola had the 'best squad in the history of football', so gets little credit whereas Mourinho inherited a team with Cech, Terry, Lampard, Makelele, Robben, Cole, Duff, Gudjohnson and Gallas and he gets a lot?

Despite being one of the architects of arguably the greatest team to ever play the game, it's amazing how underrated Guardiola is still.

[FriendlyMailman 15]

And you're basing that on what exactly? (I have very low expectations of the reply, so even the tiniest insight will impress me).

It would be a slap in the face to his lifelong club Barcelona. Chelsea and Barcelona have had the most heated of relationships for many years anad even more so after they somehow managed to progress past them last season. He wants a stable club, not one essentially run by Abramovich sacking managers left and right.

The philosiphy is so different at Chelsea to what is engrained into his mentality, youth systems, supporters club etc....

Chelsea just buy all of their talent

I think he will go to United.

[MetsajCFC 1,255]

So Guardiola had the 'best squad in the history of football', so gets little credit whereas Mourinho inherited a team with Cech, Terry, Lampard, Makelele, Robben, Cole, Duff, Gudjohnson and Gallas and he gets a lot?

Despite being one of the architects of arguably the greatest team to ever play the game, it's amazing how underrated Guardiola is still.

All I'm saying is that he isn't as good in my eyes than Mourinho for example. Porto, Chelsea, Internazionale, Real Madrid - he brought success to everywhere, he didn't just inherit great squad, he also adapted to the new squads, environment, leagues. He has more experience, more to show for. Guardiola has only managed Barcelona B and Barcelona, doesn't change my point, still he had advantage with the squad he had. Following your logic let's get Vilanova, they're having their best start to the season at the moment, he must be a great coach, right?

This Barcelona squad was also built by Rijkaard, mostly by him

[The only place to be 11,313]

It would be a slap in the face to his lifelong club Barcelona. Chelsea and Barcelona have had the most heated of relationships for many years anad even more so after they somehow managed to progress past them last season. He wants a stable club, not one essentially run by Abramovich sacking managers left and right.

The philosiphy is so different at Chelsea to what is engrained into his mentality, youth systems, supporters club etc....

Chelsea just buy all of their talent

I think he will go to United.

Our relationship isn't ideal but I doubt they'd begrudge him going there any more than they would if he went to United or City. Grown-ups understand that people need to go elsewhere to work sometimes. Personally, I've found there's a grudging respect between our fans and Barca fans although I try to avoid nincompoops in my life.

Our club is actually quite stable in almost every position except manager. Abramovich simply fires underperforming managers because he pays them a lot of money to do a good job. If that's going to scare off Guardiola then I'd totally agree he's the wrong man, but nothing that I've read or heard about him suggests he's that type of man.

As for your final point, I think you're dead wrong and I think it highlights EXACTLY why Guardiola is the right man. We've bought expensive ready-made players in the past, but the rules simply don't allow for that going forward (with FFP and homegrown rules). We essentially had to do that to catch-up to the top teams in the past, but now we've got one of the best academy set-ups in the world and it's finally starting to bear fruit. We NEED a manager who will institute an ideology of football from the first-team through every age-group and if you look at the way our youngsters already play and the type of kids we have, it's not far off trying to emulate what they have at Barca.

It's what makes him the ideal choice in my opinion. Klopp would be a good alternative because he ticks many of the boxes, except I think there's zero chance of us getting him after recent comments.

All I'm saying is that he isn't as good in my eyes than Mourinho for example. Porto, Chelsea, Internazionale, Real Madrid - he brought success to everywhere, he didn't just inherit great squad, he also adapted to the new squads, environment, leagues. He has more experience, more to show for. Guardiola has only managed Barcelona B and Barcelona, doesn't change my point, still he had advantage with the squad he had. Following your logic let's get Vilanova, they're having their best start to the season at the moment, he must be a great coach, right?

This Barcelona squad was also built by Rijkaard, mostly by him

Well Vilanova's team is 16 points ahead of Mourinho's. In fact Mourinho is starting to look like the Mourinho just before we sacked him (because it wasn't all roses was it?).

I think there's always going to be fans who want to go back to something familiar, so much so that they're prepared to ignore the shit that went down. Sure Guardiola inherited a talented team but he took them to another level - we have a lot of talent in our team too, but we just need someone who can come in and unify them. Mourinho could do that, except there's a ton of baggage with him and Roman so why not go for a fresh start with a new guy?

[Hamilton 2,120]

Guardiola apparently gave a pc today, where he confirmed that he wants to go back to work next season..

[Z-25 12]

The odds of Guardiola becoming the next Chelsea have been slashed to 1/1 according to Sky, not sure that would be the case.

However, Klopp gets my vote his work at BVB is admirable

[Corner 456]

Guardiola apparently gave a pc today, where he confirmed that he wants to go back to work next season..

In other words: 'Hey, top clubs in Europe. I'm available soon, so get your cheque books out!'

Although I would prefer if it was 'Hey, Abramovich, get your cheque book out. I'm coming to Chelsea!'

[The only place to be 11,313]

Guardiola apparently gave a pc today, where he confirmed that he wants to go back to work next season..

Poor guy. It's a tough time to be out of work and the average person has to wait about 6 months between losing a job and getting a new one.

Maybe he could do an IT course to brush up on his Office skills. Hopefully his CV is up to date too.

[Joker10 946]

It's no secret that Abramovich has been chasing Guardiola for the past while and he's going to do everything he can to get him. We bought a bunch of technically gifted players over the summer and we're moving further and further into the direction of possession football. Guardiola had previously stated that he was a big fan of Oscar and wanted to bring him to Barca. What does Abramovich do? He buys Oscar.

The squad is bring trimmed down and the players he once had a lot of influence in the dressing room will be gone (Lampard, Cole etc.) It's rumoured that Abramovich doesn't want any players with too much influence so that the next manager (Guardiola in this case) will be able to stamp their own mark on the squad and build world-class team.

The club is focusing a lot more on youth now and it's only a matter of time until we see more and more academy players breaking into the first team (which will be a big advantage if FFP does come into play). We have world-class youth facilities just to top it off. If there's one man who knows how to instill a philosophy and style of play at a club, it's Guardiola. He has proved that much at least.

Investing in youth is now more important than ever, and not just for top clubs like Chelsea. It saves a lot of money over a long period of time and for the first time, Chelsea are focusing on abiding by FFP rules (the club released a statement to announce this fact).

Guardiola has said before that he would like to manage a club in England and that England has always been a major attraction for him. He's currently spending a year in New York so that his kids could learn how to speak English before they make the permanent move to England.

Looking at the clubs who could afford Guardiola, there's Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United and possibly Arsenal (although I can't see Arsenal breaking their wage structure). Guardiola's agent has already said that he will be looking for a job in the summer. Ferguson has announced that he will not be retiring for another few years (and it's highly unlikely that he will be sacked), so that rules out Guardiola going to United. Manchester City still seem to have faith in Roberto Mancini and unless they don't finish in the top four this season, I can't see Mancini being sacked. City still have a long way to go to meet the regulations of FFP and they can't afford to sack managers here and there like Chelsea have been able to.

That leaves Guardiola one option: Chelsea. A team that is brimming with talent, can offer him the freedom to build whatever kind of team he wants and one hell of fat contract.

That was pretty bad. City have the best chance of landing Pep and imo he will be coaching them next season. Don't think you painted their situation that fairly.

It is no secret City also admires Barca like Roman, City figureheads like Veira have been quoted saying they want to match Barca attacking style in the future. City has already hired two former Barca executives in Ferran Soriano who is now City CEO, and Txiki Begiristain leading the director of football role.

Their hiring is a maneuver to get Pep to Manchester, hiring former colleagues and friends that Pep can be comfortable working with and that can support his agenda. Remember it is also widely speculated that one of the reason why Pep left Barca was because of tension between him and current Barca regime.

Getting people Pep would be comfortable working with is a great way of landing him. City can also give Pep everything Chelsea would and more, an owner that will give him infinite more time.

Mancini? I don't know why you are so confident of him being retained next season, he has failed to get them out of the group stage two years in a row and Mancini has always had lackluster moments in CL going back to his Inter days.

FFP will hardly be a reason to keep Mancini lol, trust me they can afford to sack him.

Pep or Klopp would be interesting because of how they have molded young players at their respective clubs. Would like to see some use of this golden generation that's coming through, of course they would have to be given time and assurances to do so. Jose would be great of course, tried and tested and all that. Any of those three ideally but who knows what goes on in the boardroom and who we'll end up with at the helm.

I really like both, but for me Klopp is the better option. I believe Dortmund playing style is much more attainable then Barca well in the short term anyway, and Klopp has a greater chance of doing so. If there is a flaw in Pep from his Barca reign is his mediocre record of transfers.

Meanwhile Dortmund signing record is outstanding. This is why Klopp edges it for me, he has a amazing record with transfers and also gets the best out of them. I really would like to see what Klopp can do with more funds, what he has done at Dortmund with limited fund is simply amazing.

[The only place to be 11,313]

That was pretty bad. City have the best chance of landing Pep and imo he will be coaching them next season. Don't think you painted their situation that fairly.

It is no secret City also admires Barca like Roman, City figureheads like Veira have been quoted saying they want to match Barca attacking style in the future. City has already hired two former Barca executives in Ferran Soriano who is now City CEO, and Txiki Begiristain leading the director of football role.

Their hiring is a maneuver to get Pep to Manchester, hiring former colleagues and friends that Pep can be comfortable working with and that can support his agenda. Remember it is also widely speculated that one of the reason why Pep left Barca was because of tension between him and current Barca regime.

Getting people Pep would be comfortable working with is a great way of landing him. City can also give Pep everything Chelsea would and more, an owner that will give him infinite more time.

Mancini? I don't know why you are so confident of him being retained next season, he has failed to get them out of the group stage two years in a row and Mancini has always had lackluster moments in CL going back to his Inter days.

FFP will hardly be a reason to keep Mancini lol, trust me they can afford to sack him.

You make it sound like there's nothing at Chelsea to tempt him. This is a guy who took his family to New York to experience something new - at Chelsea he could live in the greatest city on Earth, rather than some grim northern shithole. That type of thing would matter to him I think.

Plus he has the chance to build something truly amazing at Chelsea. The playing staff is tailor-made for him, the academy is coming of age and he could lead his team into a brand new stadium. Plus he'd get more time than any other manager since Mourinho.

Hopefully City win the title and Mancini is retained.

[Corner 456]

It is no secret City also admires Barca like Roman, City figureheads like Veira have been quoted saying they want to match Barca attacking style in the future. City has already hired two former Barca executives in Ferran Soriano who is now City CEO, and Txiki Begiristain leading the director of football role.

What do you think happened? Do you think Pep said to City 'Sign my friends and I'll come too.' The reason City hired Soriano and Begiristain is completely related to business; money. Pep has said that he wants a change, a new challenge and a new lifestyle. He doesn't want to relive Barca all over again with the same colleagues etc.

Their hiring is a maneuver to get Pep to Manchester, hiring former colleagues and friends that Pep can be comfortable working with and that can support his agenda. Remember it is also widely speculated that one of the reason why Pep left Barca was because of tension between him and current Barca regime.

That is utter hogwash. There was no tension between Pep and Barca. I have no idea where you're getting that from. Pep left Barca because he was tired of football and the stresses that come with it. He said himself that he wanted to take a year out to spend some time with his family. There was no tension there. An emotional and private press conference was held in Pep's honour so he could officially announce he was leaving. All of the staff and the players (except for Messi) attended and there were no hard feelings.

City can also give Pep everything Chelsea would and more, an owner that will give him infinite more time. Mancini? I don't know why you are so confident of him being retained next season, he has failed to get them out of the group stage two years in a row and Mancini has always had lackluster moments in CL going back to his Inter days.

This is a massive contradiction. Basically, you're saying that City are impatient but also patient. There's nothing that suggests City will sack Mancini. Maybe some rumours, but nothing concrete at all.