Well, well, well. What a few days. Di Matteo is gone, rightly or wrongly, and ex-Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez is in, until May at least.
He becomes Abramovich’s manager No.9, and will hope that the appointment can spark the Chelsea No.9 into life, who of course was brought to England during Benitez’s reign at Liverpool.
If you believe that is a coincidence, think again. Romans biggest investment at £50m, and he wants results from him, and I certainly believe he is the man to do it. Another clever move from the Spaniard was leaving the door open for the forgotten Florent Malouda, who although is not at his peak, could definitely be a big asset to a manager willing to give him a shot.
Talk about being thrown in at the deep end, we face reigning Champs, and current leaders Man City on Sunday. Although Benitez realistically has nothing to lose, a win and the fans take notice, a loss, and that can be excused. Chelsea fans won’t be saying that though, they very much want a result, especially being at home, as they don’t want to fall even further off the pace this early.
Rafa was cool and calm about his contract, stating he was just here for a chance to win trophies, and that five are still up for grabs. Obviously he still counts the Champions League in that… Though he hasn’t convinced me he can influence Juventus’ result just yet.
Surprisingly, Roman has apparently set no targets, and is bound to splash the cash in January, a dream job for anyone surely?
Looking back at Roberto Di Matteo’s dismissal, although shocking at first, it was plain to see Abramovich had no long term plans for Robby. In fact the Champions League win simply got in the way of the sacking, though im sure Roman took pleasure in finally winning the coveted European crown.
It was very much a case of ‘when’ rather than ‘if’ RDM was sacked this season, although after such a great start, he would’ve no doubt had to pile on close to 100 points this season to keep the big Russian happy, although few can blame him, investing perhaps close to £1billion of his own money on us.
The simple fact is, that Rafa is most probably a better manager than Di Matteo, and although it is plain to see Guardiola is the man the board are pining over, they are comfortable putting the rest of the season into Benitez’s hands. Add to that he may well get El Nino scoring again, and I like that mix.
Lets see what you can do Rafa.
By Brad Smith
Follow @BrummieBrad
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