Chelsea's woes continue

By David Lee Wheatley

Where next for Chelsea?

The problems at west London giants Chelsea are piling up.

The reigning Champions of Europe went out meekly in the group stages of this year’s competition and dropped into the Europa League as their only consolation, while they sit in fourth place in the Premier League with little hope of challenging for the top two positions.

Stamford Bridge was once a fortress under Jose Mourinho, but now opposing teams go there without fear or trepidation. The Blues have only managed to win 7 of their 13 home league matches so far and suffered two defeats.

Meanwhile, the majority of fans simply do not like the interim manager Rafa Benitez and the indifferent results the team have endured since his appointment have done little to change hearts and minds. Thus, the atmosphere around the stadium on a match-day is largely muted and awkward.

To add to Benitez’s problems, Fernando Torres is still looking like a player that has lost his ‘mojo’ and the media are playing up rumours of a rift between the Spaniard and some of his players. Fit-again captain John Terry has mainly sat on the bench since his return at a time when the team need him more than ever.

The shadow cast by Champions League-winning former manager and darling of the fans Roberto Di Matteo still looms large over Benitez and the fans won’t allow him to forget the past and create his own future at the club.

The former Liverpool manager is not being helped at all by the uncertainty created by his contract running out at the season’s end. His tenure is no doubt seen as temporary by both players and fans and that is a recipe for disaster at a football club. Benitez may feel he has a chance of a longer stay at Stamford Bridge, but nobody else seems to think that way and it is affecting player performance and team morale.

The only way of winning over the fans was for Benitez to lead Chelsea on a long unbeaten run and, unfortunately for Rafa, that has not happened. Inconsistency reigns on the pitch and uncertainty off it. His mantra that we would see the best of Torres has not materialised, adding to the manager’s long list of woes.

The FA Cup and Europa League remain competitions on Chelsea’s radar and if the interim boss can win both, then he will be able to at least argue that he achieved the best he could given all of the issues he has faced. However, his time at the club is still likely to end in the summer if owner Roman Abramovich can attract ‘The Special One’ Mourinho back to London from Real Madrid.

Other names in the frame to replace the beleaguered Benitez include David Moyes, Michael Laudrup, Gustavo Poyet, Roberto Martinez and Gianfranco Zola. Former targets Pep Guardiola and Borussia Dortmund head coach Jurgen Klopp are out of the running now after the former joined Bayern Munich and the latter insisted he has no interest in the position.

Everton’s long-serving manager David Moyes is out of contract in the summer and recently stated his intention to wait until then to decide on a new one. He could be ready for a switch to a top-four club after 11 great years at the Goodison Park helm.

Zola has got Watford playing some scintillating football in the Championship this season and remains a firm favourite with the fans after his successful playing stint at Chelsea from 1996-2003. He says his role at Watford is for the long-term, but he would find it very hard to turn down his old club if they were to offer him a deal.

As for the rest, Laudrup is doing a fine job at Swansea but seems settled there for now, Poyet has done a good job at Brighton but it is doubtful that would be enough evidence for Abramovich to take him on, while Martinez may not be the ‘big name’ that the supporters would crave.

It all points to a reunion with Portuguese Jose Mourinho if, as expected, he leaves Madrid this summer. If that deal can be done it would appear to suit all parties, but if that fails to materialise then it would put Chelsea in the uncomfortable situation of trying to appease the fans without a wealth of potential managerial options being available to them.

The troubled times at Stamford Bridge show no sign of abating.

 

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