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Adios di Matteo


I met a guy in the gym a couple of days ago. I knew him as one of the regular gymmers and nothing else. He came to me and said, “Bal Thackerey passed away!”. I am in Hyderabad and so is that guy who has if not much only heard stories of the great BT. I grinned at him to which he said “The man passed away and you are laughing, yaar.” To which my only reply was that not much changes in my life and went on with my routine.

Today comes the news of a key figure exiting a club I love. There are comments all over twitter and it has become an altogether familiar story at Chelsea that a manager doesn’t perform and he is shown the door before he knows how to recover. Such is the life of a manager in the club. It is demanding and sometimes cruel.

One of the tweets contained this stat. I quote, “262 - Roberto Di Matteo lasted 262 days as Chelsea manager, longer than Villas-Boas (256), Grant (247) & Scolari (223). Fired.” All names to reckon but faced the wrath of a very ambitious owner who can take nothing less than the perfect score. It is no surprise that he demands his team to win the league and Champions league year after year and that’s been an unflinching desire. Teams have been built with money that can buy 10 to 15 countries in Africa. That’s what the owner says, “I can bring the moon if you want. Get me the silverware.” If you were a Wenger you can get away stating the profitability of the club or the constant new talents that they seem to manufacture as a replacement to the actual result of winning the title or Champions league but with Chelsea you have a clear mandate and the goal is very clear.

The Russian baron has been ruthless in the past in his investment in managers and their removal in surgical precision. He doesn’t believe in giving them time amidst poor results. It is not a case of this or that. It is an absolute result that Chelsea has to achieve under all circumstances. In the quote mentioned above a name was ceremoniously missed. There was a manager with a clear mop of grey hair and he led the club for 2 grueling seasons winning the double of FA and premier league in his first year itself. Carlo is now the manager of PSG who wants Ashley Cole to join him. Amongst all the people who came and went he was the only guy apart from Mourinho who knew what he should do with the club. Rarely come men like the Ancelottis and Mourinhos. Chelsea’s season spiraled down on the firing of Ray Wilkins and Ancelotti who inspite of the team’s poor results brought Chelsea to a No. 2 slot.

All I ask for is a moment of reflection from Roman. The next big manager has never been the solution to the club. Pep is the fanciest name today but nothing assures his success in this club where everything is a stark contrast from his last assignment. What we need is analysis of failures and we seem to have a large pool of managers who failed and enough data points to mull upon as to why this has happened with alarming consistency. What’s the role played by the manager and what is the role played by players who have schemed to get a certain somebody out. Are all cases dissimilar or are there common trends that arise out of this? What’s the secret of success of someone like Sir Alex who can put out an under 20 player and he becomes the next most talked thing if not in the world atleast in England? Is there truth in legacy or footprints left by managers? Like any other profession even in football everybody works for their boss. So who is the boss the players like to work for?

All this retrospection has one starting point. I am going to call it “acceptance”. It is acceptance of the fact that the fault not only lies with the failed managers but also the people who have chosen the failed managers. Let everybody share the blame and set a path for one of the best clubs in the world with an ever increasing fan base. Chelsea FC is a force to reckon and as much as we go through the wins and losses of the club we can do with a certain amount of faith put in a person who can provide a more permanent footing rather than a temporary one. It is funny we talk about the permanent footing. The league is now the toughest league in club football with no clear favorites for the title. There are easily 5 teams that can win the title in any given season. No club across Europe seems invincible anymore looking at Barcelona and Madrid’s fate last season where they failed to get to the Champions league final. Considering all this Roman has to think democratically rather that autocratically as to how close he wants to hang the ax to a manager’s neck. Promise of a longer leash to the next manager if the decision is carefully taken may not be the worst thing in the world. Some food for thought for the Russian baron.

Always,
A Chelsea FC fan

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