The Di Matteo Departure

Wednesday 21^st November

The Di Matteo Departure

Writing this blog I realised that Chelsea have acquired and sacked more managers in the last 7 years than Arsenal/Liverpool/Spurs have won trophies.

If I had any self-respect I would boycott The Bridge on Sunday and sell my Man. City ticket for a tidy profit. Instead I shall be venturing down to SW6 with my Chelsea shirt on and CV in hand, hoping that Roman will choose me out of the vying hopefuls. I would love to say that I’m surprised at the sacking of RDM but it was clear his days were numbered even before his appointment. Chelsea have produced a destructive churn of unemployed managers under the Abramovich reign that includes World cup winners, Champions League winners and the ‘un-sackable’ Mourinho. The Russian billionaire has even got rid of fan’s favourites Ray Wilkins and Eva Carneiro in what seems to be ruthless dictatorship fuelled by ownership power and a sordid view of what’s best for the club. Before long any ‘big’ manager will not even consider the Chelsea job fear of being embarrassingly dismissed after a run of 3 losing games and losing reputation.  

Di Matteo’s short career as Chelsea manager will be nostalgically remembered in the heart of all Chelsea fans that watched the club achieve the Holy Grail for the first time in Munich. It was clear that Roman did not regard Roberto as a suitable, top-grade manager for HIS club despite all the success he achieved in the summer of 2012. Abramovich toiled for days after the Champions League win before reluctantly presenting a 2-year contract for Chelsea’s most successful caretaker manager. Any other club would have erected a bronze statue of RDM outside the ground before throwing him a 5 year deal in the Munich hotel room the morning after that glorious win – but not Chelsea. Had Pep Guardiola not chosen to take a sabbatical I believe Di Matteo may not have been offered a contract at all.

Rafa Benitez was appointed as Chelsea’s new interim manager as I was writing this blog. I could write a book let alone another blog on why Rafa is the wrong man for Chelsea. He left a mess at Liverpool before leaving a bigger mess at Inter and if his form continues then Chelsea may be playing League 1 football before they win the Champions League again. The reception on Sunday will be interesting as I’m yet to hear a Chelsea fan that is pleased about the Benitez selection, the worst managerial appointment possible for the club (with the exception of Jedward, Rylan, Kenny Dalglish or the tenor from the Go Compare adverts). If I were John Terry or Ashley Cole I would refuse to shake his hand on the training ground on basic principle. Maybe John Terry can introduce himself to Mrs Benitez to get the ball rolling and make Rafa reconsider.