Chelsea’s Power Games Could Pave Way For Pep

During Roman Abramovich’s time at the club there have been many changes and although some are for the better, others can often be for the worse.

Former Chelsea boss and fan favourite Jose Mourinho was a victim of certain changes and was forced out of the club – which some fans still bemoan today. Are we now witnessing the latest bout of power games at Chelsea? Could we see an approach for Pep Guardiola at the end of the season?

I could just be paranoid and maybe a little cynical but something just doesn’t feel quite right about recent events at Stamford Bridge and have feel this way ever since Ray Wilkins was shown the door by chief executive Ron Gourlay. Allegedly the two had a bust-up after Gourlay criticised the management team’s use of substitutions and two weeks later Butch was unceremoniously dismissed half way through a reserve game.

But it was Chelsea’s next move that was even more surprising after they shunted aside Paul Clement, who was earmarked as an obvious successor to fill the role left by Wilkins, and employed a relative unknown Michael Emenalo as Carlo Ancelotti’s assistant. Sure, he may end up doing a good job and I do not doubt he has a good knowledge of the game, but it is worrying when you consider his last coaching role was for a girls’ under-12s side. Emenalo is also described as a friend to Abramovich – which has led many to suspect that he is nothing more than a nark, as Martin Samuel in his column for the Daily Mail.

Ancelotti also made a startling admission that he is not calling the shots at Chelsea and is just there for technical direction, a role which he also says he is content with and is probably used to after his time with AC Milan working for Silvio Berlusconi, who is quite a hands-on owner like Abramovich. I cannot imagine that Ancelotti could be happy with the treatment of the likes of Wilkins and Emenalo was obviously not his choice to work with. When a manager can’t even choose his own staff then question have got to be asked, surely? Also, his advice tends to go ignored as he requested that we should hold on to Michael Ballack (a player we really could do with right now), but the club let the German leave for free.

Is it possible that Ancelotti is becoming a victim of similar internal battles which marred Mourinho’s final months at the club before he left the club under a cloud?

Things started to go wrong for Mourinho when the setup was changed around him and he started losing control of the club, whilst being undermined. Frank Arnesen and later Avram Grant joined the club as head talent scout and director of football respectively, both moves which were opposed by Mourinho and eventually contributed to his demise.

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