Cometh the 88th minute, cometh the Fergie chuckle. Cometh the 89th and the mood surrounding that bottle of bubbly changes altogether. So with the points secured against Spurs that game at Old Trafford seems more and more likely to decide the direction of The 2010/2011 Premier League title. Suddenly it’s not so cut and dried after all. Coming out of a dismal winter period I’m inclined to agree with Carlo Ancelotti that his side prefers it when it’s a little warmer.
The recent resurgence of the champions has seen them cut United’s lead to three points following a run of eight wins in the last nine outings. Amidst the furore of the goals against our London rivals one can only smile at the way that karma comes back when you least expect it. Credit to the boys for playing till the end and getting themselves in the right places to get the shots off when they did because after all, you make your own luck. Like Luis Garcia in 2005 at Anfield and Germany in 2010 in South Africa, it’s ironic that it was Frank Lampard THEN involved in a goal-line decision, just like it’s Lamps now.
It’s still unlikely that we’ll see Ancelotti beyond the coming season’s games after the slip up in Europe at the hands of United. The only thing he can possibly salvage from this season, aside from some pride, is the Premier League. And having been out of it for quite a while after the winter slump it’s hard to see his overhaul of United necessarily saving his bacon. The recent playground spat between Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho has proved to be vital ammunition for the Bernabeu board to fire a man that they weren’t particularly too fond of to say the least. Coupled with his negative tactics, the humping by Barca, and his all-round ability to alienate just about everybody but the players (regardless of what they tell the media about the unity in camp), it will take the minor MIRACLE of marching into Frank Rijkaard’s backyard and rolling over Barcelona before lifting the Champions’ League in London, to save his job. And even then, like Ancelotti, he will have failed in his mandate. Oh, and did I say Rijkaard’s backyard? That wasn’t a mistake! That is STILL Rijkaard’s Barcelona. Pep just wears the suit and sits in the chairs at the press conferences. I’m not at all convinced by Pep’s credentials as a coach. Not until he cuts his teeth somewhere else. I’d be a treble winner in my 1st season with a team that’s overflowing with talent and has struck fear into the hearts of all that line up against it, albeit with 11 vs. 10. It’s like your only claim to fame being a world cup winner with Brazil when the Ballon D’Or, European Footballer of The Year, Players’ Player of The Year, Golden Boot and most exciting young player ALL play in the starting XI of your team.
So with Mourinho’s number being called and Ancelotti not too fazed by leaving his post at Stamford Bridge, probably for the Bernabeu, we are once again faced with the dilemma of who takes up the Blue hot seat. I must admit though that I was unashamedly relieved when reports came out that Benitez would NOT be getting the job. The last thing that Abramovich needs in his idea of ‘sexy football’ is an ‘unsexy’ exponent in the driving seat. Who ate all the pies you ask? Well, look no further than the dugout! Guus Hiddink who is the fans’ choice is unlikely to take the job. Honourable man that he is, he will see out his contract with the Turks and even then, does he REALLY want to come back to full time day-to-day management at the ripe young age of retirement? Sure he did great for the side in his short stint with us, but he was already leaving anyway and had nothing to lose. With the no-strings-attached role of settling the ship for a few months after Big Phil almost ran it aground, the Guus did well for sure. Having lashed out at Pep in the previous paragraph, I wouldn’t want karma to take me out in an off-the-ball incident by having him try his luck at the expense of my team, so I’ll pass on that one. Rijkaard on the other hand hasn’t quite been the same since he left Barcelona, but there can be some comfort in that what he built at Barca could be replicated at Chelsea, and if the rumour mills are anything to go by, the combination with Txiki Begiristain as our Director of Football could be quite exciting. Anybody other than Avram Grant in that position, PLEASE! Which brings me back to Jose Mourinho, The (questionably) Special One of late. While he was the catalyst to our most exciting and successful period in our history, and a breath of fresh air to the Premier League, it would be surprising to see him back at the helm after his hefty pay-out not too long ago. Abramovich is hardly the man to admit he was wrong in the first place by bringing back a man that refused to be ‘controlled’ by the Russian puppet master. Mind you, should he be given that £80m proposed kitty for investment and he brings in the talent that HE wants, maybe we could see a Special Chelsea 2.0 which would hopefully be laden with more trophies than version 1.0 of 2005. The question is: will Roman be happy for ‘sexy football’ to take a backseat in order to win The Holy Grail at all costs? Because we know that Mourinho’s priority is winning. Period. The pens are out and the wall needs writing on…one way or another, there will be some serious heads rolling come the end of the season. Question is which head would you see rolling down towards SW6? You decide.
