Whilst some reports earlier today had suggested that Jose Mourinho has decided to stay at Real Madrid instead of making a dramatic return to Chelsea, Jason Burt of the Telegraph believes that it is actually a case of the Portuguese manager failing in his attempts to get his old job back.
Burt argues that Roman Abramovich isn’t convinced that Mourinho is worth re-employing despite his attempts to lobby for the job and considering he was stirring the pot when in London for the friendly between Russia and Brazil at Stamford Bridge, it is easy to see why many thought he was angling himself for the job.
These stories will not please the fans that were hoping that the self-proclaimed Special One would come back to West London and the Telegraph‘s report rubs salt into those wounds by saying that Abramovich would ideally want to keep the divisive and unpopular Rafa Benitez at the club, and has even tried to gauge the opinions of the key players at the club. I guess a lot depends on how things go in the league, FA Cup and Europa League.
But despite being a fan of the Spaniard himself, Abramovich is also aware that retaining his services may cause friction as he has faced a fair amount of hostility during his time as interim boss, although that has waned a little recently as all parties are concerned with the destiny of the club.
Malaga coach Manuel Pellegrini has emerged as favourite to take over at Stamford Bridge and could represent something of a happy compromise but it’s uncertain if he could be persuaded to leave the La Liga club as he has remained loyal and committed to them despite their well-documented problems.
On his own merits, he’s a disciplinarian, speaks English fluently, favours attacking football and would probably be more keen to develop the club’s young talent more that someone like Mourinho would. It’s important that Chelsea make the right decision on there manager this time and it is far more important that they find the best fit even if it isn’t the most popular choice.
The likes of David Moyes, Jurgen Klopp, Gus Poyet and Gianfranco Zola all remain on Chelsea’s radar.
