Message to the fans

[BLUENUT]

Just received this via email from the club:

Dear >>>>>>>>>,

Back in March, just one month after I started working at Chelsea, supporters from the Fans' Forum came to visit us at Cobham.

I can remember the supporters telling me then that although they knew we were trying hard to win the Premier League and the Champions League, we should not underestimate how much the fans wanted to win the FA Cup this year.

We talked about that and so far we have kept our promise by going to the FA Cup Final.

For Chelsea, for the team, it is very important to be there, and also for the fans.

We made the promise come true as much as we can and we hope we can make the next step to get the silverware as well.

A big club like Chelsea needs to win some titles almost every year and everyone knows how the situation has been this season. It was a very good start to the season, the middle it was a little sloppy, and then a rather good end - and it will be perfect to have won a cup.

Make no mistake, the FA Cup is a big title, not only recognised in England but also worldwide.

A cup final is special. It is different from other big league games or semi-finals and when I was a young kid, or after that a professional player, or even when I was beginning as a manager I always had one Saturday in May when I said, hey, this is my afternoon for watching the FA Cup on television.

The whole atmosphere around it is very impressive and the vision of the stadium made a big impact. Most of the finals were so emotional and so tense.

I have been hearing the players say how much they want to win the FA Cup so I will leave Chelsea with a medal, but I want them to win it for themselves.

We have some players who are at the start of their careers and some who have already a beautiful career, but if every now and then a trophy materialises, it is the cherry on the pie.

The preparations for the game have gone well. We had last week some small problems with some players but they recovered very well at the beginning of the week and I think the team is fully fit.

We have been scoring goals in the last few games and that is important but also important is remembering what has happened this year when Everton is our opponent.

They have shown twice already this season that they can match up with Chelsea so it will be tough. But when we have played tough opponents, it is obvious that the team always reacts to the challenge, even if there is a set-back. We hope we don't have that experience at Wembley but this team is always fighting and that is nice to see.

We have a squad of players who have played many big games which could benefit us. Let's hope so, let's think so.

When you play lots of big games you do get used to it but also we must not underestimate Everton because they will rise to this occasion and they are experienced as well. Some of them have played big tournaments and they are in the Premier League where you gather a lot of experience. But yes, having played many big games, that might be an advantage for Chelsea.

I am told the fans have a special big flag for me at Wembley and if so, I will be very pleased because I didn't expect that appreciation. Of course we did rather well in the Premier League from February on and we did well in the Champions League and also in FA Cup, but being here a short period and knowing that people know already what success is in this club, then being appreciated so much is a wonderful experience.

I would like to thank the fans for that, for the support they have given the team all season and for the big support I am sure they will provide on Saturday.

Guus Hiddink

Chelsea Football Club

[NorthernCFC]

Like I've said before, he's a true gent and an overall top bloke! Good on you Guus pal!

[dkw]

Just received this via email from the club:

Dear >>>>>>>>>,

Back in March, just one month after I started working at Chelsea, supporters from the Fans' Forum came to visit us at Cobham.

I can remember the supporters telling me then that although they knew we were trying hard to win the Premier League and the Champions League, we should not underestimate how much the fans wanted to win the FA Cup this year.

We talked about that and so far we have kept our promise by going to the FA Cup Final.

For Chelsea, for the team, it is very important to be there, and also for the fans.

We made the promise come true as much as we can and we hope we can make the next step to get the silverware as well.

A big club like Chelsea needs to win some titles almost every year and everyone knows how the situation has been this season. It was a very good start to the season, the middle it was a little sloppy, and then a rather good end - and it will be perfect to have won a cup.

Make no mistake, the FA Cup is a big title, not only recognised in England but also worldwide.

A cup final is special. It is different from other big league games or semi-finals and when I was a young kid, or after that a professional player, or even when I was beginning as a manager I always had one Saturday in May when I said, hey, this is my afternoon for watching the FA Cup on television.

The whole atmosphere around it is very impressive and the vision of the stadium made a big impact. Most of the finals were so emotional and so tense.

I have been hearing the players say how much they want to win the FA Cup so I will leave Chelsea with a medal, but I want them to win it for themselves.

We have some players who are at the start of their careers and some who have already a beautiful career, but if every now and then a trophy materialises, it is the cherry on the pie.

The preparations for the game have gone well. We had last week some small problems with some players but they recovered very well at the beginning of the week and I think the team is fully fit.

We have been scoring goals in the last few games and that is important but also important is remembering what has happened this year when Everton is our opponent.

They have shown twice already this season that they can match up with Chelsea so it will be tough. But when we have played tough opponents, it is obvious that the team always reacts to the challenge, even if there is a set-back. We hope we don't have that experience at Wembley but this team is always fighting and that is nice to see.

We have a squad of players who have played many big games which could benefit us. Let's hope so, let's think so.

When you play lots of big games you do get used to it but also we must not underestimate Everton because they will rise to this occasion and they are experienced as well. Some of them have played big tournaments and they are in the Premier League where you gather a lot of experience. But yes, having played many big games, that might be an advantage for Chelsea.

I am told the fans have a special big flag for me at Wembley and if so, I will be very pleased because I didn't expect that appreciation. Of course we did rather well in the Premier League from February on and we did well in the Champions League and also in FA Cup, but being here a short period and knowing that people know already what success is in this club, then being appreciated so much is a wonderful experience.

I would like to thank the fans for that, for the support they have given the team all season and for the big support I am sure they will provide on Saturday.

Guus Hiddink

Chelsea Football Club

i dont want him to go.... its so unfair....

[ivorycoast]

Legend.

[geezer]

Maybe Guus could stay as the man who sends emails to fans flagging that certain tickets are going on sale.

[MHedges]

Damn shame to have someone of this top quality leave us...

[BLUENUT]

Maybe Guus could stay as the man who sends emails to fans flagging that certain tickets are going on sale.

Yeah - cos i know from personal experience that we haven't got anyone doing that job

I did reply asking why there was no open top bus if we win, for the fans who couldn't get tickets, but I'm not holding out for a response.

Top bloke that Hiddink

[Mr Chelsea]

much respect to Guss Hiddink

lets hope a cracking good win at wembley on saturday will give him a change of heart

[MHedges]

much respect to Guss Hiddink

lets hope a cracking good win at wembley on saturday will give him a change of heart

His heart is here, it's the political implications that would not allow him to, I believe.

[Ruh Buh Juh]

The past 4 months could well have placed him among the Chelsea legends. Me being over-ambitious or speaking the truth?

Thanks, Guus ;) Come back soon!

[geezer]

Respectful write up on Guus by the BBC below:

By Mandeep Sanghera and David Ornstein

Whether or not Guus Hiddink ends his role as interim Chelsea manager by winning the FA Cup final against Everton on Saturday, he will return to Russia with love.

The Dutchman will lead the Blues side out for a final goodbye at Wembley before his spell with the club comes to an end and he returns to manage the Russian national team full-time.

There will be no change of heart from Hiddink, despite the pleas of the club's fans that rang down from the Stamford Bridge stands during his final home game in charge and the guard of honour he received from Chelsea's players after the match.

The prospect is tempting, as Hiddink himself admitted, but not enough for him to go against the grain of his principles.

Hiddink takes Stamford Bridge bow

"He gave his word to the Russian federation and players and he would never go back on it," said Russian journalist Gannady Fyodorov.

It is this moral fibre which makes Hiddink the respected coach and person that he is and where you can start to unravel the reasons behind his success at Chelsea and elsewhere.

The "universal citizen" Hiddink won the European Cup with Dutch side PSV Eindhoven, took Holland (1998) and South Korea (2002) to the semi-finals of the World Cup, as well as guiding Russia to the last four of Euro 2008.

"He feels very strongly about his connection to Russia," continued Fyodorov.

"Most other coaches who take charge of national teams from countries that aren't their home just come as workers and do what they have to do to fulfil their contracts.

"Hiddink is different. Not only in Russia but wherever he goes, he identifies himself with the rest of the people, wants to learn the culture, the language and the history. That's why he has been so successful.

I understand that the first thing he did at Chelsea was talk individually to every player and a little bit longer with John Terry and Frank Lampard

Dutch journalist Jaap de Groot

"Players trust and respect him very much because he wants to be one of them. He's not just a foreign coach that says you have to do this, you have to do that, you're wrong here, I'll teach you the right way.

"That's why they've fallen in love with him. Many of the players have said they will never have another coach like Hiddink ever again.

"He's unique in his handling of the players. Not many managers could have calmed down the situation like he did at Chelsea."

Hiddink answered Chelsea's SOS when he took over as interim boss on 20 February following Luiz Felipe Scolari's brief tenure.

With reported factions and frictions inside Stamford Bridge, along with the more obvious poor form, Hiddink went in and revitalised the club.

Chelsea have lost only once in his 21 games in charge and were seconds away from reaching the Champions League final but were denied by Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta's strike - as well as some controversial refereeing decisions.

HIDDINK'S MANAGERIAL HONOURS

PSV Eindhoven: 6 League Championships - (1986-87, 87-88, 88-89, 02-03, 04-05, 05-06)

PSV Eindhoven: 3 National Cups - (1998, 89, 90, 05)

PSV Eindhoven: 1 European Cup - (1988)

Real Madrid: World Club Cup - (1998)

Holland: Quarter-finals (Euro 1996), semi-finals (World Cup 1998)

South Korea: Semi-finals (World Cup 20002)

Australia: Second-round (World Cup 2006)

Russia: Semi-finals (Euro 2008

Hiddink's hard work revived Chelsea, but he was no miracle worker. By the time he arrived at Chelsea the club were too far adrift in the title race and even an impressive haul of 34 points in his 13 games in charge was not good enough to snatch second place from Liverpool.

"I understand that the first thing he did at Chelsea was talk individually to every player and a little bit longer with John Terry and Frank Lampard," revealed Dutch journalist Jaap de Groot.

"He handed some of his responsibility to two key players. After that I believe Didier Drogba joined them but in the first week he had special dialogue with Terry and Lampard.

"They know the club better than the other players. He wanted to learn from them and in return he gave them some of his responsibility.

"He said to them 'you know the club 10 times better than I do so I need your help - guide me through this club'. In the meantime he remained the decision-maker.

"But, if you approach players in that way you create something, you give a real feeling you are taking them seriously. At PSV he did the same with Soren Lerby, Eric Gerets, Ronald Koeman and Frank Arnesen."

Former Dutch international Ronald de Boer believes Hiddink's success both at club and international level stems from the way he has quickly learnt from the mistakes he has made.

In 1996 he was a good coach but not a great coach...on his side there was a lack of preparation and no clarity in what was happening

Former Dutch international Ronald de Boer

"In 1996 he was a good coach but not a great coach," said De Boer, who was part of the Dutch squad which went out at the quarter-final stage at Euro 96 when Hiddink was in charge.

"There were problems in the camp, which were not his fault, but on his side there was a lack of preparation and no clarity in what was happening.

"At this time he was not so organised tactically. He didn't show us how we were going to play and tell us how our opponents were going to play. He would always say we are going to talk about this and that but in the end we didn't.

"He learned from Euro 96 and now, 13 years later, he is definitely one of the top coaches in the footballing world."

De Boer added: "Personally, he was always a great guy - a gentleman who always knew how to treat people.

"It is vital for a coach to get along with his players so that they have a good feeling with you. With Hiddink that's always the case.

"I'll always remember the calmness he brings over to the players - he is never nervous.

"Of course, he can be tough and will tell you when he's not happy. But the gentlemanly way in which he says things makes you think, 'yes, he's right' and that gives you a really good feeling that you want to do well for him."

606: DEBATE

Gutted Guus is leaving because he is one of the best managers of the last 10 years or so

chrisb07

Chelsea's players have clearly taken to their interim manager, but it is undeniable that Hiddink was also helped by the return of Michael Essen, a player denied to Scolari due to a cruciate ligament injury.

"We were very fortunate to have a player like Michael Essien coming back into the squad at that particular time," said Chelsea assistant manager Ray Wilkins.

"Michael is a beast and since he came back we've looked far stronger, we've got bigger players to chose from and we can manipulate the squad a lot better. All those little things ensure things came together quite nicely."

Nevertheless, it was Hiddink's worldly know-how and experience that united the club and now he will be hoping to bid farewell with an FA Cup triumph.

"The players felt they were getting someone who really knew where they wanted to go and how they were going to get there in the best possible fashion," added Wilkins.

"Guus will be missed from both a coaching perspective and a humane perspective."

[JT26]

Please don't go

[TheWestwayWonder]

god damnit, it is so unfair

Mourinho included, I dont think there is anyone on god's green earth that is a better fit for this club right now. It just pisses me off that we now have a man we all known can deliver success and we have to part with him after four months

[Mr Chelsea]

His heart is here

thats the once chelsea always chelsea thing

[jordanl5182]

God I hope Russia know how lucky they are...with what he's shown us in the past few months, I think Russia will be serious contenders to win the World Cup...no shortage of talent, Roman's Roubles and the World's greatest manager...they're what Chelsea aspires to be!!

[BlueBosnian]

There is one option - we buy all the players that play for the Russian national team and he could train them at Chelsea together with the rest of our players.

[geezer]

There is one option - we buy all the players that play for the Russian national team and he could train them at Chelsea together with the rest of our players.

Sounds like a plan. Add them to the existing Russians like Terryenko, Lampardkov and Coleadze

[Gem]

There is one option - we buy all the players that play for the Russian national team and he could train them at Chelsea together with the rest of our players.

I say we tell Russia that the Americans told us that Russia are scared of them and are chicken. That'll start a war and we can nab Guus whilst no one's looking.

[jordanl5182]

There is one option - we buy all the players that play for the Russian national team and he could train them at Chelsea together with the rest of our players.

Can't believe we didn't think of this before!!! I'll start writing a letter to Roman...

[mad_mac]

I'd take 3 years of Ancelotti if you could guarantee me that Hiddink would take over at the end. Maybe 2

[PloKoon13]

Top, top man. I'm not sure there is any better.

I think I might cry when he leaves...

[dustbin00]

Absolute class act and someone that every young manager should look up to. Whoever is next will have a tough, tough act to follow.

[Luckydevil]

Top, top man. I'm not sure there is any better.

I think I might cry when he leaves...

That's what I'm afraid of. Tomorrow is Guus' last game for us. They made a huge thank you flag for him and I'm sure I'll be in tears when they show it and in the end when our boys lift the cup and Guus will say good bye I'll be flooding my living room. I'm always a cry baby in such situations.

I can't say how I want this guy to stay at Chelsea.

[Ruh Buh Juh]

I've just realised an issue here.

No matter what, whoever comes in, they'll constantly be compared back to Hiddink. Not a good burden to have.

[blizeH]

Have we done this yet?

1) Brought Didier Drogba back into the fold

The Ivorian was an outsider under Luiz Felipe Scolari, his reputation tarnished by the memory of his dismissal in the Champions League final in Moscow and outbursts that his future lay elsewhere. He lacked form and fitness when he eventually returned, his state of mind so fragile that he flung a coin back into Burnley's travelling support after scoring in the ­Carling Cup elimination at Stamford Bridge. Yet under Hiddink his form at least returned. The Barcelona outburst cannot be ignored, but there have been 10 goals in 19 appearances and something approaching his battering-ram best.

2) Improving the players' fitness

Under Scolari, John Terry and Frank Lampard had been moved to complain to the manager that training sessions lacked appropriate intensity. This squad had grown used to the work rate demanded by Jose Mourinho and respond best to such demands. The Brazilian's approach did not sit easily with them. Yet Hiddink has proved inventive and, just as with the national sides he has coached in recent years, the emphasis has been placed on improving fitness on the assumption that fit bodies allow alert minds. The results have been clear.

3) Eked the best out of Florent Malouda

The French winger was becoming something of an expensive joke figure at the club, his £13.6m price tag rarely justified as he flitted through Scolari's reign mustering hardly a whimper. Yet ever since the Champions League quarter-final first leg at Liverpool he has been a man possessed. Asked to fill an advanced role on the left, where he can rekindle the ­telepathic ­relationship with Drogba he first developed at Guingamp in France, he has run riot. There have been three goals in his last five appearances. Suddenly, he looks the France international Chelsea thought they had signed.

4) Proved Chelsea are not one-trick ponies

Under Scolari, there was no Plan B. Chelsea played 4-3-3 and relied upon their full-backs, Jose Bosingwa and Ashley Cole, to provide the width and forward impetus. Under Hiddink they have been revolutionised. The return to fitness of Michael Essien and form of Drogba have helped, but would Scolari have ever considered converting Michael Ballack into an anchoring midfielder? Or employing Branislav Ivanovic as a first-choice full-back? Or thrusting Drogba and Nicolas Anelka up front as a pairing? His deployment of Lampard, one of the few to shine consistently all season, in a free role has also been refreshing.

5) Made Chelsea loved again

Scolari was close on this score, first with his free-flowing attacking football of the autumn and then as he almost dragged the team into complete mediocrity, much to the amusement of the Chelsea-baiters, but Hiddink has won friends wherever he has gone. The Dutchman's sense of humour has shone through, his reputation acknowledged instantly up and down the Premier League. At Sunderland on the season's final afternoon, he was applauded by the locals. His players do not have a bad word to say about him. Chelsea have found a figure who is universally liked and respected, and they are about to lose him back to Russia.