It was all going so well. Another ‘just how bad can it get for Chelsea?’ party line being strung along the whole length of the latest Guardian ‘Football Weekly Extraaa’ podcast, much like most of their regular Thursday parade of the Blue’s dirty linen in public. There he was, James Richardson in typical Jimboesque style, feigning naivety over Pep Guardiola’s momentous decision to go to Bayern Munich, thereby prompting a resident journalistic panel featuring Jonathan Wilson, Owen Gibson and Philippe Auclair to dump on our perceived disappointment and Roman’s undoubted distress on missing out on The Man Of The Moment in equal and suitably faux grief-stricken measure.

And so they did. And not only dutifully [more on that later], but also with additional interjection from Rafa Honingstein in Germany, on behalf of the Braying Bayern Pack of newshounds and Sid Lowe, who chipped in from Spain, singing Pep’s praises in the oh-what-a-good-choice department. He was also generous enough to proffer a few lesser-known names from La Liga as suitable crumbs of comfort on our managerial table too, which was nice of him, if somewhat condescending. Still, never mind, as always with journos it was the thought that counted and he did happen to get around to mentioning Jose eventually, albeit in passing and merely to confirm that he felt the Special One was now favourite for the post of Chels-managerial-poison-chalice holder, this last job description being mine not his, but you get my drift and can imagine the intonation in his voice.

Lest Richardson’s listeners could not, and with any added risk of positive Chels-vibes escaping the pod left untaken, the urbane presenter then tried to move swiftly on from [unbelievably] the forty-fourth minute of our discontent to ’the parochial old Premier League’ only for the strangest of interruptions to hit the airwaves - ’No, no!!’ shouted Auclair ’I really want to talk more about Guardiola.’ explaining why he ventured to ask for an extension thus…

’I am annoyed at the way it’s covered, based on stories that are not stories (referring to Pep’s ’I love you England’ video-message at the FA‘s anniversary bash) Stories which every editor and sub-editor decided to make big.‘ he revealed, at which point Wilson confirmed that he too had been forced to write such a story despite ’thinking it madness’ at the time and Auclair added that journalists everywhere then seemed almost honour-bound to go en masse and report slanted stories like ’Guardiola delivers snub to Chelsea and Abramovich left in the lurch…. what a load of nonsense!!’

Furthermore, seemingly unable to resist this new mood of pressgang exposure and honesty, Gibson then pitched in with ’also Chelsea will have seen all this coming from a long way off’ implying that the club is not only well prepared to meet the so-called setback head-on, but that the boardroom would have expected it and been working [managerially-speaking] in another direction for some time now, perhaps even from the moment of decision-making to opt for waiter service last year. For me, this surely begs a question… not why bring an interim in, but why, when it is known that there is no waiting to be done for Pep, bother with temporary measures such as interims at all?

If Roman really wanted Rafa he could have taken him and made the appointment permanent, nobody else was keen or remotely looking as if they wished to prevent it happening. Only Real Madrid fans might have objected to the Spaniard being taken out of the running before Jose’s race was run and if this Guardian insight into honest reporting is to be believed, as opposed to the rubbish they’re told by Editors to dish up when it suits them or the FA, the interim appointment of Benitez begins to look more and more like a case of once bitten [by Bayern Munich] twice shy of further rejection by club or coach concerned. Truth be told, bases needed to be covered at an alarming rate from the moment Chelsea were aware that Pep had plumped for the Germans and should Roman have started to act in his fan-alienating way from that day to this it has to be in an effort help facilitate a change from what we have at present… there can be no other justification whatsoever.

Truth be told, bases needed to be covered at an alarming rate from the moment Chelsea were aware that Pep had plumped for the Germans and should Roman have started to act in his fan-alienating way from that day to this it has to be in an effort help facilitate a change from what we have at present… there can be no other justification whatsoever.

That is of course on the assumption that Roman gives these things any thought rather than acting on a whim....

 

I would like to think he has some common sense and thought process, despite (at times) all the signs indicating otherwise.

guardiola is a sly lazy one! i reckon he has plumped for bayern because they are like barca! both dominant big fishes in their respected leagues. both jobs for a manager of his ability would mean it will be a trophyladen reign. the EPL is a lot harder to win in and fergy's manure never really had a stranglehold like the aforementioneds. jose on the other hand has got the t shirt!

Keep in mind that Bayern, the dominant big fish that they are, needed Dortmund to suffer a bunch of injuries before they were able to build such a substantial lead. The last few years, they've hardly had a stranglehold on Germany.

 

My big issue with people saying that Pep is lazy or cowardly or whatever is that they're basing this belief on an incorrect assumption that Bayern is a cushy job where he can just win the league and relax. If it were that easy, they wouldn't be spending huge money on Pep. Bayern want to win the Champions League and I'm afraid that anything less will result in Pep getting canned. 

 

The big difference between Chelsea and Bayern is that the latter are not run by an out of touch oligarch who makes decisions without considering the consequences. The expectations of Pep aren't really any lower at Bayern, but at least there he knows that he won't be fired after 6 months.

Keep in mind that Bayern, the dominant big fish that they are, needed Dortmund to suffer a bunch of injuries before they were able to build such a substantial lead. The last few years, they've hardly had a stranglehold on Germany.

 

My big issue with people saying that Pep is lazy or cowardly or whatever is that they're basing this belief on an incorrect assumption that Bayern is a cushy job where he can just win the league and relax. If it were that easy, they wouldn't be spending huge money on Pep. Bayern want to win the Champions League and I'm afraid that anything less will result in Pep getting canned. 

 

The big difference between Chelsea and Bayern is that the latter are not run by an out of touch oligarch who makes decisions without considering the consequences. The expectations of Pep aren't really any lower at Bayern, but at least there he knows that he won't be fired after 6 months.

 

You still need to have a top manager for top players. And let's be honest, Bayern's management isn't stupid by any means. Hiring Pep helps them globally which translates to more revenue, more money to spend on players, , etc. rinse and repeat.

 

Still, when compared to England I think he took the easier route. I'm not even comparing the Bayern job to the Chelsea job. Let's be honest, our managerial position is toxic and it pains me to say it. You're absolutely correct that he probably knew that if he had a "blip" or "bad moment" he could very well be fired after six months.

 

The Chelsea managerial position is possibly not the only one up for grabs though. I realise I said "possibly", but there's time to see how it plays out. I believe Man City will fire Mancini at the end of the season, and I'm not convinced Fergie is going to stick around after this season especially (oh please no...) if he wins both the PL and CL. Both clubs have shown loyalty to their manager so why not wait it out a bit longer and see how things shake out? If I'm Pep, why wouldn't I want the Manu job to walk in the "shadow of a legend" (I just got sick typing that) and try to replicate or even improve on what he has accomplished? Both clubs would have courted Pep were he available closer to the summer and you might have seen both take measures in order to get him (especially Man City).

 

I respect Bayern and the Bundesliga, but something just doesn't sit right here with me. I feel there's more competition in the PL than any other league, and my gut says he was afraid to take one of the England jobs. Besides, if Bayern wanted him so badly and he wanted to wait until closer to the summer to decide, they would have waited for him.

 

All a moot point though, what's done is done.

I can't really blame Pep for choosing Bayern. One of the big teams in the world with an exciting squad and a great style of play. Those two are a good fit IMO. They will not sack him after 6 months which would easily happen in Chelsea. Good choice from Pep.

guardiola is a sly lazy one! i reckon he has plumped for bayern because they are like barca! both dominant big fishes in their respected leagues. both jobs for a manager of his ability would mean it will be a trophyladen reign. the EPL is a lot harder to win in and fergy's manure never really had a stranglehold like the aforementioneds. jose on the other hand has got the t shirt!

Exactly how I saw it. He may be waiting for Utd job or City but I feel he bottled the EPL. It's a bit like Ronaldinho at the time. He knew how difficult the prem is and refused to come and tarnish his reputation.

I am glad we didn't get him especially on £54m contracts!!

Better younger and hungrier managers out there

Exactly how I saw it. He may be waiting for Utd job or City but I feel he bottled the EPL. It's a bit like Ronaldinho at the time. He knew how difficult the prem is and refused to come and tarnish his reputation.

I am glad we didn't get him especially on £54m contracts!!

Better younger and hungrier managers out there

 

Such as?

The only way he would be worth that contract is if he was as successful in Germany as he was in Spain. Although Munich have one of the best squads in Germany he will find it a whole lot harder there than he did in Spain.

Such as?

Klopp would be one. I am also not of the clubs insistence we need a big name!

I would happily take Martinez of Wigan or Poyet too as both have the right mentality and both are very good managers IMO

I can't really blame Pep for choosing Bayern. One of the big teams in the world with an exciting squad and a great style of play. Those two are a good fit IMO. They will not sack him after 6 months which would easily happen in Chelsea. Good choice from Pep.

 

  I agree, Guardiola made the right  decision in going to Bayern Munich.

 

  It is a club with an excellenr history in a league that is underrated by many but not by me.

 

  He will have available top class players capable of adjusting to any strategy he believes necessary.

 

  It will be with a club free of the stresses of debt and a youth academy where long term prospects can be evaluated and nutured e.g. Schweinsteiger.

 

  The challenge for Guardiola is can he repeat what he accomplished with Barcelona?

 

  Only time will tell.

Klopp would be one. I am also not of the clubs insistence we need a big name!

I would happily take Martinez of Wigan or Poyet too as both have the right mentality and both are very good managers IMO

 

Surely Klopp is older than Pep? Plus, why on earth would he leave Dortmund...

 

And if you are for one second, suggesting that Martinez or Poyet are better managers than Pep Guardiola.... then wow.

 

While I am of the belief that Pep is somewhat overrated, there's no getting away from the fact that he's still one of the best.

Surely Klopp is older than Pep? Plus, why on earth would he leave Dortmund...

 

There is no reason for Klopp to leave Dortmund.

 

He's doing exceptionally well there.

 

I have no idea how old they are but there can't be too much between them

 

I guess both are in their early or mid forties.

Good luck to Pep - I don't think he'll win the CL there though. Now, can we stop talking about him?   

If assumption are true, maybe we do have someone (Jose) lined up. I hope so.