Enrique or Poch are our best bets and most realistic options. People asking for ZZ, Carlo and Flick just arent being realistic. If they're dream signings then fair enough. 

Look at where we are now, if any elite coach is interested we should be biting their hands off. I don't get the Poch hate, he's at least 5 times the manager Potter is. He knows the league, has worked a similar project, won a top 5 league title and reached a ucl final. 

If anything between my two preferred candidates I think Poch is the most qualified. Enrique won a ucl and 2 Spanish league titles with superstars, how would he be with young up and coming players is a valid question. Although the Spanish team are young and talented so perhaps it would be a good fit. Pep did say Enrique's Barca was the best team he ever faced.

Stylistically I like them both, I think we all dreamed of Tiki Taka at Stamford Bridge. So Enrique would be a dream, but the point of this post is either Enrique or Pochettino should be looked at as very attractive options because they're good coaches, but realistically available and interested according to the latest reports.

We can't keep downgrading. Let's not forget the long line of elite coaches we've had in the past 20 years. Potter and Boehly + Co put an end to that where we go from now will shape the direction of the club for the immediate future and possibly long-term.

If ok I have a little history lesson (from my best memory  of the time) in why I think  Pochettino is the right choice to come in now.

Back in 2013/14 season, Tottenham sold a then 24 year old Gareth Bale to Real Madrid for 101 million dollars (according to transfermarkt or 83million pounds on wikipedia)). Flush with cash and then under Andre Villas Boas they went out and bought a bunch of players (Soldado, Lamela, Paulinho,Eriksen, Capoue, Chirishes, Chadli) for a similar collective fee to the departing Bale. That's basically 7 incoming starters to replace 1 leaving.
It didn't work, the team struggled with Villas-Boas sacked on the 16th of December 2013 to be repalced by Tim Sherwood who was himself replaced by Pochettino. Pochettino came in 27 May 2014 to a bloated squad full of underperforming players that needed to be whipped into shape or released.

Which is funny because that's exactly where we are right now..........
Bloated squad, too many players, not working hard enough, needs a trim. Need to find out who actually wants to play for Chelsea and who can be let go.

I was of the opinion back in August (2022) that Pochettino was a better option than Potter to come in as he was a safe pair of hands that would have us fitter and working harder (running more) than all our opponents. 7-8 months on, with the squad now bloated and in need of trim, I think he's more now the right man for the job than I did when we went Potter.

Edited March 2, 20233 yr by Guest

Pochettino as interim then capturing De Zerbi from Juventus in a years time could work.

 

8 hours ago, Snedger said:

This is in no way directed at you, but if De Zerbi is so great, why on Earth didn’t we go and get him from wherever Brighton did in the first place? How was he left for Brighton to hire, by I guess not only us? If only someone in the club’s employee was aware of such top managerial talent out there.

Yea, this is the core issue, genuinely astounded Brighton were able to identify De Zerbi.

It’s mind bending they could upgrade their manager when a club the size of us are taking a lesser candidate from THEM.

15 hours ago, dansubrosa said:

Normally I’d say no but I’m desperate for anyone half decent. Give him an interim role with targets, if he achieves them then he gets a contract.

Top 6 finish. Christ, we’ve fallen hard this season.

Honestly at this rate just get us playing well, that's all I ask for. 

Even if we finish 8th, if I see some improvement on the pitch and the attackers start scoring goals and performing well together we are in luck.

Currently, I'm more worried about what this horrendous form is doing for our new signings. 

I don't rate Pochettino as highly as most and I don't think he would win us the league given the competition but you can't argue with his record of developing younger players. When his Spurs side 'peaked' it was largely full of players he developed in his own image.

That said, I can't see this regime replacing him if/when it becomes clear he can't win us the league so catch 22.

Pochettino's teams had the highest distance covered in the entire Prem for 4 seasons. 2014 with Southampton, and 2016, 2017 and 2018 with Tottenham. If he comes here, he'll definitely at least get the players working hard.

13 minutes ago, Argo said:

I don't rate Pochettino as highly as most and I don't think he would win us the league given the competition but you can't argue with his record of developing younger players. When his Spurs side 'peaked' it was largely full of players he developed in his own image.

That said, I can't see this regime replacing him if/when it becomes clear he can't win us the league so catch 22.

Could also be the perfect stepping stone. You said it yourself on the Potter thread, you're not against managerial switches. Poch could come in and lay some solid foundations, get us playing well, we'll likely hit a slump and underachieve, then someone else takes the reigns. Cynical as it sounds that's what's happened in the last 20 years of Chelsea FC. 

It at least leaves us in a far better position, I can't be done with any more project managers like Potter for the time being, we've invested far too much to take such a gamble on it. 

55 minutes ago, Term_X said:

Yea, this is the core issue, genuinely astounded Brighton were able to identify De Zerbi.

It’s mind bending they could upgrade their manager when a club the size of us are taking a lesser candidate from THEM.

To be fair, Steve Cooper was also able to outperform Potter when he took over at Swansea. It's not hard to upgrade on Potter

I vote for Kàroly Kis!

No clue if he's any good, but I picked a random team in the Hungarian second division and googled who their manager is, and figured surely it can't get any worse 😅

1 hour ago, Victor90 said:

Could also be the perfect stepping stone. You said it yourself on the Potter thread, you're not against managerial switches. Poch could come in and lay some solid foundations, get us playing well, we'll likely hit a slump and underachieve, then someone else takes the reigns. Cynical as it sounds that's what's happened in the last 20 years of Chelsea FC. 

It at least leaves us in a far better position, I can't be done with any more project managers like Potter for the time being, we've invested far too much to take such a gamble on it. 

That's true but there's also that voice in my head over whether we would let him go when we hit the glass ceiling or worse stagnate.

There's also his record in the market that seriously concerns me (one of the reasons I kept trying to back Potter until recently is his record with transfers is pretty good), his signings are a big part of the reason Spurs became such a mess in recent years.

Edited March 2, 20233 yr by Argo

1 hour ago, Argo said:

That's true but there's also that voice in my head over whether we would let him go when we hit the glass ceiling or worse stagnate.

There's also his record in the market that seriously concerns me (one of the reasons I kept trying to back Potter until recently is his record with transfers is pretty good), his signings are a big part of the reason Spurs became such a mess in recent years.

I wouldn't worry about that too much, we've already got the signings, I doubt we'll be making many more signings in the future after we've wrapped up Nkunku, we might sign the odd midfielder but that'll be it really.

We've pretty much already got the quality there, it just needs to be used to its full potential. I think Poch is definitely a better alternative to that than Potter currently is. It could definitely go badly, but that's the risk you take. I don't think we're stacked with options sadly, but one thing for sure, Potter has to go, it's not working out and we can't afford to go into the next season with form like this. 

Can't believe people on here are seriously considering Poch.  Words fail me.

4 hours ago, yaz said:

I vote for Kàroly Kis!

No clue if he's any good, but I picked a random team in the Hungarian second division and googled who their manager is, and figured surely it can't get any worse 😅

Kàroly is the Hungarian version of my name and my ex was a Kis(s). So yeah basically I’ll take the job, £50mil cash in hand sack me when you like. 

 

Any chance we can see Zidane doing this to Kepa? 😂

8 hours ago, LongtimerLurker said:

Enrique or Poch are our best bets and most realistic options. People asking for ZZ, Carlo and Flick just arent being realistic. If they're dream signings then fair enough. 

Look at where we are now, if any elite coach is interested we should be biting their hands off. I don't get the Poch hate, he's at least 5 times the manager Potter is. He knows the league, has worked a similar project, won a top 5 league title and reached a ucl final. 

If anything between my two preferred candidates I think Poch is the most qualified. Enrique won a ucl and 2 Spanish league titles with superstars, how would he be with young up and coming players is a valid question. Although the Spanish team are young and talented so perhaps it would be a good fit. Pep did say Enrique's Barca was the best team he ever faced.

Stylistically I like them both, I think we all dreamed of Tiki Taka at Stamford Bridge. So Enrique would be a dream, but the point of this post is either Enrique or Pochettino should be looked at as very attractive options because they're good coaches, but realistically available and interested according to the latest reports.

We can't keep downgrading. Let's not forget the long line of elite coaches we've had in the past 20 years. Potter and Boehly + Co put an end to that where we go from now will shape the direction of the club for the immediate future and possibly long-term.

Agree with all of your post about the tiki taka bit. Personally I think it is all bollox and painful to watch. I would have high intensity, high pressing football, playing one and two touch patterns and a more direct approach in getting the ball, forward quicker.

I know I am in a minority but possession for possession sakes bores the t*ts off me frankly.

Agree on the Poch. I just don't see anyone else that currently fits the mould. And even if Pich isn't the answer I suspect there is more chance of him leading us to the ultimate answer than this bloke. I can only see panic reactions to get us out of trouble when they do eventually decide to cut their losses with Potter.

Poch surely would be a decent option as an interim coach. Tried and tested in the premier league, always punched above his weight, was better than two big name successors at Tottenham who’d both won the league with us! Ok so it didn’t work out at PSG, but it seems to be a bit of a graveyard for up-and-coming managers. Awful, soulless club kind of like City on steroids.  And how do you motivate players/stay on your toes in that boring league? Last time a manager fell foul of PSG and joined us, it didn’t go too badly.. for about 18 months, but who wouldn’t take that?. If he did take over and we didn’t improve, it would surely be the sign that there’s something bigger wrong - a curse even 

https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/celtic/ange-postecoglou-breaks-silence-on-celtic-future-in-wake-of-leeds-speculation-and-source-claims-4043645

On 01/03/2023 at 18:17, Drogba1 said:

I'm pretty sure the media is using ChatBot to find excuses for Potter at this point, they have a new one every week

Alright, then let's have ChatBot media drone v ChatBot CFC manager... I won't notice any diff...  plus our results will likely hold... 😵‍💫

5 hours ago, TheRealDavidK said:

Alright, then let's have ChatBot media drone v ChatBot CFC manager... I won't notice any diff...  plus our results will likely hold... 😵‍💫

After that, if we implement a ChatBot Chelsea forum we can all go home!

11 hours ago, Munkworth said:

Kàroly is the Hungarian version of my name and my ex was a Kis(s). So yeah basically I’ll take the job, £50mil cash in hand sack me when you like. 

You have what some might find a pretty sophisticated name, you are indeed a royal cat that went full rebel.

1 hour ago, PloKoon13 said:

After that, if we implement a ChatBot Chelsea forum we can all go home!

I am home, do you nip off down the library to post here or something?

On 01/03/2023 at 14:58, Argo said:

He's got no track record in developing a bunch of young players. If there's a conversation to be had in regard to a Carlo 2.0 its when this bunch reach their peak.

The likes of Madrid, late 00s Chelsea and 00s Milan were perfect for his hands off type of management, players that were at their peak had little to nothing else to learn and could get away with doing the basic training and turning up on matchday. Our current bunch need micro coaching at this stage of their career.

We're not as good but out of all the clubs he's managed our squad profile is most similar to the one he had at Bayern, a squad that took training sessions behind his back because they didn't feel stimulated enough.

No offence but I think this is pretty far off the mark.

First, young players. Currently at Real, getting considerable gametime: Vini Jr (22), Rodrygo (22), Militao (25), Valverde (24), Camavinga (20), Tchouameni (23). The idea he doesn't/can't develop young players is just wrong.
Was he not blooding McEachran, Kakuta, and Hutchinson at Chelsea in his second season? Or has that been conveniently forgotten? (Yes, their careers didn't reach the pinnacles people hoped they would, but that's hardly Carlo's fault).

Secondly, and maybe I'm wrong here, but is he really that "hands off"? I don't watch Real much outside of the odd Champions League game. But from what I remember of his time at Chelsea, he coached circuits as a way of building up to the final third, I don't think that happens with a hands off approach. That's repetition, hours of drilling it into the side. 

He's got a list of honours as long as your arm, if he got all those by "doing the basic training and turning up on matchday" then he must be the greatest conman the sport has ever seen.

1 hour ago, cfr95 said:

No offence but I think this is pretty far off the mark.

First, young players. Currently at Real, getting considerable gametime: Vini Jr (22), Rodrygo (22), Militao (25), Valverde (24), Camavinga (20), Tchouameni (23). The idea he doesn't/can't develop young players is just wrong.
Was he not blooding McEachran, Kakuta, and Hutchinson at Chelsea in his second season? Or has that been conveniently forgotten? (Yes, their careers didn't reach the pinnacles people hoped they would, but that's hardly Carlo's fault).

Secondly, and maybe I'm wrong here, but is he really that "hands off"? I don't watch Real much outside of the odd Champions League game. But from what I remember of his time at Chelsea, he coached circuits as a way of building up to the final third, I don't think that happens with a hands off approach. That's repetition, hours of drilling it into the side. 

He's got a list of honours as long as your arm, if he got all those by "doing the basic training and turning up on matchday" then he must be the greatest conman the sport has ever seen.

Six of largely the best and/or generational talents with the best and most experienced players in the world alongside them, we will have around all but six (at most) that age. With the way things are currently looking our biggest form of experience outside of Silva and Kante is probably going to be Kepa, massive levels to this.

You mention those players but what about a young, hungry and (as he proved at Bolton and under AVB) clearly ready Sturridge ignored when our options on the right were Kalou and a finished Anelka and up front a malaria striken Drogs and after January a finished Torres? What about an already PL level Bertrand never given a go when Cole was starting to struggle with 2/3 games a week?

The basic training was probably a bit of an over exaggeration but it's an open secret it lacks intensity compared to his peers, which favours a group that doesn't need that much micro coaching and stimulating, our current rooster do not fall into that category the same way Bayern's didn't.

It's not even a bad thing, he has his strengths and weaknesses like every manager. It's no different to how I wouldn't sign Eidur Gudjohnsen and play him as a target man or tell Cech to play risky passes under pressure.