Who will the next permanent Chelsea manager be?

[Sleeping Dave]

For me Pochettino was the clear and obvious choice for us to pursue. I u sweat and that the board was keen to have a formal round of interviews to gather a better picture of the candidates, but for me he was a stand out choice from the beginning. He ticks a lot of boxes;

His teams are hard to beat and has a nasty streak in them

He plays an adventurous style of football

He likes fast, high tempo football with a high press

He seems to be a manager young players want to play for 

I for one will be happy to see him here. Some variation of 433/4123/4231 will almost certainly be employed and I think that suits the current squad. He will have to get a DM, GK1 and S in during the summer and a truck load of deadwood out the door. But once that’s done I think we have a fairly good squad to build upon. 

 

[blueandproud]

If Poch comes, I will back him just like every other manager that has come in, and if he's successful, great.  I'd rather Poch than Sam Allardyce or Harry Redknapp!  Or Jose for that matter, he's finished as an elite coach, Roma are nothing special in Seria A either.  We won't get Carlo back, and I don't want Conte back either, if we're going to do anything in Europe. 

[paulw66]

4 hours ago, McCreadie said:

I'm real.

 

I mean face to face

Not keyboard people, like we all are to each other (unless some of you have met in person) 

[My Blood Is Blue]

 

Soon to be seen in the home dugout at Stamford Bridge…

[paulw66]

1 hour ago, blueandproud said:

If Poch comes, I will back him just like every other manager that has come in, and if he's successful, great.  I'd rather Poch than Sam Allardyce or Harry Redknapp!  Or Jose for that matter, he's finished as an elite coach, Roma are nothing special in Seria A either.  We won't get Carlo back, and I don't want Conte back either, if we're going to do anything in Europe. 

I tell you who has done a very good job in Serie A

 

Sarri

 

[Willian Dollar Baby]

I'm actually coming around to the idea of Poch. He turned Spurs into a very good side. He gets his squads extremely fit and evolved previously average players like Walker, Rose, Son ect into absolute physical monsters. They may have lost their heads in the battle of the bridge but there were many occasions where their cynical side allowed them to bully opponents. We need a bit of this. 

Personally he wasn't my first choice, that was Nagelsmann, however I did have a few reservations on him. Having another manager who likes to tweak and play random formations wouldn't necessarily be the best fit for our players. Particularly after just sacking a manager with a similar style. Luis Enrique hasn't managed at club level since 2017 and hardly had much success with Spain. Not really a solid option for me personally. 

Like Tuchel and Emery, he wasn't perfect at PSG. The fact he was an ex player maybe encouraged PSG to get him when on paper he was never the right fit. At Spurs he rid the club of big egos and got every player to run oppo teams into the ground. That simply doesn't happen with Neymar, Mbappe and Messi playing up top. I would say a coach more in the mould of Ancelotti/Zidane would be a far better choice to manage those egos. 

Out of all the candidates Poch is the one with the least downsides. He may not have the stellar trophy record we would like however neither did Tuchel really. Poch took a young, inexperience squad to regular top 4 finishes and challenged for a few titles. I'm pretty sure most clubs in world football would have loved to hire him around 2016-2018. Once you get past the Spurs connection he's not a bad hire at all for the mess we are currently in. 

Job number 1, decide 10-15 players to leave. With no Europe at all next season we need to have a fire sale. 

Edited April 24, 2023 by Willian Dollar Baby

[Original 21]

From the Telegraph (paywall removed)

Mauricio Pochettino on verge of becoming new Chelsea manager

Final negotiations underway with former Tottenham head coach to join with his four-man backroom team

Mauricio Pochettino is in final negotiations with Chelsea to become the club’s permanent head coach with the Argentine set to be followed into Stamford Bridge with his four-man brains trust.

Chelsea and Pochettino are hoping for a swift agreement over the terms of his appointment with both sides positive over the direction in which talks have travelled over the past week.

Barring any late hitches, Pochettino is expected to be appointed the permanent successor to Graham Potter and will be allowed to bring at least four of his most trusted allies with him.

Pochettino is expected to be joined at Chelsea by his highly respected assistant manager and head of conditioning Jesus Perez, first-team coach Miguel D’Agostino, goalkeeping coach Toni Jimenez and son Sebastiano, a sports scientist.

Three of the foursome, Perez, D’Agostino and Jimenez, have worked with Pochettino throughout his coaching career at Espanyol, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur and Paris Saint-Germain, while Sebastiano was with him at Spurs and in France.

Perez is particularly influential in Pochettino’s set-up and will work closely with Chelsea’s medical department to make sure the squad are in the best possible physical condition.

Caretaker manager Frank Lampard has questioned the fitness levels of some of Chelsea’s players and the impressive running distances of Pochettino’s teams has been a feature of his work at all of his clubs.

Chelsea are yet to confirm the status of Potter’s old coaching staff who stayed behind after his sacking, but Bruno Saltor and Bjorn Hamberg are expected to leave, while the expected arrival of Jimenez could see goalkeeping coach Ben Roberts go.

Billy Reid left with Potter, while Anthony Barry officially joined Bayern Munich last week which means there should be plenty of space for Pochettino to bring in his own staff. It remains to be seen whether or not there is a long-term future at Chelsea for Kyle Macaulay, who arrived at the club as a recruitment specialist with Potter.

Explaining the relationship between Pochettino and his staff, Perez once said: “He (Pochettino) is very close with us. He's a very uncommon manager, because I've had experience with other ones and they've been different.

“If he discusses a new contract then first it's our contract and then afterwards his contract. Things like that mean so much. He never puts himself first.”

As revealed by Telegraph Sport, Chelsea players are excited by the prospect of Pochettino taking charge and the 51-year-old is thought to have been impressed by what he has heard from co-controlling owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali so far.

Chelsea’s process to appoint a new head coach has been led by co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, but it is believed Boehly and Eghbali have now become involved in final negotiations over hiring Pochettino.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2023/04/24/next-chelsea-manager-mauricio-pochettino-set-to-named/

Edited April 24, 2023 by Original 21

[My Blood Is Blue]

Mauricio Pochettino and Chelsea are hoping for a 'swift agreement' over the terms of his appointment, with both parties positive over the direction in which talks have travelled over the past week, reports Matt Law.

Poch is expected to be joined by:

Jesus Perez - Assistant manager and head of conditioning
Miguel D'Agostino - First-team coach
Toni Jimenez - Goalkeeping coach
Sebastiano Pochettino - Sports scientist

[martin1905]

Sounds like he may come in straight away too.

[My Blood Is Blue]

26 minutes ago, martin1905 said:

Sounds like he may come in straight away too.

If he does, I would imagine that’s come from him rather than the owners and that he wants to get in and have a look at what he has ahead of planning for next season… makes sense.

It would be interesting to see what Frank does, will he hang around in some capacity to help or just go? Same goes for Ashley Cole, be great if he stayed I think.

[martin1905]

3 minutes ago, My Blood Is Blue said:

If he does, I would imagine that’s come from him rather than the owners and that he wants to get in and have a look at what he has ahead of planning for next season… makes sense.

It would be interesting to see what Frank does, will he hang around in some capacity to help or just go? Same goes for Ashley Cole, be great if he stayed I think.

Not sure on Frank, I would like him at the club in some capacity just because of who he is, but he needs to be as far away from the first team as possibility and nit sure that's the avenue he wants to go down.

Ashley Cole, If you watch him before the game with the players he's very intense and so passionate and  I'd definitely be looking to keep him around. 

[Mark Kelly]

Wow the prospect of our players being fit! 

What a time to be alive! 

[chara]

7 minutes ago, Mark Kelly said:

Wow the prospect of our players being fit! 

What a time to be alive! 

🏃‍♂️😋

Who was responsible for the fitness of the squad?...as ever the lead must come from the top but who did the work on the "grass"?

[Mark Kelly]

26 minutes ago, chara said:

🏃‍♂️😋

Who was responsible for the fitness of the squad?...as ever the lead must come from the top but who did the work on the "grass"?

Personally I don't think we've been fit fit for years, I don't think modern footballers like work. 

[Bob Singleton]

28 minutes ago, chara said:

🏃‍♂️😋

Who was responsible for the fitness of the squad?...as ever the lead must come from the top but who did the work on the "grass"?

Matt Birnie has been head of fitness for a few years now, since being promoted from the academy head of fitness.
 

[Miguelito07]

1 hour ago, martin1905 said:

Sounds like he may come in straight away too.

If he does, then surely it has to be following the Brentford match, as our next match is the following Tuesday….against Arsenal. 🙂

[Chelsea_Matt]

40 minutes ago, Miguelito07 said:

If he does, then surely it has to be following the Brentford match, as our next match is the following Tuesday….against Arsenal. 🙂

Oof.

[martin1905]

46 minutes ago, Miguelito07 said:

If he does, then surely it has to be following the Brentford match, as our next match is the following Tuesday….against Arsenal. 🙂

It would be so Chelsea to beat them after being at the lowest level we have been in decades, with an ex Tottenham manager taking charge of his first game, finally ending any hope they have of winning the league.

[Box of Tricks]

3 hours ago, Sleeping Dave said:

His teams are hard to beat and has a nasty streak in them

 

We absolutely have to tap into this again. 

[Blue Kratos]

2 minutes ago, Box of Tricks said:

We absolutely have to tap into this again. 

Agreed. Too much of a soft underbelly this season.

Edited April 24, 2023 by Blue Kratos

[boratsbrother]

I disagree with the opinion that Poch's team are hard to beat.

His Spurs team were typical flat track bullies who were world class bottle jobbers in the big games. For me, that is the number one concern I have about him becoming our manager. 

However,  I do fully agree about us needing some nastiness in our team. We have become far too soft in recent years!

 

[Ham]

4 hours ago, martin1905 said:

Sounds like he may come in straight away too.

 

 

[xceleryx]

7 hours ago, Mark Kelly said:

Wow the prospect of our players being fit! 

What a time to be alive! 

Promising indeed if you look back over a bit of Poch history.

[Chelsea_Matt]

8 hours ago, Box of Tricks said:

We absolutely have to tap into this again. 

It’s a mentality thing, and I hope the players can do it. Oh for a peak Dennis Wise; cracking player, expert at the dark arts!

[chrisb]

3 minutes ago, Chelsea_Matt said:

It’s a mentality thing, and I hope the players can do it. Oh for a peak Dennis Wise; cracking player, expert at the dark arts!

Getting Nicky Butt sent off after a cheeky leg nip springs to mind!