Interim Chelsea boss Rafa Benitez has accused fans of wasting time, but it’s Roman Abramovich that is wasting time
Last night’s press conference with Chelsea interim boss Rafa Benitez after the Blues 2-0 FA Cup victory at Middlesbrough clearly annoyed the Spaniard.
The former-Liverpool boss accused the Blues fans of ‘wasting time’ by not supporting their team because he is in charge.
According to the Spaniard the fans will have to take some responsibility if Chelsea fails to achieve their goals this season.
I would suggest that is complete rubbish. If Rafa Benitez had done a fantastic job then I believe most fans would begrudgingly support the Spaniard.
However, he hasn’t done a fantastic job as interim boss. He has just done what owner Roman Abramovich wanted him to do and kept the seat warm until somebody better comes along in the summer.
Wasted
Benitez is right about time being wasted though. The people who are wasting time though are the Chelsea hierarchy (see Roman Abramovich). Rafa Benitez was never going to be a long-term Chelsea boss, so why bother appointing him in the first place?
Benitez has a very similar record to that of previous boss Roberto Di Matteo. I don’t know why Chelsea didn’t leave the Italian in charge. When Di Matteo left I believe Chelsea were in a higher position in the Premier League than they are now.
The Blues are now fourth, 19 points behind league leaders Manchester United at the top of the table and they certainly weren’t trailing the Red Devils by that much of a margin when Di Matteo was in charge.
Guardiola
It seems that Roman Abramovich really did believe that Pep Guardiola would become the Chelsea boss this summer. In a surprise move the former-Barcelona boss agreed to move to German giants Bayern Munich instead.
Replacement
That has left Abramovich and Chelsea stumbling around looking for a replacement for Benitez and it seems there aren’t that many viable candidates out there to replace the Spaniard.
Consistency
Rafa Benitez won’t be given the Chelsea job on a full-time basis in the summer. However, Chelsea needs a boss that will give the club consistency. Owner Abramovich hasn’t allowed Chelsea bosses the time to build anything lasting, except for Jose Mourinho and he left the club without much ceremony.
The Russian oligarch seems frightened to stick with a manager through slightly sticky patches. Chelsea were enduring a sticky patch when Di Matteo was sacked, but I think the Italian could have got the team out of it and let’s face it Benitez hasn’t exactly done a fantastic job.
Pellegrini
One of the current favourites for the Chelsea hot seat seems to be Malaga boss Manuel Pellegrini. The Chilean made his name in European football by helping previously little-known Villarreal establish themselves as a major force in Spanish and European football.
The Yellow Submarine managed to make it to the Champions League semi-finals and also finished second in La Liga ahead of Barcelona. Not bad for a small town team. His performance at Villarreal led to him being handed an opportunity at Spanish giants Real Madrid.
Pellegrini achieved a then-record points haul of 96 points at the Bernabeu, but finished second to Barcelona in La Liga. A knockout stage Champions League exit at the hands of Lyon was also considered not good enough for the Chilean to keep his job.
The Chilean was replaced by Jose Mourinho and the rest is history. Pellegrini has done a good job at Malaga, helping the club to finish in the Champions League spots last season and also making it to the last 16 in the Champions League this season.
However, financial problems at Malaga mean that the club are unlikely to be allowed to participate in next seasons competition should they finish in the top four this season, which doesn’t look impossible.
Pellegrini looks set to leave La Rosaleda in the summer and Chelsea currently looks like his most likely destination.
Potential
The current Chelsea squad has such potential and with the right man at the helm could be a big danger to the two Manchester clubs in the near future. Whether Pellegrini is that man is unsure just yet, but one thing is for sure Rafa Benitez is definitely not that man.
Who should be the next Chelsea boss?
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