Finally. A word breathed with a sigh of relief by most Chelsea fans around the world after Maurizio Sarri was confirmed as our new manager. The worst kept secret in football has eventually coming true but at what cost?
The Sarri Saga
Sarri has been tipped to take over from Antonio Conte as early as January this year after the rift between the then manager and the board became irreparable and yet he was only signed on in mid-July. The whole episode has made the club come across as rudderless and after a season resulting in fifth and mass speculation of exits for our top players that was the last thing we needed. Surely, a quick resolution could have been found? How is that Napoli hired Sarri’s replacement more than a month before he joined us?
The answer will most likely be down to lawyers and contracts and Conte’s stubbornness but the damage is done. Sarri has had a single day training at Cobham with his new players before he boarded a plane to Australia with a threadbare squad, a new assistant in club legend Gianfranco Zola and just three weeks before the new season starts. A nightmare for most managers. However, in the chain-smoking Italian, I do believe we have found a manager unlike any other in the modern game.
A manager to please the owner?
Wind the clock back seven years and Sarri was still working at a bank. A manager who prefers to work with what is available to him rather than handle transfers and recruitment. A match made in heaven then for an owner who likes to be personally involved in the transfer market. Roman Abramovich can finally sign whomever he pleases and the coach will merely shrug and see how he can get the best out of the player. Perfect. For the first time since Roman bought the club in 2003 the board can sleep easy knowing that they won’t have the manager banging on the door asking questions about money and transfer policies. The director of football can finally get on with their job.
Except our director quit recently, leaving Marina Granovskaia to lead the charge. She’s a trained actress by the way, plenty knowledge of the sport industry. Oh wait. Maybe not so much. So everything behind the scenes is definitely not hunky dory but at least we don’t have to worry about the manager bleating about it every press conference as had become habit of Conte.
Back to the football.
So Sarri.
A manager who likes to play for fun. I didn’t know that was still possible in the modern game but if it leads to the type of football that Napoli played last season then bring it on. Especially after the last two managers who take smiling as a personal insult. I would expect the Italian to implement some form of his favored four-three-three formation and it’s difficult to see where the current batch of players might fit in. Up front, you would expect Morata centrally with Willian and Hazard on the wings, new boy Jorginho, Kante and anyone except Bakayoko in midfield and a back four of Dave, Christiansen, Rudiger and Alonso with Courtois in goal. Seems good to me, just one problem.
Real Madrid.
The small problem of replacing Ronaldo
Ronaldo’s departure has left a Galactico sized hole in their side which needs to be filled and normally it’s by the best player in the World Cup just passed. Which was Luka Modric, wait, that’s awkward. So next on the list is Kylian Mbappe, who has already said he won’t be moving. That leaves Eden Hazard. The Belgian has long flirted with a move to Madrid and now would seem the perfect time. If they come with a bid in excess of £150 million than let him go, no point keeping a player against their will as Diego Costa proved. Just one player sold then, not so bad. Until Coutois joins Hazard in Madrid, then Willian wants to go to Barcelona and Morata decides he wants back to Juve.
Suddenly half our starting XI just left the club with just three weeks to replace them. Not going to happen. We then get held to ransom by any club we want to buy from because they know we are desperate and flush with the money from selling. Can we actually replace those players with ones of equal quality or will the squad take a step backward? If we’re honest we all know which is the likely answer.
It’s a very tricky situation but undeniably one of the clubs own making and that’s the sad thing. All of this could have been avoided and I would have then been happy to tip us as dark horses this season. As it stands though, I’ll take top four and playing good football. Hell, some of the kids may even get to play…
Keep up to date with all the developments leading up the coming Premier League season here at Forever Football