Well, he's gone. That's what the headlines say. Mutual consent say the club. Sacked says a disgruntled member of the playing staff. Whatever the method, Jose Mourinho, aka the Special One, won't be in the Away dugout come Sunday at Old Trafford. Despite having speculated at one time or another over the summer about him leaving Chelsea, this has come as quite a shocker. After all, few managers at the top clubs leave in bloody September, with the club still in the running in all of the competitions. Its madness really, to have a management reshuffle of this scale just days before facing a title rival, but I won't be the one to complain. Even then, this has been a parting-in-the-making. The only question in this equation was when. So many reasons, so many factors, but I'd be wasting everyone's time if I went into the already well-publicisied spats between Roman and Jose. Instead, I'll use this post to do a bit of crystal-ball gazing.After doing away with the possibly the winningest manager in the club's history, who can Roman get to bring the club forward? Quite frankly, I don't see too many guys being able to fit in Mourinho's shoes. First on the list would probably be Guus Hiddink. Great record in European club football, and with a great international pedigree to boot. The only problem is that Hiddink's Russia are still within a shout of getting into Euro 2008. Add that to the fact that Hiddink isn't among the most popular men now in England, and you can see this man's chances diminishing already. But you just can't count out Roman's petrodollars, so this scenario could change. Other guys on the list would include the clubless Fabio Capello, the reigning Uefa Cup-winning manager Juande Ramos, or the reigning World Cup-winning manager Marcello Lippi. Capello probably is last on the list, given that his famed preference for the catenaccio in recent years makes him even more defensive than Mourinho, which was one of the reasons why he fell out with Roman in the first place! Ramos on the other hand, is now well-regarded in footballing circles for building one of the most-exciting sides in recent times. His Sevilla are among the best attacking sides in Europe at the moment, and back-to-back Uefa Cup titles are testament to that. And with attacking football in short supply at Stamford Bridge, he could be the one that Abramovich hires. However, for all his success, Ramos has not managed at a real top level club, and this could count against him. That leaves me with Lippi. Appointing him seems to make the most sense for me, objectively speaking. He's won everything there has been to win in European football, not to mention the World Cup in some very trying circumstances. Chelsea, and the Premiership would thus be a logical final challenge for him. Lippi is also known to be less defensive than Capello, and this could sit well with Abramovich. But then, who knows?A quick check on Wikipedia shows Capello as the man most likely to take over. Well, I guess I'm not cut out for forecasting after all. LOL.
i heard the crickets at 3:39 pm
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