Chelsea has lost their last two meetings against West Bromwich Albion. Following the last defeat, a beloved hero of Chelsea FC was sacked. The fans are seeminlgy yet to come around his loss.
Roberto Di Matteo, the ‘interim’ manager, became permanent after securing what had seemed like an impossible victory in the Champions League final in May. His team, packed with their attacking stars however fell apart in the Champions League. Roman Abramovich sacked him.
This was nothing new though; the Russian had ended Andre Villas Boas’ Chelsea career in March 2012 following a loss to none other than West Brom. After ranting against his current employer, Rafael Benitez could be headed down the same route. However, his rant might turn out to serve as a deterrent to his sacking.
Chelsea had beaten Middlesbrough 0-2 in the FA Cup. Benitez did not however have a smile on his face. The Chelsea fans had just about gotten on his last nerve. He put his foot down and reasserted his authority. He reminded everyone in his post match interview that he is the manager and he makes the decisions about lineups, tactics and substitutions.
“I'm the manager and I will be managing the team,” Rafael Benitez declared on Wednesday night in front of the English press.
“I like to manage players and not names, so I will pick my team, and I will make decisions and at the end of the season, I will leave anyway because I am 'interim' like they said.”
The term ‘interim manager’ seemed to upset Benitez. He pointed out truthfully that every manager is temporary in truth. Chelsea does not have another manager in their sights currently. Benitez feels that something was lost in Spanish to English translation in reference to the term ‘interim’, as he revealed:
“I didn't know. Obviously, you have an agent, they have to talk in Spanish-English translation, and I was surprised.”
Furthermore, one can feel for Benitez. He has done his best to manage the team. The players seem happy with him and Benitez has no complaints against them either. He carefully walked away from the question of whether he felt disrespected. However, he did complain about the fans, claiming:
“This group of fans, they have an agenda, they say 'We are right'. They can be right at the end of the season, it's simple.”
The ‘fans’ of Chelsea, in trying to get rid of Benitez, is causing the team plenty of problems. Benitez pointed this out. This is also demonstrated by some unusual home losses in the league. Why some fans are trying to get rid of him is doubtful. Benitez, with his nine trophies, is fully qualified to be the manager. The fierce clashes between Chelsea and Liverpool are in the distant memory now. Benitez has never shown even once that he still has Liverpool’s best intentions in mind.
Chelsea fans tend to display love for the Italian man who was sacked. They tend to forget that while he led them to Champions League glory, he was the one who was definitely partly responsible for a rather pathetic campaign this time around. Also, in the league, Chelsea was just starting to stutter at the time.
Benitez showed in the interview that he intends to ensure that Chelsea qualifies for the Champions League. This again shows that he has Chelsea’s best intentions at heart. Despite the slightest hint of disrespect towards Roman Abramovich, Benitez should be able to keep his job whatever the result at West Brom solely because of this reason:
“If we are in the Champions League, I will be the happiest man in the world.”
On the other hand, due to the disrespect he showed towards some of the fans and Abramovich, his time might come to an end. However, one would be well served to remember that alternatives are few and far between for Chelsea. Surely, very few managers would want to take up a job which involves dealing with Abramovich and the fans on a daily basis.
Benitez knows clearly what he is dealing with. He pointed out the fact that Chelsea is in a transitioning phase; he clearly does not live in a dream where he can set up the current Chelsea team to win a treble. He clearly knows that he cannot change the perception of the fans as well as that of Chelsea’s Russian boss. He deserves a chance as did so many Chelsea managers before him. However, will Abramovich give him the chance?
“It's a team in transition – they don't realize,” the former Liverpool boss reminded.
“In the past, we had Drogba, Essien, Kalou, these players, it was a very strong squad, players with experience in the Premier League.
“Now we have a group of players with talent, really good players with talent, but they need time. It's a time of transition.”
If West Brom manages to beat Chelsea, they might be able to get rid of yet another Chelsea manager in just two seasons. However, if Chelsea wins, the Chelsea fans could be set for an interesting ride in the next couple of months, with their favorite ‘love to hate’ figure’ Benitez, driving the wagon, or in Chelsea’s case, an Aston Martin.
This was nothing new though; the Russian had ended Andre Villas Boas’ Chelsea career in March 2012 following a loss to none other than West Brom. After ranting against his current employer, Rafael Benitez could be headed down the same route. However, his rant might turn out to serve as a deterrent to his sacking.
Chelsea had beaten Middlesbrough 0-2 in the FA Cup. Benitez did not however have a smile on his face. The Chelsea fans had just about gotten on his last nerve. He put his foot down and reasserted his authority. He reminded everyone in his post match interview that he is the manager and he makes the decisions about lineups, tactics and substitutions.
“I'm the manager and I will be managing the team,” Rafael Benitez declared on Wednesday night in front of the English press.
“I like to manage players and not names, so I will pick my team, and I will make decisions and at the end of the season, I will leave anyway because I am 'interim' like they said.”
The term ‘interim manager’ seemed to upset Benitez. He pointed out truthfully that every manager is temporary in truth. Chelsea does not have another manager in their sights currently. Benitez feels that something was lost in Spanish to English translation in reference to the term ‘interim’, as he revealed:
“I didn't know. Obviously, you have an agent, they have to talk in Spanish-English translation, and I was surprised.”
Furthermore, one can feel for Benitez. He has done his best to manage the team. The players seem happy with him and Benitez has no complaints against them either. He carefully walked away from the question of whether he felt disrespected. However, he did complain about the fans, claiming:
“This group of fans, they have an agenda, they say 'We are right'. They can be right at the end of the season, it's simple.”
The ‘fans’ of Chelsea, in trying to get rid of Benitez, is causing the team plenty of problems. Benitez pointed this out. This is also demonstrated by some unusual home losses in the league. Why some fans are trying to get rid of him is doubtful. Benitez, with his nine trophies, is fully qualified to be the manager. The fierce clashes between Chelsea and Liverpool are in the distant memory now. Benitez has never shown even once that he still has Liverpool’s best intentions in mind.
Chelsea fans tend to display love for the Italian man who was sacked. They tend to forget that while he led them to Champions League glory, he was the one who was definitely partly responsible for a rather pathetic campaign this time around. Also, in the league, Chelsea was just starting to stutter at the time.
Benitez showed in the interview that he intends to ensure that Chelsea qualifies for the Champions League. This again shows that he has Chelsea’s best intentions at heart. Despite the slightest hint of disrespect towards Roman Abramovich, Benitez should be able to keep his job whatever the result at West Brom solely because of this reason:
“If we are in the Champions League, I will be the happiest man in the world.”
On the other hand, due to the disrespect he showed towards some of the fans and Abramovich, his time might come to an end. However, one would be well served to remember that alternatives are few and far between for Chelsea. Surely, very few managers would want to take up a job which involves dealing with Abramovich and the fans on a daily basis.
Benitez knows clearly what he is dealing with. He pointed out the fact that Chelsea is in a transitioning phase; he clearly does not live in a dream where he can set up the current Chelsea team to win a treble. He clearly knows that he cannot change the perception of the fans as well as that of Chelsea’s Russian boss. He deserves a chance as did so many Chelsea managers before him. However, will Abramovich give him the chance?
“It's a team in transition – they don't realize,” the former Liverpool boss reminded.
“In the past, we had Drogba, Essien, Kalou, these players, it was a very strong squad, players with experience in the Premier League.
“Now we have a group of players with talent, really good players with talent, but they need time. It's a time of transition.”
If West Brom manages to beat Chelsea, they might be able to get rid of yet another Chelsea manager in just two seasons. However, if Chelsea wins, the Chelsea fans could be set for an interesting ride in the next couple of months, with their favorite ‘love to hate’ figure’ Benitez, driving the wagon, or in Chelsea’s case, an Aston Martin.
