Return of the little great?

The Roberto Di Matteo saga has left Chelsea fans with a sour taste in their mouths towards the Chelsea hierarchy, and although it may be true that he wasn’t the long term solution for the clubs vision and goals, it has been plain to see, the man who replaced him certainly isn’t either.

There are several candidates in the pot to take over from him this summer, and it seems the No.1 target, Pep Guardiola, has already been made Bayern Munich boss for next season, so the question remains, who is next in line?

It’s a mini-crisis at Chelsea at present, Wednesdays attendance of 38,484 was the lowest in six years, and the performance on the pitch warranted that, as we succumbed to two second-half goals from Southampton, surrendering a 2-0 lead that looked more than comfortable in stages.

Boos rang around the Bridge from Day 1, and a flurry of poor home performances have only backed up the boo-boys, who have now turned on Fernando Torres, who was so prolific under Benitez in the red of Liverpool.

It is clear the club needs a new direction, a man who can excite the crowd, as well as bring performances on the pitch. That man? Gianfranco Zola. A club great whose career with us spanned six years, leaving him voted as the all-time leading player by supporters. He has already expressed an interest in the job, saying “One of my dreams is a day when I can become the manager of Chelsea” and it may be time to act on that dream for Abramovich, or risk a few more nightmares from the Chelsea support.

It is clear that the rapport between fans and board has been strained, and an appointment like this would go some way to repairing that, and while he doesn’t possess the managerial CV of a Jurgen Klopp, or Pep Guardiola, you only have to rewind to last season, to see what a club great can do with this bunch of players at the Bridge.

Skeptics will look at the likes of Kenny Dalglish at Liverpool, and say that a club great is not always the best option. However, the main difference is that we already have a core group and a squad here, that is very capable of challenging for domestic and European honours, whereas Dalglish didn’t.

Zola has been given a hard time in management also, although he is flourishing with Watford at present, taking them into the Championship playoffs, he was harshly sacked by West ham United, despite leading them to safety in the Premier League. 

With Abramovich risking further damage with fans by letting club favourites Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole depart, he could do a lot worse than bring back a club favourite to the Blues, a man who seems to have all the ingredients to go on to be a top manager in future.

Until then, we must get behind this team, as we try and halt a run of just two wins in seven home games, not a record that will guarantee third place, something which we must be aiming for at this present time.

With the likes of Klopp, Loew, Mourinho, Moyes, and Rijkaard in the running, would you prefer a big name, or somebody like Zola as the next boss? Let us know.

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