Chelsea, through mostly their own fault, are slowly seeing their options taken away. Soon, they will be forced into a risky managerial decision.
When rumors of Antonio Conte’s successor first began, they were largely about Luis Enrique. But his wages were too high and over time he faded into the background. Then, Maurizio Sarri rose to the top of the pile. But now he is on the verge of extending with Napoli. And Enrique is back on top.
Except Enrique’s wage demands are still too high. Meanwhile, Arsenal are about to appoint Mikel Arteta to most intrigue and support. Who Chelsea hire will be juxtaposed to Arteta. Hire an experienced manager and the decision will be slammed for not giving someone a chance. For simply recycling the same managers over and over again.
Outside of Enrique and Sarri, choices for a top manager are slim. That will cause Chelsea to look towards the more inexperienced managers. And because of Arteta, fans and the media will pressure Chelsea into taking that risk. That could work out or end in disaster.
It worked back when Barcelona did it with Pep Guardiola. He was unproven (mostly) but fit their philosophy. Arteta to Arsenal is an attempt to do the same. He knows the club and if his philosophy matches Arsenal’s, it is only a matter of quality.
And because Arsenal are brave enough to make the move, the next club in line will be similarly challenged by fans and media. That is almost certainly going to be Chelsea.
The Blues will be forced into taking a risk on a young, unproven manager if they give in to the pressure. The likes of Eddie Howe or Jody Morris will be linked. And at an important juncture in club history, can Chelsea afford to let that happen?
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It is a risk that could work as it did with Barcelona and Guardiola. But it could also fail spectacularly. And Chelsea simply cannot afford that right now. It is vital that the manager next season builds a base that prevents a fall to fifth from happening for years.
There is, of course, another risky option that Chelsea may take. If Enrique and Sarri are gone, and no young manager is worth it, then they could just keep Antonio Conte. That is perhaps the riskiest decision of all.
Conte and the board are not on the same page. Some of the players seem to be opposed as well. But Conte also won the league last season and rallied his team from a tenth place finish. If he can tap back into that then he would be the cheapest and easiest option.
But any continuation of Conte would be an alliance built on sand. If things start to turn south again, Conte will go. And things will be even worse than they are now. Not to mention that the available managers will be subpar and few.
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As Chelsea decide what to do next season, they must be weary of the pressure put on by outside forces. They cannot allow those forces to push them into a risky move for which they are not ready.