“Who would want to come?” is a common rallying cry when Chelsea is looking for a manager. The club is still attractive but with asterisks attached.
Anytime Chelsea sacks a manager, the same comments come about. Despite Chelsea being one of the most successful clubs anywhere in the world the last 15 years with almost as many managers, the Blues are always on the edge of midtable obscurity or are out of managers to appoint.
But despite all the constant chops and changes, Chelsea is still an attractive club for many managers. It is perhaps even attractive because of the chops and changes. A manager can come into Chelsea for a brief stint, win a trophy, and then nothing the Blues do sticks to them. The world understands that Chelsea sacks first and asks questions later so having Chelsea on a CV is mostly a throwaway line in the grand scheme of things.
But that attractiveness comes with asterisks. For as tempting as a club like Chelsea is, there are a lot of road blocks that would prevent many managers from taking the club on. There is plenty of room to be the hero, but also plenty to be the villain and many would look for something more stable to work with. Especially under current circumstances.
First of all, Chelsea is a big club in a big city. As often as it is disregarded, being London based has a lot of advantages off the pitch. For players and managers accustomed to a certain life style, London is very attractive compared to Liverpool or Manchester.
Then there is the money. Chelsea is one of the highest earning clubs in the world and that can be reflected in the transfer market. It is hard for many clubs to beat the fees and wages Chelsea could offer players.
Speaking of players, the squad is much better built than it is given credit for. It is not a rapidly aging squad in most positions and there is a ton of promising talent coming up. Many managers would jump at the chance to mold some of those talents. And all that is not to mention that the squad is full of players with the adaptability to play several different styles and formations.
But almost all of those pluses come with asterisks. London is great, but even London cannot overcome the inconsistency Chelsea faces season to season. There is money, but the ban means it is locked away and unusable. And while the squad is flexible, it is that flexibility that prevents it from being a perfect fit for any style.
The ban especially is the biggest sticking point. Managers do not want to come in and use someone else’s squad; they want to build their own. And through the ban, that simply would not be possible. Even integrating the youth and loanees would still be using pieces assembled by someone else.
Many managers also do not want a brief pit stop either. The silverware is a great bonus, but few would be satisfied with the near constant pressure to excel. Sure, they could come for a year and still end up at a bigger club, but is it worth the hassle?
But those asterisks would not be a turn off for every manager. Many would look at Chelsea as an interesting project while having the belief that they could be the one to get it right. In fact, many managers at the highest level would likely have that sort of self confidence. Many more would be eager to use those academy players to mold a young, exciting side.
Chelsea is a long ways off from being unable to attract top managers. There will be sticking points for many managers brought up, but for every manager that is hesitant, there will be another who is eager. The Blues appeared out of options in 2013 when Jose Mourinho was rehired. The Blues looked out of options in 2016 when Antonio Conte was hired. And the Blues appeared to have nowhere to turn in 2018 when Maurizio Sarri was appointed.
If Sarri does leave for Juventus as expected, someone else will be willing to take on the project. And if that manager goes soon, someone else will be willing as well. Chelsea has always found a way and that does not appear to be slowing down anytime soon.