Chelsea fans are delighted that BlueCo finally hired a top-level manager after Xabi Alonso's arrival at Stamford Bridge was confirmed.
A disastrous campaign ended with a 1-0 defeat to Manchester City in the FA Cup final on Saturday, and marked Alonso's announcement as manager less than 24 hours later.
The Spaniard signed a four-year contract in West London that begins on July 1 and supporters are undoubtedly excited about what he can achieve after winning the Bundesliga title with Bayer Leverkusen in 2023/24.
The change from a head coach to manager also signifies the opportunity for Alonso to stamp his own authority on the squad without being held back by the ownership model. This agreement was key to persuading him to join a side with potentially no European football, but handing more control to the manager could harm Chelsea in the long run.
Xabi Alonso will have 'horrific penalty' on Chelsea if he is sacked
Alonso is the sixth appointment BlueCo have made since taking over from Roman Abramovich four years ago, and as it stands, the average length of a tenure is just over eight months.
The Blues have lacked long-term stability when many of their rivals, namely Arsenal and Man City, have benefitted from sticking with their managers even during difficult periods.
Chelsea fans will hope that Alonso is the man to stabilise the club and take them to the next level, because Gary Neville has warned that he could place a "horrific" penalty on the ownership if he is sacked early into his four-year contract.
"No, to be honest with you, two things I will be absolutely certain of with Xabi Alonso's contract, he's obviously taken control, because he's got manager," Neville said on the Stick to Football podcast. "He will have a horrific penalty on the club if they get rid of him in the first couple of years. So I'd imagine he will put some sort of what would be clause in there that will make it very complicated."
Neville believes Alonso will have a clause in his contract that makes it "very complicated" for Chelsea to sack him, and he is absolutely right to do so.
Alonso is protecting himself at Chelsea
BlueCo have made several errors across their tenure so far in West London, and one of those was hiring Liam Rosenior on a six-year contract from sister club Strasbourg in January.
Rosenior was, of course, sacked following a nightmare 107-day tenure in charge last month, and the Englishman is now on the search for his next role.
Alonso will have seen that Chelsea's ownership model isn't afraid of sacking managers, even with long-term contracts, and that is why he will have likely placed a clause in his four-year deal that has major ramifications on the club.
The 44-year-old has only joined with the belief he can bring trophy-winning success back to Stamford Bridge, and he deserves time to stamp his philosophy onto his young squad. So, if things do start badly for him, he will expect BlueCo to give him time to prove he was the correct appointment.
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