Why Luis Enrique Is the Best Option for Chelsea as Their Permanent New Manager
To put it in perspective without the 12 points won by Tuchel, the Blues would have been in a relegation battle right now. Presently Chelsea are 11th in the table with just 39 points. To add more to their misery in the previous two transfer windows they have spent close to £600 million.
Gary Neville: "Chelsea are short of a manager, a centre-forward. I think the goalkeeper could be better. If you put a proper manager there and a couple of decent signings…. they’re well out of it at the moment, but they could be nearer than all we think."
Thus presently the Blues are in a big mess. However, there is still hope for the London giants. TV Pundit Gary Neville is of the opinion that the Blues are just a striker, a goalkeeper, and a competent coach away from challenging for the title. On paper, Chelsea have assembled a brilliant squad but it is yet to be translated onto the pitch.
While a goalkeeper and a striker should not be a problem for Todd Boehly, a competent manager is a big problem for the American owners. Some fans are still upset with the sacking of Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter looked out of his depths at the club. Bruno Saltor Grau and Frank Lampard are only there for the interim. Thus this time, Boehly wants to take time before finalizing the new appointment.
So far names like Julian Naglesmann, Ruben Amorim, Luis Enrique, Zinedine Zidane and Mauricio Pochettino have been mentioned. While Carlo Ancelotti and Roberto De Zerbi’s name has been suggested as well. Now in order to select the next Chelsea manager the new manager must stand out in these three departments.
The first is experience, the second one is the style of football and the availability of the manager. Based upon these factors it looks unlikely that Carlo Ancelotti and Roberto De Zerbi will be available. Ancelotti has confirmed that he will be at Real Madrid next season and De Zerbi will be another expensive acquisition for the club.
Also, De Zerbi is yet to manage big names and big clubs in his career so far. On this ground, Ruben Amorim’s name can also be struck off. The Portuguese so far has only managed Benfica and Sporting Lisbon in his career. This season they did manage to beat Arsenal in the Europa League but their league form hasn’t been up to the mark.
Out of these five managers, all are currently available to return to club football. Luis Enrique even had a Zoom call with the club and was ready to take over immediately. However, Chelsea decided not to bring him in immediately. Thus with all four managers available now only two criteria remain to be fulfilled.
In terms of playing style, all these managers prefer their team to dominate possession. Not only this they also want their teams to play expansive and attacking football. Now the only criteria remaining is that of experience. The said criteria can be further divided into three aspects: years of experience as a manager, variety of experience, and trophies won.
In terms of managerial experience, Enrique comes out on top. He has managed in La Liga, Serie A, and a national team as well. The Spaniard has been in management since 2008 as well. Not only this he has won big trophies with Barcelona as well. While Mauricio Pochettino also has great experience having managed in Spain, France, and England but he is yet to win anything substantial in his career so far. Also, a return to Tottenham Hotspur might be on the cards for the Argentinian.
Zinedine Zidane and Julian Naglesmann so far have only managed in Spain and Germany respectively. Although Naglesmann is the prodigal manager but he is still too young to take this Chelsea job considering the task at hand. Zidane will demand huge respect in the dressing room but so far in his career, he has only managed superstars.
There is no denying his merit as a manager but he managed Real Madrid which was filled with superstars who were in their peak form. Beyond Madrid, he is yet to show his merit. While Enrique’s record apart from Barca is also not very bright but his experience of managing teams like Celta and Roma could come in handy. Thus at least on paper, the Spaniard seems to be the best choice for Chelsea right now.
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