Why Chelsea will find it hard to persuade Xabi Alonso or Andoni Iraola to join
Chelsea are searching for their fifth permanent head coach of the BlueCo era after the dreadful failure of Liam Rosenior – and with every flop they are becoming less attractive to managers
Chelsea are limping to the end of the season(Image: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Chelsea say they are in “a process of self-reflection”. Which besides being an amusing thing for a football club to say out loud, is about time. Because the club is a mess.
It took the sacking of Liam Rosenior three months into a six-year contract to spark the introspection. Maybe our ‘hire, hand out laughably long contracts and fire culture’ isn’t the best one after all.
The Blues are now looking for their fifth permanent head coach since Todd Boehly and his BlueCo chums took control in the wake of Roman Abramovich’s abrupt exit following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter, Mauricio Pochettino, Enzo Maresca and Rosenior have all had a go at sitting in the hottest of hot seats, with Bruno Saltor, Frank Lampard and now Calum McFarlane having interim spells in between.
Maresca is the only one of them to have something tangible to show for his efforts, having won the Conference League and the Club World Cup last summer – achievements which now feel like they came a lifetime ago.
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Chelsea are not in a rush to appoint a new manager. They are taking their time, keen not to make yet another misstep. They have identified Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola, ex-Real Madrid manager Xabi Alonso and Fulham’s Marco Silva as candidates for their long list.
All of those options have their merits. Yet their many, many previous missteps may have already damaged their chances of landing the right person for the job. Because the appointment has to work for both parties – and why would Iraola, Alonso or Silva fancy stepping into the shambles at Stamford Bridge right now?
Having appeared to be in the fight for the Champions League places not long ago, the team have plummeted down the Premier League table and are now struggling to even secure European football of any kind next season. The team has been fractured by internal divisions, with the captain Enzo Fernandez openly flirting with Real Madrid and Marc Cucurella openly calling out the hierarchy’s approach.
These are not the signs of a functional and happy organisation. And they are not isolated incidents; there have been similar issues arising from further up the chain previously. Apparent tensions between Boehly and fellow co-owner Behdad Eghbali have become public knowledge and help build up a negative picture which contradicts the one Chelsea are no doubt trying to sell to prospective new managers.
The scattergun recruitment approach which Cucurella bemoaned as holding the team back is another obvious issue and links to the main reason why Iraola or Alonso may think twice about taking over at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea have five people in their sporting leadership team, as well as Eghbali, who is understood to be deeply involved in decision-making. Put simply, they have an awful lot of cooks for their broth, which isn’t looking particularly appetising right now.
Iraola is used to the ‘head coach’ role, having not asserted much influence over the recruitment at Bournemouth. As such, he might not mind sticking to the training pitch at Cobham. But, as he said himself recently: “I have a great relationship with (technical director) Simon (Francis) and (president of football operations) Tiago (Pinto).”
At Bournemouth there is a clear hierarchy and straightforward structure. That is not the case at Chelsea.
Alonso was most recently at Real Madrid, so is no stranger to the political side of management. But will he really want to step out of the fire of the Bernabeu and immediately jump into the frying pan of Stamford Bridge?
Even Silva may have reservations, having been vocal with his frustration at Fulham’s apparent lack of ambition in the transfer market. And if Chelsea really can’t tempt the manager of their nearest neighbours then they really are in trouble.
Football is a fickle business and if they can somehow beat Manchester City in the FA Cup final on Saturday and miraculously secure some European football in the final two games of the season then Chelsea’s manager recruitment process could suddenly look a little rosier. But the Blues may find that all those bridges they’ve burnt are now blocking their path forwards.
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