Xabi Alonso will be Chelsea\u2019s \u201cmanager\u201d, not \u201chead coach\u201d and that\u2019s pretty significant for a number of reasons.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
If you enjoy Chelsea News coverage and want to see more of it, add us as a preferred source on Google to make us a favourite and see more of our content.<\/em><\/p>\n There were some major Premier League games over the weekend, with the relegation battle and title all pretty much decided.<\/p>\n But still the biggest news was the appointment of Xabi Alonso as Chelsea manager. The Athletic today have the long ready which details how that coup came about for the Blues.<\/p>\n They note that Chelsea\u2019s FA Cup final ended up being a \u201csideshow\u201d to the \u201cmain story\u201d at Stamford Bridge. The fact that he was given the title \u201cmanager\u201d rather than \u201chead coach\u201d reflects his \u201cexperience, track record and leadership qualities.\u201d<\/p>\n However, to us, it also shows that the \u201cprocess of self reflection\u201d that they undertook after sacking Liam Rosenior just a few months after his appointment led them to conclude that empowering rather than undermining whoever was in charge was the only way to control player power and to get the project back on track.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s hope it works \u2013 the title doesn\u2019t mean much, but it should hopefully represent something bigger.<\/p>\n Xabi Alonso built his reputation on a back three, but according to sources at Sky, he won\u2019t be wedded to that formation when he\u2019s managing Chelsea.<\/p>\n Jamie Carragher doesn\u2019t love saying nice things about Chelsea, but even he had to admit that the club had pulled off a \u201chuge coup\u201d bringing in his old teammate Xabi Alonso.<\/p>\n DOWNLOAD THE OFFICIAL CHELSEA NEWS APP FOR ALL THE LATEST UPDATES \u2013 STRAIGHT TO YOUR PHONE! ON THE APP STORE<\/strong><\/p>\n Check out the latest edition of Simon Phillips\u2019 SPTC podcast here:<\/em><\/p>\nChelsea give Alonso different title as part of new approach<\/h2>\n
In other news\u2026<\/h2>\n