Are changes about to happen at Stamford Bridge, with some serious movement in the Next Chelsea Manager betting market. Rumours are that former Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez is going to be called in to replace the failed experiment of young Portuguese manager Andre Villas Boas. There are major issues in the Chelsea mess at the moment, which has put them in danger of missing out on a qualification spot in next year’s Champions League. A 3-1 away defeat against Napoli midweek, and without a win in five EPL league matches, AVB’s tenure at Stamford Bridge is hanging by a very precarious thread. He had to answer questions about his team selection in Naples to owner Roman Abramovich, as experienced hands Frank Lampard and Michael Essien were left on the bench. Villas Boas has seemingly alienated a lot of the senior players at Stamford Bridge, while he has tried to implement his own touches, leaning towards youth. It just hasn’t happened for them this season, and now one of the deepest thinkers in soccer manager, Rafa Benitez is apparently in line to become the next Chelsea boss. The rumours have been so strong that Benitez has jumped to favourite in the Next Chelsea Manager betting market to become 2/1 favourite at William Hill. That is a big leap for a man who has been out of work, and overlooked many times when other job openings have cropped up.
But he has Premier League experience and Benitez lead a very average Liverpool squad through some successful times. The success of Benitez was just what Chelsea need at the moment, as it was build on stifling, organised and un-flamboyant play. Winning through hard work to rack up 1-0 wins was the forte, and it is the same style which brought Jose Mourinho much success as Stamford Bridge. So is Benitez the man to fix the Chelsea problems? Chelsea are bad at the back at the moment, and Benitez likes to keep things tight and efficient, so he would get Chelsea deeper and tighten them up a lot. There is also the strong connection between Rafa Benitez and Fernando Torres (who has just been dropped from Spain’s squad), and so perhaps Abramovich is thinking that Benitez may just be the right man to get the best of his biggest ever investment, the fifty million pound man, Torres. While many Blues fans will be scratching their heads of an appointment of Benitez, a man who was overlooked in favour of Andre Villas-Boas in the summer, they will no doubt look to his most previous track record. After good times at Liverpool, Benitez dragged Liverpool down with an over abundance of average squad players at Anfield, and then after taking over at Champions League holders Inter Milan, subsequently didn’t even last a season there because they ended up going backwards from their success.
But the rumours are growing that Roman Abramovich will turn back towards perhaps more dour tactical set ups, and give up on the supposed attacking flair that AVB was supposed to bring. Let’s not forget that Rafa Benitez is a Champions League winner, bringing a tight unit between his senior players and fringe operators. That man management is clearly something which Chelsea are lacking at the moment, but the diplomatic Benitez would probably unite the senior players like Lampard and get the best out of them until their Stamford Bridge careers come to an end. Bottom line is, is that Roman Abramovich is desperate to see his club win the Champions League, and the Blues are in danger of missing out on a place in next year’s tournament. So how much does AVB have left? It doesn’t seem like a lot really, and then that will blow Next Chelsea Manager betting wide open. Jose Mourinho’s name has been touted around as making a return to Stamford Bridge. The unsettled Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola is also a likely target, but big names like this won’t be as readily available as out of work Benitez. So that in itself could be a big factor in the decision of what to do, and who to put in the Chelsea hot seat.
Next Chelsea Manager Betting Odds
Rafa Benitez: 6/4 at SkyBet
Jose Mourinho: 8/1 at SkyBet
Fabio Capello: 9/1 at William Hill
Pep Guardiola: 10/1 at SkyBet
Marcelo Bielsa: 16/1 at Paddy Power
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