Mauricio Pochettino is the fifth Chelsea manager under the ownership of Todd Boehly and Clearlake but who will be the sixth?
It feels as though the writing’s on the wall for the current Blues boss after a truly terrible display against Wolves, prompting us to look at the next manager odds, provided by Gambling.com, who for some reason list a top nine…
9) Rob Edwards
As much as we would love to see the Stamford Bridge glow-up of an already ludicrously handsome man, it’s his Graham Potter-iness that will likely rule him out in Todd Boehly’s mind. It would be one of the biggest steps up in Premier League history.
8) Ruben Amorim
Heavily linked with Spurs pre-Ange and now with Liverpool post-Klopp, it feels inevitable that Amorim will move to one of the Premier League big boys before long.
7) Zinedine Zidane
The ex-Real Madrid coach has been away from the game for over two years now but he seems ready to come back. “I feel refreshed now,” he told GQ this summer. “There is nothing better than talking to a player before a match. I need that.”
He’s made it pretty clear that he will only manage Juventus, Real Madrid or a nation state-backed Marseille, not that that’s stopped the Liverpool rumours.
6) Thomas Frank
It feels like he will forever be on these top club lists but always be the bridesmaid, mainly because of the football he plays, because football club owners are stupid and can’t conceive of a manager being able to adapt their philosophy according to the quality of the players at their disposal.
5) Xabi Alonso
Come on, Xabi, you don’t want a well-balanced squad with an ideal mix of youth and experience at a club you starred for and a fanbase who love you when you can manage the basket case club in world football.
READ MORE: Who will replace Jurgen Klopp as next Liverpool manager? Ange in the running
4) Roberto De Zerbi
Why break the Brighton habit? Well, maybe because it’s proven to be a far from lucrative one thus far. Graham Potter was sacked, Marc Cucurella was the worst signing of 2022, Caicedo was the worst signing of 2023 and Robert Sanchez will probably be kept out of the side when he does return from injury by a slightly less mediocre goalkeeper.
De Zerbi will probably be brilliant elsewhere – Liverpool perhaps? Maybe, just maybe, it’s the going to Chelsea that’s the problem, not the coming from Brighton. Alexis Mac Allister’s been alright…
3) Xavi Hernandez
Maybe not the best idea to hire the second least successful of ten Barcelona managers (according to PPG) in the last 15 years purely because he was the Barcelona manager.
2) Jose Mourinho
There will be more than a few Chelsea fans thinking a third stint would be a good idea, because a) both the previous two yielded dominant title wins, b) these youngsters need the sort of kicking he would provide and c) who better to bring back Chelsea values than the man who instilled many of them in the first place?
It feels very unlikely though given Todd Boehly and Clearlake’s commitent to do the exact opposite of Roman Abramovich. If they’re willing to consistently lose football matches to remain steadfast in that commitment, they’re not about to hire the manager who embodies the previous regime.
1) Michel Sanchez
His name will be on the lists of top clubs the world over thanks to the remarkable job he’s doing with Girona. The Spanish minnows are second in La Liga, just one point behind Real Madrid, with their squad costing them €33m compared to Madrid’s €573m. Remarkable is right.
