Antonio Conte will leave Chelsea. The only question is; when? If it were up to the majority of fans it would be before this coming weekend and the FA Cup final against Manchester United.
Why? Well, the insipid 3-0 defeat to Newcastle was too much for many Chelsea supporters to stomach. They think he has lost the players, they think he doesn’t care, they think his mind is elsewhere and they are of the distinct impression he would rather be with it, wherever that may be!
They are probably right on all counts and their big fear now is that all these problems will be taken onto the pitch at Wembley and this will hand the cup to United. They would rather go into the game managerless than trust in the Italian!
So what has happened and what will happen?
Well, Conte didn’t really achieve anything remarkable in his first season with the club despite many “experts” gushing over his winning the title.
He had no European involvement at all that season. He had one of the best squads, if not the best, in the division and he had money to spend.
In truth, far more questions would have been asked if he hadn’t won it, especially given the circumstances!
In his second season, which he promised would not be a “Mourinho” season, he has spent most of his time trying to prove himself wrong. In the end it wasn’t quite a “Mourinho” season but a fifth placed finish, meaning his successor will have Thursday night football to contend with, wasn’t much better.
So he will pay the price even if he wins the FA Cup.
Who will replace him? A late entry into the field would appear to be Mauricio Pochettino of Tottenham. Now this could just be a case of the great British press getting their maths wrong again. You know how it is, they try their hardest to add two and two but, no matter how many times they attempt it, they keep getting five!
Pochettino would undoubtedly get more money at Chelsea and he would also get more money to spend on players. Is he the mercenary type though who would leave one club just to join another who are promising him more? Of course he is! All managers are!
But it won’t happen because, as we said, the press have got their maths wrong and it is a move which doesn’t add up.
The only other managers currently on the radar are former Barca coach Luis Enrique, former Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti (but a reappointment of the Italian seems unlikely) and the Napoli manager Maurizio Sarri who is set for showdown talks with the owner now the season is over. With his club having just finished second to Massimiliano Allegri’s Juventus he may very well be a good fit for Chelsea.
There would also be the possibility of Sarri exchanging positions with Conte as the Chelsea manager’s options have been further reduced with the news that former Manchester City boss, Roberto Mancini has been appointed to the Italian national team job.
Whoever is currently in the frame will, no doubt, be joined by a couple more once the season is over and Conte has departed for pastures new, but we still think Sarri may be worth having a flutter on.
Whatever happens the Chelsea hierarchy could do with getting an appointment right so that the players can settle down or clear off and the club can get back to doing what it is supposed to do.
Chelsea like Arsenal are not the only big Premier League club who will be looking for a new manager this summer as Everton fired Sam Allardyce yesterday and appear to be pursuing Marco Silva again and West Ham parted company with David Moyes after his 6 month spell at the club.
The Hammers are reportedly lining up an approach to bring in former Chelsea interim manager and former Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez who is of course managing Newcastle at the moment and masterminded the 3-0 defeat of the Blues in their last Premier League game of the season at St James Park last weekend and more Premier League clubs like Watford for example might well be looking for new managers as the summer progresses.