Chelsea To Lose Out On Another Excellent Manager?

Chelsea To Lose Out On Another Excellent Manager?

Chelsea are looking for the manager who will lead them forward from this summer onwards and there have been numerous candidates linked to the post and a number of managers have either been removed from consideration because they have agreed terms with another club (like Pep Guardiola with Bayern Munich) or because they themselves have said they are not interested and want to remain where they are (such as Jürgen Klopp with Borussia Dortmund).

There have been a number of other candidates who have publicly expressed their interest in the Chelsea job and one of the most interesting names in that category is current Brighton and Hove Albion boss and Chelsea legend Gus Poyet. The Uruguayan led the Seagulls to promotion from League 1 to the Championship in 2011 with the team finishing as Champions. Poyet has had the team playing in an attractive fashion from day one when he took over with the team in serious relegation danger back in 2009 and he has received plaudits from numerous people for his team’s style and performances. He has done it all on a relatively limited budget using creative signings and a real unified team feeling. He currently has Brighton only outside the playoff spots on goal difference, sitting in 7th tied with Leicester on 59 points and he led them to a solid 10th place finish in their first season back in the Championship last season.

Reading, who recently fired Brian McDermott, have been given permission to speak to Poyet about their manager’s vacancy. In September 2011, Poyet signed a new and enhanced five-year deal to stay in Brighton until 2016 as the Brighton board obviously recognized they had a great manager on their hands and locked him down to a long-term contract so clearly there would be a significant compensation amount to pay to secure his services. Will this amount prove enough to deter Reading and will Poyet really want to take charge of a team in a relegation dog-fight when he might well lead his current team into the Premier League? These are two big questions plus if Poyet stays with Brighton now he will get to see if he can get the team into the Premier League and he will get to see what happens with the Chelsea job at the end of the season.

Let’s hope Poyet stays where he is and if he does manage in the Premier League anytime soon it is with Brighton or Chelsea not with Reading. A move to Reading would be a sideways move at best and I think he might well be ready for the Chelsea job – he just needs a chance.