No matter whether you think the sacking of Jose Mourinho was the correct decision or not, it is hard to deny that Guus Hiddink deserves credit for what he has done so far during his second stint in charge of Chelsea.
Blame who you like, but players such as Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa have not only looked more interested in playing for Chelsea, but have improved their performances significantly.
I did wonder if we would ever see Fabregas match his performances during the first half of last season. Well, there have been games recently where he has come close, if not actually matching such form.
Costa on the other hand has been for me nothing short of fantastic. His record under Hiddink speaks for itself.
Although it is extremely frustrating that these types of performances were nowhere to be seen under Mourinho, this should not overshadow the job that Hiddink has done so far.
Without taking anything away from Guus, I think something that has helped is the minimal amount of pressure placed on him. If Chelsea were to continue to have a bad season, then it would simply back up the claim of many Chelsea fans that the players were to blame and not Mourinho.
On top of that, this is a job that Hiddink himself did not expect in the slightest just a few months previously to being appointed. But most of all, Hiddink has nothing to fear. He is aware that he is unlikely to be Chelsea manager next season, so what does he have to lose?
If he would want it or not is another question, but I believe that Guus Hiddink deserves to be considered as Chelsea manager for the long term. There have been big names thrown around such as Massimiliano Allegri, Antonio Conte, and Diego Simeone, but for me Hiddink deserves to be at least an option. Like I say though, would he want it?
I personally think that Conte will be Chelsea manager come the start of next season.
I think that this will be a good appointment for the club - should it happen. However, I think it's pretty well known that Simeone is the first choice for most fans, but you have to consider where Chelsea currently are.
Let's face it, it's looking pretty unlikely Chelsea are going to have European football next season. In fact, their best hope is probably winning the FA Cup, but even that would only be good enough for the Europa League.
Of course, there's still the Champions League, and as I have said before, I still retain hope in that. This would of course also mean automatic qualification for competition next season.
However, considering it is probably more unlikely than likely that Chelsea will be in European competition next season, I think the club will do very well to bring Conte in.
There's nothing concrete yet though, and who knows? If Chelsea were to get European football maybe it could change? I suppose we will have to wait and see.
KTBFFH
- Charlie ( @GiveJTaContract)
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