A lot has been said regarding Andre Villas-Boas’ dismissal as Chelsea manager on Sunday; perhaps that AVB was too rash in starting his project of taking the older players out the side and this lead to a mutinous dressing room and such poor results, or that he was supposed to have three years to undertake this project and promises were broken.

But now Abramovich and Chelsea Football Club need to move on regardless of whether the decision was right or wrong, concentrate on the remainder of the season and appoint the right man for the job so preparation for the following 2012/13 season is as smooth as it can be.

Plenty of candidates have been touted for the vacancy, including former England managers Fabio Capello and Sven-Göran Eriksson, the latter having already declared his interest in the job this week, as has Rafael Benitez. Eriksson’s time in the big managerial jobs has probably come to an end; despite Chelsea approaching him all the way back in 2003 following the sacking of Claudio Ranieri, his recent track record with the likes of Mexico and Leicester City has been very poor, leading to early dismissals in both roles.

While Benitez’s didn’t have a great period in charge of Inter either in trying to better and spite Mourinho, which could again prove to be his downfall if he were given the job, he could be the man to get Torres back scoring goals what with their exploits together at Liverpool, however Chelsea fans were very vocal in their dismissal of Benitez as the future Blues boss.

While the Chelsea legend is only there until the end of the season, why not plump for Di Matteo? In his four years as a Chelsea player, he has scored three cup-winning goals to help Chelsea win two FA Cups and the League Cup, as well as the Cup Winners’ Cup and was part of the 1998/99 side that went on a run of 20 games unbeaten, qualifying for the Champions League, so in that respect, he would certainly have the support of the fans. Don’t forget a lot were calling for him to be hired in some capacity when Luiz Felipe Scolari was nearing the end of his woeful spell in charge of Chelsea during the 2008/09 season.

Di Matteo would also appeal to Abramovich’s desire of playing stylish, attacking football at Chelsea. Even though West Bromwich Albion were often a defensive liability under the Italian, which has since been rectified by the magnificent organisational skills of Roy Hodgson, The Baggies played a brand of attractive football that earned Di Matteo and his team many plaudits both in the Championship and the Premier League, including going to Arsenal and winning 3-2 and being one of the few teams to come away with a point from Old Trafford in the 2009/10 season with a 2-2 draw.

However, West Brom’s defensive frailties caught up with them as they went on a run of 13 defeats in 18 games and he was soon relieved of his duties by the board, despite the supporters’ loyalty to him and the surprise of many other avid football followers, due to the side not languishing in the relegation zone at the time, and the fact they were still playing well, just not taking their chances.

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