With Guus Hiddink odds on favourite to take over the reigns at Chelsea on a permanent basis during his second spell at the club, the news that the move for the Dutchman could cost £15m will come as a surprise to many – but is Hiddink really worth that much? And more pertinently, does his appointment signal little more than a continuation of the short-term managerial merry-go-round that has done nothing but hinder Chelsea of late?
I’m not going to lie to you, I’m playing devils advocate here. Everyone seems fairly certain that the job is Hiddink’s to turn down, which he has shown no indication as yet that he intends on doing. His first spell at the club as caretaker boss after Felipe Scolari’s departure in 2009 was a resounding success. So often in football, short spells such as Hiddink’s have a tendency to be overly romanticised, but in this case, Hiddink definitely did do an outstanding job.
He took over a fantastic side low on confidence and crucially did what Scolari had failed to do – made them perform to the best of their abilities. He won the FA Cup final against Everton and won 15 of his 21 games in charge in total, losing just once to Spurs in the league. He also came just a hair’s breadth away from taking them to the Champions League final after being knocked out by an Andres Iniesta goal in the 93rd minute at Stamford Bridge at the semi-final stage. In short, a fantastic spell.
However, it has since come to light that should Roman Abramovich wish to employ Hiddink as the club’s next manager, the move could set the Chairman back a cool £15m in compensation and wages over the course of the next year. Sure, it’s small change to a man such as Abramovich, but is Hiddink really worth that hefty sum? Is any manager worth that sum? I’m doubtful on both counts.
The Turkish FA are thought to be keen so pursue the maximum amount of compensation that they are entitled to squeeze from the Russian oligarch, thought to be in the region of £3m. Then there is the £6m compensation figure to be issued to former manager Carlo Ancelotti. The Italian would have only receive half that figure if he went onto manage a club within 6 months of his departure from Stamford Bridge, but his decision last week to take a year-long sabbatical from the game should be seen as a middle-fingered salute to his former boss in the only language that the Russian understands – money.
Hiddink is thought to be demanding a similar wage to Ancelotti’s £6m a year which brings the total to £15m. Interestingly, Ancelotti’s sacking also brings the total compensatory packages dished out by Abramovich to sacked managers and coaches since he took over the club seven years ago to an astonishing £74m – a remarkably short-sighted structure for a club the size of Chelsea to operate with.