Who would have thought that it would be Roberto Di Matteo sparking this Chelsea side back to life? Yes it’s easy to joke that John Terry has taken up the real managerial role at Chelsea, but since Di Matteo has taken over the results have begun to speak for themselves. Both Terry and Di Matteo have been at the club through Chelsea’s slump, but the former England skipper’s rallying cries and call to arms have counted for nothing until the little Italian was granted increased prominence.
Since Di Matteo took up the interim manager job Chelsea have won four games on the trot. First they saw off Championship side Birmingham City in the FA Cup, with a not altogether convincing performance, but they got the job done. Next they took down Stoke City at Stamford Bridge – a result which seemed to stir the Blues back into life and provide the impetus for two big performances against Napoli and Leicester City.
Their Champions League comeback was probably the best performance of the season. They ran rampant against a highly-rated Napoli side and looked particularly impressive going forward. Whilst they still showed some defensive frailty, they had the fight and resolve to grab the result they desperately needed. In the end Napoli granted Chelsea too much time on the ball and paid the price.
Heck, even Fernando Torres has rediscovered some confidence if his two goal salvo against Leicester City at the weekend is anything to go by. With these results in mind, it’s worth asking a couple of questions: have the Blues turned over a new leaf or is this simply a false dawn and does Roberto Di Matteo deserve another season to prove himself as a Chelsea manager?
Whilst it’d be crazy (and very un-Abramovich like) to give Di Matteo the job on the basis of four results, if he continues to impress for the rest of the season, you’d hope that he’d be in the running. As it is, however, I’m sure Abramovich will end up going for a ‘big name’ managerial signing, whether or not that’s the right thing for Chelsea to do.
As for whether the Blues have turned over a new leaf, it remains to be seen. How they fare against Man City, Tottenham (24th of March), Benfica (4th April), Arsenal (21st April) and Liverpool (6 th May) will characterise their season. Napoli aside, Roberto Di Matteo has had a fairly easy start to his managerial career. If he can progress in the Champions League and grab a top four finish his reign will be considered a success.
Failure to do so, will no doubt ignite Abramovich’s wrath and send Chelsea back to square one.
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