Gourlay Keeps Things Close to his Chest!

Give him the job Roman.

and sit around assessing the squad, Groundhog Day anyone?

I agree with Ron on this (can you imagine there is actually something i agree with the fella on) that this is not the time to publicly announce that RDM has been given the permanent position..it should come at the end of the season when all is said and done and it cannot serve as a distraction but ...and it is a big but, the board and Roman should give him the job now and just instruct him to keep his lips sealed till then. They need to show that hand of faith and appreciation. When and if he wins the FA cup and the Champions league any fool would know then that he deserves the job and not to give it to him then would be sacriledge of the highest degree. If the board waits till RDM wins the trophies before finally appointing him it sends that very dangerous message out again that unless you win trophies you cannot be the Chelsea coach and that mentality will see even the best coaches get sacked the moment they have a poor season. It is a wrong mentality we need to outgrow in Chelsea. It is now news all over Spain that Guardiola is leaving Barca. If Roman now breaks the bank to bring Guardiola here and by so doing lets RDM go i just pray it does not blow up in his face because if he does that and Guardiola flops here i doubt that fans and the old establishment Chelsea folks will ever forgive Roman because he wont be able to get RDM or any other Chelsea legend from then on interested in taking any part in the Chelsea reclamation project..the level of personal insult to RDM to sack him and appoint his age mate (both men are 41yrs old ) just because of his history at Barca while discounting all RDM acheived in his short term with Chelsea while provided so little will not be lost on RDM nor on most fans who have any history with this club. For the record i think Guardiola is not as good as his record at Barca suggests..it will be very interesting to see where he ends up..i sincerely hope it is not Chelsea because i think where he goes next his limitations as a coach will be rudely and painfully exposed the way AVB was once he moved from Porto.

@GABEU read my response on your previous article "Memo to Roman: RDM is the Man"

@Mq you are not being honest when you say you have nothing against RDM..you do have something against him..you wrote an article some time ago suggesting with not a shred of evidence that he undermined his boss AVB. You now suggest that all he has achieved since he took over from AVB is just luck and we play rubbish under him..i guess you are also one of those who said during the Jose years (if you were a blue then) that we played boring football then as well despite the results. Now to Pep..go read your history because it appears you either havent read it well or have not been around long enough..Pep did not build this Barca team..He did not start the tika taka philosophy of Barca..you want to know who did..you may want to go to the 70s and see the original apostle of total football who taught this system to a young Yohan Cryuff..in Ajax in Holland. I actually saw Cruyff play as well as his orange team of the 70s..this is where total football and its modern day incarnation of tika taka was born. Cruyff brought it to Barca when he became their manager and is the father of the total football philosophy which is the bedrock principle of Barca play for decades since the time of Cruyff. This team you say Pep built was largely put together by Frank Rijkaard who had already won a Champions league and La Liga titles with the side..Pep who had played tika taka all his footballing life and taught the same in the youth squad was given a top 5 world squad and he made some tweaks..he moved out players he felt he could not control like eto and Ronaldinhio (but won his first set of trophies with essentially Rijkaards team). He then added world class players like henri from arsenal, Villa from Valencia, Fabregas from Arsenal and Sanchez from Udinese..Pep did not build a thing..he inherited a virtually finished product with the best player in the world by far and three other top 10 best players in the world in Xavi, Iniesta and Eto. Many have argued that virtually any coach with half a brain cell could win with that team. We may not be football royalty yet but to come here and belittle what RDM has achieved as a player and as our interim coach in the last few months really rubs me the wrong way. You feel Pep is Barcas messiah right..well he is leaving now..watch how much they fall of the pace (my prediction will be not by much)..they will continue to challenge for la liga and champions league titles for a few years as long as the core of this team built by Rijkaard (not pep) is still intact. On the other hand when Pep gets a new team..(and i hope he settles for a team like porto etc who dont have endless reams of money) we will see how well he can actually coach, and how well he can build a team from scratch. We have seen coaches like Wenger, SAF and Jose build teams (Jose did this in Porto and also here at Chelsea in case you are wondering). But to come here and suggest that Pep because of his record over 4-5 yrs coaching the best club team of the world is all that and the answer to all Chelseas coaching woes and RDM because he has only been privileged to coach Mk dons and West Brom is a numpty who is a risk not worth looking at is beyond ridiculous to me. We will see, maybe Roman has still not learnt his lesson after the AVB debacle and goes and pays a fortune to bring Pep here..when he flops here as a true blue in that scenario i would mourn for our club and the fact that we dont seem to learn from past mistakes but i would certainly seek you out in person and ask you whether you are fully satisfied. If on the other hand he acts wisely and either appoints RDM or someone else who actually has a body of experience spanning years in different settings and different styles of football (like the excellent coach he sacked called Carlo anceloti) i would be glad and i trust if he is patient with such a person for a change rather than being trigger happy we as a club will grow and expand as our present golden generation ride into the sunset.

Nice one there gabeu..I doubt pep can survive in the premier league...Cos his style of play is alien to us..Maybe except arsenal and tottenham

Part 2 response to GABEU...about Pep, you’ve undermined him in all your comments and articles since we beat Barca (barely beat them after all) and I’m sorry but that has spite all over it, you are like some who were so jealous of Barca’s success that when they lost (you can’t win them all) it’s suddenly “Pep isn’t good enough” so who is GABE??...about the history, I didn’t say Pep started their current style of play (again you wrong) I said he managed these players at youth level meaning he had a large influence in their grooming (that’s a Manager’s job) and it made sense that he take over when Rijkaard was sacked (read any biography alluded to Barca’s current success not un-researched Internet crap mate)...you further (wrongly) allude Pep’s initial success on Rijkaard forgetting that Pep cleared out many of Rijkaard’s core team and brought on the current team (Messi, Iniesta weren’t starters under Rijkaard and Pep had Managed them at youth level so he knew and trusted them)furthermore you (wrongly again) undermine his success because of the players he bought (name 1 Manager who hasn’t been successful out of purchases?)and say “Pep didn’t build a thing” which perhaps sums up your bias and narrow-mindedness about Pep

Part 4 response to GABEU...you end by saying maybe Roman hasn’t learnt from the AVB experience and I don’t want to dwell much on AVB because we all know before the Arsenal game (where we lost than Mourinho (I expect you to deny you supported AVB so I’ll definitely check the archives after this response)but as you said (correctly) let’s wait and hope Roman acts wisely because need I remind you, managing a full season and 15 games with questionable victories are 2 different things and RDM (imo) hasn’t faced the pressures of Managing a big club when things aren’t going to plan and as further credence to my belief that RDM too has no plan B, why have we barely beaten “smaller” teams and struggled much against equal opponents (Spurs FA Cup 2nd goal changed the match, fact) while winning in the Champs League largely because other teams fail to take their chances (should I explain this??)...Let’s appoint the next Manager (RDM or not) out of reason not emotion because emotion eventually runs out and easily turns on you when the going gets tough and believe me it will get tough for any Manager managing Chelsea, the question is who has the experience to handle the pressure and AVB didn’t, RDM hasn’t had any pressure because many of us didn’t expect anything but basically a top4 finish and I wonder if he really has the experience, we shall see...Reason over Emotion when making decisions is what set’s apart great clubs, Barca decided against Mourinho for Pep (13 Cups in 3 years with team he Managed from youth level, make’s sense) ManUre decided against sacking Fergie (almost 20 Premier League Cups) Madrid sacked Del Bosque after 3 Champs League and 3 La Liag’s in 6 years for un-exciting football (what happened afterwards, del Bosque won the world cup and Madrid??) the same Madrid sacked Capello (twice) after La Liga and Champs League victories (boring football they said, what have they won since??) and we hired AVB after a successful short term stint in Management (look how that turned out) so to experiment on inexperience now is tantamount to stupidity and insanity (doing the same thing again...) so it’s important to reason over emotion...

@mq i wont both responding to your 4 part epistle..it just isnt worth the trouble. I will just put a few facts here for anyone interested in comparing the issues you raised and those i raised. Independent minded people can come to their own conclusions; Fact1; we clearly disagree on the merits of RDM as a coach. You feel all he has achieved in the time he has been with us is based on luck and that Pep Guardiola is a better coach based on his 4 yr record at Barcelona. Let each person decide. Thankfully in a short while when Pep has had the chance to coach outside of Barca we will all see just how good he is. People said similar things about AVB after his magical time at Porto but we all know what happened next. Pep does have the advantage that he has actually played the game at the highest level unlike AVB but like RDM so if for that alone his chances are probably better. Fact 2; You feel Pep is a more experienced coach than RDM based on his 4 yr record at Barca though prior to this he had coached no where else other than the Barca youth squad. RDM on the other hand has coached two other senior professional teams before coming to Chelsea and took one of the them from the Championship to the premiership. Pep has no premiership experience and i refer back to AVB as an example of how success somewhere else does not translate to success in the BPL. BTW both men are the same age and have been coaching ff their playing careers for about the same total time. Fact 3; You feel Pep built his Barca squad not inherited it. Well the fact is you only need to compare the squad Rijkaard had before he left Barca and the squad Guardiola fielded in his first year. The only differences in the 25 man rosters are the following; Pique who was brought from Manu, Pinto (sub goalkeeper), Seido Kieta, Danny alves from Sevilla, Hleb, and Pedro..Every other player he had was in Rijkaards squad..the big additions from the academy that you touted..one; Pedro. Those are the facts. Conclusion; I feel that appointing RDM is far less risky for Chelsea FC than appointing Pep..you feel exact opposite. Everyone can decide where they stand. For the record i have nothing against Pep..you seem bent on convincing yourself i have this petty jealousy against him because he coaches Barca..if that floats your boat..go ahead. He was an excellent player..i think he is a good coach but i dont see the evidence to tell me he is among the top 10 in the business currently..i feel he has benefited greatly from being in the right place at the right time for his skill set. You disagree fine. The only thing i have ever had against Pep is that the diving culture in Barcas players coincided with his arrival. I have been watching Barca, Madrid and the Italian giants closely for years even before i became a Chelsea fan in the mid 90s..i respected them all..I have issue with the embellishment and diving that is now a defining feature of Barca since Pep took over and he has never once spoken up against it or called out any of his players on it..maybe it is the old school way i have always seen football but for me a side as talented as they are have no need to play those unsavory games and anyone who thinks Pep has no blame in this can compare Barca play under Rijkaard and under him as well as what happens to players like Mascherano once they made their Barca move. Thats all i have to say.i wont belabor this any further.

@rockhead..i agree entirely with your views. I had previously advocated an overhaul of our boards structure irrespective of who we appoint as coach..i have been an advocate of an evolutionary change to our squad since Carlo won us the double. I do hope like you mentioned we dont make the worst of conclusions from the success we have had with RDMs tenure so far.

@GABEU you absolutely right that each individual can reach their own conclusions but allow me further dispel certain myths you seem to have concluded about my opinion...Fact 1 you right about our disagreement and I can FACTUALLY back why I believe RDM has been lucky (Referee decisions and failure by other teams to take their gilt-edged chances) and anyone who’s watched us play since RDM took over will agree that he has only reverted to the opposite of AVB and more Guus style...you further allude that we’ll see how successful how Pep is when he’s at another club and I have to ask, did SAF have to change clubs to achieve this status??...Fact 2 results alone prove how miles ahead Pep is from RDM (one flopped at a minor club and the other succeeded at a B-Team that plays as competitive as the division RDM managed West Brom in) and Pep may not have Premier League experience but he has succeeded in La Liga (Mourinho succeeded in Porto and had no prior experience in the EPL but look how that turned out) then you used AVB as an example of how someone can fail in a different set up and while I’d quickly throw Mourinho back at you I will use the AVB example you brought up and it’s broad as daylight that AVB failed because the players couldn’t play to his game style, let’s not forget that before the Arsenal game just about everyone including you GABEU was all for retaining him long term because we were winning with good football (I hope you won’t deny because the VC archives are clear as daylight) and I never mentioned age as a factor, I said experience managing a “big” club which Pep is way ahead of RDM in-fact Pep has been more successful than Mourinho over the same time-frame...finally about the squad, Messi, Iniesta weren’t starters under Rijkaard and Rijkaaard mainly used Messi on the wings and where has he flourished?? He ACTUALLY managed these players at youth level (if you didn’t know)

@ROCKHEAD you implying we take a chance buying RDM the players he deems necessary to get us challenging for the title?? It's a huge risk seeing as he's never done that before and therefore doesn't actually know the physical and mental attributes of the difference between a good player and a winning player (it takes more than talent to win titles) and that's probably why if we retain him the board will decide on the players and he'll just coach...

I wish there was an 'ignore' setting on this site, prime candidate >>> Mq. better still merlin - ban him, he is not a Chelsea fan.

You don't agree with Mq so he is not a Chelsea fans? Who put you in charge of who is and who is not a Chelsea fan? Don't make yourself feel important here.

@BlueABS mate Why there is a need to ban @Mq..For stating his reasons politely by not insulting you..i hav seen much more insults thrown by lot of posters with out even a slight relation to the topic or football in general..but @GabeU and @Mq is arguing against each other well in this post..What is wrong in that..Vital is a forum for our fans to argue and support CFC..Not just a mute site where we can read and sign out..

@Mq @GABEU Everybody is talking about how best the UEFA FC academy is but the truth is they are producing players bcz they hav a certain style of play..All the big teams has some type of play..Loot at BM they are also producing youth to 1 st team easily...But just look at CFC..1st team is utterly functional football..Youth is playing good attacking football..Now we put our youth in the 1st team all he is surrounded is technically inferior players who knows to play only one way that is not what thought to the young player..So he wil flop...Also Loaning out players wont help 99% for the same reason mentioned above..

@SPONN I couldn't have put it any better...I fear we are headed for the papaering again, especially the way majority of the fans (at VC and Chelsea TV) and the Media are campaigning for an appointment out of sentement than reason...

Nicely written comment dwonder...@mq,@gabeu both of u have points..But what happens if pep bcomes anoda avb? Gabeu what happens if rdm cant win the big games next season? UCL is different from the BPL guys...So what i wana say is lets limit the risk by signing Rdm for a year by year contract..And if he flops then we sign pep

Just do not do the same mistake by taking alot of time and come up with a gamble. We need stability and we already have sight on where it can come from.