I am please with the appointment

I actually think Roman got this one right, he just went about it the wrong way. He found himself in a situation where a temporary manger guided the club to its first ever CL, with the F.A Cup thrown in for good measure, also add to this the fact he is a former player who is held in the highest regard by the fans. With Guardiola, the owners primary target not budging on a year sabbatical it is clear he was prepared to wait a year and keep RDM on for a season. Di Matteo clearly wanted no less than a two year contract and with the supporters on side Roman compromised an offered two. Partly I think Di Matteo wanted recognition for his achievement but also he isn’t foolish and knows if the owner does want to replace him he’ll be in for a bigger pay-off the longer the contract.

RDM did wonder for this club in knock-out situations last year, cup ties where our back were against the wall. There was only one way we were able to win so the objective was very clear. Get men behind the ball and defend with your lives, when the opportunity comes on the counter or from set-pieces getting it to the big man and you know the chances are on the biggest of stages he will deliver. He did and the rest is history.

The objectives this season are very different, the league is paramount as is a new style with flair. The recruitment has had a positive effect going forward and RMD must take some credit for that but things haven’t been quite right either, the team doesn’t have balance. Time and time again Chelsea have looked an absolute shambles at the back, not even off colour but completely amateur. Now defending with 11 behind the ball in two banks in siege mode is one thing but reacting as a team in a more balanced game is quite another and that is where Chelsea have failed badly this season. RDM has had the best part of a year with total control of a team he already knew well and a summer for recruitment and defensively I’ve seen no improvement over the season.

The majority of the defence has been part of a very solid unit over the years and all have quality, RDM has been in charge long enough and if a team cannot defend as a well drilled unit then the responsibility ultimately falls with the manager. There were no signs of improvement. A combination of RMD rightly being a club legend, his dignity and honesty when he speakers, the CL success and Roman’s track record of impatience have made this sacking look more ruthless than is it.

RDM was the right man at the time, basically anyone but AVB and a man the players good rally round for at a time when they finally won the CL. He hasn’t however adapted well enough to the task in hand. Form has been bad but given the CL win had the team been playing well but not getting the results perhaps time would be afforded to RDM, but the team hasn’t been playing well. RDM seems incapably of drilling a defence, drilling a team.

Benitez might not be the most fashionable of mangers but worked wonders for Valencia and although not the most exciting at Liverpool did make them hard to beat and organised them to know how to defend and that is exactly what we need. We need to get the back 4/5/7 and the whole team at times all knowing exactly what is expected of them, all working as a unit, or drilled and assured. We need every player to know exactly what their role is and we need to sort ourselves out in a positional sense. The font 4 or five players will do their thing and should be allowed freedom when in possession but they need a solid base to work from and to adapt when they don’t have the ball. The team also need to learn have to get back and forward in numbers, defenders supplementing the attack when going forward and vice versa, what has struck me is the lack of urgency forwards show to get back and vice versa. The well drilled teams with ‘less talent’ such as Shaktar in Europe manage to dominate teams by getting back and forward in numbers and working hard.

Guardiola or even Mourinho would be fantastic in the summer and I’m sure one of those will arrive but in the interim RB is an experienced manager, who knows the PL and will get the team drilled. From the managers available, at this time he is the ideal man for the job.