Accessing the philosophies and the likelihood of Chelsea’s managerial candidates succeeding at the club

Chelsea again resume the search for a new head coach following the end of Graham Potter's six disastrous months at the helm.

The club paid a record fee to Brighton to secure the services of the Englishman in September but unfortunately, things never go as planned, with Potter not even seeing out a year of the five signed.

Potter, had a record of twelve wins, eleven defeats in eight draws in his 31 games in charge, a 38 per cent win rate which saw him left as the worst manager Chelsea has had in recent time.

In the wake of his departure, the search for a successor immediately commences, or maybe had commenced before the announcement of his dismissal with several options available for the London Club.

However, taking their time, Chelsea have settled for former manager and club legend, Frank Lampard to take charge as the interim manager until the end of the season.

Amongst the top coaches available which Chelsea could choose to lead the team going forward, we take a look at four of whom are being considered by the club as the potential replacement for Potter.

1. Julian Nagelsmann

Recently sacked by Bayern Munich due to multiple reasons. No doubt Nagelsmann is a top tactician but there are still somethings needed for him to succeed at top teams.

One of the reasons for his struggles at Bayern was his lack of man management strategy and for a manager to succeed at top teams, this is an etiquette that must be met.

As said by the man himself, “Thirty per cent of coaching is tactics, 70 per cent social competence, every player is motivated by different things and needs to be addressed accordingly.”

Unfortunately, he was unable to implement the philosophy in Bayern as his spell with the Bavarians was marred with social incompetence.

As per reports, Nagelsmann only related with the starting players, leaving the reserved ones feeling out of place, whilst under him, there was no hope for the Academy players.

He was also criticized for constantly changing tactics, a factor that also played a part in Potter's failure at Chelsea, and if there has been no change in Nagelsmann’s policy, his appointment would be another disaster in the making for Chelsea.

Obviously, Nagelsmann, like any other options for Chelsea will enjoy working with a host of talented footballers across all centers of the pitch. Putting them into good use, whether in his favourite 3-4-3 or 4-3-3 formation will also help get the best out of the crops.

He has proven how good a tactician he is while in Leipzig and Bayern. There is no doubt the German will make a good coach for Chelsea but there are still question marks about how long he'll last, if he still remains the same man Bayern parted companies with in March.

For now, he reportedly wants to take the time off to reflect on his Bayern adventure and what went wrong but a potential offer from Chelsea is tempting enough to make him comeback right away.

It will be interesting to see how much correction he has made if he is the man Chelsea in the end choose to lead the club as their next manager.

2. Luis Enrique

Liverpool midfielder, Thiago Alcantara; “Luis Enrique has the analytical positioning of Pep [and] the aggressiveness of Klopp” while also praising Luis Enrique's communication skills in conveying his footballing ideas.”

You surely could ask for more in a manager, right ?

Luis Enrique is renowned for his brave and fearless management style. He is quick to curb out source of any influence that undermines his authority as evidence with his altercation with Lionel Messi and Francesco Totti in Barcelona and Roma respectively.

He could be the needed man to finally unsettles the Chelsea dressing room just to finally put things right and as it should be.

Possession based. Attack minded. Impressive resume. The Spaniard has all the quality to land any top job in any league given his conquest with Barcelona, where he had the best reign of his managerial spell.

Also with Spain, albeit there was no significant achievement recorded, Enrique did helped them build a young and competitive squad, one on which his successors can build their own team.

His preferred 4-3-3 formation demands a technical holding midfielder, which was reported that the Spaniard had requested Chelsea to sign if he is to be appointed in the talks held days after Potter's dismissal.

As mentioned earlier, he loves his team playing out from the back, with one of the central Midfielders dropping deep to support the holding Midfielder.

Without the ball, the team press high with the striker dropping deep to engage the opposition defensive Midfielder, while the wingers invert to press center backs.

In attack, the overlapping runs of the fullbacks create good options for the wingers and midfielder players, while runners into the box also find joy from the cutbacks in such sequence of play.

Take Reece James and Ben Chilwell for example at Chelsea, these are fullbacks with great potentials to do this. They've been doing it for a while and that highlights the reason for their productivity on the opposing end of the pitch.

Enrique's appointment would be a match made in heaven and with Chelsea seemingly lagging behind in the evolvement of the beautiful game, Enrique is that man who can steadfast their progress to catching up to the likes of Manchester City, Barcelona and Arsenal.

Under him, there's more probability of Chelsea dominating play and in danger zones, unlike under previous managers, Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter.

Enrique's teams provide that assurance and security in play, and once this is successfully implemented, it then becomes inevitable for the results to starting getting more positive than the club has endured, rather than enjoyed recently.

Unlike Nagelsmann, Enrique has already managed big name players during his time with Barcelona, and had no difficulties whatsoever. It's another stage that his counterpart has yet to successfully prove himself.

Chelsea also have a fat squad in which the manager can select from but one of the factors that could be a major setback for him is time because Chelsea is a result oriented team, and his philosophy will take time to implement.

The early days could be very rough because getting a team to confidently play out from the back is not so easy, mostly a side that had not really been accustomed to the system.

With Barcelona and Spain, it didn't take time at all because it was only a continuity of what has been the norms but at Chelsea, it won't nothing close to plain sailing.

However, should Chelsea be able to afford him the time to implement the philosophy, it would be a turning point in the club’s history and being a club that is never shy of spending, Chelsea would soon be on par with City and if their luck from the Abrahamovic era should extend to the current one, the world better watchout for the best is still to come.

3. Zinedine Zidane

Real Madrid had adopted the more direct approach in the start of the last decade and that helped them restore the lost glory that was enjoyed in the days of the famous Galacticos between 2003-05.

They had acquired the right players and when Jose Mourinho was appointed, they became very direct and scored so many goals, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring 168 goals and adding 49 assists in 164 games under his countryman.

When Zidane took over in 2016 after the dismissal of Rafa Benitez, the team was shambles as per form but they were still the same world class players. Kudos to the Frenchman, he got them back on track right away.

“I want my team to play, spread the ball, build from the back and keep possession.” This is the philosophy of Zidane but most times, as much as they were always eager to regain possession, they are not shy to give it away.

Their directness make them very ambitious and due to the strength of their wingers, they isolate to overload in the final third.

In his Madrid days, Cristiano Ronaldo, Marcelo and Toni Kroos form a triangle on the left side of attack, overloading the area and thanks to Kroos’s passing range, they could switch play to Gareth Bale on the other side and in the company of the overlapping Dani Carvajal, they could isolate the left-back in a 2v1.

It was a 4-3-3 formation but due to Casemiro’s insecurity with the ball as opponents targeted him, Kroos would drop to the left side to provide cover and option, also providing more cover for the defence when Marcelo is out on the overlap.

Zidane proved his worth in his two spells at Real Madrid and became more famous for leading Los Blancos to three consecutive Champions League titles. Yes, Zidane is a serial winner.

Bringing that mentality to a team like Chelsea will be massive, given the mixture of levels of achievers amongst the current players.

To awaken the slumbering beast in the winners and instill the winning mentality in the newbies, he sure can do that, and has done it in the past.

Chelsea were just like Real Madrid when Zidane took over in 2016 after Rafa Benitez was shown the exit. He is a man that knows very much about taking over at this stage of the season.

The Frenchman can very much help Chelsea out of their current crisis but for a club planning on a long-term, he might not be too suitable after all.

Despite his success with Real Madrid, Zidane never spent up to three full seasons at a time in the club and when he returned for a second stint, he left again after just a year.

Maybe now that all hope is lost for the French national team job he's been eyeing, he could decide to stay put in a club but with Real Madrid also potentially moving for him, it could be more difficult luring him to Stamford Bridge.

His appointment will also be good omen for wide players like Mykhaylo Mudryk, Raheem Sterling, Noni Madueke, while the fullbacks will also enjoy freedom to venture forward.

Other names that has been linked by the media

Former Chelsea boss, Jose Mourinho has been mentioned though that is very much unlikely to happen as at now, nothing can be ruled out.

The Portuguese is an important part of Chelsea's history and shares good relationship with the fans. Mourinho is a man made for Chelsea's philosophy as he is also a result oriented manager.

This philosophy has seen him succeed and win titles wherever he has been to, but of course excepted the Tottenham Hotspur, whom he led to the Carabao Cup final but was sacked few days before the match they eventually lost to Manchester City.

Returning to the London club for a third stint will be welcomed by fans but still with Roma and doing a great job, it will be a tough decision but as said by the man himself, he is a Chelsea fan.

When your club comes calling, it will be very difficult to say no. It remains to be seen if Chelsea will move to reunite with Mourinho.

Antonio Conte is another manager with the same profile as Jose Mourinho - a former Chelsea manager and a serial winner. Conte has a bond with the Chelsea fan despite the altercation with Thomas Tuchel earlier in the season. That is just part of the job.

Conte-ball is famous for being the last to win the Premier League title for Chelsea of which the club has not come close to sealing another since the Italian recorded the success with at the time, an astonishing 93 points tally.

Currently unengaged after talking himself out of a move away from Tottenham in a spell that started brightly but ended on a sour note.

Rekindling his relationship and standing against he felt treated him unfairly would be great for Conte but at this time, not the same can be said of Chelsea (if the intention of a reunion is mutual).

Abel Ferreira is another name on the lips of fans and in the media given his conquest in South America with the achievement and exciting set-up of his Palmeiras side.

The 44year old Portuguese has been hailed as one of the best young tacticians around and will be very good for Chelsea's long-term project.

Unlike most of the other young Managers, Ferreira is an achiever and has previously managed top teams in Portugal and Greece with Braga and POAK Thessaloniki respectively.

Effective man management, Ferreira did not only relate with the footballers but connected everyone, including the workers and other staff together, making them play well their part in the success of the club.

His trust in the youth players will be good for the current crop of first team players at Chelsea while the rising stars in the Academy will also benefit from his appointment.

A good choice he would be for Chelsea but with a contract until the end of 2024 with the Brazilian side, it will be interesting to see if Chelsea do opt for him, and Palmeiras chooses to let him leave.

Mauricio Pochettino is famous for his time at Chelsea's London rival, Tottenham Hotspur but it was during his one year spell at PSG Paris Saint-Germain did he won his first titles as a manager.

He would become the third manager in recent times to manage Chelsea and Tottenham if the former does ended up appointing him - after Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte.

Despite his success with PSG, Pochettino’s good works can be associated with how he transformed Tottenham Hotspur into one of the best teams in the English top division, even leading them to a first Champions League final in 2018.

Chelsea is spoilt of options, which makes a decision to name a choice even more complicated but nonetheless, it will have to come down to one man in the end.

Luis Enrique will be a very good option if the club can be patient enough for him to fully implement his philosophy. It is one that rarely fails as evidence with other managers who employ the Johan Cruyff philosophy.

Same is the case for Abel Ferreira. The club could also get lucky that the manager get it right in time which is more of a possibility given the crop of talents available at the club.

Take Erik Ten Hag's at Manchester United compared to Mikel Arteta at Arsenal - the better quality of players available for the former made him hit the ground running yet in his first season while for the latter, he had to change the almost the entire roster to make a team to compete.

Zinedine Zidane is a good option for success on the go, which is more like Chelsea while Julian Nagelsmann, if can implement his own philosophy mentioned earlier will make him great for the club.

Other options, mostly those that are very familiar with the club in Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte are good choice as well.

Anticipating who the man will be that is selected to lead this exciting project forward.

Author : Kehinde Hassan Afolabi