SO, JUST SEVEN month after winning the Premier League title, Chelsea have parted company with manager Jose Mourinho.
Sitting a single point above the relegation zone heading into the busy Christmas period, club owner Roman Abramovich is likely to already have a replacement lined up ahead of league games against Sunderland, Watford and Manchester United over the next 10 days.
Below, we run through five possible replacements for The Special One.
Guus Hiddink (1/5)
Having taken over the Blues as interim manager back in 2009, the Dutchman led them to FA Cup success and is favourite to come in on a similar short-term basis.
Vastly-experienced at the top level, 69-year-old Hiddink would be an ideal stopgap to steady the ship and is available after getting the boot from the Netherlands job back in June.
Carlo Ancelotti (8/1)
Among the few elite managers in world football, Carlo Ancelotti would be another man taking up the position for a second time if appointed by Chelsea.
The Italian led the London club to their first Premier League and FA Cup double in 2010 before being shown the exit door a year later.
Ancelotti is out of football since leaving Real Madrid in the summer and would undoubtedly command the respect of the dressing room.
Juande Ramos (8/1)
It may not be a name that you would expect to see on a list like this, but Spaniard Juande Ramos has emerged as a surprise candidate for the manager’s position at Chelsea.
Former Sevilla and Real Madrid boss Ramos, who won the league cup with Tottenham in 2008, has reportedly held talks with Abramovich about becoming the caretaker manager.
Left his last club, Ukrainain outfit Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, in 2014.
Brendan Rodgers (10/1)
Another unlikely option but we’ve seen stranger things happen in football down through the years.
Brendan Rodgers spent four years at the club coaching their youth and reserves teams before leaving to further his own managerial career.
Now a free agent after being replaced by Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool, the Antrim man is an outside bet to take the reins.
John Terry (40/1)
Back in 1998, then Chelsea chairman Ken Bates dismissed manager Ruud Gullit with one of his players — Gianluca Vialli.
Of course it would be a huge gamble to appoint a man with zero managerial experience when you’re effectively fighting relegation.
However, there is no denying the Chelsea skipper is a born leader and he clearly loves the club dearly.
Almost certainly won’t happen but imagine how much fun it would be!
Who would you like to see replace Mourinho?
Brilliant stuff lads – cheers for that. Some great recommendations.
You can add A Year Till Sunday. Best GAA documentary
@Gerard Browne: never knew there was a doc on Ring, will watch for sure
@Gerard Browne: Was coming here to comment the same thing. An absolute classic. Watched it again last week. Ja is the man!
@Stevie D: John Divilly…..sin é!
@Gerard Browne: Not just GAA, one of the best sports docs ever made
@Fr Chewy Louis: it was before its time. Even a cameo appearance by Eamon Dunphy haha
If anyone has BBC 4 I cannot recommend OJ Simpson- made in America, highly enough. It’s a 5 part 30 for 30 documentaries series. It’s one of the greatest documentaries ever made- probably a bit of a stretch to put it in the sports bracket given the subjects infamy & notoriety. Part 2 is on tonight if anyone wants to series link.
@Robert O Farrell: check out a documentary called ‘madness on wheels rallyings crazy years’. Its about when car rallying turned into an arms race to make crazier faster cars in the 1980s with the inevitable banning of the particular group b class due to driver and spectator deaths. If it’s no longer on YouTube it will be on dailymotion
@Robert O Farrell: 30 for 30 are class, some great documentaries, Sole Man is a personal favourite of mine. Their podcasts are good too.
@Stephen Lyons: slaying the badger is hilarious. Hinault is meant to be the baddy as opposed to Greg lemond but hes so cool even in middle age you find yourself rooting for him
Hoop Dreams a great doc to watch on YouTube
Formula 1 drive to survive is superb
For anyone missing Irish basketball there’s ‘We Got Game – The Golden Age of Irish Basketball’. A brilliant documentary on basketball in the eighties featuring Kelvin Troy, who once kept Larry Bird to 6pts in a college game, Dave Hopla, still regarded as the best shooter in the world, and Mario Elie, who went on to win 3 NBA titles after his time in Ireland. Whether you’re into Irish basketball or not it’s a fascinating sports documentary and well worth a watch.
The gatti ward fights were unbelievable and round 9 will go down as one of if not the best round of all time
@Warren Mcdermott: two absolute warriors
The weight of a nation, a documentary on New Zealand’s 2011 world cup win is brilliant too. Surprised it wasn’t in the original list.
If you’re interested in American Sports, would recommend Foul Play, the series documenting the Ole Miss/ Laremy Tunsil scandal, and how corrupt the NCAA system is.
https://youtu.be/_Qm-P2foSE4
Great article guys. Thanks for the recommendations.
Jim Stynes – Every Heart Beats Through. Watched it on YouTube last week for the first time in ages. What an inspirational man.
@Patrick McCarron: Great shout. An incredible watch.
‘A Sunday in Hell’ free on YouTube, for cycling fans.
The Bert Trautman story on YouTube
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_RvDhsv8jjw
If you have amazon then I highly recommend the best of men, it’s about Ludwig Gutterman he created the Paralympics
https://www.amazon.com/Best-Men-Eddie-Marsan/dp/B00IWLJ3H0
@Richard Cronin: also I rather enjoyed the toughest trade
https://m.youtube.com/results?search_query=the+toughest+trade++
The 2009 Lions documentary is also available on YouTube. ROG like.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=97uxJmXMQuc
Road (2014) The story of the Dunlops and Knuckle (2011) are top documentaries
@Richard McBriar: Excellent
“All for one” also for cycling fans.
Great doco showing the team effort of a cycling team and that to a layman it may come across as an individual sport, but it is really anything but. The trials and tribulations (not to mention the funny sides) of a cycling team.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ch1m085rpU
For me it’s the one and only ringy!! ( Christy Ring) xx
‘The Names on the Cup’ brilliant documentary and ‘The Broadstreet Bullies’