Todd Boehly faces the first crucial stage of his regime at Chelsea in the coming months. The Blues know what the fans want and maybe, under Roman Abramovich, Graham Potter would have been dismissed by now, but he remains in charge.
12 managers worked under the Russian billionaire during his 19 years at the helm. The method of sacking managers on the back of poor results often sparked successful turnarounds, with a wide range of titles won during his time, but it wasn’t appreciated by many.
Abramovich's trigger finger seemed to do the trick for the Blues fanbase, but a more-settled approach implemented by Boehly since his £4.25bn takeover with Clearlake Capital Group has, so far, seen mixed results.
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Thomas Tuchel was barely given a chance under the US billionaire, with only seven games passed before the German was dismissed. Explaining the decision earlier this year, Boehly said: "When you take over any business, you have to make sure you're aligned with the people who are operating the business," Boehly said on the sacking of the club's former German boss.
"[Thomas] Tuchel is obviously extremely talented and someone who had great success at Chelsea. Our vision for the club was to find a manager who really wanted to collaborate with us, a coach who really wanted to collaborate.
''There are a lot of walls to break down at Chelsea. Before [we arrived], the first team and academy didn't really share data, didn't share information about where the top players were coming from. Our goal is to bring a team together; all of that needs to be a well-oiled machine."
25 games later, Chelsea are 10th in the Premier League, face an abrupt ending to their UEFA Champions League campaign and are out of both domestic cups. If the general consensus amongst the Stamford Bridge fan base was not clear beforehand, it unquestionably is now.
Saturday's defeat to Southampton was greeted by a chorus of boos amongst the 40,000 inside Stamford Bridge. Despite Potter acknowledging the disappointment amongst the supporters, he did strike up a defence against him being the problem.
While Boehly is expected to stick by Potter for the time-being, an extended period of results could force the American to admit defeat in his first major appointment at the club. But if he was to do so, what are the options available to him to return Chelsea back to it's pinnacle?
Zinedine Zidane
Zidane has been out of work for nearly two years now after ending his second spell in charge of Real Madrid. The Frenchman was supposedly waiting on the France job in September, but after an impressive World Cup campaign in Qatar, Didier Deschamps extended his contract, leaving Zidane in limbo.
The 50-year-old ticks many of the boxes desired by Boehly, the most important one being his winning mentality. Alongside a number of titles - domestic and European - as a player, Zidane won 11 titles with Real Madrid, including three straight UEFA Champions League titles.
Boehly faces a difficult task of persuading Zidane to join the club, with his lack of English expected to produce an enormous stumbling block. Upon his exit from Los Blancos, Zidane explained how Florentino Perez undermined him, something Boehly must consider.
In an open letter to supporters, he said: “I am going because I feel that the club no longer gives me the trust I need and doesn’t offer me the support needed to build something in the mid and long term. Over the last few months, I would have liked my relationship with the club and the president to have been a bit different to that of other managers.”
Luis Enrique
Another manager with experience at the top level, Luis Enrique became available in December after leaving his role as Spain boss. The former Barcelona chief has a history of playing attractive, expansive football, but has struggled in recent years.
Enrique guided Barcelona to two La Liga titles, the Champions League in 2015 and three Copa del Rey wins. The 52-year-old won 20 of his 38 games as Spain boss but his reign ended after their last-16 exit to Morocco on penalties.
The Spaniard has proved his worth of improving players within his squad, with his talent ID helping bring much success to the Catalonia side. Luis Suarez and Ivan Rakitic were both brought under him, playing key roles in the 2015 Champions League triumph.
His tactical prowess, often deployed a 4-3-3 at Barcelona, is an attractive asset for Boehly. Like Zidane, Enrique has previous in turning big clubs fortunes around and could be Boehly's saviour if required.
Diego Simeone
Should Boehly opt to go down the route of a more defensive-oriented manager, Diego Simeone presents the perfect candidate. The Atletico Madrid boss has already hinted at leaving the La Liga side after more than a decade in charge.
Speculation has increased over the past few months claiming the former Inter Milan midfielder could seek pastures new at the end of the season. "Every season finale we get together to see how we continue," he said in January. "This year will not be the exception. You will find out when the season ends what will happen."
Simeone has become renowned for his defensive nature in the game, with his rigid 4-4-2 bringing success to the Estadio Metropolitano. The appointment of Tuchel initially provided reason for concern with his severe interest in the defensive phases of football, but the German provided much success to the west London outfit.
Atletico currently sit fourth in the La Liga table, 18 points off leaders Barcelona with 16 games remaining. Champions League football is, currently, not secured with Real Betis five points behind. Should the RojiBlanco fail to land a top four finish, the Argentine may become available.
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