Too Late For Chelsea?

Guus Hiddink today pledged to push Man Utd "to the bitter end" in the Premier League this season, and has said he is looking for Champions League glory too.

Hiddink has undoubtedly had a good start to his Chelsea career, they have won four out of four in the league and are just four points off of leader Man Utd, and seem to have staved off Aston Villa and Arsenal. When Hiddink arrived Chelsea were fourth, and slipping.

Chelsea may have left it too late to mount a challenge now, but in fairness they are as capable of Man Utd and Liverpool of seeing out their remaining games unbeaten.

I think that Hiddink is a fantastically talented coach, but I think a case can be made that Chelsea made a mistake in appointing him. I admit, that might sound a bit weird; and that case is only, if he is not staying past the summer. Chelsea are a huge club, but ask Chelsea fans what is needed for success and most will give you two lists. The first one of players that need to move on and second one of transfer targets. A long term managerial successor is what Chelsea require, and one that knows how he wants to see the club play, and the players that can deliver that. By appointing Hiddink as a stop-gap the Chelsea Board and Roman Abramovich may harbour hopes that he will stay on and then miss out on a high quality coach, and his subsequent transfer targets as a result.

The worst thing that could happen is for the Chelsea Board to decide which players are staying and which are coming in. That has never worked for English clubs, and Chelsea tried it already with Mourinho and are still paying the price for the club moving backwards as a result.

As always, don't be shy have your say in the comments.