Chelsea’s search for a new head coach continues as the club looks to appoint a permanent replacement for the recently-departed Mauricio Pochettino.
The club confirmed on Tuesday evening that Pochettino had left Stamford Bridge by mutual consent after just one season in the dugout. Since then, the internet has been full of speculation over who will take Pochettino’s job.
football.london understands Kieran McKenna, Enzo Maresca and Sebastian Hoeness have all been included in the club’s shortlist of candidates to take over the head coach role. However, the latter of the three, Hoeness, looks unlikely at this stage with the German’s preference to stay on and continue his impressive project with VfB Stuttgart.
On Thursday afternoon, Bobby Vincent hosted a Q&A session on the football.london website and the questions flooded in throughout the day. Here is a full transcript with every question and answer from the session.
SamTruelove asked: “Hello Bobby. What are your thoughts on Kieran McKenna? Can the current Ipswich boss really become the new Chelsea head coach?”
Bobby responded: “Hi Sam. There is no doubting McKenna’s credentials. To achieve back-to-back promotions in any form is extraordinary, let alone through two really tough divisions in League One and the Championship!
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“It is difficult to predict whether he can go on and become a success at Chelsea because I thought Pochettino would. If he is given the time (where have we heard that before?) to implement his style, connect with the supporters and get the players to buy into his ideology, then I think, for sure, he can become a success.
“It is a big risk for Chelsea, though, hiring someone so young and relatively inexperienced. But I am told they want someone young – that is the club’s preference for their new head coach.”
Cashos asked: “How much say, if any, will the next Chelsea boss have over transfers? It seems like that was the main break-up point for Pochettino…”
Bobby replied: “Pochettino was not allowed much say whatsoever with transfers and that may well have been a real sticking point during the end-of-season review. It seems Chelsea’s ownership group want the two sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley to dictate what happens in the transfer market, so whoever comes in may have to be prepared to not have much say in what goes on in terms of incomings and outgoings.”
Akshatsharma asked: “Besides the head coaches mentioned are there any other managers who the club haven’t disclosed to the media? What about candidates like Vincenzo Italiano and Edin Terzic?”
Bobby responded: “The three names I have been given are Enzo Maresca, Kieran McKenna and Sebastian Hoeness. There are other journalists reporting more names but from my point of view, I only have information on those three.
“As for Vincenzo Italiano and Edin Terzic, I have not heard a peep on them just yet. Things can change, though!”
David02 asked: “Hi Bobby. Who is likely to be the next manager and when do you expect Chelsea to appoint a manager?”
Bobby said: “Asking me right now (plenty can change) with the information I’ve currently got, I think one of Kieran McKenna or Enzo Maresca. But like I say, plenty can change, we saw that prior to Mauricio Pochettino being appointed.
“For a while, it looked as if it was going to be Julian Nagelsmann. In terms of timeframe, it is difficult to say because it is a complicated process. Chelsea want to get someone in as soon as possible, of course, so it gives whoever it is the full pre-season to work with their new players.”
Mucyo05 asked: “Tell me your ideas on Enzo Maresca?”
Bobby responded: “There is no doubting Maresca is impressive. Last season, he completely transformed the way Leicester City played in the Championship – a league that is notoriously difficult to get promoted from.
“Maresca helped the Foxes dominate the division and did so while playing an attractive style of football. His players seemed to buy into his ideology almost immediately.
“Of course he has worked under Pep Guardiola before, so a lot of his methods may well be inspired by the Manchester City boss. He seems a character, too, which I think a lot of Chelsea supporters will grow to like should he be appointed.”
Jaafar79 asked: “What’s your take on the board going for a young manager with a possession-based football style and who do you think is the right fit for the job?”
Bobby said: “A good question. If I’m being honest, I think someone more experienced might be the route to go down because of how young and inexperienced this group of players are.
“And the ownership group have shown during their two years they are not willing to give a head coach too much time should things not be going exactly to plan. I like Sebastian Hoeness a lot, though, and think he would be the ideal fit of all the candidates mentioned thus far. However, that does look unlikely at the moment.”
LeeWilmot asked: “I’m hearing Thomas Frank’s name come up and he’s done a great job with limited resources at Brentford, focusing on data-led analytics when it comes to signing players. Do you think his approach could work at Chelsea and is the way the owners should go?”
Bobby replied: “Interestingly enough, Frank was one of the first names I immediately heard after we had confirmation of Pochettino’s departure. It seems he is definitely at least being considered by Chelsea.
“The job he has done at Brentford is remarkable and as you say, he has done that while focusing on data-led analytics – something we know the Chelsea hierarchy are all for. Todd Boehly has said in the past about the importance of data and we only have to cast our mind back a few weeks to one of Pochettino’s press conferences where he kept referring to the importance of data in the modern game.
“So in that regard, Frank would be perfect and make a lot of sense. He is a name I will certainly do some more digging on as Chelsea will not be alone in their interest of the Danish coach.”
