The rubble left in the wake of Jose Mourinho’s caustic departure has stopped smoking, the spot-fires have been extinguished, and the clean-up crew are starting to whistle while they work.
The deafening racket of the Premier League’s worst ever title defence has trumpeted off over the horizon now, and Chelsea Football Club are finally enjoying the serenity of quiet progress. This week, West Ham manager Slaven Bilic compared Sam Allardyce to Pulp Fiction’s memorable supporting character The Wolf, but Allardyce’s stoic skills in a crisis pale in comparison to the calm, lupine job Guus Hiddink has done so far this year.
On the 14th of December, Chelsea were one point above the relegation zone, with 15 points garnered from 16 matches. Since then they haven’t lost a league match. The nadir of Mourinho’s doomed reign was deep, a joyless, Stygian pit, where the barbed frustration of an usurped manager seemed to bear down on all involved like acid rain. Hiddink’s work since taking over has been remarkable, not just in its steep upward trajectory, but also its immediacy.
As far as the form table goes, Chelsea have the league’s fourth best record over the last six games, and the league’s second best away record over their last six matches away from the Bridge. More than this, they’ve done a whole lot of excellent Chelsea-ish things; the last-gasp headed winner against Southampton this weekend, the drubbing they handed out to Newcastle, the obdurate clean sheets ground out against Arsenal and Manchester United. These habits, missing this season until December, made this team the league’s best last term, by some margin.
The acrid taste this revival leaves is also worth mentioning. As much as seeing Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas romping around, tails up, will give Chelsea supporters a warm and fuzzy feeling now, the fact that it took the sacking of a manager to rouse them must also be irritating in the extreme. These are hardened professionals, paid exorbitant amounts of dosh; needing a cuddly Dutchman to fly in and stop them from sulking themselves into the drop zone, well, it somehow makes both of these players even less likable. Since Mourinho’s departure, Costa has scored seven of his ten league goals. Fabregas has looked, once again, like an erudite, potent midfielder, albeit against the might of Newcastle and a sorry bundle of Manchester City reserves.
But enough mourning of the Special One. Hiddink, as much as the players may want him to stay, will leave the club when his patch-up job on this ordeal of a season concludes. “From day one, since Guus has come in, the atmosphere has changed,” John Obi Mikel said after the cup victory over City. “The players feel more relaxed, people know what their jobs are and people are getting on with their jobs in a more relaxed way. And in a way they can perform very well… You can see Diego. It takes a lot to get Diego in a good mood.” Quite.
Hiddink, speaking on a subject he has entirely no investment in, has urged the club to hire a permanent manager quickly: “But it’s a personal opinion that when things are done, you make it transparent.” Hiddink said. “Because then it’s clear for everyone. The speculation about this candidate or that candidate … [if] it’s obvious, it’s clear, then everyone can do his job at his club, and he can prepare for the upcoming time.”
The manager in question, according to the salacious rumblings around the league, is Antonio Conte. Now that Manchester City have wooed Pep Guardiola, and with Diego Simeone virtuously resisting Abramovich’s oil-dollars, Conte seems a fine choice. Andrea Pirlo, who played under Conte for three supreme years at Juventus, described the Italian as having “a beast in him. I have been in his dressing room at half-time when we have been winning, but he comes in and will be throwing full bottles of water around because of a mistake we made or because he feels we should be further ahead.” No doubt Conte will make a splash in England.
If he is to take charge in West London, Conte will be taking on a task that Hiddink described rather quaintly as “not small”. Not that it was apparent last season, but there is some fat to trim in this squad. Most urgently, a centre back and a striker must be brought in. Gonzalo Higuaín has alerted Napoli that he will not be extending his contract there and – as he’s clearly the best striker in Italy – Chelsea have no doubt taken note of this. As far as a centre back goes, Kurt Zouma has looked impressive, and Conte may well make a project out of him, and bring in an understudy.
The last time Chelsea had a season that even compares to the Great 15-16 Disappointment was the 11-12 campaign, when Andre Villas-Boas was sacked and they finished sixth in the league. That year, their stonking Champions League triumph bailed out their domestic shortcomings, something that is very unlikely – though still technically possible – to happen this time. But the Blues are still in the FA Cup, and must be considered favourites to win it considering their form of late. It bears remembering that Hiddink won the FA Cup the last time he was rushed in to fix a broken Chelsea season.
As far as the league goes, they are now just seven points off West Ham in fifth. It’s happened quietly, carefully, like a seamstress stitching together a torn up dress, but Chelsea are mending the cracked complexion of this harrowing season.
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