Chelsea: Taking the Throne

DEALS IN THE WORKS

Chelsea’s administrator Tony Atkins has spoken to the media for the first time to reveal stars of the club are in negotiations with other clubs.

The Blues are in dire need to balance the books, following their relegation to the Sky Bet League Two, and Atkins has told Twenty Four 7 Football exclusively that players are already looking for new clubs.

“It’s something we all envisaged, so it comes as no surprise that some of our players are in deep negotiations with other clubs,” said Atkins.

“As administrator, it’s my job to steady the ship as much as possible, so we will have to offload many players as possible fairly quickly in order for the club to run smoother than what it is today.

“We gave permission to all players to get their names out and seek a designated club, ready for the club to begin preparations for the new season with a reasonable amount of financial alleviation.”

Chelsea's star man Eden Hazard continues to edge himself closer to a move to Real Madrid, according to Spanish newspaper Marca, whereas new acquisition Diego Costa could return to Atletico Madrid on loan.

The names of Chelsea players continue to dominate the rumour mill, but confirmation of any deals are likely to come following the appointment of a new manager, a topic Atkins refused to offer any insight.

CFC AWAIT MANAGERIAL APPOINTMENT

Chelsea administrator Tony Atkins has stated that the club will appoint a manager first before allowing any player to leave the club.

Atkins is keen to let go many key players and has admitted that some are already in talks with other clubs, as he aims to stabilise Chelsea financially.

The west London club will, however, appoint a manager before letting any player go, according to the Englishman.

“Everybody realises that we cannot hold on to most of our first team players and we shall sell many of those wishing to leave in due course, but we must appoint a manager first.

“The man coming in will be well aware of the club’s needs and necessities, but before we can sign off any player, we need to know who Chelsea’s eventual boss wants to work with in order for us to produce a team who is not only fighting its financial disarray, but also one that strives on and off the field in the lower leagues.”

Former Chelsea man Glen Hoddle has been one of the names linked to the job in recent days, with the opportunity for a player/manager role for current club captain John Terry another scenrio which has been widely speculated.

Faces, both old and new

19:07 and Les is yet to arrive and pick me up for today’s game. I can’t say I’m surprised, as it’s been a regular occurrence with him ever since we both began attending Spurs’ reserve and Under 18’s fixtures. He’s always been the type to arrive fashionably late, so I’m told. I was always the opposite; first to arrive and last to leave the training field. But it seems even I have been lagging behind to some capacity with regards to my career.

I tend to find myself in the same position every week, wondering why my life has all of sudden hit a brick wall, lost its purpose, meanwhile I await to hear the thud of my letter box to suggest Les has finally decided to turn up.

Football is a strange game. One moment you have it all going on around you, but if you fail to embrace all that it offers you, life will sweep you off your feet with all its blandness. I often try to convince myself that there is a life outside of football, but what happens if football has already become your life?

I guess my prolonged time in physio’s room has already eased me into everyday life, but that doesn’t disband the feeling of an animal in captivity once you’re officially out of the game.

The quest is clear – I need to get back into football. Becoming a pundit could be an option, but I’m not one to sit in front of a camera, week in, week out, criticising the same old players under the firm’s agenda for an in-game mistake I would be capable of making. It’s total hypocrisy, in my opinion.

Football management is what I want and it’s the only thing that can bring back that hunger to succeed. The sheer amount of injuries encountered in my career left many unfulfilled objectives, and my way of fighting would be to enter the managerial world.

And it’s a world I’m ready to enter, with all my coaching badges there for employers to look at. The sad thing is that people only seem to look at me as ‘that injury-riddled former Spurs player who never saw his career take off in the way it should have done’. People sympathise, but they never look at me as a manager. Nobody has the guts to give me a shot at redemption.

Alas, Les arrives, not to the sound of the letter box clattering against its frame, but to the beep of his car instead. I’ll have to settle for the back seat too, as Les swooped by Tim’s house first, but at last we’re on our way to the Lamex Stadium to watch Spurs’ Reserves take on Chelsea’s.

On the topic of Chelsea, the news of the clubs search for a new manager rings around the car throughout our journey, much to Les and Tim’s amusement.

Les Ferdinand: HAHA! How great is that?! Chelsea are back in obscurity!

Tim Sherwood: Not only that, relegation for Chelsea might mean Spurs can qualify for the Champions’ League fairly comfortably this season.

Les Ferdinand: I’ve always called it, mate. The day Roman Abramovich packs his bags will be death of Chelsea. Good riddance, to be honest! Everything about that club in the last ten years has been getting on my last nerves.

Tim Sherwood: There’s a fair bit of talent in their squad too. It’ll be interesting to see how that’ll be distributed.

They went on and on, until Les finally brings me into the conversation.

Les Ferdinand: How’s the football management coming along, mate?

Me: I’ve been ready for a while now. Just waiting for my agent to get a firm hold of something, but it’s real difficult at the moment.

Les Ferdinand: Well, I now this goes against the grain of all I’ve said for much of this journey, but have you thought about the prospect of managing Chelsea?

Me: Chelsea?! No way, bruv! I’m Spurs through and through!

Tim Sherwood: Don’t hold your breath waiting for Daniel Levy to give you a call then, mate!

Me: Why not? He gave you a shot last season, didn’t he?

Les Ferdinand: …

Tim Sherwood: Alright, alright. No need to try and banter me off, pal.

Me: Plus, you know how these rebuilding jobs are with administrators. You need to be successful to turn the club’s fortunes around, and even when you are, you’re constantly losing key aspects of the squad that push the club forward in the first place.

Les Ferdinand: I hear ya, it’s a massive project, but it’s not impossible. Just think about your managerial status if you pull it off! And you’re always guaranteed to find players in the same boat as you, desperate to make a name for themselves and be part of history.

Me: It’s all a little too far-fetched for me, Les.

Les Ferdinand: You need to grab something. You haven’t been able to land a job, but here you have a club desperate to just save itself. Not many managers will bite at that. This could be your gateway into football, mate. Don’t let your past interfere with that. Isn’t that right, Tim?

Tim Sherwood: Spot on, mate. Everyone knows I’m a closet Gooner, anyway, so I wouldn’t hold anything against you.

Perhaps Les was onto something. Too many times I’ve seen myself being snubbed by a club, but with Chelsea, I have a club in an opposing position, begging for someone to command a sinking ship. Weighing up the outcomes, if I turn Chelsea around I can be considered a club legend, which sounds fairly odd inside my head. By the same token, if I fail, how badly would that tint my name? It’s a double edged proposition.

Throughout the game, I rarely focused – instead I found myself analysing each player of Chelsea’s reserves. I must have looked like a zombie gawking at the footballing talent on show. And there was plenty of it in the Chelsea team. So much focus in the past has been on Chelsea’s mega spending and swapping of managers that we all have failed to acknowledge the talent their youth team actually possesses, Chelsea included. Who remembers ever seeing the likes of Josh McEachran, Gael Kakuta and Jack Cork playing for the Blues on a regular basis? They’re wasting talent, and had it not been for Abramovich’s departure, some of these players might never be given a chance.

Essentially, these are the players I could eventually manage, accustoming myself to thought of sitting on the Stamford Bridge hot seat. These youth players are the ones who can take Chelsea back up, and they’ll be eager to do so too because they are yet to make a name for themselves.

Spurs scored a late winner to defeat Chelsea 1-0, but in the space of 90 minutes I had already been convinced. I was ready to express my interest in the job, and as if he were a figment of my own imagination, I bumped into my agent who had approached me about the very issue – taking the Chelsea job.

I immediately informed him that I’d want the job, and so my agent proceeded to clinch an interview with the club. It wasn’t until I got home that I realised my agent had used Les to sweet talk me into applying for the job. It worked!

NEW BOSS IN DUE COURSE

Chelsea’s administrator Tony Atkins has confirmed they expect to appoint a new manager by the end of this week.

Atkins has revealed a decision will be made by the weekend as to who will take over at the helm at financially inept Chelsea.

No names have been given by the administration team since taking command of the club, but many names linked with the vacancy at Stamford Bridge following Jose Mourinho’s inevitable exit continue to circle in the footballing airwaves.

One of the names brought up with frequency is that of former player Glen Hoddle, who was brought in just this season as a first team coach at Queens Park Rangers under Harry Redknapp’s management.

Remaining in the Redknapp household, former Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur player, now a Sky Sports mainstay, Jamie Redknapp is also thought to be interested in taking over club in which his cousin, Frank Lampard, had so much success with as a player during Roman Abramovich’s reign.

The long list of potential candidates doesn’t end there, with currently unemployed Lee Clark, Eddie Howe and John Still – responsible for guiding Luton Town back into the Football League last season after a five year wait – all reportedly on Chelsea’s shortlist.

The Interview

Cobham Training Centre, here I am. I can’t pretend that this is a normal situation for me because it’s not. Not least because I’m applying for the Chelsea job, a club who in such a short space of time have gone from title favourites to an almighty fall from grace, but because it’s 4:30am and I’m up trying to secure a future in football.

Obviously, I have skipped sleep. I shouldn’t have but I have become so fixated with the prospect of taking this job that I’d struggle to put my mind to rest even if I were due to meet the administrators far later. So my agent tells me, the 4:30am time set was a request by the club to keep negotiations firmly under wraps, to which he thought it’d be a great opportunity to avoid any media for the moment.

Looking less than fresh-faced, I entered the building and began negotiating my cause with the Chelsea board.

Tony Atkins: We aren’t looking for a quick fix here. Ideally, we want to set Chelsea up to be a self-sufficient club, and part of our appeal to the FA promised we’d strive to promote youth into that. Where do you feel you can take this club?

Me: Well, a lot of that depends on who I’ve got to work with, but I’ve assessed my own situation should I take control of the club and I believe I can stabilise Chelsea as a Championship club at least in the next two-to-three years. I feel there’s plenty to work with here.

Tony Atkins: Is there a particular player you’d like to keep?

Me: Well, I’m well aware that the club will be offloading at a large scale, but having a few of the more experienced players around, pending a wage cut approval, would be a massive boost. I’m aware of John Terry’s will to remain at the club. If we could pull that off it’d already be a massive bonus for us.

Tony Atkins: Unfortunately, we really can’t promise anything with regards to Terry at this stage. I can tell you we have spoken to him, as well as others, and we agree with your notion of maintaining experienced players in the squad, but convincing them under our circumstances could prove to be tricky.

Me: I understand completely. Chelsea’s youth team is where the real artillery lies, in my view. I’m confident that I can climb up the leagues, even without the experience some would offer. It would just be good to cushion the talent we have.

Tony Atkins: We’ve been informed you really want to land the job, but we can see you have no managerial experience at all. How do you plan to handle such a mammoth task?

Me: You’ve got to start somewhere, don’t you? I see a real opportunity here at Chelsea to both improve as a manager and push on the career of our younger talents. I promise you I can work effectively with young players. Tottenham can vouch for that, as I’ve always had a positive relationship with them as a senior player. I was a young player once too, desperate to kick-start a career. I know all that comes with being a young footballer.

Tony Atkins: You mentioned Tottenham, there. Does it concern you how you’ll be received if you were to be announced as the manager of a rival?

Me: I’ve given it plenty of thought and will honestly admit that being here today wasn’t an easy decision. I love Tottenham, but the fact I’m sat in front of you today proves to me, at least, that I want this job at all costs. I achieved what did as a player, but I want more and this is a great opportunity for me to start a new story as a manager.

Tony Atkins: In the eventuality of Chelsea attracting a new owner, you are aware that he would have the right to replace, yes?

Me: Definitely, but I’m confident of doing a good job.

And that’s how the interview ended, and I’ve been playing out each question in my mind ever since. Never have I wanted a job so badly, which explains the state I find myself in awaiting a response from Chelsea.

Was I too arrogant? Selfish? Honest? Ideas and scenarios have swamped my head, and before I’ve realised, I’ve felt the full force of skipping sleep and nod off into the latter hours of the evening.

Awoken by the vibration from my phone, I came to the realisation that my Twitter account was being bombarded with queries. Messages of support, hatred and confusion all surrounding the apparent news from the Daily Mail that I was set to take the job at Chelsea.

Perplexed by the abundance of tweets coming my way, my agent sealed the deal, informing me that tomorrow I would, indeed, be confirmed in front of the press as Chelsea’s new manager. The journey begins.

KING LANDS CHELSEA JOB

Chelsea has appointed former Tottenham Hotspur captain and England international Ledley King as their new manager.

At the age of 33, King has landed his first managerial job, replacing club hero Jose Mourinho following Chelsea’s slump into administration and voyage down to the Sky Bet League Two.

King joins Chelsea on a one year contract, with his salary as boss of the Blues yet to be confirmed, but he will be placed under immediate pressure should he fail to reignite the west Londoners as a club.

Even if King does achieve promotion with Chelsea this season, the administrators continue to search for a buyer for the club, with King’s future at Chelsea depending heavily on the new owner’s plans.

Formerly an ambassador for his only club, Tottenham, King made his debut back in 1999 versus Liverpool, as he went on to play a total of 268 times in the Barclays Premier League, scoring ten goals and often described as one of the finest defenders of the Premier League era by managers, pundits and players alike.

The 2008 Carling Cup winner cut his career short in 2012, however, suffering from a chronic knee injury that enabled him to only play once a week, as he trained by himself at the club gym throughout the week to avoid further swelling to his knee.

Former Spurs boss Harry Redknapp once described King as an ‘absolute freak’ for being able to perform so well for his club, despite not training, meanwhile Arsenal’s greatest all-time goalscorer Thierry Henry branded King as the best central defender he had ever come up against.

King also represented England 21 times from 2002 to 2010, playing his last game against the United States in the 2010 South Africa World Cup.