The case for/against finding a role for Hiddink

By: Jack | November 17th, 2011

Guus Hiddink is unemployed. He likes Chelsea, a lot.

So, is a return to London in some capacity other than manager represent good business for the club and Roman Abramovich? Yes and no.

Guus on his first day at Chelsea
London calling?

Hiddink resigned his managerial post this week following a turbulent near two-year spell in charge of the Turkish national team. Among his initial thoughts following Tuesday’s 0-0 draw with Croatia – which confirmed Turkey’s exit at the Euro playoff stage on 3-0 aggregate – were on Chelsea and a potential return to the club.

It was great at Chelsea, a terrific time, but that doesn’t mean I am ready to start tomorrow. I need some time to reflect. Even at my age I need to decide what my future may be.

I’m not ready to retire, I like to be involved with a team on a daily basis, but maybe I am ready to step out of the limelight a little bit, away from the cameras. Hopefully I will still be involved but perhaps it will be as an advisor or a consultant.

Not exactly a firm no. In fact, quite the opposite. The position that would seem to suit Guus’ current ambition would be Director of Football. It’s a job Guus was linked with in the summer, when most of the Chelsea managerial ramblings focused on Marco van Basten.

Sounds great initially. The question Roman and company must answer, however, is whether offering Hiddink such a powerful position is a move that will take the club forward rather than undermine it.

Let’s take a look at both sides of the coin.

The case for Guus

He is, foremost, familiar with the club. He understands what is at stake and what’s expected.
He has not only a working relationship with our owner, but has also kindled a friendship with Roman Abramovich. The two have the respect of the other, which is massive.
The players are familiar with him. The players respect him. His half-season in charge drew rave reviews from our personnel at the time, many of which remain at the club.
He’s brilliant in terms of man-management. Sure he would not be in charge, but his ability to advise our players, particularly new faces, could prove vital.
It’s Guus. We as supporters love him. The players – those who were around in 2009 – love him. A return as DoF or consultant would be highly beneficial, provided his appointment did not undermine the reshaping currently going on at the club under Andre Villas-Boas.

The case against Guus

Hiddink is an incredibly strong personality. Could he manage a role in which much of his work, and success, would be in the shadow of both Abramovich and Villas-Boas (both strong personalities themselves)?
Director of Football, a title viewed with much disdain at this club. Wasn’t the position created specifically for Avram Grant in July 2007? We all remember how that played out.
Do we even need a Director of Football? Do we even need an advisor to the club? We seem to be full-up on backroom staff as is, plus we have veteran leadership in the form of players such as Frank Lampard and John Terry – coaches on and off the field if you will.
Appointing Hiddink could serve to derail the current path of the club under Villas-Boas. I can see it now: A poor run is accompanied by incessant media drivel about AVB’s future - with Hiddink seemingly waiting in the wings to regain his former post. Deconstructive and unhealthy.
We are not the same team we were at the end of 2009. The change has not only come in personnel but also in personality and philosophy. What can Hiddink offer us now?
Has the Dutchman flamed out? He has not enjoyed much success since leaving Chelsea in May 2009. His return to Russia was incredibly disappointing; as stated earlier, his tenure as Turkey coach was lined with mediocrity. What then does Hiddink have left in the tank, even as a high-paid consultant?

I’m sure I’ve missed one or two key points – for each side – but I think I’ve generally summed it up. Browsing the two lists, it becomes more and more apparent, at least for me, that appointing Hiddink as Director of Football would be the wrong move for the club right now.

I, like many of you, love Hiddink. To be honest, I expected him to become our manager in the summer. That didn’t happen, however, which led to the proactive appointment of Villas-Boas. With AVB has come drastic change, a new look and new philosophy. Bringing Hiddink aboard now would potentially disrupt – maybe even destroy – what is currently taking place at the club.

Though we are not where we’d like to be, and there have been, and will be more, roadblocks to endure, there are massive ripples of change flowing through Chelsea right now and the end-product could be something incredibly exciting. I, for one, am ready to wade through these choppy waters in order to see where we eventually arrive. Allow AVB the time necessary to recreate his vision. I’d prefer the Portugese be able to do so without having to look constantly over his shoulder at a seasoned 65-year-old Dutchman in the process.

An unofficial advisory role for Guus? Cool. Consulting Roman from time to time on all aspects of the club? Cool. Anything more, though, and I’m leery.

What are your thoughts?

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Category: Coaching News, Opinion, Quotes, Transfer Rumors

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Emmanuel

AVB, is naive, his judgement of the players when he arrived in the summer was totally wrong. It took only few games for their weaknesses to show. If he think he can finish top four TALK-LESS of wining a trophy with the likes of mikel, bosingwa, peter chec, maluda,paro fereriri, kalou he is only fooling himself and the management team. The management team at Chelsea lack knowledge and running the club down with lack of vision. You cannot read any note about Chelsea without mention of these players who are not performing for the club, only AVB sees and understands their exceptional talents even when the club is at the 4/5 position. Without AVB buying krasic, a midfielder, and Andy Johnson from city and bringing back our on loan Athletic Madrid keeper I honestly see Chelsea finishing in the 5th or 6th position this season regrettably.
Devin Anand

I'm hesitant to welcome him back so quickly. AVB is in the process of getting his grip around the club and the players, and introducing a strong personality like Guus on a regular basis may serve to undermine AVB's credibility with the players.

A casual consulting contract should be drawn up. I liken him to Pini in that he'll chime in on deals and high-level information- but I don't expect Roman to replace AVB. At least, not anytime this year.
CareFreeChronic

Before making any judgement, I need to know more about what the job (Director of Football) entails (specifics) and how it can help the club go forward.
Jack

Good point, but I think we can draw conclusions from looking at Avram's position during his time as DoF. Appears to be nothing more than a figurehead on the surface, though I'd gauge Guus would offer far more constructive input than our previous employee.
Keaton_the_Eskimo

I couldn’t agree more, Although I was one of the biggest Gus Hiddink fans and had
hoped that he would have been appointed as the manager in the beginning of the
year, I feel as though it would be detrimental to AVB’s system and direction
for the club. We are moving in a great direction as it is, most of the more seasoned
fans will agree with me, let us not shoot ourselves in the foot at the
beginning of this marathon!
Maysam

If Chelsea did not pay 15 m for AVB, I would say Guss will be manager next weekend, considering we have big games next week.
Ga_ga19

I'm actually a Man City fan I was just commenting on the article about Sturridge and thought I'd have a mooch well I was on.

So just to be nosey, if your current manager does not win anything would you see him sacked after one season, or does that matter would some like to see Guus back even if you did win something this season?

p.s. I am a fan of Hiddink myself.
Jack

I think most of us realize the appointment of Villas-Boas represented, as I stated in the piece, a transitional period. I, for one, wouldn't even think about changing managers unless something disastrous happened (i.e. we're languishing in the relegation places come February). What AVB represents is long-term re-branding and we must stick with him.

Stability has been needed for some time, and he can be the guy to bring it forth.
Maysam

How do you define disappointment when you say "Guss was disappointing in Russia and Turkey". did you expect him to win World Cup or Euro with those teams? He completely changed the way people thought about Russia.
I would love to see him at Chelsea again ...
Jack

Well, Hiddink was hired by Turkey with the explicit goal of qualifying for Euro 2012. Though it wasn't all his fault - the Turkish federation is a shambles - he didn't do so and barely got them into the playoffs. That's a disappointment.

After taking Russia to the semifinals of Euro 2008, and with all the talent he had at his disposal, not qualifying for World Cup 2010 was a gross disappointment.

Also, if you're going to quote me, at least quote what I exactly said. You just paraphrased so don't use quotations.
Maysam

You never judge ability of a manger with players under him otherwise all top class managers are dissappointment. You judge them by changes they make. Watch how Russia was playing before Hiddink and compare to Hiddink time. Even though I do not care about FIFA ranking, compare Russia rank before and after Hiddink.
Did you follow Russia world cup qualification games? you cannot find even one game in which they did not deserve to win, even those agianst Germany. and as a matter of fact if my favorite referee Massimo had given them two penalties that they deserved, they would have qualified to World Cup as group winner. Hiddink is like God in russia and they beleived in him so much that they brough another Dutch manager after Hiddink left. Hiddink was complete success in Russia.
Now to Turkey, I am from Iran, I am completly familiar with Turkey culture. It is really hard to work in these countries. Foreign managers are not respected and all internal people do their best so international team fails under foreign managers. Hiddink is first non-Turkish manager for Turkish international team. I want to say it is close to impossible to succeed in these countries. So many big names managed Turkish football clubs, none succeeded.
I never beleive in what you said "His return to Russia was incredibly disappointing", Hiddink is a big manager, one of the best in the world who showed he can bring success whereever he goes and I am sure current Chelsea can benefits from him.
ovoxo

Just a minor thing to point out, Guus joined- and left us- in 2009, not 2008
Jack

Gracias. I don't know what the hell I did there.