2013-2014: The Year of the Managers

Ball Harambee By Bagga Wilks

This season, 2013-2014, has seen quite a movement of managers at some of the top clubs in this global sport. Owners are not shy to show managers the door and managers are not reluctant to confine players to the bench or not including them on the eligible roster.

The Chelsea manager, Mourinho, has won titles in La Liga, Serie A and the English Premier League. He cut his teeth as a manager in the Portuguese League. His managerial strategy has evolved in recent years as he is no longer defensiveminded but he remains a player provocateur and his criticism of players are not done in the office but in the glare of press conferences.

Juan Mata had an outstanding season last year as Chelsea’s playmaker and as a goal scorer. With the second coming of Mourinho to Chelsea, Mata has lost his starting place and has been told he will have to change his game or he will be a “tit-bit” player for the duration of the season. Oscar is the new playmaker with the newly acquired Willian as his understudy.

Against Fulham, David Luiz was also placed in Mourinho’s dog house and was confined to being a spectator. Mourinho punished him for the loss in the Championship League against Basel. Mata and Luiz are set to have ongoing confrontations with the combative Mourinho.

David Moyes is finding that Sir Alex Ferguson’s big shoes are not easy to fill. He received quite a spanking from Pellegrini’s Manchester City.

Yaya Toure was the towering figure in mid-field and turned the giant figure of Fellani into a dwarf. Pellegrini seemed to have figured out his starting eleven while David Moyes is busy criticizing his players like Ashley Young in the tabloids.

Arsene Wenger has silenced his critics. Without any great midnight shuffler, just the acquisition of Ozil, Arsenal is playing the best football in many a season. The obstinate yet visionary Wenger stuck with his young prospects like Ramsey and Wilshire who have emerged as big league impact players.

Managerial changes have taken place at Real Madrid, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Roma and Bayern Munich. Next year is the World Cup in Brazil and players’ fortunes in Brazil will be impacted by the decision of managers. In this era of coliseum spectacles, gladiators can be chewed up by the managers who are the Kings of the Jungle.

Rafael Benitez’s Redemption Song

Ball Harambee by Bagga Wilks



Raphael Benitez has no chance of being appointed anything but Chelsea’s interim manager. Nonetheless, if the Chelsea team continues to click, then Rafael will be able to end the season in a bit of glory. He would have silenced the hooligans who have been harassing him shamelessly since the billionaire owner appointed him to replace Di Matteo.

Under Benitez’s tutelage Chelsea played initially unimpressively. No one questioned the abundance of talent but there was no chemistry or leadership and Chelsea lost games that under different circumstances, they should have won.

With eight matches to play and other cup games, Chelsea is in fine form and even the most critical Chelsea fans are now gratified by the team’s recent success. One of the issues that plagued Chelsea at the beginning of the season was who should play where and what should be the starting eleven. Chelsea was and is a strange blend of the old and the new and for the first half of the season, the chemistry remained elusive.

Benitez seemed to have gotten it together and has settled on a starting eleven. The experiment of playing David Luiz in mid-field has been abandoned and he and Cahill have become the two starting central defenders. John Terry, the former England skipper, has been relegated to the bench.



There has been much indecision regarding Frank Lampard. The aging Lampard has returned to being a main stay in mid-field and as is typical throughout his illustrious career, Lampard keeps popping up in the right places.

This weekend against West Ham, he scored his 200th goal in the EPL. The team now starts without a defensive mid-fielder and Ramirez is the box to box mid-fielder. Mikel is brought in during the closing minutes of the game to seal the victory.

Chelsea’s offensive players have begun to play like a symphony. Ba has replaced Torres as the sole striker and behind him is a trio that may be the most creative in English football. Hazard, Mata and Oscar constitute an ever present danger to full backs and central defenders. Against West Ham this weekend, Hazard and Mata were spectacular. They break down defenses with ease and grace. And all three kick with uncanny accuracy.



Unfortunately, Rafael will not be around next season to enjoy the three ring circus but based on the job he has done at Chelsea, he will have no difficulty obtaining work at a top tier club and wherever he turns up in his post-Chelsea career, the new fans will appreciate his knowledge of the game.