Advertisement

Petr Cech suggests asking Arsenal if they would prefer 10 managers and six trophies

Dirty Tackle

Amidst the disgust with Chelsea's latest temporary manager, goalkeeper Petr Cech is choosing to focus on the positives that have come under owner Roman Abramovich and his policy of impatience. Namely, all the trophies they've won.

From the Guardian:

"You can argue with a lot of things but in the same period of time we won more or less the same number of trophies as Manchester United," he says. "They had one manager, we had eight, and we won the same trophies. We had the Champions League, there are so many positives.

"Arsenal had the same manager and it is a long time since they won something. Maybe if you asked them if they would rather have 10 managers and six trophies I don't know what they would say but it is always relative. We do it our way, the other clubs do it their way and it seems to work so far, so long may it continue."

Under the seven managers since Jose Mourinho was dismissed in September 2007, Chelsea have won five trophies. Over the same period, Man United have won six (matching Chelsea with one Champions League title), while Arsenal have won none. So would Arsenal fans prefer more upheaval if it came with more silverware? It would defy conventional wisdom and the flowery romanticism of the game that so many hold dear, but football is ultimately about winning and not about the pursuit of academic tenure.

Though Abramovich's harsh, abrupt and at times irrational approach has arguably worked ("interim" Rafa Benitez era aside), Cech still hopes that whoever replaces Benitez is around long enough to make it worth learning the guy's name. When asked if he would like to have Jose Mourinho return, Cech said:

"We had a fantastic success with him so why not, he is a fantastic manager. But I hope whoever comes to take the job will have better luck and that he will stay. I have been saying that for six years, I hope the new manager will find the momentum and he will stay."

For Chelsea managers, it's more about constantly maintaining momentum than finding it. That aside, how about Petr Cech for player-manager? Maybe his helmet will protect him from Abramovich's axe.