It’s been a very tough four years hasn’t it? I’m not saying that all our problems will now just magically disappear with the appointment of Xabi Alonso. Nor am I saying that we will no longer see big mistakes happening at our football club. There is A LOT to do and still to change at this club. We still need to work hard on bringing back the Chelsea culture, and believe me, I still have MANY concerns.
But hiring Alonso is what I call a ‘classic Chelsea move’. It’s very Chelsea. It’s exactly the kind of hire we had grown used to seeing during our recent successful times under Roman Abramovich. The way they have hired him too is smart. They’ve realised that he is THE footballing brain in the room now, and he must be listened to and given a lot of power within the club.
We can debate why it’s taken them so long to think this way and persist with a project that we all saw was failing and has now failed. But for now, I’m preferring to look forward, for my own emotional state.
Hiring Alonso is a very good start to bringing fans back to the club and reconnecting them. I’m far from it yet myself personally, but Alonso is pulling me in. And that’s exactly what he’s got, that pulling power. Alonso has incredible pull and that doesn’t just mean for new signings, which he will help with immensely by the way, it means for current players who might want out being pulled back in, it means for any new hires the club make, any new sponsorship deals they do, and the fan base. Alonso can help pull ALL of that in.
I’m not naïve though. I know it’s going to take a lot more than just Alonso to bring Chelsea back. But it’s a very good start. I’ve never been so invested in a summer transfer window now, because I truly believe that what they now do in the market this summer, sales and buys, can literally make or break their ownership and this club going forward. With Alonso at the wheel, I feel a bit more confident that our transfer business this summer will MAKE us rather than break us… but I’m not getting ahead of myself yet, far from it.