“Does not fit the profile they’ve looking for” – Embarrassing U-turn from Chelsea shows what a mess they’ve got into | OneFootball

A little over a year ago Chelsea were searching for a manager. They worked their way down their list and came to Roberto De Zerbi.

At that point, his stock had never been higher. After taking over from Graham Potter who had moved to… Chelsea… in the Autumn, De Zerbi quickly got Brighton playing his football. Building on the foundations already in place he got them firing and they played some of the best football in the league at times. Everyone was falling over themselves to praise him, including Pep Guardiola.

But Chelsea decided that he wasn’t the right candidate for them. Maybe it was the size of the release clause and the prospect of embarrassing themselves by hiring a Brighton coach, then hiring his replacement 6 months later.

Whatever the reasoning, it was said that “the Italian’s profile is not what they’re seeking,” by David Ornstein.

The wrong man a year ago is the right man now

How funny it is then that one year later, with De Zerbi out of a job and his stock much lower after a second season with the Seagulls that ranged from disappointing to terrible, that De Zerbi now seems to be favourite for the job.

That Ornstein piece from the time is set to be a lasting embarrassment for the club, showing how they’ve got themselves into such a mess that they’re now going back and trying to appoint the candidates discarded a year ago.

We wonder how they’re justifying that to themselves in their meetings right now?  All that the last 12 months showed is that his football seems to have a shelf life, with players getting tired of the micromanagement, and also that all their fears about his friction with ownership were correct.

He didn’t fall out publicly with Brighton owner Tony Bloom, but there’s a reason he’s not their coach any more.