PART ONE – ANTONIO CONTE, MAURICIO POCHETTINO & PEP GUARDIOLA
Probably not as bad as you may think. In fact, of the six, only Antonio Conte is deemed to have the temperament to walk away from a club at the merest hint of disagreement.
Here is what is being said about them individually.
Antonio Conte – Chelsea
As with others on this list, he has a habit of leaving clubs when least expected to do so. The first time was with Bari in Italy. He had just got them promoted to Serie A and had also just signed a new contract when he decided not to continue in the job any longer.
The second and most famous time was shortly after winning his third title in Italy with Juventus.
The reason for his departures from clubs is nearly always their lack of investment. Conte can always see a bright future for any club he happens to manage but the board must share that vision and must invest in order for him to achieve it. When they don’t, he walks, simple.
Chelsea must get him at least 75% of the players he is demanding or he will feel let down and who knows what may happen then?
Odds on him leaving Chelsea before the end of next season – Evens
Mauricio Pochettino – Tottenham Hotspur
He is one of the more difficult managers to read. He seems to have a very good relationship with Dastardly Daniel Levy and this will always stand him in good stead when he wants new players. Levy, however, is known for not spending money lightly, (if we conveniently forget the mediocrity he managed to bring in with the money realised from the sale of Gareth Bale), and Pochettino may struggle to convince Levy to part with more than HE thinks a player is worth.
A case in point is Ross Barkley, who Everton value at £50million. In today’s market this is a reasonable amount considering that he is a full international, is English and is only 23 years of age. DD disagrees based on the fact that Barkley is entering the final year of his contract at Goodison, which means he could leave for nothing in twelve months.
An impasse is inevitable which is no help whatsoever to Pochettino when trying to assemble his squad for next season.
Still, he appears to enjoy being there and there are certainly no signs that he will be leaving in the near future, despite his stated wish to manage PSG and Real Madrid at some stage of his career.
Odds on him leaving Tottenham before the end of the season – 50/1
Pep Guardiola – Manchester City
Has come over all positive about his job in Manchester recently. He has decided that his “project” at City will take more than three years to achieve. This could be a ready-made excuse for if he wins nothing next season but is more likely to be the truth.
He sees himself taking a club with no real history, particularly in Europe, and creating some of that history during his time there.
In order to be given the time to carry out his work to the full, he needs to win something next season as another trophy-less season will not be tolerated and City will look elsewhere, meaning that Pep will have to find another “small” club with no history with which to fulfill his ambitions.
Odds on him leaving City before the end of next season – 100/1
Tomorrow, in part two, you can check out the odds on the other three managers in the top six, Jürgen Klopp, Arséne Wenger and José Mourinho and see their chances of staying where they are.
WHY SAY ANYTHING? 