Can Hiddink rescue Chelsea's season

During the negotiations between Guus Hiddink and Chelsea prior to his temporary appointment at Stamford Bridge there is bound to have been discussion of what would be considered a success during his tenure. Progress in the Champions League would have been a prerequisite and a semi final appearance demanded. The FA Cup may have been targeted as the most realistic chance of silverware this season.

The Holy Grail of the Premiership may have been glinting in the near distance but can Man United really be halted as they surge towards consecutive titles. Ferguson’s team appear to have built up such an irresistible momentum and opened up a large enough gap in the process to have made any chase seem a forlorn and fruitless task.

With 13 games remaining for Man Utd, they can expect a minimum points tally of another 26 points, so 85 in total. For Chelsea to reach 85 they can afford to drop only 2 points over 13 games. So 2 draws or one loss and the game is up, and with away games at Arsenal and Villa coming up, chances are that the title will be heading back to Old Trafford.

The other major factor in Hiddink’s rescue mission is whether he can truly balance the joint roles of managing both Chelsea and Russia. Some will point to his success at combining club with country previously but his current task is much more onerous than keeping Australia on course for 2006 World Cup and maintaining PSV’s stranglehold on Erevidise. Also if he is in charge for only a few months, that will mean there have been 5 managerial changes in less than 2 years which hardly smacks of the stability and consistency that is required to win the league.

Chelsea have shown signs of inconsistency recently with too many home draws against weaker opposition, such as the goalless draw with Hull, which signalled the end of Scolari’s reign. No amount of Hiddink magic can possibly turn things around quickly enough to re-ignite a season that has lost its sparkle and one wonders whether this short term, expedient move will help the club in the long term.

So the best they can hope for is a runners-up slot and maybe the chance of some FA Cup glory. But one wonders whether that’s enough for the rapacious owners who may have sacrificed the future of the club for a quick fix.