Chelsea FC: Roberto Di Matteo Will Salvage the Season for the Blues

Interim Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo is the man for the job and it could not have been more evident than in today’s 2-0 win over Birmingham to advance to the FA Cup quarterfinals.

Mind you when I make such a statement, that this job is exactly what it’s stated as, “interim.” I do not foresee him continuing beyond this season in the head role.

Given the way Abramovich has handled the last two interim managers (fired Grant after reaching the Champions League final and not renewing beloved coach Ray Wilkins' contract), Di Matteo would pretty much have to pull off the impossible to stick around.

But all Chelsea need right now is a caretaker, someone to put the ship on cruise control and maybe head back to the bridge every few hours just to make sure they are still on course. Just two days in, he has done this perfectly.

All eyes were on the newly appointed boss tonight as a flurry of cameramen and commentators all tried to dissect every decision he made and recognize the first mistake as some sort of homage to the failed experiment of Andre Villas-Boas.

But it was not to be.

He approached the game with the same kind of stoicism you would expect out of Tibetan monk, knowing that his job is as safe as it is short. Winning was the only thing on his mind, something that Villas-Boas lacked as he built a plan for the future.

So even when Di Matteo played a group of youngsters, newbies and unprovens, he did not meet the critical media, who were attempting to begin the same kind of quote catalog they acquired during Villas-Boas’ tenure, with bull-headed dogma. He coolly answered the questions with the uninspiring empty words that only great managers can conjure:

"

Was it a brave selection choice? It was nothing to do with bravery. They were all on board. They know the targets we have to achieve. They are big players for this club. We have a squad and we have to utilise the squad. We have to try and get the best out of these players. It was a question of freshening up the team a bit, giving it some energy and fresh legs for a game like this. We had to fight today.

"

Don’t try and bother reading into this deeper. It means nothing. It’s cold, removed, meaningless, calculated and most importantly, uncontroversial.

Villas-Boas hardly ever answered a question with such little passion. You could even argue Di Matteo was catatonic on the sideline compared to the exhausting energy Villas-Boas exhibited on every missed Torres shot.

In terms of the game, deciding to sit Lampard, Drogba and Essien makes perfect sense. Today’s game was the second of four in an 11-day span, culminating in the second leg of the teams Champions League tie against Napoli. It’s foolish to play three of your most experienced and top players in a midweek game against a Championship side with this kind of packed schedule.

But Villas-Boas would not have gotten off so easily for this. As a matter of fact, he didn’t when Chelsea played Birmingham the first time around in the middle of a nearly identically dense schedule and a lineup that was the exact same (with the exception of Salomon Kalou instead of Daniel Sturridge)!

So why did Villas-Boas come away from the game with bitter attitudes biting at his heels and Di Matteo like the second coming of Christ (aka Mourinho)? Essentially, what was the difference when everything was the exact same?

Simple as an answer could ever be: He won.

I have personally been criticized quite often for being an apologist for the legends that have since been shunned and persecuted by a fanbase that owes all their glory to them. I get where it would seem that Lampard and co. complaining about playing time and tactics could be seen as malfeasance and instigators of clubhouse unrest.

But why are we so quick to go there and not recognize them as what they really are, what gets all athletes to this point—being ultra-competitive.

Lampard was whining and moaning because he is being forced to sit by and take a lesser role as he watched the deconstruction of everything he built. He wants to be out there helping the team, not useless on the bench.

It is something that we as fans always appreciate in our athletes, the competitive nature that pushed them to perform. Heck, Villas-Boas even said that’s what he wants out of his players!

So you can understand why he is not able to sit idly by and wait his turn the way Manchester United legends Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes have, because they have no place to argue, as without them in the lineup, United is better.

Not the case with Lampard, Drogba and Terry. That was until Tuesday night.

On paper the win over Birmingham was a minimal little blip in Chelsea history. It will go in the official book of results, but interpreted decades from now as just another early round of the FA Cup between a heavyweight and a minnow.

But for Di Matteo it represents the structure of the rest of the season. One that will be all about minimizing controversy and getting the team in the best possible position for when the new manager comes in this summer.

There are 59 days left in the English season. In that time they must advance at least one more round in the Champions League, secure a fourth place finish and get to the FA Cup final.

Anything less than this should be deemed a failure.

There are also 59 days left in Di Matteo’s job, making every game, practice and decision valuable. He cannot afford to waste a single moment or spare an unused sub. He does not have to think about the future nor does he have to worry about pleasing the past.

All he has to do is do the one thing we in the end we all really want—win.