Grading Guus Hiddink on His Start to Life at Chelsea
Guus Hiddink’s Chelsea have now played 10 games under their new manager since he replaced Jose Mourinho in December.
They remain unbeaten in that time, but Hiddink has recorded just four victories, drawing six matches in total.
Things have improved at Chelsea, but has Hiddink done enough to judge his appointment a success? Can Chelsea go on to rescue their season in the way Roman Abramovich hopes?
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We can't fully answer those questions until May when the honours are given out. Between now and then, Chelsea will be hoping to climb the table and finish in the positions for European qualification, as well as achieve success in the Champions League and FA Cup.
With all that in mind, Bleacher Report takes a look at Hiddink's opening 10 games to grade him on his impact to see if the Blues are on the right path.
PR
It’s a reality that media image plays a significant role in the success of football managers in the modern era.
Whether it’s their personae away from the pitch or how they conduct themselves during the 90 minutes of matches, they’re scrutinised to the nth degree, which usually impacts their performance.
Take Chelsea under Mourinho this season. As the media turned the screw with every defeat, the former Blues boss gradually began to lose his cool until his now infamous press conference after the 2-1 loss to Leicester City in which he claimed the players had betrayed him in defeat.
That eventually cost him his job, proving one crisis too many for the Chelsea board to handle.
Where Hiddink has impressed is by taking the sting out of Chelsea’s situation. In fact, he’s the antithesis of Mourinho in that regard, and it’s helped with media relations and the club's overall reputation.
When John Terry scored a 98th-minute equaliser from an offside position against Everton last month, Hiddink brushed it off. “What can I do?” he asked after accepting that the goal should have been ruled out.
It meant the focus was more on Toffees boss Roberto Martinez, who persisted with his rant against the match officials.
When Diego Costa and Oscar were involved in a minor training ground scuffle, Hiddink also laughed about it. In a press conference shortly after the incident, the Dutchman joked he was more upset that the club’s photographer was not in the vicinity to capture the handbags that were being thrown.
If we’re looking at damage limitation, Hiddink’s gentlemanly approach has gone a long way in off-field relations. He’s a PR man’s dream client.
Grade: A
Player Management
We’re going to talk about Diego Costa here. Why? Because his dramatic transformation over the 10 games of Hiddink’s reign has been spectacular.
There have been some incidents to capture the headlines along the way, yet the Spanish international looks a different player. He’s back to doing what he does best, which is scoring goals.
The stats speak for themselves. Prior to Hiddink returning to Stamford Bridge, Costa had scored just four goals in 21 games in all competitions. In the nine games he has played under Hiddink—he was suspended for the away fixture against Manchester United over Christmas—Costa has found the back of the net seven times.
His goals-to-games ratio is back where it was in his debut campaign at Chelsea, when he effectively won them the Premier League title.
In terms of the points he has directly won Chelsea, he has already surpassed the tally he had up to Hiddink’s arrival. Costa’s goals have been decisive in Chelsea picking up five points, which is just shy of half of the 12 they have picked up under under Hiddink.
Before that, he decided a game just once all season when he scored the only goal in November’s 1-0 victory over Norwich City.
The point with Costa is that his form spiked the instant Hiddink was officially in charge of the Blues, scoring twice in his opening match versus Watford.
Hiddink has been a calming influence on the striker and has got him back playing the way we know he can. The controversial moments have been fewer, and Costa is all the better for it.
Bleacher Report recently spoke to Joe Cole about the impact Hiddink had at Chelsea during his first spell in charge in 2009. It was a similar situation to now, with the Blues struggling for form before Luis Felipe Scolari was sacked.
“Guus is a good character and treated the players well,” Cole said. “He came in when we were at our lowest ebb, low on confidence and feeling tired. The intensity of training dropped a bit, which was different as some managers come in and want to flog you.
“Sometimes teams look a little bit jaded, so when training isn't as intense over a shorter time, it can freshen everyone up, which is what Guus did. It takes a very bright manager to do that."
Given how effective Costa’s performances have been, Hiddink seems to be applying the same methods.
Grade: A
Performances
Remaining undefeated since mid-December, there’s no doubt Chelsea’s performances have picked up dramatically. Hiddink has stopped the rot in that sense, although some of the frustrating errors in judgment continue to creep into Chelsea’s performances.
In his first game back, the Blues should have defeated Watford on Boxing Day. Instead they drew, 2-2, after Oscar fluffed his lines from the penalty spot.
Other disappointments have come against West Browmich Albion at home. Chelsea were twice in the lead in that game, and twice they threw away the three points.
Coming back from two goals down against Everton masked some of the amateurish defending on show, while the recent back-to-back draws with Watford and Manchester United have been underwhelming.
Hiddink’s steadied the ship, but Chelsea remain far from perfect. Relying on the Nemanja Matic-John Obi Mikel partnership to anchor Chelsea’s midfield hasn’t helped.
Hiddink’s Chelsea appear too rigid, and it’s time the Dutchman gave Chelsea a little more freedom to attack teams and go out to win matches.
It’s all been a bit too cautious. We can understand the logic behind that, given how dramatic Chelsea’s season was when he was reappointed interim boss. It can’t continue much longer, though.
Grade: C
Points
Chelsea have picked up 12 league points under Hiddink at an average of 1.5 per game. Under Mourinho in Chelsea’s first 16 games this term, it stood at 1.13.
Neither is overwhelming—or good enough for reigning Premier League champions—yet for all the draws Chelsea have recorded under him (they’ve won just two of their eight league matches) Hiddink has improved that average in a short space of time.
Chelsea are still lagging in the bottom half of the table. They're sat in 13th, three points outside of the top 10, which is positive, yet the feeling is they should be higher given the missed opportunities to climb the table.
Had Mourinho remained, based on his average points gained this term, Chelsea would be in joint-16th place with Swansea City, a mere four points from the drop zone.
Hiddink has given the Blues a cushion, but it's not quite like what we expected.
Grade: C
Overall
There's no doubting Hiddink has steadied Chelsea since he replaced Mourinho. In terms of judging his overall performance, it really does depend on which view is taken.
Are we judging Hiddink on his ability to reinstall some harmony at Stamford Bridge? Or are we looking at his influence in getting Chelsea back to the level they should be?
He's had some influence in the latter, but it's through calming the situation in west London where he has excelled. The Chelsea players appear happier than they have been at point this season, and the news surrounding the club isn't as negative.
There remains plenty more to achieve on the pitch, however.
Grade: B
Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes
