Eddie Newton and Roberto Di Matteo do things in pairs.
They won the FA Cup together in 1997 in a 2-0 victory over Middlesbrough, the Italian scoring the Londoners first goal, the Englishman their second. A year later they were part of the same squad that beat Stuttgart in the final of the European Cup-Winners' Cup. Earlier that season, they had formed a midfield fulcrum in another 2-0 victory over Middlesbrough, this time to win the League Cup.
When Di Matteo retired and went into management Newton followed serving as his assistant at MK Dons and later West Bromwich Albion, the club who helped seal Andre Villas-Boas' fate as Chelsea manager at the weekend. When Di Matteo's tenure at the Hawthorns came to an end last January, Newton left with him.
Yesterday, the pair came full circle when Di Matteo was appointed as Villas-Boas' replacement until the end of the season and swiftly named Newton as his assistant. The latter claimed that his appointment was "totally out of the blue".
"It's been a blur to be honest with you," he said before outlining his and Di Matteo's plans for the remainder of the campaign. "The ambition is to get into fourth place and we will push as hard as possible. Every game is very important between now and the end of the season."
Di Matteo and Newton's first task will be to navigate tonight's FA Cup fifth-round replay at Birmingham City. The build-up to the game continued to be completely overshadowed today by the fallout from Villas-Boas' sacking, with Chelsea branded a "serious embarrassment" and managing them described as "hell".
Roman Abramovich is searching for his eighth manager only eight months since appointing Villas-Boas'. The Portuguese's downfall was strikingly similar to that of Luiz Felipe Scolari, who also lost his job amid reports of a player revolt, three years ago. The Brazilian had a warning for the man who ultimately replaces the former Porto coach.
"It will be hell for whoever succeeds him," he said. "Some things are known, like the relations with the owner, who has the relationship with some players before the coach. He needed to replace at least seven or eight players, but he failed."
Richard Bevan, the League Managers' Association chief executive, was scathing about the decision. "What's for sure is the club haven't yet worked out how to build a successful football club," he said. "Looking for what is an eighth manager in nine years is a serious embarrassment to the owner, the club, the fans and the league."
Chelsea also confirmed that coach Jose Mario Rocha and scout Daniel Sousa had also left the club, but one figure who is remaining is Ramires. The midfielder signed a new five-year contract yesterday.
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