There are few harder acts to follow in football than Emma Hayes. Whoever takes the Chelsea Women’s managerial role will have big shoes to fill. Most managers get appointed when things are going wrong and they have to turn it around, so coming into a successful club is a difficult proposition.
History has shown that replacing legendary managers is tough. When Vic Akers left Arsenal Women after 10 trophy-laden years in 1997, his successor lasted a season and Akers was brought back. He managed the club for a further decade with lots of success. I felt Arsenal were not the same without him. Today you see the club really trying to get back to the top with some positive moves but it is so hard to achieve.
At Manchester United the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era for the men’s team has been tumultuous, the club jumping from manager to manager without coming close to replicating Ferguson’s success. United brought in some of the best coaches in the world and none could copy what Ferguson did – or even get close. Arsenal’s men replaced Arsène Wenger with Unai Emery and it did not work out. Emery is a great manager who is flying at Aston Villa, so it shows the complexities that come with inheriting a club that has known one way for so long.
On paper there is a wonderful opportunity at Chelsea to manage one of the world’s best teams but – without trying to sound negative – any successor will have plenty to contemplate because expectations are so high and the room for error is minuscule. They need a glass-half-full attitude with the idea they can take Chelsea forward, rather than being concerned they cannot replicate what Hayes has done. Whoever is chosen to take over will inherit a club strengthened by the work Hayes has done to turn the women’s team into a well-oiled machine.
Was I surprised when I heard the Hayes news? Probably not. I know she is a very ambitious person who likes new challenges and perhaps wants one after so many years of success at Chelsea. I am gutted she will not be managing in the Women’s Super League because I think she is a great ambassador but another part of me feels it will open up the competition after a lengthy spell of dominance for Chelsea during Hayes’s tenure.
She has given Chelsea an aura and it will be interesting to see whether they can maintain it once she departs.
Hayes has brought stability in her 11 years at the helm and when you lose the most important individual at a club it is very hard to find the ideal person to keep things moving in the same direction.
One of the key elements for Hayes was to future-proof Chelsea. Recruitment there takes up to two years from players being identified to signing. This means potential arrivals for 2025-26 are in the pipeline because the club needs to carry out extensive scouting and due diligence to make sure they are the right fit.
Managers are defined not only by their success but by the state they leave a club in. Hayes is always looking to the future and her transfer dealings were focused on young players with great potential. Seven of this summer’s recruits were under the age of 25, adding to the talented youth in a squad that includes Lauren James, Aggie Beever-Jones and Erin Cuthbert.
Perhaps the new manager will want to bring in some of their own players but they will be adding them to one of the most exciting squads in the game. They may want to make tweaks but there is no requirement to do a 180-degree turn on what is in place and they will have a full pre-season to implement their ideas.
In the short term, it will be interesting to see how the squad react to Hayes’s announcement about her departure. I watched them defeat Aston Villa 6-0 at the weekend and I think it was the best performance of theirs I have seen. Although signing for a big club such as Chelsea is a major selling point, a lot of those players will have been drawn by the manager.
Hayes leaving provides the first instability and uncertainty the women’s team have had in years. It would make her successor’s job easier if Chelsea did not win a fifth successive title and someone could arrive with the aim of getting back to the top rather than keeping the club there.
But Hayes will want to go out on a high. The hardest thing in any industry is staying at the summit, which she has done for years, and she will not want to let standards drop in the final months.
Hayes has been the benchmark in England but it is not relevant whether she is replaced by a man or woman – it is a case of getting the right person for the job. I am sure a number of high-profile people will be linked with the role over the coming months.
Whoever comes in will need the right credentials but, more importantly, the correct attitude. Hayes has done an amazing job and her legacy is secure. Chelsea’s next manager will need to seize the opportunity; they cannot be scared of a full trophy cabinet but must see it as inspiration.
