Patrick Vieira has been appointed as the new RC Strasbourg manager, signing a three-year contract at the Ligue 1 club. On the surface, it looks like an unusual move. While the Arsenal legend was relieved of his Crystal Palace duties last season, he had won plenty of friends at Selhurst Park.
For a time it looked like Vieira was moving Palace on from the Roy Hodgson era by establishing a more attractive style built on younger players. A 12th place finish in his first season and an FA Cup semi-final certainly seemed to bode well for the future. Meanwhile, signings like Marc Guehi of Chelsea and Reading’s Michael Olise hinted at a club building for the future as well as the present.
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You know what they say about the best laid plans. Vieira was sacked last season after an 11-game winless run. Hodgson was reinstated and the club went back to business as usual. Comfortable survival but without the forward-thinking excitement Vieira had promised in that first season.
Despite how it ended at Palace, it is surprising to see Vieira pitch up at the team who finished 15th in Ligue 1 last season. He had some relative success at Nice, improving them to a 7th place in his first season before losing his job in his second. That experience coupled with a promising first season in the Premier League should have put Vieira’s name in the hat for some high-profile vacancies this summer.
Leicester City, Leeds United and Southampton were relegated last season. Each are established clubs with plenty of top flight experience behind them. You’d have thought Vieira would be well-set to take one of this group back up. An attractive, progressive option who knows how to manage a club of a similar size after his Crystal Palace experience. The Frenchman did interview for the Leeds role and reportedly impressed, but he is now going another route.
So why has Vieira chosen a team that largely exists outside the top half of Ligue 1? This ambitious hiring is actually down to some names English fans will know well. Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital purchased a controlling interest in the club in June. The fact that the Chelsea owners now own a majority stake in Racing has numerous implications.
Boehly has spoken in the past of how he wants to implement a multi-club model, citing playing pathways for young talent. Vieira proved at Palace that he is adept at shepherding youth, with Guehi making it into the full England squad on his watch. If there is an influx of talented Chelsea youngsters in Alsace, the former Gunners midfielder is a fine teacher for them. The west London club would be getting players returned to them who had been schooled by one of the Premier League’s all-time greats.
The players may not be the only ones finding themselves on a pathway to bigger things. Chelsea’s managerial situation is notoriously cutthroat. Boehly has already overseen the reigns of three permanent managers and two interim appointments. If Vieira excels back in his home land, could there be a way through the doors of Stamford Bridge for him?
Obviously as an Arsenal icon it would be an unpopular move at the Emirates. But it must have crossed the minds of both Vieira and Boehly. Perhaps it was even a motivating factor in Vieira taking over a club that is arguably smaller than the two most recent ones he has managed. Given the rate Chelsea chop and change in the dugout, he must have considered that he might get a call to return to the Premier League from his bosses, even if it as an interim.
Vieira’s latest move will be watched with interest by fans who admired his style at Palace as well as by chairmen from across European football. If he can turn Strasbourg into a consistent top-half side, his phone will ring off the hook. If that happens, the only real question is whether or not the call will be emanating from inside Stamford Bridge. Look away, Arsenal fans.
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