Antonio Conte leaving Chelsea may not be a bad idea as the circle of sacking managers of the club since the Roman Abrahamovic era has brought them relative success both in the English and Europa leagues.
Since the Russian billionaire acquired Chelsea football club in 2003, the club has continued to change managers.
Could Chelsea sacking of manger be the secret of their success? Very few clubs in Europe fire managers as quick as the North London football club.
Is it a strategy? Pundits are beginning to believe it is, given the relative success they have had over the years.
Since Jose Mourinho’s first period between 2004 to 2007, Chelsea have changed managers 11 times. If Conte leaves, it will be the 12th time.
No other club in the history of the English Premier league has changed managers in a few years as much as Chelsea.
This ‘method’ as many would want to believe, has seen Chelsea win 14 trophies in 15 years.
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In Jose Mourinho first spell in charge, Chelsea won the Premier Legaue title back to back (2005 and 2006).They also won the FA Cup and the community shield. The relationship between the Portuguese and the club owner turned sour and he was asked to resign. In 2007 Mourinho resigned and Avram Grant who was his assistant, took over.
Grant got Chelsea to the UEFA Champions League final but lost to Manchester United. He was fired at the end of the season and replaced with Luis Philippe Scolari, the Brazilian. Scolari did not finish the season as he was fired midway.
Guus Hiddink was appointed to complete that season. There was a turnaround as Chelsea began playing better and winning games. Chelsea, that season made it to the Champions League Semi-final but lost to Barcelona controversially.
They however won the FA Cup.
Hiddink left at the end of the season and was replaced by Carlo Ancelotti.
Ancelotti started with a diamond formation. That was the formation he used in winning one league title in Italy for AC Milan and also winning two Champions League trophies for the club.
Some players found it difficult to adapt, so he switched to another system. Chelsea played free flowing football and beat many clubs with height margins. One of the most memorable was against Wigan Athletic when Chelsea won 8-0.
That season the blues won the Premier League and FA Cup. The following season, he was fired for making the club go trophy-less. That was just a season after winning the FA Cup and Premier League title.
Andreas Villas Boas was appointed as manger for the 2011/2012 season. Early in his career at Chelsea, he fell out with some senior players of the club. As a result, the club did not record many wins like the previous years.
When the situation got out of hand, he was asked to leave. His assistant, Di Mattao was appointed to take over. Di Mattao did the impossible that season. Against all odds, he made the London club win their first Champions League trophy. He also added the FA Cup.
The club owner was happy but not satisfied with how the team played under him. Their approach in the semi-final against Barcelona and the final against Bayern Munich was adjudged ‘negative.’ Chelsea parked the bus for most part of the game.
After that remarkable feat, he was fired the following season after losing to Antonio Conte’s Juventus 3-0 in the group stages of the Champions League.
Rafael Benitez was appointed as his replacement. Chelsea did not make it out of the group comprising of Juventus, Shaktar Donetsk and Nordsjaelland. They finished third which meant they had to play in the Europa League. The second tier of European football.
That season Chelsea added another European trophy to their cabinet. They defeated Benfica in the final to win their second Europa League, formerly called UEFA Cup.
Benitez was fired at the end of the season and Mourinho came back for his second spell. In his first season, he did not win any trophy for the club. However, the second season saw him win the Premier league title, making it his third and the club’s fourth. He also added the Carling Cup, now called Capital one cup.
The next season, Mourinho fell out with half of the senior team members. It got so bad that they were 16th on the league table. His second dismissal paved way for Antonio Conte.
The Italian manager won the league in his first season in charge in one of the most remarkable ways. He did very well in his first season. In his second season, although the club did not make the Champions League spot by finishing in the top four, he was able to secure the FA Cup for them. Not satisfied with that, coupled with his constant complaints about the lack of top signings, the club is in search of another coach. This time around, they have turned their attention to Maurizio sari a former coach of Italian football club, Napoli.
Overall, the club has won 14 trophies as a result of firing managers quickly. In all those times, Arsene Wenger remained the manager of Arsenal football club, winning only two trophies.
Not a bad method after all, many would say, as changing managers in “quick succession” ends up making the club a success.