Chelsea FC – The method behind the madness

After Jose’s departure, the hot seat was handed to Avram Grant. He did well for, dare I say, an ‘interim manager’, as he guided Chelsea to their first-ever Champions League final before departing. And hence, the managerial merry-go-round began.

The following season, ‘Big’ Phil Scolari was the man in charge at Chelsea. And to put it frankly, he was not very effective and, therefore, was sacked midway through the season. His replacement was a certain Guus Hiddink, who guided Chelsea to FA Cup glory in 2008/09.

Next season, in somewhat of a surprise move, Chelsea hired Carlo Ancelotti as their new manager. The appointment paid instant dividends as Carlo won Chelsea their first-ever Premier League and FA Cup double. Chelsea fans were happy and so was the Russian oligarch.

In 2010/11, Chelsea was not able to replicate similar success as they ended the season trophy-less. However, the failure did not hurt the supporters as much as the immediate firing of Ancelotti. A man who won a double in his first season surely deserved another chance at glory.

However, Abramovich had plans of his own. During the season, to strengthen a weakened side, he dished out £72million on Fernando Torres and David Luiz. What is more surprising is that Carlo Ancelotti was not consulted even once while these decisions were being made. Again, it was Roman’s desire to take matters in his own hands when the sailing became hard that led to their downfall.

In came Andre Villas-Boas, who brought a renewed sense of optimism along with him to the club. The former member of Mourinho’s staff was now in charge of the whole club. Juan Mata was signed for £23.5 million and a whole lot of money was invested in youth. Everyone associated with the club was certain that Chelsea were now trying to mend their ways and build a team for long-term success.

But that was not to be. Six months down the line, AVB was shown the exit door after a string of poor performances. On his way out, he picked up plans of the long term ‘project’ and shoved them in his briefcase. His replacement was none other than his assistant at the time, Roberto Di Matteo.

AVB and RDB at Chelsea

Di Matteo then led Chelsea to their first Champions League success in 2012. Roman Abramovich was pleased to win the trophy he was so desperate to win, but was certainly not happy with the way Chelsea won it. He wanted to win the trophy with panache and not mere luck. Di Matteo’s time at the club was over; however, Abramovich could not find a proper reason to sack him, as the Italian handed him with the holy grail of all trophies.

Abramovich’s hand was forced and, as a result, Di Matteo was given the manager’s job. But if we have learned anything from the past, Roman always gets what he wants. He sacked RDB at the first sight of poor results, which, in turn, led to the infamous appointment of Rafael Benitez.

The former Liverpool boss was not a popular figure amongst the Chelsea supporters; but as everyone already knew, he was the ‘interim manager’. So, everyone had to deal with it whether they liked it or not. To be fair to Rafa, he did manage to win Europa League with Chelsea.

This brings us back to our original question. What is the method behind all this madness?