Is sacking Antonio Conte the answer for Chelsea?

The reigning champions of the Premier League, Chelsea, have gone through a pretty torrid time this season and with each passing day, the cloud over Antonio Conte's job as Chelsea boss seems to be getting darker.

Chelsea's poor season

The Stamford Bridge faithful have seen little to cheer about this year with their team out of the Champions League and in danger of finishing outside the top four for the second time in three years. Usually, when such is the case, the first one on the chopping block is usually the manager, and it is no different with the Italian as well.

Many who believe that Conte’s sacking is a matter of ‘when’ and not ‘if’ would argue that the Italian has not made his life any easier at the Bridge with some of his actions.

From repeatedly speaking out openly about the frustration of not being given enough money to spend in the transfer market to the open fall out with Diego Costa which culminated in the infamous SMS saga, his antics has often frustrated the club’s top brass, specially owner, Roman Abramovich who in any case is known for his ‘Hire-and-Fire’ policy when it comes to managers.

Some of his on-field tactics have also come under scrutiny of late, the most recent being his ‘Park the Bus’ strategy when Chelsea travelled to the blue half of Manchester.

The hire and fire approach

The perception about the eccentric Russian billionaire at the helm of the London giants suggests that his formula for success seems to be to hire the best names in football management, see them win big in the first season and then fire them when they go a little off colour in the next campaign.

Roman Abramovich is known to be a less-patient man

As a result, the club has seen six different managers just this decade despite winning eight trophies in this period including three Premier Leagues titles and the much coveted UEFA Champions League title.

Keeping that in mind the Italian’s job seems to be at severe risk. But the question is not about whether his sacking will be justified but about whether the sacking would help the Blues.

The answer to that question will depend greatly on what the club’s vision is. Realistically, in order to keep competing year in year out in highly competitive leagues like the Premier League or UEFA Champions League, clubs have to spend big every year in the transfer market in order to stay ahead of rivals.

Questionable transfer market policy

Over the past few seasons, Chelsea’s strategy in the transfer market has clearly indicated that they are not willing to splash the cash during the transfer window as before. Moreover, the recently approved expansion plans of the Stamford Bridge stadium would be costing the Londoners a whopping £500 million.

Under these circumstances it is unlikely that they would be able to seriously compete with the Manchester clubs in recruiting the best talent on the pitch. This, in turn, would inevitably hurt their chances to win major silverware in England or in Europe.

No matter how good he may be, any new manager who comes in would need some serious financial backing on a consistent basis to even attempt to deliver the kind of result Abramovich seems to be looking for, season after season.

The heart of the matter

The other major issue at Chelsea right now is the fact that the players seem to be the ones calling the shots and not the manager. There are very few clubs who have seen so many managers receive tremendous success in their first season, but all of a sudden completely lose ‘the dressing room’ in the next campaign.

The best managers often come with strong personalities and clash of egos will happen. But unless they receive a certain degree of support from the top management it will inevitably get impossible for them to keep the dressing room on their side.

In all probability, Antonio Conte’s time at Chelsea is about to come to an end sooner than later. But it seems unlikely that this will help reduce the uncertainty regarding the direction the club wants to take in the long run. If Chelsea truly want to become a successful football dynasty like Manchester United, they would have to start backing the man at the helm much more.