5 managers Chelsea were wrong to sack

Roman Abramovich strikes again as Jose Mourinho joins the long list of Chelsea managers to suffer at the infamous impatience of the Russian billionaire. It’s not new territory for Mourinho though, as the Portuguese mastermind has been along the same road back in 2007 when he famously fell out with the Chelsea owner.Both times, Mourinho has left the squad as holders of the league. Unlike last time, though, when he’d left a Chelsea squad that was unbeaten at home during his entire tenure, this time around he leaves the Blues hanging by a thread above the relegation zone.As Chelsea gets ready to usher in their 11th manager in 15 years, we take a look at the managers that Chelsea probably shouldn't have sacked.

#1 Jose Mourinho

A younger Mourinho during happier times at Chelsea

It’s funny how life comes full circle. We begin where it all ended, and end where it all began. We start with the Special One himself. Jose Mourinho has by far been the most successful manager in Chelsea history, having led them to 3 of their four premier league titles.

His first tenure was a turning point in Chelsea’s history with the Portuguese re-scripting the also-rans into genuine title challengers. Stamford Bridge became a fortress with Chelsea remaining unbeaten at home in league games during his tenure.

Didier Drogba, Petr Cech, Arjen Robben, Ricardo Carvalho, Micheal Essien, Micheal Ballack, Andriy Shevchenko, Ashley Cole, Salomon Kalou, John Obi Mikel were just some of the notable players that arrived at Stamford Bridge during his tenure. It wouldn’t be too far from the truth to say that Mourinho was the one who scripted the Chelsea squads for almost the next decade.

The Portuguese mastermind, coming on the back of his famous European victory with Porto, took the English league by storm winning it on his first season in charge. He followed up his exploits by retaining the title the next year around, winning a total of 6 trophies in his 3 years at Chelsea

Ever since then Mourinho has been haunted by his three-year curse. Leaving a team one way or the other after 3 years.

The curse continued in his much talked about second coming at Chelsea. This time, though, his sacking was arguably warranted with the incumbent champions slipping to within one point of the relegation zone under Mourinho’s tutelage. The year beyond the third had proved his undoing yet again.

One is left to wonder what might have been if his relationship with Roman Abramovich had not soured, and if he had continued building on his excellent team that he had started in his first tenure at Chelsea.

#2 Claudio Ranieri

Ranieri brought and nurtured young talents like Lampard, Terry, Wayne Bridge and Joe Cole

If Mourinho brought in the stars that would define Chelsea, it was the Italian who brought in young talent who would go on to become legends. John Terry, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, William Gallas, Carlton Cole, Wayne Bridge and Glen Johnson all joined the Blues during his period.

In essence, Ranieri was the one who laid the foundation on which Mourinho built his Chelsea team. He spent four seasons at the club, the last of which was overshadowed by Roman Abramovich’s takeover and his job on the line, constantly haunted by rumours of Sven-Goran Erikson taking over.

He did have a large transfer budget, however, and players like Hernan Crespo, Juan Veron and Adrian Mutu came in. However, they failed to shine adequately.

Despite the threat to his job, the club finished runners-up in the league, second only to Arsenal’s Invincibles side, their highest placing in the league in 49 years. The season also saw them break club records for the most number of goals scored and the highest number of points.

Ranieri’s fall would come at the end, from his moniker ‘the tinker man’. Despite knocking out Arsenal in the Champions League, Chelsea lost out to AS Monaco in the semi-finals. A game in which the manager was blamed for several bizarre tactical changes and substitutions.

Despite the one game, Ranieri was the master of nurturing talent, and in all fairness should not have been sacked for a one off game.

The Italian will be having the last laugh now, though, with his Leicester City side sitting pretty at the top of the league table while Chelsea hang desperately by a thread above relegation.

#3 Avram Grant

Grant was sacked after just one season despite leading Chelsea to two cup finals and a closely fought second-placed finish in the league.

Avram Grant was a personal friend of Roman Abramovich and was appointed as a director of football back during Mourinho’s tenure. This was apparently one of the reasons for the fallout between the Portuguese and the Russian. Grant came to Chelsea facing the wrath of the Blues fanbase who were distraught at the departure of Jose Mourinho.

The fact that he did not have the top-flight coaching certification from UEFA only compounded the calls for his removal. His campaign at Chelsea started and ended with losses to Manchester United. The first a 2-0 loss and the second a loss on penalty shootouts in that famous Champions League night in Moscow in 2008.

Between these two games, Grant led Chelsea remarkably well, remaining unbeaten at home and finishing second in the league. The Premier League title was a close-fought loss, one that went on till the last day.The team also reached the finals of the League cup.

The feat of advancing to the Champions League final was something even Mourinho had failed to achieve. Grant, was certainly unpopular on appointment but was an effective coach nonetheless, having the second highest win percentage (67%) with only interim manager Guus Hiddink having a better success rate.

John Terry’s slip that night in Moscow though would spell disaster for both Chelsea and their coach, with Chelsea losing the Champions league finals to the Red Devils, and Grant being relieved of his duties three days later.

#4 Carlo Ancelotti

Ancelotti led Chelsea to their first ever domestic double.

Carlo Ancelotti was already a major force in football with a massive reputation as one of the best coaches in the world. He had led AC Milan to two Champions League titles as a manager in addition to the two he won with them as a player. It was clear that Abramovich’s eyes were on the big prize.

Ancelotti’s Chelsea started off with the club’s first ever domestic double in the very first season. In winning the Premier League by one point, Chelsea scored 103 goals, becoming the first team to score more than 100 goals in a premier league season. The 1-0 FA cup victory rounded off the double.

The following season too began well, with Chelsea winning their first 5 matches, the first two of them being 6-0 routs of West Bromwich Albion and Wigan respectively. A mid-season collapse though saw a poor run of results that left Chelsea lagging behind the pace setters.

Ancelotti did well to recover though, with a renewed Chelsea side putting in a string of good displays that vaulted them back to second place, just 3 points behind league leaders Manchester United with 3 games remaining. A 1-2 loss to United at Old Trafford would mean they remained second in the league. However, a 0-1 loss to Everton followed which was to be the final nail in the coffin as Ancelotti was sacked just two hours after the game.

The failure to deliver the ultimate prize had no doubt ticked off the owner once again, but Ancelotti would prove his detractors wrong going on to win La Decima with Real Madrid a couple of years later.

#5 Roberto Di Matteo

Di Matteo famously led Chelsea to the Champions League crown as they beat favourites Bayern in the final

You have to wonder what goes through the owner’s mind. Sometimes even the ultimate prize isn't enough!

Di Matteo took over as interim manager of a Chelsea side that was floundering under Andre Villas-Boas, who had managed to get on the wrong side of a host of senior Chelsea players. Villas-Boas’ Chelsea had lost their Champions League first leg match 3-1 to Napoli, but Di Matteo on taking over, started with an amazing winning streak, overturning that deficit by winning 4-1, in addition to wins in the FA cup and in the league against Birmingham and Stoke.

Di Matteo’s side defeated Liverpool at Wembley to win the FA cup, but that was eclipsed completely by the feat of leading a Chelsea side to their first and only Champions league title. Luck seemed to be on the side of Chelsea as they defeated holders Barcelona 3-2 on aggregate in the semifinals before resolutely holding on against a Bayern team in the final who suddenly couldn’t seem to finish it off.

Bayern had 26 corners against Chelsea's 1. The one where Didier Drogba would rise to head in the equaliser and take the game into extra-time and penalties. The rest as they say is history.

The next season would see Abramovich place his faith in Di Matteo, installing him as the permanent manager for Chelsea. The faith would turn out to be short-lived. Despite a successful Premier League start with victories against Wigan, Reading and Newcastle, which was soon followed by a run of four straight victories against Stoke, Arsenal Norwich and Spurs, his failure to recreate his success in Europe would result in his tenure being cut short.

The 3-0 loss to Juventus left Chelsea’s hopes of qualifying from their champions league group virtually non-existent, and Di Matteo was sacked soon after. The Italian had lasted just 8 months as Chelsea manager despite winning two major trophies.