Managerial merry-go-rounds move quickly in football. However, none seem to move quite as quickly as the one at Stamford Bridge, which is set to go in full swing again, at the height of summer, at a speed the prize carousel at a fairground would be delighted with.
Despite yesterday's FA Cup triumph, Antonio Conte looks odds-on to depart after falling out with the board, the players and the fans over the course of the last season. Well pretty much everyone in fact, bar Bakayoko, who the manager shows a loyalty to that would inspire envy in the strongest of marriages.
Conte may be gone and his failings pre-date the Diego Costa saga, and at times the Italian has had no one to blame bar himself. That aside, there's a much bigger issue at hand, and it's all to do with Chelsea as a club.
The Blues are struggling to find an identity. A manager who can mould them in his vision. Publicity shy Roman Abramovich has made it very clear he won't be the figurehead, media-wise at least – and it seemed Jose Mourinho would be the man to mould Chelsea. In fact, it's arguable that the Champions League won in 2012 was in part down to Mourinho, who's spine and lasting influence on the team in terms of everything from mentality to tactics and formation lasted despite him departing the club.
Mourinho came back for a second time – and of course won another title, and rebuilt the Chelsea side, with his longtime favourites, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba coming to the end of their careers at the club, and the Portuguese boss expected to stay for some time.
That's until Chelsea fell off a cliff defending their title – and there was even talk of a relegation battle. Now, while that wouldn't have come to pass, the club felt Mourinho had lost the dressing room and had no choice but to sack him.
The only problem with that is there was a choice. A very different choice. Accept the season was going to be a write off – which it was anyway, even after Mourinho was sacked – and back the manager fully.
Allow him to get rid of the players who were causing the issues in the dressing room – because no doubt said players would do the same to each future manager, *cough, Hazard, cough* and then allow Mourinho to build the team back from the ground up, finally using some of the young players Chelsea have long fostered but failed to bring through.
At that time, Andreas Christensen and Thomas Kalas were already favourites of Mourinho, as was Kenedy, who may have some behavioural issues at times but has talent in bundles, not to mention Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Nathan Ake and a host of others.
Chelsea had the option to keep the one manager the fans would have backed over their flashy players – or dressing room rats, as Mourinho called them – and allow the most successful manager they've ever had to keep building and winning with the mandate that he has a commodity not often seen these days in the game, much less at Chelsea – time. And allowing him to yes, spend big because there's no point kidding ourselves, Mourinho does do that, along with many other top managers, but also to bring the younger players through as well.
However, the club decided to sack Mourinho, who turned up at Man United, and then hire Antonio Conte. Ok, success in the first season and things all seem great. But then, lo and behold, the same Chelsea issues raise their ugly heads again.
Player power issues, the manager being angry at the board, the board being angry at the manager, negative headlines, poor performances and a manager who is for all intents and purposes, a dead man walking.
Conte is going this summer, and while Chelsea will probably win another title or two under his successor, or their successor, the club are in danger of being left behind. It will now be two from the last three seasons missing from the top four and Champions League – and more to the point, clubs like Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur did give their managers time to build and develop teams – and they're reaping the rewards now. Man City have for so long been waiting and building for Pep Guardiola and look how that's turning out. Arsenal have a new manager and possibly new players incoming, and Man United, for all Mourinho's struggles have improved and are the best they've been since Sir Alex Ferguson left – and won't be going backwards.
The only team who look like doing that, bar a huge collapse at Spurs because of their wage structure, is Chelsea – and appointing manager after manager with only a short-term view on success may have worked in the past, but the game is changing – and not just on the field in terms of attacking style to play. The Premier League top sides have found their managers and have an identity, and if Chelsea aren't careful, their only identity will be one of a team who've had their glory days and are now being left behind.
