Ranking the 5 worst Chelsea managers of the Abramovich Era
Roman Abramovich's relentless pursuit of success has seen him chop and replace a number of managers in his nearly two-decade spell at Chelsea. The revolving door of managers sees a list of luminaries including Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti and Antonio Conte. They have all won Premier League crowns with Chelsea.
Unlike most clubs that have leniency and tolerance for long-term planning, Chelsea's impatience has been an extremely successful strategy. This has catapulted the club into one of the greatest modern European powerhouses.
Currently, with Thomas Tuchel, the Chelsea team look like a force to be reckoned with. They have already won a Champions League title last season. They are now looking to repeat that achievement while also adding the Premier League title to their name.
Amongst the many managerial appointments made, here's a look at the
5 worst Chelsea managers of the Abramovich era
#5 Rafa Benitez
Perhaps the most famous "interim" appointment of all time, Rafa Benitez's legacy at Chelsea is filled with animosity, acrimony and impatience. He joined Chelsea in the 2021-13 season.
Benitez stepped into a Chelsea team that was adrift of the Premier League and was unceremoniously knocked out in the Champions League. But he did a commenable job of steering the ship to safer shores, winning the Europa league and finishing third in the Premier League.
When Chelsea fans protested the appointment of Rafa Benitez before he even managed a game 😳 https://t.co/l4WlRSHx3v
Having been Liverpool manager, Benitez was often at loggerheads with Chelsea and their fanbase. This made him seem like a cold and unassociative figure to fans, despite possessing admirable tactical nous.
His failure to lead Chelsea to their first ever Club World cup title is seen as a big black mark against his reign. He also reportedly had fallout with Abramovich. He he was unceremoniously cast aside in favour of the return of Jose Mourinho.
#4 Frank Lampard
He is arguably an extremely harsh entry on this list considering he performed his job at a dark time for the club in a transfer embargo. But Frank Lampard is still the statistically worst Chelsea manager of the Abramovich era, averaging just 1.67 points-per-game in the Premier League. Still, the legacy of blooding the likes of Reece James, Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham and Fikayo Tomori will always be fondly respected and remembered by all at the club.
Frank Lampard was as passionate as a manager as he was as a player for Chelsea 😤
(🎥 via @ChelseaFC)
https://t.co/DMAs3bJvOC
The Chelsea club legend and all-time top scorer was seen by many to have made the jump to one of the biggest jobs in world football far too soon. He had just a single season's worth of experience with Derby County before. The Chelsea board still took a leap of faith as he was announced with great fanfare.
A single full season in the Premier League saw him finish 4th, just enough to qualify for the Champions League next year. Chelsea won the competition, albeit without Lampard at the helm, as he was sacked in January 2021 after a stuttering start to the 2020-21 season.