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
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.