Roman, the ruthless one

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Jose Mourinho won two Premier League titles, one FA Cup and one League Cup. Carlo Ancelotti won the League and FA Cup. For this, both were given more than just one season at Chelsea by the Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.

Lesser love has been shown to Luis Felipe Scolari, Avram Grant and the most recent managerial flunky Andre Villas-Boas. Whether AVB should have stayed or got the Donald Trump-esque “You’re Fired” from Abramovich is another story. What Chelsea fans should really be worried about is the level of patience the Russian has had with his managers versus the longevity of the now-past-their-shelf-life superstars that have stayed through these changes.

That only Ricardo Carvalho followed Mourinho from Chelsea shows that the players are well fed at Chelsea, and paid too. And the taken-for-granted attitude is visible on the pitch. It’s not as bad as Robinho (his first interview at Man City where he professed his love for Chelsea is my personal favourite because it really shows the historical importance of both these... I digress) just turning up at the ground.

There is a need for a major overhaul in the dressing room with the string of poor performances that the Blues have had this season. And having an ex-player turned manager in charge isn’t the first step I would take to turn things around. Chelsea have never finished out of the Top three in the Abramovich era and third was enough for the Chelsea owner to ask a coach as decorated as Ancelotti to pack his bags and not let the door hit his behind on his way out.

But such is the security of one of the now least sought after job in the world of football. They say some fish have the memory of only four seconds. That’s about the duration a Chelsea manager spends without worrying about his job.

Many believe the manager to win the Champions League for Chelsea will be afforded the amount of time at the helm deserving of a man in charge of the footballing operations of a club. I say, Mourinho will give him two years after. And it certainly won’t be Roberto di Matteo.