Since arriving at Stamford Bridge in 2003, Roman Abramovich has done an awful lot of good for Chelsea.
With each dismissal, finding a man who will want to work for someone with the patience of a four-year-old waiting for a sweet to be unwrapped is going to get harder
His rouble-rich Russian revolution has transformed the club into one to be taken very seriously, both on the domestic stage and in Europe.
However, his reign has increasingly come with a downside – his inability to stick with one manager and give him the time and support he needs.
Following the sacking of André Villas-Boas last week, the club are now looking for their eighth manager in practically as many years.
And with each passing dismissal, finding a man who will want to work for someone with the patience of a four-year-old waiting for a sweet to be unwrapped is going to get harder.
The list of managers Abramovich has thrown by the wayside reads like a who’s who of football’s most influential coaches: Claudio Ranieri, Jose Mourinho, Avram Grant, Luiz Felipe Scolari, Carlo Ancelotti and Villas-Boas.
Mostly they are managerial legends who enjoyed massive success before arriving at Stamford Bridge and, in some cases, have gone on to greater things since leaving.
Yet reputations and past achievements mean nothing to trigger-happy Abramovich, a man who seems steadfastly determined not to let common sense get in the way of his increasingly frequent displays of power.
Under AVB, Chelsea were not performing to the best of their abilities. I am not denying that. But the young manager was hardly given a fair crack of the whip either, lasting just 27 league games.
And he was up against it from the word go, inheriting an ageing squad of players who, despite nearing the end of their careers, wield more power in the dressing room than probably even Abramovich could have imagined.
But the truth is, whoever takes the job next – and despite the large shadow of the Russian egomaniac looming over the club there will still be those who want it – will need to rebuild the team almost from scratch.
Maybe AVB wasn’t the right man for that kind of job, given his age and relative lack of experience. But then again, who appointed him in the first place?
Among the names being mentioned for the vacancy are Pep Guardiola and Rafa Benitez. However, the former is unlikely to swap the relative peace and harmony of his Barcelona dynasty for the pressure of Stamford Bridge, while the latter is about as popular among Chelsea fans as a fart in a spacesuit.
The third name that has been mentioned, unsurprisingly, is none other than special one himself. However, would Abramovich be able to handle a slice of humble pie that large and unsavoury?
After all, he divorced Mourinho on the basis of irreconcilable differences.
To suddenly kiss and make up would be U-turn of epic proportions and tantamount to Abramovich admitting his own wrongdoing.
Equally, would Mourinho’s pride let him return to work for a man who so unceremoniously got rid of him? I’m not so sure, despite him holding Chelsea and its fans close to his heart.
Ultimately, there is only one thing for certain – Abramovich’s next appointment has to be spot on. Chelsea fans may not yet be ready to blame the Russian for the club’s instability, but it is only a matter of time before they start doing just that.
Having said all that, I don’t subscribe to the theory that Chelsea, as some are suggesting, will not be able to get the man they want. At the end of the day, as the £50 million AVB experiment showed, money is still no object for Abramovich.
And managers are only human, after all. Wave a big enough cheque in anybody’s face and they will quickly forget the baggage that comes with it.
The question remains, however, whether or not the next man is given the time, freedom and space to do the rebuilding job that needs doing.
If Abramovich isn’t prepared to give him that, then we will almost certainly be talking about manager number nine this time next year.
Things are looking up
Hats off to Arsenal and Arsene Wenger.
I had, like many others, entirely written off the London club in the Champions League. After all, no club in the tournament’s history had ever come back from 4-0 down in the first leg of a tie.
And when you consider Arsenal’s opponents were none other than AC Milan, the task looked just a few notches shy of utterly impossible.
Despite Wenger’s pre-match rhetoric about ‘giving it a go’ I still believed it would be a bridge too far.
However, I have nothing but admiration for the way Arsenal set about their task last Tuesday. When the first goal went in it was game on, and by the second the ‘impossible’ had definitely been downgraded to merely ‘unlikely’.
Goal three and you just started to wonder if we might actually be watching history in the making. After all, it was only half-time, and the way Arsenal were playing, who would have bet against them scoring another couple after the break?
As it turned out Milan upped their game in the second half and Arsenal ended up departing the Champions League 4-3 on aggregate. But at least they went out with a bang.
I tell you what, if Wenger can get them psyched up and playing like that for the remainder of this season, a Champions League place is well within their grasp.
And then next season, with Lukas Podolski on board as well, who knows…?
Your say
“I refer to your comment regarding the sacking of Sheffield Wednesday manager Gary Megson. You correctly remarked that Owls’ fans were left shocked, stunned and bewildered by the chairman’s unexpected decision to sack Megson, especially after he had achieved a memorable victory over city rivals, Sheffield United, just 48 hours earlier.
“I have been an Owls fan since 1960, and in over 50 years I have witnessed more than two dozen unsuccessful managers lose their jobs, but Megson’s departure left me completely incredulous.
“He was perfect for Wednesday: an Owls fan through and through, a former Owls player with more than 280 first-team appearances, the son of Don Megson, who captained Sheffield Wednesday in the 1966 FA Cup final against Everton, and a very experienced manager.
“I was fortunate enough to be present at Hillsborough last Sunday for my first Steel City Derby, although this was my fifth visit to Hillsborough. I was seated just 10 metres away from Megson and I could clearly notice his passion, enthusiasm and energy throughout the whole match.
“I have to admit that the chairman, Milan Mandaric, is very brave to take such a big gamble to replace Megson with the Owls lying third and with only 12 games to play before May. He will have to shoulder all the responsibility if this move backfires and if Dave Jones fails to take Wednesday to the Championship.
“Still, my memorable experience at a full-house Hillsborough, with 36,364 fans who created an electrifying atmosphere, will live with me forever. I’m sure you will understand perfectly what I mean.” Lino Vella Clark, e-mail.
sportscolumnist@timesofmalta.com
Twitter: @maltablade