Chelsea has now officially parted company with Italian boss Antonio Conte. The story will come as little surprise to anybody who has paid any attention to the south west London club in the last six months.
The only surprise is that it took the Blues so long to wield the axe on the Italian. However, the main reason for the delay in Conte’s exit was that his potential replacement Maurizio Sarri’s appointment was so complicated.
Sarri left Napoli in the summer, as ironically former Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti took the reins at the Naples club. The Italian club still wants compensation for their former boss, despite him leaving the club.
However, now according to Napoli president, Aurelio De Laurentiis “Sarri is close to being new Chelsea manager. My lawyers are in talks with his lawyers to finalise everything.”
Conte unhappy since last summer
I have noted in my editorials before that Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has seemed unhappy at Stamford Bridge since last summer. A frustrating summer in the transfer market may have played a big part in that unhappiness for the Italian.
Reportedly, the club would not sanction the signings of players who Conte considered key to improving his team. The Blues also sold midfielder Nemanja Matic and striker Diego Costa against the Italian’s wishes.
The club hierarchy may not have been able to prevent Costa leaving, but losing Matic to Manchester United was bordering on criminal. His replacement Tiemoue Bakayoko has endured a mixed time in south west London.
Antonio Conte is a top coach
It is hard to argue with the fact that Antonio Conte is a top coach. He did a fantastic job with both Juventus and Italy before arriving at Chelsea in 2016. In fact, he won the Premier League title in his debut campaign.
His Chelsea team set a new record for Premier League wins, recording 30 wins in their 38 league games, a record that Manchester City has since beaten. The Blues also went on an unprecedented 13-game-winning run in the Premier League.
Teams do not achieve those sorts of results with a mediocre coach in charge. Conte is a shrewd tactician and a top coach. However, Chelsea does something to top bosses.
They seem to start losing their players. If the team suffer bad results, heads seem to drop in the dressing room and players down tools. It does not seem to matter who is in the Chelsea squad, as the same happened with Jose Mourinho with a slightly different squad of players.
There is something in the Chelsea water that makes their players seem to forget how to play when the going gets tough. It is not just a Chelsea phenomenon, but it seems to occur quite frequently at the London club with top bosses.
Antonio Conte will not be out of work for long. He can now afford to take a break and relax after two years at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea underdogs for the title
If as expected Sarri is to be the new Blues boss, then Chelsea are picking up another highly-talented and shrewd Italian tactician. Sarri has built a reputation as a top coach during the last few years at Napoli.
Napoli has become Juventus main title challengers in recent years under Sarri and have pushed the Turin giants close for the Scudetto in recent seasons. However, the Bianconeri retained their vice-like grip on the Italian top-flight title.
The 57-year-old has a massive job on his hands at Chelsea. The Blues are odds of 14/1 to win the Premier League title next season, fourth favourites to be crowned champions.
The Chelsea job is a double-edged sword, as it gives a coach the chance to prove himself at a high-profile club, but it is also a job that always seems to be a short-term gig.
Despite Sarri’s undoubted coaching ability, I cannot see the Blues winning the title, even if they do manage to return to the Premier League’s top four next season.
Has Chelsea made the right decision in replacing Conte with Sarri?
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