4. Exercising A Total Lack Of Patience
Roman Abramovich, a man well known for his patience he is not. The Russian has churned his way through 8 managers in 9 years which has led to Chelsea becoming a bit of a laughing stock in some quarters. When you consider Manchester United have "stuck with" Sir Alex Ferguson for more than a couple of decades, it makes the revolving-door-policy at Stamford Bridge seem just a little bit embarrassing. The term "poisoned chalice" is one that is often afforded to certain positions in sport, one of which is the Chelsea hot-seat. Is it really little wonder that Pep Guardiola snubbed the Blues in favour of taking charge of Bayern Munich recently? Why on earth would he want to take the Chelsea job knowing all too well that he could find himself unemployed in less than a year flat? More than a few exceptional managers have given a good crack of the whip at Stamford Bridge and it seems nothing any of them do is ever enough - Avram Grant (above) led Chelsea to the Champions League final in 2008, came within a John Terry penalty of glory, and was sacked. Roberto Di Matteo? Wins the Champions League - sacked. Ancelotti? Wins the double - sacked. Abramovich's absolute lack of patience is destroying Chelsea from the inside-out and if it continues, he will find it enormously difficult to convince a manager of the prestige of Guardiola to take the soon-to-be-vacant managerial job at Stamford Bridge.