No Chelsea manager will last under Roman Abramovich’s risible ownership
Analysing Russian diplomacy, historians used to notice a tendency to act decisively – sometimes brutally – regardless of whether it was the right course. The purpose was to avoid doing nothing: to fight one’s way out of a corner.
Roman Abramovich displays this old historical tendency. He fears indecision, drift – so now he is searching for his eighth Chelsea manager in nine years.
He sets up a “project” for change, paying Porto £13.3million to release Andre Villas-Boas, then panics nine months later, dumping blame on the manager and ignoring the failings of directors, middle men, the recruitment department and, most of all, the players.
The headline on this piece should be “Roberto Di Matteo on the brink” because that is the perpetual state of all Chelsea coaches.
Then, when the permanent successor is appointed, he too should be described as a man “on the brink”, even as he is grinning for photographers in the stands of Stamford Bridge.
If Abramovich were serious about holding his workforce to account he would have looked to his inner circle, and those like Michael Emenalo, the so-called technical director, who are presumably also part of any problem.