Chelsea: Tale of a demanding owner and changing managers

As Jose Mourinho becomes the favourite to take the reins at Stamford Bridge, one wonders who else can be the man who can come back from the past to turnaround Chelsea's dwindling fortunes in the title race.

Andre Villas-Boas' axing after Chelsea's recent loss against West Brom didn't surprise many. The obvious reason being the club's performance this season - they are languishing at the fifth position in the Premier League. But then, he is not the first coach to be dismissed since Roman Abramovich took the ownership of the club in 2003. The Russian billionaire has axed as many as six coaches in the last 9 years, all well-known names - Claudio Ranieri, Mourinho, Avram Grant, Luiz Felipe Scolari, Carlo Ancelotti and now Villas-Boas.

Abramovich's demand for consistent success and his obsession with the Champions League title, a trophy still missing from Chelsea's cabinet, has resulted in the ouster of some very well-known names from the manager's seat. It all started with Italian Claudio Ranieri who is himself battling to keep his managerial position at Inter Milan safe. A look at all the managers to have served at Stamford Bridge since Abramovich took charge....

Claudio Ranieri:

The Italian was already at the helm when Abramovich bought Chelsea in 2003. Ranieri's success rate is not that high but he is Chelsea's longest serving manager in the last decade. It was under him that players like Frank Lampard, William Gallas and John Terry first made their names at Chelsea. He rebuilt the Blues and assembled most of the team that later won League titles under Jose Mourinho. Chelsea moved up from sixth to the second position in the league in a period of 4 years. In 2000, Chelsea finished 6th on the Premier League table, in the 2001-02 season they were 6th again but were also the runners-up in FA Cup. In 2002-03, the club moved up to the 4th position and finally in 2003-04, the Blues attained the biggest heights in 49 years - they finished second in the English Premier League.

Jose Mourinho:

The Portuguese has been in the news for quite some time due to his apparent uncertainity with Real Madrid in the days to come. Villas-Boas' axing and Mourinho's secret visit to London recently have added fuel to the fire, suggesting that the Portuguese is the frontrunner to take over at the Bridge. But that is hardly a surprise considering Mourinho has been linked to the club innumerable times since his departure in 2007. The Blues' fans love him - afterall he has given the most successful results in Chelsea's experiments with managers.

The success rate is not only in terms of the number of matches won but also the laurels that were brought home by the team during Mourinho's stint. Mourinho guided Chelsea to two consecutive Premier League titles in 2004-05 and 2005-06. Besides this, Chelsea also won the FA Community Shield in 2005 and two League Cup titles, in 2005 and 2007 respectively.

Mourinho's journey with the Blues came to an end with his sudden exit by "mutual consent" and an apparent disagreement with Abramovich in September 2007.

Avram Grant:

The Israeli, a personal friend of Abramovich, took over as the Chelsea manager after Mourinho's ties with the club came to an end in 2007. He was a surprise choice given Abramovich's fascination with high-profile managers. However, his time at the helm proved to be quite successful as Chelsea got closest to they have ever got to winning the Champions League. The London club finished as runners-up in the European competition as well as the Premier League. But that did not prove enough to win over Abramovich and the fans who were yet to accept someone in the role of their beloved Mourinho. Hence despite the quite decent results Grant's stay did not go beyond one season and he was given the boot in May 2008.

Luiz Felipe Scolari:

The Brazilian became the first World Cup winning coach to manage a Premier League club when he took over Chelsea in July 2008. Expectations were high as the same year he had taken Portugal to the knock-out stage of the Euro Championships. But Scolari failed to make much of an impact in English football, and his stint at Stamford Bridge was brought to an end even before he completed a year. He was sacked as the manager of the Blues in February 2009.

Carlo Ancelotti:

Ancelotti became the second Italian after Ranieri to be appointed as Chelsea's manager when he took over in June 2009. Ancelotti clearly became the most successful manager of Chelsea since Mourinho's exit. Within a few months since taking charge, he guided Chelsea to the Community Shield title in August 2009, beating Manchester United in penalties.

Ancelotti's best time with Chelsea came in the year 2010. The Blues won a double as they claimed the English Premier League title and the FA Cup. But following a slump in the team's performance in the 2010-11 season, Ancelotti was sacked as the manager in May 2011 making way for Andre Villas-Boas.

Andre Villas-Boas:

His €15 million (£13.3 million) move from Porto to Chelsea became the most expensive ever by a manager. At 34, he was as old as many of the players in Blues' ageing squad. His signing was viewed skeptically and now the cynics have been proved right. AVB did not last even a year. The reason is quite evident - Chelsea are at the fifth spot in the Premier League table and struggling to finish in the top-4, a necessity for them to qualify for next season's Champions League. AVB was keen to bring around a change in the way Chelsea play their game but was unfortunately not given a longer rope.

Who will now take over at the job that is probably the most demanding in football remains to be seen but Chelsea fans are already rooting for the Mourinho rumours to be true. But given that Mourinho hardly ever leaves a club without winning a major title - Real Madrid won the Copa Del Rey in 2011 but are yet to win La Liga or Champions League under him - if he returns to Chelsea there is a huge possibility of him taking over only after the end of this season by when Real, in all probability, should have the League title under their belt.