When Roman Abramovic took over the reign at Chelsea in the summer of 2003, it changed the face of the West London club for good. The Stamford Bridge outfit was given the financial muscle to face the big boys of not only England but also the ones in Europe. The Chelsea fans were happy to see the Russian billionaire spare no expense to put Chelsea on an equal footing with the biggest clubs in the land but Abramovic’s money came with a warning.
The Russian desired nothing more than silverware at Chelsea and anyone who failed to win was shown the door at the club. 15 years down the line, Chelsea has won every major trophy there is to win in English and European club football. The Blues have won the league 5 times, the FA Cup on four occasions and the League Cup thrice in the domestic circuit. In the European competitions, Chelsea have conquered both the Champions League and the Europa League.
14 trophies in 15 years highlight the success that Abramovic has brought to the club but upon closer inspection, it can be noticed that the one basic flaw upon which the club has based its development is the fact that Chelsea is a club that has bought its success rather than develop it.
The principal reason behind this is the constant chopping and changing of managers at the club. The Abramovic era has seen the hot seat at Stamford Bridge warmed by no less than 12 managers. Whoever has failed to live up to the lofty standards of the Russian has been given the boot. The latest man in charge, Antonio Conte has been in charge for a year and a half now.
The Italian won the league title in his debut season and after a frustrating window last summer, it appears that the Italian Don is finally being given the green light to bring in players of his choice. Speaking to the press, Conte said that Chelsea needs a “point of reference” in their hunt for a striker.
A desire for a striker of such a quality has seen the Blues get linked with AS Roma forward Edin Dzeko. The former Manchester City forward has a good memory of playing in England where he won two league titles, one FA Cup and a league cup. However, with his game time suffering, he opted to move to the Italian capital where he has been instrumental for them for the last two and a half years. Chelsea’s lack of options upfront barring Alvaro Morata, coupled with Conte’s lack of willingness to bank on Michy Batshuyai for the big matches has clearly shown the Italian’s desire for a player of Dzeko’s game style.
Dzeko would prove to be an asset for a manager like Conte who likes his forward to not just score goals but to have a certain physicality to hold off defenders in the final third while bringing his teammates into the game. Dzeko’s knack of scoring goals every now and then coupled with his strong physical style of play are good enough to make him Conte’s perfect hitman.
Hence the move for Dzeko would seem to be a no-brainer. However, Dzeko’s move would once again highlight the underlying problem at Chelsea. The Bosnian is 31-years-old and would love to play under Conte, given the fact that the Italian himself does not get the sack at the end of this season.
As has been discussed before, Abramovic is a trigger-happy owner and would not flinch twice in sacking Conte should the Italian not win trophies come May. This would leave Dzeko in a very uncomfortable position who would then have to hope that the new man coming in would want to use a 32-year old striker.
It would also pose a problem for the new man coming in who would spend half his Chelsea spell finding the right players for him. The problem has been faced by most managers before him and hence the exit of almost every boss at Chelsea has been on some level unfair.
These tacticians have not been given enough time or the long-term project which they need to implement their style. The resultant nature of these firings has seen the next man coming in suffer thus forming a vicious never ending chain for every player and manager to have played in the Abramovic era.
Amidst all of Emanelo’s talk about Chelsea planning long-term success at the club with their excellent youth systems; it is shocking to see that these executives have failed to see the short-sightedness of most signings at the club. A player is only as good as the club’s style of football and Chelsea’s constant rotation of managers has failed to give the club a signature style of football, leaving managers and players in the dark, which ironically has caused maximum damage to the club.
Such a precarious situation at the club would then leave Dzeko’s move to Chelsea rendered to a moot point. The Bosnian must then be securing the trust of the club and the executives about his role despite a change in managers; otherwise, he would risk suffering the rueful fate of many players before him to have joined the club.
