Will Chelsea end up regretting letting this club hero leave?

At the start of April, Chelsea finally ended their managerial search. The club announced that Antonio Conte, currently manager of the Italian national team, would take over the squad after the Euros this summer.

If you had told Chelsea fans in August 2015 that they would be hiring a new manager in April, they would’ve laughed. Anyone would’ve laughed. It was simply unimaginable. Jose Mourinho had signed a new contract after coming off a season where Chelsea won a league-cup double, dominating the Premier League from start to finish. Chelsea were consensus favorites to defend their title. Yet, just four months later, Mourinho was gone, replaced by Guus Hiddink as interim manager. How did things change so dramatically, and were Chelsea really right in firing him?

Chelsea justified firing Mourinho on two-fold ground: the results to start the season were too poor to keep him, and his conduct off the field was over the top and egregious.

It is undeniable that Chelsea’s performances in the first few months of this season were far below the standard of not just Mourinho teams, or even Chelsea teams, but of every top level team. They weren’t simply fluky performances either, a series of unfortunate events. For the first nine matches of the season, Chelsea’s goal difference sat well below 0, and their expected goal difference (xGD), a stat based on chance quality and how many goals a team is expected to give up and score, was below as well. Not only was Chelsea giving up goals, they were also giving up really good chances. Similarly, they were not just failing to score, they were failing to even create potential goals.

But what is important to note, is that while Mourinho still managed the club, the underlying statistics began to turn around. Throughout November and into early December, Chelsea finally broke into a positive xGD. They were finally creating more good chances then they were giving up. This upturn didn’t show in results however, because of poor finishing. Chelsea didn’t take advantage of all the good chances they were creating.

Just as the club fired Mourinho, Chelsea were improving. This would explain why Diego Costa scored 7 goals in Hiddink’s first 9 games, seemingly suddenly finding his scoring touch again. It wasn’t that at all; that improvement had been coming for months.

Off the field, Mourinho was embroiled in controversy after controversy. He publicly called out Chelsea’s doctors, Eva Carnerio and Jon Fearn, for allegedly stopping a Chelsea counter by running on the field. Carnerio then resigned, and has now sued both Chelsea and Mourinho. That encounter hung over both the club and Jose for the first few months of the season, with Mourinho widely accused of sexism and general unprofessionalism.

He reportedly caused deep divisions in the locker room. Diego Costa, Eden Hazard and Cesc Fabregas were all rumored to be dissatisfied with Mourinho. Fabregas was even said to be the leader of a “mini-revolt,” although that report was later rescinded.

Michael Emenalo, Chelsea’s technical director, said there was a “palpable discord” between Mourinho and the players, insinuating that Mourinho had lost the dressing room. Interestingly, however, Asmir Begovic told Sky Sports several weeks ago that Mourinho never lost the dressing room, and the players backed him all the way. This confirmed fans thoughts that it was discord between Mourinho and the board room, not the dressing room, which led to the firing.

He was even given a fine and a stadium ban by the FA for comments made about referring during one of Chelsea’s losses. Not a great look for Mourinho.

Although both on and off the field Mourinho was having a torrid season, firing him made little sense.

Firstly, he was and still is the fan’s favorite manager. He was the manager who spoke of creating a dynasty at the club, of settling down there. He was the manager who you had just signed a new contract with, hoping to do just that.

Then, after a couple months of bad form and controversial comments in the media (as if Jose’s never done that before), you fire him.

Such a quick, knee jerk, firing gives an awful message off. It tells any other potential managers that if they don’t win immediately, they are gone. It tells players that they have the power to overthrow anyone they don’t like (if those split dressing room rumors were true). Most importantly, it tells everyone that Roman Abramovich has no interest in loyalty. If he fires the fan favorite, the man who originally built Chelsea, a decade ago, into the winning machine they are today, and then came back and won a Premier League again, then who will he keep? What sort of owner is that?

Secondly, while firing Mourinho was foolish, firing him mid-season was insane. It forfeited the rest of the season for Chelsea, especially when Hiddink was announced as an interim-manager. Chelsea were left without a purpose, floating along until the end of the season when they would get a new manager and a new mission.

This would’ve been less frustrating if Chelsea had nothing to play for. But Chelsea were still in the FA Cup and the Champions League, on top of the fact that they could have pushed for a top four finish in the league. But the moment Abramovich fired Mourinho and replaced him with a  temporary manager, Chelsea forfeited the rest of the season.

Indeed, it’s been very hard to pinpoint Hiddink’s tactics. He seems to just be keeping things basic, trying to ensure Chelsea are good enough to win, but not doing anything too complex. He doesn’t want to make the new manager’s job more difficult.

So now Chelsea are playing meaningless football, with no clear tactical outlook. They are out of the all cups, and are pretty much assured of finishing mid-table. There’s nothing to play for, nothing to watch.

Firing Mourinho threw Chelsea into limbo. The future, once clear and promising, became murky and unclear. Although fans are excited about what Conte can do with the club, they are still uneasy and unhappy over the departure of Mourinho. Simply put, it was a foolish decision, made rashly. And it could come back to hurt Chelsea badly over the next few years.

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