Chelsea need to do something drastic and stand behind their manager

With Antonio Conte likely to leave this summer, will Chelsea FC finally change their ways and invest in the next manager?

Antonio Conte took Chelsea and the Premier League by storm. Winning the title over Pep Guadiola’s Manchester City and Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United, all without spending big. However, this season has shown the other side of the coin at Stamford Bridge. Games not going the team’s way, players under-performing or injured and high-caliber fixtures going against the Blues.

A big part of Chelsea’s failures this season has been the way the board conducts business. Rather than backing the successful manager – buying players who, on paper, would serve the club in the long run – they seem to be doing things independently of Antonio Conte’s input, perspective and needs.

There are two ways to manage a club. The traditional way is where a club hires a manager and allows him to create a team of his liking. This not only includes a starting XI, but also a bench and reserves, all the way down to youth teams. This enables the manager to implement his tactics and philosophies from beginning to end. It brings all sorts of good qualities to the team, such as consistency, dedication and the blueprint for success.

Then there is the “Chelsea way.” The one where a club excludes the manager from almost every transaction. The manager may submit a list of players he wants for the following transfer window. The club may inquire about them. But if the prices are not to the board’s liking, they simply go to some other player who could reasonably (or not) fit the description. And on the other side, if the club receives offers for players in the squad, the board will simply sell without consulting the manager.

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The latter has been the case for Antonio Conte and Chelsea, and it has led to a disaster of a season. Therefore, if the board really want to be successful at their job, it is time to back the next manager.

After all, it is only logical that the man who spends every day with the players on the training grounds should be the one to decide which players come and go. Furthermore, this will bring stability at the club, a feeling that everyone at Chelsea has forgotten about. And the players will know what to expect from the manager. Their jobs will be clear, rather than switching every two seasons with the managers who have to rebuild all over again.

This sort of managing can bring a lot of success for the club. The Champions League is particularly ripe for this approach, as experience, discipline and consistency are key factors to winning the trophy. If Chelsea want to reach the later stages of the competition, they need to trust whomever is in charge, rather than keep having a revolving door on the manager’s position.

Losing Antonio Conte will be a huge blow for the Blues, given the type of coach he is and the dedication he puts into his team. He is tactical genius who found many solutions to a team with too many problems and players who do not fit.

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But, whomever the next manager is – and even if it remains Antonio Conte – the club needs to stand behind him, demand results and provide the means to do so.