Despite having his name on the payroll and the website, Chelsea FC apparently did not expect head coach Antonio Conte to coach Chelsea. He reminded them, after they undercut him for the umpteenth time.
As with so much else, how you interpret the latest Chelsea drama depends on what side you’re on. Antonio Conte is either a passive-aggressive troll planting another season of discord, or a consummate professional upholding his obligations to his employers and his players. After a member of Chelsea’s “technical staff” e-mailed the squad to tell them to report this Saturday for fitness testing, Conte said, no, the coach does not intend to start until Monday.
The main questions in this exchange are who started it, and who authorized it. As The Times points out, nine assistant coaches and fitness staff are in Antonio Conte’s retinue. They came to Chelsea with him, and they will leave Chelsea with him. Regardless of who signs their checks, they work for Conte. None of them would send this e-mail without Conte’s explicit permission, and only after many planning discussions.
Chelsea are also without a technical director. Their loan office has been active but without a acknowledged leader. The lack of transfer activity speaks to how little else is happening in the absence of a technical director. If someone on this staff took it upon themselves to recall the players to training, they made a pretty forthright and risky move.
Whether it was a member of Michael Emenalo’s former staff or one of the coaches who is not among Conte’s crew, whoever sent the e-mail risked angering and alienating any number of the powerful factions within Stamford Bridge. He or she would be unlikely to do it without asking someone above them for permission, simply for top cover (that is, CYA) if nothing else. Even if they believe they did it for the good of the club, they made the decision without consulting the current coach or the next coach (if there is to be one).
The e-mail speaks (broken record alert) to the lack of professionalism and communication within Stamford Bridge. Whatever this person thinks or may have heard about Antonio Conte, he is still the coach. He could still be the coach in next week, next month or next May. This is a negotiation between Chelsea and Napoli, mind you. A frustrated status quo is among the more likely options. If nothing else, by reaching out to Conte they could have avoided a Thursday full of embarassing headlines and undesired narratives (like this one).
The failure even to inform Antonio Conte of this decision should be one more red flag for Roman Abramovich and for anyone considering taking the coaching job. What they do to Conte, they will do to the next one.
Antonio Conte’s response may have been simply a power play. Someone tried to usurp his authority, and he took it right back. It may have been a passive-aggressive reminder that until Chelsea fire him he is still the head coach, and as such, makes these decisions. It could also have been pure professionalism. For all anyone knows he has spent the last six weeks planning Chelsea’s 2018/19, and had July 9 circled on his calendar as the start date for pre-season testing.
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Or it could be all of those things. Sometimes, three things can be true. Antonio Conte has said repeatedly he will not quit, neither from his job nor from his responsibilities. If Chelsea want him gone, they need to swing the ax. Since they have not, he is still in charge. This was an apparently necessary reminder.