Chelsea are out of do-overs: They must handle Maurizio Sarri perfectly

Maurizio Sarri will be under even greater pressure to succeed at Chelsea than his predecessors. If the club do not handle his tenure impeccably, the next manager willing to take the job will not have even Sarri’s paltry accomplishments.

Chelsea are making a dog’s breakfast out of the one thing they should know as a matter of routine: sacking a manager. Every major media outlet is confirming Antonio Conte’s firing. John Terry, Charly Musonda and Nathaniel Chalobah have all made their farewell Instagram posts. Aurelio de Laurentiis is washing his hands of Sarri while his lawyers hash out the severance package. But as of this writing late on Thursday, the club have made no statement.

Chelsea’s inability to sack properly and efficiently their ninth manager* in 14 years is more than just banter. The same cloud of confusion and disrespect is hanging over both Antonio Conte and Maurizio Sarri.

One is being denied a proper thank you and farewell. The other is being denied a proper welcome and new beginning. Neither have been able to make their move smoothly, while both have been entangled in a bramble of lawyers, PR agents and gossipy (ahem) journalists.

Stamford Bridge is already a toxic destination for coaches. It is a place for the world’s best coaches to win games, titles, trophies and the fans’ hearts, and then be relieved of duty with all the professionalism of a non-league club. It is a place where a text message from the coach to a player becomes an unforgivable firing offence, but a disrespectful social media post by a player towards the coach leaves no mark. In a profession of managers, it is a place to be a coach.

Chelsea’s managerial problem was once seen as having an only-winning-matters, what-have-you-done-for-me-lately attitude. But the last thing Antonio Conte did for Chelsea was win the FA Cup. Oh, and then he reported to preseason training on time and led the first three days’ sessions as the sword swung over his head.

For once this is not a matter of perverse incentives. This is a matter of no incentives at all.

The final insult to Antonio Conte must be the first and final injury to Maurizio Sarri. Chelsea must use Sarri’s tenure to rebuild their reputation as a club worth a coach’s time and effort. No coach with a European trophy or a set of domestic titles on his shelf will volunteer to be treated the way Chelsea treated Antonio Conte. Even coaches with fewer accomplishments will have more self-respect than to set themselves on this path.

At some point, the Blues will have to replace Maurizio Sarri. How they treat him will determine who replaces him. If they do not reverse course and give him the respect due any professional, they will learn Chelsea is not the destination employment it once was. Sarri’s CV will be impressive compared to what they attract next.

A well-executed fire-and-hire should be well within Chelsea’s capabilities. They certainly have the practice. Apparently that may be asking too much.

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*Excludes interim managers, with whom the club are at least honest. They are told up front they will not be around for long.