Chelsea’s relegation scare: The story of four managers

Chelsea secured Premier League status by beating Bournemouth 3-1 at Vitality Stadium. It took the West London Club the last month of the season to mathematically avoid relegation, but they did it. “We are staying up, we are staying up,” chanted the traveling fans as Joao Felix scored the third goal and sealed the win for The Blues.

Now in 11th place with 42 points, CFC doesn’t have to worry about a scenario where they might get relegated. Frank Lampard picked up his first win during his second spell and avoided a fifth consecutive league defeat. Lampard and his men would look to build on this win and finish this season strong to give the fans something to cheer about after a woeful season.

It took The Blues a long time to get to 42 points. Four different managers have accumulated these points for the club. Let’s take a look at who they were and what was the highlight for each of them.

How have the Chelsea managers fared this season?

Thomas Tuchel (3W-1D-2L)

Thomas Tuchel‘s 16-month reign at the Bridge was a success, with multiple cup finals and a Champions League and FIFA Club World Cup trophy to boast. However, the new owners decided to sack the German after six Premier League games. The Blues managed to get 10 points out of the possible 18 and scored eight goals while conceding nine in the process.

A 2-2 draw against Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge has probably been the most spirited and engaging performance by the team this season. Chelsea dominated the game and were unlucky to be on the end of a poor refereeing decision as they conceded in the dying moments of the game. The London Derby was heated both on and off the pitch. Tuchel and Antonio Conte created an iconic postgame image fitting of a London Derby.

Graham Potter (7W-7D-8L)

Graham Potter was brought in by Todd Boehly to take charge of a new era at SW6 under American ownership. Potter was viewed as a promising coach with Premier League experience and did a great job at Brighton and Hove Albion for the past three years.

The Englishman got off to a flying start with three consecutive league wins but it started falling off quickly. There was no identity in the team’s attack, no clear ideas or focal points of attack. Any wins that Chelsea had were over teams that were below them in the table and struggling.

Under Potter, Chelsea managed to get 28 points in 22 games and canceled out their goals scored with goals conceded with 21 a piece .A 3-1 win over a struggling Leicester City in March was the most impressive and fluid football, The Blues played during Potter’s reign. A 2-0 loss to Aston Villa was the last straw and led the owners to sack Potter after just 7 months.

Bruno Saltor (0W-1D-0L)

The Spaniard was the assistant coach at Stamford Bridge under Graham Potter and took over as caretaker manager after his senior was sacked. Under Saltor Chelsea managed to get their only point for the month of April with a 0-0 draw against Liverpool at home. Although in charge for just a game, the former Brighton development coach managed to get more points than Lampard did in four league games.

Frank Lampard (1W-0D-4L)

Club legend and all-time top scorer, Lampard was brought in by the new regime to lift the spirits and motivate a struggling dressing room. Lampard already had a poor record with Everton, who sit 19th in the league and are on the verge of relegation.

Under Potter, Chelsea struggled but under the ex-Chelsea man, The Blues looked lost on the pitch as they lost four consecutive league games for the first time since 1993 and the performances were shocking. Even in a London Derby against Arsenal, the players didn’t show up and looked clueless. Saturday’s 3-1 win against The Cherries is the best performance by the team under their caretaker coach.

Although safe from relegation, CFC still has four games left to play and would require eight points from those to avoid a record-low finish. Three of those are against the top four. The West London Club still has a lot of pride to play for.