(Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

After the departure of Claudio Ranieri in 2004, Chelsea employed the eponymous Jose Mourinho. The self-labelled "Special One" led Chelsea to a number of trophies in his three-year reign at Stamford Bridge.

It was a happy time for Chelsea.

Off-the-pitch conflicts—particularly with owner Roman Abramovich—led to the Portuguese coach's exit in late 2007. Since then, there has been something of a procession of managers through the revolving doors of the office, with Chelsea looking at combinations of the biggest names and best candidates.

First was caretaker manager Avram Grant. Doomed from the start and having all the charisma of a large grey rock, the admirable Israeli did become popular with fans and almost salvaged something from the mess Mourniho was forced to leave them in.

His lack of experience and fashionability meant he was unable to win trophies (though he very nearly won three) and also unable to impress Abramovich. Debate was rife about who would replace Grant after his inevitable dismissal at the end of the season.

There were enough names throw into the hat to render such a hat completely unwearable, and Chelsea eventually went with Luiz Felipe Scolari. Scolari was successful with the Brazilian and Portuguese national teams but unproven at club level. He wasn't even one of the first names mentioned when speculation began.

He started well, winning games easily and keeping Chelsea near the top. Home defeats against arch rivals Liverpool and then Arsenal brought into question his suitability for the job as he couldn't seem to win important games.

It got worse as Chelsea began throwing away points everywhere, even drawing at home to newly-promoted Hull City. In fact, Stamford Bridge became a place where they almost could not win.

The inevitable happened barely halfway through the season and Scolari become another man to exit management's hottest hot-seat. Speculation started, not only about the next full-time manager but also about quarrels between players and staff and even suggestions that the biggest players were pulling the strings and getting managers sacked.

Soon admirable and successful Dutchman Guus Hiddink was given the job, but only until the end of the season as he was still under contract with the Russian national team, which remained his priority.

He did an amazing job, turning Chelsea's season around. They seemed doomed to battle it out with Everton and Aston Villa for the scraps of European qualification.

While Everton and Aston Villa both have excellent managers and good players, this was unacceptable for Chelsea and they were ecstatic to see Hiddink turn them into outside title-challengers, come within seconds of a Champions League final and eventually lift the FA Cup in the domestic season's finale.

Mourinho and Hiddink are "Special Ones" because of what they did for Chelsea, but can the newly-confirmed manager Carlo Ancelotti from Milan go further by making Chelsea the best team in the world?

He has a head-start with his illustrious past and direct links to amazing players like Kaká. However, the best way to prove you are truly special is to gain instant success at Chelsea while simultaneously pleasing Roman Abramovich.

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