Roman Abramovich Can't Flinch with Jose Mourinho Despite Chelsea's Poor Results
Chelsea are in the mire right now, and the only way through it is by sticking together.
That means keeping faith with manager Jose Mourinho despite Chelsea suffering a fifth Premier League defeat of the season on Saturday, against West Ham United.
Too often in the past decade, owner Roman Abramovich has been trigger-happy with his managers. At the slightest hint of things going wrong, the owner has made knee-jerk reactions and the club has paid the price in the long term.
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Given how dominant Chelsea looked during Mourinho's first reign as boss, hindsight tells us the current Premier League champions should have been more successful than they have.
Four league titles in 10 years—not to mention FA Cups and the Champions League—can be seen as success enough for a club that had been English champions just once in the first 100 years of its existence. Yet when we consider the money spent and teams assembled thanks to Abramovich's investment, it isn't good enough.
Mourinho has spoken of creating a dynasty in west London since he returned. That should have been the blueprint from the outset, but Chelsea have instead suffered from the managerial merry-go-round.
Abramovich has propelled the club to new heights, but decisions surrounding those he entrusts with the first team have destabilised Chelsea.
From decisions at boardroom level, Chelsea have empowered their rivals at times they should have been dominating them.
The Blues have lacked coherence, changing their plans midseason far too often, taking a new direction seemingly on a whim. And it's led them to underachieve, opening the door for the likes of Manchester United to reassert authority.
We can point to times when interim coaches have won trophies or rescued situations, yet those success stories have papered over the cracks.
When Avram Grant left the club after his short stint as manager in 2008, the same problems that got him the job still remained.
The tenure of his replacement, Luiz Felipe Scolari, proved a train wreck, and it took Guus Hiddink to steady the ship in a temporary role.
Between Mourinho's first stint and the appointment of Carlo Ancelotti, it took Chelsea four managers to get things right—Ray Wilkins was in temporary charge for one game—but within two years, failure to defend the title he won in 2010 saw Ancelotti harshly sacked a year later.
Andre Villas-Boas wasn't given time to deliver on his mandate, being removed from office in 2012 after just eight months into what he often labelled a long-term project at Stamford Bridge.
Roberto Di Matteo won the Champions League in May that year, but he had gone from hero to zero by November, meaning in December 2012, including Wilkins, Rafa Benitez became the 10th Chelsea manager under Abramovich.
There's been too much change, which has left Chelsea out of sorts. The club doesn't have a recognised identity when it comes to a footballing philosophy, but these things can only happen over time.
It takes work and effort. There isn't an easy fix that money can buy, yet it seems that's what Chelsea have hoped for this past decade.
Changing managers so regularly has damaged the club's long-term prospects. Chelsea have been short-sighted, which hasn't allowed the squad to be steadily regenerated in the same way Sir Alex Ferguson did at Manchester United to prolong his success.
Instead, we've seen players signed on reputation and not always with the squad's needs fully considered. We've seen talented youth teams pass the club by, with no manager to date willing to give Chelsea's promising youngsters a chance.
That's perhaps the biggest disappointment here. Chelsea have been England's strongest club in youth football since 2010, winning four FA Youth Cups and the UEFA Youth League in that time.
Other than Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Josh McEachran—now at Championship outfit Brentford—few youngsters have come close to to breaking into the first team.
When managers are coming and going so regularly, it's not difficult to see why. It's tough for any young player to build up trust with his manager, especially when a few bad results can leave his job on the line.
It's not an environment that's conducive to Chelsea being a breeding ground for new talent. Chelsea need tried-and-tested names in their squad as the risk of failure is substantially reduced.
Mourinho inherited a team in 2013 that had long been in transition before he arrived. That transition continues now despite the fact they were crowned champions last season.
The Portuguese was brought back to oversee that and more, so now isn't the time to flinch in the wake of a disastrous few months.
Mourinho didn't face the media after he was sent to the stands against West Ham, where he was forced to watch 10-man Chelsea claw their way back into the game before succumbing 2-1 to an Andy Carroll header.
Speaking after Chelsea lost 3-1 at home to Southampton in early October, however, Mourinho's views that day provided a moment of clarity that got lost among the angst that surrounds Chelsea at this moment.
"You know the history of this club. When the results are not good, there has been a change of manager," he said. "But when I was contacted to come back, I was told: 'We've had so many managers, we know you are the best.'
"So I think it's time for the club to act in a different way. To mark a position, a position of stability—a position of trust. Three months ago, we were altogether in the bus with the cups. I think it's time for us to be together in the bottom of the league."
Much has happened since, but the sentiment remains the same. Infighting, threatening the manager with the sack or, worse still, following through on that isn't going to make this problem go away.
If Chelsea are serious about changing the culture of the club in an attempt to create a moment in history that will stand strong in English football, they need to stand by Mourinho.
It's only as a collective that Chelsea will turn things around. That doesn't mean this season will end in glory of any sort, but surely the time has come when Abramovich looks beyond the temporary.
Posting a celebratory image on Instagram after the game at Upton Park, match-winner Carroll praised the attitude of his team-mates on Saturday.
"Teamwork makes the Dreamwork!" he declared.
Chelsea could have done with his presence leading the line on Saturday; they'll do well to understand Carroll's perspective too.
Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes
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