Chelsea Will Never Reach Their Potential

Chelsea has yet again sacked another manager. “Big Phil” Scolari has been sacked with immediate effect only six months into the top job. Despite their current problems I think this sacking is unjust, just like the previous two sackings.

As we will see successful managers of other big clubs focus on long term success and this has served them well. Unfortunately for Chelsea fans, their club just does not follow such a philosophy.

Chelsea’s main rival in the title race in the last couple of seasons was Manchester United. They’ve stuck by their coach for many years. It is fair to assume that both Man United and Chelsea have the same lofty standards, always thinking of Premier League and Champions League glory, yet for Sir Alex Ferguson, it wasn’t always like this.

Just like the current global economy Man United had a slight "recession" around 2004 and 2005. After they’d won the league in 2003 they didn’t win it again until 2007, nor did they win a Champions League during that time. Under Chelsea’s mentality, the great Sir Alex should have been sacked around 2005.

Instead of this, Man United have rightly stuck by their man, and with a little patience, look at the results it has brought. They won the league in 2007 and then won both the league and Champions League in 2008. They are on track to win the league again this year. If the greatest coach in the Premier League can have a couple of bad years, why doesn’t Chelsea give their coaches enough time to prove themselves?

The main thing that Chelsea needs to realise is that it is rare for a team to win multiple trophies every single year. Yet, this is probably what they want because despite all of Mourinho’s Premier League and Cup success, he was sacked just because he hadn’t won the Champions League.

Just have a look at the results from the past few years. Apart from Man United’s incredible double last season, every big English club has, on average, won one trophy each year, or has made one major final each year:

2004 – League: Arsenal, FA Cup: Man United

2005 – League: Chelsea, FA Cup: Arsenal, Champions League: Liverpool

2006 – League: Chelsea, FA Cup: Liverpool, Champions League (finalist): Arsenal

2007 – League: Man United, FA Cup: Chelsea, Champions League (finalist): Liverpool

2008 – League: Man United, Champions League: Man United

It is rare for a team to win more than two trophies in a season now, especially now that it is the “Big Four” clubs, as opposed to the '90s where it was mainly Man United and Arsenal. There is more competition from three other big clubs.

This is not to say that it is not possible to win more than one trophy every year, or even with “The Treble” for that matter, but which coaches have achieved these feats? Sir Alex has won The Treble in 1999 and won two trophies multiple times. Arsene Wenger has won the domestic double twice before.

These are coaches who have been at their clubs long term, who have been able to develop a relationship with the players and have been able to build a team over the years. These coaches have worked hard for years with experience with the same club and same players, and with a little luck have been able to achieve what Chelsea have been craving.

Chelsea need to realise that they have unrealistic standards. This is not to say that it is impossible to achieve what they are striving for, but like all great things, it will take time. Sacking a coach every six months without having given the coach enough time and a fair chance to prove their ability is simply not fair.

This will only make it more difficult for the new coach coming in, and will only increase the instability in the club. Chelsea will probably win more trophies in the future, but they will never reach their potential. The statistics predict that they will win only one trophy per year (if any).

Coaches will get sacked every year, and this will be a continuous cycle. No coach will ever be given the time that Sir Alex or Arsene Wenger had to achieve their potential.