Who Do Chelsea Fans See as the Long-Term Successor to Antonio Conte?

If ever there were a club where a football manager should never feel comfortable, it is Chelsea.

Since club owner Roman Abramovich took over at Stamford Bridge in 2003, the Blues have made 12 managerial appointments, with current incumbent Antonio Conte being the 10th different man to be in charge.

The life expectancy of a manager under Abramovich is a mere 1.4 seasons. If we take out the combined five seasons that Jose Mourinho has been in charge in that time, it brings the average tenure down to just shy of one year.

Of course, the interim appointments of Guus Hiddink (twice) and Rafa Benitez help in dragging that average down somewhat, yet it still stands to reason that, despite Chelsea being reigning Premier League champions, there will be concerns for Conte's future.

Outside of Mourinho, only Carlo Ancelotti has lasted two full seasons in charge at Chelsea, meaning the other seven managers under Abramovich (not including Conte) have all been shown the exit door in rapid style.

So should Conte be looking over his shoulder, fearing the worst?

If history tells us that yes, he should, Chelsea's form this season hints otherwise. The Blues are in the Premier League's top four and are on a winning streak of three matches in the league. They're into the Carabao Cup quarter-finals and should qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League.

It all looks healthy, despite some hiccups along the way.

But this is Chelsea. Anything can happen. And if it does, who would Blues fans like to take over from their passionate manager?

Let's find out.

What the polls say

We took to Twitter—making the most of our recently extended 280 characters—to ask Chelsea fans who they would like to replace Conte when he is eventually ousted from the Stamford Bridge hot seat, or chooses to leave.

We didn't want to play fantasy football—well, not totally—so selected three managers who have recently been linked with the Chelsea job, or have expressed a desire to take over at some point.

Former Blues manager Ancelotti, is one of those. The Italian was sacked by Bayern Munich earlier this season and with Chelsea's up and down campaign, some reports have suggested he could be set for a return in place of Conte.

Those rumours "angered my friend Antonio Conte," Ancelotti explained to Italian radio station Radio Anch'Io Sport (via The Sun). "I am often in touch with him, and there is no truth in the rumour."

Thomas Tuchel, who was recently Borussia Dortmund boss, is another high-profile name apparently lurking in the shadows—that was according to German paper Bild in August (per Metro).

John Terry is still plying his trade in England with Aston Villa, but the Chelsea legend has long stated his desire to eventually to be in charge in west London.

Overall, though, fans seemed to prefer a different choice from those we offered up as our own front-runners, as the vote indicates.

So you've seen the poll results; here's what fans had to say.

Carlo Ancelotti

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It's no surprise to see Ancelotti's name linked with Chelsea now. He's one of the highest-profile coaches in world football who is unemployed, and his record at Stamford Bridge is impressive.

The Italian remains the only manager to win a Premier League and FA Cup double in west London. In the 105 years of history before his arrival, no manager had achieved that feat, yet Ancelotti did so in his first season.

Conte came close last year, but Chelsea lost out in the FA Cup final to Arsenal.

It outlines just how impressive Ancelotti's reign was. He helped repair a fractured dressing room after the failed tenure of Luis Felipe Scolari, introducing a brand of football to rival the all-conquering Blues side of 2004/05.

Indeed, Chelsea became the first team to score more than 100 goals in a Premier League season in 2009/10 en route to lifting the title.

Despite his failure at Bayern, Blues fans remain enamoured with Ancelotti after those past glories.

Thomas Tuchel

Pool/Getty Images

When news broke of Tuchel's link to Chelsea in August, it was a surprise. He had left Borussia Dortmund under a cloud the season previous and doesn't have the same CV to match others who would be seen as replacements for Conte.

The waters have calmed at Stamford Bridge since that time, with the transfer window closing and ending much of the angst around Conte's future. The Blues' transfer business may not have been perfect, but with the capture of Alvaro Morata and others, some strong signings were made.

Come January, though, the stories of old could rear their head if Conte isn't able to make some midseason additions to a squad that is thin in places, notably with the strikers.

Will Tuchel's name be linked again? According to our poll, Chelsea fans hope not, with the German finishing bottom on just 13 per cent of the vote.

Whereas Conte has combined some style and substance in his Chelsea side, Tuchel's Dortmund tried more of the former and it didn't quite work out for him. After the impressive work of predecessor Jurgen Klopp, he had a lot to live up and didn't depart on the same terms.

John Terry

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Out of sight, Terry certainly isn't out of mind at Stamford Bridge. The Chelsea legend has often stated his intent to one day return as the club's manager, and judging by our poll, the fans share that ambition with him.

That's all despite Terry still to manage a club and have any formal coaching experience. The defender is currently playing for Aston Villa in the Championship, which means he's missing out on gaining some much-needed experience behind the scenes.

We've seen it before, too: great players don't necessarily make great managers. The list is long of those who have achieved at the highest level only to move into the dugout and suffer.

Recent Premier League captains such as Paul Ince, Tony Adams and Roy Keane have all suffered that fate.

With close to a third of Chelsea fans wanting Terry to be Conte's replacement, it's evident they think the captain, leader, legend can break the curse.

Someone Else

This is where it gets interesting. If fans could name anyone to take over their club, the expectation would be for the likes of Pep Guardiola to be the popular choice.

Chelsea fans are used to a certain type of character in the Stamford Bridge dugout, however, and fans tweeted us to suggest anyone from Diego Simeone to current Chelsea youth team boss, Jody Morris.

Indeed, there was another manager supporters wanted at the club—the current manager himself!

Here are some of the best comments.

"

In an ideal world Simeone. Rate him very highly and reckon he'd be a good fit

— George (@presidentgeo) November 9, 2017"

"

Zidane since Hazard wants to play for him . Sarri's my Italian dream, but know it probably wouldn't happen. Tuchel's man management appears to be his biggest issue, and managers that can't do that (AVB) tend not to fare well at Chelsea. Too soon for Terry too, IMO

— Alex McGovern (@amcgovern25) November 9, 2017"