Managers play a vital role in football. The manager is essentially the head coach, who tries to infuse his philosophies within the players and teaches them his way of playing. The manager is tasked with improving his players along with building a tactic to defeat the opponent. Every manager is different, some are brilliant man-managers who know how to get the best out of his current set of players (eg. Carlo Ancelloti), some are hard taskmasters, who have a philosophy built around hard-work and mentality. Some managers are a mixture of the two, but every manager essentially has a unique set of ideas.
#1: Bobby Campbell (1988-1991)
Win Ratio: 47%
Honours: 1989-90 Second Division
Chelsea were promoted just in time to take part in the newly branded top division, the Premier League. Bobby Campbell did a significant job taking the club there despite Kerry Dixon still leading the line for the Blues.
#2: Ian Porterfield (1991-1993)
Win Ratio: 34%
Honours: NA
Porterfield took on the mantle of Chelsea manager in 1991 after Bobby Campbell resigned. Chelsea looked surprise contenders for the very first Premier League title in 92-93 but the form fizzled out by Christmas and Porterfield was sacked in February following 12 matches without a win.
#3: David Webb (1993-1993)
Win Ratio: 38%
Honours: NA
Interim manager for the rest of the 92-93 season, David Webb did a decent job at the helm.
#4: Glenn Hoddle (1993-1996)
Win Ratio: 34%
Honours: NA
Hoddle was appointed player-manager in 1993 and he took Chelsea to the finals of the FA Cup in his first season, losing out to Manchester United eventually. During his 3 year spell at the club, Chelsea became a significant force in cup competitions but were inconsistent in the Premier League. His style of play, managed to bring top-class players to West London, like Gullit who took on the mantle after Hoddle.
#5: Ruud Gullit (1996-1998)
Win Ratio: 49%
Honours: 1997 FA Cup
After Hoddle left to become England manager, Gullit was appointed player-manager, becoming the first Dutchman to manage in the Premier League. He guided Chelsea to the FA Cup trophy in his very first season, a very promising start for Gullit’s managerial career.
In the following season, he had disagreements with the Chelsea board following which he saw sacked, even though Chelsea were in great positions in every competition.
#6: Gianluca Vialli (1998-2000)
Win Ratio: 53%
Honours: 1998 League Cup, 1998 UEFA Super Cup, 1998 Cup Winner’s Cup, 2000 FA Cup
After Gullit was sacked in 1998, Chelsea were already in the semi-finals of the League Cup and the quarter-finals of the Cup Winner’s Cup. Vialli was appointed as player-manager and he led Chelsea to both the trophies. His Chelsea side also beat Real Madrid to lift the 1998 Super Cup. Chelsea’s League form was up and down, finishing 5th in his second full season, but Chelsea won the FA Cup, the first of the century.
After falling out with key players like Zola and Didier Deschamps, Vialli was sacked.
#7: Claudio Ranieri (2000-2004)
Win Ratio: 54%
Honours: NA
Ranieri spent 4 years in West London and was a loved figure. His years at the club were trophyless but he had laid the foundations for a successful Chelsea side. With players like Gianfranco Zola, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Marcel Desailly, Ranieri had a more than decent squad and he kept Chelsea regularly in the Champions League.
#8: Jose Mourinho (2004-2007)
Win Ratio: 67%
Honours: 2005 Premier League, 2006 Premier League, 2005 League Cup, 2007 League Cup, 2007 FA Cup.
Jose Mourinho remains the most successful Chelsea manager in the club’s history. After winning the Champions League with Porto, Mourinho was a man in demand. He moved to West London with a couple of his players, and established a dynasty. He won back to back league titles, the first of which came after 50 years. He also won the League Cup where he beat Liverpool 3-2 after extra-time. He won the Premier League again in the next season.
In his third season, he won the League Cup and the FA Cup but failed to deliver a third successive league title, after Manchester United’s resurgence with Cristiano Ronaldo. He was sacked after tensions between Abramovich and Mourinho were increasing by the day.
#9: Avram Grant (2007-2008)
Win Ratio: 67%
Honours: NA
Avram Grant was brought in by Chelsea after Jose Mourinho was given the sack six games into the new season. Grant who had no prior experience in the European game, received a lot of hate from the media and the Chelsea fans. Grant, however, was impeccably close to a treble but ultimately ended up trophyless. He lost to Manchester United on penalties in the 2008 Champions League final after which he was given the sack. He had a brilliant season at the club, via his performances, but the impatient board at Chelsea wanted trophies which the Israeli was unable to present.
#10: Luiz Felipe Scolari (2008-2009)
Win Ratio: 56%
Honours: NA
Scolari was sacked in February 2009 after a seriously bad spell of form. There was however widespread speculation, as to if there were any other reasons attached to it. Scolari blamed Anelka for his sacking but it was apparent that the Brazilian was unable to adapt to club management after a lengthy spell at the national level.
#11: Guus Hiddink (2009-2009)
Win Ratio: 73%
Honours: 2009 FA Cup
Guus Hiddink was brought after Scolari was sacked mid-season. The Dutchman did an impeccable job at the club though, winning the FA Cup and qualifying for the semi-final of the Champions League where they lost to Barcelona on away goals. In his 22 games in charge, he lost just one and the Blues scored 41 goals.
#12: Carlo Ancelloti (2009-2011)
Win Ratio: 61%
Honours: 2009-10 Premier League, 2010 FA Cup
Champions League winning manager, Carlo Ancelloti was brought in by Roman Abramovich to capitalize on Chelsea’s golden generation of players and finally win the Champions League. Key players like John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba were all in their prime and it seemed the best moment for Chelsea to go to the next step. Ancelloti took the Premier League by storm as Chelsea romped to the title after 3 years. His Chelsea side scored a Premier League record of 103 goals. He also won the FA Cup in his first season, leading the club to its very first traditional League and Cup double. He, however, couldn’t replicate the results in the Champions League.
In the next season, Manchester United took back the title from the Blues as Chelsea and Ancelloti closely missed out on back to back titles. A trophyless second season saw Ancelloti sacked by the board, leaving the fans in anger.
#13: Andres Villas Boas (2011-2012)
Win Ratio: 48%
Honours: NA
After Ancelloti was sacked, the Chelsea board appointed Andres Villas Boas to continue the very attacking style of play at Stamford Bridge. The performances, however, were no good as Chelsea were heading for no Champions League football after a decade. He was sacked in early March after a disappointing loss to Napoli in the Champions League Round of 16, and the rest, as they say, is history.
#14: Roberto Di Matteo (2012-2012)
Win Ratio: 57%
Honours: 2012 Champions League, 2012 FA Cup
After Andres Villas Boas was dismissed in March, assistant manager Roberto Di Matteo was given the mantle until the end of the season. Chelsea were on the brink of being eliminated from the Champions League after losing to Napoli 3-1 in the first leg of the Round of 16. He beat them 4-1 at Stamford Bridge, a result which infused new life at the club as anything seemed possible now.
He put all his eggs in the Champions League basket, as one win after another saw them win the prestigious title after all. He also beat Liverpool in the FA Cup final by 2 goals to 1.
#15: Rafa Benitez (2012-2013)
Win Ratio: 58%
Honours: 2013 Europa League
Much to the hatred of Chelsea fans, Benitez was appointed following Roberto Di Matteo’s dismissal months after winning the Champions League. Benitez’s previous stint in England was with Liverpool where he won the 2005 Champions League, defeating Chelsea in the semi-finals (via. Luis Garcia’s ghost goal). Benitez took charge after Chelsea crashed out of the Champions League group stage. He took the club to a Europa League title and a third-place finish in the League.
#16: Jose Mourinho (2013-2015)
Win Ratio: 59%
Honours: 2014-15 Premier League, 2015 League Cup
Mourinho came back to Chelsea after his relations with the Real Madrid board were worsening. Mourinho called himself “The Special One” and had a special connection at Chelsea following his ultra-successful first stint. Mourinho had the same charisma and often engaged in mind games with opposition managers. Mourinho had a defence-first approach to his game, and he had the right players to implement his philosophy.
He nearly missed out on the Premier League in the 13-14 season but he more than made up for it, winning the League and Cup double the next season. The 2015-16 season saw his infamous third-season syndrome come into effect, as he just didn’t seem himself anymore. Chelsea were hanging just above the relegation zone on Christmas when he was sacked.
#17: Guus Hiddink (2015-2016)
Win Ratio: 37%
Honours: NA
Guus Hiddink did nothing but stable the ship after a shameful first half of the season under Jose Mourinho following which he was sacked.
#18: Antonio Conte (2016-2018)
Win Ratio: 65%
Honours: 2016-17 Premier League,2018 FA Cup
After a disastrous 2015-16 season, which saw Chelsea finish 10th, Antonio Conte was brought in to pump some new energy into the club. Known as a serial winner, Antonio Conte did exactly that. He won the Premier League in his very first season, beating the likes of Jose Mourinho, Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp. Conte’s 3 at the back system spread like wildfire as all the teams tried it at least once. England manager Gareth Southgate also took to this approach as his 3 Lions side lined up in a 3 at the back system regularly.
In the second season, things went south as relations with the board deteriorated quickly after the Diego Costa debacle. He still managed to win his first cup trophy at the end of it, beating Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United 1-0 in the final.
#19: Maurizio Sarri (2018-2019)
Win Ratio: 62%
Honours: 2019 Europa League
Maurizio Sarri was brought in by the Chelsea board in an attempt to make the Chelsea style of play more attractive to watch. The Chelsea faithful perhaps, weren’t quite ready for it as Sarri’s style was found monotonous and boring at Stamford Bridge. Sarri still managed to have a successful season at the club where he won the Europa League beating London rivals Arsenal 4-1 in the final. He also took Chelsea to the League Cup final where they lost to Manchester City on penalties.
#20: Frank Lampard (2019-2020)
Win Ratio: 62%
Frank Lampard’s managerial stint was akin to all the previous managers at the club. Just a string of poor results was enough of Roman Abramovich’s patience as he sacked club legend, Lampard. Lampard is widely adored by the Chelsea fans and he took the job when Chelsea was in a very difficult phase. Not only their best player, Eden Hazard left for Real Madrid but also they were hit by a transfer ban that restricted them to fill the vacancy and improve the squad.
Securing the Champions League and reaching the FA Cup final was more than what Chelsea fans expected in Lampard’s debut managerial season. He promoted academy graduates and the club, being convinced splashed more than 200 million Euros. His promising run was hit by mixed results and a run of consecutive bad games convinced teh club to look for experienced managers. Chelsea was almost on the verge of getting out of the top 10 when he was sacked.
#21: Thomas Tuchel (2021-2022)
Win Ratio: 60%
Thomas Tuchel joined Chelsea on 26 January 2021 with the German coach penning an 18-month deal with the Premier League giants to succeed Frank Lampard in the top job. He adapted to life in the Premier League brilliantly, with a 14-game unbeaten streak setting the record for the longest run by a new manager in the club’s history. Chelsea reached two finals in Tuchel’s first season in charge – while they were defeated by Leicester City in the FA Cup finals by a 1-0 scoreline, Chelsea were crowned the Champions League winners by securing a 1-0 win over Manchester City thanks to a goal from Kai Havertz.
Tuchel’s second season at Stamford Bridge saw the Blues reach the finals of the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup with both clashes won by arch rivals Liverpool. Chelsea managed to secure a top four finish to book a Champions League berth for the new campaign as Tuchel had to deal with the shock change in ownership with Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali taking over the reigns.
The start of the 2022-23 campaign was a shaky one for the Blues and following the Champions League group stage opener defeat to Dinamo Zagreb, Tuchel was handed the sack by the Chelsea owners who appointed Graham Potter to the role just 24 hours later.
