Abramovich: Ranking all 13 Chelsea managers, including Mourinho, Tuchel & Lampard | OneFootball

The heady Roman Abramovich era at Chelsea is coming to an end with the Russian tycoon yesterday announcing he will be selling the club.

Abramovich has poured millions into the club since his 2003 takeover, transforming the west Londoners from perennial Premier League also-rans into a genuine European superpower.

Some of the greatest players to ever kick a football about have worn the famous Chelsea blue in that era while trophies have flowed in with extravagant regularity.

In fact, during the 19 Abramovich years, no English team won more trophies than Chelsea.

Now, of course, a lot of that is down to the remarkable squads the Blues could call on during those years, but plenty of credit needs to be given to the superstar managers that graced the sidelines as well.

While Abramovich’s ‘no room for sentiment’ approach to the handling of his managers may not have been everyone’s cup of tea, you can hardly argue that his decisive and swift decision making hasn’t paid dividends.

During his time at the helm, Abramovich saw 13 managers come and go, but which one was the best?

Well, we’ve had a go at ranking all 13 from ‘Best of the best’ to ‘Just why?’ using the handy Tiermaker method.

Just why?

On paper, Andre Villas-Boas looked to be a fantastic coup for Chelsea.

Of a similar mould to Jose Mourinho and with success in Portugal shining on his CV, Vilas-Boas simply couldn’t cut the mustard in England and was soon shown the exit door at Stamford Bridge.

Not up to standard

Avram Grant may have taken Chelsea to a Champions League final, but he was never going to be a long-term solution for the club.

Luis Felipe Scolari, meanwhile, proved to be one of the bigger disappointments of the Abramovich years.

Meh

The title just about says it all. Frank Lampard did build a squad that would go on to win the Champions League but questions remain over whether he was really ready for the Chelsea hot seat.

Maurizio Sarri, meanwhile, didn’t necessarily do anything wrong, but he just never managed to make any sort of connection with the fans.

Underrated

The most populated rung of the ladder may be the most controversial. Rafael Benitez didn’t set the world alight at Chelsea but he did everything that was required of him during a trying spell for the club.

Guus Hiddink was always willing to answer the Chelsea call, Robert Di Matteo won the Champions League and Claudio Ranieri was the managerial flint that sparked the revolution.

Elite

Antonio Conte’s Chelsea tenure burned bright and fast as he won the league before being given the sack only months later.

Carlo Ancelotti secured a double in his first season while Thomas Tuchel took a struggling squad all the way to the top of the European game.

Best of the best

It was always going to be him, wasn’t it?

Mourinho enjoyed two fruitful spells at Chelsea, crafting one of the most fearsome sides in Premier League history during his first stint.

It was he that kicked the Abramovich era into overdrive, winning three league titles over the course of his two spells.