It's groundhog day for Chelsea.
They are back to doing what they do best — sacking managers. And this time, for the second time, it's Jose Mourinho's head on the guillotine. Mourinho is gone. And make no mistake, he'll never come back again.
In 2013, when Mourinho was brought on board it was with the intention of building for the future. It was supposed to be a long-term process, one that would establish a "dynasty". And for Chelsea to achieve that, there could have been be no better candidate than Jose Mourinho. He had, explicitly and on many occasions, declared his love for the club. Fans adored him fiercely and would stand by him come what may.
File photo of Jose Mourinho. Getty Images
It was supposed to be a homecoming, a reunion. It was sold that way and Chelsea fans bought it. And why wouldn't they, he promptly made the club challenge for the title again. The Premier League trophy that the club sought was delivered in his second season.
Fast forward six months after winning the title, Chelsea find themselves at 16th place, a point above relegation zone. They have lost 9 out of 16 Premier League games. It has been a horror title-defence. Players who were stalwarts behind Chelsea's success last season find themselves in an inexplicable slump.
Many say Mourinho lost the dressing room. And some say he burned them out, like he always does. That he pushes them too far, and by the time he enters his third season at a club, it's too much for the players.
After the Leicester game, Mourinho said he felt his work was "betrayed". He had listed out for his players the ways in which Leicester have been scoring this season and readied them for the game accordingly. By the end of the 90 minutes, Leicester City had scored two times and both goals was as beautiful as they were typical.
But the real "betrayal" has been dealt to Chelsea fans. They had hoped for a Chelsea that would find stability under Mourinho. They had hoped for a long and prosperous marriage. But Mourinho's sacking halfway through his third season has only put Chelsea back. Now they are where they were when they first fired Mourinho. They have fallen back into the cycle, into the rut. The club has again prioritised short-term success over long-term stability.
Yes, this season has been a nightmare. But then one has to wonder what do Chelsea Football Club want? Of course they want to win every time, every club does. But do they expect to win every time? It is impossible. The search for silver has left the club rusted.
Mourinho's ouster at this point in the season does nothing really that will turn Chelsea's fortunes around. Looking at how the season was going, Chelsea would've finished mid-table under Mourinho and now, even if some voodoo doctor takes over for the time being, they'll finish maybe eighth or seventh, at best.
What difference does it make? What purpose did the sacking serve? January transfer window was two weeks away. The considerable amount that will be paid out to Mourinho, who was under contract till 2019, could have been utilised to strengthen the squad.
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But now Chelsea are in a precarious position. There is every chance that this could backfire. It is entirely possible that Guus Hiddink, who reportedly is returning to the club for a second time as an interim manager, wouldn't be able to contain the collapse. What then?
Mourinho is partly responsible for the club's misfortune, of course. Managers cannot ever wash away their hands from such a string of poor results. But what about the players? Last season's stars Eden Hazard, Cesc Fabregas, Nemanja Matic, John Terry, Bransilav Ivanovic and Diego Costa have all been way below par this season. Barring Willian, hardly anyone has looked like they could stand up and be counted.
And it's easier to sack one man than to replace 11 players.
But in axing Mourinho, Chelsea have swung the axe too far and found their foot. With such ruthlessness the norm from Roman Abramovich and the board, why would even a top European manager would want to come to the club? It is hard to imagine why Pep Guardiola or Diego Simeone would come to suffer the same fate.
Chelsea needed to find a coherent long-term framework and this time they had a chance for one. Now they'll never know what could've happened had they shown patience. They owed Mourinho a bad season.
Now, one can only gather that Chelsea want instant gratification. That the club isn't in it for the long haul. Ambition is necessary at a football club. Without the drive and hunger to win, Chelsea wouldn't have won all those trophies they did over the past decade. But there is a fine line between ambition and obsession. And it looks like Chelsea have crossed it.
Mourinho will move one, he'll find many takers. But Chelsea is now stuck.
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