Chelsea Managers Over the Last Decade

Older Chelsea fans who supported the club well before Roman’s Russian Roubles flooded in would have been somewhat shocked at the new owner’s propensity to sack managers. Roman Abramovich demanded success and if a boss wasn’t delivering (and sometimes even when they were), he was more than happy to pull the trigger.

However, what we have seen under the newer ownership of Todd Boehly and his consortium has made Abramovich look like a man of great patience. The Blues were founded in 1905 and in total they have had 31 permanent managers. Boehly took over at the Bridge just over two years ago – he bought the Blues at the end of May 2022 – and already the American has worked with six different managers (admittedly, not all of those have been permanent appointments).

In all, Chelsea have had the 31 managers already mentioned, plus a further 12 who were either interim or caretaker boss. However, in the last decade (June 2014 to June 2024), the club has been managed by a total of 11 different men. One, Frank Lampard, has even been in charge twice in that time, once as the “permanent” (is any Chelsea boss really permanent these days?) manager and more recently in a dismal interim spell.

At the time of writing former Leicester boss Enzo Maresca is the manager but that could change before you read this! At the time of writing, he has yet to take the reins for a competitive fixture but we wouldn’t place a bet on him even making it to a single game in charge, such is the nature of the Boehly regime. Anyway, 10 years ago there was a very familiar face in the Stamford Bridge dugout, so let’s start there!

José Mourinho

Managerial Status – Permanent (second spell)
Date Appointed – 3/6/13
Date Left Role – 17/12/15
Days at Chelsea – 927
Games Managed – 136
Win Percentage – 58.82

The Special One enjoyed a stellar first spell at the Bridge, winning several major honours between 2005 and 2007, including two Premier League titles. His second spell was less successful but even so, the Portuguese delivered the 2014/15 PL crown. However, a disastrous – at least by Chelsea’s standards back then – start to the campaign, plus rumours of a rift with Abramovich, meant things came to an end rather quickly.

Steve Holland

Managerial Status – Caretaker
Date Appointed – 18/12/15
Date Left Role – 19/12/15
Days at Chelsea – 1
Games Managed – 1
Win Percentage – 100

Holland, now a huge part of the England set-up with Gareth Southgate (possibly, depending on when you’re reading this!) has fulfilled a range of coaching positions at the club. He was boss of the reserves, then assistant to Andre Villas-Boas, as well to caretaker Roberto Di Matteo and interim boss Rafa Benitez (not much changes at Chelsea!). He very briefly took the reins himself and given his 100% record maybe Chelsea should have stuck with him! He subsequently went back to an assistant manager role with both Guus Hiddink and Antonio Conte.

Guus Hiddink

Managerial Status – Interim (previously fulfilled same role in 2009)
Date Appointed – 19/12/15
Date Left Role – 30/6/16
Days at Chelsea – 194
Games Managed – 28
Win Percentage – 39.29

Dutch boss Hiddink had led the Blues to the FA Cup in his first short-term job with the club in 2009. He was less successful this time around though.

Antonio Conte

Conte with Diego Costa (@cfcunofficial | Wikipedia)

Managerial Status – Permanent
Date Appointed – 1/7/16
Date Left Role – 12/7/18
Days at Chelsea – 741
Games Managed – 106
Win Percentage – 65.09

Fiery Conte was brought in following great success with Juventus, where he won three Serie A titles in a row. Before moving to London he had a spell in charge of his national team which was relatively successful, but he was brought in thanks to a reputation for being a winner. He hit the ground running and the Blues racked up a club record 11 league wins in a row. He was named Manager of the Month in October, November and December 2016, the first PL manager to claim the prize three months running. They won the league with ease, setting a new record of 30 wins. The following season an FA Cup win was not enough to compensate for a fifth-place league finish and the Italian was sacked.

Maurizio Sarri

Managerial Status – Permanent
Date Appointed – 14/7/18
Date Left Role – 16/6/19
Days at Chelsea – 337
Games Managed – 63
Win Percentage – 61.90

Sarri was a left-field pick, appointed after a good spell at Napoli following short stints at a host of smaller Italian sides. He led the Blues to a European trophy, the 2018/19 Europa League, but did not last long.

Frank Lampard

Lampard high fiving fans as Chelsea head coach — Cosmin Iftode | Bigstockphoto.com

Managerial Status – Permanent
Date Appointed – 4/7/19
Date Left Role – 25/1/21
Days at Chelsea – 571
Games Managed – 84
Win Percentage – 52.38

Lampard was a hero as a player for the Blues and things started well enough when he became the manager. It was a bold appointment after modest success with Derby but after some initial poor results, Lampard led Chelsea to fourth place and an FA Cup final. The following season they spent big and started well, topping the PL in December. However, a poor run of results (eight games and just two wins) was enough to see the board lose faith and that was the end of Frank.

Thomas Tuchel

Managerial Status – Permanent
Date Appointed – 26/1/21
Date Left Role – 7/9/22
Days at Chelsea – 589
Games Managed – 100
Win Percentage – 60.00

German ace Tuchel won the Champions League with Chelsea but even that was not enough once standards slipped from the impossible expectations of the new owners. Who knows what might have been had the Chelsea hierarchy shown a little more faith?

Graham Potter

Managerial Status – Permanent
Date Appointed – 8/9/22
Date Left Role – 2/4/23
Days at Chelsea – 206
Games Managed – 31
Win Percentage – 38.71

Brilliant at Brighton, Potter’s ability to get the best out of young, cheap, talent, plus the attractive football of his sides, made him appealing to Boehly and co. However, he seemed out of his depth, was offered no real support and was not given the time to settle into his job.

Bruno Saltor

Managerial Status – Caretaker
Date Appointed – 2/4/23
Date Left Role – 6/4/23
Days at Chelsea – 4
Games Managed – 1
Win Percentage – 0

The Spaniard was part of Potter’s team and was in charge for just a single game as the Blues sought a permanent replacement.

Frank Lampard

Managerial Status – Interim
Date Appointed – 6/4/23
Date Left Role – 30/6/23
Days at Chelsea – 85
Games Managed – 11
Win Percentage – 9.09

Never go back is the message many players get with regards to a return to a former club. Lampard’s reputation was hurt by his spell as manager but this stint as interim boss did even more harm. 11 games brought just one win and eight defeats as Chelsea became something of a joke.

Mauricio Pochettino

Managerial Status – Permanent
Date Appointed – 1/7/23
Date Left Role – 21/5/24
Days at Chelsea – 325
Games Managed – 51
Win Percentage – 50.98

Pochettino should have been the man to change things at the Bridge given his reputation for developing youth and the many (many, many) young stars the owners were determined to sign. However, despite a strong finish to the 2023/24 campaign and it having looked as though the former Spurs man was making a difference, he and the club parted “by mutual consent”.