Alright folks, grab a cuppa, this one started simple but turned into a proper deep dive. Last night’s match got me thinking, “Honestly, how many managers have actually lasted at Chelsea lately?” Seemed like a quick Google search job, yeah? Nah. Turned into an hour plus of head-scratching.
Opening Can of Worms
Fired up the laptop this morning, buzzing to get a clean list. Typed “chelsea managers last ten years” nice and easy. Google spat out pages, sure, but every single list looked different. Dates didn’t match, some included caretakers, others skipped ’em. Frank Lampard popped up twice? Seriously confusing. Closed the browser, rubbed my eyes. Needed a proper plan.
Getting Hands Dirty
Decided to go straight to the source – Chelsea’s official website news archives. Figured the announcements wouldn’t lie. Started scrolling backwards in time, year by year. Opened a blank Notes doc to jot them down. Let me tell ya, even THIS wasn’t smooth sailing. Found the big permanent appointments easy enough:
- Mauricio Pochettino – Present (duh)
- Graham Potter – Hired after Tuchel? Remembered that disaster.
- Thomas Tuchel – Champions League win! Yeah, definitely. But when exactly?
Then hit the messy patches. Right after Lampard got sacked first time around? Total chaos. News archives showed caretaker Frank Lampard? Wait, wasn’t he the real manager before? My list was getting tangled. Remembered Benitez was interim ages ago, but was that within ten years? Grabbed a pen and paper to sketch a timeline physically. Scribbled names, arrows, question marks. Spilled tea on the corner of the page. Perfect.
Went back further – Sarri, won Europa League, gone in a flash. Then Conte – double winner, massive fallout. The names kept coming. Found confirmation on Guus Hiddink‘s second caretaker stint buried deep. Nearly forgot Maurizio Sarri entirely until his cigarette smoke memory hit me! Checked the dates against sites like Premier League official records for start/end dates, comparing furiously.
Untangling the Mess
Biggest headache? Sorting the Lampards and the Hiddinks – who was permanent, who was temporary? Found myself triple-checking news reports from BBC Sport confirming caretaker roles. Realized Bruno Saltor literally managed ONE game! Almost skipped him. And Rafael Benítez‘s interim spell just squeezed into the decade span. Phew.
Finally, after scraping news archives, league records, and my own shaky memory, I hammered out the list starting NOW and going backwards. The absolute carnage became crystal clear:
- Mauricio Pochettino (2023–Present) – Still standing!
- Frank Lampard (Caretaker: 2023) – Second go-around, bless him.
- Bruno Saltor (Caretaker: 2023) – One game? Seriously?
- Graham Potter (2022–2023) – Yeah… didn’t work out.
- Thomas Tuchel (2021–2022) – CL magic, then poof.
- Frank Lampard (2019–2021) – Permanent job first time.
- Maurizio Sarri (2018–2019) – Chain-smoker won Europa.
- Antonio Conte (2016–2018) – Title win, then kaboom.
- Guus Hiddink (Caretaker: 2015–2016) – Stepped in again.
- José Mourinho (2013–2015) – Second coming, ended badly.
- Rafael Benítez (Interim: 2012–2013) – Won Europa, fans hated it!
Stared at the list. Ten years? Mate, that’s FOURTEEN different guys! Permanent gaffers, caretakers squeezed in, the works. My nice, neat initial thought got absolutely battered. Printed it out, stuck it next to the tea stain. Proof of the madness. There you have it – Chelsea’s manager merry-go-round in all its chaotic glory. What a total mess. Needed another cuppa after that.
