Why Antonio Conte is walking the tightrope at Chelsea

West Ham United v Chelsea - Premier League
Antonio Conte

Italian manager Antonio Conte has been credited for being somewhat of a revolutionary as he perfected the three-at-the-system to great effect in England. After a difficult start to the season where he oversaw losses to Arsenal and Liverpool, the former Juventus coach changed the system which culminated in a 13-match winning sequence.

The Blues, however, were helped by the fact that they didn’t play in any European competition, meaning that they had ample time to recover after matches but this season hasn’t afforded them that kind of leeway. Conte has become something of a divisive figure at Stamford Bridge, and the exit of sporting director, Michael Emenalo raised more questions than answers. Conte has every reason to fear at his future at the end of the season if he doesn’t build on the success of last season.

Failure to win the league

After winning the league comfortably last season, Chelsea were expected to build on that and establish a dominance on the rest of the league. Chelsea are currently 14 points behind league leaders, Manchester City who recently broke the record for most wins on the trot, with 15. A team of Chelsea’s stature shouldn’t be so far behind the top of the table and Conte has admitted that his team are out of the title race already.

While that statement may be to spur his team to better results, it doesn’t augur well for the board who shelled out almost £200m on new signings in the summer. Chelsea look like the third best team in England at the moment behind the Manchester clubs.

Also read: 'Bull****' to suggest Chelsea can catch Man City – Conte

The Abramovich and the board factor

Reports suggest that former sporting director, Michael Emenalo left the club as he didn’t want to come in between Conte and Marina Granovskaia who leads player negotiations. Conte left Juventus because he didn’t feel he had total control over decisions at the club. Chelsea won’t allow that, meaning that if that rumbles on, one would have to go for the other, and in the case of Chelsea, the coach always leaves.

Russian billionaire, Abramovich is not a patient man when results don’t go the way he expects, and he may pull the plug once again. Conte has consistently moaned about lacking funds to compete for the major honours on offer, but after spending £320m on new signings since taking over, they feel his outbursts are uncalled for.

Relationship with players

The likes of Nemanja Matic, Diego Costa and David Luiz have all felt the brunt of Conte’s anger. There is massive player power at Chelsea, where the players feel they can move out any manager they don’t believe in. The manner in which Costa was moved on was not really well received by the other players, as the Spain international was much loved in the dressing room, while his alienation of Luiz recently shows that he can be ruthless, but at Chelsea, that could be counter-productive.

While Chelsea are not overly in crisis, the feeling at Stamford Bridge is not at the best. Barcelona beckon in the Champions League. Conte must turn it around and bring the excitement back to the club or risk his future at the club. Chelsea are not entirely patient with managers. Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti and Roberto Di Matteo will testify.

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Edited by Amit Mishra