Chelsea sack manager Thomas Tuchel

Chelsea just spent over $475 million on new players - and sold around ten of their first-team squad members - during a busy transfer window but six days after the deadline for deals closed, they have sacked coach Thomas Tuchel.

The decision, from new club owner Todd Boehly who took over the club three months ago, came the morning after a defeat by Dinamo Zagreb in their opening Champions League game but it is unlikely that the move was prompted purely by short term form.

The club's statement gave no reason for the decision and made no reference to recent results.

"As the new ownership group reaches 100 days since taking over the club, and as it continues its hard work to take the club forward, the new owners believe it is the right time to make this transition," read the statement.

Tuchel is widely respected as a tactician and coach and has an impressive list of trophies won in his time with Borussia Dortmund, Paris St Germain and Chelsea.

But the intensity that he visibly brings to the job of coaching a team, which often leads him to remonstrate with referees and his players, also makes him a high maintenance manager.

"Thomas is a difficult person, but a fantastic coach," Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke said after his departure from the Bundesliga club in 2017, adding that the coach and club hierarchy "just didn't fit".

When Tuchel left PSG, on Christmas Eve in 2020, the club's then sporting director, Brazilian Leonardo had a similar explanation.

"The separation was natural. The year before, there had been complicated situations that destabilised the environment. It's human that the points of view were different; it was difficult to establish a relationship between us," Leonardo said.

Tuchel has been able to inspire players to higher levels of performance but also has frequently run into conflict with them.

"In terms of sports, Tuchel is something. His training was incredible," said former Dortmund keeper Roman Weidenfeller.

"He is a true visionary. But in terms of human relations with him it is difficult," he added.

Former Mainz goalkeeper Heinz Mueller went further saying "At some point he became a real dictator. He was unforgiving".

Different approach

There is nothing new, of course, about football managers who are difficult to work with, demanding, single-minded, even authoritarian.

Indeed, the history of the game is full of such characters, including some of the most successful like Alex Ferguson, Fabio Capello and Jose Mourinho.

But that style works best when the club owner is happy to sit back and cede control of all football matters to the manager -- an approach which is increasingly rare in the modern game -- or where the coach is left simply to coach.

Neither appear to have been the case at Chelsea.

Boehly is not just the club's owner but with the departure of the club's long serving contracts chief Marina Granovskaia and technical advisor Petr Cech, he has taken on the role of 'sporting director'.

Tuchel said in July that he and Boehly were working together on the transfer recruitment. "We are in a very intense and close relationship to get the signings done and get the team better," he said.

But he also suggested he had some discomfort with being taken away from the training field to deal with transfers.

"It's not my favourite thing to do and in the long run the focus has to be on coaching because it is why I am here," he said during the pre-season tour of the United States.

The money was spent -- Raheem Sterling, Marc Cucurella, Wesley Fofana, Kalidou Koulibaly and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang all brought in but now it will be another man who has the task of turning them into a successful team.

Tuchel will be back -- he is a man who led Chelsea to the Champions League title after just half a season at the club after all -- and when the next opening emerges at one of Europe's top clubs, difficult man or not, he will be in contention.

Here is a list of Chelsea's last six permanent managers and the circumstances of their exits.

Jose Mourinho (June 2013-Dec 2015)

Mourinho delivered the Premier League title on his return to Stamford Bridge and the League Cup but things went sour quickly for the Portuguese the following season.

A run of nine defeats in 16 league games left Chelsea 16th in the standings, one point above the relegation places, and Mourinho appeared to have fallen out with top players such as Eden Hazard and Diego Costa.

After a his last game, a defeat by Leicester City, he said his work had been "betrayed" by the players.

Guus Hiddink (Dec 2015-June 2016)

The popular Dutchman was installed as interim manager, having performed a similar role in 2009 in the wake of Luiz Felipe Scolari's sacking.

He stabilised the club, going on a 12-match unbeaten streak in the Premier League although Chelsea could finish no higher than 10th. He left on good terms at the end of the season.

Antonio Conte (July 2016-July 2018)

The Italian seemed like the perfect fit to revive Chelsea's fortunes and did not disappoint.

He won the Premier League and FA Cup in his first season in charge but Chelsea were unable to maintain that level and the following campaign they finished fifth to miss out on qualification for the Champions League.

Conte had looked a disgruntled figure for much of the 2017-18 campaign, moaning about a lack of squad investment, and was sacked weeks before the start of the new season.

Maurizio Sarri (July 2018-June 2019)

Conte's replacement enjoyed a record 12-match unbeaten start to the Premier League season to win over some of the sceptical fans but he was never popular with the Chelsea faithful.

His "Sarriball" tactics were often criticised as confusing for the players, yet Chelsea finished third and also beat Arsenal in the Europa League final.

Sarri's exit was relatively harmonious as he took over at Juventus while Chelsea hired club great Frank Lampard.

Frank Lampard (July 2019-Jan 2021)

The club's record goalscorer was a popular choice as manager despite him having relatively little experience.

Lampard, restricted by the club's transfer ban, offered opportunities to the club's youngsters and managed to seal a top-four finish in the Premier League.

However, Chelsea appeared to be going backwards the following season despite some high-profile signings and was offered no special treatment as he was fired in January.

Thomas Tuchel (Jan 2021-Sept 2022)

While fans were shocked at Lampard's departure, Abramovich acted quickly to hire the German who had taken Paris St Germain to the Champions League final before falling out with the club.

His impact was stunning as Chelsea reached the Champions League final four months later and beat Manchester City.

The following season he won the FIFA Club World Cup but could not challenge Manchester City and Liverpool domestically.

He looked aggravated during a patchy start to the new season despite huge squad investment, but his exit was a huge surprise.

-Reuters