Boring, boring, Chelsea.
That was what some Blues fans took away when watching their side at periods under Thomas Tuchel. It was praise, and it emanated memories of Jose Mourinho's brilliant mid-2000s team that were the masters of 1-0 and 2-0 wins. Boring, boring, Chelsea.
Tuchel had the same effect in his early Chelsea time, playing 12-rounds of gloriously disciplined and often entertaining boxing on the football pitch. Jorginho penalties and evergreen Thiago Silva masterclasses were always good enough, even if the attack wasn't.
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That's what Antonio Conte did at Stamford Bridge, too. His first season was built from a back-three that were immensely solid and provided exciting attacking output via wingbacks and talented forward players. The manor of both Tuchel and Conte's dismissals were similar but also different.
Whereas Conte knew his time was coming, cutting the shapes of a forlorn, disappointed and vengeful figure on the touchline, Tuchel didn't. football.london understands that the players were no more aware than their manager that something as drastic as a sacking was going to happen in the wake of the 1-0 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb.
Not that the defeat was the cause, catalyst or even anywhere near leading factor in the decision, it was the archetypal Chelsea sacking. It was Conte in 2018 rolled up with Jose Mourinho's Rosenburg debacle in 2007 and lit by Roberto Di Matteo's Champions League axing. It went up in a puff of smoke that hasn't really settled.
Whilst it looks and could feel like the old Chelsea, the boring, boring, predictable Chelsea. The jump ship before things get worse, and it's a long way from that. This is, at least on the face of it, a group of owners with a long-term plan rather than an insatiable short-term desire.
It's not the same fate Conte met, but it does have some dazzling similarities. In an interview with the Telegraph after being sacked, Conte opened up on the second year at Stamford Bridge and working with Roman Abramovich. Some of the lines immediately stand out. "I asked for two players, and we were very, very close after we won the league," Conte said. "One player was Romelu Lukaku, the second player was Virgil van Dijk, and these two players were very, very close. We were in contact every day, and I always said that with these two players, we would improve my team by 30 per cent.
"I think maybe we lost the momentum to bring Chelsea at the very top and then to stay for many years. It was a pity that it didn't happen, and Romelu is showing with Inter that my idea was right, and also Van Dijk has shown with Liverpool that my idea was right for the club."
For those two signings, see Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski or Matthias de Ligt of summer 2022. Tuchel's frustration at deals not done didn't sow the bed of his downfall, but it certainly didn't help, just as with Conte.
The Italian went on to say, "First of all, I am a person that doesn't want to speak badly about a situation with a player from a club that I trained," he said. "It's right always to keep good memories and I prefer to keep good memories also about Diego Costa because we won together a league title in an incredible season.
"In my career, I want to have players who are concentrated on my team and not consider my team a second choice. My team must be the first choice." The parallel this time is Lukaku. Tuchel brought him in last season after an attempt for Erling Haaland was deemed impossible, and the pair fell out massively. That's Chelsea for you. That's old Chelsea. Boring, boring Chelsea. Mourinho felt the same Costa annoyance, and his relationship was part of the second Mourinho spell crumbling apart before Christmas, too.
As well as the on-pitch play, Tuchel, Conte and Mourinho had some of the best rapport with Chelsea fans, being some of the most favoured managers for the club. They all undoubtedly left a shock on the fanbase, and on his departure, Conte would say, "Because it was two years that I lived with a great intensity, and I felt from the first day that the fans were with me in every moment." That is Tuchel in a nutshell as well. Tuchel is the man that turned post-Frank Lampard toxic Chelsea into a period of enjoyment.
Both Conte and Tuchel, yet again, were two of the greatest exponents of playing three-at-the-back football. Conte dominated England with it, and now, after Tuchel's change from a back four under Lampard and Maurizio Sarri, Graham Potter is a fan of the system too.
It was a big part of the initial Conte attraction, and he said, "I think football is always an evolution and it's important for the coach to be ready to find new solutions and to see other coaches, and if they have a new idea to rob them!
"I am happy because to play three at the back before I arrived in England was not a problem, but I remember very well when Louis van Gaal tried it with Manchester United, there was a lot of criticism of him."
Tuchel, known as a tactical chameleon, sported the system himself and moved around with formations.
Perhaps the most telling aspect of Conte's interview was his perception of ownership, though. Tuchel ended up being without key senior directors that were at the hands of Conte, and with the German reportedly struggling in that role and with the hands-on ownership of Todd Boehly this summer, maybe things would have been different in an alternate world where Abramovich remained.
That will never be known, but Conte's praise of the Chelsea owner does open an interesting avenue for thought. He said, "It's always very difficult when there is a stop between the club and the coach. I never think, never do the club try to explain the decision, but in our job, we must accept this type of situation.
"To be the coach of Chelsea is not simple. You must live with great pressure, especially from the outside, but it was a pity to stop my coaching after only two seasons because I created a real link with the fans and with the players.
"Sometimes, you can agree because the results are negative and sometimes, you don't understand why. But I think you must accept and I keep good memories with Chelsea, the club, with Mr Abramovich, who is a very passionate man about his football. It was incredible, especially in my first season, because he was very, very close to me, asking about my football and my ideas.
"Many times he came to the training ground to meet me, and I remember he wanted to watch the video about our game and about our preparation - the way we wanted to face the opponent. I think in my career, he was one of the most passionate men about football, and I keep good memories about him and about the club, an important club in the world."
He also left Chelsea in a situation where, although the transfer market activities would go on to hurt the club in the long run, there was a foundation to build on. Like Tuchel, who leaves behind a strong squad with experience, talent and promise, Conte did a similar job in 2018.
"I think that the club wants to come back to win," said Conte. "I think, honestly, now at this moment, Chelsea is a really good team, a strong team, a large squad to face many, many competitions. They worked very well, and at this moment, they have many, many players.
"I remember when I arrived at Chelsea, and the situation wasn't this. Because I remember in my first season, we faced the season with only 16 players. But, this year, the club worked very well. I know they are doing a really good job because I continue to follow Chelsea."
Chelsea just moved on a host of Conte's failed signings in the summer of 2017 but had a similar job in rebuilding. With senior players moving on it is another similarity.
However, this isn't the same. Boehly's decision was not made in the same terms as Abramovich's were. Tuchel hasn't made his thoughts public yet and may never do in the same way that Conte did in 2018, but the lesson is that the decision is the same, boring, boring, Chelsea, but the context around it is completely different.
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