Between 2003 and 2022 it was often clear who was at fault when Chelsea slid down the table or crashed out of the Champions League. At least, it became clear who was feeling the brunt of the strain and the attention. As ever in football, it was the managers.
After all, when John Terry, Frank Lampard, Petr Cech and Didier Drogba (along with Ashley Cole and Michael Essien for a while) are winning trophies all the time and performances picked up with a new figure on the sideline, it must have been the coaches getting things wrong, right?
That's the approach Roman Abramovich took. It was quick and for the paying fans in the stands a simple process. One manager out, next one in. Easy as you like. The club's decline in stability over that period has been a by-product of this success but also largely ignored until it was too late.
