There
are a number of reasons to think Antonio Conte may leave Chelsea at the end
of the season, according to Shaun Custis.
Conte's future at Stamford Bridge has been the subject of debate ever since
he guided Chelsea to the Premier League title in his first season at the
club.
Subsequent shortcomings in the transfer market, Diego Costa's protracted
return to Atletico Madrid and a desire to return to his native Italy have
raised doubt over Conte's long-term future.
Defeat to Manchester City on Saturday only heightened the speculation, with
the Sunday Times claiming Conte has signalled his intent to leave the club
at the end of the season.
"I don't think the story should come as a massive shock," Custis, head of
sport at The Sun, told the Sunday Supplement.
"There were ups and downs in the summer, with talk of Conte leaving before
the season had even kicked off. There are reasons to think he may at the end
of this season.
"The lifespan of Chelsea managers is not particularly long anyway, so it
wouldn't be amazing. He's quite a volatile character and volatile characters
tend to get fed up with being dictated to by the board, even though the
board and the owner wins all the time.
"The fact he lost yesterday will lead to people thinking it's not going to
work out, but we're going to have these crunch games every week because
we've got six teams fighting for the title.
"But there are too many things around Conte right now and I don't think
anybody could believe he is perfectly content and that he wants to stay and,
let's say, sign a new five-year contract."
Alyson Rudd of
The Times believes Conte is just another cog in the
Chelsea machine and one that will be replaced once he has run his course.
"Conte brought the title to Chelsea and probably thought he would have more
power with the owner but Chelsea don't want you to feel like that, they want
their managers to feel insecure and part of the Chelsea machine," she said.
"They bring their managers in for their specific skillset, not to get a
bigger ego while at the club.
"In other clubs and countries, if you secure the title you get more power
and more say about the root of transfer policy, but Chelsea don't want you
to do that.
"Chelsea don't think of the long term, they hire people who can do a job
between one and three years."
Having been relieved of his duties at Bayern Munich this week, former
Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti has been touted as a possible replacement for
Conte.
And it's a possibility Sam Wallace of the Telegraph entertained, adding:
"Ancelotti has pretty much been panned in Germany as tactically not up to
managing their great club.
"The mistake Chelsea always felt was that they were too trigger happy with
Ancelotti, sacking him the season after he won the double.
"If Conte doesn't last until the end of the season, which is incredible to
say, would Ancelotti come back in the middle of the season? Stranger things
have happened.
"They need someone who is out of work and ready to step in. It would be
really interesting seeing him back at Chelsea.
"The fact is Chelsea have sacked so many managers that they will have to
start employing ones they have already had, as they did with Mourinho."
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