verdict
After just 18 months, Frank Lampard's reign as Chelsea boss has come to an end.
Lampard’s status as the club’s record goalscorer and fan favourite could not save him from becoming Roman Abramovich’s 10th managerial sacking.
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The former England midfielder, who won three league titles and the Champions League with Chelsea as a player, has now been replaced by Thomas Tuchel at Stamford Bridge, with the German confirmed as manager on Tuesday evening.
Tuchel will start his reign as Chelsea head coach at home to Wolves this evening - and you can follow all the action at Stamford Bridge LIVE on talkSPORT.
The 47-year-old German has signed an initial 18-month contract to become the 15th manager of owner Abramovich's tenure and his immediate task will be to reverse the fortunes of a team who have lost five of their last eight Premier League games and lie in 10th place in the table.
In light of his appointment and Frank Lampard's exit from the club, talkSPORT.com has assessed every Chelsea manager's reign since the Russian bought the club in 2003 and ranked each boss from worst to best.
11. Luiz Felipe Scolari 2008-2009
Scolari became the first World Cup-winning manager to coach in the Premier League following his appointment at Chelsea in 2008 - but his reign didn't last long.
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The Brazilian took charge of 36 games and although he won 20 of them, his eleven draws and five losses simply did not meet expectations following the high standards set by his predecessors Avram Grant and Jose Mourinho.
He was eventually dismissed with a 55 per cent win ratio - the worst of any manager appointed by Abramovich since he bought the club.
10. Andre Villas Boas 2011-2012
Abramovich was hoping he had found the new Mourinho when he appointed Villas-Boas as manager but things did not pan out the way he expected.
Despite a strong start in charge, results quickly began deteriorating and three consecutive defeats to Arsenal, Queens Park Rangers and Liverpool saw pressure mount on the young Portuguese manager.
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Following further defeats to Liverpool in the League Cup and another league defeat to Everton, Villas-Boas responded by cancelling his squad's day off and called them in for an inquest, which provoked several senior players to question his tactics in front of Abramovich.
Poor results continued and following another defeat to West Brom, Villas Boas was relieved of his duties, with Roberto di Matteo taking temporary charge until the end of the season.
9. Guus Hiddink 2009/2015-2016
Hiddink has been Abramovich's go-to man at times of trouble and his two stints with the club couldn't have contrasted more.
In 2009 he took over from Scolari on an interim basis and Chelsea were exceptional, winning 16 out of 22 matches and losing on just one occasion.
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He crowned his stellar record with a win over Everton in the FA Cup and following the triumph he claimed it was one of his biggest achievements in management.
Hiddink returned to Chelsea when Mourinho was dismissed for a second time in 2015, the Dutchman won 10, drew 11, and lost six as the Blues finished tenth in the table - up from 16th when he took the reins.
8. Avram Grant 2007-2008
Grant will forever be known as the 'runner-up' manager following his stint with Chelsea from 2007-2008.
Despite it being an overall solid campaign, Chelsea lost the League Cup final to Tottenham and finished second to Manchester United in the Premier League, despite being level on points with the Red Devils with two matches remaining.
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In another bitter blow for both Grant and Chelsea fans, the Blues were cruelly defeated to United on penalties in the Champions League final.
The Israeli coach, however, does boast a stunning 66.7 per cent win record as Chelsea manager and never lost a home match in charge at Stamford Bridge.
7. Rafael Benitez 2012-2013
Benitez was appointed on an interim basis and it infuriated Chelsea fans, who were still angry at the comments the Spaniard made about the club during his time in charge of Liverpool.
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However, the current Newcastle boss steadied the ship at Stamford Bridge in what was a turbulent season, helping them to a third-place finish in the Premier League and a Europa League triumph.
There is no doubting the current Benitez is a hugely talented manager but from the moment he was given the job he seemed destined to depart due to his unpopularity with fans.
6. Maurizio Sarri 2018-2019
Sarri left for Juventus after a year but he could be proud of his his solitary campaign in English football.
Having spent considerably less than Manchester City and Liverpool in the summer before his arrival, a third-place finish in the Premier League and a Europa League title was a good return for the Italian under the circumstances.
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It was a shame that he never won over the support of the Bridge faithful but the football was uninspiring at times and lack of a plan B proved costly for the 60-year-old.
5. Frank Lampard - 2019 - 2021
The appointment of arguably the club's greatest ever player went down brilliantly with the fans and in his first season in charge he exceeded all expectations.
Having lost Eden Hazard to Real Madrid and without the ability to sign any players due to a transfer ban, Lampard steered the club to an impressive fourth-place finish in the 2019/20 Premier League season and reached the FA Cup final, which the Blues lost to Arsenal.
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His best achievement, however, was blooding some of the incredible talent from Chelsea's famed academy into his first team, with Reece James, Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount and Billy Gilmour all coming on leaps and bounds under his stewardship.
However, after a summer spend exceeding £200m, things turned sour for Lampard after a rotten patch of form and not even his legendary status at the club could save him from Abramovich's cull.
4. Carlo Ancelotti 2009-2011
Ancelotti is undoubtedly the best attacking manager Chelsea have had under Abramovich.
Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka and Florent Malouda all thrived under the Italian and in his first season the team finished the campaign with 103 goals, becoming the first club in the Premier League to score more than 100 goals in a season.
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The same season he led Chelsea to FA Cup victory over Portsmouth and sealed Chelsea's first domestic double.
Chelsea impressed in the next campaign but they ultimately fell short to Sir Alex Ferguson's United, with Ancelotti surprisingly sacked shortly before the season's end after defeat to Everton.
3. Antonio Conte 2016-2018
Conte took the reigns at Chelsea following his spell as Italy manager and extraordinarily won the title in his first season in charge, setting what was then the record for most wins recorded in a single Premier League season (30).
The Italian tactician started off his tenure badly, with a draw to Swansea and consecutive losses to Liverpool and Arsenal in his first six games.
But his managerial quality shone through when he switched to a 3-4-3 formation and the Blues then went onto win a club record 13 consecutive matches to send them on their way to the title.
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Conte's tactical switch had a domino effect in the league too, with a number of managers such as Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino opting to use the same style.
After falling out with many of the players and the board, Conte was given his marching orders at the end of the next season, finishing his Blues reign by winning the FA Cup and with a 66 per cent win record.
2. Roberto di Matteo 2012
Roberto Di Matteo put his name into Chelsea folklore by guiding the Blues to Champions League glory in 2012 - and for that reason he has to go down as the second best manager in the Abramovich era.
That night in Munich, where the Blues beat Bayern in their own back yard, still remains the best night in the club's history and it doesn't look like it will be topped anytime soon.
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Di Matteo also led Chelsea to victory in the FA Cup just a week before their European triumph, which has somewhat gone under the radar due to the following weekend's historic victory.
But like many Chelsea managers, Abramovich's patience wore thin the following season and Di Matteo was dismissed from his post following a bad run of results.
1. Jose Mourinho 2004-2007/2013-2015
Mourinho is without doubt the best manager to have ever taken the reigns at Stamford Bridge.
The Portuguese arrived in west London in 2004 with an air of arrogance and a swagger which, along with the big influx of money from Abramovich, set the tone for an era of dominance in English football.
In his first stint with the club from 2004-2007, Mourinho astonishingly won 124 of his 185 matches in charge.
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He guided Chelsea to their first Premier League title and followed it up with another the next season, setting the record total of points accumulated in the process.
His second stint from 2013-2015, although not as successful as the first, still proved to be very decorated, having led the team to victory in the Premier League again and adding another League Cup to tally his total trophy count with the club to eight honours.
As controversial as he is, 'The Special One' will remain a Chelsea legend forever.