No Class, No Continuity

So Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich wields the axe again. Carlo Ancelotti was relieved of his duties as manager in a corridor at Goodison Park within an hour of the final match of the season.

Never mind the rights and wrongs of the actual decision, he deserved more than being informed of his fate in a corridor at another team's ground. Just a year ago the Italian led Chelsea to the domestic double.

Five factors that led to his downfall:

1) This was the worst season of the Abramovich era. Chelsea's mid-season form was the worst since the Russian arrived and to many it was a surprise that Ancelotti survived that dire period when Chelsea were getting beaten by the likes of Sunderland, Birmingham and Wolves. Last season's Champions League elimination at the hands of Inter Milan and former coach Jose Mourinho did not go down well with Abramovich, while in this season's competition Chelsea were eased out by Manchester United. The Champions League remains elusive.

2) Chelsea's indifferent form was preceded by the club's decision not to renew assistant manager Ray Wilkins' contract in November. Wilkins left with immediate effect and the defeats followed. He claims to have never been told why he was deemed surplus to requirements, although there are rumors he insulted Abramovich to his face. Without question, this decision undermined the squad because Wilkins was a well respected figure in the dressing room.

3) Chelsea went into the 2010-11 season with arguably their weakest squad since Abramovich took over in 2003. The likes of Joe Cole, Deco and Michael Ballack all left, with only Ramires and Yossi Benayoun coming in. Ancelotti is not responsible for who joins the club and who leaves, and it was a big ask to expect him to emulate last season's double winning achievements. Clubs should strengthen when in a position of power, but Chelsea went into the 2010-11 season weaker.

4) Terrified at the prospect of not even qualifying for the Champions League, Chelsea reverted to type in January by signing Fernando Torres for a British record £50 million and also bringing in David Luiz. Like Andriy Shevchenko in 2006, Torres is Abramovich's plaything, signed with little consideration as to whether he would fit the system. He hasn't. Comprehensively. And yet he is expected to feature in most games. So on top of all the other fires Ancelotti has had to fight this season, he has also been forced to incorporate an out-of-sorts Torres into his line-up. The result? One goal from the Spaniard since January.

5) Injuries took their toll earlier in the season and it is no coincidence that when Michael Essien, Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard et al all returned to fitness, results improved markedly. But in those dire November and December months, the Blues did not have the strength in depth to cope with such losses.

Marco Van Basten, Andre Villas-Boas (Porto), Harry Redknapp (Tottenham) and Guus Hiddink (Turkey) are among the favourites to succeed Ancelotti.

The Italian carried himself impeccable during his two years in English soccer, always keeping his counsel despite difficult working conditions at Stamford Bridge. This move had been in the pipeline for several months, and Ancelotti has become the latest casualty of a regime that has already overseen the sackings of Mourinho, Avram Grant and Luiz Felipe Scolari.

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