CONTE’S SILENT MIGHT

Blues stars no longer have a hotline to Abramovich.. and that’s why the manager is now the power in the dressing room

IT was last September when Chelsea’s players first realised the sands at Stamford Bridge had shifted.

Antonio Conte’s side had been outclassed in their 3-0 defeat at Arsenal, prompting a visit from owner Roman Abramovich to the Blues’ Cobham HQ. During his time there, talking to Conte in the trainingground canteen, a number of players tried approaching the Russian billionaire – only to be given short shrift. The statement from Abramovich was clear – the days of having a hotline to the owner, either in front of or behind the manager’s back, were over. The likes of John Terry, Petr Cech, Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard may have been indulged in previous years, to the cost of the man in the hotseat, but that culture had changed. So when Diego Costa made his desperate appeal for Abramovich to overrule Conte’s brutal text message, telling the striker his services were no longer required, the silence was deafening. “It’s a shame,” said Costa, whose goals have been pivotal in helping the club to two titles in the last three seasons. “I’ve already forwarded the message to Chelsea people to decide,” he said. “But it is clear that the coach does not count on me and does not want me there.” The likes of Andre Villas-boas, Luiz Felipe Scolari and even Jose Mourinho were all undermined by the players at the Bridge, their importance outweighing that of the manager. Abramovich had been keen for Mourinho to succeed on his return to the club, to such an extent the Russian took the rare step of issuing a public vote of confidence in the Portuguese to try and allay the pressure on him. With the players continuing to down tools, however, the Chelsea owner was left with no alternative but to sack the boss previously known as The Special One. Technical Director Michael Emenalo confirmed he had gone over a “palpable discord” with his dressing room. Abramovich appears to have learned from the experience enough to disconnect the hotline and allow his manager to manage. So when – with Chinese club Tianjin Quanjian expressing an