Chelsea agree five-year deal with Enzo Maresca, plus an option for a sixth!

Pop quiz, hotshot!

Who is the last Chelsea manager to stay for at least five years?

Don’t think too hard, most of us weren’t even alive back then. The answer is Dave Sexton, who was here for almost exactly seven years, from 1967 to 1974. He’s one of just six (6) managers in our entire history to last that long, joining Tommy Docherty, Ted Drake, Billy Birrell, Leslie Knighton, and David Calderhead.

To put it another way, not a single manager in the last 50 (fifty!) years in club history has stayed for more than four seasons. John Neal got four years and two weeks. The recently retired Claudio Ranieri almost got four whole. Remember when we thought José Mourinho (Mk.I)’s three seasons was ridiculously short? No one’s lasted longer since.

And this isn’t just a Chelsea thing. It’s pretty much the way football goes, save for a few exceptional exceptions. And even those exceptions generally don’t sign long-term deals, Pep Guardiola famously included among them.

So is Enzo Maresca one of these exceptions?

Unlikely. Maybe, but probably not. They’re exceptions for a reason.

So, good thing we’re giving him five years (with an option for a sixth!). A couple pure-profit sales will easily offset the inevitable sacking payout then, right? Even Roman Abramovich eventually stopped handing out free cash this way.

(This is no slight on Maresca’s coaching skills, however great or not great they might be. But this is silly business any way you slice it.)