Chelsea manager Antonio Conte holds the Premier League trophy, 2017
(Image credit: Alamy)
One regular day of Chelsea. That's all we ask for. Will never happen.
Liam Rosenior's sacking less than four months into the role at Stamford Bridge has once again left Chelsea to look for a new manager.
Or perhaps we should say...it has left Chelsea to consider an old manager, if reports in Italy are to be believed.
Chelsea 'weighing up Antonio Conte return'
Antonio Conte spent two years at Chelsea
Antonio Conte is currently manager of Napoli
It must be said that those claims are not exactly expressed in the most convincing terms, with CalcioMercato calling it a 'crazy idea in London'.
But that does not stop them from suggesting that Chelsea are in fact considering bringing Antonio Conte back to the club some eight years after he was dismissed in favour of brining in Maurizio Sarri.
Antonio Conte kisses the Premier League trophy
Antonio Conte led Chelsea to the Premier League title
Conte led Chelsea to silverware in both of his full seasons at the club, steering them to the Premier League trophy at the first attempt in 2016/17.
The Italian added the FA Cup the following season, but a fifth-place finish and failure to qualify for the Champions League meant Chelsea gave him the chop nonetheless.
Conte has since had spells in charge of Inter and Napoli, adding a Serie A title to his collection at each club to go alongside the three straight Scudetti he won with Juventus from 2012 to 2014.
In between times, of course, Conte had just under 18 months in charge of Tottenham, where he left under a cloud after hitting out at the club's ownership for a lack of ambition.
Antonio Conte, Eden Hazard, Chelsea vs Everton
Antonio Conte, Eden Hazard, Chelsea vs Everton
For FourFourTwo, that surely means Conte would laugh off any suggestion of returning to Chelsea...surely?
Owners BlueCo have been heavily criticised for their scattergun approach to running the club since taking over in 2022.
Enzo Maresca left the club on New Year's Day after delivering a put-down of the club hierarchy that was remarkably similar to Conte's complaints at Spurs.
Funnily enough, managers do talk to one another - and Maresca and Conte do know each other well having played for Juventus together from 2000 to 2004. If Chelsea do move for Conte, we'd love to see the texts between the two of them.
CalcioMercato add that the Italian FA are also keen to bring in Conte as national team manager, which also seems a bit off considering his infamously poor record in knockout competitions. That said, they'd probably take just reliably qualifying for one at this point.