WHEN Claudio Ranieri breezed into the Chelsea training ground in September 2000, the skies were dark and the rain lashed around the exposed playing fields of Imperial College. If it was a portent of what was to come — Ken Bates, who was the chairman at the time, had dismissed eight managers in 13 years — Ranieri was blissfully ignorant of it. Even through the words of an interpreter he exuded charm and grace. At last, surely, Chelsea had got the right man.

Almost four years on, Bates has gone and now Ranieri, the head coach, too, purged by the ruthless regime that has been created by Roman Abramovich, the billionaire owner, and serviced by Peter Kenyon, the chief executive. Second place in the Premiership behind Arsenal this season was not good enough and neither was a place in the semi-finals of the European Cup. Business is business.

The manner of Ranieri’s departure, though, sticks in the craw — death by a thousand cuts of rumour, innuendo and private briefings. Ranieri, the son of an Italian butcher, was treated no better than a piece of meat over the past six months, grilled to charcoal and discarded on the plate as inedible. Whatever his relationships with the hierarchy at Cagliari, Napoli, Fiorentina, Valencia and Atlético Madrid, his previous clubs, he cannot have been treated worse.

On that dreary day in 2000, when Ranieri succeeded the departed Gianluca Vialli, he spoke optimistically. Vialli had been found guilty of making too many changes to the team but his compatriot promised better. “My ideas are very flexible,” Ranieri said. “They might change from one game to the next but it is only logical that if you stick with the same 11, 12 or 13 players they will know the tactics by memory. If you change too often, they will not be able to find each other with their passes.”

Fine words, but in reality, even as Ranieri’s command of English grew, little changed. Although he had pledged to erase the apparently random selection system of Vialli, the self-styled “Tinkerman” indulged in his own eccentric brand of rotation. The team, the individuals, the formation. Constantly. It reached its nadir when Ranieri tinkered too much and Chelsea lost 3-1 against ten-man AS Monaco in the first leg of their European Cup semi-final in April.

There were no trophies to back up Ranieri’s theories but, hey, he was a hell of a nice guy and at least Chelsea were competitive. Defeat by Arsenal in the FA Cup Final two years ago was hard to take but, again, Ranieri revealed his human touch by allowing Roberto Di Matteo, who had been forced to retire because of injury, to lead the team out at the Millennium Stadium.

“How many managers would do that?” Di Matteo said. “I was no longer any use to him but he thought it would be a good experience for me. I will never forget it.”

The Chelsea fans will not forget, either. Ranieri’s idiosyncratic bluster, enchanting use of pidgin English and dignity in the face of a very public and lingering dismissal earned their appreciation like few managers at Stamford Bridge.

Abramovich’s orgy of signings last summer had made Ranieri’s job even more difficult — how could he possibly keep happy so many “galácticos”? — and the supporters recognised that. Two months ago, as the daily bulletins on Ranieri’s future grew gloomier, he was no longer able to hold back the hurt.

“Dead Man Walking” was how he described himself, a nice line in gallows humour. “I think that the club could now say: ‘No, this is all rubbish’,” Ranieri said. But the drip-drip death continued.

Yesterday, a Bank Holiday, was a good day to cover bad news, Chelsea replicating a favourite trick of government. “It came as no great surprise,” Jon Smith, Ranieri’s agent, said last night. “I think we had all read the tea-leaves a few months ago. It’s just sad that Claudio didn’t get the opportunity to finish the job.”

Ranieri did not deliver silverware but did not deserve the humiliation heaped upon him. That is his legacy.

RANIERI FACTFILE

Born: October 20 1951, Rome.
Playing career: Defender with Roma, Catanzaro, Catania.
1985: First coaching job with amateur side Vigor Lamezia.
1985: Coach of Campania, Serie B.
1987: Coach at Cagliari in Serie C. Rebuilt team and won promotion in successive seasons to Serie A.
1991: To Napoli where he promoted Gianfranco Zola to first team to replace Diego Maradona.
1993: Takes over Fiorentina in Serie B.
1994: Wins Serie B and promotion with Fiorentina.
1996: Wins Italian Cup.
1997: Takes his reputation for building teams to Valencia.
1999: Wins Spanish Cup and qualifies for Champions League.
1999: To Atlético Madrid but his tenure is brief and he leaves after they go into administration.
2000: Replaces Gianluca Vialli at Chelsea.
2002: Losing FA Cup finalists to Arsenal.
2003: Earns fourth-place finish and Champions League place.
2003-04: Steers Chelsea to second in championship, their highest position for 49 years, and to the European Cup semi-finals.

Explore Football

• Premier League

• Football League

• Scotland

• European Football

• International Football

• TheGame

• Live Match Tracker

• The Fink Tank

• Fantasy Football