Mellor: Eccentric Ranieri had to go

Former Conservative MP and Chelsea supporter David Mellor believed “eccentric” Claudio Ranieri had to leave the club.

Ranieri tonight parted company with the west London side despite leading the Blues to second place in the Premiership and the semi-finals of the Champions League.

Mellor, now a football pundit, felt the Italian had failed to provide an adequate return on Russian owner Roman Abramovich’s huge investment on players.

“I agree it could have been better handled but I also believe Ranieri had to go,” he said.

“There was a vein of eccentricity running through the way he worked, and he never really maximised the strength of the squad.

“Unlike other clubs, Chelsea spent massively last summer and have two internationals for every position. He could and should have done better.

“If Roman Abramovich had been looking for a manager when he came in, nobody would have suggested Ranieri. They’re now going for the in-form man [Jose Mourinho], a man who has won two European titles in the last two seasons,” he told BBC Radio Five Live.

“I would love to join the gang and say ‘what a lovely fellow, he should have been kept on’, but you cannot watch Chelsea without thinking there is something eccentric and unusual about how Chelsea manage their resources.

“I felt he was given tremendous resources and didn’t make the most of them. This is not a game – Roman Abramovich has spent money on Chelsea and wants success – and second in the Premiership and reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League is not success as he measures it.”