Ray Wilkins leaves Chelsea: how badly will he be missed?

The assistant manager's role is rarely glamorous, but it is often vital. Chelsea may regret Wilkins's departure
Ray Wilkins and Carlo Ancelotti
Ray Wilkins, left, and Carlo Ancelotti. Photograph: Alex Morton/Action Images

Ray Wilkins's sudden and unexpected departure from Chelsea raises a couple of important questions: how important is a No2 to the success of a club and, more pertinently, how vital was Wilkins to Chelsea?

Carlo Ancelotti, the club's manager, seemed to have few doubts about Wilkins' importance, writing in his recent autobiography: "Ray is a real blue-blood, Chelsea flows in his veins. Without him, we couldn't have won a thing."

That might be over-egging matters but Wilkins certainly provided stability in a choppy period. The former Stamford Bridge midfielder returned to assist Luiz Felipe Scolari and such was his success in limiting the fallout from the Brazilian's short but turbulent spell that it was decided he should remain in place for Guus Hiddink's brief rescue act and for the long-term arrival of Ancelotti.

History shows that behind most great managers there stood a reliable and loyal assistant. Bill Shankly had Bob Paisley when creating a dynasty at Liverpool; Brian Clough leaned heavily on Peter Taylor's scouting expertise during his spells at Derby County and Nottingham Forest; Joe Mercer counted on Malcolm Allison during his trophy-laden period at Manchester City; and down the road at Old Trafford Sir Alex Ferguson was ably assisted by Brian Kidd at he began to dominate British football. How much influence and inspiration these men provided will only truly be known by their respective masters but if the longevity of each relationship is anything to go by there can be little dispute they played their part.

The same is true of Wilkins. Given his grasp of Italian following a three-year spell at Milan in the mid-1980s, as well as his knowledge of life at Chelsea, Ancelotti was happy to keep him on board when he took over. The decision proved a wise one as the pair harmoniously led the team to the Double in Ancelotti's first season at the club.

Given Ancelotti's measured, reasoned approach to management, it is unlikely he would have called for Wilkins to go unless the pair had suffered an almighty fallout, which does not appear to have been the case bearing in mind how well they were continuing to interact during Chelsea's 1-0 victory over Fulham last night.

So why Chelsea should decide to rock their boat at a time when the waters below them seemed so calm is curious to say the least.