Tuchel and Chelsea are proving to be football's perfect short-term marriage

Roman Abramovich will look on with pleasure if Thomas Tuchel can deliver Chelsea's first Premier League title since 2017 this year.

The current wait matches the longest drought endured in west London since the Russian billionaire's arrival.

In Tuchel Abramovich has one of the world's best coaches and has armed him with an impressive squad, albeit much of it inherited.

The pieces are in place and the Blues currently sit top, which comes after their Champions League triumph in May.

Abramovich and Tuchel embraced on the pitch at the Estadio do Dragao, but that will mean little if things go south.

The German, right now, is performing impressively and all is well at Stamford Bridge, but things never stay that way for long, especially at Chelsea.

Thomas Tuchel has Chelsea sat top of the Premier League ( Image:

REUTERS)

Abramovich's trigger happy finger has been criticised, but it is a model that has yielded trophy after trophy.

In short, it works. Tuchel will do well to last three years - and that is no reflection on him.

The longest tenure of any manager in the almost two decades under Abramovich is three years and three months.

If you look at the German's past though that may well suit him. He has not spent more than three years in either of his past two roles at Borussia Dortmund and PSG.

Football is becoming increasingly short-term. Have an impact and then move on. The yearning for longevity requires two parties to work in tandem.

Tuchel and Abramovich have, in recent times, proven themselves in capable of doing so given the stakes are so high.

That said, the nature of the two individuals could mean this is the perfect short-term marriage.

A Dortmund disagreement

Few will argue that Tuchel's Dortmund side are the best in the post-Jurgen Klopp era, especially in the first of his two seasons.

The German side find themselves trying to break the Bayern Munich monopoly, but Tuchel has given them as tough a time as any.

In his first season he picked up 32 more points that Klopp did in his final season. In Tuchel's second year he claimed the German Cup, beating Bayern in the semi-finals.

As has been the narrative in recent years, the current Blues boss presided over an impressive outfit, but in the background things were not completely harmonious.

His relationship with club CEO Hams Joachim-Watzke became increasingly strained.

Hans-Joachim Watzke's relationship with Thomas Tuchel became strained

The Dortmund chief has since spoken out on Tuchel, praising his ability as a coach, but citing a clear personal clash.

"Tuchel is an exceptionally good trainer," he said.

"Sometimes there are things that just don't work out. But I wouldn't count Tuchel among my enemies now. Thomas is a difficult person, but a fantastic trainer."

The then Dortmund boss was angered and went public with criticism after Watzke agreed to UEFA's demand that the club play a Champions League quarter-final game one day after the team's bus being bombed.

He was also less than impressed over transfer dealings after Watzke sanctioned the departures of several key men despite guaranteeing they wouldn't leave. Inevitably they parted ways.

The German came close to delivering Champions League success in Paris

A Paris politician

The Qatari-owned club desperate to win the Champions League on the pitch whilst furthering their brand off it. What could go wrong.

Success in Ligue 1 is expected, but by no means a guarantee. Nevertheless Tuchel delivered on each occasion.

A controversial exit to Manchester United in Europe wasn't well received, but the German led the Parisians to their first ever European Cup final the year after.

He remains the only man to do so since the billions arrived at the Parc des Princes, but fell narrowly short.

Tuchel though experienced far more issues at PSG than he did at Dortmund, which would seem only natural given their squad.

Managing the egos is no easy task, but it was his back and forth with the hierarchy that would prove to his detriment.

Thomas Tuchel and PSG sporting director Leonardo clashed

There are certain club's boards you just don't battle against - PSG is one and, of course, Chelsea is another. Watch this space.

In his final full season the club allowed Thiago Silva and Edinson Cavani to leave when their contracts were up, despite the season running over due to the pandemic.

They had no replacements and as a result Tuchel decided to talk down the club's ambitions for the season, saying: "If it stays like that, we can't talk about the same goals."

Leonardo, a key figure in the club, responded by saying: "We did not like the comments, the club did not like them. Me, personally, I didn't like it. If someone is not happy, it's easy, we talk, there is no problem.

"But if we decide to stay, we must respect the club's policy, the house rule and the club's approach."

A relationship that had turned increasingly sour ended in December 2019 after two-and-a-half years.

In an interview with German television station Sport 1, Tuchel said he felt "[more like] a politician in sport" than a coach.

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Blue is the colour - for now

And here we are today. Tuchel is nearing his first anniversary as coach.

A European Cup is in the bag, an FA Cup near miss, sitting top of the Premier League as whilst furthering his reputation as one of the world's elite coaches.

Tuchel is utilising Chelsea's squad well, there are few, if any, murmurs of discontent. Younger players like Trevoh Chalobah are getting a chance.

The German got what he wanted in the transfer market, which hasn't always been the case elsewhere, and he has made that known.

Thomas Tuchel and Roman Abramovich are currently on the same page ( Image:

GETTY)

However, that spiky side he's always had does come out every now and again. Taking on players in the modern game is a risky strategy.

He's called for more from the likes of Kai Havertz and Timo Werner, which is justified, but doing so via the media can go one way or the other.

The Abramovich modus operandi is simple - win. He's not bothered about longevity, there's always another manager.

Tuchel's character doesn't seem to lend itself to lengthy tenures at Europe's big clubs. Whilst some may see this as a ticking time bomb, for the manager and the owner it could be a perfect marriage.