Chelsea now may be out of sight, out of mind for the Italy coach, but he left those in charge plenty to get on with. And now those in charge need to prove last season’s farce was a blip.

For Michael Emenalo and Marina Granovskaia, it’s been underwhelming. Nothing out. And nowt in. Which would be fine if we were talking June 2015. Y’know, when Chelsea were still champions of England…

But today, we’re talking about the tenth best team in the country. A mid-table club. The fourth-ranked in London. Arsenal and Tottenham can offer Champions League football. Chelsea can’t. West Ham are moving to Stratford. Yet, Chelsea are still at the Bridge.

Okay, okay, we’re turning the screw here, but you get the drift. In just 12 months the landscape has completely changed. Arsenal and Spurs are way out in front. West Ham are now a legitimate alternative. 20-odd million quid for Alexandre Lacazette? A £100,000-plus a week for Dimitri Payet? The Irons are no longer the paupers of London. It’s no longer enough, especially this summer, for Chelsea to simply trade on their name. Emenalo and Granovskaia are actually going to have earn their money in the coming months.

He was ready to go. Walter Sabatini had informed James Pallotta, the Roma president, he felt his time was up. Conte wanted the 61 year-old to join him in London. To act as a liaison between himself and Chelsea’s directors. But also, critically, to bring his football and negotiating experience to Cobham. Sabatini was keen. But the enthusiasm at the other end of the table? Well, not so much. The move eventually fizzled out, with Pallotta convincing his wily sports director to stay on. Like with his plans for an expanded backroom staff, Conte’s hopes of having Sabatini to bounce ideas off were shut down. He’d have to make do with the existing front office. The same lot which had produced a team that had just muddled their way to a tenth place finish.

It’s telling that over the last 24 hours, Jose Mourinho has added Ricardo Formosinho, formerly of Porto and Real Madrid, to his backroom team at Manchester United and is also in talks with Francisco Oliveira about quitting his scouting role at Benfica and moving to England. These names haven’t been plucked from out the Blue. They’re people Mourinho has been connected with for decades. Yet, it is only now he’s bringing them to England. So, why not Chelsea? What (or whom) prevented him from adding the expertise of these two to the staff at Cobham?

At Juventus, where Conte is rightly recognised as the man who launched their golden era, he was able to lean on great football men like Beppe Marotta and Fabio Paratici. Great negotiators, with an excellent eye for talent. Jean-Claude Blanc was also there at the beginning before being tempted away by PSG. There’s simply no comparison between the football nous at Juve and what Conte is working with at Chelsea.

This summer, Chelsea really can’t do things incrementally. But without the Champions League and their mid-table status, this window is going to be anything but smooth.

Another bid went in for Radja Nainggolan yesterday: €32 million plus €3 million in bonuses. It was rejected. Roma can just take the mick. They know Chelsea are wounded. They know they need Nainggolan. And with no Champions League carrot, nor any certainty Chelsea will actually be competitive next season, Roma know Nainggolan is in no great rush to make the move. They hold all the cards. And of course the irony being, sitting at the opposite end of the table is Sabatini.

The message has been the same coming from Juventus and Leonardo Bonucci. Even Stephan Lichtsteiner, while open to a reunion with Conte, was talking up the prospect of a PSG move on Monday. Title winners. Champions League contenders. Between the Parisians and Chelsea, on paper, such a choice is a no-brainer.

In their one-on-one meetings, Roman Abramovich assured Conte of a massive transfer budget. Some claim it to be ‘unlimited’. But with the new TV deal, it’s fast becoming obvious that Abramovich’s spending power won’t be enough to keep Chelsea competitive. More and more, like games and titles, the signatures of players will also be won on merit. The best players will gravitate to those clubs with the best management teams.

The success of Juve under Conte was no fluke. It didn’t simply happen because of the Juve name or their famous Bianconeri shirts. It was achieved by having the right football people in the right positions – both on the training pitch and in the front office.

Conte is a great appointment for Chelsea. The right coach at the right time. But there’s massive holes in their management structure. And failing to address it now will only lead to a repeat of the great ‘Djilobodji Debacle’ of 2015.