The Italian has proven himself on numerous occasions to be a top boss, and he proved that again in his first year in the job by leading the Blues to their first ever double. That sort of achievement should buy a manager at least a further couple of years in any job.
The club statement announcing the sacking made big noises about giving him the "respect his position in our history deserves", but if they really respected him that much then they would not have relieved him of his duties in a Goodison Park corridor right after giving what turned out to be his final press conference as their manager.
After a blistering start to his second Premier League campaign, Ancelotti paid for his only bad run in charge of the club - over the winter period - with his job. His fate was clearly decided long before a final-day defeat which was rendered inconsequential with the title already at Old Trafford.
A look at the patience Arsenal have shown Arsene Wenger for what he has achieved despite their lengthy trophyless run is at the opposite end of the scale, but it shows just how trigger happy Chelsea have been in this instance. The difference there is that Arsenal are run within a proper structure, whereas whoever else is involved in the hierarchy at Stamford Bridge must eventually bow to the will of Roman Abramovich.
Chelsea are acting like Real Madrid, sacking a manager at the first sign of underachievement. Abramovich may be right to question why they have not won anything this season after ploughing so much money into the club, but he should not be deluded into thinking that his team has any preordained right to win trophies.
His meddling has contributed to the team falling short this season. No manager would, in theory, decline the opportunity to have a player of Fernando Torres's class added to his squad, but the Spaniard's arrival was more of a hindrance than a help. Ancelotti was forced to accommodate the £50m striker into his line-up, but his poor form contributed to Chelsea's European elimination at the hands of Manchester United. The Champions League may be the holy grail for Abramovich, but his hasty attempt at making it happen was cack-handed and backfired spectacularly.
If the likes of Ancelotti and Jose Mourinho can lose their jobs at Chelsea despite what they achieved there, what hope does the next man coming into the position have?
It is difficult for me to say who the best person to take the job now would be, but I fear that none of the top candidates will go near it. Whoever is approached will need to seek assurances that they will be given not only the money to bring in the players they want, but also the time necessary to complete a thorough rebuilding job on the squad. That is simply not going to happen.
Continuity is at the heart of sustained success for any club, and that is a commodity in short supply at Stamford Bridge. It was certainly disrupted when Ray Wilkins was unexpectedly shown the door last November. How influential his abilities as a coach were is open to debate, but his sudden removal and Ancelotti losing his right-hand man clearly had an effect.
Unless Abramovich gains a sense of perspective, the next Chelsea manager needs to be a man prepared to have his job interfered with on occasion and for conditions to change at short notice. It is unlikely that the same man will be the top class boss most likely to deliver the glory Abramovich craves.
Eurosport
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