Chelsea’s main problem isn’t Mauricio Pochettino but the time to part company is now

Posted on by Harrison Burridge

For the modern fan, Chelsea have epitomised a rollercoaster with laughable lows but heroic highs mixed in to pave the way for the club to enjoy one of the most decorative periods in club football history.

Success always felt around the corner such was the ruthlessness and winning culture Roman Abramovich and co. cultivated at the club.

Wind forward to the present day and the Blues are still a rollercoaster. They have evolved into one that is descending at breakneck speeds into footballing insignificance.

The gates at Cobham have been replaced by a revolving door with a never ending turnover in playing, medical, coaching and administrative staff. Regulars at the club have been swept away in the tidal wave of change and replaced by new faces. All hired with the shared goal of reforming Chelsea on and off the pitch and turning them into a footballing titan. They don’t even stack up as a relative minnow in their current form.

It should be clarified the majority of Chelsea fans didn’t expect an immediate return to the top of football this season but what many did expect was some tangible improvements to cling onto. Are the two more wins in 31 games under Mauricio Pochettino compared to Graham Potter that? Not so sure. However, reaching the League Cup final and having progressed past the first hurdle of the FA Cup are definite strides forward although the club’s fate in both competitions hangs finely in the balance.

An increasingly familiar spot in the bottom half of the Premier League table is once again being occupied after back-to-back four goal defeats. A week that has ruined the optimism around the club after the carefree feeling of the win over Middlesbrough and impressive run of home form since October. Ultimately it is one that has flipped the mood of fans in and out of Stamford Bridge.

The Argentinian’s appointment ticked several boxes especially the positive track record of growing a young team into a machine that can compete with the very best as seen at Tottenham. That name being the first stumbling block for many alongside the dearth of silverware from his time in North London.

However, his refusal to learn, adapt and make changes is why the Chelsea hierarchy need to hold their hands up and admit they’ve made another error in the managerial department. Square pegs in round holes has been a phrase often coined to describe team selections this season with Ben Chilwell operating on the left wing at times, centre backs commonly used as full backs and midfielders played in roles that don’t maximise theirs or the team’s strengths.

Chelsea have a very talented squad, one missing experience which will be discussed later, but one that shouldn’t be sat 11th in the Premier League and on the end of regular hidings on the road. The defence has been ripped to shreds on countless occasions and the deficiencies were no more obvious than Sunday with Wolves operating a clear plan of giving the ball to Pedro Neto and allowing him to run at both Chilwell and Thiago Silva, who were helpless to stop the Portuguese winger. The image of Moises Caicedo surrounded by Liverpool players with teammates nowhere to be seen harks back to Frank Lampard’s final league game in his first stint. That isn’t an indication of a manager taking the right steps to push the Blues back into the league’s elite.

Add in his strange comments to the media and the forlorn figure he cuts on the touchline and you wouldn’t be far wrong by saying it would be best for all parties if the relationship is cut short considerably earlier than the two year contract Pochettino was given.

A lot of the issues Pochettino has had to deal with stem from errors from those above him. Potter himself had to perform a role more akin to that of a firefighter last season and Pochettino is also having that same experience.

On the one hand you have players not performing to the levels expected of them but when you consider that the 18 names signed since January 2023 only have 108 senior international appearances between them, you can see why.

And the spotlight for that reason should also be on the sporting directors, Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, too. They’re main aim is to build a squad for the manager to use at their disposal that gives the club the best chance of success. An abandonment of signing players with experience or achievements within the game doesn’t achieve those aims at all.

Plus, the desire to sign the best young talent in the world is all well and good but blocking the pathways of those in the academy isn’t a wise move for the long term future of the club. You’d be hard pressed to argue that the likes of Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Billy Gilmour and Callum Hudson-Odoi would be doing any worse than their big money replacements.

In fact, three of Chelsea’s last top four finishes were built on a Cobham core made up of Andreas Christensen, Reece James and Mason Mount with the likes of Tammy Abraham, Trevoh Chalobah, Loftus-Cheek, Hudson-Odoi chipping in. These are players that should be treasured and not just seen as expendable and a way of balancing the books because of the ridiculous sums of money spent. They are after all the beating heart of Chelsea. A club quickly losing its true identity with that infamous quote from Didier Drogba ringing loudly in fans’ minds.

The bigger question is where is the vision for the club coming from. Is it from the owners? Or have Winstanley and Stewart been given full control to craft the squad as they wish? Queries like this could easily be solved by simple communication from Todd Boehly or Behdad Eghbali, something they promised the fanbase upon taking over. What have we had since? Nothing except seeing Boehly partake in the odd interview across the Atlantic.

Multiple reports have also constantly emerged of the individuals in the hierarchy wanting different things. Too many cooks rings a bell here. An alignment and shared vision is needed to begin to fix the errors made since the takeover in 2021. With that comes appointing the correct manager.

Is Pochettino is the right man for the job? He isn’t. The shortcomings are clear to see and the team are now going backwards from promising early steps made. The ripping up of the system used in pre-season after Christopher Nkunku’s injury was an immediate red flag.

Chelsea’s season is hanging in the balance and some form of European qualification is needed. Failure to act now and make changes will render the project into nothing more than the term itself.

Written & edited by Harrison Burridge (@hburridge2)

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