Why Chelsea and Mauricio Pochettino parted ways despite the optimistic feeling heading into the final days of the season.
On Tuesday, Chelsea confirmed it has parted companies with coach Mauricio Pochettino after one season of their association.
The revelation came as a shock as it was expected that the Argenine former PSG Paris Saint-German boss continued at the club following improved performances in the latter stages of the season.
Chelsea struggled for the major part of season under Mauricio Pochettino, spending several weeks switching from tenth to eleventh positions on the log.
They struggled for consistency due to individual struggles affecting the collective success of the team. In the first half of the season, only once did the club win back-to-back games in the Premier League.
The former PSG Paris Saint-German defender admitted he did not feel the “love” of supporters as groups of away fans called for the return of Jose Mourinho during a 2-2 draw at Brentford in March.
But this was expected due to the poor start to life for Pochettino on his return to London, and Chelsea’s position on the league standing was nothing to write home about at the time.
Fortunately, Chelsea lost once in their final 15 league games of the season, while their only other loss in that period came against Manchester City in the Emirates FA Cup semi-final clash in Wembley.
The Premier League loss was at Arsenal, meaning the losses came against the two best sides in the league, while Chelsea won their final five games of the season.
The finish to the season was very impressive at the club secured a place in Europe next season by qualifying for the Conference League, which could turn to Europa League should Manchester United lose to City in their FA Cup final meeting this weekend.
There was optimism about Mauricio Pochettino keeping his job at Chelsea heading into the post season discussion with the management.
Just last summer he signed a two-year contract with option of one more, and after paying so much compensation fees to lots of managers in recent times, one could predict that Chelsea stick with the former Tottenham Hotspur boss for their rebuild project.
Unfortunately, the 2-1 over Bournemouth in the weekend was to be his final game in charge, and many didn’t see it coming so no proper farewell moment with the fans.
Why Chelsea and Mauricio Pochettino parted ways
Chelsea were optimistic about the continuity of the Argentine heading into the end of the season review. The club, having analyzed their season understands that the project is progressing well under Mauricio Pochettino.
Chelsea ranked very high in the impressive statistics, which includes big chances created and several other attacking statistics.
The club is keen on working on their medical department in the summer, updating the personnels in the team as their ineptitude denied Pochettino the availability of several players during the season, due to injuries.
Chelsea’s injury list frequently ran into double figures. The club suffered more injuries than any other team not named Manchester United.
In addition, the club also had more days missed by player than any other the other 17 teams in the Premier League, only behind Newcastle and Sheffield United.
Top signings like Christopher Nkunku, Wesley Fofana and Romeo Lavia ended up playing a few amount of games amongst them all season.
Sources close to the club also highlighted the fact that the Argentine might not have had the chance to train with his most preferred starting XI due to the consistency of the injuries – if that’s the case, then it’ll never happen.
However, the end of the season review was where an agreement could not be reached between the two parties as both share different opinions as to what will work best for the club.
Why Chelsea and Mauricio Pochettino parted ways
Poor pre-season preparations
The issue did not only start with Mauricio Pochettino but since the first summer of the takeover of the consortium led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake capital.
Chelsea learned a few things from their hapless pre-season tour to the United States in 2022, but failed to put it into good use.
Thomas Tuchel, who was the coach in the summer of 2022 quickly complained about a hectic schedule which took the Blues across every time zone in the States and left them, in his view, badly underprepared for the new Premier League season.
The effect of the poor pre-season preparation took its toll on the club’s performances immediately the season got underway. Chelsea won three, lost three and draw two in their opening eight games to the 2022-23 campaign.
However, the Englishman former Brighton boss was able to steady the ship as the season went on. Unfortunately, the reality continued to catch up with the team every now and then, leading to his sacking in the early months of 2023.
The summer came and Mauricio Pochettino resumed as the new boss. The Argentine was spared the same sort of journey time, with the club staying near the East Coast, but nevertheless they were away for a long time, over two weeks playing five matches.
During that period, Mauricio Pochettino had to change the squad’s itinerary on more than one occasion at short notice, something which is not entirely uncommon on preseason tours, but still indicative that the demands were different to what he expected, according to ESPN.
At one point he gave them an extra day off to ease the intensity as the players were already being burnt out due to the complexity of the pre-season fixtures.
Maybe the new Chelsea management needs to take lessons on pre-season planning or leave it to men with breed for it.
Why Chelsea and Mauricio Pochettino parted ways
Differences on player acquisition There were talks on the profiles of players acquired by the club. The Argentine wants to have more say on the type of players signed by the club, sighting that many of the available players do not fit into his philosophy.
When it comes to transfers, Todd Boehly, Clearlake’s Behdad Eghbali, along with co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stuart prefer using analytics to inform its strategy. While Pochettino is only to contribute to their choices.
In last summer, Chelsea was keen on signing Michael Olise from Crystal Palace but the deal fell through close to the last moments. They also made enquiries about Mohammed Kudus but Ajax already sealed an agreement with West Ham United.
Takeaways for Mauricio Pochettino
Cole Palmer was an unplanned signing, only because he appeared the only option available, having disagreed on playing position and time with Pep Guardiola in Manchester City.
The attacker wants a new home where he will be an integral part of the setting. Chelsea were lucky that Brighton undervalued him and could not progress to sign him, making him still in the market late in the summer.
The signing they never considered a priority ended his maiden season as their Player of the Season as well as the league’s Young Player of the season.
For Pochettino, who has a reputation in developing youngsters into world beaters, the rise of Cole Palmer will be a source of pride for him, looking back at his stint with Chelsea.
The likes of Nicolas Jackson and Noni Madueke also appeared to be getting into gears in his latter days in the club, while Mykaylo Mudryk also improved significantly compared to under other managers since his big money move to Chelsea.
Why Chelsea and Mauricio Pochettino parted ways
Lack of public support
The five-and-a-half-year Mauricio Pochettino spent at Chelsea’s London rival Tottenham Hotspur and without winning a trophy was a big concern for fans when news broke that he’ll become the new boss.
Despite his attempts to wad it off from affecting his relationship with the Chelsea fans, he was not helped by the shambolic performance of his players in the Carabao Cup final meeting with Liverpool.
A win on that night in Wembley could have reassured a big appetite Chelsea fan-base that the Argentine’s failure to win titles at Tottenham Hotspur is more about the club than the coach.
He was never fancied by a notable percentage of the club’s fans, who constantly milk every chance to have a go at him.
Pochettino soon grow irritated and began give back the same energy in the wake of the edgy win over Leicester City in the Emirates FA in March.
“Do you know why we use too many we put here? Because we use this guy few minutes in Carabao Cup, in the FA Cup or in the Premier League because of the circumstances.” The 52-year-old added.
Pochettino was also not fancied by some members of the club’s hierarchy. Those were not in support of his continuity, and the consistent question over his future at the club added to the pressure on the manager.
Mauricio Pochettino soon wanted out of the club, and with his presence already dividing opinions, Chelsea also agreed to part company, and the resolution was reached in the review on Monday.
An official statement from the club reads : ‘On behalf of everyone at Chelsea, we would like to express our gratitude to Mauricio for his service this season. He will be welcome back to Stamford Bridge any time and we wish him all the very best in his future coaching career.’
Jesus Perez, Miguel d’Agostino, Toni Jimenez and Sebastiano Pochettino have left the club with Mauricio.
Why Chelsea and Mauricio Pochettino parted ways
Now the club is on the verge of appointing a third permanent manager after two years in administration. In the coming days, a much younger manager will be appointed.
While their ambition remains unquestionable, their inability to find a compatible manager for the star-studded team they have set up raises major concern, and a malady that will continue to haunt them as long as it exits.
4 Comments
Pingback: May 25, 2024
I think it doesn’t make sense when a coach’s contribution to player recruitment is reduced to mere suggestions. The coach should be the number one guy. He’s the one in charge of the team.
Chelsea messed up shaa.
Something dey worry the board head,but na their money them kuku dey waste no be my own personal money,Cos you will have to pay for the years he didn’t work for again.
Nice