Those lost 30 minutes will haunt Mauricio Pochettino. Chelsea’s inexplicable lethargy during extra time against Liverpool will tarnish the reputation of their head coach. Pochettino, who is yet to win a trophy in English football, will find it difficult to shake off accusations that he is squandering big opportunities after his side’s 1-0 defeat in the Carabao Cup final.
Reputations are built in those moments. Unfortunately for Pochettino, it is difficult to find someone willing to put a lot of value on the financial power of Paris Saint-Germain and help him win three trophies in France. Before facing Liverpool, the emphasis was more on the semi-finals and finals that eluded the Argentine during his Tottenham days. Unfair or not, the only way to answer the question of whether Pochettino was ruthless enough was with a statement win. He had to show the Chelsea fans that he was capable of beating Jurgen Klopp.
Related: Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool showed Chelsea how to win with young players | Jonathan Wilson
It went that way at the end of normal time. Pochettino could rightly claim that he had given Chelsea the tools to beat injury-hit Liverpool inside 90 minutes. All that was missing was a finish, but it still looked like Chelsea would win when extra time arrived.
What happened next, however, was not a good prospect for anyone involved. Why did Chelsea hand over control to Liverpool’s teenagers? Was Pochettino’s team talk the problem or was it the team? Was it because Chelsea don’t have anyone who can dominate a match? Or was it because Pochettino, who later spoke of a lack of leadership on the pitch and alluded to his inexperienced side hoping for penalties, could not influence anything from the touchline?
Whatever the answer, the manager is usually the most exposed. The truth is that these are dangerous times for Pochettino now. There are already whispers coming from Stamford Bridge. Pochettino, who cannot afford to lose at home to Leeds United in the FA Cup fifth round on Wednesday, is already being assessed despite only arriving last summer. Well-placed sources have predicted a split if Chelsea, languishing in 11th place in the Premier League, miss out on their minimum expectation – European qualification.
Still, keeping an eye on the manager can be simplistic. Pochettino has seen some damaging results and there is no clear pattern in football. Yet it is questionable whether he is Chelsea’s biggest problem given that he has struggled with injuries all season, has put in excellent performances against the top sides and, most relevantly, is not responsible for £1 expenditure billion on such an oddly shaped team.
This is not Pochettino’s project. He is the head coach, the man tasked with building a winning side from a side without a natural goalscorer, but he was not the driving force behind buying all those young players. Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, the owners of Chelsea, have installed a recruitment team for this purpose. They brought in co-sports directors, Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley, and co-director of recruitment and talent, Joe Shields. It was not Pochettino’s idea to buy Axel Disasi, the centre-back who lost Virgil van Dijk for Liverpool’s winner on Sunday.
Chelsea needs to look inward. They must investigate why Graham Potter, who was recruited after impressing at Brighton, failed during his seven months in charge last season. They must be wondering why, five years after leading Spurs to the Champions League final, Pochettino looks so uncomfortable. Has he really lost his magic touch? Did Potter do that? Did his hard-earned coaching knowledge simply disappear after joining Chelsea?
Many people think the problem lies elsewhere. While Chelsea’s hierarchy remains happy with Stewart and Winstanley and wants to build the foundation around them, others are less complementary. There are questions about the quality of their signings. People have trouble seeing the idea behind the team. It is noted that the best players are still mainly academy graduates.
Some purchases look promising, but others have struggled. Mykhailo Mudryk, the £89m winger, has toiled and Chelsea’s feeling that they overpaid for Moisés Caicedo and Enzo Fernández must have deepened as the £220m midfield duo failed to regain the initiative against Wataru Endo, Bobby Clark and James McConnell at Wembley.
There is no escaping reality. It may not be long before Chelsea has to wonder if this model works. There has already been the departure of Christopher Vivell, who lasted less than a year as technical director after being pushed to the margins. Recent history suggests that no one is ever on completely safe ground at Stamford Bridge.
Related: Chelsea waste their chance and once again show what a strange team they are | Barney Ronay
Self-preservation could play a role. Shields is popular and is more in the background. Stewart, who has a good relationship with Winstanley, is seen as attentive and eager to work with colleagues. However, Winstanley radiates less heat. Previously at Brighton, he has quickly become the most prominent figure in the recruitment team. Building a close relationship with the powerful co-controlling owner, Behdad Eghbali, has helped. Winstanley has been involved in a lot of big deals and some sources don’t think he’s going anywhere. Others think he could be vulnerable if Eghbali’s confidence falters. Someone will have to carry the can for the questionable signings.
Whether it is Pochettino remains to be seen. Chelsea must tread carefully. Owners who are already on their fifth manager should keep in mind that potential employees will be nervous about a culture of hiring and firing, especially as the summer looks to become competitive. Many big clubs will have vacancies for managers and Chelsea must ask themselves where they would sit in that market if they were to miss out on Europe again. If they want to revamp their squad, they won’t find it so easy to sell players who were given eight-year contracts after signing for inflated fees.
Perhaps this is not the time for more unrest. Liverpool trusted Klopp in difficult times. Arsenal stuck with Mikel Arteta. Firing the manager is an obvious choice. Chelsea won’t progress unless they give someone time to build up. Pochettino has three months to convince them not to be hasty.