Mauricio Pochettino is once again fighting to prove his worth at Chelsea after being outplayed 5-0 against Arsenal on Tuesday evening. The Blues came into the match on their best unbeaten run in the competition for two years, but left the Emirates Stadium humbled and humiliated by a side they used to love playing for.
It is now just one win in the last 10 against the Gunners for Chelsea, a record symptomatic of a club in decline facing a club moving forward. There have been some horror shows too, but nothing comes close to the 20 minutes after half-time when Kai Havertz and Ben White both scored twice.
Pochettino is now trying to make a vague success of his first year in charge. The Blues are still within touching distance of the top six – just three points clear of Newcastle and Manchester United – but are thoroughly battered and bruised. The Argentinian will now have to pick up his players for more test matches against Aston Villa and Tottenham.
For many, this loss was the final straw. Supporters who never had any real contact with their new boss have now had enough, as more pressure is put on those above Pochettino in the pecking order.
With four games left of the season and a review of his first term in the summer, football.london writers have given their thoughts on where Chelsea goes from here.
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Tom Coley
Chelsea appear to have returned to the starting line, exactly where they were 12 months ago following the sacking of Graham Potter. Although there are new players and a younger core, the general consensus is that Pochettino is not getting the best out of a talented group that should be higher up the table.
That’s largely true, but it also ignores the mitigating factors — and there are plenty — working against him. Ultimately, failure to qualify for Europe and more problems of this nature will leave Chelsea with just one more decision to make in the summer. It’s hard to see Pochettino on the sidelines in August.
This has been the case for some time, and even a longer series of improved forms – offset by even more chaotic results – cannot change that. Chelsea are considering having a fourth permanent manager in just over eighteen months.
Who is that guy? Good luck to them. Chelsea are a poorly managed club from top to bottom at the moment and Pochettino’s warnings about his squad in recent weeks carry a lot of weight.
Everyone is responsible for the mess right now and the easiest change is still the manager. Pochettino hasn’t exactly helped himself in this scenario with questionable tactical decisions, poor use of substitutes, failure to build a relationship with the fans and mediocre results at best.
But the argument that less change is better is still strong. Do fans trust the decision makers to make the right decision this time, after almost two years of mistakes in key departments? That’s definitely something different.
Either way, Chelsea are behind in the race to find a head coach and that could spell trouble. Jose Mourinho part three, anyone? It wouldn’t even be a surprise at this stage.
Jake Stokes
It’s time for Mauricio Pochettino to go. Actually, it probably should have been moved a while ago. See, in the summer he managed to quickly transform Chelsea into a powerful, free-flowing attacking side that got the best out of Christopher Nkunku, Carney Chukwuemeka, Mykhailo Mudryk and Nicolas Jackson.
Despite working with a big squad, the former Tottenham Hotspur boss laid the foundation for his philosophy, which excited Blues supporters at the time. Ben Chilwell played as a left back. Levi Colwill partnered Thiago Silva as a central defender. And Carney Chukwuemeka glued the team together in midfield.
For some bizarre reason, as soon as Nkunku returned to the treatment room, Pochettino canceled all his hard work. Suddenly Mudryk was dropped, Chilwell was on the left wing and Colwill was switched to left back. Why? The 52-year-old is simply not a dynamic problem solver.
Yes, the injury crisis has been unfortunate, but he has given fans no reason to believe in his ‘tactics’. Eddie Howe has faced a similar problem in terms of keeping his best players fit, but Newcastle United supporters still support him as he has implemented an identity and shown great promise.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about Pochettino. Chelsea have regressed incredibly since pre-season. It’s time to go. Hire John Terry until the end of the season to restore the club’s values while the sporting directors explore the market for a new permanent boss. I wouldn’t mind Ruben Amorim.
Lee Wilmot
With each week that passes, I find myself having a different view on Mauricio Pochettino staying on as Chelsea boss. I’ve felt for a while now that changing the manager wouldn’t change anything.
There must be unity, a common goal and the desire to work together on the project at hand. Sacking the manager every season won’t solve anything. But Pochettino is making it increasingly difficult to stand up for him.
Chelsea were eight games unbeaten in all competitions after their Carabao Cup final defeat to Liverpool. The problem was that two of those were FA Cup wins against Championship opposition and three were Premier League draws against struggling sides.
The defeat against Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-final was hard. Chelsea were the better team, but the age-old problem of not creating chances in the back of the net reared its ugly head again.
Then came Arsenal on Tuesday night. There were bright sparks in the first half, but the second half was just awful. The defense on display at times resembled the Sunday league and Pochettino’s team selection left a lot to be desired. Are Chelsea relying too heavily on Cole Palmer? Sure.
There are times when you think Pochettino can do well and shape Chelsea into the team he and everyone expects them to be. Then there are moments like Tuesday evening.
But are the players ultimately good enough? Would any of the top six include Djordje Petrovic, Thiago Silva, Trevoh Chalobah, Benoit Badiashile or Axel Disasi in their teams? Probably not. And that tells you the whole story.
The defense isn’t good enough and up top they can’t put the ball in the net unless Palmer is around. Is that Pochettino’s fault?
Cash O’Sullivan
I feel sorry for Mauricio Pochettino. He comes across as that jovial uncle at family barbecues who can’t stop making lame jokes and he has been given one of the most poisoned chalices in world football.
However, I’m not sure what else he can do with the cards he’s been dealt. Two years ago, Chelsea took the potential European champions to the limit in Madrid and had a squad capable of challenging. That manager was ruthlessly sacked, that squad torn apart and replaced with highly questionable big-money signings, and last night’s class gap is the result and reality of the situation.
But this team should have won the League Cup and been in another cup final. I don’t look at them and think they are a million miles away from those above them. They were beaten last night by a side that took Mikel Arteta three years to even come close to challenging at the top and I can safely say that his second season at Arsenal was a lot worse than Pochettino’s first at Chelsea.
Patience is a virtue at the best of times, but in football it is an absolute necessity. They are the youngest team in the league, they have no control over their price tags and it will get better. Sacking Pochettino is now back to square one. Besides, do you really trust this owner to have a coherent plan to replace it?
Isaac Johnson
The last time Chelsea had a manager for two full seasons (from August to May) was Antonio Conte in 2016/17 and 2017/18. The club is in urgent need of stability.
Pochettino’s summary after the Arsenal thrashing sums up his first campaign well: “When we have bad days we are so bad. When we are good we are capable of anything.”
Despite the 5-0 thrashing, Chelsea cannot forget the draws against Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal (in the reverse fixture) this season. The Blues reached Wembley twice and were still able to secure European football. There have undoubtedly been growth spurts.
The problem has been consistency and changing the manager certainly won’t solve this. Furthermore, given the average age of the current Chelsea squad of 23.5 years, we should not forget what Pochettino did with a young Tottenham squad.
There’s really no one better for this job and to think otherwise is foolhardy.
Jake Bayliss
Any manager would have problems with this Chelsea selection. That The Blues Fielding the youngest side Arsenal had faced in the Premier League era and being hamstrung without 21-year-old Cole Palmer illustrates this point perfectly.
Pochettino may have suffered some humiliating moments during his debut campaign, but there are also signs of improvement. Reaching the Carabao Cup final and almost doing the same in the FA Cup while being a remarkable three points off sixth place in the Premier League – these are green shoots that one defeat, even if it is a disastrous 5-0 defeat against Arsenal, should not be overshadowed too much.
What Chelsea need is not a new manager, but more experienced players to guide their youthful squad through difficult times.
Pochettino may not prove to be the long-term solution for Chelsea, but with Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Barcelona and possibly Manchester United looking for new managers, the pool of options available to the Blues is quickly becoming quite thin. In a summer where players will also be absent from this summer’s European Championships and Copa America, replacing Pochettino would only further muddle the mess Chelsea are trying to unravel.
What are your thoughts? Leave a comment to let us know!