THINK OF WHAT has set Mauricio Pochettino apart as a coach over the last decade and it’s his ability to cultivate a vibrant team that excites.
They will be aggressive, work with an intensity in all aspects of their play and be a cohesive unit capable of overwhelming opponents with grit as well as guile.
Youth, and devotees to his mantra, has underpinned all of Pochettino’s success. It’s what pushed him into the elite bracket of managers – even if he’s yet to back that up with the required silverware.
He was a stop-gap at PSG and won Ligue 1, but his work at Espanyol followed by Southampton and then Tottenham Hotspur is what has helped forge his reputation as a coach who has the Midas touch with an eclectic, youthful dressing room.
It is why he seemed such a perfect, sensible fit as head coach for a Chelsea project that has seen over £1 billion spent on a plethora of new players since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital took control at Stamford Bridge from Roman Abramovich in May 2022.
Chelsea broke the British transfer record twice for two midfielders last summer – first splurging £106 million on Enzo Fernandez before gazumping Liverpool to the £115m signing of Moises Caicedo from Brighton.
Then, just for good measure, co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart gave the green light to pull the rug from under Jurgen Klopp again with the £55m purchase of Southampton teenager Romeo Lavia.
“The best thing about Chelsea right now is Pochettino, not the players or the owners – the manager,” Jamie Carragher insisted on Sky Sports after a thrilling 4-4 draw with champions Manchester City last month.
“That’s the most important man, when you talk about Chelsea getting back to winning trophies, I’m not sure they could have got a better manager that was available. Everything around him has to improve.
“The players, they’ll now have the confidence that they can go up against the best team in the world – confidence in the manager as well, that he can set them up in a certain way, every big game he’s given the opposition problems.”
Chelsea have flatlined since and ahead of the visit of bottom side Sheffield United tomorrow the London club are 12th, 14 points adrift of fourth spot and only six clear of Everton, who of course suffered a 10-point deduction and now sit 17th.
The international break halted some momentum and they were battered 4-1 by Newcastle United on 25 November, a result that infuriated the Argentine and led him to publicly calling out the players for being “soft”, adding: “We didn’t show that we were playing for something important. That’s what makes me angry and disappointed. Even if we are a young team and need to learn, these types of games make me very angry.”
It felt as though he was resorting to the rhetoric of the weary, the old-timer on the touchline.
Whisper it, it’s something the modern-day Jose Mourinho would say.
It’s something Frank Lampard continually accused Chelsea players of during his two stints at the helm – most recently as caretaker before Pochettino was confirmed as Graham Potter’s permanent successor.
A 3-2 win over 10-man Brighton provided some relief before back-to-back defeats away to Manchester United and Everton highlighted once again some of the glaring deficiencies that remain despite the incredible spending.
“Football is about scoring goals and we were not clinical in front of goal,” Pochettino said after a 2-0 loss at Goodison Park.
“I’m really, really disappointed. This was a game to play and to win. It’s a problem we need to check. We need to analyse the reality. We need to talk and to try to improve in the next transfer market.”
Some will scoff about needing more cash to solve the problem given the previous largesse but it does feel as if Pochettino’s allure as one of the game’s elite is at risk amid the chaos.
Attacking midfielder Cole Palmer (£40m from Man City) has been one unqualified success under his guidance.
Injuries haven’t been kind but the return to fitness of £52m striker Christopher Nkunku cannot come quick enough given Nicolas Jackson has struggled to impose himself on the Premier League.
“We need to rebuild. It’s going to be painful,” was Pochettino’s stark warning to the Spurs hierarchy in May 2019 before they lost that season’s Champions League final.
Chelsea have already undergone their own and now it’s up to Pochettino to try and find a solution that can work. If he is no longer the coach who can get the best out of young players with shedloads of talent then what sets him apart from the rest?
