Mauricio Pochettino is the Right Manager for Chelsea
Mauricio Pochettino has a huge job on his hands at Chelsea if they are to leave last season’s wretched Premier League campaign in the rear-view mirror. The Blues finished 12th and it’s a sobering fact for everyone at Stamford Bridge that their tally of 44 points was just ten more than Leicester gathered as they slithered into the Championship and 15 less than neighbours Brentford in ninth.
American owner Todd Boehly and his business partners must have been horrified at the bottom-half finish after reportedly spending more than £600million on new players since taking control from Roman Abramovich. The failure on the pitch cost Graham Potter his job as he was deemed out of his depth, despite being regarded as a future England manager while in charge at Brighton, and the transfer policy was a swing and a miss rather than a home run for Boehly, who also owns the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball franchise.
But despite his strong affiliation with massive rivals Tottenham, Pochettino seems an excellent choice as Potter’s replacement. He cut his teeth in English football by doing a grand job at Southampton before turning Spurs into top-four regulars and taking them to the Champions League final. He could have achieved more in N17 but for a chronic lack of investment in his side and maintained his reputation as one of the best coaches in the business at Paris Saint-Germain by leading them to the Ligue 1 title.
Critics will point out that he failed to win the Champions League with a star-studded squad but Poch joins a who’s who of managers who have not managed to do that at the Parc des Princes. Chelsea will need patience because a quick fix is not guaranteed although youngsters like Reece James and Levi Colwill will thrive under Pochettino’s guidance along with fellow Argentinian and World Cup winner Enzo Fernandez, who underwhelmed following his £106m move from Benfica.
New signings Christopher Nkunku and Nicolas Jackson must fix the Blues’ chronic lack of goals – they scored just 20 at home and 18 away last term – and the former is 10/11 to be their leading league marksman this season after netting 25 for Bundesliga club RB Leipzig last year.
There will be progress but neither Sky Bet’s 13/8 for Chelsea to finish in the top four or Betway’s industry best 8/15 for a top-six finish appeal – neither does the 3/1 with Coral and Ladbrokes for them to be London’s top club as growing pains loom in the infancy of Pochettino’s tenure.
Julen Lopetegui is reportedly unhappy Wolves have not adequately replaced star players who have left Molineux and he’s 13/8 with Betfair and Paddy Power to be the next Premier League manager to leave his post. Wolves are 13/4 with BetUK and Unibet to be relegated. Colombia are 23/20 with Betway to reach the Women’s World Cup quarter-finals by beating Jamaica while Linda Caicedo is 9/2 with William Hill to score at any time.
Mauricio Pochettino has all the credentials to be a success at Chelsea, but it won’t be an overnight fix. The Blues need to show patience and allow him to build a team that can challenge for major honours. With some smart signings and Pochettino’s tactical nous, there’s no reason why Chelsea can’t return to their former glory days.