Why did Project Poch fail and who next?

Mauricio Pochettino has left his position as Chelsea head coach by mutual consent after less than 11 months in the job.
After a poor start to the Premier League season, he led his side to a sixth place finish with 5 straight wins at the end the season. However the upturn in form wasn’t enough to keep his place at Stamford Bridge
So, why did the Pochettino project fail?
Adam Leventhal is joined by The Athletic’s Jack Pitt-Brooke and Simon Johnson to discuss who could possibly manage Chelsea next.
00:00 Intro
00:16 Were Chelsea fans surprised with the decision?
03:06 How the decision came about
05:41 Was this the right decision?
10:20 Has this been a restorative year for Chelsea?
14:17 Who could be Chelsea’s next manager?
23:40 Summer transfer window
25:40 Where could Poch go next?
27:58 Outro
The Athletic Football Podcast is your essential guide to football's biggest stories, five times a week this season...
Listen on Apple and Spotify: theathletic.lnk.to/tafcpodYT
Subscribe to The Athletic Football Podcast channel 👉 bit.ly/athleticuk | 🔔Make sure to enable all push notifications!🔔
The Athletic is currently offering a special price subscription of £2/$2 a month for the first 12 months. To redeem that limited-time-only offer go to 👉 theathletic.com/footballpod
Follow The Athletic FC:
Website 👉 theathletic.com
Twitter 👉 / theathleticfc
Instagram 👉 / theathleticfc
Facebook 👉 / theathleticfc
Follow Tifo Football:
Website 👉 tifofootball.com
Twitter 👉 / tifofootball_
Facebook 👉 / tifofootball
Instagram 👉 / tifofootball_
Subscribe to Tifo Football 👉 bit.ly/TifoFootball
Thumbnail: David Horton - CameraSport / Contributor / CameraSport via Getty Images
Stephanie Meek - CameraSport / Contributor / CameraSport via Getty Images
#pochettino #chelsea #premierleague

[@stu8758]

Project Poch didn't fail, in reality, it didn't even get started. He was effectively given a daycare centre to manage at the start of the season, the fact they managed to qualify for Europe was a miracle in itself. That young squad they've banked their future on needs direction & stability, trigger happy Chelsea strikes again.

[@zaza_268]

It was a miracle bc United, west ham and newcastle are shite. They were always gonna drop like flies

[@brandonjablasone7544]

@@zaza_268nah chelsea just started scoring more goal and got a little better in defense

[@CarlinConnolly]

absolutely spot on...

[@j.s3300]

Leadership is political...he failed the political game, again

[@RandySnortin]

Watching Chelsea take a step forward and 5 steps back is a joy to see 😂😂

[@RefnRes]

I wouldn't say the Poch project failed as much as it never really got given the conditions or time to get started fully.

[@greg2502]

It failed . He typically blew the cup opportunities

[@jackmannion143]

If you can't identify simple tactical tweaks until 5 games of the season left I would suggest your a failure as you've proven with 5 games left there was enough talent in the team to change systems which he refused to do leaving us a laughing stock for majority of the season . Its the right call in the end

[@benlane7282]

@@jackmannion143Chelsea literally only lost 1 of their last 14 games .. after last years debacle, the amount of young players there, you think it’s possible to just transform them in just a couple months? Living in some cuckoo land, the improvement compared to last season is plain to see

[@divinedube9280]

@@greg2502that’s on Nicholas Jackson

[@jackmannion143]

@@benlane7282 you don't understand basic football tactics and nuances . It shouldn't have been that bad and it was under poch . The last 5 games only showed it was the mamager holding the team back and not the players . That's why when he switched cucu into midfield and it worked I knew he was done as it took majority of the season to make 1 simple tactical tweak and it was to late . He deserved to be sacked

[@arahman137]

Simon Johnson sounds like Chelsea owner's mouthpiece. Sure, don't judge Pochettino JUST on the last 6 weeks' performance. How about compare 22-23 to 23-24 as a whole? 12th to 6th, 44 to 63 points, GD -9 to +14, XG 51.89 to 80.11 - those are all really BIG improvements.

[@JudeUgwuegbulam]

Thanks for mentioning this…the guy sounds very out of touch. It’s already been said…it’ll be interesting to see if Chelsea can attract a top manager. Bayern Munich is having trouble right now 🤔

[@badofcheese]

It’s wild isn’t it. He’s either a moron or on the payroll. Possibly both.

[@arjitjere1559]

True

[@christaylor9656]

​@@arjitjere1559the underlying numbers were very good. It was looking like the correct appointment and they should have done more to keep him for next season.

[@tiagoferreira5368]

They give Pochettino a super young squad, waaayyy too many injuries and expect what ? He did well and this team will be better each year as they player's grow.

[@-LetsHaveItRight-]

Agree ... he was set up to fail ..I just don't get this club anymore

[@caamafia]

He caused the injuries

[@CoolHandLukeDuke]

He was largely responsible for the injuries. His training methods are treacherous

[@Neznasgospodina444]

He did well? If it wasn't for Cole Palmer, Chelsea would be 15/16 in the PL, he is one poor coach.

[@sounakpal4051]

@@Neznasgospodina444 Why are we acting like his training methods weren't the biggest cause for the injuries. Also how did he did well and improve anyone when every single player looks like a worse version of themselves except for Palmer and maybe Gallagher

[@HolloVVpoint]

I’m not a Chelsea fan, but can you call a project failed after only one year? It took Arteta 3 years to get Arsenal challenging, took Klopp around 3 years etc…

[@edmanning274]

James Alcott's got a really interesting perspective. Poch wants to create a Poch team that is good in possession but really specialises in transition and moving the ball vertically up the pitch. The owners bought (some players) players for a dominant possession-based football. It's been called out a few times that Enzo doesn't seem to work in his system, and his good run at the end of the season coincided with Enzo being out injured. The conversation will have been - I don't want to sell players like Gallagher, I want more of them. The answer will have been 'we want to sell Gallagher and get more Enzo's'. There's no way to resolve that equation.

[@dfinch7804]

Leave it to the bastions of mediocrity we call “journalists” to call that season a failure. Between injuries and new/young players trying to adapt a new system and coaching staff, he scrapped together a late run and got to sixth. The only failure is by the ownership of the club. They blamed Poch for variables outside of his control.

[@just_kez]

No Chelsea fan is saying "Why have the sacked Poch?" we're all saying "Why do it when the alternatives are Championship coaches!?"

[@joshbrown2217]

I think the best way to phrase it is, We're not upset that we have sacked Poch, we're upset at the reason we sacked poch

[@chad9971]

If I was Poch I would've got outta there too. He dramatically improved the team in the last few months of the season and qualified Chelsea for Europe again (although it's not the Champions League). Left with some dignity when 4 others came before him and were embarrassed. Chelsea will go for their "young manager" and he's going to get eaten alive and Poch is gonna kickback and sip a drink.

[@steve93pa]

Project Poch didn't fail. No, this is all the Board's fault. They want a yes man. That's the same reason they sacked Tuchel and that's the same reason Poch is also gone. Boehly and Eghbali can't run a football club.

[@zaza_268]

Can you? Have you made billions of dollars? Or are you some dumb telling successful people how to run a business ?

[@jivkogg]

Potter was the big Yes , but no results, soo he gets the boot. Wonder if board knows what they actually want

[@frankreynolds9930]

Poch was tactically naive, his training methods simple but too hard causing injuries, didnt want more specialist like setpiece.

[@TheNewOrder121]

God this sounds like my team (man utd) think think this might be the norm ,hope we beat city for him eth ,but its city so we'll get done 3 or 4 hope not at least u got european footie to look forward to.

[@Khante4]

If Roman got rid of him I would trust in the process. With Todd, I understand why Poch went but I don’t trust the process anywhere near as much

[@yanikdavid3708]

Roman also got rid of Ancelotti a season after he won the title. Roman was an awesome owner, but let's stop pretending he was the perfect owner. Part of why Chelsea are in this mess is because of Roman and Marina. Not saying they entirely at fault, but buying players like Kovacic, Morata, Jorgi, Lukaku, the entire summer of 2017. City and Liverpool built carefully, while trigger happy Roman got rid of everyone with 2 seasons. It hasn't started out well, but the new owners are trying to build something for the long term future, not just short term success and with the way the players showed their potential this season, it's not hard to see that it most likely will work out and some point, just got to be patient.

[@Khante4]

@@yanikdavid3708 yanik you’re spot on mate. Good points. I still just don’t trust this system, it looks like we want a Yes man which does worry me considerably

[@yanikdavid3708]

@@Khante4 that definitely is a worry, unfortunately only time will tell whether this will work out or not, I guess all we can do is show support and hope for the best.

[@k4yser]

Yannik, the only thing that the new owners are trying to build is a successful ATM machine. Sporting success comes second.

[@yanikdavid3708]

@@k4yser for it to be a successful atm it has to be a successful shooting club. Whether we like it or not football is a commercial business at this point. Our only hope is it brings sorting success as well.

[@gillwelsh7292]

He didn't get long enough. Recently, the team has really worked together. Gutted he is gone xx 1:59

[@edmanning274]

Team played really well after Enzo got injured. There's your problem. Poch doesn't want the centrepiece player, and wants to save Gallagher... the owners want it the other way around.

[@Mal_Freeman0451]

Can people stop the 'Poch failed at PSG' nonsense please? It's PSG... a team full of egos run by a bunch of egos in suits. He won the league with them. People forget Ancelotti took over half way through a season when they were top of the league, and didn't win it.... It means nothing. It's PSG... Poch is a quality manager who hasn't been given a chance at a top club that's actually set up for success. Next season at Chelsea could have been that chance, but the ownership quite clearly want a long term project, and they'll do whatever it takes to ensure it remains long term. Any sniff of things going right and they just have to jump in there and knock it on the head straight away.

[@amoghkashyap2695]

Man you nailed it. I'm equally tired of this narrative that his PSG stint was bad and hence he is a bad manager. You gave the example of Carlo at PSG and I like to extend that to Tuchel at Bayern this year. It was a really bad season by their standards, are we now going to say Tuchel is a bad manager too?

[@MolloyDadda247Luke]

What exactly do the ownership at Chelsea want. Was Poch ahead of schedule? He was developing young stars like Palmer, Gusto, Jackson and Petrovic.

[@dontwannaname]

In the end , the Chelsea hierarchy don't want a Poch team. They want a possession-based team, which matches the players that they've bought, but is not what Poch delivers. It can be no surprise that Poch got more out of Gallagher than he did out of Enzo. This might well have been a bad match from the outset.

[@farhadchaudhry]

But they might get McKenna. He's not a possession manager either.

[@petergtterup4205]

Why they hire Poch then?!

[@zaza_268]

@@farhadchaudhryI doubt they go for McKenna. Enzo maresca seems interesting

[@user-ro6kg2xe6t]

@@zaza_268Gasperini sounds more interesting as well

[@zaza_268]

@@user-ro6kg2xe6t agreed but he’s too old. We won’t go for an old manager

[@tiagoferreira5368]

Man, Ruben Amorim is an amazing manager. Take him, he has 2.titles in 4 years and always has the 3rd, sometimes 2nd best squad. Never the best squad.

[@Tony605]

Took time for him to achieve.

[@jaimeleonguzman4328]

​@@Tony605​​he won the Portuguese double in his first season already

[@Tony605]

@@jaimeleonguzman4328 before that.

[@Tony605]

@@jaimeleonguzman4328 and before that?

[@frankreynolds9930]

He prefers 343 and doesnt focus on central mids.

[@MolloyDadda247Luke]

Poch didn't fail. Chelsea finished 12th last season. He improved that to 6th. Along with 2 deep cup runs only losing to superior teams in Liverpool and Man City. Also to think he did that with a squad that is mostly under 24 year olds and a long injury list...

[@user-gk7no7ct4n]

The knowledge on hand is amazing I shall be watching again and again I’ve learned so much today - shame todays show was three weeks old and not up to date - but great show 👍

[@mrgzola25]

Todd wanted him but Egbali didn't.

[@twit_t9668]

I think people are underselling Poch. Last season was so bad and it seems Chelsea are still in denial about it, because without those wins by tuchel, they would literally have been relegated. Getting into Europe after that is a crazy success. Chelsea effectively signed all these players on huge 10 year deals and have effectively reset the progress 2 years in.

[@stevenesbitt3528]

If you are surprised by Chelsea sacking a manager you must go through life like one of the double take brothers

[@patrickamoyaw1492]

He didn't fail. He took a group of inexperienced kids from 12th to 6th, and took them to 1 cup final despite 58 injuries.

[@sushrutaghosh7643]

Was waiting for this after yesterday's news

[@bobbowie9350]

Contrary to popular belief, managers are just passengers. Players fail.

[@Jole30]

He was always Spurs in my eyes. I am pretty happy that he is gone..

[@giorgimerebashvili8053]

After chaning the formation against Aston Villa, we were very different team. The squad came alive and finally we were getting there, but the clueless owners decided to sack him🥲 What scares more is the potential replacements. They want a young (in other words, yes man) coach. I really hope that they won't appoint De Zerbi or McKenna

[@greg2502]

Well DeZerbi isnt a yes man for one and Chelsea just want a coach not a manager this isnt a radical new approach for a football club its been done before.

[@davidborkwood2368]

interested to see how they bring in now, and if it doesn't start off well next season things could get ugly

[@1997cjt]

Bad grammar on the headline

[@akilabd3262]

Thank you for your efforts

[@nicholasgage2095]

This has been handled with a level of incompetence that’s hard to believe. I have no faith left in the ownership that they will make the right decisions. They want a yes man and they don’t make great managers.

[@CoolHandLukeDuke]

Almost 30 points off of 1st and a run of results that were a lot closer than they should have been. I'm good with change, because we need to get back to possession based Attacking and controlling the tempo of a match, not sweating out results.

[@Chelseafan4life_]

Oh and man city and asenal didn't have to sweat out results? 😂😂😂

[@greg2502]

​@@Chelseafan4life_they are posession based attacking teams

[@CoolHandLukeDuke]

@@Chelseafan4life_- We dropped points to Sheffield

[@Chelseafan4life_]

@@CoolHandLukeDuke and what if the new manager drops points to Ipswich then what? You do realise apart from TT, Jose or Flick which we are not getting that the managers have not won any major honours. You really think these managers will win us trophies or even take us to top ? Come on even Stevie Wonder can see that Chelsea as re in a mess.

[@mickodillon1480]

@@CoolHandLukeDuke And 10 man Burnley. Wolves did the double over. The Man Utd game. Notts Forest game.

[@LOBO68117]

It was almost impossible to do a new team ,squad, manager, owners, linking all these brand new players together , injuries all this in his way from the beginning. All this was bound to happen. Good luck Pochitino and upwards and onwards Chelsea

[@Cypher652]

Didn’t fail he actually did pretty well this season

[@thierryhenry674]

Please hire Southgate, Dyche, Mourinho, Pulis, Conte, Hodgson, Benitez, Allardyce or Moyes. 😂

[@Tony605]

None of them will come to Chelsea

[@whatevername8551]

Jürgen Klinsmann

[@Vesuvius081]

Harry Potter 🤣

[@sushrutaghosh7643]

I agree with Jack...even it is in last stint of the premier league where Chelsea made a U turn and secured European football spot which is clearly a success better than last season... Owners have made another mistake sacking him...

[@edwardlani-george1272]

What aren't most looking at it from the perspective of this season being a much needed development. The next step is crucial, yes, but if people are mad over the decision, then they got it right getting him in. Trust them to make the right one again. So far, it's been progress. Dare I say, a bit ahead of untd and started their project later.

[@edricko7]

So we're just going to ignore the dark Tuchel like cut out in the thumbnail 😂😂

[@salehr8770]

Clearlake might actually be the worst ownership group in premier league history history. I’m not even kidding

[@bilabijoseph5030]

Football is evolving and big clubs have to evolve with it. Outdated tactics are exposed and beaten on the pitch by young managers with great knowledge of the game and innovative ideas! Look how Alonso disgraced Tuchel over two legs in the bundesliga this season. Poch also have antiquated tactics and Kompany 's Burnley drew with him 2-2 with a red card to Burnley in the first half!!!! Some of you fans just react emotionally & hastily without doing a logical analysis hence you guys don't get it!!

[@yingyang1008]

didn't fail, dude walked away after turning around a really challenging situation All the players love him, most the fans have warmed to him and want to give him another year to see if the progress continues

[@culershub3984]

Make videos on Hansi Flick's as the new Barcelona coach, his play style, players he will sign and stuff.

[@stephenm9917]

I just can’t think of anyone who comes in and picks up where poch left off without running into a run of bad form.

[@SirEEf13]

I partially agree. I can certainly think of managers that could take over and almost immediately continue with similar success and improve upon it through their tenure. It's just that we're not linked to those guys at the moment.

[@Samuel_mm7]

Wow, it's crazy how Boehly could buy a pr video from The Athletic for 28 minutes

[@edengolocfc]

Poch didn’t fail, the club seems to only wan’t a yes-man. We love you Poch💙

[@jiggyintrovert]

i just want to thank the man for educating some people that keep placing more blame on boehly than anyone else. like he’s not solely responsible for this ownership failing. i’m not even trying to cope for the guy but it bugs me that the more prevalent guys are the ones escaping the shit from the fans and rivals

[@julianbrown3100]

For me, it was the moment when he said “If I were them, I would be motivated to go there tomorrow and show that this is Chelsea Football Club, not Cole Palmer Football Club”. Something felt off about that: like dude, you are them. He was talking about it like he was on the outside of the team.

[@justme599]

I wouldn't say pocy failed - at all!

[@adrianwhyatt594]

Actions always speak louder than words. They lied when they promised to build for the long-term and sacked 4 permanent mens' first teams coaches. Their control freaks and have already hired a set piece coach. They've sacked the groundsman. They've bought out the Chelsea Pensioners property next door. They want to asset strip the properties and have already transferred some of them into other companies. Thank god the ground is owned by Chelsea Pitchowners. Now Emma Hayes has also left to become USA women's team manager. Gaslighting asset strippers.

[@godfreemorals]

100% they are here to make a profit and will happily strip the club bare to do so

[@RandySnortin]

Watching man City activate the buy back will be sweet, we drinking champagne around here

[@user-zj6bk1nx2h]

Let's break this down, MP did help CFC win the Summer Cup (in the States), had an average startvto the Season then went, 9 games without a loss (3 wins (if correct)! Then MP didnt rstablish a genuine relationship with the Owner's (who simply did their own thing)! Judging by the standards of Chelseasyperformance, the players at CFC and the relaywith the owners... poch took as much as he vould and left when the Club was beginning to perform! Whoever they bring in as next Manager will (possibly) be aware they can only have so much input in the Club!! Oh well, "Say Serra Serra, whatever will be will be the future is ours to see.." COYB..

[@24eu]

He didn’t fail, the club has been going through some tough times and he’s got a completely inexperienced and newly put together team which is extremely rare scenario into Europa league which would be a great stepping stone for them and into a cup final

[@ashleyblanchard7280]

I think people are looking at this completely wrong it’s not the sackings they are getting wrong it is the original appointments. Pochettino was the wrong appointment he’s had a bad season for pretty much most of the season until march and even then there were some really bad results in that. Potter was also the wrong choice and Meserca has got massive question marks on him. If you appoint average managers you get average results. The person they should have got was Naglesmann last summer but they fumbled it and now we’ve struggled. RA always appointed elite managers who where the best available to Chelsea and this new ownership isn’t doing g that and wondering why they struggle in the league

[@ahhn9638]

It's time to call Big Sam

[@astralplainer]

Continuous turmoil is the only way this club can operate. There's no point in pretending that Chelsea will have a dynasty with this group of players if the board can't even decide on a long-term managerial appointment.

[@jcanyiam8309]

As a Liverpool Supporter, I can't imagine had Jurgen Klopp done THE SAME as Pochettino and waited until the end of the Season and quit the Club!!! THANK YOU, Jurgen

[@benwright795]

Jürgen Klopp was a coach. He did get given players he said in interview that he didn’t want Mohammed Salah.

[@juvaniaaron1720]

They way you stated that he would've done better than ETH at united and nobody questioned it So we assume he would've finished 2nd or higher and won two trophies in his first season? 😂 Or are we simply stating that he would've finished slight higher than 8th but still off from top 4 which then doesn't make much difference

[@redmed10]

Businessmen running sports clubs. What can go wrong. Managerial merry go round. The ultimate gig job. Big bucks and you dont have to stay around too long. Its a wonder if any manager gets to know the names of his players.

[@user-zj6bk1nx2h]

Aha Jack, totally agreeable... Could it be that the Owners sre after a manager whobhas minimal input, listens to the Owners, respects the Owner's decision and blindly accepts what the Owner's expect (tegards to the Squad, results and as a dictated script gor the Media)! Even in the days Chelsea was created (as a Team) its highly dougted that Chelsea had this many flaws? COYB...

[@user-zj6bk1nx2h]

Understanding that... Which type of manager should Chelsea be looking at? Perhaps a Sarri? Afterall, he came in to a Team which was already set up, rstablished and not his own/ in his image!

[@teamtempest844]

PMBOK... minus time, plus impatient business types.

[@jamesmccarthy6764]

As long as they get a good replacement they'll be okay. Poch got them rolling at the end of the season & has left them in a good place for the next manager to pick up from.

[@Okay-buh-bye]

I don’t see how he failed at all, progress from last season and dealing with the mess that is Chelsea

[@TheRandiestMexican]

Recruitment for a team you knew was going to be coached by Poch has not been right but. He’s not a possession coach and that entire team profiles as a possession team

[@hmmer3471]

When players were playing for manager, Chelsea sacks him

[@moonpuppy9919]

They gave him as bad a situation as I think any coach has ever been in, and unsurprisingly struggled. Yet he turned it around. If anything a coach’s greatest impact is towards the end of the season, hardly in the beginning. It’s flat out stupid

[@traykunable]

Project Poch failed because of philosophical differences. The board wanted possession based dominant football. Poch wanted gengenpressen football. The relationship was doomed to fail. Glad he's gone. Hopefully we get Roberto De Zerbi and actually play proper footie and challenge for titles.

[@timothytumusiime2903]

I'm still shocked

[@michaelrowe3511]

Chelsea since the start of 2024 Chelsea were top 4 and in the last five game they were in the Top 3 above Liverpool with the Youngest inexperienced team with the worst injury record in the premier league all that is needed to get Top 4 next season would be Keep the team together especially Gallagher and Chalobah and we would only need to buy one player to lift us to the next level and that is Victor Osimhen

[@jamesabbott8621]

What about a podcast on Brighton search for a new manager

[@StarAmbience42]

I get that Poch finished hot, but fighting for 14-9th place most of the season is not cool. Squad is too talented for that. SOme very sketchy lineups and tactical choices along the way too. Fans are forgetting the first 7 months and remembering 1

[@brandonjablasone7544]

The whole fucking team to as bad. You forgot about caciedo giving away position like nothing. Enzo just walking around in the midfield not helping defend. Silva put in a couple of stinker. Jackson continuously missing open goals. 😂😂😂 like come on. Y'all blame poch for players inexperience

[@rolandtb3]

Simple, his squad was not good enough. His best players were injured. The fill-ins were not cut from the same cloth. Several were below the huring fee paid. Short on options as £1 billion already spent. No room to maneuver or upgrade. No loans for CB, LB, CF. Little help or options where needed. Chelsea took a different, novel path against conventional wisdom. Turned their backs on options to buy: Rice, Bellingham, Toney, Madison, Barnes. How much more successful we could have been. Opportunities squandered. Perilous path forward with a jr. coach. More chiefs than indians. Look at the successful clubs' structure in the PL: Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Aston Villa, Tottenham. Then outside: Real Madrid, PSG, Napoli, Leverkusen. Any thoughts?

[@petesmart1983]

Poch actually did well with the youngest squad in the prem, people forget chelsea arnt buying big stars anymore just young potential players

[@senyongaeric1948]

These sporting directors should go ahead and coach the team at this rate. Westham has gone down the same route and trust me its going to end in tears. There is a proven way of doing it, bringing in ur McKenna and hope the fans are going to wait 4 years to compete.. u will be seeing placards up at the bridge

[@davidcooper2552]

If Poch was Sacked because an Elite Manager was lined up and keen to take the job than fair Enough !! This was unplanned, unthought out trigger finger reaction because Poch had a few demands !! We now in a situation where we after an Inexperienced coach with an Inexperienced Team and we expect to get better !! Ridiculous We have wasted a full season

[@ikennaamaechi2054]

You can run a team solely like that. The manager needs to have at least 40% input in the signing.

[@collapsiblechair9112]

managers have been becoming more and more outdated, top clubs just want coaches for the first team

[@jackbexhell]

The strategy makes no sense. They're now looking for someone like Potter but without that PL experience. Might as well just get him back if it's a choice between him and a championship manager!

[@michaelrowe3511]

What are your Thoughts on the Rumour that De Zerbi is the new manger at Chelsea and that it was sorted out months ago isn't it Strange that he left Brighton a day before Poch was Pushed out Now the thing is if Chelsea do make him the new coach it costs them £5m compensation but had he still have been at the club then it would have been £15m! So if that happens is that legal? or dodgy perhaps need looking into

[@yanikdavid3708]

I think the point about Poch being a great man manager is exactly why his time was up. He was a great man manager and those results were shown on the pitch, the games Chelsea won were from direct attacks with certain players driving it, it wasn't tactics that really won those games, Poch's tactics rely more on player trust than a specific style of football, and I haven't seen Poch's PSG, but I have watched Spurs under him, you could see this, which is why when they played well they look like world beaters, and when they play bad, they look worse than a non league football team, which I think if we're being honest, the same could be said of Chelsea (Carabao cup final, FA cup final, Wolves at home, Arsenal, etc). City and Liverpool and as much as it pains me to say this, Arsenal all have an identity which has helped them be successful, and when they lose, they just look like they had a bad day, not like they were the worst team in the world. Just my 2 cents.

[@zaza_268]

Rare sensible comment. The rest of the fan base are absolute knobs. Imagine crying about a manager who finished 6th bc of his last 5 games.

[@yanikdavid3708]

@@zaza_268 exactly, at this point it might good to get rid of the knobs now so that when we eventually start winning, only the true fans are there to celebrate.

[@zaza_268]

@@yanikdavid3708 the funny this is it’s the same people who screaming poch out 3 months ago 🤣🤣🤣 some people just love to hate and complain

[@yanikdavid3708]

@@zaza_268 exactly, not even 3 months, as recent as the Sheffield and arsenal game, people were out for Poch's head. I love Chelsea with all my heart, but alot of these fans are intolerable. They did the same with Tuchel when he lost against leeds and zagreb and now they want him back.

[@user-zj6bk1nx2h]

Thats exactly what these nee owners said "We want to be different to the Roman Abramovich era and avoid hirring & sacking Manager's)! Well guess what? Other than buying Young Player's, verbally appealing to Fans (ie. "Stadium Expansion"), it's going down a similar route... In terms of hirring & dacking managers and not the Directors! Todd Boeley is only the face of the new Ownership & Clrarlake are the majority owners thus, has munimum input on decidioimade!!

[@SleekMack]

Potchetino to Bayern Munich will make sense... He is a big team coach and will be able to transition perfectly with the team they have now... A few big name signings to Bayern with Potch can turn things around for them....

[@greg2502]

Hes not good enough for Bayern they will finish 2nd or 3rd with him

[@5678hgvhjkjnbnm]

18:00 - How can you include Arteta in the list of 'powereful', sustainable, successful managers?

[@scottbaron]

For the owners to blame the manager for not getting into the Champions league and not themselves for their crazy transfer policy shows such a hilarious lack of self-awareness

[@deschanner881]

Poch to B Munich - obvious place for me! 27:38

[@fluxity88]

Boehly trying to brute force this rebuild the American way and not looking at long term, sustainable growth. They hired Graham Potter with the idea of a project, then said Pochettino would be leading the project, and now they expect to convince the next manager that they’d be given time for a project? It takes time to build a competitive team, a culture, and a winning team - Boehly going to run chelsea into the ground and players + managers will be thinking twice before joining

[@Chelseafan4life_]

Not boehly it's Egbhali and Feliciano

[@robooooooooo]

eghbali and feliciano mostly call the shots, boehly isn’t really involved THAT much with the major decisions compared to them

[@user-zj6bk1nx2h]

It'd be hillerious if Man U pick Poch after leaving/ being let go by Chelsea (as it eas with Jose)!

[@exitthelemming145]

Unless you were present during the discussions between Pochettino and the club owners that led to the former leaving his role as Head Coach, it's just idle speculation. The Athletic often carries much insightful analysis but this is just 3 well-intentioned nerds spitting into an unfavorable wind.

[@kingj7606]

It didn’t “fail”, Poch was getting Chelsea into top 4 form and they mindlessly fired him just like they have done with their previous managers like Thomas Tuchel.

[@keenanvanzile]

If the owners are going by analytics then Poch was the guy for the job so stop with the BS about being judged by overall season. Its a false narrative. Chelsea owners want a manager they can micromanage. Those young players looked to be wanting to play for Poch...I really liked how they played

[@wisecontragio172]

I think poch knows palmer and others can t replicate these performances and bailed

[@michaelrowe3511]

Look the Problem is Winstanley, Stewart along with Eghbali and Feliciano Todd was loyal to the fans and wanted Poch to stay I think that the four people need to go and Todd should go out and get some more investors so they back him We can't go down the route of selling our Key and all the experienced players or we will be fighting relegation Todd could then rehire poch If they can't do that the Owners must go we need new owners fans are unhappy and there is a demo on Sunday

[@scottmcardle1857]

I don't understand this Poch is a failure but ETH is the answer 😂 hilarious. Were 8th with a negative goal difference. Everyone must have forgotten the CL. Mostly people want ETH to stay just to quell their curiosity but dont actually realise in December if its the same which at this point looks more likley than not. Will start to say oh well , at least we tried. We could be in the same position with no manager and nobody's available. If theres no European football next season guaranteed the damage to this football club will be monumental from a FFP standpoint.

[@badofcheese]

The Chelsea hack has been at it for too long. He’s lost his mind. There’s no universe where this doesn’t weaken Chelsea. They were set for a storming season next time out. It might still happen, but they’ve left it to fate.

[@k4yser]

He didn't fail. All Chelsea could realistically hope for is someone who is steadying the sinking ship and he did. He even managed to get some of the water out and regain some traction. Boehly is a clueless clown.

[@admaga]

Shouldn’t we be discussing why Project Clearlake is failing?

[@CarlinConnolly]

KZbin asked me to edit my previous comment! i refused as there's nothing i don't stand by - but shame KZbin was not so good at screening posts in 2015/16 & 19!

[@mwituinfluencers]

I think finally we will se Poch at united. ETH being sacked then Poch is available whom they overlooked in the last interview? What are the odds

[@whatevername8551]

Poch leaving Chelsea speaks volumes about Chelsea. Get used to midtable, blues.

[@billyhoyle2780]

I’m not sure how you can call a fail from Poch

[@stephe.n]

God I hope we don’t go for poch at Man Utd… though I’d prefer him over Southgate 😅

[@blazejon]

Did Pochetino fail? They finished 6th...

[@TheCfc22]

I don't blame Poch for having a dig at the directors. They should've been sacked ages ago.