Charged to lead the rebuild and improve the existing array of youngsters at the club, it is hard to say there’s been “sufficient” progress during Mauricio Pochettino’s time as Chelsea manager.
After another damming loss, this time against championship side Middlesbrough, we ask the inevitable question; is it time to let Poch go?
Flawed structures, perceived wrong tactics and horrendous in-game decisions and management of players at his disposal are valid reasons to want Pochettino out, but is now the right time?
There is little to no doubt that Pochettino has managed to galvanize a lackluster team he earned from the trio of Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter and Frank Lampard who left the team in shambles.
His “Gacon test” and strict emphasis on fitness has seen the team sharper, faster and hungrier than it looked for most parts of last season but the tactical ineptitude of Mauricio Pochettino has seen the team struggle despite its inherent quality.
A constant theme this season has been Poch’s wrong usage of some players (Enzo, Colwill, Disasi etc) and his flawed structure which has left the team needing the intervention of individual players carrying the team on their neck across the line (Palmer, Sterling and Jackson to name a few).
Last night against Boro, Poch’s in-game tactical decisions screamed a man who has “lost the plot” as he took off Noni and Enzo who were both visibly having more influence on the game as the Boro players were tiring out while he left Palmer who looked absolutely horrendous on the day.
Substitutions and in-game decisions like the aforementioned have been a consistent occurrence with Poch this season as he constantly leaves many doubting his credibility as the man to lead this Chelsea project to its next level.
As much as there are many reasons to doubt Pochettino, it is pertinent to mention he and the rest of the coaching staff have been immensely unlucky with injuries to key players, players losing form and “immaturity” from the younger members of the team.
Players like Mudryk and Noni have both been guilty of being a bit too “raw” in their decision making and some of their showings have signified that even Pochettino despite his tactical ineptitude deserves some more time to change his fortunes as Chelsea’s manager.
