Chelsea went trophyless for another season. The Blues also were close to miss an european spot. However their strong performances in the second half of the season helped them to achieve 6th position in the Premier League. Despite this it was not enough for Pochettino to secure his place as Chelsea boss for the next season. Chelsea and Pochettino decided to part ways and this decision has left football pundits surprised.
Pochettino’s time at Chelsea
Chelsea finished the 2022-23 season on shocking 12th position. As a result the board decided to sign a new manager and Mauricio Pochettino was appointed. Pochettino was offered a two year contract with an option to extend for one more year by Chelsea. However after a bad start of the season Pochettino felt an immediate pressure about his future at the club. The Blues were looking to be headed for another bottom half finish in the league. Despite the doubts, the Argentine kept doing his job and achieved some great results.
Pochettino did pretty decent job in the second half of the season. He also led Chelsea to 5 straight victories in the last games of Premier League. Due to this, Chelsea finished 6th in the Premier League. However their hopes of achieving Europa league spot were destroyed by Manchester United. United after winning the FA Cup final against Manchester City sent the blues to the Conference league.
Considering the position Chelsea were at the start of the season, Pochettino should be praised for the result he achieved. The Argentine also was unlucky as he had to face many serious injuries to most of the regular starters. Earlier Pochettino also led Chelsea to Carabao cup final where they unfortunately lost against Liverpool.
Despite finishing the 2023-24 season in strong fashion the club announced parting ways with Pochettino shortly after the final game of the season.
What do football pundits think of this decision by Chelsea
There were talks about Pochettino being replaced way before his departure was official. However the Argentine sparked a hope of continuing at Stamford Bridge with a great finish to the season. Unfortunately he was announced to be leaving the club two days after the final matchday. Football pundits Alan Shearer, Micah Richards and Gary Lineker had their say on this situation on The Rest Is Football podcast.
Alan Shearer said it was a massive surprise for him that Chelsea have parted ways with Pochettino. He proceeded to add that Chelsea had a tough season despite the strong finish.
Micah Richards agreeing with Shearer said that he is flabbergasted by Pochettino’s exit. Micah continued to praise Pochettino and said that it is going to be difficult time ahead for Chelsea. He said its going to be hard for the next manager even though he has some high quality young talent available at the club.
“Just as they started to go well, they interrupted it all by changing manager once again” – Gary Lineker about Chelsea’s decision.
All three football pundits have predicted that Chelsea will not finish in the top 4 next season as well.
Why Chelsea parted ways with Pochettino
It has been reported that the Chelsea board has no hard feelings for Pochettino. The Argentine has received praise from the club for his strong finish to the season. However Chelsea board has taken the decision to part ways with him as they believe their relationship could have gone worse if they continued with him. The board believes that Pochettino is a very good manager but unfortunately is not a good fit for the team. The decision was taken on mutual understanding between the two parties involved. Enzo Maresca is set to replace Argentine and expected to take charge of Stamford Bridge soon.
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