Chelsea Managers: Why Better Managers Would Have Us In a Better Position

Club structure is a problem, squad planning is a problem...but better coaches would have achieved more

Today in my series on the managerial issue at Chelsea, I want to explore exactly the difference the right and wrong managerial appointment can make.

I’ve publicly been very critical of the Chelsea co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart and their poor team-building and lack of leadership and culture setting since they came into the club in January 2023.

To me the lack of leadership, poor signings and poor team building are all on them. They bear ultimate responsibility for a lot of the mess we’ve been in in the last 12 months, and need replacing or moving sideways to roles more appropriate to their skill set.

However, I do think we’re neglecting another key appointment which its’ no doubt, the ownership - and sporting directors - have got dead wrong so far. The appointment of a permanent manager.

The two permanent managers appointed by Boehly / Clearlake, are Graham Potter and Mauricio Pochettino. Graham Potter was selected mainly by Todd Boehly and started pretty well but results and performances soon tailed off and he lost his job with one of the lowest win percentages in recent Chelsea history.

In terms of Mauricio Pochettino, who was chosen by our sporting directors after a “through search the board is proud of” (from the Chelsea website), although some progress has been made whilst he’s had the job, the squad simply isn’t reaching its potential or improving in consistency or performance. Tactically the team look all over the place.

Neither manager seems to have made much effort to connect with the fanbase, or had a feeling for the club. The fans never felt anything for either manager, and neither manager seemed to possess any charisma. Above all, neither appeared to be winners, or have a winning mentality, suited to Chelsea. All these are necessary qualities for a successful Chelsea manager and both Potter and Poch seem to possess very few of them.

Now I understand the actual job at Chelsea is slightly different. The owners wanted to build and develop a side for the long term and wanted a different type of manager to do that. But honestly, its’ rare these type of managers work at Chelsea, and the ones who do have to possess those key characteristics mentioned above.

Not to mention the circumstances they have been put into - Potter with an over-bloated squad with a ton of players looking at the exit, Pochettino with a squad with key players injured all season, and not being backed in the market with the experience or striker he asked for - would make it difficult for any manager. Not to mention the sky high expectations of the Chelsea fanbase.

However, being brutally honest, neither are world class coaches or tacticians. Chelsea fans have seen with the transition between Frank Lampard and Thomas Tuchel in 2021 the difference a truly elite coach and tactician can make to individual players, the team and above all results. Tuchel took a team in free fall, 9th in the league with no tactical identity and turned them into Champions League winners, finishing in 4th place and top of the league by November 2021 without much change to the squad.

We also saw the transformation of the team from Claudio Ranieri to Jose Mourinho back in 2004. Tactically we went to another level, mentality improved, and players started performing at their highest ever level. The impact of an elite coach.

Neither Graham Potter or Mauricio Pochettino are tacticians or coaches of the level or calibre of Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Antonio Conte or Thomas Tuchel, its that simple.

The squad we have is not “shit” as people with their usual subtlety like to say on social media. I think at least 15-17 of our players are well capable, as they develop, of forming the core of a strong, competitive Chelsea side capable of winning trophies.

There are clear areas of the squad which need improvement and quality additions for sure, but we’re on the right track. I also believe this squad are better than our league position suggests. Certainly if we’d done as Poch requested and signed a proper striker this season, odds are we’d currently be in 5th/6th, pushing for the top 4. This and other improvements can be rectified in the summer.

But nevertheless, the level of performances, the tactical set ups, the inconsistencies and the misuse of many players are simply not at the level expected at Chelsea.

I’m firmly convinced if we were to employ a top class coach, the performances, consistency and results of this team would be considerably better. Someone tactically strong, with a true winners mentality, courageous in playing young talent, who plays a modern style of football and improves players.

I think we’d be more difficult to beat and have stronger conviction, courage and a better mentality. You’d see a more natural, organic development of the team and individuals, and a clear identity emerge for the team and the club which can take us through the next few years.

The biggest mistakes the owners have made so far have been linked with their decision making in terms of appointments - Joe Shields and arguably Sam Jewell apart.

As we saw with Liverpool, who faced the same accusations of constant abysmal decision making before appointing Edwards and Klopp, a couple of good appointments can change the destiny of a football club.

And that’s what Chelsea need right now.