For the first time this season I am also frustrated with Mauricio Pochettino to the point where it’s had me wondering if he can be the manager to bring Chelsea back to the top.
But, sacking him is not the answer, and it would actually be regressive.
Pochettino was hired because of his experience working with and developing young players. I always said that there wasn’t many better choices out there than Pochettino in terms of getting the best out of the squad we have got, and I think many people felt the same.
If you look at the stats, Pochettino HAS actually improved our play. But unfortunately, I am a person who prefers to look at the eye test alongside the data, as well as more important solid facts, the league table. And none of that is positive right now. I’ve written more about Pochettino’s coaching negativities in my other article today where I go on a bit of a rant - I wanted this one to be a little more measure.
Because seriously, I do not want to go on another manager merry-go-round, that isn’t the answer in my opinion. And I’ll now explain why:
The players love Poch
I’ve heard from people at Cobham just how much the players, in general, love Mauricio Pochettino. This is not PR, this is genuinely just people who shouldn’t really be talking but are nice enough to let me know some things from time to time.
He has carefully built relationships with each and every player, and the young players really enjoy working with him and really trust him - at least as a person and as a leader. Some of the players credit their improvements (rare but there has been some) on Pochettino alone.
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