Thomas Tuchel was sacked at Chelsea and replaced by former Brighton boss Graham Potter in September but it is safe to say Todd Boehly’s decision has not paid off
Todd Boehly has allegedly admitted he might have made a mistake by sacking Thomas Tuchel as Chelsea prepare to appoint Mauricio Pochettino as their new manager.
The Argentine is set to become Chelsea’s third permanent boss in less than 12 months following Graham Potter’s departure in April. The ex-Brighton manager was brought in to replace Tuchel, who was dismissed after an extensive summer rebuild which saw the likes of Raheem Sterling, Marc Cucurella and Wesley Fofana.
However, Potter lasted seven months in the position, before being sacked after the Blues were beaten 2-0 against Aston Villa. Although the Blues’ Premier League form was dreadful, Potter had guided Chelsea to the quarter-final of the Champions League against Real Madrid.
Bruno Saltor spent one game in the dugout as Frank Lampard was appointed as interim boss until the end of the season. The Chelsea legend hasn’t been able to turn their fortunes around, though, with Lampard winning one of his eight matches in charge so far.
Lampard will not stay on beyond their final game against Newcastle, with Pochettino expected to take his place – his first job since he departed Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of last year and a return to the Premier League since his sacking from Tottenham back in November 2019.
But according to the Daily Mail, there is growing anticipation that Boehly may have regretted sacking Tuchel when he did, having guided Chelsea to 10 points from their first six games. Tuchel led Chelsea to the Carabao Cup and FA Cup final last season and the Blues also finished third in the Premier League.
Former Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel ( Image: Getty Images)
It came a year after Tuchel won the Champions League with the Blues and some Chelsea fans were shocked when Boehly made the abrupt decision to sack him. Chelsea’s campaign hasn’t exactly gone to plan since his departure, with Lampard now in charge for their final three matches.
Following Chelsea’s 2-2 draw against Nottingham Forest on Saturday, Lampard said: “The second half was ours, control of the game was ours, obviously, in terms of possession, but in the first half we weren’t dynamic enough in the top end of the pitch.
“Everything we spoke about at the start of the game, it was too slow. Unfortunately, it seems to be intrinsic here at the minute where we play a lot of passes but they are not to break lines or to threaten the opposition in the top end of the pitch.”
Chelsea travel to Manchester City and Manchester United in their next two matches, before hosting Newcastle in their final game on May 28. The Blues arguably have the toughest set of fixtures in the division and may struggle to finish inside the top-half for the first time in seven years.
They sit in 11th, eight points behind 10th-place Fulham and will need to win every game and hope Fulham don’t pick up a point between now and the end of the season.
Source: mirror.co.uk