Many will say that Chelsea’s last six games without defeat this season are significant symptoms of life. Just as their opponents were starting to decline (Tottenham have lost five of their last eight games), the Blues, despite everything, started to click.
Things weren’t perfect. A 5-0 defeat to Arsenal in mid-April showed that there were nevertheless small signs of progress, enough to forgive some missteps by Mauricio Pochettino in the hope that better times would follow.
But just 48 hours after Chelsea beat Bournemouth on the final day to finish sixth, bringing European football back to West London, Pochettino left.
It was reported that the separation was amicable, maintaining a point of mutual respect and esteem, very Gwyneth Paltrow. When the actress split from Coldplay singer Chris Martin in 2014, she called it “conscious decoupling,” and it had the same characteristics.
But the concept of a satisfied divorce actually exists much less than it does in Hollywood.
The mess between Pochettino and the Stamford Bridge hierarchy had been bubbling beneath the surface for months, and tensions were more tense than they appeared outwardly. Although the separation may have been simply mutually agreed upon, it was rooted in a basic misalignment of values. .
Pochettino had his own strategies and they had compatibility with a club-imposed structure, one that insisted on the use of a set-piece specialist and a pair of midfielders consisting of Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez, two of Chelsea’s underperforming streaks. component of the season.
A year later, the club intends to protect a “project director”, one of those who need patience and perseverance; some argue that Pochettino was, for all intents and purposes, precisely that.
However, the boy on the bench recently released is now Enzo Maresca, a young and ambitious coach built in the mould of Pep Guardiola, despite not having enjoyed the Premier League (or higher) as a head coach.
Having made the bold, if reckless, decision to let Pochettino resign, Chelsea are ripe for a reboot, and what better source to draw from than the emerging elegance of Guardiola’s graduates. Obviously, Mikel Arteta’s rebuilding of Arsenal has not gone unnoticed.
Maresca becomes the sixth executive, adding a brief stint at Bruno Saltor, to be named to the Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital era. And now, the cycle begins again. The question is: why is the untested variety of Maresca different from those that preceded it?
Sky Sports looks at the key spaces that the new Italians will focus on. . .
Head coach in the bag, Chelsea’s attention is now focused on the Maresca team. Despite signing two goalkeepers last summer, Les Bleus need a new No. 1, which is not unexpected given Djordje Petrovic’s weaknesses.
The departure of Thiago Silva requires the signing of a new centre-back. Tosin, who is out of contract at Fulham, is expected to be the first signing of the Maresca era.
The endless injuries to Reece James and Ben Chilwell may prompt Chelsea to look for new full-backs, as they continue their search for a proven No. 9, despite spending a combined £84m on strikers Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku last summer.
Jackson has shown flashes of promise in his first season (scoring 14 goals in 31 starts), but he’s not the reliable target Chelsea claimed, which likely dates back to Diego Costa’s departure in 2017.
Boehly-Clearlake’s assets have cleared more than £1bn in spending since they joined two years ago. This is expected to continue.
The owners have managed to abandon many of the expensive contracts they inherited, two still unresolved: Romelu Lukaku and Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Lukaku has a contract until 2026 and Arrizabalaga has 12 months. Both spent the whole of last season on loan at Roma and Real Madrid respectively, but are now back at Stamford Bridge, where they will get huge salaries. Finding a customer for either will be difficult.
Ian Maatsen and Armando Broja also return to West London. Borussia Dortmund are reportedly keen to keep Maatsen, but Broja has struggled to make an effect at Fulham.
As local actors, promoting one or the other would raise a valuable budget to meet profitability and sustainability (PSR) standards.
Omari Hutchinson’s long term is also still up for grabs. After helping Ipswich succeed in the Premier League, Chelsea can capitalise on the interest shown by the European winger.
Although Chelsea do not appear to be under pressure to increase the budget ahead of the PSR’s June 30 deadline, Conor Gallagher’s long-term has yet to be addressed. Despite being the captain of the team more than any other player this season, the midfielder shows no symptoms. to extend a contract that only has one year left.
Questions remain as to whether Gallagher fits Maresca’s possession-obsessed style.
Immaturity undermined Pochettino’s authority during his tenure.
The last three months of his reign (wasting just one of his last 15 league games) were indicative of potential, but it’s clear that such a young team requires an injection of experience and leadership.
One of Pochettino’s most tense press meetings came after a 6-0 home win over Everton, when the head coach had to deal with the fallout from an on-pitch dispute between the players after Jackson and Noni Madueke clashed over a penalty.
“I’m very upset,” Pochettino told Sky Sports, despite his team recording the biggest win of his tenure. “I’m not going to settle for this kind of situation. I will be very strong. I promise. ” It may not happen again. It’s unfortunate and unsettling. “
The Blues had the youngest average starting XI in the department this season, despite 39-year-old Thiago Silva starting 27 games. Replacing him will be key: they have conceded 8 more goals than in any previous Premier League campaign.
And yet, relying on young people is no coincidence. Since its acquisition, Chelsea have signed 33 players. Only 3 are over 25 years old and of those, Raheem Sterling remains at the club.
The strategy is clear: invest in an organization of young players who mature and are together. The hope is that they will eventually form the foundations of Chelsea’s next great team. Maresca will know that she will have to accept this approach.
Pochettino has never been absolutely in Chelsea’s uncompromising scheme, one that demands the head coach cede strength to Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, the co-sporting directors, who led the proceedings to sack Pochettino and prosecute Maresca in record time.
Pochettino spoke in veiled terms about the apparent lack of control from his superiors in April, saying: “I don’t have the key to the club. I don’t make all the decisions here.
“If it’s not my decision, you have to judge me and judge him in his work, right?Because it is not my direct responsibility. “
This outpouring contributed greatly to the downfall of Argentina.
Ultimately, though, the big decisions are made through the owners: Boehly, as well as Behdad Eghbali and Jose Feliciano of Clearlake.
Although Boehly proclaimed himself interim sporting director in his first move-in window, Eghbali has become the club’s controlling force, the one with the power, while Winstanley and Stewart were entrusted with day-to-day management.
Sporting administrators now believe Maresca must achieve results, but if, like Pochettino and Potter, he falls, the highlight is most likely his strategic decision-making like never before.