Chelsea Football Club is in search of its fifth manager within two years, after parting ways with their latest first-team coach, Mauricio Pochettino. Pochettino took over a chaotic young Chelsea squad from the club’s legend, Frank Lampard, who had previously been fired and replaced by Thomas Tuchel on January 26th, 2021.
Thomas Tuchel, who went on to lead Chelsea to their second Champions League trophy, was fired abruptly after the club was taken over by new owners, Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali. Tuchel was later replaced by Graham Potter in September 2022. Potter was in charge of the Blues for just 206 days before being replaced by Bruno Saltor for just 2 days. Chelsea then appointed Frank Lampard again as a caretaker manager as they searched for a new manager for the upcoming 2023/24 season.
Boehly and the Chelsea board then landed on Mauricio Pochettino. The Argentine had the rare chance of taking part in the pre-seasons with his squad, an opportunity he took to impress the fans with his perfect wins. The team played great football, and the club and fans were optimistic for a fantastic season.
Pochettino and Chelsea began their season with a draw against Liverpool at Stamford Bridge before succumbing to a humiliating loss to a 10-man West Ham at the London Stadium. All the pre-season excitement quickly faded away. Chelsea went on a mixed run of form in the Premier League but kept it steady in the cup competitions. They reached the finals of the EFL Cup but lost to Liverpool FC in February this year. They also had a good run in the FA Cup, reaching the semifinals before being eliminated by Manchester City. Having missed out on the domestic cups and having completely missed out on Europe the previous season, Chelsea had an uphill task of getting out of their mid-table position. Dealing with a huge number of injuries, Pochettino kept the faith.
After a devastating loss to their London rivals, Arsenal, Mauricio Pochettino and his Blue Army went on a six-game unbeaten streak which helped them leapfrog teams like Manchester United and Newcastle to finish sixth in the league, a position that has them in the Conference League playoffs. Chelsea are also in pole position to qualify for the Europa League if Manchester City wins the FA Cup against Manchester United. Despite a strong finish by Pochettino, the Chelsea board has decided to call it quits with the experienced tactician, a move that shocked the players and some fans.
With the current hire-and-fire rate at Chelsea, players like Enzo Fernandez, who have only been at the club since January 2023, are on course for their fifth coach in under a year.
It remains to be seen who will take over the slippery slope that is the Chelsea coaching job, with candidates like Thomas Frank, Kieran McKenna, and Enzo Maresca leading the list. Whether this affects the momentum of the squad’s performance positively or negatively is also a question that lingers in the minds of the fans.
