Clear the boss made an error

THOMAS T UC HEL’ S decision to play Callum Hudson- Odoi against Atletico Madrid was an acknowledgement that he’d made a mistake substituting the young winger against Southampton after halfan-hour.

I said at the time it was a risky move for Tuchel because Hudson- Odoi’s performance at St Mary’s didn’t justify being sent on at half-time and then getting the hook.

Players shouldn’t be treated with kid gloves but if a manager is going to act tough, there has to be some kind of thought behind it. I just felt Tuchel was trying too hard to send out a statement.

To be fair to the German, I think he agrees. He intimated l ater that maybe he’d been harsher with Hudson-Odoi as he happened to be playing in front of the dugout!

I don’t think a manager who genuinely thought a sub deserved to be subbed would then pick him for a huge Champions League game a few days later. Yet Hudson-Odoi faced Atletico, and Chelsea won.

Although he gave the ball away a few times against Southampton, Hudson-Odoi pressed with real intensity to win it back and also caused t hem problems offensively which is why I was shocked at his early removal and felt I wanted to defend the player.

The argument that players must do what they’re told — regardless of whether it’s fair or not — doesn’t work in the real world. Players do respect a strong manager but not someone who throws his weight around for the sake of it.

For me, Tuchel has rectified his error quickly. Maybe it was an emotional decision to take Hudson-Odoi off. To make an example of a young player in order to flex his muscles was not a good look.

The hardest part of man-management is working out which individuals react well to encouragement and which ones need a kick up the backside. Tuchel overreacted, to his credit he’s recognised that by his subsequent actions and averted what could have been a rocky early moment.