Blindsided Chelsea stars up in arms over ‘gaffer’s’ abrupt exit
Gutted staff hit social media to express shock at Pochettino departure
BEFORE we get to the incredulity shared by the Chelsea squad after the departure of Mauricio Pochettino, it is worth mentioning the risible statistic that attracted the attention of their representatives yesterday. Forwarded on to Mail Sport, it was a screenshot of a tweet by the journalist Will Jeanes which was going viral: ‘The next Chelsea manager will be the club’s 24th (including caretakers) from 2000 onwards — which is more than the number of Popes there have been since 1722.’
Pochettino’s successor will be the current owners’ sixth head coach — the fourth on a permanent basis — since taking over from Roman Abramovich in May 2022, the two-year anniversary of which is next week. ‘Jesus,’ added the agent who sent on that statistic, pun intended presumably. ‘You can only laugh, I suppose.’
Chelsea’s players are not laughing, though, with one source close to the squad saying Pochettino’s premature exit has ‘ruined’ the feelgood factor they had upon leaving Stamford Bridge after their final game of the season, a 2-1 win over Bournemouth which secured European qualification.
They were aware of the speculation surrounding the Argentine’s future but in the words of one insider, they figured that was ‘newspaper talk’ — no offence taken.
There were no fond farewells after Sunday’s finale. ‘Have a good summer,’ were Pochettino’s parting words to the majority of the players, who presumed he would be leading them on their pre-season tour of the United States in July and August.
It was via rumours swirling on social media in the build-up to the 7.18pm announcement on Tuesday evening that Chelsea’s players discovered there was an impending divorce.
Naturally, that prompted a flood of hurried messages between themselves and their agents on WhatsApp as they verified and then vilified the news. One source described it as a ‘what have they done’ vibe.
Another used the words ‘s***’ and ‘fan’ to describe a reaction of devastation and disgust from their client, which is testament to Pochettino’s popularity as a person even if his ‘tactically primitive’ training sessions were not entirely appreciated.
When a manager leaves midway through a season the squad know answers will await their return to the training ground the next day. But most of Chelsea’s players left the country after the victory over Bournemouth to begin their summer breaks, some having limited time ahead of next month’s European Championship.
As of yesterday evening, one representative said there was some surprise they had not heard from sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart or the owners, the most influential being Behdad Eghbali.
There is a desire among the squad to understand the plan moving forward before they return for pre-season and why this decision was taken at the end of a campaign in which they felt clear progress had been made.
Chelsea finished the season with only one defeat in 15 Premier League matches to finish sixth, Pochettino’s man-management skills winning praise from his school of starlets.
OFTEN, players can use the start of the summer as an opportunity to switch off from social media, but that rule was broken for Pochettino. One by one, they took to their socials to make sure their support for the ‘boss’ was known publicly, almost all their posts using a picture of Pochettino draping his arm around them.
Nicolas Jackson posted facepalm emojis and wrote: ‘Love you coach. Wish we could stay together more. But may God continue to bless you and your family. Thanks for the advice and support. You’re a true lion and fighter.’ Moises Caicedo wrote with a tearful emoji: ‘Mister! It was a pleasure. I wish you all the best for the future. What a person and a coach.’
Cole Palmer added with a blue heart: ‘Gaffer, thank you for everything you have done for me and making my dreams come true.’ Raheem Sterling said: ‘Thank you for everything coach. Good luck for the next chapter.’
Mykhailo Mudryk, Marc Cucurella, Ben Chilwell, Noni Madueke, Robert Sanchez and more followed suit with messages of their own. Even John Terry, now an academy coach who was at the training ground yesterday, weighed in by saying he was ‘gutted’ to see Pochettino leave, adding: ‘I just hope we don’t sign or sell any players until we get a manager in.’
Though they are the Premier League’s youngest team, Chelsea’s players are big boys. They know how football works. They know managers can be hired, fired and leave amicably, as was said to be the case here. They know they are contracted to the club — some on remarkably long deals — and not the manager.
Yet they are also only human, and naturally, Tuesday night saw a sense of uncertainty wash over Chelsea. Whoever takes over from Pochettino — and it is described as an ‘open race’ — will be tasked with bringing back the optimism in place of the pessimism.
Kieran McKenna is a leading candidate but Ipswich are keen to tie him down to a new deal, leaving the 38-year-old with a dilemma as Chelsea, Brighton and potentially Manchester United all chase his signature.
Stuttgart head coach Sebastian Hoeness, Girona’s Michel and Leicester’s Enzo Maresca are all in contention but the candidacy of Thomas Frank is being played down by sources close to the Brentford manager. Thomas Tuchel, Hansi Flick, Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho are not on Chelsea’s list.
Chelsea tweeted their statement at 7.18pm on Tuesday. They did not tweet again until 11.10am yesterday to say that Palmer’s performance in the 4-3 win over Manchester United in April had made the ‘Premier League Game-Changing Performance of the Season’ shortlist. It was an awkward way to break the silence, posting the footage of the fixture that led to Pochettino declaring: ‘For the first time, I started to feel a connection with the fans.’
The connection Pochettino had with his players was much more established and that explains the shocked response to his exit.
Back to square one they go.