Chelsea fans vent anger at Pochettino after disappointing draw against Brentford
London, England - A large section of Chelsea’s fans vented their anger at the club’s American owners and coach Mauricio Pochettino on Saturday as the stuttering Blues struggled to a 22 draw at an injury-depleted Brentford.
The two-time Champions League winners, who also won the English title five times between 2005 and 2017, are having a second disappointing season, two years after a U.s.-led consortium took over the club and invested heavily in players.
Watching their side throw away 1-0 lead to go 2-1 down mid-way through the second half was too much for some of their supporters in the away end at the Brentford Community Stadium.
First came the shouts of “Roman Abramovich, Roman Abramovich” as fans sought to contrast their successes under the club’s former Russian owner with their mid-table position now. Then came a vitriolic chant about Todd Boehly, the most prominent face of Chelsea’s new ownership,
another celebrating former manager Jose Mourinho who won three league titles at Stamford Bridge and finally a crude one about Pochettino, the former Tottenham Hotspur manager.
Other Chelsea fans sought to rally behind the team who eventually battled back to secure a 22 draw when defender Axel
Disasi forced in a header in the 83rd minute.
“It is normal. We were losing the game 2-1 and it’s about expressing frustration,” Pochettino told reporters. “Of course we are responsible. I am one of those responsible, I am the head coach.”
He said Chelsea’s management team needed to earn a better relationship with fans by winning more games but “we need to manage some reality”.
The Argentine has previously said it is unrealistic to compare Chelsea now, after an overhaul which saw a string of young and relatively inexperienced players join the club, with the triumphant teams of the recent past.