In a surprising turn of events, Mauricio Pochettino has left his role as Chelsea boss by mutual consent after just one season in charge of the club.
The Argentine has departed Stamford Bridge just days after sealing one of the surprises of the season by securing European football for the Blues.
At the start of the season, Chelsea endured a woeful run of form and were even 14th and closer to relegation than they were to the top of the table at one point. It seemed like the Blues would even endure a worse finish than the previous campaign but things soon started to take a positive turn since the start of 2024. It was no surprise that Chelsea tickets saw a big increase in sales this year.
Only Manchester City and Arsenal saw more points than Chelsea since the start of the year and a strong end to the season, where they sealed a run of five successive wins saw the Blues qualify for Europe, though it remains unknown the competition they will be playing in next season.
Should Manchester City go on to win against rivals Manchester United in the FA Cup final, Chelsea will be playing in the Europa League next season but if reverse is the case, it would be Conference League football.
However, the latest news of Pochettino’s departure, when it seemed like the club were starting to find their feet again, is one that has sparked lots of surprise among the Chelsea fan base and neutrals alike.
Chelsea announces Pochettino’s departure
A statement released on Chelsea’s official website read: “Chelsea FC can confirm that the club and Mauricio Pochettino have mutually agreed to part ways.”
Pochettino said: “Thank you to the Chelsea ownership group and Sporting Directors for the opportunity to be part of this football club’s history. The club is now well positioned to keep moving forward in the Premier League and Europe in the years to come.”
Assistant coaches Miguel d’Agostino, Jesus Perez, Toni Jimenez and Sebastiano Pochettino also left with the Argentine.
After a final day win against Bournemouth, Pochettino was quick to admit that he did not know what his future at the club would be like. He said: The club’s sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley said: “On behalf of everyone at Chelsea, we would like to express our gratitude to Mauricio for his service this season.
“He will be welcome back to Stamford Bridge any time and we wish him all the very best in his future coaching career.”
Is history repeating itself at Chelsea?
Chelsea are well known for their eagerness to sack managers when results are not going as expected. When one considers the massive spending that has been done over the past year, it is a bit understandable if better was expected than Chelsea celebrating a ‘sixth-place finish.
Sky Sports reporter gave an insight into the situation surrounding Pochettino’s sacking, saying: “We all know Mauricio Pochettino had quite a difficult season at Stamford Bridge, but it appeared as though things had changed. Results had got better, the fans felt a connection with him, and the team.”
“But the season ended and Mauricio had a meeting with the two sporting directors at Chelsea, and they decided after talks to sleep on it. But ultimately both sides felt that going forward they couldn’t make it work, they were on different paths.”
“Pochettino revealed he had dinner with Todd Boehly recently and that had gone well, but behind the scenes, there has been some doubt. Chelsea are such a big club, politically a lot is going on.”
“Chelsea believe they are a Champions League club. For a variety of reasons, they’ve not met that target. There are no hard feelings between the owners and Mauricio Pochettino, the players like him, and fans like him too.
“It’s a job that takes time. Chelsea managers don’t get a lot of time and it seems like history is repeating itself under the new ownership.”
Why did Chelsea really ‘sack’ Pochettino?
It might be hard to categorically say the reason why Chelsea sacked Pochettino but it appears that the Argentine and the club did not have the same vision long-term.
To go with, statements made by Pochettino towards the end of the campaign hinted at someone who knew he could get the sack at any point in time. Ahead of a fixture against Nottingham Forest, Pochettino said: “We know the organization that the club is building here; we are all under assessment”
“If we are happy, perfect. But it’s not only if the owner is happy, or the sporting directors are happy. If we are happy, we need to ask also, because maybe we say we are not happy.”
“If we assess the situation and we are not happy, then we need to split.
“But it’s not going to be the first time that a coaching staff decide at the end of a season not to keep going. But at this stage, it goes oppositely.
Another reason that prompted the Argentine to leave is the divisive Chelsea fanbase he encountered in his solitary season as manager of the club. This was best highlighted when a section of Blues’ supporters called for the return of Jose Mourinho during a 2-2 draw against Brentford in March.
It is said that co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart held a post-season review with Pochettino on Monday and following that meeting, it was decided that the best decision was for the manager to step down from his role.
Pochettino is said to have left the club on very good terms, with all parties remaining cordial right until the very end. It is now back to square one for Chelsea, who will once again be in search of a new manager to shape and build a formidable project at the club. As of the time of writing, Sporting CP Ruben Amorim and Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna are the leading candidates to be named Pochettino’s replacement.
