Pochettino in focus of Chelsea’s crisis: Eleventh despite spending 468 million

Eight goals conceded in one week

When the final whistle blew at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, there were hardly enough Chelsea supporters left in the stadium to whistle. However, the fans had already made their displeasure with the performance of coach Mauricio Pochettino’s team known at halftime. The 2:4 (1:2) against Wolverhampton Wanderers increased the Blues’ clean sheet to eight goals within a week. On Wednesday they lost 4-1 at Arsenal FC. The Wolves overtook Chelsea in the table, where the west Londoners are now only eleventh – with transfer spending of more than one billion euros since the summer of 2022. This season, Chelsea invested as much money with €468 million for the second time in a row new players like no other team in world football.

The transfer market statistics Transfer spending vs. league rank illustrates Chelsea’s plight in the Premier League. When comparing the table position to the ranking based on transfer spending, the Blues are the worst team in the league. Ten places separate the CFC from first place in terms of sport, which they would have liked to have bought with a big wallet. “I think we’re all not good enough, that’s the reality,” said coach Pochettino after watching his team lose in a league game for the tenth time this season.

Pochettino’s weak Chelsea record: What’s different than back then at Tottenham?

At Tottenham, Pochettino was hailed as one of the best coaches for developing young talent. Players like Harry Kane and Dele Alli thrived under the Argentine’s leadership. At Chelsea, however, Pochettino is struggling to manage a talented, if somewhat bloated and unbalanced squad. Apart from Cole Palmer, it is hard to identify a Chelsea player who has performed consistently this season. But it is important to emphasize that not all of the blame for Chelsea’s decline lies with Pochettino. The squad planning of the recent past lacked foresight. Despite the huge ten-figure expenditure within a year and a half, there is still a lack in key areas such as central defense and forward. No improvement in sight – Chelsea have the same number of points as they did last season under Graham Potter at this point. Potter was released six games later.

In his 23 Premier League games as Chelsea coach, Pochettino has an average points average of just 1.35. Only predecessor Potter (1.27 PPS) and Frank Lampard last season (0.45 PPS) had a worse Premier League points average than Chelsea coach in the 21st century. At Tottenham, Pochettino had a points-per-game value of 1.89 in league games. He led Spurs to the top three of the Premier League and the club’s first Champions League final. Why doesn’t it work for Pochettino at Chelsea a few kilometers further along the Thames?

At Spurs, as previously mentioned, Pochettino excelled at developing young talent, managing a smaller squad and making the most of limited resources. The Argentine spent €489 million in five years as Tottenham manager. In just one summer at Chelsea, however, he has already spent almost €468 million on new signings, meaning he was barely more than €20 million away from spending more in one season at Chelsea than he did in five years at Spurs. Of course, it is not necessarily Pochettino who has made these decisions and spent this money. His exact influence on recruitment at the club is not entirely clear. Nevertheless, one would think that one should at least benefit more from having a lot of money available.

But this alone also makes it clear that Pochettino faces completely different challenges in the west of the capital than the ones he mastered in north London. His job is no longer to make the most of a limited budget and a smaller roster. It’s about keeping everyone happy in a bloated squad, with lots of egos and players with expensive salaries. Perhaps this is not Pochettino’s strength that once made him so successful at White Hart Lane.

The English media has long been talking about the coach’s future. An expulsion is at least not unlikely. After Potter and Lampard, Pochettino also failed to get Chelsea back on track. And although Pochettino can hardly be excused for not being in the top half of the table given such high financial expenses, attention also falls on the club management’s coaching policy. Under Todd Boehly’s ownership, Chelsea have had five managers in two years. Thomas Tuchel, Potter, interim coach Bruno Saltor, Lampard twice and now Pochettino have all led Chelsea in a Premier League game in the last two seasons. It can at least be doubted that such coaching turnover can lead to the needed rebuilding that Chelsea so desperately needs. The question marks must be behind everyone in charge at the club, including Pochettino.

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