The League Cup Final loss against Liverpool has not gone well for Chelsea, which is now considering replacements for Mauricio Pochettino. The Argentine is only in his first season at Stamford Bridge, having taken over in the summer. Yet, Chelsea is not immune to managerial changes. Last season, four managers had stints in charge, albeit two were on a caretaker basis. This season, the Blues have not seen the growth they expected under Pochettino, who thrived at Tottenham immediately upon his arrival in north London in 2014.
As things stand, Chelsea is 11th in the Premier League table after defeating Crystal Palace and drawing at Manchester City. The loss against Liverpool, which consisted of many young academy players by the end of the game, soured any positive momentum Pochettino had built up. Chelsea has several challenging games on the horizon. Over its next five games, Chelsea must battle Newcastle, Arsenal and Manchester United.
If results are not positive in that stretch, panic alarms may sound at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea is staring down another finish in the middle of the table, or even in the bottom half. As a result, the staff of the club is working to minimize the potential of things falling off the rails. That means identifying a new manager to replace Pochettino if the club decides the Argentine’s time is up.
Replacements for Pochettino at Chelsea
Importantly, there is no indication that Chelsea is looking to get rid of Pochettino. While frustration may be high at the club, it plans on sticking with Pochettino. The club was on fine form before the loss against Liverpool having picked points in recent games in tough venues. Still, the potential is there, and that is why Chelsea is circling several coaches that may have to step in.
One of those is Ruben Amorim from Sporting Lisbon. The coach has long been on the rumor mill for a move to a top club based on his success in Portugal. The manager helped turn around Braga before leading Sporting to a league title in 2020/21. The former Primeira Liga Manager of the Season has Sporting performing well yet again this season. Currently, Sporting is two points back of Benfica. However, Sporting has a game in hand that can allow it to jump Benfica in the table.
Amorim is the primary candidate, and the reason there is not much competition for the role is that the prospect of releasing Pochettino is not overly high. There are inherent challenges in releasing the manager, including the risk of financial fair play by terminating the manager’s contract well before it expires.
Adding to the carousel is not the solution
Chelsea has not found success in recent years by moving different managers in and out. Graham Potter was seen as a project coach at Chelsea having given Brighton success. The club quickly grew frustrated with the Englishman, but bringing in caretaker managers did not solve any problems at Stamford Bridge.
Mauricio Pochettino has experience of success in the Premier League. If he can find some stability and a consistent goal-scorer from open play, Pochettino can turn things around at Chelsea.
PHOTOS: IMAGO
