First of all, I know a lot of Chelsea fans didn't take to Poch, for various reasons. However, I think that the Chelsea manager job is a poisoned chalice and he did very well.
We have to remember where we are. We don't have a "right" to finish top 4. And Clearlake's transfer policy and team building policy has taken us light years behind both City and Arsenal. When they took over, we had a seasoned premier league team which needed three good signings to compete. So Clearlake undergo what can only be called a purge. They got rid of all the experienced backroom staff, implement a hierachy which limits any manager, sell all the experience and class we have, buy inexperienced, untried young players, bring in a coach who is green behind the gils (Potter) .... and guess what? We're in turmoil.
They finally bring in an experienced coach in Poch, who can actually develop the youth. He is extremely unlucky with all the injuries to the squad, never being able to field a settled team. They give him substandard goalkeepers, he lacks a dominant centre back and a front player who converts around 20% of the clear cut chances. He struggles but finally finds solutions and gets us playing as a team. And then, they decide they can't back him! It makes no sense.
I personally believed he walked as much as being pushed because his demands weren't met by the club. What could he have demanded? He probably wasn't demanding the world. He probably wanted to keep Gallagher and Chalobah, two of our better players this season, but Winstanley knows they represent profit to the club to get them out of the mess that THEY have caused. He may have told them he didn't need Estevao Willian, a player who may come good in 6 or 7 years but that money would be better invested in an experienced keeper or defender. These types of demands are not unacceptable.
I believe that with the exact same squad, Poch would have challenged for top 4 and with two or three intelligent signings, almost guaranteed it. Now, we are looking for another manager. Another manager who has won nothing at the top, who has no experience of the pressures of being Chelsea boss, another system. De Zerbi will not get us top 4. McKenna is inexperienced. Are they going to stick with them when we finish 10th? Our whole foresight as a club smacks of incompetence.
Poch ... unbelievable
posted 3 weeks, 4 days ago
Spot on, his demands were almost certainly to cut down on the transfer activity to give the team time to gel. It looked like it was coming together at the end of the season.
Keeping the core group together and adding 1 or 2 and Chelsea would have continued on the up.
Instead looks like it will be sales for FFP reasons. Buying young players to fill that gap and a marquee centre forward signing for the fans.
posted 3 weeks, 4 days ago
Naturally as a Spurs fan I'm pleased he oversaw a major turnaround and European football before he left, not because I want Chelsea to be better, more because he deserved a flipped narrative. His record at Chelsea was identical to his start at Spurs in terms of win percentage after the same amount of games. You would have been flying next year, trust me.
I still love the guy. I don't see it the same way other Spurs fans do. He wasn't approached by us when we were looking for a new manager so what's he supposed to do, turn down a plum job in the heart of London based on loyalty to a club that's shown none to him?
He'll get the United job and I reckon he'll do amazingly well there given the restructuring. What Chelsea do from here is anyone's guess. What the feck do they want?
For what it's worth I don't think they wanted him to go but player sales made his own mind up. Calling it a mutual decision in the press saves face but I think he left of his own accord because, as you say, he wanted Gallagher to stay and probably more of a say on recruitment, which they weren't prepared to do.
All I will say is that it took him 5 years to get disgruntled with us alongside Levy, who by all accounts is a bit of a nightmare to work with. If he's had enough of the Chelsea hierarchy within 11 months, who is likely to want to that job under those conditions? They have a long term philosophy with none of the patience and flexibility required to see it through. Eventually, every single manager that sees an upturn in results, as Poch did, will want to at least have some say on who comes in. Recruitment shouldn't be siloed. They need to work alongside management.
posted 3 weeks, 4 days ago
It's mutual because sacking him would have been awful PR, so no doubt his pay off will be a nice one, for going quietly and not having to be pushed.
Getting Europe will have added £30-50m to their revenues, subject to how far they get and that is a massive and pretty much unexpected bonus. Whether their player contracts wipe a lot of that out with bonuses, who knows.
They have that Maatsen and Leiws Hall loan players who may well go this summer, both with options/obligations to buy at £25-30m.
If they also need to sell Gallagher to balances things than
posted 3 weeks, 4 days ago
comment by Devonshirespur (U6316)
posted 16 minutes ago
It's mutual because sacking him would have been awful PR, so no doubt his pay off will be a nice one, for going quietly and not having to be pushed.
Getting Europe will have added £30-50m to their revenues, subject to how far they get and that is a massive and pretty much unexpected bonus. Whether their player contracts wipe a lot of that out with bonuses, who knows.
They have that Maatsen and Leiws Hall loan players who may well go this summer, both with options/obligations to buy at £25-30m.
If they also need to sell Gallagher to balances things than
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Your figures are well out, if Chelsea win every game in the Europa next year then they will earn £23m euros as per UEFA themselves:
https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/news/0275-152ea803235f-f90ebb18192d-1000--do-the-europa-league-winners-qualify-for-the-champions-lea/#
Chances are they will probably earn about £15m all in for a QF berth
posted 3 weeks, 4 days ago
Nicholas Jackson posted a facepalm emoji and a pic of him and Poch on his insta. There's absolutely no doubt that the players will be furious with this.
Dev - I'm not so sure. There were definite rumblings about his departure way before it came out judging by his bizarre defeatist post-match interviews after a win. He knew he was going because he probably knew about Chelsea's determination to sell assets he didn't agree with.
It was basically a "do as we say or leave" discussion. They likely reached an impasse so I don't think he was sacked, he just didn't want to continue under that model.
I'm convinced it's all about Gallagher, who is nailed on now to move to either us or Villa.
posted 3 weeks, 4 days ago
threw a strop about them hiring a set piece coach apparently
posted 3 weeks, 4 days ago
Saw this coming after Poch's comments but really strange considering the upturn in results which was to be expected with a group of young players. Had Chelsea down for top four this season as I predicted exactly that. It came a bit too late but you'd have thought this would have continued into the new season and a definite shot at top four and beyond.
That's up in the air now.
posted 3 weeks, 4 days ago
comment by Striketeam7 - Laughing at Arsenals nearly slaaaags (U18109)
posted 1 hour, 20 minutes ago
comment by Devonshirespur (U6316)
posted 16 minutes ago
It's mutual because sacking him would have been awful PR, so no doubt his pay off will be a nice one, for going quietly and not having to be pushed.
Getting Europe will have added £30-50m to their revenues, subject to how far they get and that is a massive and pretty much unexpected bonus. Whether their player contracts wipe a lot of that out with bonuses, who knows.
They have that Maatsen and Leiws Hall loan players who may well go this summer, both with options/obligations to buy at £25-30m.
If they also need to sell Gallagher to balances things than
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Your figures are well out, if Chelsea win every game in the Europa next year then they will earn £23m euros as per UEFA themselves:
https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/news/0275-152ea803235f-f90ebb18192d-1000--do-the-europa-league-winners-qualify-for-the-champions-lea/#
Chances are they will probably earn about £15m all in for a QF berth
----------------------------------------------------------------------
you taking into account matchday revenue etc?
posted 3 weeks, 4 days ago
comment by Nickasaurus (U9257)
posted 14 minutes ago
comment by Striketeam7 - Laughing at Arsenals nearly slaaaags (U18109)
posted 1 hour, 20 minutes ago
comment by Devonshirespur (U6316)
posted 16 minutes ago
It's mutual because sacking him would have been awful PR, so no doubt his pay off will be a nice one, for going quietly and not having to be pushed.
Getting Europe will have added £30-50m to their revenues, subject to how far they get and that is a massive and pretty much unexpected bonus. Whether their player contracts wipe a lot of that out with bonuses, who knows.
They have that Maatsen and Leiws Hall loan players who may well go this summer, both with options/obligations to buy at £25-30m.
If they also need to sell Gallagher to balances things than
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Your figures are well out, if Chelsea win every game in the Europa next year then they will earn £23m euros as per UEFA themselves:
https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/news/0275-152ea803235f-f90ebb18192d-1000--do-the-europa-league-winners-qualify-for-the-champions-lea/#
Chances are they will probably earn about £15m all in for a QF berth
----------------------------------------------------------------------
you taking into account matchday revenue etc?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
No but I’m also not taking into account match day costs, player bonuses, and travel expenses for away games.
A team winning every CL game will earn circa £125m
The difference is crazy
posted 3 weeks, 4 days ago
None of this will make any difference if the new manager doesn't manage to bed his tactics in quickly - we may not get to the quarter finals.