While many Chelsea supporters will not be pleased with this season's performances, they should definitely have patience with their head coach Mauricio Pochettino, writes Kamogelo Motecwane.
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At the beginning of the campaign, when the Blues spent big in the transfer market once again to bring in the likes of Moises Caicedo, Christopher Nkunku, Nicolas Jackson and Cole Palmer, among others, for a combined €468 million (R9.2 billion), according to Transfermarkt, there was a lot of expectations placed on the squad.
On top of the heavy investment in the playing personnel was the arrival of high-profile manager Pochettino. It can be argued that the Argentine perhaps underperformed in his previous role as Paris Saint-Germain boss, losing out on the Ligue 1 title to Lille in his first campaign in charge and failing to progress beyond the UEFA Champions League semi-finals during his one and a half seasons with Les Parisiens. The French giants would eventually sack him after his first full season at the helm, but being axed by PSG did little to damage his reputation as he continued to be linked with top jobs throughout Europe, and it would be the Blues that landed the 52-year-old, signing him to a two-year deal.
"Inconsistent" is perhaps the best word to describe Chelsea's first season under the Murphy native, because when they have been good, they've been able to compete against the very best, their 4-4 draw with Manchester City the best illustration of that. However, when they've been bad, they have been calamitous, and an example of this would be their recent 5-0 defeat away at Arsenal.
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They've hovered around mid-table for much of the campaign and while supporters of the west Londoners may not be accustomed to this mediocrity, this is their new reality. The Todd Boehly- and Behdad Eghbali-led Clearlake Capital consortium has invested heavily in young talent as opposed to the traditional superstar acquisitions that walked through Stamford Bridge when Roman Abramovich was still owner of the club.
The development of a young player is usually characterised by lots of highs and lows, and with the two-time European champions now being made up predominantly of these kinds of starlets, it is natural the team will perform erratically. Pochettino has come under fire from a lot of the fanbase because of poor results, and perhaps understandably so as, for the past 20 years, they have been serial winners. However, the club no longer has the likes of Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba and Eden Hazard to bail them out, but they are developing as a unit.
That being the case, Pochettino is the right man for the club because he oversaw a similar project across London. The ex-Argentina international took charge of Tottenham Hotspur in 2014 and during his time at White Hart Lane, he moulded the north London rivals into Premier League contenders. He changed the perception around them of just being a team being able to qualify for the UEFA Champions League and he did it with a young core. Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli, Kyle Walker and Hugo Lloris all became household names under his tutelage.
Walker recently spoke on Rio Ferdinand's FIVE podcast, and the England international revealed that Pochettino prefers working with young players too. "Pochettino loves working with young players. He likes to have his mould on the team," he said.
He has also managed to take Chelsea to a Carabao Cup final, as well as the semi-finals of the FA Cup in this campaign. Better finishing could've arguably won those fixtures, but as a manager he can only do so much, the rest is up to the players.
Speaking of the players, there also have not been many leaks about the dressing room being unhappy with the manager. All the pressure surrounding Pochettino right now has been generated by the media and fans alike, so perhaps one can look at that and say they are buying into the project he is building.
The English giants have lost only one of their past 12 games in the league – the aforementioned defeat to the Gunners – and this form has seen them go in touching distance of potentially qualifying for the UEFA Europa League. It was perhaps hard to see them in such a position during the middle of the season, but it seems to be a sign the Argentine is getting his ideas across and the players are finally understanding.
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The team's lack of experience will likely still rear its head next season, but Chelsea are definitely on the right track under Pochettino.
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