da bwin： The Argentine is failing miserably to makes the most out of the resources at his disposal, but the club's clueless owners are also culpable
da mrbet： Chelsea were booed off at the break in Sunday's dire 4-2 loss to Wolves – and again when the full-time whistle blew at Stamford Bridge. Mauricio Pochettino acknowledged the fans' frustration afterwards.
"We feel sorry and want to apologise," the Argentine told reporters. "We are disappointed like them, but we need to keep fighting together until the end. If we want good results in the future, we need to stay together and, during the game, work together and try to get the result. After the game, they will be right to criticise or be angry if the performance is not good."
Sunday's showing was a lot worse than that, though. It was "f*cking sh*t" as some supporters sang. Chelsea were badly beaten in a mid-table encounter, outclassed by a team that hadn't won at Stamford Bridge since 1979, and the defeat obliterated the argument being bandied about that the Blues are improving under Pochettino.
If Wednesday's mauling at Liverpool showed just how far Chelsea are off challenging for the title again, being given the run-around by Wolves proved that even qualifying for the Europa Conference League is likely to be too big an ask for the biggest under-achievers in world football.
GettyFar less than the sum of their parts
A squad constructed at a cost of more than £1 billion ($1.25bn) presently sits 11th in the Premier League table, having conceded more goals (39) than they have scored (38) and already lost 10 times in just 23 games.
There is no worse example in the game today of a team being less than the sum of their parts, and that makes Pochettino's position absolutely untenable – or at least it would were it not for the fact that sacking the Argentine would reflect horribly on his employers.
Todd Boehly & Co. made themselves look absolutely ridiculous by sacking Thomas Tuchel, who won Chelsea the Champions League, and paying a small fortune to replace him with Graham Potter – only to then abandon their new 'project' after less than seven months.
AdvertisementGettySensible appointment?…
The subsequent appointment of Frank Lampard on an interim basis only strengthened the suspicion that the new owners were utterly clueless. They weren't just interested in making their own mistakes, it seemed, but also repeating those made by others. There was no apparent method to the madness.
In that context, it was hardly surprising that appointing Pochettino was hailed as an unusually sensible move by Chelsea, one that might restore order in west London. Ignoring the fact that he had failed at Paris Saint-Germain to cope with the pressure that comes with managing an expensively-assembled squad at a poorly run club, the general feeling was that Pochettino had the potential to work wonders with a group of promising young players – just as he had in his previous Premier League job, at Tottenham.
Instead, he is struggling horribly to make the most out of the many resources at his disposal.
Getty ImagesNo proof of progress
Of course, some have attempted to defend Pochettino by pointing out that he is working in a rather chaotic environment, but he knew exactly what he was getting into. It's also been argued that time was always going to be required to turn a squad containing so many new – and young – players into a top-four team, and that's unquestionably true.
However, patience requires proof of progress – and Pochettino isn't providing any. His Chelsea side have as many points after 23 games as Potter did at the same stage last season.
It's not just about points, either. The performances are just as poor and have arguably been declining in quality since something resembling a purple patch in the autumn, when the Blues drew with both Arsenal and Manchester City, and beat a nine-man Tottenham.
Getty'It's time to change'
A couple of penalty calls undeniably went against Chelsea at Anfield last week, but Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo, the most expensive central-midfield pairing in history, were completely over-run – just as they were four days later against Wolves, resulting in the defence being torn to shreds on both occasions.
Consequently, it came as no surprise to see Thiago Silva's wife take to social media after Sunday's shambles and declare "It's time to change. If you wait any longer, it will be too late."
If we're being generous, maybe she's referring to the reports that Pochettino is entertaining a switch to a three-man defence. It seems far more likely, though, that she believes a change of manager is required to salvage the season.
After all, before Pochettino took over, Chelsea hadn't shipped four goals in back-to-back league games since 1989. It's now happened twice in the space of three months.