Chelsea have made a pretty controversial move this week by sacking Thomas Tuchel, a move that has not gone down well with fans, by and large.
Some – including some pundits – have backed the decision after a slump in the Blues’ form since the turn of the year, but by and large it’s been seen as rash.
Few people have slammed it as hard and as heavily as Christina Heidel, the sporting director at Tuchel’s old club Mainz.
He destroyed the decision by the new ownership as a foolish one, making it clear he thought this was an amateurish decision from Todd Boehly and co.
“Someone who has no idea about football probably thought that sixth place wasn’t good enough for him and said: ‘Then let’s try another coach.’
“After only six games, I can’t think of any other reason. But Chelsea will bitterly regret this decision – they won’t get such a good coach again so quickly,” he said in quotes picked up by SportWitness.
He lays out our thoughts very succinctly really, and it’s hard to dispute that it’s a terrible look for our new owners overall.
Let’s hope they at least fail upwards.
Maybe not calling him christina would add a little validity to the story.
Well said. Additionally, “Christina” and, indeed all of us, would do well to remember that the pattern of underperformance stretches back a lot further than 6 games. Tuchel’s Chelsea have looked a shadow of the side that won the UCL for most of the calendar year. The offense has seldom looked threatening (with horrific xGs considering we often enjoy +60% possession), and the once impregnable defense has shown increasing vulnerability. Tuchel got most of the players he wanted and nothing changed. If Boehly doesn’t make the change and we keep dropping points I have no doubt that the same smug critics of American ownership would have been carping about the inaction!
I’m surprise to hear this. The owners know their left from right. The owners are doing football with business. Thomas Tuchel also thinks different. Check how Chelsea transfer went. It suggested something. TB and co needed CR7 to do American business however TT blocked that and you TT could survive? TT should have tuned with their planned. He caused his own.
For me, the sacking came late cos fofana and more especially aubameyang signing does not make sense at all. How on earth could chelsea loose gilmore.
Hi I must admit I was very surprised at the sacking of Thomas tuchel he didn’t become a bad manerger over night the team had a lot to do with what had happened what Thomas tuchel achieved in the little time he was hear is remarkable let’s hope the board have not made a big mistake
We Chelsea fans will missed thomas tuchel a lot because he has done some for the club
Esta señora no pudo verse más ridícula de lo que pudo, si no fuera tan ignorante vería más allá de sus narices y vería lo que muchos nos percatamos, una mediocridad de bajo rendimiento en toda la plantilla incómoda y afectada por el mismo Tuchel, así que señora sientese por favor y siga bordando sus calzones y deje de meterse donde los que saben de fútbol y negocios juegan.
Hahaha! There we go, poor Christian is now officially a “senora!”
In all seriousness though… I took a moment to compile Tuchel’s EPL record (this was one by hand so please correct me if I mis-tabulated). In calendar year 2021 (spanning his arrival for the late-Jan 2021 Wolves match through the Brighton fixture Dec 29, 2021), he was a fairly respectable 23-11-5 (good for 2.05 pts/game). By contrast, in calendar year 2022 he’d fallen off to 12-6-6 (or 1.75 pts/game). He’d already accumulated more losses in just over eight months than in the whole of the previous twelve. He’d gone from 31 clean sheets in his first 50 games to just 18 in his next 50. Yes, he finished with a better winning goal pct than Ranieri (and won the all-important UCL), but his win pct was actually lower than Ancelotti, Mourinho, and Conte.
So, you may still quibble about whether it was the “right” decision to replace him with Potter (only time will tell), but I assert that you can’t look at these numbers and still argue that the new ownership had no sound rationale for sacking him and were merely (as many have implied) acting like naive, reckless Americans mucking about in English football. You can’t argue this, that is, unless you think 12-6-6 in 2022 (on track for an UEL spot…maybe) and no signs of improvement on the immediate horizon is good enough at a club the size of Chelsea.
Many thanks to you
I’m surprise to hear this. The owners know their left from right. The owners are doing football with business. Thomas Tuchel also thinks different. Check how Chelsea transfer went. It suggested something. TB and co needed CR7 to do American business however TT blocked that and you think TT could survive? TT should have tuned with their planned. He caused his own.
The writing has been on the wall for TT for a year now.
He quickly failed to use Lukaku to the best advantage, to the the extent that he wanted out within momths.
Werner too – if TT had combined them as a 2 up front, they might have been successful
Then there’s the persistent use of Havertz as No 9, which has been a dismal failure.
All because TT had fixed ideas which did not suit the players he had,
Then there’s the failure to bring the youngsters through – Gilmour, Colwill, Chalobah, Broja etc.
If TT had stayed we would have finished outside the top 4
And he never got to grips with the painfully slow build up play, that we have been lumbered with since Sarri/Jorginho arrived