Chelsea: Pochettino sacked over ‘antiquated’ methods as report reveals Boehly, Eghbali disagreement
Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly was happy to keep Mauricio Pochettino but Behdad Eghbali was ‘lukewarm’ to the idea, according to reports.
Pochettino has left Chelsea by mutual consent, the Premier League club confirmed on Tuesday evening.
It has been reported by Standard Sport that the Blues are interested in appointing Brighton-linked Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna, with a young, progressive coach being prioritised.
Other bosses reportedly in the frame are Brentford’s Thomas Frank, Stuttgart’s Sebastien Hoeness, Burnley’s Vincent Kompany and Girona’s Michel, with former head coach Thomas Tuchel not believed to be under consideration.
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Pochettino’s dismissal comes as a bit of a surprise given Chelsea’s strong second half to the season.
The Blues finished sixth in the Premier League, qualifying for the Europa League despite lingering in mid-table for much of the 2023/24 campaign.
Pochettino’s ‘antiquated’ training methods contributed to Chelsea sacking
There was a point in the season when Pochettino being sacked seemed likely and The Guardian has explained why the decision has now been made.
Journalist Jacob Steinberg states that the Argentine’s split with the Blues comes due ‘to a difference of opinion over strategy’.
Pochettino ‘was frustrated in his attempts to be given more power’ and both parties believed it made more sense to part ways now ‘rather than risk the possibility of a major fallout next season’, with the manager ‘not going to be given more control over signings’
Understandably, ‘there was support’ for the manager within the board but this ‘was not unanimous, with Eghbali understood to have been ‘lukewarm’ towards Pochettino.
Part of Pochettino’s downfall is that the board ‘had concerns over his tactics’ and a source has told the website that his training methods are ‘antiquated’
Mauricio Pochettino ‘had concerns’ over Chelsea ‘day-to-day running’
A report from ESPN states that the Blues hierarchy have been ‘split for some time’ over the future of Pochettino having failed to compete for a Champions League spot despite spending £1billion since the Boehly-Clearlake Capital takeover of May 2022.
As The Guardian report states, it is also said here that ‘Boehly was keen on retaining Pochettino but Eghbali wanted to replace him with a new coach’.
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Despite a strong end to the campaign, the Chelsea board ‘expected quicker progress given the significant investment on players’.
Also, the ex-Spurs boss ‘had concerns about the day-to-day running of the club and the lack of clarity over forward planning’.
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