Blues manager Mauricio Pochettino has received unexpected backing from an unlikely source in the form of former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan.
Jordan has told Chelsea owner Todd Boehly it is imperative that he must stick with the Argentine if he wants to see the business model he’s created succeed at Stamford Bridge.
Admittedly it has been a rocky start for the Blues under Pochettino amid a serious injury crisis that has consistently threatened to take away some of his key stars, with club captain Reece James now out with his second hamstring injury of the season while vice captain Ben Chilwell is also on the sidelines with an issue.
That aside, premiere summer signings Christopher Nkunku and Romeo Lavia are yet to make their debuts for Chelsea having been ruled out of the first half of the season with injuries. This has greatly incapacitated the Blues, contributing to losses to West Ham, Everton and Nottingham Forest, leaving the club in 12th place in the League table.
Thankfully for the Blues they’d managed to balance out with some decent results against some of their tougher rivals, including a 4-1 win over Tottenham and draws against Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool , which has led to disgruntled calls baying for Pochettini’s blood but Jordan has make the timely intrusion to highlight the ridiculousness of the situation.
Writing for the Daily Mail, he quipped: “Pochettino should be doing a better job but if he’s not comfortable with what he’s got and wants something better then you have to back him. Chelsea are in for a penny, they might as well be in for the pound.
“I’m not convinced about Pochettino and have my doubts he’ll lead Chelsea to the promised land but having spent so long trying to get him and then giving him all this money to strengthen an already expensively assembled squad, you’ve got to have another twist of the dial.
“You either back him or you don’t. Chelsea were prepared to back Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter with £600million on new players so, as ridiculous as it sounds, Chelsea probably do have to go again with Pochettino. The problem for the Chelsea manager is that the more he asks for and less he achieves, the quicker his sell-by date comes up. He has been complicit in some of the club’s profligacy by failing to get the best from expensive new signings so cannot be completely insulated from errors made in the past.
“Pochettino has spent big – £470million although it’s more like £175million net – but his outlay has been comparatively small compared to his predecessors and the drunken sailor spending of the club’s first two transfer windows under Todd Boehly. The fact a club can spend over £1billion – probably around £700million net – and still end up with a squad not fit for purpose is embarrassing.
“The reality of it is that you have to believe in the process. If you believe in the manager and accept that the tools you have given him aren’t good enough, then you have to go along with it. But if you believe he wasted money on players who have not been fit for purpose then you have a degree of trepidation about what he’s going to spend your money on next.
“Does Pochettino deserve to be trusted with yet more funds? Has he indicated that he’s got some degree of control over where things are going but just needs a few more ingredients? Critics will ask how much more he needs to be given to succeed. The problem for the owners is that they have already set this standard and spent over £600million before he even arrived and were dreadful.
“Further spending will obviously generate headlines given what has gone before but let’s get it right, spending £60million in January on a striker is not going to destroy Chelsea. It would, however, be absurd to drop another £200million if Pochettino wants a new goalkeeper, new full-backs and whatever else in next month’s transfer window.
“Chelsea must find the balance between the here and now and what they think they’re going to be. If they’re comfortable with longer-term positioning and are going to insulate their manager from short-term problems, then keep going and back him a little further. It would be counter-productive to pull the plug now.
“There is very little to admire though. Chelsea’s actions since the takeover in 2022 betray a lack of understanding of the industry and their propensity to make bold decisions is not clever and it’s not commendable. The result? They keep on making the same mistakes because they don’t have the right people around them.
“When Boehly and his gang bought the club they said they were prepared to spend £1.75bn but there seems to have been a rush to spend it. They need to be more like a sniper in the transfer market, identify what is missing and provide a solution rather than their scattergun approach which is akin to a Bugsy Malone splurge gun firing custard pies everywhere.
“So far it’s been like some sort of ridiculous version of Brewster’s Millions, getting rid of as much cash as they can but it can’t go on forever if they want to get back to the top.” a