Stan Collymore has now shared what he’s heard about why Mauricio Pochettino did end up leaving Chelsea.
It was confirmed just 48 hours after the final day of the Premier League, where Chelsea managed to secure sixth spot and European football, that Mauricio Pochettino has departed Stamford Bridge by mutual consent.
Pochettino, 52, has walked away from the Blues after only one season in charge.
Stan Collymore shares what he’s heard about Chelsea exit
Stan Collymore says he’s heard from people within Chelsea that Pochettino’s departure partly came about because he wanted a bigger say in things. However, the club’s hierarchy painted out their strategy where there’s different departments operating and the head coach won’t have the final say on everything.
Collymore told CaughtOffside: “My understanding is – from a couple of people I know at Chelsea – that Pochettino basically wanted more control over things but the Chelsea hierarchy were like ‘the structure is the structure. This is the way that we want to do it. We’re more than happy with you having your input, but ultimately there’s other people at the club that we’ve employed who we want to do their jobs and be empowered to do their job.’
“… It should be the least the least shocking news in football when a Chelsea manager gets the sack, but on this occasion it is, and it’s a real shame. I’m a big fan of Poch and I genuinely thought he would go on and get some success at Chelsea, over the next two or three years.”
The signs were showing Mauricio Pochettino was getting it right
Unfortunately, Pochettino’s gone at a time when everything was pointing towards positive times ahead at Chelsea.
The parties couldn’t quite see eye-to-eye, so it was mutually agreed to part ways this summer.
If you compare how Chelsea started the season with how they ended it, there’s such a big difference. It’s quite obvious this young group was gelling together and finding a rhythm under Pochettino.
Chelsea started the season with just three wins from their opening 10 Premier League matches. In comparison, they picked up seven victories from the final 10 games of the league campaign, which catapulted them into Europe.
A new manager will need time to settle and get to grips with this group of players, whereas Pochettino could have carried on the end-of-season momentum into next year.