The former Chelsea head coach, and current manager of the US Men's National Soccer Team, Mauricio Pochettino, has made a surprise admission about his time in West London
Back in the summer of 2023, Chelsea made the decision to bring in Mauricio Pochettino as their new head coach, replacing the sacked Graham Potter (via a Frank Lampard interim spell).
This came despite the manager's links with London rivals Tottenham Hotspur. It's safe to say, his decision to come to the club was far from popular with the fans of his former employers.
Nevertheless, it happened. After a difficult start to the season, Chelsea ended up picking up towards the end of the season under Pochettino. He managed to find a formula with Conor Gallagher and Moises Caicedo as the double pivot, and Cole Palmer in the number ten role.
Having two workman like midfielders allowed Palmer to have the freedom to do his own thing, and we saw his open play goalscoring numbers rocket after being moved to that central position from the right wing.
However, despite this positive end to the season, the Argentine manager left the club at the end of the season. Many thought it was very awkward that he had been sacked by Chelsea just weeks before managing at Stamford Bridge as part of the annual Soccer Aid event.
But, it turns out that wasn't the case. Indeed, as when speaking on the Rest is Football podcast, the USMNT manager confirmed that he left the club on his own accord. After speaking about how difficult it is to manage players that have signed for the club, rather than you as the manager, he explained that he departed himself.
"I'm not complaining, because it was my decision to leave the club". He also confirmed that he was only involved in two signings when he was at the club: "All the business was already done [when I arrived]. I only said ok to signing [Axel] Disasi, because [Wesley] Fofana was injured in pre-season. And Cole Palmer. We were involved in this decision."
Two signings from a whole transfer window, that marries up with his comments that it's difficult to manage a dressing room when the players signed for the club rather than yourself.
In general, some very interesting comments. Most people was assumed he was just sacked by the club, rather than making his own decision. There is a lot debate as to whether Enzo Maresca was sacked or walked out, too. If the latter, that is two managers in the BlueCo era that have left the club. That is a seriously bad look.
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