“No idea about football” – Mainz sporting director slams Chelsea owners

Mainz sporting director slams Chelsea owners over Thomas Tuchel sacking

Speaking to Bild (h/t Evening Standard), Christian Heide, who is the sporting director of Mainz, has slammed the Chelsea owners over the sacking of manager Thomas Tuchel.

Tuchel was relieved of his duties at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday morning in a 10-minute conference call, hours after the Blues lost to Dinamo Zagreb on the opening night of the Champions League.

Keeping in mind that the German won them the Champions League in 2021 and the Club World Cup last season, the decision to sack was met with a gauntlet of surprise.

Heide believes that the decision to sack the former Mainz coach showed the lack of understanding from Chelsea’s new ownership group.

The sacking is grist to the mill of those who are against investors in football. It was purely an investor’s decision.

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.’

The other surprising fact behind this sacking is that it was done a week after the deadline of the transfer window. The club signed two players on the deadline day and one two days before that.

Knowing that Tuchel was an integral part of the decision-making process about signing players, it is baffling that he was not given any time to work with the new signings and integrate them into his style of football.

Chelsea have appointed former Swansea City manager Graham Potter to replace the German on Thursday. Even though the Englishman has signed a five-year deal with the club and received the promise of time with the squad from the owners, it looks unlikely that he would be given that if a lean patch comes along.

More Chelsea News:

• Gus Poyet believes Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will be important for Chelsea this season
• Emmanuel Petit is unsure if Graham Potter will succeed at Chelsea
• Thomas Tuchel was frustrated at Chelsea owners’ failure to sign Gabriel Jesus

The Blues have made a poor start to the season. The onus will be on the new manager and the players to start winning games in order to stay alive in the two big competitions going into the second half of the season post-World Cup.