Paul Merson labels Chelsea parting ways with Mauricio Pochettino ‘madness’
Paul Merson took out frustration on X after Chelsea announced they had decided to part ways with Mauricio Pochettino with mutual consent. But for the former Blues player, it was madness, and he doesn’t know what the board is trying to do.
Pochettino’s exit has come as a big shock for many fans and pundits alike after the Argentine manager led the Blues to a sixth-place finish, guaranteeing them European competition for next season. It seems like this was not enough to convince the board to continue with the former Tottenham Hotspur head coach.
The 52-year-old met sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley and co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali in an end-of-season review process on Tuesday morning, and the Argentine wanted more input on the Chelsea transfer, which the board didn’t want.
This has not gone down well with Merson, who felt the board made the wrong decision by letting Pochettino leave on X (formerly known as Twitter), Merson said:
I just heard the news about Pochettino. I cannot believe he is gone. I cannot believe whoever made these decisions was just going to replace a manager like him. He got the team going, and we were on a great run. We got into Europe. We got into sixth in the league from where they were. He’s just got this team playing.”
When a pundit like Merson feels the board has made an awful decision, then you have gambled it badly, and now your every decision will have massive implications on the Chelsea squad next season and how they perform because you parted ways with a coach who managed to turn things around in such limited time, resources, and players last season but you felt like he wasn’t fit enough to lead the club.
Our board is now under massive scrutiny, and Pochettino was becoming a fan favourite and managed to change the atmosphere at the club when he led them to a sixth-place finish. This summer, the club will have to get everything right because one mistake will cost the next season, and it will further slow down the development process.
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- Ben Jacobs confirms Chelsea will sell Romelu Lukaku in summer
The team will have a demanding summer ahead of them, and it will be intriguing to watch who takes over as manager. There are many names available, but which one of them will be willing to work for a team where he won’t be able to influence transfers during the window? It remains to be seen.