Suits the project but not the taste of the fans : Here's why Chelsea wants Mauricio Pochettino

Not many saw this coming but Mauricio Pochettino is now the leading candidate for the Chelsea job after talks collapsed with former Bayern boss, Julian Nagelsmann.

The German had been frontrunner for the vacant managerial role at the West London club, moreso after Chelsea allowed former assistant Manager, Anthony Barry to join the Bavarians on the request of Thomas Tuchel.

The meeting held between Todd Boehly and the representatives of Bayern reportedly borne good fruits and the good relationship established was supposed to aid the appointment of Nagelsmann, whom the club considered its priority.

However, it appeared there was a matter both Nagelsmann and Chelsea could not find a neutral ground, and the German decided not to take up the role, leaving Chelsea to continue their search.

Former Tottenham Hotspur boss, Mauricio Pochettino is now the main target for the role and talks is currently ongoing between Chelsea and the Argentine.

Why Pochettino ?

Chelsea have not really taken his success in Paris, where he won his first trophies as a professional manager as the benchmark for the reasons the 50year old is being lined up for the job.

Instead, it was for his days in North London with Tottenham Hotspur, where he spent more than five years - period more popular amongst fans in England for his inability to deliver a trophy for the club.

The belief amongst the Chelsea hierarchy is that Pochettino overachieved at Tottenham despite the shortcoming, which is the direct opposite of what Chelsea fans enjoy.

Pochettino did the unbelievable with Tottenham, just as he did in his 17 months with Southampton, where he helped the Saints finish eighth in 2013/14, his only full season at the club.

Pochettino worked wonders with the youth players, almost all of whom had literally been heard of before his appointment.

Adam Lallana, Morgan Schneiderian, James Ward-Prowse, Luke Shaw, Calum Chambres, Victor Wanyama to mention but a few were players who benefited from the Argentine's appointment, and were able to earn big moves to top teams from the Saint Mary's.

This his ability to develop and work with youth and Academy players is one of the major reasons as well. Most of the current crops at Chelsea are very young and with huge potentials, and they need a manager, who trusts in them to be able to reach their prime.

His brilliance earned him a move to Tottenham, where would continue his philosophy of believing in the youth and go on to make the club a mainstay in the top four of a very competitive Premier League.

Upon his arrival, Tottenham sold their best player in Gareth Bale, leaving him with a tough start to life at the club but in that summer window, he oversaw the signing of a host of young talents, some of whom went on to play huge part in his spell in North London.

Christian Eriksen, Erik Lamela, Nacer Chadli, Ben Davies, Dele Alli and more joined the club on a very low budget and Pochettino was able to turn the fans into dreamers.

In his second season at Tottenham, he came very close to winning the Premier League title before his side faltered against Chelsea in a 2-2 draw in Stamford Bridge, a result that confirmed Leicester City as the winner of the competition in that year.

Tottenham eventually finished third that year as they were overtaken by Arsenal on the final day of the season, following a 5-1 loss to already relegated Newcastle United.

However, that would be the last time they'd finish behind Arsenal in the league before the ongoing season, as just days ago, the Gunners celebrated the Saint Totteringham's day - a day when Arsenal fans celebrate the fact that Tottenham can no longer catch up their club in the League.

In the 2016/17 season, when Chelsea won the Premier League title, Pochettino's Tottenham finished second, seven points shy of Conte's men and with the best goal difference in the division that season.

Pochettino in his time, led Tottenham Hotspur to two Cup finals, one in the League Cup where he was beaten by Chelsea in his first season in 2015.

The other was an even bigger accomplishment as he led Tottenham Hotspur to their first ever Champions League final in 2019, when they were 2-0 beaten by Liverpool.

For a club like Tottenham, who had never even dream of competing with the big boys in recent times before his appointment, Pochettino made them one of the most regular in the top four and in all his years as the Spurs manager, only once (his first season) did they not finish in the top four.

Doing all these with a low budget club is a massive achievement and not to discredit him for the fact he was unable to win a trophy at the club, serial winners in Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte, both whom enjoyed success at Chelsea managed Tottenham and left the club without winning a trophy.

Reminds one of the famous quote by former Juventus and Italy international defender, Georgio Chiellini 'its in the history of the Tottenham.'

His failure to win a trophy is more about the club than the manager and few few days into his appointment as the PSG manager in January 2021, Pochettino delivered his first trophy as a manager following his side's 2-1 win over Marseille in the Trophée des Champions.

There, the former PSG player was able to prove he can also win titles as a manager and added the Ligue1 and the Coupe de France titles before parting ways with Les Parisians.

Style of play

Mauricio Pochettino is very different from the crop of managers Chelsea have had in recent times, most who favoured playing three Center Back. The Argentine is a proponent of the 4231 fluid football.

He set up his side, so that one of the two holding midfielders drop deep to engage his defenders when the team build from the back, while he also add to the bodies, when the team defend.

At Spurs, Eric Dier was the profile he utilized for the role before the Englishman was converted to a Center Back by Jose Mourinho.

The fullbacks, in Kyle Walker and Danny Rose also make those overlapping runs forward, thanks to their athletism, to overload in attack and put the opponents under more pressure at the back.

The team relied on the creativity of Christian Eriksen, with the Dane playing as a No. 10, while afforded Dele Alli more room forward, as he played off Harry Kane, as the second striker.

When Heung-Min Son joined, the Korean also added to firepower available for Spurs, and the team played some exciting football, with striker, Harry Kane able to score loads of goals in the system.

Chelsea currently doesn't have a system that works for a striker and since Tammy Abraham, none of the strikers to have graced the club had reached double digits for goals in a league season.

The likes of Romelu Lukaku, Kai Havertz and Timo Werner had build for themselves a reputation of scoring goals but upon getting to Chelsea, it all dried up.

The will most likely change under a manager like Mauricio Pochettino, and with the potential return of Romelu Lukaku in the summer, he could help Chelsea get the best out of their record signing.

Man management

This is one other reason Pochettino is more suitable than Julian Nagelsmann, the latter whose one of the reasons of his sacking at Bayern was due to lack of man management skills.

Nagelsmann is also not good with the reserve and Academy players but Pochettino on the other hand thrive in these two categories.

He has been hailed by his players for his man-management approach and guidance, his willingness to advise, encouraging the players to take charge of their own development as well as helping them to improve physically, technically and mentally.

While fans will be concerned with his failure to win trophies at Tottenham, it shouldn't be much of a concern because that was Spurs after all and if anyone wants to talk about trophies, then look up for his time at PSG.

Pochettino would be good for Chelsea's long-term project, and being one who is already used to the system, it won't be too difficult getting on with life at Chelsea and that is exactly what the club needs from a new manager at this time.

Author : Kehinde Hassan Afolabi