Mauricio Pochettino again defended his players after a bad defeat yesterday.
“The circumstances are bigger than the performance of the players,” he said rather coyly after the game.
So let’s drill down into this – what does he mean by “the circumstances” here?
He’s talking about “the big picture,” the whole story that got us to this point rather than just what happened on the pitch. Now in part he probably means the injuries that forced him to pick a strange team.
But even that’s quite a localised problem. What he’s really obliquely saying is that the circumstances that led to him having this particular group to pick from have been created by the decisions above him.
He’s not saying it directly, but he’s strongly hinting that blame should be aimed at those who brought this group together.
You can see the coach speaking in the clip embedded here:
"The circumstances are bigger than the performance of the players"
Mauricio Pochettino refuses to blame the Chelsea players after their 5-0 defeat to Arsenal ❌ pic.twitter.com/roESI6q3so
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 24, 2024
We totally sympathise with Pochettino on this one. He’s not without blame in all this, but the team selection last night was the product of two years of work from the new ownership. Once combined with the rolling injury crisis, Pochettino had little choice in terms of who he picked. We’re sure players like Carney Chukwuemeka would have been in there had they been fit.
At centre-back, Thiago Silva and Trevoh Chalobah were left out because they couldn’t handle another game. So who came in? Two players bought by the new regime, bought for a combined €85m, who once again performed like total strangers, despite their long history together.
Those are the “circumstances” that Pochettino is speaking about which affect the result. He can only play the cards he’s been given, and it’s crazy to think that an academy kid and a 40 year old are his best options at the back after so much spending.
