The narrative around Mauricio Pochettino (as it was with the last few managers at Chelsea) has been one of sympathy. How can he possibly do a good job with all of the chaos and turnover of players?
That was very much the line that Ayo Akinwolere was taking in his questions on the Athletic podcast about the situation at the club.
But Tim Spiers turned it round on him. Rather than sympathise with the tricky task of dealing with new players, couldn’t be say it’s “a manager’s dream to be given a squad with the talent he has?”
Certainly even Pochettino would have to admit he’s not getting the most out of the players he’s in charge of, whether that’s due to the circumstances or not.
The contrast in opinions led to a very interesting discussion, especially when their Chelsea correspondent Liam Twomey also got involved.
You can see their discussion in the clip embedded here:
To expect any manager to come into a situation where the squad is almost entirely new AND exceedingly young and mild them into a consistent winner simply can’t be done in anything less than 18-24 months and the folks who act like you can snap your fingers and make it happen are fools and blowhards.