Regardless of whether people feel it was the wrong decision, Todd Boehly and the Chelsea board dispensed with the services of Mauricio Pochettino after a poor 2023/24 campaign.
Just when the Argentinian appeared to be getting a tune out of his squad, the American wielded the axe.
Not only could it be suggested that it will put Chelsea’s project back further, but it also throws up the possibility of another frantic transfer window for the West Londoners.
Any new man coming in will almost certainly want to put his own stamp on the squad, and to that end, a number of first-team players could be fearful of their places after largely disappointing during the season.
Enzo Maresca keen on the Chelsea job
One could also make the argument as to who in their right mind would want to take over at Stamford Bridge given the consistent upheaval, but it appears that there are no shortage of takers.
Enzo Maresca, a Championship title winner with Leicester City, appears to be very interested for example.
“I’m receiving many questions about Enzo Maresca guys, and I can confirm that Maresca is super open and super keen on joining Chelsea. So it’s a concrete possibility,” Fabrizio Romano said to CaughtOffside for his exclusive Daily Briefing.
“He’s not the only target. Hoeness doesn’t want to leave Stuttgart, Michel is also very happy at Girona, but Thomas Frank remains there, McKenna remains there and it’s true that there is also another candidate in Chelsea’s list but there’s no clarity on who that is yet, so they are still discussing all the possibilities.
“Maresca said no to Sevilla, he wants to work in the Premier League, at Leicester or any other club, he wants to stay in England and he has a release clause around €10m.
“It’s really open, and I understand why Chelsea are taking their time to pick the best option possible.”
From a Chelsea perspective, it’s vital that they get their next managerial appointment spot on if they want to have any sort of consistency.
Clearly, whomever comes in Pochettino’s stead needs to win trophies whilst playing in a certain way, but Boehly needs to stop meddling at the first sign of trouble.
That way of working might well be successful in the business arena though it’s been shown not to be a successful way of doing things at a football club.
Perhaps he’s looking for a quicker than usual return on his investments and the volatility that we’ve seen at Stamford Bridge over the past 18 months or so is the only way of managing that.
It won’t help the new incumbent, however, particularly if he’s expected to hit the ground running as soon as he’s announced.