Chelsea would be daft to sack Mauricio Pochettino - no one else will embrace such chaos
- Chelsea had little control for much of astounding 4-3 win against Man Utd
- Mauricio Pochettino would have been under more scrutiny if Blues lost after leading by two goals early on
- Blues have made little progress this season but no other manager would get by in such conditions
By Sean Walsh
Mauricio Pochettino has faced an uphill battle trying to win over the Chelsea faithful ever since he put pen-to-paper on his two-year contract at Stamford Bridge.
He arrived at the club as a modern legend of rivals Tottenham Hotspur, the architect behind one of the most memorable periods of their history. Fans over in north London even chanted his name in the hopes of bringing him back months before signing on for the Blues.
The Argentine hasn't made his life any easier with some of his actions so far in his tenure. Prior to November's meeting with Spurs, he did little to show an undying loyalty to his current club.
"It's really special [to return] because coming back after four years to a place we have amazing memories and created amazing memories together, I think it is special. I cannot lie," Pochettino said at the time, before admitting he did not feel the same kind of love with Chelsea fans yet.
That particularly has been a sticking point throughout the season. Stamford Bridge has been a place of angst and mutiny, which is understandable given the near two-decades of trophy-laden success which preceded the muddled and frenzied BlueCo era under Todd Boehly.
Chelsea's 4-3 win against Manchester United on Thursday summed up the status of the current project rather neatly. The Blues again contrived to blow a two-goal lead, required some excellence from Cole Palmer as well as further composure from 12 yards, opened the game up needlessly with their youthful endeavour, and at the end of it all achieved their pre-match aim of simply breaking back into the Premier League's top half.
After 20 minutes, Chelsea should have taken the game out of sight. They should have added a third, a fourth, a fifth. United were there for the taking, but they sought to make it a more competitive affair all by themselves.
Pochettino's remit has been to try and nurture an immature squad of budding superstars into a competent team. So far, he's only been able to produce such glimpses briefly, but there are still hallmarks of his Spurs and Southampton teams which should give Chelsea hope he's on the right track.
The rapid development of Palmer is the main positive and could be likened to the sudden rise of Harry Kane or Dele Alli under Pochettino's guidance in the mid-2010s. Chelsea's penchant for late goals is also testament to his rigorous fitness regime - for those players who have survived the club's almost unexplainable injury crisis, anyway. There is still evidently a fire in Pochettino refusing to be extinguished, with his charges playing infinitely more exciting football than that of predecessor Graham Potter.
As much as there have been calls calling for Pochettino's sacking, there have been suggestions Chelsea literally may not be able to afford to due to PSR limitations. But even if they did decide to part ways, there's no guarantee a better candidate would come forward - the Blues would be toward the bottom of a Europe-wide managerial merry-go-round, this increasingly cursed job now significantly less attractive than it was even a couple of years ago.
At least one side of this divide is trying to make this project work and the season a success. Pochettino needs more support from others at Chelsea if he's to make things work - it might just be the club's easiest and quickest route back to relevance.
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