Pat Nevin believes that Mauricio Pochettino is being judged harshly during his first year at Chelsea due to previous achievements at the club. The Blues remain stranded in mid-table and have yet to be above tenth in the league come the end of any matchweek this season, a problem only exacerbated by the poor showing against Manchester United.
Pochettino had been hoping his side could build on the back of a positive and resilient performance at home to Brighton just days earlier as they travelled to Old Trafford in the hope of a first win at the ground for ten years. A meek display left many questioning the head coach once more, though.
Having come under fan pressure — though mainly online — after the dismal 4-1 loss to Newcastle not even two weeks ago, Pochettino and his side were booed by the away supporters on Wednesday night. It leaves Chelsea eight points off fifth placed Tottenham, who have a game in hand ahead of their meeting with West Ham on Thursday.
After finishing 12th last term under a mixture of Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter and Frank Lampard,many had expected a quick turnaround from Pochettino due to his track record of stabilising clubs in the Premier League and impressive work with young players. However, 15 games in and there is just as much uncertainty, if not more, than when he walked into the job.
Chelsea have spent over £1billion on new players since May 2022, a revolution and unprecedent amount of change under the new owners, but have only seen their standing a league position fall. As those that contributed to the failings of last term were sold over the summer the hope was for a response and potential for a top four/five challenge once more.
Four months into the season and those expectations are a long
Read on football.london