Chelsea’s hierarchy has decided to part ways with manager Thomas Tuchel following their first loss in the opening fixture of the Champions League, which is also the third straight loss on the road.
On Wednesday early morning, after the dust had barely even settled from the 1-0 loss to Dinamo Zagreb in their Group E opener, news broke that Todd Boehly and company made the executive and incisive decision to release Tuchel of duties as the boss of the Bridge.
How It Went Down for Chelsea on Tuesday Night
Despite playing on the road, the Blues dominated for almost the entire 90 minutes. They had 15 attempts at goal but to no avail, hitting the woodwork about three times and having a goal disallowed for offside.
While they were unfortunate up front, they conceded 13 minutes into the game against the run of play. Zagreb’s defensive work on the night was deserving of all three points. Due to this and after Matchday 1 in the Champions League, they sit fourth in Group E.
Todd Boehly’s Reasons for Sacking Thomas Tuchel (Please Read the Entire Thread on Twitter)
Tuchel became frustrated during the window and communication broke down at times right when Tuchel’s input was needed the most. This was pretty apparent at times in America.
— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) September 7, 2022
In the thread above by Ben Jacobs from @CBSSportsGolazo, he explains that the main reason for the German’s sacking was not an outcome due to the results primarily but because the relationship between the owners and Tuchel started taking strain.
This began when the owners handed Thomas Tuchel more power during the transfer window and just after they changed hands in ownership between the Todd Boehly-Led Consortium and the Russian oligarch, Roman Abramovich.
They looked to him for experience and knowledge in the market and were open in their discussions with every transfer, basically the business mould they would like to follow and employ moving forward with dealings and everything under the sun.
This was said to be too much of a responsibility for him as he was looking only to manage the team, hence why the relationship between him and Abramovich got along so well and they were successful together.
It Was No Secret That Tuchel Loved The Old Chelsea Way
When the manager first arrived at the Bridge, he spoke highly of the owner and the way the club operated. He was happy to focus on things on the pitch and the results in the early days proved it.
They were Champions League winners after he just joined, as well as considered the third-best team in the Premier League, fighting with the two big boys at the top end of the pitch.
The owners appear to be hands-on and want there to be an open-door policy between players, staff, and management. The players talking to Boehly was key in his and his partner’s decision to cut ties with Tuchel.
So weighing up all the pros and cons: the pros being what success he has brought in his short stint at the club and the cons, not being able to adapt to the change in the way of life at Stamford Bridge. This was over enough reason to pull the plug.
It is early days and a lot can be salvaged this season with most of the top teams stronger than the last term and the other clubs around the Premier League table also investing big during the summer and making it hard to garner a victory against them.
The Blues are Working Hard to Find a New Manager Before the Weekend
Chelsea and their potentially new manager are said to have had positive talks. The man in discussion has been the brilliant Graham Potter from Brighton. In the discussion since the sacking of Thomas Tuchel have been: Potter and ex-Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino.
The former is enjoying a stellar run with the Seagulls as they lay fourth in the Premier League standings while the latter recently ended his tenure at Paris Saint-Germain. Reports suggest that parties of both managers believe Graham Potter will be the next boss at the Bridge in West London.