Inside Chelsea’s decision to appoint Mauricio Pochettino as ex-Tottenham coach is handed huge problem

Chelsea have confirmed former Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino as their new head coach.

Officially starting on July 1, Pochettino instantly makes history by becoming the first manager to swap north London for the southwest. In contrast, Spurs have previously appointed former Chelsea managers with the likes of Jose Mourinho, Andre Villa Boas, and recently Antonio Conte.

The decision to turn to the former Tottenham coach was born out of the fact that Chelsea have just gone trophyless and finished outside the top 10 in the Premier League, desperately needing reconstruction.

The owners confirmed in a statement the Argentine’s ability to build teams from a position of distraction and his record at the highest level made him the ideal man to rescue the team.

A club statement read: “The sporting team conducted a diligent and thoughtful process that the Board is proud of. We are delighted that Mauricio will be joining Chelsea. Mauricio is a world-class coach with an outstanding track record. We are all looking forward to having him on board.”

Pochettino’s Tottenham attracted vast admirers and he got the likes of Dele Alli, Harry Kane, and Christian Eriksen putting their head where most wouldn't dare put their legs. They finished twice above Chelsea in the five and half years he was at Tottenham and he perhaps over achieved by leading the team to the final of the Champions League in 2019.

Why is Chelsea ideal for Pochettino

Chelsea have a whooping 32 first players, and they also have around 21 players returning from various loans this summer, including the likes of Romelu Lukaku, Bakayoko, and the highly-rated Levi Colwill.

Incredible nu,bers to work with, something both Graham Potter and Frank Lampard tried to but failed miserably to sort out so Pocjettino will have a lot on his hands already sieving the weet from the chaff.

But the one thing that works for him and why this looks attractive is that he walks into a dressing room full of potentials, not winners, but potentials, and if his record is anything to go by he works well when dealing with players on their way up rather than those already established.

The likes of Hakim Ziyech, Christian Pulisic, Ruben Loftus Cheek, Denis Zakaria, Joao Felix, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and maybe N’Golo Kante are already on their way out. The future belongs to the likes of Enzo Fernandez, Noni Madueke, Reece James, and the amazing Lewis Hall.

How he handles the situation of Mason Mount will also go a long way in revealing his man management. This job is like a beautiful rose flower with thorns.

The team to help Pochettino at Chelsea

The 51-year-old arrives at Chelsea with longtime assistant manager Jesus Perez, first-team coach Miguel D’Agostino, goalkeeping coach Toni Jimenez and his sports scientist son, Sebastiano, all joining the club.

He can also fall on the sporting director's Paul Winstanley and Laurence Steward, technical director Christopher Vivell, while Joe Shields, Kyle Macaulay, and Jim Fraser are responsible for talent management and recruitment.

How the Chelsea fans have taken to the news

Gauging on social media, it's been a fairly acceptable appointment given the kind of season the Blues have had and as expected Tottenham fans are having a meltdown.

Football is a result-oriented game and Chelsea fans will forget his Tottenham links and fully embrace him if he can get them back to winning big trophies and dominating teams domestically and in Europe. The flip side to that also is that he is likely to face challenges and reminded of why it was never going to work at the first sign of turbulence.

The last 20 years have seen Chelsea fans treated to countless triumphant, so they are used to instant success, someone who burns brilliant instantly but if Potter’s 11 defeats from 31 games or Lampard’s eight defeats in 11 games in charge is something to go by, then this will require patients from all stakeholders to get the team back on the right track.