Pettigrove Unpacks Liverpool Cohesion vs Chelsea Chaos | OneFootball

Carabao Cup Final: The Tale of Two Teams With Contrasting Future’s

The Final That Delivered

Well, in the end the Carabao Cup final didn’t disappoint.

It may have taken right up until the last knockings of extra-time for any goals, notwithstanding the two that were disallowed, but the match certainly wasn’t without incident.

There was quite the contrast with the two teams too.

The Kings of the Kings Road flashing their £100m+ players on the Wembley turf alongside the Reds make do and mend XI.

Klopp’s Masterstroke

The contrast was even greater late in the game as Jurgen Klopp was forced to bring on the kids and hope for the best.

As it turned out, it was a masterstroke from the German, and not the first time that he’s managed to get things exactly right for his club.

That nous has held him in good stead for the nine years that he’s sat in the Anfield hot-seat and is ostensibly why his professional footballers have a blind loyalty towards him. It’s because they trust him implicitly.

Believe and you will achieve and all that, and that’s how Klopp works his magic. Players feel invincible and can always find that extra few percent for a manager who demands the absolute best in each and every game.

Photo: IMAGO

Pochettino’s Plight

Mauricio Pochettino on the other hand has been dealt a very bad hand indeed.

Who would’ve thought that at the start of this season, Chelsea would be as bad coming into March as they were last season under Graham Potter and Frank Lampard. This with the addition of some of the most expensive players on the planet to boot.

On paper, most managers would die to have talent such as Raheem Sterling, Cole Palmer, Mykhailo Mudryk, Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo et al in their squad, but Palmer aside, Pochettino just can’t get a tune out of his expensively assembled squad.

Boehly’s Blunder

Well out of contention in the Premier League and with European football looking unlikely at this point, owner Todd Boehly is looking ready to pull the trigger once again.

However, the American needs to shoulder much of the blame for the mess that the West Londoners find themselves in.

He’s shown an incredible naivety since taking over at Chelsea, seemingly believing that throwing money at the problem will cure all ills.

Photo: IMAGO

Wads of cash and long contracts to circumvent the rules might work in US sport, but in English football, as ex-Chelsea manager, Jose Mourinho, once said… it’s about ‘football heritage.’ Something that Liverpool have in abundance.

Take a look back over the last few transfer windows for both clubs. Where Liverpool have been fairly diligent, conservative and studious with their recruitment, Chelsea are like the kids in the corner shop that just want one of everything.

As we’ve already seen, that just isn’t sustainable for Boehly, and he’ll likely have to authorise another fire sale this summer as Financial Fair Play continues to bite hard. Not to mention offloading those players that just aren’t good enough for the Premier League.

Pochettino – Stick or Twist?

Is Pochettino the right man to lead them into a new era?

If the situation at the club was different there’s a strong likelihood that he could be. His CV, particularly in England, is decent, even if silverware has often eluded him.

His Tottenham team played good football that was pleasing to the White Hart Lane faithful, ditto for the St. Mary’s diehards at Southampton.

He could, given time, bring the Blues back up to where they belong, but time is a commodity that he’s unlikely to get from Boehly. An owner that is so out of touch with his purchase that he proudly announced they’d beat Real Madrid 3-0 last season under Frank Lampard.

Photo: IMAGO

Jurgen Klopp may have had to fight tooth and nail sometimes to land the players he wanted at Liverpool, but by and large FSG delivered them.

From what we can deduce given the public proclamations, these American owners are much more savvy when it comes to how to run a successful English football club.

Whether or not they’re around for the long haul is a moot point, but at least they’re not using it as their plaything and will arguably leave the club in good health as and when they decide to exit stage left.

If Todd Boehly can learn anything from Sunday’s result, it’s that the opposing manager was given a few seasons to make mistakes, bed down a philosophy and ensure any new recruits were bought with that in mind, rather than a haphazard and foolish way of working.