“Underwhelming training methods” just the start of problems with Pochettino’s Chelsea | OneFootball

A long piece from Simon Johnson in the Athletic today weighs up Mauricio Pochettino’s future at Chelsea and whether the club should stick with their man or move him on.

In the negative column there is plenty to go with – questions about whether he can ever connect with the fans, questions about the record-breakingly bad defensive record, critiques of the manager’s substitutions in games and his squad managements at times.

Perhaps most worryingly of all, there is an anonymous source close to the club with a very specific criticism of the “underwhelming training methods” that the Argentine is using. While almost everything else can be written off as circumstantial, this is concerning to say the least.

Given the coach had a full preseason and no European football, we would have expected a serious jump in the team’s level through the year. That hasn’t materialised, so there were already questions being asked about the coach’s methods at Cobham. This is a concerning update on that front without doubt.

Chelsea players warm up in training.

Plenty to look forward to

Despite all of these negatives, the piece does ultimately conclude that Chelsea will stick with Pochettino. That seems sensible given the lack of clear upgrades available, and given the potential damage caused by starting fresh once again.

Those who aren’t fans of his have very valid concerns, and may well be proven right by the middle of next season. But for now, it seems the right move to let Pochettino have a second summer and a run at a season with (hopefully) a less preposterous injury list.

But he should be aware that the negatives which stacked up this season will be there in the background hanging over him, ready to be tabled once again should the team falter as badly as they did at times this year.