Mauricio Pochettino had his post-match press conference last night after our defeat to Middlesbrough, and I had some thoughts on his comments that I wanted to focus on.
His repetitive comments and reactions are generating more anger among fans right now. Just like when Graham Potter used to give a press conference and that turned more people against him, Pochettino is doing the same thing, whether it’s right or wrong, unfortunately.
But it really feels like rinse and repeat at this point. By the way, I’m not out of Poch (yet), check out my article about that here if you haven’t read it yet.
But let’s value your quotes…
What is your assessment of the defeat?
It’s very easy to explain. We made some mistakes in the first half and we were punished for it. We created great opportunities and didn’t score. We were not clinical enough. So clear. In other games maybe you can talk in a different way, but now it’s very easy to explain. In the second half we dominated but we didn’t create enough opportunities. Credit to Middlesbrough. It’s the first 90 minutes, the first part of the tie and we are losing 1-0. In 15 days we are going to have the second round and we have to be sure that we can win the match and advance to the final.
I think we were punished for some mistakes we made in the first half. I think we agree that we conceded a goal because of our mistakes. We made few mistakes, we were punished and they took advantage of that. We created enough opportunities to score and tie at the end. If we analyze the game after 90 minutes, I think we were the better team, but if you don’t score goals you can’t win. You have to give Middlesbrough credit because they were aggressive and created chances and scored, but we didn’t score. That explains what happened.
My opinion: First of all, we don’t “create” opportunities, at least not all of them. Our ‘creativity’ was non-existent and when it was there it was laborious and lacked imagination and courage. The creativity largely came from big mistakes from Boro.
But it’s true that we weren’t clinical enough and on any other day Cole Palmer would have scored a hat-trick. In fact, he would have bet A LOT of money on him scoring at least two of those chances last night.
Yes, WE WERE the best team in terms of possession control. But having the ball the entire game and doing nothing with it means that most of the time we won’t win games, and that’s what matters at the end of the day.
Were you happy with the decision not to start Armando Broja?
Armando played after 60 minutes and we couldn’t create too many chances either. I think you have to understand that now you can’t say that he was one player or another. Armando had been out injured for a year and during that period he was playing a few days ago. We cannot start as a normal player. We have to manage it and in three days we have another game that should be the starter. It is difficult for a player like that to start three games in seven days. That’s why yes. When he came on the field with Mischa (Mykhailo Mudryk), they found it difficult to connect, create chances and in the end they couldn’t help score or achieve a different result.
My opinion: I accept it. We’d all be the first to get angry and complain if Broja, or any other player, got a long-term injury again, right?
How do you think Levi Colwill is doing at left back? Doesn’t he look as comfortable as he does in the center?
Photo by Jacques Feeney/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
I think we would all agree that Levi is a young player who can play different positions. The last game he played as a center back with Axel. [Disasi]today we play against Thiago [Silva] with Axel, Malo Gusto on the right and Levi on the left. We were talking a lot. I think it’s up to him to gain experience in the Premier League with Chelsea playing there. I think it will help him to be a better player and in the end it is to feel the competition.
I don’t like to compare with other players, but if you find some similarities with different clubs that sign players who can play as a center back or as a winger, you can easily find them. Look, for me Levi is having a fantastic season. He plays as a center back or full back and is a player of the future for Chelsea. At this moment, when you don’t win, when you fight and we are a young team with young players and they need to learn and improve in the competition.
My opinion: This is one of my biggest problems right now with Poch. Okay, we lack fit full-backs, of course. But then I remembered he was playing with Colwill at left back and Ben Chilwell at left back earlier in the season, so it makes me think he actually thinks Colwill is a good option at left back, when in reality he’s poor there. I’m worried that everyone else can see that, other than him, a qualified head coach!?
The simple fact that Michael Carrick, an inexperienced coach, literally targeted Colwill as our weakness and scored a goal last night, really says it all about this Colwill ‘experiment’ at left back. Alternatively, if necessary, let’s just use Malo Gusto there and Alfie Gilchrist at right back until Chilwell is fully fit again. Or maybe sign a really proven left back and not a 16-year-old?
How frustrating is it to have a way to stop and start?
I’m disappointed because I think we deserve a different result. Sometimes you don’t play well and you win. We have to play well and always score goals. We play well and sometimes we are not clinical enough. Sometimes we are punished. That’s the process right now. Always in a process, when you are building a team, these things are difficult. It’s not just about playing well, you have to deserve it and have a little luck. Today we made few mistakes and we conceded a goal that we shouldn’t have conceded and then we weren’t precise enough.
My opinion: Dear Poch, my main advice for today is PLEASE don’t mention the word “process” after we lose to a mid-table championship team. Best regards, Simon.
Few options on the bench due to so many injuries, why are there so many injured players?
What a difficult question. What a difficult answer. Bad luck because some injuries you can’t manage. It is not about training, nor capacity, nor quality in all areas. That is sometimes the profile. Difficult answer because I think we are suffering too many injuries. I don’t want to say bad luck as that is an easy way to justify. But to be honest, what a bad luck, look at Nkunku, Fofana, Lavia, Reece James, too many. The situation is like this with 10 or 12 players out.
Difficult when you don’t have the entire staff ready to work. Every week or every game is always about finding the right balance in the team. I don’t like being a victim but it’s true that it’s very hard. Let’s be positive. That’s the first 90 minutes. We are losing one to zero and now we have the second leg, 90 more minutes at Stamford Bridge and we have to be positive.
My take: Just as fans will get upset hearing the word “process” after a loss, they will also get upset hearing the word “injuries” after a loss. And yes, on this occasion it was difficult to avoid it because they asked him about the injuries, but the point is not to use it as an excuse, it simply won’t go down well.
I think we all accept how unprecedented this injury situation has been for us and how yes, of course, it will have affected things. But if anyone thinks that starting Xl on the field last night shouldn’t mean beating a team a division below him, then I have news for you.
Also, Middlesbrough had 2 more injuries than us and then 2 more occurred in the game. That’s why it won’t be wise to invoke any injury excuse after a loss like that and will cause widespread anger among the fan base, whether you agree with that anger or not.
Angry Chelsea fans at the end…
Don’t be confused because the fans reacted to the Middlesbrough fans, not our players, our fans were fantastic to us. I think it was Thiago and some players I heard trying to calm our fans because I think it was a problem among the fans. Not with our fans and players. Be careful how you translate to the media or our fans. Don’t confuse people.
My opinion: this is ridiculous. Are you trying to cover up the situation? Or is he really being (adorably?) naive!? I’ve spoken to at least a handful of fans who were at the away ground and they assured me that they were booing the players (and the manager perhaps?) and not the Boro fans!
I think Pochettino is protecting his players with a lot of these comments, and that’s fair and understandable.
But sometimes you need to be smart and wise. The fans will turn on you after a loss like this against such opposition, and accepting some responsibility would go a long way to calming the situation a bit, at least for some of them who may not be on the agenda yet. To be honest, Pochettino is not the only one not taking responsibility at this club at the moment, the owners have been terribly quiet for too long.
