Thomas Tuchel has been sacked by Chelsea this morning, and some fans could be forgiven for thinking this was very out of the blue.
However, it’s clear that cracks were starting to appear early on in pre-season, with Tuchel sounding truly aghast at what he’d seen from his players as they lost 4-0 in a friendly against Arsenal.
Speaking after that game, the German tactician laid into the players’ lack of desire on the pitch, questioning if they’d be ready for the start of the new Premier League season, whilst also seeming to hint he wasn’t happy at the club’s lack of signings by that point.
“I am far from relaxed,” Tuchel said after the game, as quoted by BBC Sport. “We were simply not good enough. We were simply not competitive.
“The worrying part is that the level of commitment physically and mentally for this match was far higher for Arsenal than for us.
“They played I think what is their strongest line-up and structure that you see now for several weeks. This was the line-up they will try to start for Premier League games.
“It was surely not our strongest line-up. This is a part of an explanation but only a little part and the other part is worrying.
“I cannot guarantee we will be ready in two weeks.”
A report from the Telegraph today certainly suggests there has been tension between Tuchel and the ownership for some time, and the former Blues boss perhaps showed it with his outburst after that alarming friendly defeat against Arsenal.
Chelsea ended up having a busy summer by recruiting big names like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Raheem Sterling, Wesley Fofana, Marc Cucurella, and more, but Tuchel certainly seemed to be struggling to get the best out of this squad.