Chelsea have been criticised for the surprise sacking of Thomas Tuchel last week.
Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside, former Manchester United midfielder Luke Chadwick admits he was left shocked by the news that Tuchel had been dismissed by the Blues after the success he’d had with the club, and after he’d been backed with plenty of investment in new signings in this summer’s transfer window.
Chelsea’s new owner Todd Boehly seemed to be giving Tuchel a lot of good players to work with after bringing in big names like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Raheem Sterling, Wesley Fofana and others, but the German tactician was sacked after just one game following the end of the transfer window.
It hadn’t been the best start to the season, but Chadwick feels Tuchel deserved more time to work with the new players who were still settling in at Stamford Bridge.
“I was really shocked when the news broke that Tuchel had been sacked,” Chadwick told CaughtOffside.
“Obviously it was a really disappointing first game in the Champions League for them, a defeat, a poor performance against Dinamo Zagreb, and it followed an inconsistent start to the season.
“Still, when you bring in so many new players it is going to take time for them to gel together, so having backed him in the transfer market it was really surprising that he was let go by Chelsea.
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— CaughtOffside (@caughtoffside) September 14, 2022
“He had such an amazing start when he took over from Frank Lampard, won Chelsea the Champions League. They probably didn’t perform as expected last season … the signing of Romelu Lukaku made everyone think they were going to be serious contenders for the title. They started well, but then never really remained consistent enough, albeit they still had enough to finish in the top four.
“Overall I’m surprised by the decision because I think he’s a top manager. Still, I think Graham Potter’s always been destined for a top job and it’ll be interesting to see how he gets on at a top club like Chelsea.”
. @StanCollymore relays a fascinating encounter he had with new #CFC boss Graham Potter while on holiday ??
"I asked him about all of it." ?
"It is no surprise, whatsoever, if Todd Boehly has done his homework…" ? pic.twitter.com/qHY2rwKvlv
— CaughtOffside (@caughtoffside) September 12, 2022