Robbie Fowler has said that Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is to blame for the sacking of Mauricio Pochettino.
The former Spurs manager was appointed the Chelsea boss after Todd Boehly sacked three managers in a season.
Pochettino took over the youngest team in the Premier League and despite an otherwise disappointing season, he did make quite some progress towards the end of the campaign, winning 5 in a row and finishing 6th. He also guided them to a League Cup final and a FA Cup semi-final.
Many believe that he deserved to be given more time. However, in a column for The Mirror, Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler has argued that Guardiola’s unparalleled success at Manchester City has set an unrealistic benchmark for other managers, with trigger-happy club owners demanding immediate results.
He wrote:
“If an owner sees their team quickly becoming a fading dot in City’s rearview mirror then the temptation to make a change is obvious.
“Unfortunately, more and more of them are unable to resist the impulse to sack the manager and give someone else a go.”
“Chelsea owner Todd Boehly obviously felt that after lavishing more than £1billion in the transfer market, he deserved more bang for his buck.”
“So Pochettino was toast, despite qualifying for Europe with a sixth-placed finish after five successive wins and just one defeat in 14.”
The hunt for Mauricio Pochettino’s replacement continues
Chelsea are now in hunt for a new manager to replace Pochettiono. They have been linked with several names, the latest being Barcelona’s Xavi Hernandez who will part ways with the club at the end of this season.
Other names under consideration include, Leicester City’s Enzo Maresca, Brentford’s Thomas Frank, and Ipswich Town’s Kieran McKenna.