Chelsea fans are getting excited by Mauricio Pochettino's potential arrival at Stamford Bridge after discovering he once transformed Tottenham from the 'laziest' team in the Premier League into the most hard-working.
This season has not been short of drama where the Blues are concerned. September saw the shock dismissal of Thomas Tuchel, who was quickly replaced by former Brighton & Hove Albion manager, Graham Potter. Despite the latter penning a five-year deal at Stamford Bridge, he was removed from the post just seven months in. Following Potter’s sacking, Bruno Saltor was appointed as interim manager before giving way to Frank Lampard earlier this month.
However, Chelsea’s luck may be changing shortly as it’s been widely reported that Pochettino is on the verge of sealing his return to the Premier League with the Blues — and fans think his past accolades prove that he’s going to turn the club around.
Back in the 2013/14 season, Tottenham were branded the ‘laziest’ team in the Premier League due to the lack of distance players covered each game. The team sat in 20th place in that particular area, totting up just 106.9km under manager Tim Sherwood. One spot above them in 19th was Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool with an average of 107.7km travelled per game. However, the team that covered the most distance per game that season was Pochettino’s Southampton (117km).
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After leaving the Saints at the end of that season, Pochettino joined Spurs on a five-year deal. Within a year, Spurs had transformed beyond recognition — registering as the team that covered the furthest distance travelled per game (115.7km) in 2015/16. In the following seasons (16/17 and 17/18) Spurs again came out on top in the Premier League distance stakes under Pochettino.
Chelsea fans believe they’ve spotted a pattern, and think that Pochettino could be the key to reversing their team's fortunes.
At the time of writing, Chelsea sit 19th in the 2022/23 distance-travelled table. In November 2022, it was reported that the team had only covered 1466.4km. Compare that to Spurs’ 1683.9km at the time. So you can see why Blues fans think Pochettino could be the key to revitalising their team.
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Fans on Reddit have had their say about the statistics and whether Pochettino could work his magic with Chelsea next season.
One Reddit user wrote: “Hey I’m all for [Pochettino coming in] our players come off as lazy this year, they barely press at all.”
Another Chelsea fan said: “Hopefully he can show them how to press effectively and not just run around like headless chickens.
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“We actually try to press sometimes now but it’s just a mess….There’s always a gap for opponents to play through.”
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However, not everyone believes that Pochettino and his ability to make a team run is the answer.
One Reddit user wrote: “Chelsea is not Spurs. Poch has Spurs mentality. For just one year, Chelsea was transformed into a mediocre team. And the worst part is that this is just the beginning.
“Next year, around this time, Chelsea will look for a new manager.”
Another agreed and wrote: “One negative is that his team is burnt out by the end.”
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Elsewhere on the thread, one Chelsea fan joked: “Someone get Reece [James] bionic legs, please,” while a second said: “You can hear [N’Golo] Kanté’s hamstring crying if you listen carefully.
Featured Image Credit: Alamy/Premier LeagueTopics: Chelsea, Mauricio Pochettino, Premier League, Reece James, Tottenham Hotspur, Fan Reactions