Mauricio Pochettino is not the right fit for the now vacant job at Chelsea, insists talkSPORT’s Simon Jordan.
The Blues have announced the departure of the German, who has been at Stamford Bridge since January 2021, following his side’s 1-0 away loss to Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League.
The loss marked another sub-par result in Chelsea’s season opener, with the Blues unable to put up consistent performances in the Premier League, where they sit sixth with ten points from six games.
talkSPORT’s White and Jordan program went live shortly after the news broke on Wednesday morning, and Jim White, Simon Jordan and Danny Murphy immediately gave their thoughts on the decision.
Former Liverpool and Tottenham star Murphy said the Blues’ decision to sack the German was a “gut reaction” given the start of the season.
Meanwhile, former Crystal Palace chairman Jordan has suggested new owner Todd Boehly must have someone lined up to take Tuchel’s place to make such a decision.
But most notably, the outspoken talkSPORT pundit has warned Chelsea that former Spurs manager Pochettino is not the answer, following reports he is in contention for the Stamford Bridge job.
“They obviously have someone lined up, they’ve made a decision,” White and Jordan’s host said.
“And God forbid, I hope it’s not [Mauricio] Pochettino, but maybe it is,” he said after mocking the possibility of the Argentine arriving.
The Blues are also linked with Brighton’s Graham Potter – who is the current favorite – former Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa, as well as Zinedine Zidane.
And despite Pochettino benefiting from recent silverware following his move to Paris Saint-Germain after winning the Ligue 1 title last season before his own departure from the French giants, Jordan still believes there are better options.
And he pointed to his Spurs background to suggest why he shouldn’t get the Chelsea job.
“I think if you look at his [Tuchel’s] record at PSG and Dortmund, it is much more convincing than Pochettino,” he said.
“Look at the comparison of the results he got at PSG in terms of getting them to a Champions League final, they lost. He won two braces in France, Pochettino came in the door and only did complaining, fussing and indexing on jobs.
“Pochettino is a figment of the media’s imagination. He did a lot of good work at Tottenham with a very good group of players who had the opportunity to be much more successful.
“They got choked up in the Champions League final, they got choked up in the Premier League. I’m not a fan of Pochettino, I think he’s a good manager but if you want to be an elite football club, Pochettino is not your answer.
When asked who he thinks is the answer to Chelsea’s management problems, Jordan simply replied: “I don’t know at the moment.”
Tuchel becomes the second Premier League manager to be sacked after being defeated by Dinamo Zagreb in Europe, with former Blues boss Jose Mourinho being sacked by Tottenham in 2021 following their Europa League loss to Croatia.
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