Potter in, Tuchel out: Why Todd Boehly faces major identity crisis at Chelsea just 100 days after takeover

In a move that shook the football world, England football giants Chelsea sacked German manager Thomas Tuchel on Wednesday (September 7) just a day after the club's surprising defeat in their opening game of the 2021/22 UEFA Champions League (UCL) campaign to Dinamo Zagreb.

The timing of the move comes as a surprise as it comes just six games into a new Premier League (PL) and less than a week after the transfer window closed which saw the club spend a world record £273million spend with Tuchel overseeing the club's activity in the absence of a director of football.

The new owners who had promised to build around Tuchel stunned Chelsea fans across the globe with the move. The decision comes as they complete 100 days in charge of the club and raises many questions about their plans for the club and as it goes against everything fans have been so far told and briefed about them.

Did Tuchel deserve the sack?

After being appointed head coach in January 2021 and replacing Frank Lampard as the head coach; Tuchel performed miracles at the club and led them to European glory as the club lifted the Champions League trophy for the second time in their history. The start of the new season saw the club continue their momentum as they found themselves leading the EPL table.

However, it has been only downhill since December 2021 as both the style of football and results have stagnated. The base of Tuchel's success at Chelsea was built on an incredible defensive record as they conceded just 24 goals in the German's first 50 games in charge but let in 53 goals in the next 50.

This was symbolic of Chelsea's decline under Tuchel in the second half of his tenure and the results at the start of this season alongside the end of the last one show that. In fact, Chelsea's record in their last 25 competitive games under Tuchel was worse than Frank Lampard's. Moreover, their football had become increasingly dull to watch while players were clearly stagnating in their growth.

While these above facts show some reasonable evidence that something had to change and things were far from rosy, the mitigating circumstances behind the same cannot be ignored. Be it the COVID and injury crisis starting from December 2021 to the unprecedented sanctions earlier this year, there was a reasonable explanation for what happened.

Such a decision must be taken seeing the entire body of work and what Tuchel has done at Chelsea is nothing short of incredible. Tuchel led the club to Champions League glory five months after he took charge, won the first Super Cup in 28 years, and Chelsea's first-ever Club World Cup title, became a proud ambassador for Chelsea when the club was sanctioned while handling the situation with admirable courage and loyalty the club, and took up duties far ahead of his job description especially in the transfer market after the new ownership's arrival, it seems borderline scandalous that he was sacked just a week after the summer window widow ended.

The consortium led by Todd Boehly bought Chelsea for a record fee for a sports club in history and it is no surprise that they want to run things in a manner more comfortable than them with people they trust in charge. The departures of Bruck Buck, Marina Granovskaia indicated a fresh start for the club and Tuchel was perhaps the final casualty waiting to happen.

Hence, the decision to an extent (especially with results above mentioned) is understandable. However, it is then the timing that baffles everyone. It was public knowledge that Tuchel was given control of the transfer window and after letting him choose targets to spend a mind-blogging amount of money, why would you not give him the chance to work with the squad for a little while longer before making a decision. And if, this was always the plan; why give him so much power in the first place?

What makes the decision even strange is the club allowed the sale of one of their talented young players Billy Gilmour on transfer deadline day as Tuchel did not fancy him and purchased veteran striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang only because of his close relationship with the German coach. Quite interestingly, Gilmour was purchased by Brighton & Hove Albion, who till that day were managed by new Chelsea head coach Graham Potter. Similarly, the Blues loaned out defender Levi Colwill to Potter just a few weeks back.

While this will be compared to the ruthless approach Roman Abramovich had at the club for his entire tenure and one that brought incredible success, the reality is Abramovich had stability in the boardroom and a proper structure in place. At the moment, Boehly & co. are yet to even appoint a sporting director which raises questions on who is actually making these decisions and if there is anyone with experience in the sport behind him.

Multiple media briefs from the new ownership on their arrival at the club had claimed that their idea was to build a long-term project like Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola at Liverpool and Manchester City respectively with Tuchel at the helm. While Boehly is yet to explain the decision but from the outside, it seems like they have folded at the first sign of trouble and does force one to ponder what is the identity the new owners want of the club.

For all his goods at the club, one problem Roman Abramovich could not get rid was of player power. The current situation allowed Boehly to make a fresh start and build a culture like the one at Liverpool and Manchester City where players know that they cannot override the manager. While Mikel Arteta's credentials as a manager are debatable, Arsenal have also managed to do so through unpopular means.

Unfortunately, Beohly has set a dangerous precedent with the sacking and one that only enhances the issues in future when the next manager faces a tough period. After Potter's appointment, the communication from the club has been once again about building a long-term project under the English coach. While the words do give Chelsea fans confidence, one cannot blame anyone for having difficulty trusting as the Tuchel sacking has shown their first 100 days in charge of the club has been more words than action.

Ultimately, Boehly & co. do deserve the benefit of the doubt especially after the amount of money they have spent and Potter is their first appointment. It is how this period goes that will define how the club's future under the ownership looks. Tuchel had formed a unique bond with the fans and the decision to let him go has definitely lost goodwill with the fans and a replacement with his pedigree was almost impossible to find. However, the owners have presented a promising plan for the future and passing judgements on it without seeing how things play out will only be a fair thing to do.

Memories in football are short. Fans will still be there to see their club in action and hoping they win like any day when Chelsea step onto the field for the first time under their new coach. Abramovich made a niche of making extremely unpopular managerial sacking that ended up bringing success and trophies to the club. If Potter lives up to his hype and gets the trust and patience promised with a massive five-year contract; Tuchel will be a cherished but forgotten memory in no time.