Hi Grace, irrespective of what happens versus Man City today and through the rest of the tricky run of fixtures, I can't see Pochettino being at risk at Chelsea at all. He's doing lots of the things Potter was very obviously not able to do, including keeping the squad match-sharp, instilling a way of playing and starting to develop the younger players - see, for example, the significant improvement in Mudryk when Chelsea are out of possession.
Chelsea are where a callow squad that needed to both gel and develop were probably always likely to be at this stage, especially given the terrible injury problems. I still feel a 8-12 finish is likeliest. My only fear with that is if it is out of step with the business plan and it leads to some of the prime talent being up for sale in the summer.
That IS the risk though, right? We just don’t know what their ownership’s timeline and patience is. The way they stuck with Potter (y’know, sorta) suggests they’ll be more patient than the Roman era, but I really have no idea whether an 8-12 finish -- even one with significant bright spots and growth -- is enough.
I think the owners can separate out 'how well is Poch doing?' from 'are we on track as per the business plan?' to not make these two things absolutely linked in terms of future decisions. The irony might be, of course, that a sale of an Enzo or a James to keep the finances upright might lead Poch himself to make a decision....
Injuries or not, this lineup is absolutely embarrassing for a club as rich as United: "a back four of Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Harry Maguire, Jonny Evans and Diogo Dalot. Scott McTominay and Christian Eriksen formed a midfield double pivot, while Alejandro Garnacho played on the left...."
Non-football comment here: so happy to see more love for For All Mankind! It’s quietly been one of the best shows on TV the last couple of years and, IMO, it’s only getting more fascinating as we begin to approach territory that isn’t just “ah yeah, that’s sorta plausible with the tech of the day” to proper sci-fi scenarios. I honestly can’t wait to see where they take this season!
<3
Hi Grace, irrespective of what happens versus Man City today and through the rest of the tricky run of fixtures, I can't see Pochettino being at risk at Chelsea at all. He's doing lots of the things Potter was very obviously not able to do, including keeping the squad match-sharp, instilling a way of playing and starting to develop the younger players - see, for example, the significant improvement in Mudryk when Chelsea are out of possession.
Chelsea are where a callow squad that needed to both gel and develop were probably always likely to be at this stage, especially given the terrible injury problems. I still feel a 8-12 finish is likeliest. My only fear with that is if it is out of step with the business plan and it leads to some of the prime talent being up for sale in the summer.
That IS the risk though, right? We just don’t know what their ownership’s timeline and patience is. The way they stuck with Potter (y’know, sorta) suggests they’ll be more patient than the Roman era, but I really have no idea whether an 8-12 finish -- even one with significant bright spots and growth -- is enough.
I think the owners can separate out 'how well is Poch doing?' from 'are we on track as per the business plan?' to not make these two things absolutely linked in terms of future decisions. The irony might be, of course, that a sale of an Enzo or a James to keep the finances upright might lead Poch himself to make a decision....
Injuries or not, this lineup is absolutely embarrassing for a club as rich as United: "a back four of Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Harry Maguire, Jonny Evans and Diogo Dalot. Scott McTominay and Christian Eriksen formed a midfield double pivot, while Alejandro Garnacho played on the left...."
Yeah it's, err... it's not the best.
Non-football comment here: so happy to see more love for For All Mankind! It’s quietly been one of the best shows on TV the last couple of years and, IMO, it’s only getting more fascinating as we begin to approach territory that isn’t just “ah yeah, that’s sorta plausible with the tech of the day” to proper sci-fi scenarios. I honestly can’t wait to see where they take this season!