Chelsea must be patient with manager Mauricio Pochettino despite their struggles this season, says the club's former striker Chris Sutton.
This result leaves Chelsea in 11th place in the Premier League, with 10 defeats in 23 games, despite putting a lot of effort into their players last summer.
“It's easy to say we need to change the manager,” Sutton told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“If you look at the job Pochettino did at Tottenham, he got there in the end.
“It's true that a coach needs patience.''
Todd Boley and private equity firm Clearlake Capital bought Chelsea in May 2022 and sacked manager Thomas Tuchel on his 100th day in charge in September 2022 after three defeats at the start of the 2022-23 season. did.
He was replaced by Graham Potter, who was sacked the following April after finishing 11th in the league. Potter is in the same position the Blues currently sit in under Argentine manager Pochettino.
Chelsea spent more than £380m last summer, the most of any European club, and have spent more than £1bn in four transfer windows since the current owners took over in 2022, most of which have been on long-term deals. A lot of money was spent on acquiring young players.
“They have no choice but to hang in there, trust Pochettino and hope he improves over time,” Sutton told 5 Live's Monday Nightclub.
“When you spend that kind of money, you expect the team to be even smoother and better than it is at the moment.
“They have an identity – they want to press high and be brave with the ball coming out from the back – but they are a team that lacks confidence.
“Compared to last season, they've made very little progress, but last season was so bad that we can't afford not to.”
Former Newcastle goalkeeper Shay Given also said Pochettino, who finished second and reached the Champions League final with a young side during his time at Tottenham, should not be sacked.
“You can't just keep firing coaches,” he said. “Tuchel was considered one of the best managers in world football.
“There's got to be something else going on behind the scenes because we've got some good managers.”
But former Blues winger Pat Nevin said Chelsea were playing like a team “built by an algorithm”.
“They're not linking up. The way they play and play is very, very staccato,” the Scot said. Sport Today on the BBC World Service.
“There's not a lot of understanding and it looks like we have a bunch of promising players in different positions, but have you ever thought about how they could work together? It doesn't really seem that way. It’s from.”
Pochettino says 'young' players need support
Since Boley and Clearlake took over, Chelsea have made 28 new signings, making them the youngest team in the Premier League this season.
However, this is the first time since the 1993-94 season that the Blues have lost 10 of their 23 league games.
Pochettino apologized to supporters after Wolves' defeat, but captain Ben Chilwell said he was “responsible” as a player.
“We're controlling the game,” the England full-back said on Match of the Day. “To be honest, I might be a little naive.
“If we concede a goal, we have to rebuild our team and make sure that the game doesn't go their way in the next five, 10, 15 minutes. This happens often for us.”
Pochettino said his players “need the support” from the Stamford Bridge crowd.
“If we don't perform well, it's natural for fans to criticize and be angry,” he said. “But it's important [to remember] The players are young. they need support. ”
Post from Silva's wife 'doesn't solve the situation'
Will Foulkes, Chelsea fan, from website chelsea newssaid that the rest Pochettino received from league wins against Crystal Palace, Luton and Fulham, as well as cup wins over Middlesbrough and Preston, had “evaporated”.
“The Chelsea manager was dealt a bad hand and he played very poorly, there's no doubt about that,” he said.
“He had to contend with constant injuries and an unbalanced and inexperienced team that was assembled in a disastrous way. But even taking that into account, the results he managed were a testament to the fact that he was free It's not enough considering the players available.”
After Wolves' defeat, centre-back Thiago Silva's wife posted an apparent criticism of Pochettino on social media.
“It's time for a change. If we wait any longer it will be too late,” she posted to X, along with two blue heart emojis.
Shortly before Potter was sacked last year, she liked a tweet calling the Englishman a “dead-end” manager who “doesn't know what he's doing”.
Sutton said the post “doesn't help the situation.”
“It's completely ridiculous,” he said. “That's something the club and Pochettino don't need.
“He had a bad season. The team had a bad season. That's not going to help the situation.”
