Chelsea beat Preston 4-0 in the FA Cup third round on Saturday, but Pochettino's Blues remain far from convincing
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Chelsea have not improved at all since Mauricio Pochettino took over as head coach last summer, according to one expert.
The Blues booked their place in the FA Cup fourth round with a 4-0 home win over Championship Preston North End on Saturday, but they entered the new year sitting a sub-par 10th in the Premier League table.
And ESPN pundit Julien Laurens was not impressed with what he saw from Pochettino's side against Preston, viewing the performance as a continuation of an underwhelming six months or so.
Raheem Sterling was among the scorers and one of the few bright sparks as Chelsea saw off Preston (Image credit: Getty Images)
Speaking after the game, Laurens said: "Nobody can tell me this team is improving! I don’t see any improvement week after week, game after game. But how long? This is January 2024 now; he’s [Pochettino] been here since the 1st of July. I want to see something...The full-backs don’t participate in anything really. Those attacking midfielders don’t do much either.
"They never used him [Mykhailo Mudryk]; they never used his pace or his skillset and I just don’t understand where they’re going. I don’t see patterns of play; I don’t see finding the third man; I don’t see anyone running into space. I don’t see much really..."
Chelsea are back in action away to Middlesbrough in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-finals on Tuesday night (Image credit: Getty Images)
Chelsea had already sacked one head coach, Thomas Tuchel, by this time last season – which they ended with Frank Lampard in caretaker charge after also dismissing Graham Potter.
The Blues' hierarchy seem to have more patience with Pochettino, perhaps accepting that the club is in an inevitable state of transition given the masses of players they've signed over the past 18 months.
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But that patience won't last forever, and Chelsea – who have won just eight out of 20 league games this term – cannot continue to stagnate without consequence for the man in the dugout.
Tom Hancock started freelancing for FourFourTwo in April 2019 and has also written for the Premier League and Opta Analyst, among others. He supports Wycombe Wanderers and has a soft spot for Wealdstone. A self-confessed statto, he has been known to watch football with a spreadsheet (or several) open...
