The new season begins at Stamford Bridge with a new home team manager in a new home team dugout. Mauricio Pochettino has gone about changing the culture at the West London club, and even the Bridge will have to make adjustments!
After the horrible season endured last year following the takeover of the club by Todd Boehly and his entourage, there can be nothing better than having a chance to breathe some fresh air at the very least. From a 12th place finish last term, granted that there is no room for further regression, there is quite a high ceiling for achievement to make it quite a better season. But, Pochettino is not thinking about that, apparently. The standards have got to go right back to the roof whence they've fallen; although, even he appreciates that it is a systematic process.
Key to that process is a positive atmosphere. It is nice to see that he has not lost that, especially having just left a bag of toxicity back in France. Chelsea was a truck load of palpable dissonance and unhappiness given how the season slipped away with up to four managers having a go at trying to save the sinking ship and ultimately failing at it. Despite the massive outlay and the teeming size of the squad, the results nosedived as sharply. It was shocking.
Pochettino has repeatedly emphasized that the standards set at the club over the last two decades is to win. He has always been derided as a manager who does not win. Some people may still question if on the account of winning the Ligue 1, even though less convincingly so, he has any credentials to lead a 'winning club'. But that's the fascinating thing about the former Spurs manager. He has created the environment required for winning consistently wherever he's been, and a key factor in that is positivity. Such positivity is what the blues will need in abundance this season following the disappointing rottenness of the last.
Then, there is the issue of philosophy, systems, and strategy. If there is a new ownership in place, then there is probably a change in system. The Abramovich era is long gone, with its attendant trophy successes and recurrent sackings. To be fair, the new regime has gone through four managers in under twelve months. However, there is a feeling that having made a hash of the transition process, there is a need to position the club to better transition into the future.
A lot of money has been spent already, and that's not new. Yet, there is a need to create a platform for a manager to lead a project and commit to its completion. It is on that account that the arrival of Mauricio Pochettino and his positivity-approach makes sense for the blues. Chelsea has always been a yo-yo club in terms of how they manage the success they've got. Up again and down, the energy and atmosphere around the club and manager can swing within weeks. Such is the pressure, that one defeat can easily lead the club into a cesspool of toxicity around the place. This eventually leads to a poor run that ends in dressing room revolts and assured sacking of whoever is captaining the sinking ship.
Now, it's about exploring a different way. For the club, can they back a project and win with good football, positive vibes and high expectations? For Pochettino, can he win in a genuinely big club that will support him fully and allow him build? The journey starts, and the foundations are being laid now. But, there must be the feeling that this is good, and that's why the positivity around the Bridge must be sustained.
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