By BlueCo’s own admission, their four years in charge of Chelsea have been a learning curve littered with mistakes. But Jeremy Clarkson thinks BlueCo are guilty of Chelsea’s biggest-ever blunder.
Whether it be signing players simply because Man City want them, focusing too hard on signing young players and bloating the size of the squad, or UEFA imposing fines, BlueCo have made many mistakes.
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Another is their approach to managers, and the quintet of sporting directors that often prevent the man in the dugout from managing in the way he wants. Xabi Alonso was appointed as Chelsea’s manager.
That’s the first time Chelsea have awarded that title to the man in the dugout. Hiring Graham Potter and Liam Rosenior were poor decisions, and Jeremy Clarkson thinks that’s where the biggest error lies.
Jeremy Clarkson: Thomas Tuchel was BlueCo’s biggest mistake
When BlueCo bought Chelsea from Roman Abramovich in the summer of 2022, Thomas Tuchel was manager. A year prior, he’d guided Chelsea to the Champions League title. By September, he was sacked.
The first sign of a tricky period, and BlueCo showed their inexperience in the footballing world, failing to show patience and instead sacking the current England boss. Tuchel has also managed Bayern since.
The genius behind early BBC’s Top Gear, Amazon’s The Grand Tour and now Clarkson’s Farm, the TV personality claims sacking Tuchel is the biggest mistake Chelsea have ever made on The Sun’s TikTok.
“I think Chelsea’s biggest mistake – and they’ve made quite a few – was getting rid of Thomas Tuchel. One of those decisions where you go, have you literally taken leave of your senses getting rid of him?
“He was obviously a brilliant manager. Even I could see that with my limited knowledge that he was a very clever man, very tactical. I loved the football we played against Croatia. I think he’s a clever man.”
“I think that you need to be a clever man, or woman, to be a football manager. You just do. I have an enormous amount of time [for him]. He took us, Chelsea to a Champions League final and we won it.”
Keown named the two managers BlueCo shouldn’t have sacked
While Clarkson is a renowned Chelsea fan, he has often spoken of his lack of footballing knowledge. Yet, he is not the only one to suggest that BlueCo made a bad decision when sacking Tuchel as manager.
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Martin Keown recently suggested BlueCo shouldn’t have sacked Tuchel, or allowed Enzo Maresca to resign: “I thought Thomas Tuchel was actually a very good manager at the beginning,” Keown claimed.
“They got rid of him. Perhaps, too much interference from the owners. Maresca seemed to have enough of it, and they’re paying that price now. Maresca was a good manager,” Keown told TNT Sports recently.
The proof is in the pudding. Tuchel not only won the Champions League, but he won 60 of 100 games as Chelsea boss. No Chelsea manager has managed to secure a win rate as good as that since his exit.
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