Thomas Tuchel will take charge of Chelsea for the first time when they play against Wolves at Stamford Bridge tonight.
It’s a remarkably efficient managerial turnaround, even for Chelsea. Legendary ex player Frank Lampard was sacked on Monday.
When the news was announced, Roman Abramovich released a personal statement, which is unprecedented. The Chelsea owner has never made personal comments regarding the managers he’s let go.
That alone speaks to the fact that it was a difficult decision. However, this is still Chelsea, and now Thomas Tuchel is in the spotlight.
Read: Thomas Tuchel To Replace Frank Lampard As Chelsea Coach
At any other club, I might write a ponderous piece about whether Tuchel is a good fit. However, at Chelsea, it probably doesn’t matter. They change managers so often that they don’t really have an archetype in mind for the role.
What we do know about Thomas Tuchel is that he’s a hot head. Difficult to work with by reputation, he’s fallen out with the hierarchy at both Borussia Dortmund and PSG. His pig headedness and pettiness has resulted in the situations at both clubs becoming untenable, and he has been let go.
Whether he is successful or not, he definitely won’t be at Chelsea in two years time. And that’s why he might be perfect for them, because they definitely won’t go two years without firing him. Everybody knows how this is going to end.
You don’t hire Tuchel because he’s a great guy like, say, Jurgen Klopp. He’s not going to be a messianic dynasty builder like Pep Guardiola. You hire him for his tactical acumen, which has been described as genius.
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That’s what Chelsea need, because they have £220 million of newly acquired talent who aren’t playing well together. That Tuchel has Bundesliga experience could be invaluable in protecting their investment in Timo Verner and Kai Havertz.
If he can build a team around those two before he gets fired, and develop Chelsea’s other young talent, he could leave them in a position to return to the pinnacle of domestic and European football.
