MIRROR
Rio Ferdinand insists Mauricio Pochettino needs to be given more time at Chelsea after the club’s transfer policy has valued potential over ready-made talent.
The Argentine named a youthful XI to face Arsenal on Tuesday night, but it backfired in a 5-0 defeat at the Emirates Stadium. Former Chelsea star Kai Havertz scored twice, as did defender Ben White, with Leandro Trossard also on target for the home side.
Chelsea have spent huge sums of money since Todd Boehly took over as owner, but results have suffered amid significant player turnover. The London club finished 12th last season, and their defeat on Tuesday means they’re mathematically unable to secure a Champions League return this time around, prompting calls for Pochettino to go.
Despite all this, Ferdinand defended the Argentine on the basis of the youthful nature of the squad. Boehly has overseen a billion pounds’ worth of spending, but experience has often made way for potential and there hasn’t been a consistent uptick in results.
“What I would say is that if you have spent a billion pounds on potential then you can’t sack the manager,” Ferdinand argued during TNT Sports’ coverage. “I’m really interested to see how this summer goes in terms of the management situation.”
“Mauricio Pochettino, when he gets an appraisal done at the end of the season, that will be one of the first things he says. What do you expect?” the 45-year-old said. “I have got one of the youngest squads around. I have invested in lots of potential. No real end product all over park.
“We were saying before, where is the experience when there is a rocky moment in the game? Where are the people and the characters that are going to drag the young players along? The main one was on the bench was Thiago Silva but he is 38-years-old. They need to buy experience.”
