Thomas Tuchel could finish a distant third with the FA Cup and Chelsea, who once sacked a Double winner for coming second, will be grateful.
On May 22, 2011, after a season-ending 1-0 reverse at Everton, Chelsea chief executive Ron Gourlay took Carlo Ancelotti aside in a Goodison Park corridor to deliver the news. Despite winning the club their first ever league and cup Double the previous campaign, scoring a record number of goals in the process, Ancelotti’s time had expired. He was sacked on the spot, less than an hour after the final whistle. Referring to the decision a couple of weeks later, Gourlay said that “last year was a difficult year for us – it’s fair to say our performances and results didn’t meet the expectations of the football club.” They finished second.
In another era, ‘Tactics’ Tommy Tuchel may well be keeping one eye on the job market, his agent scouting flats in Madrid or Milan. With their title challenge over by Christmas, a quarter-final European exit at the hands of Ancelotti himself and only the quaint old triviality of the FA Cup still to play for, it is difficult to imagine this season’s achievements being well-received by the soon-to-be previous owner. They may well have won the World Series or whatever, and last season’s frankly ridiculous resurrection from feckless rabble to European champions may well have got him credit in the bank, but this is Roman Abramovich we are talking about. Somewhat ironically, credit in the bank is not really his thing. Just ask *insert name here*.
Correction: this was Abramovich. We are, obviously, in another era now – or at the very least, between them. And while we can’t speculate on the recruitment practices of unknown prospective owners, we can offer our own appraisal of Tommy ‘Tactics’ Tuchel as he trundles towards the close of his first full season in charge.
The feeling, from most corners, is that we don’t need one. All round, his has been a decent job done…
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