Pochettino produces ‘encouraging start’ to Chelsea reign

Phil McNulty, Chief football writer

Mauricio Pochettino is the latest incumbent charged with making sense of the scattergun and unstructured strategy employed by Todd Boehly and his partner Behdad Eghbali over the last year.

And while it is far too early to make any pronouncements on whether Pochettino will fare any better than his predecessors Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter – let’s not count Frank Lampard because he was little more than an unsuccessful seat warmer – there were at least signs that encouraged all those associated with, and wearied by, the recent chaos at Chelsea.

The warm applause that echoed around Stamford Bridge and the appreciation shown to Pochettino, which the Argentine returned, was a measure of the positive signs on show and a response to the energy and attacking intent that has always been his trademark.

Not so long ago, owner Boehly infamously marched into the dressing room after Chelsea’s home defeat to Brighton last season to label their efforts “embarrassing” – which in his defence they were, even though his own wild £600m spending spree had contributed in large measure.

This weekend though, Boehly was seen strolling around the Stamford Bridge perimeter after the game with a far more contented expression on his face – and almost certainly en-route to deliver a far more upbeat message after an encouraging start to the latest new era at Chelsea.