Three questions the next Chelsea manager needs to answer to turn the club around after Thomas Tuchel’s firing

Only seven matches into the season, Chelsea are moving in another direction after firing Thomas Tuchel. While the decision is a curious one after winning the Champions League in 2020, Club World Cup 2022, and finishing as runners-up in the EFL and FA Cups last season, life waits for no one at Chelsea and is seems the change in ownership has brought the same ruthless managerial structure under American Todd Boehly as existed before him. The timing is certainly less than ideal, since the decision could’ve been made before the close of the transfer window giving the new manager time to shape their vision but it also seems like the manager’s vision and Boehly’s need to be aligned in order for the relationship to work.

As Boehly is the acting sporting director after cleaning house at the top of the Chelsea organization chart after taking control this summer, his say is final. Not signing Cristiano Ronaldo was part of the beginning of a fractured relationship between him and Tuchel and recent poor results have seemed to be the final straw. It seems like Graham Potter could be set to take over but even if things move in another direction, there will be important questions to answer for anybody that takes the job.

1. Can you work with Todd Boehly?

The elephant in the room is that there currently is no sporting director at Stamford Bridge right now. With Boehley acting in the role, any new hire will need to work closely with him, likely through the January transfer window. Transfers have already caused a strain on the relationship between Boehly and Tuchel, ultimately leading to the  situation the club finds itself in, so a shared vision is important. Even if Boehly looks to bring in a sporting director, getting one who is currently with a club would likely involve a waiting period before Chelsea can bring in someone external to mold the club in their vision. That makes hiring a manger at this stage hard because usually sporting directors have their own people who they want to bring in while thanks to Boehly they will enter the club after a new manager is appointed. It’s a difficult situation all around but one that will put a premium on a manager being able to play nice with the folks above him in the organization.

2. What’s the best midfield configuration?

In Premier League play, Chelsea have been effective in the 63 games under Tuchel with the third most points in the Premier League since January of 2021 with 122. But where they’ve been particularly effective at defending allowing 55 goals in those 63 matches. But a lot of that defensive stoutness has happened with N’Golo Kante on the pitch. While we know that 71 percent of the earth is covered by water and the rest is covered by Kante, the Blues have had to play 22 matches without their star defensive midfielder under Tuchel. During those matches they’ve allowed 27 goals as the center of midfield is easier to drive through. Its not that Chelsea don’t have options, it’s just that none of them are perfect. Mateo Kovacic is frequently hurt, Jorginho’s not able to operate as a lone defensive midfielder, Ruben Loftus-Cheek was often deployed as a wing-back by Tuchel while Denis Zakaria just arrived on loan from Juventus. Meanwhile Billy Gilmour was sold to Brighton removing the in-house grown option. So, figuring out how to protect the defense is critical unless the new manager comes with a time machine for a prime Kante.

With so much depth in defense, it may be a good chance to try converting Trevoh Chalobah back into a midfielder to see if he can contribute at the base, or see if a new coach can get more out of Gallagher and turn him into a steadier presence to help improve the team’s defense. 

3. What to do with Kai Havertz, Hakim Ziyech and Christian Pulisic and Mason Mount?

Chelsea’s attack has been an issue outside of the wing backs and Raheem Sterling. While Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was signed to help with that, if he’s isolated like what was seen in the loss to Dinamo Zagreb, it won’t change anything. Havertz at his best was someone who linked up play and helped create space for others but that isn’t happening this season. Raheem Sterling can help others when given support but he wants to get into space and score as well. This brings up the trio of Mason Mount, Christian Pulisic, and Hakim Ziyech.

At least two of them will need to get things going to ensure that Chelsea’s attack flows properly, though  all three likely can’t coexist in the lineup. Moving Mount deeper to have a more dynamic front three that includes Pulisic is and option that could be taken up but Tuchel saw the American as more of a wing back than a winger though his crossing hasn’t been strong enough for playing that wide, especially when Chelsea already has top wing-backs in their own right.

While some of these questions are larger than others, it does show that Chelsea is still in a good spot post Tuchel. The new manager will inherit a flawed but stong team that can make it easy for a new manager bounce. With proper tweaks, there’s no reason that the Blues won’t get back to their best even though their competition for the top four in the Premier League has also improved.