The new manager of Chelsea, Thomas Tuchel said he is not afraid of how the owner of the club, Roman Abramovich, sack coaches.
The Russian billionaire is notorious for sacking football managers who don’t meet up with his expectation at any given time. Since 2003 when he became the owner of Chelsea, Roman Abramovich has sacked 14 coaches and made 15 managerial appointments.
As a businessman, the Russian billionaire is more concerned about results and he can sacrifice anything on the altar of winning titles or Chelsea performing very well in all competitions.
No matter the cordial relationship he has with a football manager before he appoints such a coach, the coach could be sacked immediately he fails to deliver good results.
Roman Abramovich is so ruthless in his sacking culture that he can pay off a coach any amount to ensure that there is no litigation after letting the coach go.
According to reports, the Russian billionaire has paid about £120million in paying off coaches he sacked before the expiration of their contracts. The last two coaches that suffered his ruthlessness were Maurizio Sarri and Frank Lampard.
When Roman Abramovich appointed Lampard in 2019, before the commencement of the 2019-2020 season, the world thought the Russian billionaire was changing direction in his approach of employing and sacking coaches.
This is so because Lampard was the most inexperienced coach he has ever appointed and he is a legend of the club who gave over 13 years of his football career playing for the club.
In his first season at Chelsea, Lampard was able to manage the resources available to him to finish in the top four even though Chelsea was under a transfer ban.
Things change in the 2020-2021 season as the transfer ban on Chelsea was lifted, hence, Lampard resumed the season with 6 new superstars which he bought for over £220million. With such an amount of investment, it was obvious that there was no room for poor results.
Hence, immediately Frank Lampard started recording poor results consistently, it was clear that the days of the 42-year-old English tactician were numbered. After 5 defeats in 8 Premier League games, Chelsea became impatient with Lampard and had to sack him on Monday, January 25, 2021.
The next in line was former Paris Saint Germain coach Thomas Tuchel who was sacked by PSG a month ago. The 47-year-old German tactician inherited Chelsea on the 9th spot with 29 points in 19 league games. He led the club to a 0-0 draw on Wednesday, January 27, which has pushed the club to the 8th spot with 30 points in 20 games.
Chelsea 0-0 Wolves. 🤝
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 27, 2021
Here's how Thomas Tuchel's first match as Head Coach played out… #CHEWOL pic.twitter.com/jTzVQMsOfl
“I am absolutely grateful that I can work on this level. If you sign up for Chelsea you sign up for the hunger of titles. You sign up for being competitive in every competition that you play. I am aware of that”, Thomas Tuchel said.
“It does not scare me [to be sacked]. We have big ambitions, and I myself have the biggest ambitions. I am excited about the structure of the club. I am absolutely aware at some point everybody expects results, but I expect that of myself.
“It was an opportunity with one of the biggest clubs in the world in the most competitive league in the world. We felt like we should absolutely not miss the chance to join the Chelsea family. It was a pretty easy choice.”
Pass. Move. Pass again. 😍
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 28, 2021
Just 16 of our 8️⃣2️⃣0️⃣ completed passes last night! 👏 pic.twitter.com/U8a4GGELz4
Frank Lampard’s sack was a big disappointment to Chelsea’s fans – Thomas Tuchel
On Frank Lampard’s sack after 18 months at the club, Thomas Tuchel said: “I hope there is not [a fan backlash] because that would be hard on the team. The fans are so close and behind the team, it makes a big difference.
“I know it was a big disappointment for the fanbase that Frank was sacked. I was a huge fan of Frank as a player. I have the biggest respect for him personally and his legacy. My respect got bigger when I received a message today, a personal message, to wish me all the best and maybe to meet in the future when possible.
“The club made clear to me this is not my fault, I cannot change the situation for him. The decision was made and I was handed the opportunity.”
Chelsea gave Thomas Tuchel 18 months contract which means that he is expected to remain at the club until the end of this season and the end of the 2021-2022 season. The contract has an option of being extended if both parties are still on good terms.
