Thomas Tuchel was an extremely popular figure at Chelsea. His energy often transferred onto the pitch and excited fans in a way that few managers have done at Stamford Bridge.
The German's influence at the club came at a tough time for everyone at Chelsea, first managing through the post-mortem of Frank Lampard's reign before then tackling political troubles on and off the pitch with the European Super League announcement and the Ukrainian war, add in a new ownership group and the foundations of the club were shaken.
Tuchel was often left to his own defences as well in the public. It made him someone that fans could identify with and loved listening too as well as having the added bonus that he was an elite tactician. This all makes it hard to imagine why performances dropped off so heavily.
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Partly due to the inner turmoil at the club as well as relationship indifferences with Todd Boehly and the new owners, things went south and Tuchel lost the support of those he was managing. The communication appeared to sour and fade, tactics became desperate and something had to give.
Now Graham Potter is in charge and Chelsea Women's boss Emma Hayes - widely regarded as the best in England and one of the best in the world - is seeing the 10th male boss in charge at Stamford Bridge since she joined. Hayes has won 11 trophies in her 10 years, including five league titles - with three on the bounce. The 45-year-old is two years younger than Potter and was handed the reigns with the Blues in her mid-30s.
The trust given to her, in that it wasn't until 2015 that she won her first trophy, is similar to the plan that Chelsea fans hope Boehly will now give Potter, and Hayes has hope for him given their previous time together. "Graham and I have been on courses together abroad," she told Sky Sports. "Yes [we have a relationship], we know each other before hand, I've known him from before.
"We've had some educational experiences together, we've been in Germany and a couple of different places. Graham's an amazing communicator, educator, leader. He's inspirational. I really, really want him to do well here."
For Hayes, Tuchel's departure shows the brutal world of football and ended a working relationship with a man that shared some great experiences with her. Speaking about Tuchel, she said: "I'm gutted. I love Thomas. He’s a great man, a great coach with a brilliant history, albeit short here, who’s had to go through lots of change. It’s disappointing and I’m super sad for him but Thomas will thrive anywhere."
Speaking to the Guardian, Hayes also said: "Yes, we made time [to speak] but it’s fleeting when you can grab an hour to do that. We had a really good relationship." The pair were the winners of individual awards at the highest level just over 10 months ago with both Hayes and Tuchel the winners of FIFA's The Best football coach for the male and female categories.
They had a good relationship which summed up the togetherness of the club but now all has changed and along with Tuchel influential director Bruce Buck has exited, something that is tough for Hayes to take. "Bruce has been humongous for me. I miss him already. He’s an amazing Chelsea guy because, as an American, he really understood the women’s game and pushed me to keep pushing the club. I always felt really trusted by him and Marina Granovskaia [the former director who handled contracts and transfers] so I was devastated when they left.
"Whenever there’s change, there’s apprehension. But during the takeover [when Roman Abramovich sold Chelsea to a consortium led by the American billionaire Todd Boehly], Bruce said: 'It’s going to be different but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be worse.' I say to my players all the time: 'I want you to be open to change.' I had to do that myself.
"Yes, I speak to Todd quite regularly. The interactions I’ve had with our current ownership group make me think they are going to be champions for women’s football. I am super excited because they can drive women’s football in this country to a new level."
Boehly and co. could do a lot worse than to follow the long-term success of Hayes and her team and now under Potter they might have the man continue a prospering relationship.
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