Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino had his sights set well beyond February when discussing his newly-booked place in the League Cup final on Tuesday night.
The Blues boss trumped Middlesbrough 6-1 to secure a Wembley outing scheduled for February 25th. Like a deft politician he grabbed the chance to engage in a bit of reputation management in the process, projecting a fantasy in a bid to lower expectations from his chairman and supporters.
“It’s an amazing achievement because I think it was the objective when we started,” he said, cutting a theatrical figure in front of the press. “With no Europe, no Champions League, Europa League or Conference League, to build a team nearly from zero, that was the objective: to be at Wembley in February. I think the job is done.”
It’s a stretch.
To start, ‘building a team from nearly zero.’ Ten of Pochettino’s 16 used players on Tuesday were established at Chelsea before his arrival; two were already in the academy. Just four – Đorđe Petrović, Axel Disasi, Moises Caicedo and Cole Palmer – were his signings. Some building job.
Since 2004/05 Chelsea have reached the League or FA Cup final 13 times, more often than every other season. For a club that’s spent the most in the league over the last two seasons by more than double, doing so again doesn’t count for success.
To labour the point, Pochettino suggests not competing in Europe makes a League Cup run even more impressive. Anyone in their right mind would suggest it’s the reverse: one of the league’s most expensive squads has fewer games than their rivals and should demand progression in the remaining competitions. Every team above Chelsea bar Spurs is performing better with a denser schedule.
Mauricio Pochettino says Chelsea have reached their objective by making it to the Carabao Cup final after 'building a team nearly from zero' 🏆 pic.twitter.com/pi88xCM5S3January 24, 2024
But Pochettino will have known the fiction behind his comments. He even acknowledged their dubious nature when he said: “On the other side it looks like it’s not important because Chelsea is about winning the Champions League and Premier League.”
Clearly, though, capitalising on a glowing performance was irresistible: Chelsea’s Wembley ticket buys him a month-long shield, and with six goals in the bank he can ride high on a fanbase hoarse from bastardising Liquidator on Tuesday night.
As one of the world’s top managers Pochettino has led Chelsea to ninth in the league and the universal agreement that they’ve underachieved so far. Overcoming Fulham or a Liverpool side with other priorities to lift the League Cup might salvage a poor campaign; reaching the final in itself will not.
But the court of public opinion is fluid, and sowing the seeds of a warped viewpoint prepares the defence against further disappointment. Fail to reach Europe? We made Wembley. Under-perform with a talented and costly squad? We had to build it from scratch. Miss the chance to benefit from a light fixture schedule? It was a long League Cup campaign.
Pochettino is experienced at operating under challenging regimes. He has a reputation – and a job – to protect, and a tricky boss to placate. Should Boehly sign a premature P45 this season, its recipient can hope to be defended by those who bought his latest comments. If the objective when he joined was to reach Wembley, how can he be sacked?
It's a sign of Chelsea’s recent fall from grace and clouds an otherwise celebratory achievement. Pochettino will hope it doesn’t prove necessary come May: this flimsy argument won’t stand up if it does.
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