Chelsea has had Thomas Tuchel as their manager for just over a month now, spanning 10 matches. The Blues are undefeated under the German with a whopping seven wins and three draws. Most notable is the defensive solidarity that has only allowed itself to be scored on twice in that period (and only once by the opposition). What has been learned about Tuchel’s Chelsea in the first 10 matches?
1. Clarity of communication on the macro level
Perhaps the most refreshing thing about Tuchel’s tenure thus far is that he and the board are very clear on where they stand with one another. Tuchel was sacked at Paris Saint-Germain in part because of complaints referring to himself as a “minister of sport” more than he was a coach. That could easily be said about Chelsea too but it seems as though a key part of negotiations was understanding exactly what is required from all parties.
With an 18 month contract, Tuchel knows what his targets are. This half season, it is to get top four or at least make a solid go for it. Next season its silverware. Anything less and he is surely out the door.
That same clarity wasn’t truly present with Frank Lampard. Was a title challenge expected this year after the summer transfer window? Was he to build this year and get silverware next season? Ask 100 fans and get 100 answers because there was no clarity from the club. With Tuchel, much of that was laid out early to prevent issues later. Tuchel knows what he has to do to continue, and he can have no complaints if he fails to meet the bar he helped set.
2. Harsh, risky, and almost nonsensical substitutes
The most notable substitute Tuchel has made has been pulling Callum Hudson-Odoi off 30 minutes after subbing him on. He claimed he wasn’t seeing what he wanted from the youngster. Many thought that it was a wake up call for the squad and, based on evidence of the Atletico Madrid performance, that may have some merit.
Except Hudson-Odoi was doing fine in that match. That has only highlighted others who have done much worse yet continued to stay on the pitch. Hakim Ziyech was terrible against Manchester United yet stayed on until late. Christian Pulisic has often been a sub with Tuchel but he’s almost always looked worse than Hudson-Odoi did in those 30 minutes.
Not to mention Tammy Abraham can’t seem to earn more than one half regardless of how he plays. He’s been a half time sub at least twice under Tuchel in matches where the striker, whoever it is, is getting zero service. One could say Tuchel is setting a high level of demands for his players but that seems to vary radically player to player.
There are other moments where he has subbed off an attacker for a midfielder to go into a 3-5-2 shape, often without strikers. That sounds like a shore them up type of change but a 3-5-2 is more easily pressured than the 3-4-3. The switch often invites more pressure while gaining one more body on the block. The defensive record has checked out in that sense but it is an unnecessary risk.
All of this isn’t even to mention naming every left back to the squad at the expense of Billy Gilmour. Maybe Gilmour never gets a chance to see the pitch from the bench, but there is a greater chance he’ll be able to get minutes to develop than needing all three of Ben Chilwell, Emerson, and Marcos Alonso in one match. Not to mention, if Gilmour isn’t on the bench at all, he can’t play.
These sub decisions make little sense and they very much point to a level of favoritism more than anything truly tactical. It is hard to complain too much while the results are coming in, but if Chelsea has a down turn, these are the things that are going to become thorns in Tuchel’s side.
3. A grit of old has returned
One of the things that used to make Chelsea special was this grit the team had. They could be losing in a must win match and no one ever truly felt like they couldn’t get back into things. They simply kept pushing for the result.
More and more in previous seasons, that has been absent. Going behind or really any struggle in a match caused shoulders to sag and heads to drop. Going behind felt like the end of the match for the Blues because they simply lacked the tenacity to turn things around.
That has shifted under Tuchel. One could say the Blues have been “dominant” in games but that is really only equaling more possession. The truth is that the Blues have yet to put in a truly dominant performance with Tuchel yet they are winning all the same. There is always the belief that they can win and they show the same energy in minute 90 to push ahead as they did in minute one.
A lot of that has to do with the improved mood that comes with a new manager but this time it just feels different. Whether it stays or not will be key to Tuchel’s success but so far so good with looking like a team that always has the desire in them.
More from Chelsea FC News
- Bournemouth vs Chelsea: 1 Blue Mauricio Pochettino should drop
- Bournemouth vs Chelsea: 3 Blues who must start
- Predicted Chelsea lineup vs Bournemouth: Palmer starts in 4-2-3-1
- Chelsea sporting directors finally reveal why they sign so many young players
- These 3 new signings may never get a game at Chelsea
4. The Have’s and the Have Not’s are very much a thing
One of the sticking points that saw Frank Lampard sacked was how he treated certain players. He had talked about meritocracy and for much of his tenure that was there, but by then end he had players that were have’s and players that were have not’s and there was little anyone could do to change that.
Tuchel’s arrival offered new life to those players and that is good. They were finally given their chance to impress. But while doing so, he simply flipped who was a have and a have not.
It is hard to justify too much change when a team is on a run like Chelsea’s, but players like Kurt Zouma, Tammy Abraham, Billy Gilmour, Christian Pulisic, Kai Havertz and more have seen their chances completely dry up. Others, such as Hakim Ziyech and Ben Chilwell, are starting to get chances which hints at something more but overall it looks as those Chelsea traded one hierarchy for the exact opposite.
Make no mistake: that is not sustainable as soon as results turn. It’s not sustainable come the summer either when players start angling for moves. Chelsea went from having a clear list of transfer listed players that played little to seeing them all take the pitch a ton. The result will be the ones not playing now will be on the chopping block and that does not set Chelsea up for the long term.
Tuchel came in with a reputation for rotation and playing the youth and so far little of either has really been seen. Meritocracy isn’t a thing at Chelsea at the moment and while it is hard to knock when the team is winning, it will be a major fracture if results turn.
5. The defense has become a rock
Easily the most improved factor of Chelsea’s play has been their defense. The switch to three at the back has a ton to do with this but the Blues are simply looking more organized and smarter in their decisions throughout the pitch.
Chelsea is taking a note from Julian Nagelsmann’s branch of pressing and using a pendulum movement. The wingbacks will join the forwards in the press which causes the whole back line to shift in that direction. The far side wingback will drop back making the shape almost like a four at the back. This has helped Chelsea maintain numerical advantages on defense without getting caught out of shape. Even if the opposition gets through the press, the dual sixes are there to cover with the back three behind them too. The opponent is either funneled into traffic or out wide with only a cross into traffic as an option.
The results are evident not just in how few goals the Blues have conceded but in how few shots they are facing. Chelsea is blanking some of the best offensive players in the world through collective effort. And on top of that, a great deal of possession is yet another safety blanket the Blues can use to protect their goal. No team has figured out a way through yet and this might be the new normal in most matches.
6. The attack is as limp as ever
One of the biggest factors in the winter drop in form was that attack going cold. Timo Werner’s form disappeared, Hakim Ziyech and Kai Havertz were out, Callum Hudson-Odoi was seemingly only trusted as a super sub, Christian Pulisic was either injured or out of form, and Tammy Abraham and Olivier Giroud were left alone on an island.
One of the main reasons Tuchel was hired was because of his reputation as an attacking coach, but also a belief that he could unlock Havertz and Werner. While Werner is certainly playing with a greater confidence, he is a victim of a weak attack like the rest of the squad.
A lot of this is related to the three at the back. While it allows for a much more solid defensive and possession base, it puts a ton of demand on attacking movements and individual brilliance to open up opponents. Chelsea either has to transition quickly (which has improved greatly) or they need one player to do something special. Often both need to happen.
So, just as the defense has been letting in few shots, the offense hasn’t been setting many up. Players simply aren’t getting into good enough positions fast enough to be threatening. Chelsea has had near 60 percent possession in several games yet, with an added man on defense, they struggle to do much of anything with it other than stop the opponent from having the ball.
A formation switch could alleviate this, as it did when Lampard went back to four at the back from his 3-4-3. But the question now is the same as it was then: can the defense hold up well enough without the extra man?
7. Big short term results
Tuchel’s first 10 matches featured an easy enough run in through February followed by a brutal March schedule. Atletico Madrid midweek, Manchester United on the weekend, and Liverpool midweek is a heck of a run of games and it is followed up by Everton, Leeds, Atletico Madrid again, and an FA Cup game against Sheffield United all before the break. In the first three Tuchel has two wins and a draw to build on to the rest of the results he has picked up.
That is impressive considering Tuchel joined when Chelsea was in 10th and miles off fourth, with little chance against Atletico Madrid, and the FA Cup a crapshoot. The Blues are now comfortably fourth on current form, look more confident than not at advancing to the Champions League quarter finals, and the FA Cup looks simpler than before.
New managers often see a “bump” in performances after joining for various reasons. Managers joining midseason also need those results because no one ever joins a solid looking team midseason. Chelsea has gotten some huge short term results that have put them back in control of their own destiny.
8. Questionable long term planning
It is, however, hard to ignore how these short term results came about. Players like Alonso, Rudiger, Jorginho and more were all ear marked for a transfer and now they look like key starters. They won’t be sold this summer if Tuchel has anything to say about it. But this has come at the expense of other players.
These other players that have seen less of the pitch are almost all the younger players. Tammy Abraham, Ben Chilwell, Kurt Zouma, Reece James, Kai Havertz, and more. Some have started to see minutes as of late but others are still waiting to get a real look.
It is one thing to play the older players when they are clearly better but another when they were all earmarked to leave and now the younger players have decisions to make. Simply put, the club has done nothing to convince Abraham to stay, especially if Olivier Giroud extends. Zouma has been one of the club’s best defenders the last two years but now he is surely eyeing an exit. And who is to say how long others will enjoy riding the bench knowing they could start at most other Premier League clubs.
Chelsea is a results based club and Tuchel is getting them, but come the summer some chickens may come home to roost that will cost Chelsea far more in the long term. Players like Jorginho or Olivier Giroud, good as they may be on their day, aren’t really the future of Chelsea. Players like Gilmour and Abraham are and this focus on short term results may yet cost the Blues players they need in the long term.
9. Slipping comfortably into big shoes to fill
Regardless of where you fall on Lampard’s tenure as Chelsea manager, whoever followed him was going to have a big pair of shoes to fill. Lampard is one of the most important figures in Chelsea’s history and results aside any sacking was going to create a lot of feelings in the fanbase. Many potential managers would have looked at Chelsea and the manner in which they sacked Lampard and steered clear. After all, if they couldn’t give their own legend time, what hope do they have?
But Tuchel took on that challenge despite his own reservations. Had fans been allowed to go to those initial games, those matches likely (and understandably) would have been flavored by the fan reaction. Instead, Tuchel has been able to lay down his own marker and quickly make the team his own.
It was a hell of an ask for any manager and Tuchel took up the challenge. Not only that, he quickly soothed the post Lampard sacking woes in the team and the fanbase and made this his own situation. He was brave to take the job in those circumstances (especially only a month after being sacked at PSG and only getting an 18 month contract) and he has done splendidly so far.
10. Good, but imperfect results show more promise than not
Tuchel’s record is near perfect thus far though some of the performances are still in need of work. As already noted, the defense has been superb the offense has been mostly lacking. Individual brilliance from midfielders and penalties is not a sustainable way to win matches (unless you’re Manchester United and can bank on one penalty a game). The Blues may not look like losing games, and they may have the grit to always look like winning, but actual winning doesn’t seem as simple as it has looked on the score sheet as of late.
That being said, for Tuchel to join a very battered side midseason and rally them like this is impressive. When he joined, fourth looked like more of a pipe dream than not. He immediately improved the mood and defense and has rode a bit of luck to put up his impressive record thus far. There are questions about sustainability but a foundation does appear to be laid and performances are looking more solid game to game.
Tuchel’s gotten the results in an imperfect way thus far but there is a hint of promise in the side that has been missing in Lampard’s closing stages. The Blues feel like they have higher levels they can reach and while everything isn’t perfect, the Blues do feel like they are going in the right direction with Tuchel in charge.
What have you learned from Tuchel thus far? Let us know in the comments and on Twitter!