Heading into the period where The Raine Group is set to decide between the bidders left in the competition to buy Chelsea Football Club, Emma Hayes and Thomas Tuchel continue to show the rest of the world how to run a team effectively, even under unprecedented circumstances. There has been more talk about the Blues as a club off the pitch than on it in the past few weeks.
Since March 4, when Roman Abramovich announced that he was going to sell Chelsea in the best interest of the club, the men’s and women’s first teams have combined for a record of 10 wins and one loss. The sole defeat was on the women’s side in the Conti Cup Final against Manchester City. The fact that the Blues have not been impacted by the overarching uncertainty at the club is simply miraculous, and that has a lot to do with their pair of sensational managers.
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Chelsea’s Emma Hayes and Thomas Tuchel are a pair of world class managers
As Manchester United searches for its next manager to relieve Ralf Rangnick of his duties as interim, it becomes obvious that world class coaches are incredibly difficult to come by these days. Over the last five years, the Red Devils have spent more money on transfers than any club in the Premier League, but a new piece of major silverware has not been added to the case since the 2013 Premier League title. All of this demonstrates that no matter how much talent a club has in its ranks, the manager will ultimately decide what the potential of the team will be.
Chelsea ownership situation may be in limbo right now, but what the Blues do still have is two of the best managers this world has to offer. They have the reigning Best FIFA Men’s and Women’s coaches on their side, and that is sometimes taken for granted. Last season, both the Chelsea men and women made it to the Champions League final and their respective FA Cup finals. Even though last year was impressive—as the Blues and Paris Saint-Germain were the only teams to make it past the quarterfinals of both UCL competitions—this season may even be more astounding.
Not only do Hayes and Tuchel now have targets on their backs from their successes throughout the last seasons, but they have also had to deal with punishments being handed down to the club in recent weeks. When it comes to Chelsea, success is not something that is always analyzed. Success is expected when a manager comes in, but if they fail, that is all the footballing world wants to talk about. In terms of the men’s team, the manager position has had seven different individuals on the touchline since December of 2015. Tuchel not only turned around the team when he came in in the middle of last season, he transformed it and turned the culture into what it is today. The same thing applies with Hayes, as she turned Chelsea from a bottom of the table team in 2012 to a contender at the top of the WSL in 2014.
The final stretch of the season is now beginning for both sides, and the fact that Chelsea as a club is still in contention for realistically four titles is simply awe-inspiring. Hayes and Tuchel are the shining lights amid a load of unpredictability, especially given the current circumstances Neither will take credit for the phenomenal job they are doing, but there is no question they deserve it.
From Tuchel heading into a packed Riverside Stadium with virtually no fans on his side and coming out with a win speaks volumes about the man in charge. After a disheartening showing in the Conti Cup final, the women came back the next match and showed a whole lot of character to beat West Ham. Hayes and Tuchel have created a culture in SW6 that just cannot be replicated.
The two have been world class managers and world class humans amid the chaos outside the white lines and the club should be grateful to have not one, but both, on board during an unprecedented time like this.