Havertz bemused about Tuchel sacking but reality differs

Versatile yet out of form Chelsea forward Kai Havertz has made a seemingly confused claim about Thomas Tuchel leaving the Blues. Though he may just be being polite to a man he respects.

Pride of London is attempting to keep followers updated with Chelsea events, during the rather uneventful domestic period caused by the Nations League. Obviously some CFC personnel are involved in the tournament, so we will cover those performances as well.

Anyway, moving on to the topic in question, Havertz has made a remark which took my attention for being pretty baseless. When told that ex-teammate Antonio Rudiger – also successful under the onetime Paris Saint-Germain gaffer before leaving Stamford Bridge – was shocked at Tuchel’s dismissal, Havertz concurred. Then the attacker gave a more detailed view of Chelsea’s former head coach leaving the role, saying this:

"“Me too,” Havertz told Kicker when informed that Rudiger was shocked by Tuchel’s exit. “Especially when you consider how we’ve played in the past year and a half and what we’ve won.”"

Upon first glance, the quote looks like the typical media-groomed cliche-ridden comment that elite footballers spew on a weekly basis, understandably in some cases. Yet the Germany national team representative’s assessment is inaccurate, almost to the point of seemingly making it up as he goes along for effect or to soothe a departed boss.

Havertz claims are disputable, I mean, even he has been struggling for longer than the current season and a few neater finishes may have saved quite a few undesirable outcomes on the pitch. Were the Blues playing well in the last year? Let’s examine the situation more closely.

First of all, I am talking from the perspective of someone who actually thought Tuchel deserved more time. Clearly chairman Todd Boehly and co-controlling owner Behdad Eghbali wanted to go in a different managerial direction, by appointing their ‘own man’. So no gripes there, if it was a working relationship issue as opposed to results based.

But match conclusions had become worrying, performances drastically deteriorated and an increasing number of fans were becoming upset with ‘TT’. Nevertheless, we need something more tangible in order to assess the scenario; bearing in mind that Roman Abramovich’s ousting coincided with a downturn at the Bridge and on the road.

Chels’ began the 2021/22 campaign very well indeed as recent Champions League winners, lest us forget. Tuchel’s men were strong at that time: defeating London rivals Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and Crystal Palace convincingly. Even the narrowest of losses to the mighty Manchester City and Italian giants Juventus didn’t derail overall Premier League progress.

However, underwhelming draws at home to Burnley, Everton and Brighton & Hove Albion lowered the tone with regards to attacking confidence and prowess. By the time Tuchel’s men drew with Wolverhampton Wanderers on Fulham Road in May, his home win percentage in the EPL was, in fact, unacceptable for a modern Chelsea gaffer.

Meanwhile the side managed to splendidly secure the FIFA Club World Cup, along with the UEFA Super Cup, respectively. Whilst progression actually felt valiantly deserved in the UCL quarterfinals versus the undeniably immense Real Madrid, Chels’ were eventually knocked out.

Which brings us to the contemporary era. Following riding out sanctioning, Tuchel appeared more distant and unconvinced as the fresh ownership group arrived and consequently took over. Preseason 2022/23 conjured up more questions than answers with respect to tactics and results; a 4-0 drubbing to Arsenal in Boehly’s homeland was never going to be ignored.

When the proper term began, underlying signing issues, unfortunate outgoings and a lack of cohesiveness within the XI illustrated further problems. If Havertz is unconcerned by the embarrassment of losing 3-0 to Leeds United, being defeated by Southampton, as well as Dinamo Zagreb in a very short space, then he needs a rethink.

Ultimately I can understand the 23-year-old’s viewpoint about attaining trophies and that he might perhaps have been slightly shocked when Tuchel was sacked. Many of us were startled, or raised an eyebrow at the unforeseen news at the very least.

Yet, with hindsight, some statistics and now knowing there was a compatibility matter with Boehly – Tuchel being relieved of duty makes more sense. I would have liked to see how the players developed as a whole under the latter, although the Graham Potter project has the capacity to be promising, too.