Pochettino’s First Day on the Job Puts Chelsea Behind the 8 Ball

On May 29th, after much speculation, Chelsea F.C. made it official that Mauricio Pochettino, the former manager of the Blues’ heated rival Tottenham Hotspur, would be the club’s new manager. Apart from managing Spurs the 51-year-old Argentinian, most recently managed one of the most high-profile clubs in the world Paris Saint Germain (PSG) from 2021-22.

Despite officially being announced and appointed as the new Chelsea manager on May 29th, his first official day on the job is July 1st. The reason is that Pochettino’s contract with his previous club ran until June 30, 2023, and due to FIFA rules, he is not allowed to fully take charge of another team until that date.

Another puzzling aspect of Chelsea’s Pochettino announcement is on the club website, you hear statements made by a multitude of people. The club owners Todd Boehly, Behdad Eghbali, José E. Feliciano, Mark Walter, and Hansjörg Wyss released a joint statement on the appointment of Pochettino. Chelsea’s co-sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley also followed suit in releasing a joint statement between the two of them about the big news.

But the one person who didn’t have anything to say was the man of honor, Pochettino. While some may think this isn’t important, from a public relations standpoint doesn’t it seem weird for a new manager to not have anything to say or for the club to not have him say anything for the fans to hear?