Thomas Tuchel “lucky” not to be fired by Roman Abramovich
Gabriel Agbonlahor believes Thomas Tuchel would have been fired by Chelsea this season if Roman Abramovich had still called the shots as usual.
Since buying Chelsea in 2003, big spender Abramovich has earned a reputation for being ruthless in his pursuit of success.
That ruthlessness helped Chelsea win 21 trophies during his reign, but he also saw 14 managerial changes, with Jose Mourinho sacked twice despite three Premier League titles.
Current manager Tuchel has already achieved impressive success with the Blues, leading them to Champions League and FIFA Cub World Cup glory after being appointed in January 2021.
But Chelsea have been in disappointing form since early April. They have won just four of their 10 games in that span and left the Champions League this season at the hands of Real Madrid.
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel pictured shouting at his players during their 2-2 draw with Wolves
IMAGO/Pro Sports Images/Nigel Keene
Chelsea’s dip in form coincided with the uncertainty in the boardroom.
Abramovich put the club up for sale on March 2 and was subsequently sanctioned by the British government eight days later for his alleged links to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Former England and Aston Villa striker Agbonlahor believes that if Abramovich hadn’t been distracted and had his hands tied by penalties, he probably would have been without Tuchel.
“I think Chelsea have underperformed this season,” Agbonlahor told talkSPORT on Saturday.
“In any other season under Abramovich, Tuchel would have been sacked for this season’s performance.
“When you look at the quality players they have and the team of players they have – [Hakim] Ziyech, [Kai] Havertz, [Romelu] Lukaku, [Christian] Pulisic – they have so many top players.
“But if Arsenal win tomorrow, they are [only] one point above Arsenal.
“Look at the teams at Arsenal and Chelsea. Tuchel has been a disappointment this season and he’s lucky to still be in the job, for me.”
Arsenal won their game in hand on Sunday, beating Leeds 2-1, so they are now just one point behind Chelsea with three rounds of fixtures remaining.
Chelsea are expected to be under new ownership by the end of the month.
The club released a statement over the weekend to say a consortium led by Todd Boehly had won their bid to buy the club for £4.25billion.
Boehly was then in attendance at Stamford Bridge on Saturday to see Chelsea take a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 with Wolves.