Tuchel’s Chelsea to-do list: From unlocking Werner & Havertz to uniting a divided dressing room
The German has arrived at a crisis-hit Stamford Bridge with little time to prepare his new side for a must-win Premier League clash with Wolves
Thomas Tuchel has arrived at Chelsea with a lengthy to-do list – and not a lot of time to work on it.
Having promptly replaced Frank Lampard as Blues boss following his sacking on Monday, the 47-year-old German immediately has to tackle his first game, with a new team, in a new league.
And that’s before we get into the fact that, at the time of writing, it’s still not known just how quickly he will be allowed to enter the Chelsea bubble to instruct his players face-to-face.
Chelsea, though, are confident that they can quickly resolve the issues around Covid-19 compliance so that Tuchel can properly take the reins for Wednesday’s Premier League clash with Wolves.
He certainly needs all the help he can get right now, as the Blues desperately need to win at Stamford Bridge – a run of five defeats from their last eight games has seen the Londoners drop to 10th in the table.
Chelsea’s own statement detailed that Lampard was removed because “recent results and performances have not met the cub’s expectations, leaving the club without any clear path to sustained improvement”.
Tuchel, then, is charged with making an instant impact and propelling the Blues back into the Champions League places.
However, he has never arrived at a club midway through a season, or taken over one as divided as Chelsea.
Indeed, Tuchel’s first task will be to unite a dressing room that has been split in two, with two distinct camps briefing and counter-briefing against each other following Lampard’s dismissal.
The Lampard loyalists feel bitterly disappointed that he has been forced out, but there are plenty of players who are happy that the former England international is gone as they believe it will boost their chances of breaking back into the first-team.
The main problem caused by Chelsea’s failure to sell more players after last summer’s £220 million ($275m) spending spree was that it created a bloated squad full of characters frustrated by a lack of game time.
Tuchel’s arrival should, at least, help convince everyone that the slate has been wiped clean and that each player will have a chance to shine.