Following the sacking of Frank Lampard being announced yesterday, Chelsea fans have had their attention turned to his successor, Thomas Tuchel.
Amongst a few other candidates such as Julian Nagelsmann and Massimiliano Allegri, Thomas Tuchel quickly emerged as the favourite. It has only taken Chelsea a day after the sacking to confirm him as the next manager, suggesting this move was pre-planned.
OFFICIAL: Thomas Tuchel has been announced as the new #Chelsea manager. #WelcomeTuchel pic.twitter.com/6MyOl5iuKc
— Talk Chelsea (@talkchelsea) January 26, 2021
Tuchel will be taking on his first job in English football and will be hoping to quickly implement his style of play in the Premier League.
With a new manager coming in, it is always vital to look at his past experiences and what positives and negatives he has faced.
Having begun his coaching career at youth level Tuchel managed to work his way up to the first team coach of FC Augsburg II. Following his successes in his first year there, he sparked the interest of newly promoted Bundesliga side Mainz 05. He stayed with the club for a five-year-period and managed to stabilise their position in the league.
During his time there Tuchel developed a very exciting brand of football which was full of energy and earnt him a lot of praise. He stressed a lot of importance on the development of youth players, which can be considered another positive aspect as he will surely be wanting to utilise the quality of Chelsea’s academy graduates.
Earning himself a lot of respect, Tuchel then went on to manage two massive clubs in Europe, Borussia Dortmund, and Paris-Saint Germain. Tuchel was at Dortmund for two years and then went on to spend two-and-a-half years France showing what a big reputation he brings to Stamford Bridge.
Despite being sacked from these jobs, which could be a worry for Chelsea fans, he still had good moments and picked up trophies along the way. In Germany with Dortmund, he won his first major trophy in 2017 after defeating Bayern Munich in the DFB – Pokal.
Afterwards, more success came at PSG where he won back-to-back titles in 2019 and 2020 in Ligue 1. He also managed to win the Coupe de France, Coupe de la Ligue and claimed the Trophee des Champions in 2018 and 2019. Overall, his time at PSG was impressive, and last season he managed to guide them to a Champions League Final where they fell short to Bayern Munich.
There is going to be much expectation and pressure on the shoulders of Tuchel as he takes charge of his first game against Wolves tomorrow night. Many fans are evidently upset by the way in which Frank Lampard was dismissed so the German will have to work hard to get Chelsea fans on side from the off.
It is likely the formation of choice for him will be the 4-3-3 but he has used a variety of different tactics in his time as a coach. Tuchel has an attacking style with slick movement at the top end of the pitch and will be hoping to demonstrate this as soon as possible.
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This appointment will certainly be an interesting one, and there are many positive signs already. Of course, he is German, meaning he will hopefully be able to get the best out of new signings Kai Havertz and Timo Werner who have struggled to adapt since arriving in the Premier League.
He can still fluently speak English as well so there will not be any communication problems with the rest squad either. As mentioned previously Tuchel thinks it’s important to work with the youth players, so it will be fascinating to see how much he relies on players such as Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham who have arguably been some of our top performers this season.
The main factor that is probably the most vital of all the points above is that Tuchel will bring a lot more experience than Lampard. One of the big criticisms of Lampard’s reign was that he was out of his depth and perhaps was not ready for the step up to the Premier League quite so soon.
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However, Tuchel has managed at top European teams and has a huge opportunity to prove himself even further at Chelsea. Even with the pressure and demands he faces; he should have the confidence in his ability to be a success. All Chelsea fans will be hoping that this is a long-term appointment and that Tuchel can stabilise the squad.
It is vital that we push for the top four, and potentially even be in contention for some trophies as well.
