Thomas Tuchel was sacked by Chelsea FC on Wednesday following the club’s unexpected loss against Croatian club Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League.
While the result of the game surely did not help his cause, the decision to part ways with the manager was made before the ball was even kicked.
WHY WAS TUCHEL SACKED?
Previous Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich was infamous for his ruthlessness when it came to sacking his managers, and if this is any indication, it appears that the new owner might be the same, if not worse.
As per reports, new Chelsea owner Todd Boehly and Tuchel have allegedly had differences when it came to player decisions during the transfer window.
Tuchel was not given enough heed, which led to a falling out between the manager and the owner.
Another possible reason for his sacking was his apparent lack of connection with players.
This, coupled with their results on the field, could have ultimately led to the sacking.
With over €300M spent on team improvements this summer, it was expected that Tuchel’s performance would be better in the league.
However, the team sits sixth in PL and lost their first game against, what some would say, a weaker opponent.
HOW DID THE PLAYERS REACT?
Wesley Fofana, a new signing at Stamford Bridge, was the first player to post a farewell message for Tuchel on social media, despite having worked with him for only around ten days.
The defender posted a photo on Instagram of Tuchel smiling with his hands on his shoulders during a workout, with no caption.
This began a trend of strange goodbye messages from the squad.
Reece James, the 22-year-old fullback, uploaded a photo of himself and Tuchel hugging on the field after their Champions League victory in 2021, with the simple words “Thank you,” and a blue heart emoji for the finishing touch.
His goodbye was similar to Fofana’s, and the phrasing was evidently minimal.
Reece James clearly appreciated and was appreciated by the German tactician.
He has frequently credited Tuchel for his performance, and he also had his best season thus far under him.
So it’s difficult to fathom why the farewell speech was so distinctly average and even ungrateful. It felt like a task for the player, sadly.
Reece wasn’t alone in this minimal wish. He was followed by Jorginho, who captioned his photo with Tuchel as just “Thank You for Everything” and Eduardo Mendy who said the same thing, but added a “Mister” at the end.
Other players also followed the same trend, with new signing Raheem Sterling also wishing his manager a goodbye without a caption.
Captain Cesar Azpilicueta also had an eerily similar “Thank You for Everything, Mister” goodbye caption, which sounds a little too similar and plain to be genuine.
Fans were quick to jump on the averageness and lack of emotion in these messages.
There was speculation that Boehly had asked all players to include only minimal or limited farewell messages in their posts.
Everyone is copy pasting the same thing. Boehly we are not stupid
— Raf (@CFCRaf2) September 7, 2022
It could be a power-play by the owner to have the final upper hand. If it was, it seems very petty.
But then again, when big egos are involved, anything goes.
The other possibility could be that no player felt affectionate enough to post a heartfelt message for the manager.
Seems very farfetched and unrealistic but who can tell with these highly-paid, high self-esteem and uber-confident players?
Did the manager deserve such shameful treatment?
He did win them the UCL after all. But if the manager lost the dressing room, there was no coming back.
The players must now regroup under the newly almost-confirmed manager, Graham Potter.
