Football Daily | Pochettino packs his trunk and says goodbye to the Chelsea circus
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When a manager and a football club part company by “mutual consent”, it invariably transpires that the consent in question was far more mutual on the part of the club’s owners than that of the manager who is wandering around the training ground with a cardboard box full of vibe-enhancing lemons under his arm, saying farewell to assorted former colleagues. This certainly seems to have been the case at Chelsea, where senior suits and Mauricio Pochettino emerged from their end-of-season appraisal having arrived at the conclusion it would be best if the Argentinian left after just a year in the job. This, despite him having finally whipped the previously under-performing rabble of overpriced young misfits that had been the source of so much mirth for two-thirds of the campaign into something resembling a decent football team. Not world-beaters, but one that had managed to win their final five games, secure sixth place in the Premier League and the place in Europe next season that goes with it.
Clearly, if you want excitement until the end of the season (re: Football Daily letters passim) you have to look to the Danish Superliga. Until last weekend’s penultimate round, there were four clubs with a chance to be crowned champions this coming Sunday. After FC Copenhagen’s defeat to AGF and a thrilling 3-3 draw between two of the other title contenders, FC Midtjylland and FC Nordsjælland, the race is down to two clubs, with Brøndby in pole position due to a better goal difference than Midtjylland. Just to pour salt in the wounds of fans of Manchester United, the team that kicked them out of Europe, FC Copenhagen, are (fingers crossed) just one loss away from missing out on European football for the first time in 24 years and can finish no better than third, which will earn them a playoff game with the winner of the relegation playoffs. This could be Vejle Boldklub, who until last weekend were in danger of the drop. Speaking of the drop, Hvidovre were relegated weeks ago, but the battle to avoid being the other team relegated is also going to the wire, with Lyngby leading OB by three points but with an inferior goal difference. All this means nine of the 12 clubs have more than pride to play for in the final round” – Lars Esbjerg.
While it’s very flattering to have hacks blowing the dust off their 1990s-era maps and writing about my beloved Ipswich Town again, can you all now just take the road out of Suffolk marked ‘Do One’ and let sleeping giants lie? All this speculation about Kieran McKenna is doing my head in. Bring back the vanilla days of dull-as-ditchwater McCarthyball and a string of ambitious but ultimately hopeless managers named Paul. Ah, the good old days when there was no hope to kill you” – Peter MacLeod.
