The Tuchel Thread

[Jase 43,479]

1 hour ago, Blue Armour said:

Manager meltdown in the middle of the season, which has been a trend for the past 7 years.

Team loses interest because they aren't challenging for the league title. Standards drop and points along with it.

Manager is at wit's end and starts overcomplicating things. We're well and truly in a rat race for fourth, if Spurs and Arsenal win their games in hand.

The team that finished the game played so much better, and its not all down to the subs being fresh.

And Tuchel pretty much sat down in the dugout for much of the second half yesterday. 

[Strike 7,493]

If we aren't going in the market for wingbacks and if we keep playing Lukaku and compromising on pressing, form might not pick up in time to save the season.

[Strike 7,493]

2 hours ago, coolhead23 said:

Bang on! Out of the 2 strikers we have with similar form Werner still bring a lot to the table while Lukaku is just a dead wood when he is not scoring. Werner uses his pace while Lukaku uses his strength to bring defenders away from their positions and seems pace is more effective. 

Also what it seems like that Werner despite all the criticism of he not hitting goals or expensive players gives his 100% on the field, Lukaku at times seems he doesnt give a f**k. Maybe it's just the optics ... 

Havertz is better than both. He's no ice cold finisher but his movement and control keeps attacks alive and keeps team in control in attacking areas. Time to re-integrate him and play Havertz-Mount-CHO/Puli/Werner/Ziyech like the end of last season.

[Jase 43,479]

11 minutes ago, Strike said:

Havertz is better than both. He's no ice cold finisher but his movement and control keeps attacks alive and keeps team in control in attacking areas. Time to re-integrate him and play Havertz-Mount-CHO/Puli/Werner/Ziyech like the end of last season.

If you want to talk about last season, then it's basically Werner, Mount and Havertz as the trio. Minus the finishing, we looked like we were onto something with them. They bring the energy, pace, movement, workrate etc that made us work last season. Have barely seen them play together with the inclusion of Lukaku this season. 

[DH1988 1,348]

First time I've been concerned about his position here. Ultimately players that aren't invested are bringing this down, irrespective of injuries and covid, Lukaku, Ziyech and Mount have been shocking.

[Jase 43,479]

48 minutes ago, Strike said:

Havertz is better than both. He's no ice cold finisher but his movement and control keeps attacks alive and keeps team in control in attacking areas. Time to re-integrate him and play Havertz-Mount-CHO/Puli/Werner/Ziyech like the end of last season.

 

33 minutes ago, Jase said:

If you want to talk about last season, then it's basically Werner, Mount and Havertz as the trio. Minus the finishing, we looked like we were onto something with them. They bring the energy, pace, movement, workrate etc that made us work last season. Have barely seen them play together with the inclusion of Lukaku this season. 

These were the minutes played in all competitions under Tuchel last season:

Mount - 2,112 minutes
Werner - 1,803 minutes
Havertz - 1,131 minutes

Pulisic - 1,311 minutes
Ziyech - 912 minutes
CHO - 908 minutes

Didn't realize that Pulisic had more minutes than Havertz but certainly when it came to the biggest games, Havertz started more with Werner and Mount. 

[Strike 7,493]

15 minutes ago, Jase said:

 

These were the minutes played in all competitions under Tuchel last season:

Mount - 2,112 minutes
Werner - 1,803 minutes
Havertz - 1,131 minutes

Pulisic - 1,311 minutes
Ziyech - 912 minutes
CHO - 908 minutes

Didn't realize that Pulisic had more minutes than Havertz but certainly when it came to the biggest games, Havertz started more with Werner and Mount. 

Have to account for form this season where CHO has shown he is on the same level/better than Ziyech/Pulisic in the positions behind the striker.

[Jase 43,479]

2 minutes ago, Strike said:

Have to account for form this season where CHO has shown he is on the same level/better than Ziyech/Pulisic in the positions behind the striker.

Yes but he still wasn't one of the main attackers back then. 

[coolhead23 1,147]

1 hour ago, Strike said:

Havertz is better than both. He's no ice cold finisher but his movement and control keeps attacks alive and keeps team in control in attacking areas. Time to re-integrate him and play Havertz-Mount-CHO/Puli/Werner/Ziyech like the end of last season.

Havertz needs to be started there is argument on that, all for getting back to what worked for us ... despite that Werner needs to be started as he helps the forward players by creating that gap. 

[DDA 9,941]

The downfall has begun since TT has tried  to keep all the attacking players happy along with injuries to our wingbacks.

It's the boards fault for buying endless wing based players and bang average strikers.

The team that beat City in the CL Final should have been the team to maybe add one or two stars into. 

[Blues Forever 1,232]

49 minutes ago, DDA said:

The downfall has begun since TT has tried  to keep all the attacking players happy along with injuries to our wingbacks.

It's the boards fault for buying endless wing based players and bang average strikers.

The team that beat City in the CL Final should have been the team to maybe add one or two stars into. 

Marina is just following our scouting teams recommendation.

Edited January 19, 2022 by Blues Forever

[Tomo 21,751]

The hardest thing to accept right now is the football, it's so poor only a win gets us anything good out of it.

Under Sarri results were so so but there was atleast some intrege due to us transitioning to a possession based team. Under Frank in season 1 pre lockdown the results weren't great but the majority of the games were fun. Drawing to Burnley in November was annoying but the game was so good to watch i wasn't even that pissed.

The football we play now is dreadful, I've been to see our next FA Cup opponents a few times this season when we don't clash with them (live near atm) and they genuinely play more modern and progressive football than we do with Rom as a focal point, a fucking league one side with a squad value of £3.4m, let that sink in.

[Superblue 6,372]

4 minutes ago, Tomo said:

The hardest thing to accept right now is the football, it's so poor only a win gets us anything good out of it.

Under Sarri results were so so but there was atleast some intrege due to us transitioning to a possession based team. Under Frank in season 1 pre lockdown the results weren't great but the majority of the games were fun. Drawing to Burnley in November was annoying but the game was so good to watch i wasn't even that pissed.

The football we play now is dreadful, I've been to see our next FA Cup opponents a few times this season when we don't clash with them (live near atm) and they genuinely play more modern and progressive football than we do with Rom as a focal point, a fucking league one side with a squad value of £3.4m, let that sink in.

There was a period midway through the season though when "Sarriball" was a real hard watch. I think by the end of the season we had evolved from that and were back in an upward trend.

Similar can be said of Lampard. The United result at the start aside, we played some really good football for a bit and then it went completely off the boil and picked back up again before it completely crashed.

Is it as simple as just over the winter? It is a trend that we seem to fall apart around this period year after year.

Or do we need to absorb this and get through the other side to find an improved team, i.e. either Tuchel finds a solution that maximises Lukaku in the team, or come the summer he's sold on and the club as a whole realise that we need a better fit for that position.

I agree at present it's a real hard watch, but I will be extremely disappointed if the club moved on from Tuchel and would like to think he would be given longer than for example Lampard got, to address and arrest this slide. I wonder if Pep had a first season at Chelsea like he did at City if he'd have survived, or if Klopp had a season like he had last year at Liverpool, would the club have decided it was going stale and made a change? At some point the club needs to back someone over a longer haul and trust that when there are issues or periods of poor form, they have the right man in charge to solve that. Tuchel in my opinion is within the top 5 coaches in world football at present and also comes with the added bonus of being seemingly willing to work with the board instead of against them, and overall being a positive representative of the club. If we're going to finally show some loyalty and perseverance with a manager, he has my vote.

[Tomo 21,751]

16 minutes ago, Superblue_1986 said:

There was a period midway through the season though when "Sarriball" was a real hard watch. I think by the end of the season we had evolved from that and were back in an upward trend.

Similar can be said of Lampard. The United result at the start aside, we played some really good football for a bit and then it went completely off the boil and picked back up again before it completely crashed.

Is it as simple as just over the winter? It is a trend that we seem to fall apart around this period year after year.

Or do we need to absorb this and get through the other side to find an improved team, i.e. either Tuchel finds a solution that maximises Lukaku in the team, or come the summer he's sold on and the club as a whole realise that we need a better fit for that position.

I agree at present it's a real hard watch, but I will be extremely disappointed if the club moved on from Tuchel and would like to think he would be given longer than for example Lampard got, to address and arrest this slide. I wonder if Pep had a first season at Chelsea like he did at City if he'd have survived, or if Klopp had a season like he had last year at Liverpool, would the club have decided it was going stale and made a change? At some point the club needs to back someone over a longer haul and trust that when there are issues or periods of poor form, they have the right man in charge to solve that. Tuchel in my opinion is within the top 5 coaches in world football at present and also comes with the added bonus of being seemingly willing to work with the board instead of against them, and overall being a positive representative of the club. If we're going to finally show some loyalty and perseverance with a manager, he has my vote.

It got boring yes but even then there was still the tactical intrege to it, with Lukaku we basically play like Stoke.

The most frustrating thing is style wise it's fixable literally by dropping Lukaku, the Liverpool game and the autumn run quite clearly show that.

That alone won't put us on par with City but if we're really that far behind them then doesn't that give us all the more reason to play more enjoyable football? (Not to mention that style has proved effective in the cups and we still have four of them in play). Lukaku is like a player version of Mourinho, ie given his baggage his presence can only really be justified if it comes with hard results.

[OneMoSalah 8,886]

On 18/01/2022 at 23:27, Jase said:

For all your criticism or even hatred of Werner, he was one of the key players who helped made the system work last season. In fact, him and Mount were basically the two mainstays in Tuchel's selection last season. The remaining spot was open until Havertz grabbed that. The selection was almost consistent. Werner might not a WOW player but he was an important cog in the system. He might not have been the goalscorer that we all want but he contributed(s) a lot in different ways (would even say the same with Havertz at least). Different case altogether with Lukaku who if is not scoring, what does he bring to the team? And he hasn't even registered a single assist this season.

Its not really a hatred. Its just that he is a very very poor elite level footballer. I don’t see how anyone can disagree when he regularly cannot even do the basics ie. passing to his team mates, dribbling without running into people, not being able to stay up after any bit of physical contact. (Sounds a bit like another attacker we have 😂)

Granted all the attackers are having issues of their own/poor seasons (Mounts only one with an acceptable return) but if we want to be successful for a prolonged and sustained period we cannot build a team where Timo is a key component, he clearly isnt good enough. He may have been an important cog in the system last year but lets be fair, did he really impress anyone when TT came in last season for a prolonged period? Or did he really really improve? Granted his movement was a plus but seriously he cannot be one of our front 3 if we are serious on becoming PL champions anytime soon. Havertz and Mount had clear visible improvements under TT but bar a game v Newcastle I think Timo was just as poor as he was before his appointment if I am honest. 

Yes Lukaku is essentially a dud. After a few months of thinking surely TT can make it work with him as our CF I’ve given up hope. The interview has also got rid of any sort of hope I have for him doing well here. 

Edited January 20, 2022 by OneMoSalah

[NikkiCFC 8,335]

20 minutes ago, OneMoSalah said:

Granted all the attackers are having issues of their own/poor seasons (Mounts only one with an acceptable return) 

So annoyed with many people writing this and trying to exclude Mount from other attackers like he is any better.

Acceptable return you mean goals and assist but lets compare them since you slate Werner and praise Mount.

Both scored in 5 different games this season. 

Mount 7g 6a (1pen, 3 corners)

Werner 6g 2a (zero set pieces)

And Mount played 833 more minutes. So it is 9 goal contributions vs 8 from open play with Timo playing less minutes almost equal to 10 games.

Lets add Ziyech because he is also heavily criticized player...

Also scored in 5 different games like them and added 4 assists (1 corner). So 8 goal contributions from open play but played 524 minutes less than Mount.

With Havertz, Pulisic, CHO it is not much difference...

Also Mount scored 6 of his 7 goals against teams from 15th to 20th place on table.

Norwich, WH and Watford are his only very good games this season. 3 in 30 appearances. Maybe 2 or 3 more solid games at top. If you think that is a acceptable return dont know what to say.

August, September, October, November he had just Norwich. Scored in 4 games in the row from 1st to 16th December which was just a purple patch and again nothing since in 10 different games.

This season is longer than 5 months and he delivered in 3 weeks in that period.

I am not trying to praise any of our attackers, would not focus on any of them but we have 7 and all 7 are shit not 6 of them!

 

 

 

 

 

[Jase 43,479]

2 hours ago, OneMoSalah said:

Its not really a hatred. Its just that he is a very very poor elite level footballer. I don’t see how anyone can disagree when he regularly cannot even do the basics ie. passing to his team mates, dribbling without running into people, not being able to stay up after any bit of physical contact. (Sounds a bit like another attacker we have 😂)

Granted all the attackers are having issues of their own/poor seasons (Mounts only one with an acceptable return) but if we want to be successful for a prolonged and sustained period we cannot build a team where Timo is a key component, he clearly isnt good enough. He may have been an important cog in the system last year but lets be fair, did he really impress anyone when TT came in last season for a prolonged period? Or did he really really improve? Granted his movement was a plus but seriously he cannot be one of our front 3 if we are serious on becoming PL champions anytime soon. Havertz and Mount had clear visible improvements under TT but bar a game v Newcastle I think Timo was just as poor as he was before his appointment if I am honest. 

It feels like we are always going in circles about this. I agree that dribbling is not Werner's strongest point but the other things you said there are grossly over-exaggerated. If he's really as bad as you said, then he wouldn't have attracted interest from other big clubs in Europe before we got him. If he's really as bad as you said, he wouldn't be playing and starting games for Germany. On top of that, I don't know if you don't remember or just don't want to remember but to say Werner had only one good game under Tuchel is hilarious. He had good games against Real Madrid (h), West Ham (a), Sheffield United (a), Fulham (h), Atletico Madrid (h) as well. I agree, overall, that Werner is not perfect and he has his flaws but it seems like you, in particular, always seems to have issues with him and then somehow turn a blind eye on one or two others when they have the same/similar issues.

2 hours ago, OneMoSalah said:

Havertz and Mount had clear visible improvements under TT

That is highly debatable. As I've said many times regarding Havertz, he's been here for 18 months and it's still hard to know what he's really good at after spending 70+ million on him. Still hasn't shown any sort of consistency - you know, something that you keep criticizing another German for - or the things that made people go gaga over him in the place. Doesn't score enough. Doesn't provide much in the way of assists or chance creation. Doesn't provide any X factor and yet to really dominate games for us, like Hazard did for us for example. As for Mount, well, I guess @NikkiCFC has addressed some of the issues with him.

Also, it's funny how you could sit here and say who's good enough for us to help us win the league and who's not when all the attackers have basically been shit and not up to the standards that we want them to be. 

[Strike 7,493]

The good part - I am only noticing this now. We have a dream run of games between Feb and May. The run is Palace, Burnley, Newcastle, Norwich, Brentford, Southampton, Leeds, West Ham, Everton, (Leicester and Arsenal at home rearranged)

Negotiate Spurs this weekend and there's a two week break (new left wingback, James return). Then a chance to win the Club World Cup, League Cup + the CL defence. 

 

 

[Blues Forever 1,232]

The first-team squad listed on Chelsea’s official website was signed for six different managers, dating all the way back to when Cesar Azpilicueta arrived at Stamford Bridge during the brief Roberto Di Matteo reign in 2012.

A glance at the Manchester City website might tell you why injuries, coronavirus cases, managerial decisions and money may not be the only places to look while trying to assess why Chelsea keep facing the same old problems.

Chelsea in many ways have become the ultimate cup team, a squad capable of beating anybody on their day or focusing on a specific task, best proven by last season’s Champions League final success over City and the fact Thomas Tuchel became the club’s first manager to reach Champions League, Carabao Cup and FA Cup finals. 

But the recurring problem in trying to catch City, who they have fallen 12 points behind in the Premier League table, having played a game more, would suggest Chelsea are not a team that can sustain a title push and recover quickly enough from the bumps in the road and hurdles that present themselves.

Tuchel has made some bad decisions during Chelsea’s latest poor run, but the fact his current situation is surprisingly similar to that of previous head coach Frank Lampard, just before his sacking this time last year, would once again suggest the club’s cancel culture has run its course.

Fernandinho joined City a year after Azpilicueta moved to Chelsea, but apart from the Brazilian and Raheem Sterling, every single first-team player listed on the club’s website was signed by Pep Guardiola. One manager, one vision, one set of rules.

Liverpool’s website tells a similar story. Jordan Henderson was signed from Sunderland a year before Azpilicueta joined Chelsea but the midfielder and Divock Origi are the only first-team squad members not to have been signed by Jurgen Klopp. Again, one manager, one vision, one set of rules.

It would be hard to define just what Di Matteo's style of play was, but the Italian, Jose Mourinho, Antonio Conte, Maurizio Sarri, Frank Lampard and Tuchel certainly have different styles, philosophies, preferences in formation and tactics, and rule books.

Hakim Ziyech, Chelsea’s goalscorer in the latest draw at Brighton which meant Tuchel’s team have now dropped 20 points in 13 games, is a good example of how the churn in coaches can impact players.

The Moroccan was very much a Lampard signing, who moved to Stamford Bridge with the view of playing in a 4-3-3 or a similar formation. Injuries have not helped him, but it is clear that Ziyech has since struggled to fit into Tuchel’s favoured system of playing three at the back.

It is probably no coincidence that Ziyech has made a better contribution on the rare occasions Tuchel has switched to four at the back, as he did at Brighton, but the player’s frustration has been pretty evident. He did not celebrate when he scored and appeared annoyed when he was substituted.

But, just as the likes of Marcos Alonso and Antonio Rudiger sat through the Lampard reign in the hope that a manager who might offer them a fresh chance may arrive, Ziyech may well believe he can outlast Tuchel at Chelsea rather than needing to adapt his game or look for a move.

Much is made of whether or not club record signing Romelu Lukaku should adapt his style to better suit Tuchel’s approach. But what’s easier? Change his game that has worked so well for Inter Milan and Belgium under two very different managers, Antonio Conte and Roberto Martinez, or wait for Chelsea to change the coach again?

Lukaku and Ziyech were caught in heated discussion at the end of the first half at Brighton on Tuesday night, but sources claim the pair are friends and it is more likely that they are currently more frustrated with the decisions of the coach, who substituted them both at the same time, than each other.

City and Liverpool players have clearly had their issues with Guardiola and Klopp, but waiting or hoping for either coach to pay the price for a dodgy run or bad result has simply never been an option. Yaya Toure tried and failed to fight a battle he was never going to win, despite all he had done to elevate the Manchester club.

Chelsea have sold some big players since Guardiola and Klopp have been in the Premier League, but there has never been a departure to draw a line in the sand. 

Diego Costa, Thibaut Courtois, Eden Hazard and Cesc Fabregas all wanted to leave while club legends such as John Terry, Gary Cahill and Branislav Ivanovic had simply reached the end.

Club must back a coach – not just sack another one

Lampard perhaps went the closest to making a statement by shipping David Luiz off to Arsenal, but there has not been a manager able to embark on the kind of clear-out Guardiola instigated over two years between 2017 and 2019.

Guardiola was still yet to win any silverware with City when he was allowed to start selling off players who had helped to driver trophies and titles for the club, such as Gael Clichy, Aleksandar Kolarov, Samir Nasri, Fernando and then Toure, Joe Hart and Fabian Delph.

If Chelsea are to become a title-winning team again then it may require the club to back a manager in clearing out some players who have won trophies and would still be capable of delivering an FA Cup or even a Champions League here or there.

It might finally be time to allow Azpilicueta to leave, despite his super service and influence in the dressing-room, Alonso has probably already stayed longer than he should have done and it is unlikely Jorginho will enjoy the kind of year he recently completed again. 

Much like Leroy Sane and Ferran Torres never quite settled under Guardiola at City and were allowed to leave, despite their undoubted talent, maybe it is time for Chelsea to cut their losses on Christian Pulisic and also Timo Werner, who Tuchel was meant to help transform.

But all of that would mean backing a coach, rather than ultimately sacking yet another one and then buying some more players to fit yet another philosophy. If they stick with their current culture, then Chelsea’s best and possibly only hope of overhauling City in the league is waiting for Guardiola to leave.

[Jase 43,479]

1 hour ago, Blues Forever said:

The first-team squad listed on Chelsea’s official website was signed for six different managers, dating all the way back to when Cesar Azpilicueta arrived at Stamford Bridge during the brief Roberto Di Matteo reign in 2012.

A glance at the Manchester City website might tell you why injuries, coronavirus cases, managerial decisions and money may not be the only places to look while trying to assess why Chelsea keep facing the same old problems.

Chelsea in many ways have become the ultimate cup team, a squad capable of beating anybody on their day or focusing on a specific task, best proven by last season’s Champions League final success over City and the fact Thomas Tuchel became the club’s first manager to reach Champions League, Carabao Cup and FA Cup finals. 

But the recurring problem in trying to catch City, who they have fallen 12 points behind in the Premier League table, having played a game more, would suggest Chelsea are not a team that can sustain a title push and recover quickly enough from the bumps in the road and hurdles that present themselves.

Tuchel has made some bad decisions during Chelsea’s latest poor run, but the fact his current situation is surprisingly similar to that of previous head coach Frank Lampard, just before his sacking this time last year, would once again suggest the club’s cancel culture has run its course.

Fernandinho joined City a year after Azpilicueta moved to Chelsea, but apart from the Brazilian and Raheem Sterling, every single first-team player listed on the club’s website was signed by Pep Guardiola. One manager, one vision, one set of rules.

Liverpool’s website tells a similar story. Jordan Henderson was signed from Sunderland a year before Azpilicueta joined Chelsea but the midfielder and Divock Origi are the only first-team squad members not to have been signed by Jurgen Klopp. Again, one manager, one vision, one set of rules.

It would be hard to define just what Di Matteo's style of play was, but the Italian, Jose Mourinho, Antonio Conte, Maurizio Sarri, Frank Lampard and Tuchel certainly have different styles, philosophies, preferences in formation and tactics, and rule books.

Hakim Ziyech, Chelsea’s goalscorer in the latest draw at Brighton which meant Tuchel’s team have now dropped 20 points in 13 games, is a good example of how the churn in coaches can impact players.

The Moroccan was very much a Lampard signing, who moved to Stamford Bridge with the view of playing in a 4-3-3 or a similar formation. Injuries have not helped him, but it is clear that Ziyech has since struggled to fit into Tuchel’s favoured system of playing three at the back.

It is probably no coincidence that Ziyech has made a better contribution on the rare occasions Tuchel has switched to four at the back, as he did at Brighton, but the player’s frustration has been pretty evident. He did not celebrate when he scored and appeared annoyed when he was substituted.

But, just as the likes of Marcos Alonso and Antonio Rudiger sat through the Lampard reign in the hope that a manager who might offer them a fresh chance may arrive, Ziyech may well believe he can outlast Tuchel at Chelsea rather than needing to adapt his game or look for a move.

Much is made of whether or not club record signing Romelu Lukaku should adapt his style to better suit Tuchel’s approach. But what’s easier? Change his game that has worked so well for Inter Milan and Belgium under two very different managers, Antonio Conte and Roberto Martinez, or wait for Chelsea to change the coach again?

Lukaku and Ziyech were caught in heated discussion at the end of the first half at Brighton on Tuesday night, but sources claim the pair are friends and it is more likely that they are currently more frustrated with the decisions of the coach, who substituted them both at the same time, than each other.

City and Liverpool players have clearly had their issues with Guardiola and Klopp, but waiting or hoping for either coach to pay the price for a dodgy run or bad result has simply never been an option. Yaya Toure tried and failed to fight a battle he was never going to win, despite all he had done to elevate the Manchester club.

Chelsea have sold some big players since Guardiola and Klopp have been in the Premier League, but there has never been a departure to draw a line in the sand. 

Diego Costa, Thibaut Courtois, Eden Hazard and Cesc Fabregas all wanted to leave while club legends such as John Terry, Gary Cahill and Branislav Ivanovic had simply reached the end.

Club must back a coach – not just sack another one

Lampard perhaps went the closest to making a statement by shipping David Luiz off to Arsenal, but there has not been a manager able to embark on the kind of clear-out Guardiola instigated over two years between 2017 and 2019.

Guardiola was still yet to win any silverware with City when he was allowed to start selling off players who had helped to driver trophies and titles for the club, such as Gael Clichy, Aleksandar Kolarov, Samir Nasri, Fernando and then Toure, Joe Hart and Fabian Delph.

If Chelsea are to become a title-winning team again then it may require the club to back a manager in clearing out some players who have won trophies and would still be capable of delivering an FA Cup or even a Champions League here or there.

It might finally be time to allow Azpilicueta to leave, despite his super service and influence in the dressing-room, Alonso has probably already stayed longer than he should have done and it is unlikely Jorginho will enjoy the kind of year he recently completed again. 

Much like Leroy Sane and Ferran Torres never quite settled under Guardiola at City and were allowed to leave, despite their undoubted talent, maybe it is time for Chelsea to cut their losses on Christian Pulisic and also Timo Werner, who Tuchel was meant to help transform.

But all of that would mean backing a coach, rather than ultimately sacking yet another one and then buying some more players to fit yet another philosophy. If they stick with their current culture, then Chelsea’s best and possibly only hope of overhauling City in the league is waiting for Guardiola to leave.

If Tuchel really did want Lukaku, then you gotta wonder whether he would make the right decisions when it comes to buying other players. 

Also, how badly do the club want to win the league or are they satisfied with just winning cup competitions? I don't mind the club backing the manager of course but the club's structure has been that they make the final decision on everything. Backing the manager fully means they would relinquish that control and power they have had so long. Will Marina and co. do that? There's also no guarantee that overhauling the squad and backing Tuchel would result in beating City to the title. It's not black and white like Matt Law is trying to make. Moreover, arguably the bigger issue here is less about backing the manager and more about the recruitment by the club, as has been discussed by others here.