Frustrated Chelsea fans turn on Pochettino and U.S. owners،
A large section of Chelsea fans vented their anger at the club's American owners and manager Mauricio Pochettino on Saturday as the stuttering Blues struggled to secure a 2-2 draw against an injury-depleted Brentford.
The two-time Champions League winners, who also won the English title five times between 2005 and 2017, are having a disappointing second season, two years after a US-led consortium took over the club and invested heavily in the players.
– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (US)
Watching their team lose a 1-0 lead to lead 2-1 midway through the second half was too much for some of their supporters outside the Gtech Community Stadium.
First came the cries of “Roman Abramovich, Roman Abramovich”, as supporters sought to compare their successes under the club's former Russian owner with their current position in mid-table.
Then came a vitriolic chant about Todd Boehly, the most prominent face of Chelsea's new ownership; another celebrating former manager Jose Mourinho, who won three league titles at Stamford Bridge; and finally a crude question about Pochettino, the former Tottenham Hotspur manager who was appointed head coach of the west London club in May.
Other Chelsea fans sought to rally behind the team, who eventually fought back to secure a 2-2 draw when defender Axel Disasi scored with a header in the 83rd minute.
“It's normal. We lost the match 2-1 and it's about expressing our frustration,” Pochettino told reporters. “Of course we are responsible. I am one of the responsible ones, I am the head coach.”
He said Chelsea's management team needed to build better relationships with fans by winning more games, but he also added: “We have to deal with a certain reality.”
The Argentine coach previously said it was unrealistic to compare Chelsea now, after an overhaul which saw a string of young and relatively inexperienced players join the club, with the triumphant teams of the recent past.
“We work really, really hard to win games and the team is fighting,” Pochettino said.
He also said the team was tired after playing 120 minutes in the League Cup final, losing 1-0 to Liverpool on Sunday, then beating Leeds United with a last-gasp winner in a 3-2 FA thriller Cup Wednesday.
“I am fighting with all my senses to try to provide the team with the best tools to work, improve and play in the best way,” Pochettino said.
“Today is my 52nd birthday. I know this job very well. But I know we will never give up. We will fight.”
