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Chelsea vs. Spurs: Could Pochettino’s second game against his former club also be his last?

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You might not always believe it, but you can at least usually see the logic that broadcasters employ when picking their live matches. Some matches are rich in historical context. Others are critical to current league positions. Some carry the possibility of a ‘bigger’ club being given a bloody nose, while others feature clubs chosen entirely because they’re big box office.

By Ian King

But Chelsea vs Spurs does fall through some gaps. The simple fact is that for Spurs supporters, there is little that Chelsea could do to them at Stamford Bridge this evening that would be worse than losing at home to Arsenal last weekend. There may be other rivals, but Arsenal and Spurs hold each other in a mutual orbit of bilateral loathing. 

The atmosphere at Chelsea vs Spurs matches can be poisonous, of that there is no doubt. While the broad Spurs fan base for whom most attrition is reserved for ‘that lot from Woolwich’, those who actually enjoy fighting may reserve greater animosity towards each other.

But of course, some extra spice has been built in this year in the form of Mauricio Pochettino having been appointed as their latest manager last summer. Of course, the expectations of supporters in this regard are probably a little…unfair on those seeking to earn as substantial a living as they can from the game. 

There’s a powerful case for saying that Pochettino owes Spurs nothing. He was manager there for five and a half years, during which he took them to runners-up spot in the Premier League and the Champions League final. He, it might well be argued, did his bit. The club’s inertia in the transfer market at that time is most commonly pinned on Daniel Levy.

And yet, there is something off about an epoch-defining manager of a club turning up at one of their more bitter rivals a couple of years down the line, regardless of what happened before. People who work within the game know fully well how these loyalties work, how they make people feel, and how they can define your wider reputation.

The matter is further complicated by the nature of Chelsea’s season, because it’s likely that Spurs supporters might not have been so nonplussed by Pochettino pitching up at Stamford Bridge had things gone better than they have done since. 

His first season in charge has been baffling. Chelsea’s inconsistency has been so great that it’s been the only consistent thing about them. They’ve only won more than one straight league game twice this season, but they’ve only lost more than one on the bounce on one occasion as well. 

A scattergun transfer policy has yielded unsurprisingly scattergun results. At one end of the spectrum, Cole Palmer is a strong contender for the Premier League’s player of the season, with twenty goals and nine assists. His transfer felt surprising at the time. It feels like quite a misstep from Manchester City now. 

But on the other, Moises Caicedo, who cost a UK record £115m from Brighton last summer has been found woefully wanting, while Nicholas Jackson signed an eight-year contract at the end of June which he has spent little time justifying this season, frequently playing in the manner of the answer to a question nobody asked.

Is this Pochettino’s coaching? Is this web of starlets so tangled that the stop-start nature of their 2023/24 season is already baked into them? How do they get past the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules covering the last two years of utter profligacy? 


Chelsea remain a club of more questions than answers. All that money spent. No European football, meaning that the bread and butter of league football could become the centre of the club’s universe. It was the perfect position from which they could bounce back from last season.

Yet for all that, they go into this match in 9th place in the table, just one place better off than they finished last season despite those advantages, level on points with Bournemouth, two above Wolves and, arguably most damning of all, twelve adrift of Spurs, who are only in fifth place themselves. 

All is not completely rosy at Spurs. They’ve lost four of their last nine, and there have been signs of late that patience is starting to fray with Angeball in some corners. Spurs haven’t kept a clean sheet in their last six Premier League matches. The three defeats and a draw that they’ve suffered during those matches have probably cost them a place in next year’s Champions League, though it might also be argued that this team could be better suited to the Europa League than the continent’s premier competition.

Chelsea had probably their best result of the season at The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in November, aided and abetted by some absolute peak Spurs head-loss. But it does remain the case that Mauricio Pochettino’s second match against his former club as their manager could be his last. Daggers have been drawn for Pochettino among the Chelsea’s support for a while, and there have even been rumours linking the club to clandestine meetings with Bologna head coach Thiago Motta this week.

Chelsea are so unpredictable that they could put out another season’s best performance in a match of ultimately little consequence to them beyond local pride. But just as it has for the last couple of years, the longer term prognosis looks as baffling as ever.

(Images from IMAGO)

You can follow every Premier League game live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Chelsea vs. Spurs: Could Pochettino’s second game against his former club also be his last?

You might not always believe it, but you can at least usually see the logic that broadcasters employ when picking their live matches. Some matches are rich in historical context. Others are critical to current league positions. Some carry the possibility of a ‘bigger’ club being given a bloody nose, while others feature clubs chosen entirely because they’re big box office.

By Ian King

But Chelsea vs Spurs does fall through some gaps. The simple fact is that for Spurs supporters, there is little that Chelsea could do to them at Stamford Bridge this evening that would be worse than losing at home to Arsenal last weekend. There may be other rivals, but Arsenal and Spurs hold each other in a mutual orbit of bilateral loathing. 

The atmosphere at Chelsea vs Spurs matches can be poisonous, of that there is no doubt. While the broad Spurs fan base for whom most attrition is reserved for ‘that lot from Woolwich’, those who actually enjoy fighting may reserve greater animosity towards each other.

But of course, some extra spice has been built in this year in the form of Mauricio Pochettino having been appointed as their latest manager last summer. Of course, the expectations of supporters in this regard are probably a little…unfair on those seeking to earn as substantial a living as they can from the game. 

There’s a powerful case for saying that Pochettino owes Spurs nothing. He was manager there for five and a half years, during which he took them to runners-up spot in the Premier League and the Champions League final. He, it might well be argued, did his bit. The club’s inertia in the transfer market at that time is most commonly pinned on Daniel Levy.

And yet, there is something off about an epoch-defining manager of a club turning up at one of their more bitter rivals a couple of years down the line, regardless of what happened before. People who work within the game know fully well how these loyalties work, how they make people feel, and how they can define your wider reputation.

The matter is further complicated by the nature of Chelsea’s season, because it’s likely that Spurs supporters might not have been so nonplussed by Pochettino pitching up at Stamford Bridge had things gone better than they have done since. 

His first season in charge has been baffling. Chelsea’s inconsistency has been so great that it’s been the only consistent thing about them. They’ve only won more than one straight league game twice this season, but they’ve only lost more than one on the bounce on one occasion as well. 

A scattergun transfer policy has yielded unsurprisingly scattergun results. At one end of the spectrum, Cole Palmer is a strong contender for the Premier League’s player of the season, with twenty goals and nine assists. His transfer felt surprising at the time. It feels like quite a misstep from Manchester City now. 

But on the other, Moises Caicedo, who cost a UK record £115m from Brighton last summer has been found woefully wanting, while Nicholas Jackson signed an eight-year contract at the end of June which he has spent little time justifying this season, frequently playing in the manner of the answer to a question nobody asked.

Is this Pochettino’s coaching? Is this web of starlets so tangled that the stop-start nature of their 2023/24 season is already baked into them? How do they get past the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules covering the last two years of utter profligacy? 


Chelsea remain a club of more questions than answers. All that money spent. No European football, meaning that the bread and butter of league football could become the centre of the club’s universe. It was the perfect position from which they could bounce back from last season.

Yet for all that, they go into this match in 9th place in the table, just one place better off than they finished last season despite those advantages, level on points with Bournemouth, two above Wolves and, arguably most damning of all, twelve adrift of Spurs, who are only in fifth place themselves. 

All is not completely rosy at Spurs. They’ve lost four of their last nine, and there have been signs of late that patience is starting to fray with Angeball in some corners. Spurs haven’t kept a clean sheet in their last six Premier League matches. The three defeats and a draw that they’ve suffered during those matches have probably cost them a place in next year’s Champions League, though it might also be argued that this team could be better suited to the Europa League than the continent’s premier competition.

Chelsea had probably their best result of the season at The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in November, aided and abetted by some absolute peak Spurs head-loss. But it does remain the case that Mauricio Pochettino’s second match against his former club as their manager could be his last. Daggers have been drawn for Pochettino among the Chelsea’s support for a while, and there have even been rumours linking the club to clandestine meetings with Bologna head coach Thiago Motta this week.

Chelsea are so unpredictable that they could put out another season’s best performance in a match of ultimately little consequence to them beyond local pride. But just as it has for the last couple of years, the longer term prognosis looks as baffling as ever.

(Images from IMAGO)

You can follow every Premier League game live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.