Former England and Blackburn midfielder Danny Murphy had criticized Todd Boehly’s decision to sack Thomas Tuchel after Chelsea’s 1-0 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb.
Thomas Tuchel joined Chelsea in 2020 following the sacking of Frank Lampard. Tuchel won the Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, and FIFA Club World Cup with Chelsea in his first six months at the club.
Chelsea confirmed the signing early this morning. The club’s statement reads: “On behalf of everyone at Chelsea FC, the Club would like to place on record its gratitude to Thomas and his staff for all their efforts during their time with the Club. Thomas will rightly have a place in Chelsea’s history after winning the Champions League, the Super Cup, and Club World Cup during his time here.
“As the new ownership group reaches 100 days since taking over the Club, and as it continues its hard work to take the club forward, the new owners believe it is the right time to make this transition.
“Chelsea’s coaching staff will take charge of the team for training and the preparation of our upcoming matches as the Club moves swiftly to appoint a new head coach.
“There will be no further comment until a new head coach appointment is made.”
However, Danny Murphy believes Chelsea’s sacking of Thomas Tuchel was too harsh as the season had just begun.
What did Danny Murphy say about the sacking of Thomas Tuchel?
“Todd Boehly gave Thomas Tuchel the signing of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on the last day because he’s worked with him, he backed him and he wanted that man, so the owner said to him, “you can have Aubameyang,” The former Blackburn midfielder said on Talk sports via White and Jordan.
“So I don’t think when he made that decision before deadline day that he was thinking he was going to be getting rid of the manager.
“I personally think that this result is a huge factor in them pushing the button, and that is the naivety of this owner. He doesn’t understand football.
“I’m not sure we’d be having this conversation now if they won 4-0, that’s my belief.
“I think sometimes a bad result, especially with someone who doesn’t understand football, can be sensationalized in their head and think, ‘My God, we’ve got a problem if we’re losing games like that.
“I think it’s too early, that’s my gut feeling. I think it’s a knee-jerk reaction to a game last night that they dominated and would have won nine times out of ten.”
Co-pundit Simon Jordan added Chelsea must have a plan in place before the sacking of Thomas Tuchel.
“They’ve obviously got someone lined up, they’ve decided – I wouldn’t have been sacking Tuchel unless there was a compelling reason.
“This is a seismic decision to take a guy out who is clearly a top-rate manager, who has done great things for Chelsea in the last 18 months.
“The bottom line is they would have a plan in place, and there must be something more to this, it isn’t just a ruthless owner cutting through what he considers being the football landscape.
“Irrespective of all that, this is not big-boy thinking.
“Unless there’s something really materially going on behind the scenes that we don’t see, then I can’t see why I would have sacked him.”
Chelsea is currently in talks with Graham Potter as the replacement for Thomas Tuchel.
