Chelsea rebounded from 10th to title winners under Antonio Conte but Pochettino will inherit a very different squad and club structure

The Chelsea fans who were put through yet another humiliation were probably grateful to Cesc Fabregas for trying to make a case for another miracle title success next season by declaring it “Doable.” But, even before he has signed on the dotted line, proposed new head coach Mauricio Pochettino must already know it’s not. Not with these players and certainly not while everyone at the club is still learning on the job.
 Fabregas, speaking in his role as a pundit for Sky’s coverage of Chelsea’s embarrassing sixth successive defeat, against Arsenal, said: “Six years ago, we had a really bad season with Chelsea. We finished 10th if I remember correctly. Jose Mourinho left, (Guus) Hiddink came. He started to play younger players, Loftus-Cheek, Christensen, Tammy Abraham to give them experience for next year. “And I remember in April they signed (Antonio) Conte who came to the training ground, spoke to us individually, planned what he wanted to do with us to start fresh a new season.
 And we won the Premier League against (Pep) Guardiola, against (Jurgen) Klopp, against Mourinho at Manchester United. I mean, it’s not impossible.”
Not even the ever-smiling ex-Chelsea striker Jimmy Floyd-Hasselbaink looked convinced, but Fabregas added: “I know you will tell me there is a lot of new players, it’s difficult. But this happened six years ago and I was there, I lived it. If you bring someone in with the experience, with the character, who can put everyone together, who can give clear ideas of what he wants to do and work hard, and bring everyone on board. It’s doable.” Former midfielder Fabregas is an engaging, brilliant pundit who offers superb insight on games and players, but, on this occasion, he was badly wrong.
 Chelsea have not woefully underperformed because the players were fed up with Thomas Tuchel, or Graham Potter lacked Conte’s aggression, or even because caretaker Frank Lampard is tactically inferior to the Italian. This season’s spectacular mess is not one that cannot be magically solved by the appointment of a new manager, as co-controlling owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali should have learned by now. 
 Assuming he doesn’t have a change of heart after watching Chelsea’s latest loss, Pochettino will have to be a miracle worker just to secure Champions League qualification in his first season in charge and that alone looks more like a two-year job, at least.

The class of 2016-17, which Fabregas was part of, had, of course, already won a Premier League title two years earlier and those in management positions, such as technical director Michael Emenalo, director Marina Granovskaia and medical chief Paco Biosca had been involved in numerous successes and put in place and worked within a winning structure.

Pochettino will not have the luxury of leaning on anybody with the experience of Emenalo, who would no doubt have counselled Boehly and Eghbali against such faux pars as entering the dressing-room and addressing the squad after defeats. One of the key responsibilities of Emenalo was to help control the impulses of the ownership, as he did when he pushed back against Roman Abramovich’s initial plan to fire Carlo Ancelotti in the Old Trafford dressing-room following a defeat by Manchester United.

The Italian, in Emenalo’s eyes, had earned the right to complete the season and, just as the current ownership didn’t have one when Potter was sacked, there was no immediate plan to fall back on. That is why, by the time Mourinho was dismissed for the second time, in December 2015, there were ‘club staff’ such as Steve Holland, Eddie Newton and Christophe Lollichon in place to assist Guus Hiddink, who returned as interim manager.

Lampard can currently be seen in the Chelsea dug-out with his caretaker staff of Joe Edwards, Ashley Cole and Chris Jones. But they have not been named publicly because the club have still been paying some of Potter’s old staff, whose status, employed, on leave or otherwise has not been confirmed. Pochettino will bring his four-man staff with him this summer, ensuring a fourth behind-the-scenes overhaul in the space of 12 months.

Consider too, the competition Pochettino will face. City are arguably stronger than they have ever been with a striker who is breaking records, Manchester United are getting their house in order, Liverpool are still ahead of Chelsea and are gearing up for a big summer, Arsenal are now a force to be reckoned with again and rival clubs are worried at what pace Newcastle United’s project could accelerate with the benefit of Champions League qualification.

That is five clubs who will all start next season in better positions than Chelsea, while Tottenham will reset and Brighton and Aston Villa will hope to bloody noses again under excellent managers.

Spurs finished fifth in Pochettino’s first season in charge, qualifying for the Champions League in third place at the end of his second campaign. A repeat of that at Chelsea would represent realistic, healthy progression, while dreams of a repeat of the 2016-17 season are the stuff of fantasy. Sorry Cesc, it’s not “doable” this time, however much downcast supporters might need to hear it is.