Mauricio Pochettino deserves to be sacked - but that won't solve Chelsea's biggest problems

A squad constructed at a cost of more than £1 billion ($1.25bn) presently sits 11th in the Premier League table, having conceded more goals (39) than they have scored (38) and already lost 10 times in just 23 games.

There is no worse example in the game today of a team being less than the sum of their parts, and that makes Pochettino's position absolutely untenable - or at least it would were it not for the fact that sacking the Argentine would reflect horribly on his employers.

Todd Boehly & Co. made themselves look absolutely ridiculous by sacking Thomas Tuchel, who won Chelsea the Champions League, and paying a small fortune to replace him with Graham Potter - only to then abandon their new 'project' after less than seven months.

The subsequent appointment of Frank Lampard on an interim basis only strengthened the suspicion that the new owners were utterly clueless. They weren't just interested in making their own mistakes, it seemed, but also repeating those made by others. There was no apparent method to the madness.

In that context, it was hardly surprising that appointing Pochettino was hailed as an unusually sensible move by Chelsea, one that might restore order in west London. Ignoring the fact that he had failed at Paris Saint-Germain to cope with the pressure that comes with managing an expensively-assembled squad at a poorly run club, the general feeling was that Pochettino had the potential to work wonders with a group of promising young players - just as he had in his previous Premier League job, at Tottenham.

Instead, he is struggling horribly to make the most out of the many resources at his disposal.

Of course, some have attempted to defend Pochettino by pointing out that he is working in a rather chaotic environment, but he knew exactly what he was getting into. It's also been argued that time was always going to be required to turn a squad containing so many new - and young - players into a top-four team, and that's unquestionably true.

However, patience requires proof of progress - and Pochettino isn't providing any. His Chelsea side have as many points after 23 games as Potter did at the same stage last season.

It's not just about points, either. The performances are just as poor and have arguably been declining in quality since something resembling a purple patch in the autumn, when the Blues drew with both Arsenal and Manchester City, and beat a nine-man Tottenham.

A couple of penalty calls undeniably went against Chelsea at Anfield last week, but Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo, the most expensive central-midfield pairing in history, were completely over-run - just as they were four days later against Wolves, resulting in the defence being torn to shreds on both occasions.

Consequently, it came as no surprise to see Thiago Silva's wife take to social media after Sunday's shambles and declare "It's time to change. If you wait any longer, it will be too late."

If we're being generous, maybe she's referring to the reports that Pochettino is entertaining a switch to a three-man defence. It seems far more likely, though, that she believes a change of manager is required to salvage the season.

After all, before Pochettino took over, Chelsea hadn't shipped four goals in back-to-back league games since 1989. It's now happened twice in the space of three months.

Evidently, the foundations of success are not being laid at Stamford Bridge. Pochettino's Blues are alarmingly brittle, both mentally and physically.

As even the manager has admitted, Cole 'Cold' Palmer aside, there is a worrying nervousness about the younger players that prohibits them from playing anything close to their potential, and it's clear that some members of the squad cannot cope with the strain of representing one of the most demanding clubs in world football.

Again, though, it's his job to get the best out of the squad at his disposal, and he's failing miserably in that regard. Indeed, it's hard not to think that several other Premier League managers would be doing a far better job at Stamford Bridge. For starters, imagine what Ange Postecoglou and Unai Emery might be achieving at Tottenham and Aston Villa, had they been given even half of what Pochettino was allowed to spend last summer.

Pochettino is incredibly fortunate, then, that his bosses are caught between a rock and a hard place. In any other circumstances, they would have definitely sacked him by now. After all, a Carabao Cup final appearance was not the objective this season; getting back into the Champions League was considered the bare minimum.

However, if Chelsea's owners do dismiss Pochettino, they'll have to deal with not only another massive pay-off, but also even more accusations that they've absolutely no idea what they're doing. And that's the last thing they need in the current climate, which is threatening to turn toxic.

Indeed, Chelsea's disgruntled fans didn't just offer amusingly honest takes on their team on Sunday - or sing the name of their beloved former manager Jose Mourinho, who is available after his recent dismissal at Roma. There were also numerous 'Roman Abramovich' chants - concerning evidence for the club's current owners that while the fans are dealing with the current situation with an admirable level of self-deprecating humour, they are also acutely aware that Pochettino isn't even the biggest problem at Chelsea.