When Mauricio Pochettino invited Chelsea’s players to a barbecue this week, they weren’t sure if it was to get to know them or to give them a grilling.

It was the Argentinian’s first day in the job and he could be forgiven for being uncertain about their names: after all they numbered closer to a regiment than a football squad.

A week earlier and there would have been even more shrimps to throw on the barbie.

But Chelsea had already managed to trim a bloated playing staff while adding a couple of tasty-looking strikers.

Signs, then, that after winning ‘the worst owners’ award by a street in their first year, the Todd Boehly-led Clearlake Capital group are learning.

The appointment of Pochettino is a coup, even if Boehly & Co were fortunate to find such a high-calibre candidate available.

Convincing him to sup from a chalice that poisoned four managers in a single season wouldn’t have been easy though.

Kings of Europe in 2021, 12th place mediocrities in the EPL in 2023. Europe? Never on the horizon.

But head honcho Boehly had finally begun to restore sanity to Stamford Bridge after appearing to lose the plot in his first few months in charge.

‘Scattergun’ doesn’t do him justice – he was more like a toddler with a water pistol.

He sprayed vast sums round, happily gazumping rivals and making selling clubs feel as if they’d won the lottery.

Manchester City stopped bidding for Brighton full-back Marc Cucurella at £35m: Chelsea paid £60m.

Arsenal drew the line at £70m for Ukrainian Mykhailo Mudryk: Chelsea agreed to pay £88m with add-ons.

And then the massively inflated £105m for Argentine World Cup winning midfielder Enzo Fernandez.

On top of all that were the lengths of the contracts: six, seven and even eight years.

This was a ruse to beat Financial Fair Play regulations by stretching the fees over a longer period.

The downside of that is if the player doesn’t perform, the club is stuck with him. And deadwood doesn’t normally fetch much in the market.

Still, helped by off-loading two of their stars, Chelsea managed to recoup some £200m in sales.

The under-performing Kai Havertz was snapped up by Arsenal for £65m while, more controversially, Mason Mount has finally gone to Manchester United.

The fee is £60m plus £5m in add-ons that Chelsea hope they won’t receive.

The sale of “one of their own” has split Chelsea supporters. Having joined the academy at the age of six, Mount had come through the ranks, was a poster boy and England international.

But he was made to feel unappreciated – and underpaid – by the club.

In contrast, United have tripled his wages and given him the iconic No 7 shirt worn by George Best, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona, David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo.

It’s a garment that can weigh heavy at times.

More concerned about balancing the books than boosting rivals, the Blues also let Mateo Kovacic go to Manchester City for £30m.

Saudi Arabia’s sudden interest in taking old and not-so-old Premier League players has also helped.

Two who played better for their countries in the World Cup than for Chelsea, Morocco’s Hakim Zyech and the USA’s Christian Pulisic, are likely to leave for the desert.

Khalid Koulibaly and N’Golo Kante have already gone.

But it’s the arrival of two goal-scoring forwards that has given Chelsea fans cause for optimism.

After being among the lowest scorers in the EPL last season, the anticipated signing of Christopher Nkunku from RB Leipzig and the unexpected addition of Nicolas Jackson from Villareal should change things.

It could mean the end for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Romelu Lukaku with Pochettino likely to have played a part in Jackson’s signing.

By far the most eligible manager around at the time, his last mission was the impossible one at Paris Saint-Germain, where he joined an illustrious list of failed predecessors.

Laurent Blanc, Unai Emery and Thomas Tuchel all fell in Europe which suggests that even Tom Cruise might struggle outside of Ligue Un.

But Pochettino, 51, needs this to work as much as Chelsea do.

No longer a young manager, as he was at Spurs, he has been promising for many years but is yet to land the Big One.

Spurs didn’t give it to him, of course, although he came close: losing the 2019 Champions League final 2-0 to Liverpool.

He was trophyless in north London although he won the French title with PSG – his first as a manager.

Once coveted by Manchester United and wined and dined by Alex Ferguson, he seemed to tick many boxes.

But his trophy cabinet remained almost bare.

Cynics still say: “He hasn’t won anything.”

Nope, but Spurs and PSG never win anything big.

At Spurs, he did an excellent job that followed his progress at Southampton.

He’s no longer young, but he’s still very hungry. And he says he came to Chelsea because “they’re winners.”

Clearly, there’s an awful lot riding on his appointment: neither he nor Boehly can afford to fail.

The American started his tenure with Tuchel, a Champions League winning manager, and ended up with Frank Lampard, who was sacked by Everton.

In between were Graham Potter and Bruno Saltor (for one game).

And he never felt he’d dodged a bullet with Ronaldo, having flirted with the idea of signing Neymar in January.

The absolute minimum requirement this season will be a place in the Champions League.

If Manchester City and Arsenal look certainties, competition will be fierce.

Newcastle were good value for third place, Manchester United are already strengthening significantly as are Liverpool, while even Spurs are buying.

Now there’s a Big Seven.

Chelsea were one of the big stories of last season – just how they managed to be so consistently clueless both on and off the field.

They will be a big story again this time, whatever happens.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.