Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher backs Chelsea star Cole Palmer to win Premier League Young Player of the Season award
In his latest column for The Telegraph, former Liverpool defender and Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher talked about how a long-term contract for Chelsea boss Graham Potter would mean nothing if the current rot is not halted.
As if he was not under pressure before the Fulham game, the defeat at Craven Cottage sure has ramped up the temperature. Not just the loss, it was the manner of it that would have frustrated Potter. Individual mistakes galore!
Talking about his future, the Blues boss has been quite vehement about him not fearing the sack while referencing other successful managers in the league who have gotten adequate time before they started delivering success.
Touching on that topic, Carragher has shared some of his views that are damning and not good news for Potter (h/t The Telegraph):
“It is understandable when a coach pleads for time, but attempts to compare Potter’s early work with that of Guardiola at City, Arteta at Arsenal and Klopp at Liverpool are wrong.
“City were never in danger of falling away from the top four, and Klopp and Arteta enjoyed big football moments which earned them instant credit. Klopp won away at Chelsea and Manchester City in his first few games by imposing his high-pressing football style, and led Liverpool to the Europa League final seven months after taking charge, beating top teams en route.
“Giving the manager a prolonged period to get it right is good in theory, but at the very top of the game there is no guarantee that time reaps rewards. There has to be immediate proof a manager has the capacity to thrive at the higher level.”
There is no choice but to agree with what Carragher is implying here. The early days of Pep Guardiola gave us the idea of how he wanted to play football and win games. The same goes for Jurgen Klopp, who took Liverpool to a Carabao Cup and a Europa League final in his first half-season in charge.
With what we have seen of Potter’s Chelsea so far, although there were early signs, that has diminished in the last few games. Yes, he has had injuries to deal with, and so did Klopp in his first season when players were falling like flies due to hamstring knocks.
In football, we always say, there is no harm in losing a few games as long as the team is showing the identity of the system the manager wants them to play in.
At the moment, apart from moments in games, this Chelsea team is not showing exactly what their identity is under Potter, which is more concerning than the results. Moreover, usually when that happens, players start to lose confidence in the manager very fast.
We play Crystal Palace next. Another opportunity for the team to strike back into some form before the big game away at Anfield against Liverpool.
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