As quoted by Evening Standard, Chelsea boss Graham Potter responds to claims that he does not get angry at the referees by stating that his calm demeanour comes because of his journey.
Potter took the long road in management. He started by managing in non-league football to now taking charge of one of the top clubs in Europe. He was criticised for not calling out the referees after a horrendous decision late on in the game against West Ham United robbed Chelsea of a clear penalty when Tomas Soucek handled the ball in the box.
In a week where things went from bad to worse for the referees and the VAR – Arsenal had to contend with a point even though the Brentford equaliser was offside, while the VAR marked the wrong lines to check for the offside of a goal from Brighton and Hove Albion.
Here’s what Potter said when asked whether he lacks passion for the decision that cost the team (h/t Evening Standard):
“I try to be careful not to get into these discussions through the media. Of course, I get angry. I am a human being, just like you. I just choose to conduct myself in a way that I think is right on the side.
“The same media talk about wanting me to be angrier but then run stories about problems in grassroots football and don’t see the connection.
“That’s not to say that we don’t all lose our temper because we do. It’s an emotional thing. At the same time, I think I have a responsibility to myself, Chelsea and the game to act in a responsible way for me. For me, not anyone else, for me.”
We have seen managers typically lose their rag when even a small decision goes against them in a game. Truth be told, nothing changes irrespective of the level of anger shown on TV or during media press conferences. Football is not a game where the result can change once the final whistle is blown.
So, Potter is kind of right about trying to be careful when talking to the media. His showing anger won’t change the horror decision made by the referees, isn’t it?
What we are seeing here is people unnecessarily finding reasons to put pressure on the Chelsea boss, as if he is not under undue stress anyway after a lean run of results despite the heavy spending in January.
A tough game against Borussia Dortmund awaits in the Champions League tonight. We hope to get a positive result so that talks like these stop for a few days at the least.
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