Graham Potter sacked by Chelsea. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)
As confirmed by the club’s official site, Premier League giants Chelsea have parted ways with manager Graham Potter following the weekend’s loss to Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge.
His departure comes mere six months after he was hired to replace Thomas Tuchel to carry forward Todd Boehly’s vision for the club. Potter arrived at Stamford Bridge as one of the Premier League’s best British managers following the incredible work he has shown at Brighton & Hove Albion.
It is perhaps ironic that the Seagulls have outperformed Chelsea since losing their manager and are today a team on the rise. Chelsea, on the other hand, have fallen to the lower half of the table and faces a real fight on their hands to salvage the season.
Chelsea played 31 games under Potter’s guidance across all competitions, winning just 12 of them. While there were the odd moments such as the comeback win over Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League, the club has struggled to do justice to the massive investment in the playing squad over the last two transfer windows.
The 47-year-old certainly had a huge task on his hands and did the best he could. However, key injuries and several new signings ending time to settle did not help his cause. It is fair to say that the club could have given him until the end of the season to clean up his act.
In fact, the Blues did well against Villa at the weekend but failed to find the back of the net. The Blues have in recent weeks shown more of an affinity for Potter’s methods and it appeared to be just a matter of time before the pieces clicked into place.
The question that needs to be asked is why Chelsea chose to pull the plug on Potter now of all times? It could have something to do with Julian Nagelsmann being added to the market following his sacking at Bayern Munich.
The German is a solid manager and has it in him to build a long-term project while also inculcating an exciting brand of football. There should be no shortage of headlines should he end up managing a Chelsea side against Tuchel’s Bayern in this season’s Champions League. Clearly, fate cannot have a sense of humour.
Others who are also available on the market include former Spain boss Luis Enrique, former Chelsea manager Antonio Conte and footballing legend Zinedine Zidane. It remains to be seen who Chelsea eventually go for.
Boehly appears to be similar to Roman Abramovich in more than one way. Not only is he ready to bankroll success but also appears to possess the same impatience as the Russian oligarch. Hopefully, we have a plan in place to salvage what we can for the remainder of the season.
Sacking the Englishman midway through the second half of the season could mean we are not wanting to miss out on a potential managerial candidate. It’s imperative we hire a world-class head coach as soon as possible so they can have time for their medicine to work before the start of next season.
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