Opinion
The dawn of prodigious manager Graham Potter’s London life has been turbulent, but sacking him would compound the woes, not alleviate them.
Few clubs have been as cutthroat as Chelsea since the advent of the 21st century. Roman Abramovich’s reign saw 16 managers grace the dugout at Stamford Bridge at a rate of nearly one per annum.
This unforgiving trend appeared to continue under the new owner consortium, headed by Todd Boehly, when Thomas Tuchel was unceremoniously sacked in early September after stalled form found his side sixth in the table and favourites to fall from their Champions League group.
The London club’s new American owners are now faced with a similar slump with the German’s replacement, Graham Potter, who was shoehorned in on promises of a long-term project.
Defeat to Newcastle at the weekend, sealed with a thumping Joe Willock strike but delivered by a resounding collective performance by Eddie Howe’s men, who completely nullified Chelsea across the pitch, reducing their ability to gain any foothold or momentum in the match, has left Graham Potter’s side entering the World Cup break in eighth, eight points off fourth place Tottenham.
No spell can save Potter from his current reality. His side’s form is sliding. Not since the end of Jose Mourinho’s second spell in 2015 has a Chelsea side lost three Premier League matches on the trot. His predecessor received his marching orders for less.
Breaking for the World Cup could not come sooner.
“We’re in a bad moment. We have to lick our wounds,” he told Sky Sports. “We’ll use the break to recharge and regroup and go again,” the former Brighton manager conceded.
“We have to refocus, re-energise, and hopefully get some players back. It’s been an incredibly intense period.”
By all reports Potter has the full backing of the Chelsea hierarchy, even if at the expense of the club’s expansive fanbase. And why shouldn’t he?
Sure, his side are in an abysmal run of form.
But they are dealing with a new manager coming in and implementing a philosophy change, which tends to require a full preseason to absorb, not just a few weeks, as well as several crippling injuries to key players. Against Newcastle, Chelsea were without N’Golo Kante, arguably the greatest defensive midfielder of his generation, as well as Reece James, Ben Chilwell, Raheem Sterling, Kepa Arrizabalaga and Wesley Fofana, all crucial starters when available. Such woes were aggravated by Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s early departure.
In the initial months of his reign, Potter has also been without Kalidou Koulibaly, Edouard Mendy, and Mateo Kovacic for considerable periods of time, meaning a large portion of his time in charge has been spent without a magnitude of key world-class starters.
As with most big clubs unaccustomed to flailing runs of form, much has been made by the media and online about Graham Potter. Factions of Chelsea fans are brutally calling for his head, wishing for a Tuchel return, and questioning the manager’s readiness and capacity for such a big job.
Yet a quick glance at both ends of this season’s Premier League table indicates how loyalty, especially during periods of tribulation, can facilitate changing fortunes.
Soaring at the summit of the table, Arsenal have blitzed almost all before them. Beautiful to watch. Lights out. Champagne football. Incisive, quick movements. A multifaceted excitement machine.
The frightful attacking quarter of Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus, captain Martin Odegaard and decisive winger Bukayo Saka have been paramount to Mikel Arteta’s side’s successful start and symbolise the revolution currently underway in north London. Granit Xhaka has been reborn, while William Saliba and Ben White have weathered early career storms to underpin the defensive growth of this side.
(Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
History will tell us this destiny was not always written in the stars.
Arsenal were tenth when Mikel Arteta took over from Unai Emery in December 2019. They concluded both 2019-20 and 2020-21 eighth, qualifying for Europe in the latter courtesy of their FA Cup victory in the former.
During this time wave upon wave of questions were heaped upon Arsenal and Mikel Arteta. Was he good enough? Capable enough? The right man for the job? Less sturdy and assured clubs would have collapsed under the pressure of the noise. Not Arsenal. They did not allow the flooding pressures from afar to pierce their walls, debilitate their structure with doubt and deter them from their project.
Rather than heed external pressures, the club doubled down on Arteta’s vision and duly backed him in the market, and now they live to mine the rewards of their faith.
Of the side that claimed Arteta’s first trophy of his managerial career, just four remain at the club: Rob Holding, Kieran Tierney, Granit Xhaka and Ainsley Maitland-Niles (presently on loan at AS Roma). Ageing or decaying players unable to match the manager’s expectations were duly removed, replaced by a vibrant collection of players earmarked for success, such as club captain Odegaard.
It was a process drawn out across several years from which the Gunners are now reaping dividends.
Incidentally, on the other end of the spectrum, it is the treatment of former Chelsea man Brendan Rodgers that also teaches a lesson of the importance of managerial loyalty. Leicester was breaking all bad kinds of records to begin the season, shipping inconceivable numbers of goals and failing to score any of their own.
Many, perhaps including Rodgers himself, would have argued if Leicester City’s ownership motioned to remove the club’s most successful manager. They opted against it, citing their trust in the manager and the strong bond he shares with club owner Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha. Subsequently the Foxes have turned a corner. Only Newcastle have collected more points than them in the last eight matchdays.
Chelsea’s ownership has very publicly backed its owner, and based on the above evidence, it is the correct course of action.
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