Opinion
It’s always tough. Being the partner to follow the adored ex. Family gatherings increase in difficulty. Loose disapproving stares are flicked across a table littered with barbecued meats and roasted vegetables. Clearly audible sentences morph into whispers once your presence in the room is felt and rise to yells mere seconds after your departure from the premises.
Graham Potter is experiencing just that at the moment. His life at Chelsea follows the departure of two cherished exes, Roman Abramovich – forced out through government intervention – and Thomas Tuchel – sacked by new Todd Boehly-led ownership.
Potter, who was brought in on promises of a long-term project, has shown his proficiency as a manger across Sweden and England, transforming the fortunes of Ostersund and Brighton particularly, has had a torrid start to London life. Performances have not met the lofty standards of the Cobham faithful.
Distaste at results and performances is understandable and justified. The Blues have failed to find their feet in the Potter era. But furiously demanding the manager’s head before he’s managed out a full season is ludicrous, bordering on insane, and paints a clear picture of the tumultuous mountain the manager, and ownership, must surmount if they are to turn the tide of a ship struggling the swim upstream and deliver sustained success and results to west London.
Potter recently admitted he has “the hardest job in football.” The step up from Brighton to Chelsea is major and not too many managers are capable of seamlessly transitioning from a mid-tier side to a behemoth of the sport.
(Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal spell began turbulently. The Gunners finished eighth in the Spaniard’s first season which included a seven-match winless run, although winning the FA Cup reduced some of the sting and fury from the fans. Now, they sit top of the Premier League, playing beautiful, brilliant football. That shift didn’t occur without work.
Of the side that started against Frank Lampard’s Chelsea in the 2020 FA Cup Final only two remain at the Emirates – Granit Xhaka and Kieran Tierney – while Bukayo Saka and Eddie Nketiah (both on the bench that day) also remain.
Pep Guardiola, another who underwhelmed during his first season in England, and knows a thing or two about making the leap up to managing a footballing giant – having been given the reins at Barcelona after one season coaching the club’s B team – also recently came to the defence of his Chelsea adversary.
“I didn’t need time at Barca because I had Messi,” the City manager said. “That’s why I didn’t need two seasons at Barca. One was enough.”
Time is both a necessity and a luxury in sport and for clubs like Chelsea where bad times don’t last long and bad coaches are recycled for good ones instantly, this adjustment to a new ownership style, coach, and plan, is difficult, as is tempering their expectations and providing the manager that which he so desperately needs, time and support.
Potter has been tasked with rebuilding a club which crumbled under the weight of external political causes.
“It’s a new ownership, everything has changed pretty quickly When you look at everything that’s happened for the last six to 12 months, it is an incredible amount [of change],” he said recently.
“Lots of things went and you have to try and build it up again. At the same time, you’ve still got Chelsea with the demands and expectations – but the reality of where the club is in terms of establishing itself as a well-run football club that functions well in a really competitive environment – maybe we’re not there yet.”
It is important to contextualise the forces at play for Chelsea’s horrible run of form. Not only is their change occurring from the top down, but Potter has been tasked to come in and work wonders with a side devoid of 11 first-team players after their disappointing Fulham loss.
Chelsea are currently missing Edouard Mendy, Reece James, Ben Chilwell, Wesley Fofana, N’Golo Kante, Denis Zakaria, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Raheem Sterling, Christian Pulisic, Armando Broja, and new signing Joao Felix – who impressed in the hour before he was sent off on debut.
By comparison that would be like Manchester City being without Ederson, Joao Cancelo, Kyle Walker, John Stones, Rodri, Kalvin Phillips, Cole Palmer, Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez, Jack Grealish, Julian Alvarez, and Bernardo Silva.
Or Arsenal without Aaron Ramsdale, Ben White, Oleksandr Zinchenkko, Gabriel, Thomas Partey, Granit Xhaka, Albert Sambi-Lokonga, Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith-Rowe, Eddie Nketiah, and Gabriel Martinelli.
Can we imagine either of those sides competing at their current levels with that calibre of troops absent? Not at all.
Anger at poor results is understandable and justifiable but ignoring the conditions which have culminated in such a run and blindly pursuing a manager not at the helm is a toxic environment to harbour at Chelsea. Spewing rage towards a manager truthfully doing his best but falling short due a number of conditions, some of which are outside his control, is producing strong headwinds which increase the difficulty of the journey the club are on.
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