How Graham Potter lost the Chelsea dressing room and who’s in contention to replace him
https://caughtoffside.substack.com/i/112644334/how-graham-potter-lost-the-Chelsea-dressing-room-and-whos-in-contention-to-replace-him
Graham Potter was sacked by Chelsea on a dramatic Sunday. Chelsea’s new owners did something that didn’t even happen under Roman Abramovich: axed two managers in the same season.
The simple answer to why Potter was sacked is because he showed a lack of progress... but you could write a book on all the finer points as to exactly why this didn’t occur.
Chelsea fell into the bottom half of the table at the weekend after the 2-0 loss to Aston Villa, and Potter leaves with only seven league wins from 22 Premier League games. He lost eight and presided over just 21 goals.
Chelsea’s board consistently backed Potter, far longer than Abramovich would have done so for. They gave him as much time as they could. But things changed rapidly into Sunday afternoon with co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Lawrence Stewart key to this story. Both are newer to the club and drove the decision to make a change, which in the end was referred to as “unanimous” by sources, and first came under serious consideration after February’s 2-0 loss to Spurs.
Sacking Potter is the decision that the majority of the Chelsea fan base wanted, and have been asking for since January (and some even before the World Cup). The personal attacks on him, including horrific emailed death threats, a petition calling for his sacking with over 50,000 signatures on it, and the resounding boos after Aston Villa, all illustrate this to different degrees.
The Villa loss was basically a microcosm of all the issues on the football side: Chelsea failed to score, lacked confidence, identity and leadership; and Potter’s selection and in-game tactics both came under question.
The decision to play Marc Cucurella and Reece James in a back three totally backfired, as did starting Mykhaylo Mudryk and not bringing on Mason Mount. Since joining in September, Potter struggled to manage such a big squad, and in some ways it was an impossible task with all the new signings and injuries, but he also just didn’t appear to know his best XI.
There will always be an element of player unrest within such a big squad, who couldn’t always fit into dressing room and team-meeting spaces at Cobham. That doesn’t mean Potter lost the dressing room entirely, but there were certainly some voices in it that made jokes and jibes (including calling him Harry Potter) behind his back.
Potter wasn't seen as authoritative or consistent enough in how he managed the team despite being respected as a tactician. Mudryk’s start against Villa is one example. Potter said, and reiterated behind the scenes, the Ukrainian was effectively still in his “pre-season”. Yet then he got a start against Villa in a must-win game. And when a below-par Mudryk missed two big chances against Villa, it led to question marks.
Hakim Ziyech starting against Fulham in early February was another move that wasn’t well received by some other players. Ziyech was just minutes away from joining PSG on loan on deadline day and only didn’t go due to an administrative error. Chelsea had spent the build up to the game planning without him. Yet Ziyech returned, immediately started without making an impact, and made the Champions League squad. Perhaps if form was better, or Chelsea won the game, this may have been viewed as a masterstroke. But ultimately it was seen by many at the club as further evidence Potter was trying too hard to please instead of manage.
There were plenty of other little moments that contributed to Potter's downfall: the exclusion of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from the Champions League squad, and many match days, too, despite Chelsea lacking goals, was questioned by some, although it's understood Potter had firm ownership backing on this particular decision.
It’s of course easy in hindsight to pin it all on Potter or football problems. Sources are clear, though, the power dynamic at Chelsea is complex and evolving. Behdad Eghbali, who holds not only huge power, but is heavily involved in everything, and Todd Boehly, are still learning on the job. That’s why their next appointment won’t be taken lightly.
Chelsea will now focus on what is being termed an “exhaustive search” for a new manager, led by Winstanley and Stewart. Boehly and Eghbali will be involved but not in a leading sense, especially not in the early stages. This is significant.
There is no permanent manager lined up just yet and club sources insist that Chelsea will speak to 5-7 candidates with former Bayern boss Julian Nagelsmann and ex-Barcelona and Spain boss Luis Enrique early frontrunners and already approached.
Stewart and Christopher Vivell appreciate Nagelsmann and worked with him at Leipzig. But he is still contracted to Bayern until 2026 despite being fired, so an appointment would require negotiation.
Chelsea are adamant that Nagelsmann’s sudden availability didn’t prompt Potter’s sacking and that there’s no guarantee anyone will be in place for the quarter-final first leg with Real Madrid in the Champions League, although Enrique is believed to be willing to start immediately.
Nagelsmann’s default position is to start a new job next season, but a free hit at the business end of the Champions League might yet change his mind, too.
The most important thing to stress is for Chelsea this is about getting the third appointment under this new ownership right, not just finding someone in time for Real. That’s why they will talk to other names.
Mauricio Pochettino is expected be one of them. Prior to appointing Potter, Chelsea held exploratory talks with the former Spurs boss. I am told he wasn’t entirely convinced by the project. Let’s see if that has changed now a full recruitment team is in place and the ambition of spending is apparent despite the chaos and Chelsea’s league position. Pochettino isn’t short of options. Jobs at Spurs and Real for next season are on his radar as well.
Keep an eye on Sporting boss Ruben Amorim who, as I've said many times even before Potter was appointed, is a name Chelsea respect.
Luciano Spalletti could also be considered. I was covering Napoli vs. Milan at the weekend and Spalletti wouldn’t be drawn on links. He is entirely focused on winning Serie A and going as far as he can in the Champions League. There’s no way he’s giving a Napoli exit a second thought right now. So if he did become a more serious candidate it would only be for the end of the season. There are more likely options right now.
One name we can rule out is Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi. He is catching the eye of top clubs, but is not on Chelsea’s shortlist.
As for Potter, I really hope he bounces back. Chelsea fans at large will be glad to see the back of him, but I still think he’ll be in demand by Premier League clubs: Leicester made a near-instant approach, but Potter wants to take his time before deciding what’s next. He won’t be short of job offers come the end of the season.
