Superblue

Will be interesting to see how the recruitment guy coming over with Potter fits into things. I'm not sure what his exact role was with Brighton but I guess there's a chance he could take over from McLachlan and work alongside the new sporting director.

Government's given it's blessing for football to continue this weekend, up to the Premier League to decide whether to still go ahead with games or not.

Would assume at the very least he would initially stay here. For the club and Potter, he provides an important source of information from a coaches perspective on players strengths, weaknesses, personalities to get GP up and running as quick as possible. For Barry, it presents him with an opportunity to work under a different manager with a different perspective, methods, etc which should help himself shaping his own coaching career. If in time it's felt like the dynamic isn't there to work together, then he'd leave. I don't think he'd be short of offers because despite the poor start to this season (and namely struggles with set pieces) he is highly rated. Lampard would snap him up in an instant, he's already tried taking him previously and I'm pretty sure a couple of lower league teams have also even eyed him up for a managerial role.

I must admit this approach is actually very bold and refreshing. I've voiced my concerns over Potter's experience at the highest level, but am also fully aware that all managers need that opportunity to prove whether they belong amongst the best managers and best teams and if the above is our owners mindset then I'd actually agree with it. The easy appointment would have been someone like Poch but we'd be looking to take him when his stock is significantly lower than it was at Spurs (when it was overrated anyway). We've seen others like Benitez and even Mourinho in recent years keep getting jobs with big clubs off the back of their historical pedigree and experience and not consideration as to recent problems and failings. Potter is absolutely no doubts one of the most highest rated 'up and coming' coaches around currently and seems to be highly thought of amongst players, clubs, manager circles, etc. He's earned that big break, and hopefully we as a club will be rewarded in time for being the ones to provide him with that opportunity.

Quite the day for you then! I do have some doubts but they are more as a result of being used to experienced, top level managers over the last 20 years (with the exception of Lampard but the circumstances at the time felt different). The English managerial record for winning trophies won't last forever, it's there to be broken and I must say Potter's potential suggests he could be the one to do it. Spurs wanted him before they got Nuno, and enquired again before Conte. The fact is the trajectory he is heading on, if it isn't us someone else will take that chance on him. We will need to give him time and patience and whilst there is a big gamble with someone needing to gain certain top level experiences here, every elite manager has needed a top club to offer that opportunity to prove themselves. It's a big and bold move and I do think Boehly/Clearlake deserve credit for that. I feel a mixture of apprehension, excitement and intrigue if I'm being honest simply because he's still very much an unknown entity. It's either going to be a disaster and set us back hugely, or be one of the great masterstrokes of recent times.

Going off West Ham and United playing tonight, I would assume the Champions League game mid-week will happen, but I believe there's a real possibility that not just this weekend but next weekend's games are also postponed and the domestic season continues after the International break. Difficult to gauge this situation, it's been a bit of a long time since the last reigning monarch died.

Biggest concern with Graham Potter is that lack of experience at the top level. He's clearly a very good coach and everything I've read and heard about him suggests he's one of the best around with regards to his man management and instilling confidence and belief in his players. I just worry a little bit if we find ourselves in a race for the top 4, or even a title challenge, it's an alien position for him. We as a club have been so used to a plethora of top name, experienced managers who can fall back on their own previous experiences. Even in the case of Lampard, whilst he didn't have those experiences as a manager he could at least still call on his experiences in those situations as a player. No doubts in my mind, if this was the old ownership then Poch or Zidane would be well above Potter in the wanted list. It is something we will need to be prepared for as Potter has absolutely no experience throughout his playing or managerial career of these top level situations. Arsenal have experienced similar with Arteta (who at the very least had a top level playing career himself and experience as a coach under Pep) and are having to trust a process which besides an FA Cup win hasn't bore the fruit they desire yet. As I said previously I'm intrigued whether Potter can take that step and I'm intrigued on how the ownership structures us in the future and supports him. Hopefully it's the start of something great but it is definitely a huge move away from what we've been accustomed to for the last couple of decades.

Make no mistake Potter is a huge gamble. Sometimes though you have to take those gambles and try something out of the box. He has a lot of potential and there's huge intrigue as to his ability to step up to the next level. But its a massive risk nonetheless. Paul Merson in his column actually for once made quite a decent point. If this situation was playing out 12 months ago, Potter wouldn't have even been entertained in conversations and a potential candidate for the new ownership could very well have been Brendan Rodgers off the back of Leicester finishing narrowly outside the top 4 back to back and the FA Cup win. It seemed his stock was high and on the upward trajectory. Meanwhile Potter had just escaped relegation in 16th position with Brighton. Fast forward 12 months and I think the fanbase would go mad if Rodgers was approached, whereas a lot of supporters are on board with giving Potter a chance. Let's just hope we're making the right appointment and we've got someone who will thrive with the step up.

More reputable sources suggested there was a face to face meeting this morning. This immediately sounds sensationalist and complete bollocks.

I get the feeling Tuchel isn't too concerned with leaving. He hasn't seemed the same since the change in ownership, with the exception of that Spurs game.

The talk was that, for him, Chelsea represented a last chance at a big club in terms of its suitability for him. If it didn't work out, he'd be content heading back to managing a team in the Bundesliga operating under the radar somewhat. Not sure if that stance has changed now since his tenure at Chelsea. His stock must be higher purely off the back of the Champions League win, but maybe in his mind he feels more suited to a team slightly below elite level. Say a Leipzig, Leverkusen type team (Leipzig has just sacked their manager so this might be one to keep an eye on).

I think the comparison would be that despite maybe impacting the style of play, in terms of raw numbers and results, his impact for the first two years was negligible in comparison to Brighton under Chris Hughton, i.e. just about being good enough to stay up. He may improve our football in a short time but that doesn't necessarily guarantee improving our results. Would people accept potentially taking a step back to take 2 or 3 steps forward, and by that I mean a season outside the top 4 if we see an improvement on the style of play and are playing more exciting football?

Something to consider with Potter. His first two seasons at Brighton they finished 15th, then 16th and had real struggles with scoring goals despite the plaudits for the way they tried to play football. It's easy to look at their top half finish last season and the start of this season and ignore the work and the struggles that he had in the first two years at Brighton. Are people willing to give him that time here? Both board and fans.

I think he has a release clause, so if Chelsea have indicated that they'd be willing to activate it they don't really have a choice. Probably an incredibly difficult decision in Potter's shoes. He has a very comfortable position at Brighton punching above their weight but he'll know that there is a ceiling with the club and that it only takes a bad few months and his stock will fall. That opportunity at a big club might not come up again. But he'll also on the flipside know that bigger clubs mean a lot more pressure. If he fails here, he could spend years trying to find what he had at Brighton. The obvious comparison here is Moyes when he left Everton for United and only now at West Ham has he found something similar to what he had at Everton. My gut feeling is that he'd find it hard to turn down.

Aubameyang is the head scratcher, especially if reports are to be believed that Boehly really wanted Ronaldo instead. But besides that I don't think the players we've signed are much of an issue with regards to a new manager and if anything whilst we still need time to reshape the squad, it is now set up better to play both back 4 and back 3 formations compared to last year. Fofana and Koulibaly allow us to play in a back 4 if we choose to which we didn't really have those options before their arrival with the other defenders we have. Cucurella similarly allows more flexibility than Alonso provided, and offers a genuine competition on the left flank to Chilwell. Sterling is a quality addition to the squad. Zakaria provides a different midfield option and in any way is short term if it doesn't work out. And the younger players have time to be moulded and coached anyway. We're getting stories now that the board wanted Gordon but Tuchel didn't whereas during the window it was suggested Tuchel was pushing for him. This makes you question of all the players we did bid for in the summer, were they all Tuchel choices? Were some of the signings this summer a collaborative effort rather than simply just being Tuchel suggested? A lot of questions at the moment where I'm sure more things will be leaked in the coming days but I don't necessarily look at our squad and see it scream to me that its set up for Tuchel only.

That Spurs team on paper was very strong (as mentioned every 5 minutes at the time by the media) and he won nothing with it. 2 cup finals that they were comprehensively outplayed and beaten in both and one second place finish where they didn't get close to catching us. For me, he had opportunities to kick them on and never did and that Spurs team got worse over time because his recruitment was rubbish. I feel like he's someone who's had his chance now at the top table a couple of times and proven to not really be it. My hatred for all things Spurs probably soils my thoughts on him further I must admit, but I do believe he's overhyped. He shouldn't be in the conversation of the likes of Zidane, Enrique, Flick, etc who are big name coaches that actually have a record of winning big trophies. If you're not going down that route, and you're looking at a 'project' manager for the long term I'd rather hang my hat on someone like Graham Potter and take my chances with that than I would with Poch.

There's a lot of talk of Paul Mitchell being a front runner for the director of football role. If that were true, it would point to Poch being a strong candidate considering their time together at Spurs.

Just come out of a meeting to this and yet again, this club never fails to amaze me. I wonder if I was cursed many years ago, because we are nothing short of a circus most of the time. On one side of things I can understand. It was becoming increasingly clear that there were problems at the club and Tuchel was not finding the answers to them. From what it sounds like this has been brewing and we all know from past history Tuchel struggles to manage upwards. He was insulated here previously, and now has owners who from a footballing perspective do need that help and support at least initially. He had the keys to the kingdom potentially and if he wasn't willing to ride that out for a bit then that is on him, because in time the club would have brought in footballing people above him. I did feel when Cech went that he'd be a more important loss initially than he was given credit for and I wonder if some of these possible internal issues would have been as problematic if he was still at the club as a bridge between board and coach. On the flip side though, Tuchel has been left in an alien position where he's almost having to almost supply people above him with knowledge and understanding. It would have made so much more sense to me for them to get that structure in place and then make a decision if things weren't improving. When we have an international break in 2 weeks time and then the World Cup break for a few weeks in a couple of months time, it does feel like they've pulled the trigger very quickly with this. If this isn't kneejerk and has been coming then why did we buy Aubameyang. If Boehly was that fixated on Ronaldo from a marketing perspective and knew Tuchel wouldn't be staying here anyway then why not go that route? I'm not saying Ronaldo is the right solution over Auba but he is clearly a Tuchel signing which was only done a week ago. Regarding a replacement, I'm not against taking a punt with Graham Potter but its a gamble whether he can take that 'next step' much like when buying players from smaller clubs. It's easy to look at Brighton now and forget that he's had periods of his tenure where they've struggled and gone 'x' games without a win or even 'x' games without a goal. He would need giving time and patience too, something I now question whether the new ownership is willing to provide, but also something I question most fans are willing to afford. Beyond that though, the options are limited in my opinion. Zidane I don't think is the right move, and I don't like the idea of Poch who I've spoken against many times before. There's a couple of possible candidates in international roles but they're not going to be available until after the World Cup, so again goes back to making this decision so quickly.

It's not the case of a brand new manager though. Mourinho's third season started as a train wreck, as did Conte's second season and neither improved much if at all. It's easy in times like this to think it's been no worse before. I remember the 2-0 loss against Leicester under Lampard, the Watford loss under Conte and multiple performances under Mourinho that were similar to this. The managers don't get a free pass. At the end of the day it is their job to find solutions and motivate and create an environment for players to thrive in. But let's not get it twisted there has been a cultural toxicity within the club almost throughout the Roman era. One which lent too much power to the players over 'dispensable' managers. Once those big characters started to leave the club one by one, the ability to go again under a new manager and new voice in the changing room began to wane but that culture has still remained at the club. Whether it's Tuchel or an alternative they pick, it's one of the things that the new ownership have to change because at present it feels a never ending cycle.

So if we decided to sack Tuchel, somebody please let me know who at the football club has the experience and football knowledge to look at the group of players we have and the direction we want to go in, and choose the right football manager for both of those aspects? Are we backing Boehly or Clearlake to make these decisions? If Pep walked out the door at the end of the season, City have the footballing background on their board and in the sporting director positions to identify a replacement that suits the club and the players. As I mentioned earlier until that football structure is in place it's pointless making this decision. That will be Tuchel's saving grace at present and buy him time to turn this around. How much time I'm not sure but he definitely has to get the team moving in the right direction quickly because once that structure is in place (and I'd assume we'll be looking to make those appointments this side of the World Cup and January transfer window) if things haven't improved he will unfortunately be on borrowed time.

It's completely pointless at present replacing Tuchel when we've got no structure above him. We need to sort out the director of football, scouting network, etc to map out a clear identity and direction for this club. At that point then if it still isn't working out then Tuchel is then replaced. I think he'll be given some time to sort this out, at the very least until the international break, and more than likely through to the World Cup break. But by that point I'd expect everything above him to have been sorted and decided and if things are still as bad as this, he'll have very little excuses.

That to me is the biggest issue. A goal in the 15th minute of a game shouldn't dent our confidence or shift our mentality that badly. It's a massive question mark over the mentality within the group that leaves them looking so fragile. Tuchel isn't blameless there either. Too many games like this he seems to be sat down in the dugout too much for my liking. Not sure if it sends the wrong message to the team about the importance of the game, but when there's already questions over the mentality of the team anyway, I'd rather see him on the touchline driving the team.

Thought he looked lively and dangerous the first 15 minutes but as soon as they scored we've completely lost the plot. Mentality across the whole team at the moment has a lot of question marks.

I too would have preferred him to have a full season post injury but I didn't look at that situation as one where he looks alarmingly slow, especially as Orsic is very quick and has a few yards on him when the ball is knocked on. I'm more annoyed that he's not anticipated the situation and dropped off of Koulibaly. Both seemed to go for that ball, complete lack of communication. Besides that though, I think he's looked ok. Been pretty aggressive in the tackle and looked much better than the other two alongside him. I don't have too many concerns of him as I think he'll be an excellent player here over an extended period. I'm more worried about Koulibaly who really doesn't look on it yet. Silva took a few games to get going so I'm not going to panic about it yet, he needs the chance to adapt but after that Leeds disaster he hasn't really looked the same.

I'd look at taking Azpi off at half time for Zakaria and changing to a back 4 and midfield 3. Plug that midfield to stop the counters. Need someone to sit in that number 10 position too, there's too big a gap and it's far too easy to defend against.