Graham Potter Thread

[TheHulk 2,401]

1 minute ago, Tomo said:

I mean, we've literally just convinced the world's best young midfielder.

As if he is coming after today.

[Vegetable 830]

2 minutes ago, TheHulk said:

As if he is coming after today.

I guess it's not like he could bail out of transfer prepared for months because he didn't like the game. If it's done, it's done.

And btw, it was just one of many horrendous Chelsea games, so either players are aware of what goes on in the club or are a dumbasses and deserve being shafted.

Edited January 1, 2023 by Vegetable

[OneMoSalah 8,883]

8 minutes ago, Tomo said:

I mean, we've literally just convinced the world's best young midfielder.

Hopefully yeah. Convincing Benfica will be another thing though. 

Players will always want to leave certain leagues and want to come here but still I think the “we’ve convinced him” is more like that we are the only club at present who genuinely seem interested in paying the clause/more than the clause. Because its well noted he wants to move this window. If it were the summer window and all the big boys were throwing their cheque books about, we’d likely be 3rd, 4th, 5th choice lets be honest.

Lets hope we get it done but not very hopeful re the negotiations with Benfica.

[Fulham Broadway 17,299]

Potter would have gone by now under Abramovich. The Premier league, Championship and even League 1 is littered with multi millionaire and billionaire owners that are quite content for their clubs to tick merrily along in mediocrity as a cash cow.

Its becoming increasingly apparent we are now in that category.

[whats happening 1,612]

now, that would be a plot twist, to call back tuchel...

[Laylabelle 9,534]

14 minutes ago, Fulham Broadway said:

Potter would have gone by now under Abramovich. The Premier league, Championship and even League 1 is littered with multi millionaire and billionaire owners that are quite content for their clubs to tick merrily along in mediocrity as a cash cow.

Its becoming increasingly apparent we are now in that category.

See it looked like he had a clue when sacking Tuchel even if seemed rash..and now who knows maybe it was just a moment.

[DDA 9,924]

What exactly did Potter do at Brighton ?? I mean their football was OK but nothing out of the ordinary right? Somebody please tell me he was producing something special!?

 

I'm confused because what I'm seeing him do here so far is fucking tragic. Haha 

 

It's soo bad I laughed for a good full 5 minutes to myself like a madman... 

Hes acting very strange.

 

[Fulham Broadway 17,299]

1 hour ago, Laylabelle said:

See it looked like he had a clue when sacking Tuchel even if seemed rash..and now who knows maybe it was just a moment.

Think it was -Tuchels head was all over the shop apparently with his long marriage breakdown - should have been given some time out

[Vytis33 1,261]

Wasn't Tuchel fairly clear that he didn't wanna be in charge of transfers and just wanted to manage a team?  So then Clearlake sacks him and ultimately hires an entire staff to do the things Tuchel didn't wanna do from the start?

 

[Vegetable 830]

Boehly and Potter seem to share the same, corporate mode of operation when they reassure each other with buzzowords like vision, plan, long term process etc and this reassurance is far more important, than the material reality. Plus Potter seem to be very confident of his position in the club, so as long as we favor facts over pr statements, we are doomed.

[Blue Armour 4,436]

1 hour ago, whats happening said:

now, that would be a plot twist, to call back tuchel...

What is there's an even bigger twist and we call back Mourinho 3.0

[Superblue 6,372]

10 minutes ago, DDA said:

What exactly did Potter do at Brighton ?? I mean their football was OK but nothing out of the ordinary right? Somebody please tell me he was producing something special!?

In fairness the difference between Brighton pre and post Potter is night and day.

Under Chris Hughton, they were just about keeping their neck above water in the league whilst playing turgid football.

Under Potter, it wasn't so much a sense of them playing this out of the world total football, but they dominated possession, territory and the majority of games regardless of opposition. Given the resources available at Brighton, it takes a team with real belief and courage to stand up and fight the likes of Man City and Liverpool for possession and control, and to go into game after game with that mindsight. 

The jury is still very much out on Potter. There are some managers who thrive in an underdog capacity, there are also others that just enjoy the right "fit". This job might be too big for him. However it should be noted that what he had above with Brighton wasn't immediate - they only just stayed up in his first season, but over the last couple of seasons he's got that team into an extremely comfortable position in the league where you wouldn't have them anywhere near a conversation for a relegation battle. Can he convert that into challenging for trophies here with bigger resources on hand? 

The one thing I do think he has is time and I think in the current position Chelsea are in it makes sense. I would have given Tuchel more time and opportunity to work with the team and try to find solutions but the ownership made their decision and I do believe now they should and will show some patience. This club hasn't bought a midfielder since Sarri was in charge - that's 4 managers later with a midfield that has been allowed to decline with age and injuries, whilst leaving the same vulnerability issues in the middle of the park. We're 3 managers into a reliance on a 38 year old defender to anchor the team. We're 5 managers into lacking a 20 goal a season striker.

The old ownership had their own way which ultimately worked more often than it didn't, but left a situation where a number of players were allowed to decline in time here, and transfer decisions were made which left an unbalanced squad. We've got progressively further away from a title challenge over the last 6 years as a result. 

At some point that band aid has to be fully ripped off instead of short term fixes. We've been heading a way that the likes of United and Liverpool suffered, only for cracks to be papered over by developing a niche as a cup team who could raise our game when needed but not consistently. 

The one thing I would like to see from Potter is a ruthless streak this coming month and for the rest of the season. If he has the patience and full backing from higher ups, and this season is heading into a position where it's becoming a bit of a free hit, then make use of that. He's being let down by some senior players who are either playing poorly, or simply aren't good enough anymore. Starting to make some big calls on them could go a long way to fans being willing to give him time. It was clear as day in the last half hour against Bournemouth and again today, that Azpi and Koulibaly looked a struggle on the right hand side of that defence. Going into the City game with that again feels like a disaster waiting to happen and Potter needs to find an alternative solution, even if it means turning to a younger, less experienced option and placing trust and faith in that.