Graham Potter Thread

[Blue Armour 4,288]

2 minutes ago, Pizy said:

Yeah, I highly doubt he would. But it would be foolish not to reach out.

Imagine Klopp with a high transfer budget…

He won't come.

After all the things he has publicly said, he would be a massive hypocrite to come here.

And I don't think he will change his principles. 

No way will he come to Chelsea right after leaving Liverpool.

[Vegetable 830]

It is understood we are looking into talented, German manager Nicolas Nuchel - he fits Boehly's philosophy of snagging raw talent before other club's will look into them. Dude is gifted with bold character, hungry for success and reportedly tactically proven with difficult opponents.

[OneMoSalah 8,778]

2 hours ago, Hashishi said:

I think if the owners are content on keeping him, we should look forward to his 2nd season form being better

 

 

 

 

Jump in performances but not results. No thanks.

And for year 1. Well we’ve not seen any ideas this season bar using Sterling at RWB and continuing as the best team in the world at passing the ball around the back 4 needlessly and aimlessly, with no goal of getting up the pitch. 

[Vegetable 830]

Quote

first season implementing ideas

Problem is, no sign of this so far

Quote

they're playing like a top 6 club

😂

 

I don't know who Graham Potter would have to be for a club like Chelsea to throw 3 seasons to shitter for him to get us from 9th to 7th. It's beyond ridiculous now. But hey, the ratio of xG to square root of his shoe size is top3 level!

Edited February 4, 2023 by Vegetable

[ulsterchelsea 3,221]

I loved the idea of Potter and I'm not a reactionary fan by any means but i just dont know atm. It's clear that the injuries this season have absolutely crippled us and the underperformers in this team have only hastened the poor run of form. But the thing that worries me is his general persona. We've seen him interviewed by the clubs social media guy (🤢🤮) and on sky etc and he just strikes me as a complete wetwipe. I just can't see the lads being wowed by him. I do genuinely believe he's a good coach but, well...we're Chelsea fc. Chelsea FUCKING FOOTBALL CLUB! We're massive (contrary to how some on here perceive us) and I don't think he has enough balls to be the manager we need. Completely understand people talking up Jose because that's the sort of profile of manager we should have. I don't mean his tactics but more his mentality. We need someone to inspire. Watching Potter early OK asking J5 and others if they'd tried their breathing techniques made me cringe. Anyway time will tell. The money that's been spent here will absolutely demand results. Its fine saying he's being given time but all of us I'm sure hoped for a massive turn around last night. My 9 year old fancied 6 nil and an Enzo hatrick....alas! Todd's reaction in the box told a tale. Do we think many more draws/lacklustre performances will be tolerated?

[Blue Armour 4,288]

19 minutes ago, ulsterchelsea said:

I loved the idea of Potter and I'm not a reactionary fan by any means but i just dont know atm. It's clear that the injuries this season have absolutely crippled us and the underperformers in this team have only hastened the poor run of form. But the thing that worries me is his general persona. We've seen him interviewed by the clubs social media guy (🤢🤮) and on sky etc and he just strikes me as a complete wetwipe. I just can't see the lads being wowed by him. I do genuinely believe he's a good coach but, well...we're Chelsea fc. Chelsea FUCKING FOOTBALL CLUB! We're massive (contrary to how some on here perceive us) and I don't think he has enough balls to be the manager we need. Completely understand people talking up Jose because that's the sort of profile of manager we should have. I don't mean his tactics but more his mentality. We need someone to inspire. Watching Potter early OK asking J5 and others if they'd tried their breathing techniques made me cringe. Anyway time will tell. The money that's been spent here will absolutely demand results. Its fine saying he's being given time but all of us I'm sure hoped for a massive turn around last night. My 9 year old fancied 6 nil and an Enzo hatrick....alas! Todd's reaction in the box told a tale. Do we think many more draws/lacklustre performances will be tolerated?

We've always done better with coaches with more personality - before Mourinho, there were Vialli, Gullit and Ranieri. I would argue that even Hiddink showed more personality.

Struggling to think of any coach that we've had in the past 3 decades who is comparable to Potter.

[Fernando 6,463]

4 hours ago, TheHulk said:

Dyche needed less than a week to imprint his style on a worse team while going up against the leaders, while Potter with superstar team got 1 point out of 6 against Fullham. 

Klopp team losing 3 to 0 to wolves yet klopp is world class.... 

[NikkiCFC 7,953]

Mourinho lol 

Now with Juve out and after he got Dybala, Belotti, Matic, Wijnaldum and others if he doesn't get top4 that would be huge failure. 

[NikkiCFC 7,953]

47 minutes ago, Blue Armour said:

 

Struggling to think of any coach that we've had in the past 3 decades who is comparable to Potter.

Last night reminded me of Lampard last couple of months tenure. Same formation and huge empty space between lines. Also both just sitting on the bench doing nothing. 

[Blue Armour 4,288]

49 minutes ago, NikkiCFC said:

Last night reminded me of Lampard last couple of months tenure. Same formation and huge empty space between lines. Also both just sitting on the bench doing nothing. 

Yeah both of them are too passive on the touchline. 

At least Lampard sounded more interesting when he spoke. And he did get into a fight with Klopps team. That's not the hallmark of a great manager, but at least it shows some character. 

I also don't know if there's any language barriers coming into play.

Is Potters squad entirely English? Does he himself speak multiple languages?

EDIT: Looks like he has Bruno Saltor who is Spanish and Bjorn Hamburg from Sweden so there is diversity there. 

And plus, he's already coached teams like Brighton which were plenty diverse so no issues there.

It's probably just the difference in player egos.

Edited February 4, 2023 by Blue Armour

[lucio 5,418]

10 hours ago, Vesper said:

possible targets

(not in any complete order, and just so no one asks where he is, ZZ will likely never manage in England)

 

Julian Nagelsmann (likely no chance atm)

Mauricio Pochettino

Hansi Flick

Joachim Löw

Luis Enrique 

Lionel Scaloni (likely no chance atm)

Zlatko Dalic 

Oliver Glasner (Frankfurt)

Christian Streich (Freiburg)

Urs Fischer (Union Berlin)

Diego Simeone (not a good fit though) 

Abel Ferreira 

Franck Haise (Lens)

Régis Le Bris (Lorient)

Philippe Clement (Monaco)

Stefano Pioli

Gian Piero Gasperini 

Kasper Hjulmand

Thomas Frank

Roger Schmidt (eek)

Sérgio Conceição (Porto)

Rúben Amorim (Sporting Lisbon)

Marcelo Gallardo (last job, River Plate)

Hugo Ibarra (Boca Juniors)

Julien Stéphan

Gerardo Seoane

 

and one to watch down the road

Karel Geraerts (Royale Union Saint-Gilloise)

Thats a good list. Shame unai emery is emoloyed, I always rated him at valencia and Sevilla

[Vesper 28,827]

Champions League registration rules explained: Why Chelsea could not register all of their new signings

https://theathletic.com/4150251/2023/02/03/champions-league-registration-rules-Chelsea-signings/

Chelsea head coach Graham Potter admitted he was preparing to have some awkward conversations with the players who would not win a place in his Champions League squad and his decision has now been made public.

The club made eight new signings in January — albeit Malo Gusto has returned to Lyon on loan — but only three have been able to be added to the Champions League squad for the knockout phase.

That meant Potter had to choose between Enzo Fernandez, Mykhailo Mudryk, Benoit Badiashile, Noni Madueke, Joao Felix, David Datro Fofana and Andrey Santos. Santos is still waiting for his work permit.

Ultimately, he chose to include Fernandez, Mudryk and Felix.

GO DEEPER

Mudryk, Fernandez, Felix added to Chelsea Champions League squad, Aubameyang omitted

Potter was also forced to cut an existing member of the squad — Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang made way.

Confused? We examine Chelsea’s conundrum in more detail below.

GO DEEPER

How were Chelsea allowed to spend so much in the January transfer window?

---

How many players can be registered?

Submitted Champions League squad lists are split into two lists: list A and list B.

List A is the one that has to be filed to UEFA following the closure of the transfer window. List B can be submitted anywhere up until 11pm GMT (6pm EST, 3pm PT) the day before each matchday.

List A is the important one. It consists of a maximum of 25 players with at least two of them being goalkeepers. Eight of the 25 spots are reserved for locally-trained players.

If a club do not have eight locally-trained players, they can still submit a valid list. However, the 25-man list will reduce accordingly to the lack of locally-trained players.

For example, if a club can only named seven locally-trained players, they would only be able to name 24 players in list A. Only six locally-trained players would mean a 23-man list, and so on.

Of those eight players, at least four must be club-trained and have spent three years or more at the club between the age of 15 and 21. Trevoh Chalobah, Conor Gallagher, Reece James, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Mason Mount are all examples at Chelsea.

The other four locally-trained spots can be taken up by players who spent three years between the age of 15 and 21 at another club in the same country. Ben Chilwell (trained at Leicester) and Raheem Sterling (trained at Liverpool) are among those that qualify for that criteria in Graham Potter’s squad.

List B can contain an unlimited list of players. Although, there are stipulations.

Players on List B must have been born on or after January 1, 2001 and been at the club for either two uninterrupted years since their 15th birthday or for three years including one loan of no more than a year.

There must also be an additional goalkeeper on List B.

Armando Broja (born September 10, 2001) and Lewis Hall (born September 8, 2004) are included on that list for Chelsea but Carney Chukwuemeka is not because he he has not been at the club long enough.

Why were Chelsea not allowed to register all of their new signings?

Champions League clubs have to submit two squad lists throughout the season.

The first was submitted on September 2, 2o22 for the group stage.

This is how Chelsea’s squad list looked at that point.

Goalkeepers: Kepa Arrizabalaga, Marcus Bettinelli, Edouard Mendy.
Defenders: Cesar Azpilicueta, Trevoh Chalobah, Ben Chilwell, Marc Cucurella, Wesley Fofana, Kalidou Koulibaly, Reece James, Thiago Silva.
Midfielders: Carney Chukwuemeka, Conor Gallagher, Jorginho, N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Mason Mount, Christian Pulisic, Denis Zakaria, Hakim Ziyech.
Forwards: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Kai Havertz, Raheem Sterling.

Once they have qualified for the knockout stage, clubs must submit a second squad list, on February 2, 2023.

In that second list, a maximum of three new signings can be included. Fortunately for Chelsea, those players are allowed to have played for another team during the group stage.

Unfortunately for Chelsea, they have seven more players at Cobham than they had at the beginning of January.

GO DEEPER

Chelsea's transfer window: Stellar signings, a 'Class A circus' and Ziyech's Boehly plea

That gave Potter a very tough decision to make. He not only had to leave out four of his new signings, but another place needed to be opened up.

Jorginho’s departure to Arsenal freed up a spot for the Chelsea manager but one more existing player was left disappointed.

Which Chelsea players missed out?

 

Noni Madueke was one of the players who did make the cut (Photo: Joupin Ghamsari/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)

Chelsea’s January transfer business looked like this.

In: Benoit Badiashile, David Datro Fofana, Andrey Santos, Joao Felix (loan), Mykhailo Mudryk, Noni Madueke, Malo Gusto (loaned back to Lyon), Enzo Fernandez.

Out: Bashir Humphreys (loan), Cesare Casadei (loan), Jude Soonsup-Bell, Jorginho.

Four of the players listed in the ‘in’ section are not able to play for Chelsea in the Champions League.

After being confirmed, this is how the updated squad list looks.

Goalkeepers: Kepa Arrizabalaga, Marcus Bettinelli, Edouard Mendy.
Defenders: Cesar Azpilicueta, Trevoh Chalobah, Ben Chilwell, Marc Cucurella, Wesley Fofana, Kalidou Koulibaly, Reece James, Thiago Silva.
Midfielders: Carney Chukwuemeka, Enzo Fernandez, Conor Gallagher, N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Mason Mount, Christian Pulisic, Denis Zakaria, Hakim Ziyech.
Forwards: Kai Havertz, Joao Felix, Mykhailo Mudryk, Raheem Sterling.

That decision regarding the squad list means Badiashile, David Fofana, Santos, and Madueke have been left out, as well as Aubameyang who was included in September’s list.

Speaking ahead of the announcement, Potter knew that he would have to have a few awkward conversations.

“We have a bit of time before we make the decision, we are aware of who we need to speak to,” he said.

“There are going to be a few awkward conversations, that’s the reality of where we are because only 11 can play, only a certain amount of players can be in the squad, there are always going to be ones who are disappointed and it’s about being honest and open, respectful, transparent as you can.

“And again create an environment where you respect the fact people want to play, players want to compete and help the team. But also that they’re patient and make sure they’re ready to play.”

Chelsea face Borussia Dortmund in the last 16. The first leg, played in Germany, is on Wednesday, February 15 before the second leg at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday, March 7.

GO DEEPER

What do other Premier League clubs think of Chelsea and their transfer spending?

[lucio 5,418]

Sack him today so we can compete in the CL and top 4 race. Get poch or Enrique and we are balling 

[Reddish-Blue 2,347]

13 hours ago, Pizy said:

I think he will 100% get the remainder of the season. If we show dramatic improvement once all the new boys settle in then obviously he’ll stay. If we labor through the rest of the season with more matches like last night then I think in the summer the ownership can legitimately say they gave him a whole season to improve and we didn’t and then get rid.

The tricky thing is that there isn’t some obvious candidate who is out of work that you’d be super sure about. 

You know who would be a very interesting option, though? Bielsa. For me personally I really want a manger who has a super defined, clearly obvious philosophy. And I do think that we now have the sort of player Bielsa can implement his style with.

I hope we go nowhere near Bielsa.   Even Everton backed out of a possible Bielsa deal because apparently he requested specific players for his system and the Everton board disagreed.  

I wouldn't mind Flick if he is interested in club coaching again, has shown that he can deal with egos in a dressing room (Bayern Munich & Germany to an extent).  The other name that may be a bit left field is Glasner at Frankfurt, he's been in that RB model a few years back and I'm sure Vivell will keep a close eye on his progress. 

[DDA 9,690]

1 hour ago, lucio said:

Sack him today so we can compete in the CL and top 4 race. Get poch or Enrique and we are balling 

Poch???

No thanks !

Enrique maybe but still not fully convinced by him either.

[Pizy 18,368]

What’s needed is someone who instantly commands huge respect from the players. Someone who has got winning pedigree or has at least established something impressive at a big club which also has high expectations.

If Potter goes at some point I don’t want us to take a punt on some young up and comer from a small club somewhere. We tried it with Lamps and it failed, we’re now trying it with Potter and the experiment is failing to produce any notable improvement yet.

Not sure I’m totally sold on Luis Enrique. Think Poch would be solid but not a sure fire choice. Someone like Flick is interesting and getting some of that attacking Bayern DNA could be hugely beneficial.

And then you know these reports about Mou offering himself back to the club sounds just like Jose. He probably thinks he can work wonders with this squad we have. But I think he’s the last guy all these young talents need right now. 

[lucio 5,418]

17 minutes ago, Pizy said:

What’s needed is someone who instantly commands huge respect from the players. Someone who has got winning pedigree or has at least established something impressive at a big club which also has high expectations.

If Potter goes at some point I don’t want us to take a punt on some young up and comer from a small club somewhere. We tried it with Lamps and it failed, we’re now trying it with Potter and the experiment is failing to produce any notable improvement yet.

Not sure I’m totally sold on Luis Enrique. Think Poch would be solid but not a sure fire choice. Someone like Flick is interesting and getting some of that attacking Bayern DNA could be hugely beneficial.

And then you know these reports about Mou offering himself back to the club sounds just like Jose. He probably thinks he can work wonders with this squad we have. But I think he’s the last guy all these young talents need right now. 

Mourinho needs to reinvent himself if he wants to stay relevant. He'd need to become a promoter of youth 

[DDA 9,690]

Honestly..  this talk of Jose coming back is farcical. He is done at the highest level.