Graham Potter | turns down Ajax job

Potter is a good coach, but he's also very inexperienced at the top level, as in, he's never won anywhere or coached top top players prior to Chelsea....and it shows.

If there's no unified front between Potter, Boehly, and the recruitment team, then the manager position at Chelsea will continue to be a revolving door and they'll continue to spend and spend until they rebuild their core and its a good cup team.

I totally agree but that’s on Boehly. He’s dragged his feet all summer filling back room roles at the club. He must of known he and Tuchel weren’t going to work together but waited to sack him after the season started and the window closed.

If he always had this grand plan of getting Potter and the Brighton staff why not do it earlier, give them a pre season or at least part in the window to bring targets in.

The whole thing has been a mess. Even their transfer business saw them move from target to target with no real plan. Rejection after rejection. No groundwork done.

Boehly is getting a pass but he literally had MONTHS to sort this out before the season started. He apparently had a big plan which he presented to obtain ownership in the first place. If so why didn’t he sort these things day one and thrash out things with Tuchel much sooner?

The worrying thing is looking at what they are doing this window it all seems to be following the same pattern as in the summer. Just throw money at everything and see what sticks.
 
Remember that Chelsea are now owned by an investment group and not an Oligarch - there is a big difference - the investment group are looking to make the club a profitable entity - that was never the case with Roman. Therefore they must have a strategic plan in order to return a profit in the long term - therefore employing a manager to build and also bringing most of the Brighton rectruitment team as well means they are in for the long haul - it would make no sense to appoint a Zidane or Conte type who want loads of cash for the here and now.

Potter is in a similar position that ETH walked into at the beginning of the season - he needs to get rid, move on certain players and bring in his own and develop players to suit him. He currently has a hop-potch of differing players, ageing players, that needs addressing.

Chelsea supporters are not happy but they need to realise they are now a different entity post Roman….
 
Neither of those managers had a full 3 years, so United gave them some time except Moyes. Moyes was totally inept even with an entire pre season and summer transfer window.

Ole inherited an underperformed team and went on a fantastic streak...he got a tune out of the team for another 1.5 years too. Potter is in a very bad moment, his first as Chelsea manager, which he may not see past.
He won’t get past it because he doesn’t have the experience to get out of this mess. This is why he should have waited for the Tottenham job and done 3 years there before moving to a team like chelsea.
 
Remember that Chelsea are now owned by an investment group and not an Oligarch - there is a big difference - the investment group are looking to make the club a profitable entity - that was never the case with Roman. Therefore they must have a strategic plan in order to return a profit in the long term - therefore employing a manager to build and also bringing most of the Brighton rectruitment team as well means they are in for the long haul - it would make no sense to appoint a Zidane or Conte type who want loads of cash for the here and now.

Potter is in a similar position that ETH walked into at the beginning of the season - he needs to get rid, move on certain players and bring in his own and develop players to suit him. He currently has a hop-potch of differing players, ageing players, that needs addressing.

Chelsea supporters are not happy but they need to realise they are now a different entity post Roman….
Okay, but this group literally sacked Tuchel about a month after taking over, and then went out and spent money Tuchel wanted them to spend and hired a guy they liked because of the way he sold players to them.
 
I totally agree but that’s on Boehly. He’s dragged his feet all summer filling back room roles at the club. He must of known he and Tuchel weren’t going to work together but waited to sack him after the season started and the window closed.

If he always had this grand plan of getting Potter and the Brighton staff why not do it earlier, give them a pre season or at least part in the window to bring targets in.

The whole thing has been a mess. Even their transfer business saw them move from target to target with no real plan. Rejection after rejection. No groundwork done.

Boehly is getting a pass but he literally had MONTHS to sort this out before the season started. He apparently had a big plan which he presented to obtain ownership in the first place. If so why didn’t he sort these things day one and thrash out things with Tuchel much sooner?

The worrying thing is looking at what they are doing this window it all seems to be following the same pattern as in the summer. Just throw money at everything and see what sticks.

A lot of it is on Boehly agree, but he also is a victim as is Chelsea and to an extent Tuchel, of his own naivety and ignorance. Months aren't enough to get acclimated to European club football and the levels of operations on the player side.

This is his and Chelsea's teething period and it could come at a Potter's expense.

Loads to blame on Boehly, but silver lining is the fact that Chelsea will continue to spend until they rectify the situation. Money isn't a thing and that's the worrying part even if they studder and stop because they'll hoover up good players and inflate the market.
 
Remember that Chelsea are now owned by an investment group and not an Oligarch - there is a big difference - the investment group are looking to make the club a profitable entity - that was never the case with Roman. Therefore they must have a strategic plan in order to return a profit in the long term - therefore employing a manager to build and also bringing most of the Brighton rectruitment team as well means they are in for the long haul - it would make no sense to appoint a Zidane or Conte type who want loads of cash for the here and now.

Potter is in a similar position that ETH walked into at the beginning of the season - he needs to get rid, move on certain players and bring in his own and develop players to suit him. He currently has a hop-potch of differing players, ageing players, that needs addressing.

Chelsea supporters are not happy but they need to realise they are now a different entity post Roman….

Spending years out of the CL due to throwing all your eggs into the one manager basket, especially one with Potter’s CV, is not a way to make a club profitable; in fact, it’s quite the opposite.
Risking it all on a manager with no background of winning or competing at the top level would be utterly insane, especially with the Premier League as competitive as it is now.
 
He won’t get past it because he doesn’t have the experience to get out of this mess. This is why he should have waited for the Tottenham job and done 3 years there before moving to a team like chelsea.

NES did the same but it didn't help him. Even Spurs don't have patience as long as you spend and have a place among European competition.

West Ham might be a good spot as well. Signing the name players don't always mean they are the right players...that gets dismissed all too frequently.
 
A lot of it is on Boehly agree, but he also is a victim as is Chelsea and to an extent Tuchel, of his own naivety and ignorance. Months aren't enough to get acclimated to European club football and the levels of operations on the player side.

This is his and Chelsea's teething period and it could come at a Potter's expense.

Loads to blame on Boehly, but silver lining is the fact that Chelsea will continue to spend until they rectify the situation. Money isn't a thing and that's the worrying part even if they studder and stop because they'll hoover up good players and inflate the market.

I think money is very much a thing and they are blowing through it rather quickly.

It may seem okay now but paying massively inflated fees and wages, even for Potter and to Brighton, only works long term if everything clicks. They aren’t bankrolled by Roman now nor can they take as many risks as previously.
 
NES did the same but it didn't help him. Even Spurs don't have patience as long as you spend and have a place among European competition.

West Ham might be a good spot as well. Signing the name players don't always mean they are the right players...that gets dismissed all too frequently.
Yeah but he was literally their 15th choice, first choice (like Conte) generally get a bit more leeway.
 
What was interesting is how quickly Tuchel got Chelsea playing well mid-season after Lampard had them mid-table, there was no excuses of getting his players in, missing pre season. Seeing us (United) I don't think pre-season was worth much for ETH. Chelsea then ended that season as one of the form teams and followed that up for the first half of the next season and for me all fell apart when the Russia thing happened.

The tough thing for Potter is convincing top players, that were convinced with Tuchel for the first year and wanted a top coach in over Lampard. Potter could be given time to get a different profile of player in and build a very good team but the job could quickly consume him if there's not some improvement with his methods.
 
I’m a big Potter fan but that was so flat and irrespective of injuries there was zero effort from the players. An xG of 0.1 is laughably bad.

If Zidane wants the job now do you pull the trigger?

@WeePat @duffer @TheMagicFoolBus @SirReginald @ZolaWasMagic

I know it’s a big if but your policy in the past has been sack and move on quickly. It’s worked too..

I just want Tuchel back. Obviously Zidane is an icon but I do wonder how much success he'd have in a situation where he doesn't have deep ties. Think he'd also jump at the first chance to manage France, personally.
 
who is your DoF?
We don’t have anyone under that title, but David Weir is technical director and head of football operations, he took over when Dan Ashworth left for Newcastle, before that he was Ashworth’s deputy. He basically does the DoF job.
 
They should stick with him and see out their philosophy of appointing him. This is just Arteta growing pains and will take time and lots of money, he doesn't have a magic wand.

I love the way Arteta is being used as a barometer around here. He's had, what, half a good season ffs. I fully expect Arsenal to crash and burn this season.
 
I love the way Arteta is being used as a barometer around here. He's had, what, half a good season ffs. I fully expect Arsenal to crash and burn this season.

Well it was half in jest.

People love their analogies and comparisons, Ole Klopp progress and so on, crash and burn, don't write-off this player because such and such came good. This player at 36 played well so I think he can too etc.

I was expecting Arsenal to at least fall away a bit, and still doubt they can stay ahead, they might just miss out. When the results were poor we had people within the club and close to the media sticking with Arteta, liking the work behind the scenes and so far paying off. If he keeps them in the top 4 for a few years even that would be a big step from where they were. A crash and burn for me would be falling back to 4th and not getting in the top 4 the year after.
 
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Well it was half in jest.

People love the analogies and comparisons, Ole Klopp progress and so on.

Fair enough.

But it's not the first time I've seen the analogy used, and it's really strange. The bloke has achieved nothing so far, barring half a season where they somehow sit top of the league.
 
I love the way Arteta is being used as a barometer around here. He's had, what, half a good season ffs. I fully expect Arsenal to crash and burn this season.
This. They will revert back to their mean next season fighting for CL spots.
 
Cucurella, Koulibaly, and Sterling. Three of the worst signings this season, and to be fair to Potter none of them were his signings.
 
Fair enough.

But it's not the first time I've seen the analogy used, and it's really strange. The bloke has achieved nothing so far, barring half a season where they somehow sit top of the league.

Yes, we won't know for a long while yet.

An FA Cup win is pretty decent, more than we've done in 5 years though.
 
I was very annoyed at the time that we failed to beat this sorry team (very nearly lost even) and that has only been confirmed to me as weeks went by. We played their shirt and their badge, but they are hopeless. When do we play them again please?
 
I think you know the score when you sign up to manage Chelsea, especially parachuting in mid-season. He'd already built enough credit to be in line for a big job on his own terms, and any of the other big clubs in the country would have been a better fit for him when another job opened up.

If he does end up getting the sack there, I think he'll quite badly regret not waiting for better circumstances.
He should have waited for Spurs. Conte will be gone end of this season or next and Spurs is the perfect stepping stone from Brighton. He could get them playing attractive football without much pressure to win trophies and getting into top 4 is a plus. If he does well there he gets another move in 3/4 years to one of Chelsea, United, City, Pool. Now he's gone to Chelsea at the worst time possible, if he gets the sack end of the season it dent his reputation.
 
They have to give Potter time. When you appoint a manager like Potter who makes a team greater than the sum of its parts you have to give time for the players to learn the fundamentals subconsciously. He also needs to get rid of players and make his own signings. This isn’t Moyes who had a limited tactical playing style , Potters Brighton team were outstanding. Even when we beat them they would play us off the park. ETH for me is better than Potter but similar in approach and we have done really well but he had £200mill to spend on his own players in the summer and even then we will be a far better team in 12 months than we are now. But we are getting better and better.

Id like Chelsea to sack Potter, it’s what they do but it would be a mistake. This is a 3/4 year project that I don’t doubt would come good in that time.
 
Doesn’t have access to Bloom’s data anymore so at a massive disadvantage….
 
I genuinely thought Potter had the good sense to see that his best career move would be to see the season out with Brighton and take over a club in a fresh transfer window.

Instead he took over a club that bought and borrowed 8 new first team players during Tuchels final window, while they lost Rüdiger, Christensen, Alonso etc. Surprising to very few, they added too many bodies and they are struggling to find something that works. That team had such a enormous upheaval on top of having a new owner who is at best an unknown quantity.

Now Potter has no pre-season, no real time to impact the club with his own transfers, feel the heat off the English press, unquestionably feel the heat from the owners on top of a squad with dressing room disharmony and an increasing amount of fingerpointing.

I dont know if it was hubris, or a lack of a belief in himself finding the same level of employer at a time of his choosing that made him quit his success project at the worst possible time, but its by far one of the worst managerial career decisions Ive seen in the sport to date.
 
He should have waited for Spurs. Conte will be gone end of this season or next and Spurs is the perfect stepping stone from Brighton. He could get them playing attractive football without much pressure to win trophies and getting into top 4 is a plus. If he does well there he gets another move in 3/4 years to one of Chelsea, United, City, Pool. Now he's gone to Chelsea at the worst time possible, if he gets the sack end of the season it dent his reputation.
This Spurs squad are even less suited to him.
 
This Spurs squad are even less suited to him.
Yes but Spurs fans are a different animal to Chelsea’s mob. And the Spurs fans I know in real life are desperate for a long term project and style of football.

Conte and Potter should just swap jobs, everyone would be happy.
 
Thank feck Richard Arnold never fancied him, Glad we went through that interview process and got the best man available.

I feel like with Potter at Chelsea they'll never look any better and I'm comfortable knowing that's only good for United.

There should be an online counter campaign by United Fans promoting "Please don't Sack Potter" on social media platforms, maybe that would help keep him at his Job for a few years yet.
 
Yes but Spurs fans are a different animal to Chelsea’s mob. And the Spurs fans I know in real life are desperate for a long term project and style of football.

Conte and Potter should just swap jobs, everyone would be happy.
But that's the point, he won't be able to get that squad playing attractive football and he's unlikely to be sufficiently backed by Levy in order to change that.
 
This will be a lesson to clubs hiring upcoming managers from down the table. The gap in expectation and quality between the top clubs and bottom/mid table clubs is enormous.

Fans never learn. Player X and coach Y see what they are doing at mid table clubs imagine how much better they will be if they get to a bigger club and given a higher budget

This time last season everyone was raving about Cucurela Bissouma and Potter. They all moved and looked out of their depth
 
i genuinely think Spurs should go for him if he gets sacked

much less pressure at a club where you're basically a legend if you're ever in a title race in November

Everton should too but doubt he'd wanna risk adding a relegation to his CV
 
I still rate him, but he needs to adapt and find a way to win games ugly as soon as possible.
ETH learns quickly that he needs to be pragmatic earlier to buy some time before he could fully implemented his style.
Potter is a system based manager and he put himself in an awful time to implement his system when he agreed to join Chelsea mid season just after the transfer window close.
 
I think he's a good manager and he would come good over time, he's certainly capable of better than what's been offered so far. Chelsea seem to be in a bit of a mess right now, similar to us historically with scattergun transfers, lots of money spent and little to show for it. Can imagine there's all sorts of politics going on behind the scenes with Boehly.

That said, he probably won't get the time he needs.
 
I love the way Arteta is being used as a barometer around here. He's had, what, half a good season ffs. I fully expect Arsenal to crash and burn this season.

He's had half an excellent season and he's been improving them each year. 8th > 5th > ?

It's highly unlikely they don't get top 4 this year or at least 2nd.
 
He's had half an excellent season and he's been improving them each year. 8th > 5th > ?

It's highly unlikely they don't get top 4 this year or at least 2nd.
He did get back to back 8th place finishes. Potter wouldn't be afforded that same luxury.