Football

Chelsea board make Graham Potter decision

Chelsea board make Graham Potter decision

The Chelsea board, including owner Todd Boehly, are said to still be 100% behind Graham Potter despite a dismal run of form. Potter, who was appointed as Chelsea boss back in early September, has been under pressure in recent weeks as results have worsened. 

On Sunday, they were knocked out of the FA Cup by Manchester City after succumbing to a 4-0 defeat at the Etihad Stadium. It means that Chelsea have only won one game in their last eight matches and are out of both domestic cup competitions. 

It means that with over four months of the season still left to play, Chelsea’s only hope of silverware is the Champions League. It is also likely that they will have to win the competition to qualify for it next year with the Blues currently sitting in tenth position in the Premier League table. 

During the defeat to Manchester City on Sunday, it appeared that the fans had run out of patience with Potter and the board. They sang about former manager, Thomas Tuchel, and former owner, Roman Abramovich. 

The singing from the fans hasn’t done anything to change Boehly’s mind, however. It is believed that he is looking to move away from the methods employed by Abramovich and sees Potter as a long-term appointment. 

potter and guardiola

Guardiola’s backing

After the game on Sunday, Pep Guardiola offered his support to Potter and urged the Chelsea board to stick with him after the job he did at Brighton. The City boss said:

“I would say to Todd Boehly, give him time. I know in big clubs, results are important but I’d say give him time. What he’s done at Brighton is outstanding, but we need time in the first season. I had Messi in Barcelona my first season so I didn’t need two seasons because Messi was there.”

While the support from Guardiola was undoubtedly appreciated, Potter couldn’t hide his disappointment after the game. The former Brighton manager said:

“The results in a small space of time are not positive. You can make excuses and look for reasons or say it isn’t good enough. Both of those answers are correct. We have to keep improving and stick together because clearly we are suffering as a football club and it’s not nice at all.

We can’t do anything apart from do our jobs better and work harder. You understand the supporters’ frustration, we respect that. But our job is to keep working.”

A mountain of injuries

One thing that might be giving Potter the benefit of the doubt, for now, is the list of players currently injured at the club. As things stand, they are currently without Reece James, Ben Chilwell, Wesley Fofana, N’Golo Kante, Raheem Sterling and Christian Pulisic. 

If all of those players were fit then it isn’t unreasonable to suggest that they would all be in Graham Potter’s starting eleven. 

Despite the injury problems at the club, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang couldn’t even make the substitute bench on Sunday. It is now expected that the club will look to move the former Arsenal and Barcelona man on during the January transfer window.


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