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Chelsea are now without a manager after sacking Graham Potter, with the Blues dropping into the bottom half of the Premier League following Saturday’s loss against Aston Villa.
There have already been plenty of big names linked with the vacancy, with the likes of Zinedine Zidane, Mauricio Pochettino, Luis Enrique and Julian Nagelsmann all potentially in line to take over. Brighton boss Roberto de Zerbi and former Chelsea manager Antonio Conte have also been linked.
But where did it all go wrong for Potter? The Blues have had a miserable campaign, where they currently sit 11th in the Premier League table.
But while they exited in the third round of both the FA Cup and League Cup at the hands of Manchester City, Chelsea remain in the Champions League, where they face Real Madrid in the quarter-finals later this month.
Shearer reacts to Potter sacking
The Blues spent £550m on new players this season, but find themselves 12 points off the top four and having sacked two managers by April.
Potter’s sacking came after his 11th defeat in 31 matches since taking over from Thomas Tuchel in September, with the boss lasting just seven months in the dugout at Stamford Bridge.
Despite the poor form, the sacking came as a huge surprise to former Newcastle striker Alan Shearer.
“You know the rules when you go into a job these days,” Shearer told Match of the Day 2, as quoted by BBC Sport.
“But who on earth pays £20m for their services – Potter and his staff – puts them on a five/six-year contract, pays them £10m a year, gives them a ridiculous amount of players for a stupid amount of money and then seven months later sacks him?
“It can only happen in football. Anyone with a football brain will tell you signing that amount of players is not going to work.”
Potter better suited to Brighton
Another pundit to react to Potter’s sacking is former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy, who believes the manager is more suited to being in charge of a smaller club.
Potter had been flying high with Brighton, with his success on the south coast earning him the Chelsea job in September.
But the boss quickly found out just how different things can be at a major club like Chelsea, who made countless signings under his reign, often against his will or without him knowing.
The good news for Potter is that he will undoubtedly find a new job in management soon enough, given both his talents and indeed the large number of clubs that are currently without a manager.
He can take confidence from former Chelsea boss Tuchel, who is now in the dugout at German giants Bayern Munich.
“Most people thought it would be better than it has been,” said Murphy. “Potter made a lot of changes and that didn’t help. From a toxic stadium where they were booing – I don’t see how you come back from that. Chelsea’s owners thought ‘let’s do it now.’
“Some managers are better suited to managing the underdogs who have to punch above their weight and I think Potter could be that.”
Defeat this afternoon.#CheAvl pic.twitter.com/CGV0uaTTJs
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) April 1, 2023
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