Potterball at the West End
Let's see how long this one lasts.
So Thomas Tuchel has now joined a long list of managers who have faced the chop at Chelsea football club. Tuchel won the Champions League just 15 months ago and although they are formalities, he followed that up with the Super cup and Club world cup. To do this with a set of players who are ‘not his’ is an outstanding achievement and just shows how good a manager he is. Despite that, Todd Boehly (Chelsea’s new owner) took a page out of his predecessor’s blueprint and sacked Tuchel due to underlying differences regarding the vision of the club. This departure draws a clear parallel to the former owner, Abramovich, sacking Roberto Di Mateo 4 months after Champions League victory over Bayern Munich 10 years ago. This parallel poses an interesting question: Will Chelsea’s model evolve or are we witnessing a case of new ownership, same club?
On the surface, the latter looks true with Chelsea breaking the transfer record by spending a reported £273.5 million in the summer transfer window. This frenzied approach in the market coupled with the sacking of Tuchel still leaves the lines blurred between old and new ownership. Decisions do not look calculated at the West London club. When outlining his vision for the club, Boehly talks of a ‘new Chelsea’ with a clear strategy and long-term planning yet his actions seem to be of haste; it’s just not adding up. It’s like that person on your Snapchat who posts ‘new year, new me’ on Jan 1 but really and truly there’s no difference at all. Where I’m from, we call them verbalists.
However, Boehly’s appointment of Graham Potter does divert away from Chelsea’s old model of seeking immediate success by employing managers that have a proven track record. The appointment of Graham Potter wasn’t a surprising one considering the current crop of available managers. Potter’s watch has ended at Brighton but now he sails west to sit on the throne at Chelsea. It is unarguable to say that opportunities to manage big six teams are rare for managers who are on the wrong side of the Premier League glass ceiling. Apart from rare appointments like Nuno and Poch to Spurs, Moyes to United and Rodgers to Liverpool, it takes an ex-player greatly loved by the fans for a big six team to look beyond the scope of champions league calibre managers. This is a testament to Potter’s quality as he guided Brighton to a ninth-place finish last season and has left them in 4th place, with 4 wins out of 6 currently. Yes, this is an incredible job but much like Manchester City, Brighton’s success is heavily concerned with synergies between ownership, management and coaching rather than Potter alone.
Despite working with a limited budget, Brighton has signed players like Ben White, Yves Bissouma and Marc Cucurella who have earned moves to Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea respectively. They have also nurtured talents like Trossard and Caicedo, who could easily play for the ‘big 6’ clubs right now. This ability to find diamonds in the rough and develop them is a great trait to have as a manager. With Chelsea being a far bigger club, more funds will be available for Potter to maybe target more established players and build the team in his image; this is cause for excitement given the contrasting financials at Brighton. Any ambitious manager would salivate at the opportunity to be given a treasure chest of resources to build their team but just like Biggie said, “More money, more problems.”
I don’t want to take away from Potter as he has shown quality and developed a cult following because of that. However, when managing in the Swedish league and clubs like Swansea and Brighton are the prominent achievements on your CV…the Chelsea job could be one step too soon. Let’s just say taking the step up to Chelsea, fresh from a takeover and with glaring holes in the structure, is like being thrown in at the deep end with no life jacket, no armbands, and literally no support at all. This is a matter of sink or swim.
Due to unforeseen circumstances, premier league fixtures were postponed last week which has provided Potter more time to build a rapport with his Chelsea players and get them familiar with his philosophy and demands. Think of it like a little pre-season because that is literally what it is: starting from scratch. Whether this is an excuse to alter expectations and objectives for the season remains unknown but if this new ownership is serious about its long-term vision, they need to give Potter time, give Potter reassurances and give Potter paper to spend.
This is one to watch this season, stay tuned.
Greatly written piece