Graham Potter: Chelsea boss under pressure but supported by at least one of the club’s owners | Football news

goznews02/28/2023

0 6 minutes read

Graham Potter is under pressure at Chelsea but he still has the backing of at least one of the club’s owners.

Chelsea, who are 10th in the Premier League table and 14 points behind fourth-placed Tottenham, have won just once in their last 11 matches in all competitions – scoring four goals in that span – while they could not score any goals away from home. matches since October 16.

Defeat against Tottenham on Sunday increased scrutiny of Potter’s position at Stamford Bridge, but there is a feeling that a change of manager now will be a step backwards rather than forwards for the Blues, especially given the investment invest in new players and build a new structure around the head coach.

Since taking new ownership of Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea have spent more than £600m bringing in 19 new players to the team, including Argentine midfielder Enzo Fernandez for a record transfer fee. British record is 106.8 million pounds

However, results did not come to Potter, who left Brighton to join Chelsea last September, signing a five-year contract in west London.

He has now won just nine of his 26 games as Chelsea manager since being recruited from Brighton in September, and their defeat in north London means his side are on the mend. have the longest streak without a win away from home in the Premier League in 22 years.

They were also beaten 1–0 in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie against Borussia Dortmund, then were eliminated in the third round of both the FA Cup and Carabao Cup by Manchester City.

Potter: I can’t rely on the support of the board forever

Potter admitted after the defeat to Tottenham that he had not performed enough at Chelsea to deserve unlimited support, but compared his situation to that experienced by Mikel Arteta and Jurgen Klopp at Arsenal and Liverpool, respectively.

“The results are not good enough for Chelsea,” he said. I take full responsibility for those results.

“I think the players gave everything, it was just the goal that changed the game and that made it difficult for us.

“If the results are not good enough, which is not achieved at the moment, then you cannot rely on support forever.”

When asked at his post-match press conference if he would accept the owner’s favor might eventually disappear, Potter replied: “There’s always that question, and you can’t. stop the questions, and while the result is the same I accept it – it’s part of the job.

“We talked before the game about watching Arsenal All or nothing [documentary] and two years after Mikel’s reign, he’s about to be fired and people are wanting him to go and it’s a disaster. Obviously things have changed a bit now but that’s just that.

“If you look at Jurgen (Klopp’s) situation, they [Liverpool] no results and suddenly everyone wants him out.

“That’s the nature of football and obviously I haven’t done enough at this club to have too much good faith and I accept that too. My job is not to worry too much about that. .”

“I understand the question and completely understand where it is coming from and just try to focus on helping the team and supporting the players because I really like these players. They are good boys, they want to be. do better, they want to win but at the moment we are suffering and it is my responsibility.”

Potter’s Chelsea comeback – how long will the owner’s support continue?

Chelsea have continued to fall behind under Graham Potter despite owner support and record spending in January – and now fan support is dwindling.

Read our feature here

‘I could have played Chelsea vs Spurs – too slow!’

Sky Sports ‘Paul Merson:

“It’s the worst thing I’ve seen at Chelsea in over 20 years. The fans are raging now. I watched the game against Tottenham on Sunday and it was the most hostile I’ve ever seen. heard from Chelsea fans.

“I think Graham Potter will start the next two games, against Leeds and Dortmund in the Champions League. What actually happens against Leeds does not matter, it all depends on the game against Dortmund.

“It’s the only competition Chelsea can win, they’re out of the FA Cup and not in the top four, and there’s no way they can go to a Champions League game without a coach, that’s all. That’s nonsense. People can say it won’t get worse, but it won’t get better. It’s been a big week.

“At Tottenham, they don’t want to score in a year with a lot of Sundays. Mykhailo Mudryk is a £88m signing sitting on the bench, that tells you he’s not a player for the club. Potter If he was his player and he went up to the board and said he needed him, and would have to play him.

“When Chelsea lost 0-1 to Dortmund, I think they will definitely beat them in the second leg. Since then, I don’t understand how they can score two goals in one game.

“They never want to score at Spurs. I can play for Chelsea on Sunday when they have the ball because it’s too slow – and I’m 54! I can’t run around anymore but I can pass the ball, and I I could have played in the team It was slow, sideways, backward, I can play like that at my age.

“Chelsea’s most important game is against Tottenham and it’s lackluster. They could still play now and they won’t score. I can’t remember how excited I was against them.

“Chelsea beat Tottenham 4/4 times last season, twice in the national cup, twice in the league and that’s when they had Heung-Min Son playing fiercely. Now he comes on from the bench. suffer and they still can’t get results.

“I like Potter, they should have given him a chance, but scored one goal in six games, one win in 11 games, two wins in 16 games. It’s a complete no-no. It’s extraordinary.”

Hasselbaink: Owner will give Potter time but he needs results

Former Chelsea striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink believes Potter under pressure will keep the board’s support despite poor form – but says he must show in their next game against Leeds on Saturday at Stamford Bridge.

I said Sports sky: “When you’re at a big club, and that’s Chelsea, when you lose two games in a row, most of the time it’s already a crisis.

“These owners have come and they want to go in a different direction and work on this project. Potter is their man, so they’ll give him as much time as they can. But what will they expect, too? That’s back. He’s under pressure. That’s what happens at the big clubs.

“That’s the nature of the game. The only way he can control it is to win the next game against Leeds.

“It’s good to know that they’re together and it’s a project and they’re going to stick together. But on the other hand, as Chelsea manager you also need to give something. You need to buy time for yourself and that means you need to have some kind of result.

“At the moment, the results are not yet available, so the pressure will only increase.”