The much-criticised coach was sacked after the Blues' defeat to Aston Villa, but his failed tenure at Stamford Bridge doesn't have to define him
Despite the result, despite the fan discontent and despite Chelsea's 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa seeing them drop into the bottom half of the Premier League table, it was still somewhat of a shock to see Graham Potter be given his marching orders by the Blues' board on Sunday evening.
That same morning, journalists had been briefed – not for the first time – that Potter's position was safe. It was all a ruse, though.
To avoid news being leaked to the media, not even Chelsea's players were informed of Potter's dismissal. Ironically, this covert media operation was one of the only examples of the Blues managing an off-field situation competently since Todd Boehly took over the club last year.
There lies the key to Potter's quite cataclysmic failure at Stamford Bridge. He was always entering an environment that made it nigh-on impossible for any manager to succeed.
Getty ImagesA mixed bag to start
In October, Potter took over a Chelsea squad that was already bursting at the seams with new faces. Overall, eight summer signings had been made for a total outlay of around £250 million ($307m), while the emergence of Armando Broja and Conor Gallagher as first-team options added further complexity to the situation.
To start with, Potter managed his playing assets pretty well, winning five of his opening six matches in the dugout. This run included a pair of comprehensive Champions League victories over AC Milan.
Admittedly, results did tail off sharply in the run-up to the international break, with a 4-1 away defeat to former club Brighton being a particularly damaging blow. Still, when the Premier League paused for the winter World Cup, Chelsea sat eight points adrift of the top four with a game in hand.
Fans would have expected more at the start of the season, but these sorts of teething problems should be expected when you go for a 'project manager', as Boehly insisted was his intention.
AdvertisementGettyJanuary spending made it nigh-on impossible
The turning point in Potter's reign was when the January transfer window opened. Some signings were expected, of course, but no one was prepared for sort of splurge.
By the time the market slammed shut, Boehly and Co had splashed over £300m on EIGHT new players – none of whom had ever made an appearance in the Premier League previously.
It was a truly chaotic time. Every week, Potter would put on a brave face in press conferences, but it soon became clear that he had hardly been consulted in the recruitment process – and he often let slip that this influx of players was disrupting their preparations.
Reports in February suggested that training had been severely affected, with Chelsea's 31-man squad restricting the amount of individual attention coaches could afford players. They couldn't even do 11v11 practice matches, without almost an entire starting XI being left out.
This was just one of the countless issues the new arrivals no doubt caused. Remember the multi-day saga over who would be left out of the Blues' Champions League and Premier League squads? One can only imagine the catastrophic effect this had on dressing room morale.
Even those who did make the cut were always going to be left disappointed thanks to the unevenness of the Blues' resources.
To fill just three 'forward' spots, Chelsea currently have 10 players. They are, , Noni Madueke, Kai Havertz, David Datro Fofana, Hakim Ziyech, Raheem Sterling, Mykhailo Mudryk, Joao Felix, Christian Pulisic, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mason Mount.
It put Potter in an unmanageable situation, and although he did make mistakes – with some of his selections raising eyebrows – it is hard to see how he could have pieced together a winning team with such a bloated attacking pool.
Getty/GOAL composite Don't forget those injuries
It seems implausible, but despite all of their spending, Chelsea were still left short in some positions at key points in the season.
The absences of Ben Chilwell and Reece James were most damaging. Lewis Hall will likely go on to have a solid Premier League career, but the Blues youngster was forced to play out of position at left-back in January due to Marc Cucurella's struggles on and off the pitch. It is telling that Hall has since been entirely absent from Chelsea's matchday squad as he continues his development in the Under-23s.
An ageing Cesar Azpilicueta was deployed on the opposite flank. Without the explosiveness of James and Chilwell – and with the forward line still building up their relationship – Chelsea were ponderous and predictable going forward in the period after the World Cup.
Potter is not blameless in this, as the Blues seemed to lack any pre-planned patterns in the final third a lot of the time, but again this was largely a result of the conditions imposed on him rather than an inherent failing of him as a coach.
Injuries out wide weren't the only problem. N'Golo Kante – still one of the best defensive midfielders in the world on his day – has played just three times in the Premier League this season.
GettyA horrific fit for the club culture
Like it or not, optics matter in football, and Potter never like a Chelsea manager.
This is a club whose most-revered coach is Jose Mourinho – master of media mind games and tactical pragmatism. The Blues' post-Abramovich-takeover identity has been that of ruthless winners. The football and people's feelings are secondary, all that matters is results.
That is what made Antonio Conte such a perfect fit – for one season at least – and made Maurizio Sarri stick out like a sore thumb.
Although Boehly had seemed to be taking a different tact, hiring a young, modern coach and largely signing players for the future, in the end, he could not turn the tide of a fanbase that has gorged on success for close to two decades.
'Mr Nice Guy' Potter attracted the ire of fans for his upbeat positive press conferences throughout his reign. He was always quick to insist "the boys gave everything today", even after an embarrassing defeat, and his much-maligned mention of that most-debated of metrics, 'xG', following his side's defeat to Villa was a fitting parting comment.
His cool-as-ice touchline persona wasn't much appreciated either. So much so that he even had to defend himself, using a rather odd analogy.
“This isn’t actually me all the time,” he said before his side's embarrassing 4-0 defeat to Manchester City in the FA Cup. “Of course there are times where you get angry.” He looked down at the table and picked up a can of water before adding: “It’s not like I’m some robot just speaking to this can all the time.”
"I’ve got to answer them as best as I can and respectfully as I can because I represent a fantastic football club," he continued. "I’ve got that job to do regardless of if I’m p*ssed off after a game. I have to come here and represent Chelsea in the best way."
Potter may have thought he was being true to himself by handling questions respectfully, but it was out of step with what onlookers associated with a successful Chelsea manager.