Graham Potter is the current favourite for the recently vacated managerial spot at Chelsea. Thomas Tuchel’s sacking, which came as no surprise, has led to Chelsea stepping up their pursuit of one of England’s brightest managers with reports today suggesting Potter has been given permission to talk to The Blues.
Earlier this year, the Roman Abromavich era at Stamford Bridge came to an end. It culminated one of the most successful periods of any Club in English League history. The Russian billionaire is arguably the founder of ‘sugar daddy’ clubs after his spending habits during the early 2000s being unprecedented at the time.
New Chelsea owner Todd Boehly has had to adapt to life as an owner of a football club quickly, having assumed most backroom roles in the Club’s recruitment of players, football operations staff and board members. Many parallels were drawn between Boehly and Abramovich, given the Americans willingness to spend big, as Chelsea outspent every club in Europe this summer.
Chelsea fans were hopeful that Boehly would back Tuchel in the transfer market, and give the German time to implement his ideas to the strengthened squad, something Abramovich was notoriously not known for.
However, it seems as if the owners may have changed but the mandate remains the same: one prolonged period of no form and you’re sacked. This is something Tuchel was the first to find out under the Boehly regime. Thus, the precedent is set.
It’s for this reason that Graham Potter should reject Chelsea’s advances.
Graham Potter is undoubtedly a good, young and progressive coach who will only improve. He took Östersund FK from the 4th division in Sweden to the Europa League, where his side even beat Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal at the Emirates.
Brighton have improved every season under Potter and have even been labelled as the best team to watch outside the ‘Big Six’. The Seagulls finished a record 9th last season, and currently sit 4th in the PL.
Although Brighton’s improvement in their football was evident in each of his first 3 seasons, Potter is a project manager. The results will not be immediate, however, the football will improve. In his first 2 campaigns in charge, Brighton finished 15th and 16th, respectively. Amid the mediocrity and borderline relegation battles, the Seagulls were still being sounded out for their attractive style of play.
Although the football played at Stamford Bridge will definitely improve, the owner mindset seems to be the same. This was seen with Tuchel’s sacking, which casts doubt as to whether the owners will have the patience with Potter if he is not challenging on all fronts immediately.
For this reason, Potter would be better off rejecting Chelsea’s offer at this point in his career. Although failure is classified differently at each club, a lack of immediate success at Chelsea and a subsequent sacking will only harm Potter’s future career prospects, particularly at big clubs.