Chelsea, under Graham Potter, is having a terrible run in the English Premier League.
Graham Potter is under pressure as Chelsea’s manager after a stretch of just two victories in his previous 14 Premier League games. However, why hasn’t he been fired?
James Ward-Prowse’s kick on Saturday was all it took to prevent Chelsea from winning for a fifth straight game, adding to the pressure on Potter as a very difficult stretch continues. After a frenetic January shopping spree, the former Brighton manager took over for Thomas Tuchel in September of last year. However, since taking over, Chelsea has not improved under his leadership.
Naturally, his struggle has resulted in many calling for his dismissal, but a new report from The Telegraph has outlined exactly why Chelsea are yet to sack Potter.
The report claims that Chelsea co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali are not yet convinced he is the problem and instead have a list of reasons why they shouldn’t sack him. Injuries behind the scenes are one reason, as is his poker face in the public eye; Potter is described as being “intense” around the Cobham training ground, and the owners have no fears over his mentality, but are instead happy they have a coach who will not throw players under the bus in front of the media.
Point three claims the owners recognise that Potter took a risk in joining the club from Brighton mid-season, something they believe not many top coaches and managers are always willing to do. They also understand he left a very safe environment at Brighton and put his reputation on the line in doing so, and they believe he needs a considerable amount of time to work with new players and develop a relationship with sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart in order to create sustainable success, similar to Pep Guardiola and Txiki Begiristain at Manchester City.
A severe loss of form sees Chelsea languishing in 10th in the Premier League, behind the likes of Liverpool, Fulham and Potter’s former club Brighton. They also find themselves 11 points behind fourth-placed Newcastle, and are at serious risk of not qualifying for the Champions League next season.
The Blues travel across London to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday in a bid to kickstart their season once again, but will also have one eye on their Champions League last-16 tie on March 7, where they must turn around a first-leg defeat against Borussia Dortmund.