Chelsea’s new American owners made a gamble with their first managerial appointment in their tenure, hiring Graham Potter from Premier League rivals Brighton on Thursday despite his lack of coaching experience at the highest level of football .
Potter, 47, agreed a five-year deal as the replacement for Thomas Tuchel, who was sacked on Wednesday after an apparent breakdown in his relationship with Chelsea’s recently installed ownership team, led by the part-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Todd Boehly.
While Tuchel won the Champions League with Chelsea last year and previously managed a dressing room of footballing superstars – such as Kylian Mbappé and Neymar – at Paris Saint-Germain, Potter has a darker past as a manager and has won just one trophy, Swedish Cup. in 2017.
That came during a seven-year spell at far-flung Swedish club Ostersund (2011-18), which he led from the country’s fourth tier into the first division and then into the Europa League for the first time.
Since then, he has coached Swansea for one season in the second division of English football, guiding the team to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, before taking charge of Brighton in 2019. Brighton are currently fourth in the Premier League, having finished last season in ninth place — the highest in club history.
Chelsea said Potter would bring “progressive football and innovative coaching” to the club, while Boehly said the new manager “fits our vision”.
“Not only is he extremely talented on the pitch,” Boehly said of Potter, “he has skills and abilities that extend beyond the pitch, which will make Chelsea a more successful club.”
Potter, who played mainly for English lower league sides in an illustrious career from 1992-2005 before retiring aged 30 to go into higher education, is widely admired as one of the world’s best tacticians. country and has a bold and fun style. game that has won accolades if not trophies. Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has said he is a “big fan” of Potter because of the way his players move freely and… have the courage to play anywhere.
And Boehly, the face of Chelsea’s ownership, has been convinced that Potter is the man to instill a long-term footballing ethos and identity throughout the club as the new era begins.
The demands Potter will face at Chelsea will be in stark contrast to those at his previous clubs, however, and are unlikely to give him as much time to cultivate a team as he has so far. now in his career.
“He will be expected to win every week, to challenge for trophies,” said former Chelsea player and assistant manager Jody Morris. “It is completely different to be at a club where you are expected to be in the middle of the table and you can go a few months without winning a game. You go a few games without winning at Chelsea and it will be completely different.”
Potter’s time in Sweden provides an interesting insight into why he is lauded as a fine manager and game thinker.
Under Potter, Ostersund, which prides itself on developing its players as people before athletes, started what it called the “Culture Academy” where squad members and coaches were challenged on their mental process and decision-making under pressure.
After achieving promotion a year, Potter and his players put on a modern dance production at the town’s theatre, set to music from Swan Lake.
