Champions Travel

Graham Potter - What can Chelsea fans expect?

Whilst the timing of Thomas Tuchel’s sacking at Chelsea earlier this month was a little surprising, seeing the German leave the club following a snippet of poor results was an all-too familiar feeling for Chelsea fans.

Less than 18 months since Tuchel inspired his Chelsea side to a Champions League final win over Manchester City and less than 9 months since he led his side to FIFA Club World Cup glory, his time at the club was over.

The element of surprise in Tuchel’s sacking was not necessarily the results Chelsea have been churning out, which have been in steady decline throughout 2022, but more the huge investment that had been made in the playing staff in the summer.

With Roman Abramovich departing the club following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and American Todd Bohely taking the reins, Chelsea spent big in the summer with the likes of Wesley Fofana, Raheem Sterling and Marc Cucurella all brought in for handsome transfer fees.

These signing were clearly sanctioned by Tuchel, who felt he was in it for the long haul at Stamford Bridge but ultimately the results weren’t deemed to be good enough and he paid the price with his job, with a Champions League defeat at Dinamo Zagreb proving to be the final straw.

In true Chelsea fashion, the blues moved quick to assign his replacement – Brighton manager Graham Potter.

When taking a look down the current Premier League table, there were few more outstanding candidates than Potter, who developed Brighton into one of the most aesthetically pleasing sides in the league since arriving at the AMEX Stadium in 2019.

However, Chelsea do tend to chop and change their managers with alarming regularity and with Potter having implemented his ideas steadily at Brighton, it looks to many from the outside to be a clash of styles.

So what can Chelsea fans expect from Graham Potter in the upcoming matches?

Possession Based Football

Brighton were very pleasing to watch and much of that was down to Potter’s insistence on looking to keep hold of possession. Huge emphasis was placed on technical proficiency in tight areas and Chelsea will need to keep the ball effectively for the Potter plan to work.

Tactical Flexibility

One of the final criticisms often aimed at Thomas Tuchel, particularly towards the end of his reign was his insistence on playing 3-5-2. Potter is far more willing to mix it up, depending on the opposition but he will need buy in from his new and expensive recruits at Stamford Bridge.

Flying Full Backs

An area that could transition well between the Tuchel era and the Potter regime is the full back department. Chelsea are blessed with pace and creativity in wide areas, with Reece James on the right hand side and both Ben Chilwell and Marc Cucurella on the left, Potter has a starting point to work from.

Midfield Engine

Much of the success Potter enjoyed at Brighton was built upon the industry provided in the middle of the park by his central midfielders. Yves Bissouma often starred for Brighton under Potter and got a big money move to Tottenham in the summer as a result, whilst Moises Caicedo was starting to fill the void nicely. At Chelsea however, there looks to be no obvious replacement in that department currently, with N’Golo Kante plagued by injury and Mateo Kovacic and Jorginho two players that dictate the play through their distribution, rather than their miles covered.

Chelsea appear to be at an identity cross roads with Potter as they either buck their trend of hiring and firing and entrust Potter with the job for a few years or Potter’s reputation takes a bashing and he ends up out of a job in a couple of seasons.

Regardless of how the Graham Potter to Chelsea moves turns out in the long run, it would seem something has to give.
 

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