So, it finally happened. Potter, and we, the fans, have finally been put out of our misery. Mabbe he was unlucky with injuries and missed opportunities, maybe the players didn't do it for him ... but the writing has been on the wall for a while. So why didn't it work for Potter at Chelsea?
1. Tactics.
Possession, possession, possession... It is true, our possession stats were always quite 'impressive' but we never hurt teams. We didn't look to get in behind. We didn't use the pace we have from our fullbacks and some of our forwards to stretch defences. Instead, we would amble up the field with a succession of sideways and backwards passes allowing defences to easily regain shape. Felix and Havertz take too many touches, which is okay in some curcumstances but we have to mix it up a lot more.
2. Bad Use of Players
There is so much that can be criticised here. First, his insistance on playing Cucurella who has been a liability in central defence and as a left wing-back all season. It's implausable that we ligned up with James and Cucurella as centre backs on Saturday while we have specialist players like Chalobah who don't get a look in. Saturday's line up was tantermount to hari-kari - ridiculous!
Loftus Cheek as a right wing-back various times during the season. Why? I don't think he's been that bad in the centre of midfield, but you've got the best attacking full-back in Reece James, who is one of our most potent threats - it makes no sense.
Not providing direct, diagonal or through balls for players like Mudryk and Sterling. They are fast, they need to run onto the ball, not play tippie-tappie on the edge of the box or receive the ball backs to goal.
3. No striker
This is not Potter's fault, but we don't have an out and out striker at the club.
4. Injuries
I think if he had had better luck with injuries at the beginning, things may have been different. What was worrying was the little change in form when our better players started coming back. There is no way we should be losing at home to Southampton, Villa, not beating Fulham, Everton, Brighton, Forest ... the list goes on.
5. In my opinon, he's just not up to the task of running a big club (yet?). It was a nice romantic idea, the young up and coming English manager at the helm of a big club, building a dynasty. But Potter just made Chelsea what Brighton were under his managership. A bog-standard mid-table team. Too naive and not progressive enough.
Why it didn't work for Potter
posted on 3/4/23
3. No striker
This is not Potter's fault, but we don't have an out and out striker at the club.
We have 2 in Auba and D Fofana.
Even though there's a lot of dislike for Auba, he knows how to put the ball in the back of the net.
D.Fofana had a promising game and he froze him out since.
Just a manager out of his depth, he'll do fine at his next club, somewhere like Leicester
posted on 3/4/23
comment by T.J (U15973)
posted 3 minutes ago
3. No striker
This is not Potter's fault, but we don't have an out and out striker at the club.
We have 2 in Auba and D Fofana.
Even though there's a lot of dislike for Auba, he knows how to put the ball in the back of the net.
D.Fofana had a promising game and he froze him out since.
Just a manager out of his depth, he'll do fine at his next club, somewhere like Leicester
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I've gotta agree with you there. There were line-ups that were bizarre or just plain ridiculous.
posted on 3/4/23
point 3 is criminal for a club that spent more than half a billion in one season!!
Massive shortcomings imo
posted on 3/4/23
Also, he has a massive, massive squad. I highlighted this when the window shut, I don't think any manager in the world would handle that many players very well.
posted on 3/4/23
Auba may not work hard but if you create chances he will usually put them away, he was on fire at Barcelona and only came to you lot to play for Tuchel.
Any chances u create these days falls to that lanky giraffe lookalike who misses them every game.
posted on 3/4/23
3. No striker
This is not Potter's fault, but we don't have an out and out striker at the club.
Why do I keep seeing this? Fofana was our best player v Southampton and he took him off and he’s not been seen since.
Auba started really well under potter and he stopped playing him.
posted on 3/4/23
comment by King TUt (U3732)
posted 1 hour, 39 minutes ago
Also, he has a massive, massive squad. I highlighted this when the window shut, I don't think any manager in the world would handle that many players very well.
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Yep.
Potter wasn't the guy regardless, but I've gotta say it's mightily impressive how spectacularly Boehly has shafted two managers in a single season. He's like an overbearing dad who can't see his "help" is the very reason why his son is a basket case
posted on 4/4/23
Although having a big squad may be a problem, when you consider some of his awful line-ups, it's criminal that players like Chalobah or Fofana have not had a look in. You'd understand if others were setting the league alight but in the situation we're in - not to mention his performances, I just can't understand why Cucurella was picked so often.
posted on 4/4/23
I agree with your article Eric, the frustration is their for all to see, and I'm sure that most of us felt the same, anyway, onwards and upwards now ,as they say !