Chelsea is drowning in crisis. How solid is Graham Potter’s job?

Chelsea’s decline? Or is it just a momentary crisis? The Blues are experiencing one of their worst seasons in years, out of both domestic cups and languishing in mid-table in the Premier League. How solid is head coach Graham Potter’s position?

Yet it wasn’t long ago that Chelsea were on top. Thomas Tuchel created a pedalling machine the season before last that went all the way to the Champions League title. He had a strong start in the following one too, and a three-team battle for the title was predicted, along with Liverpool and Manchester City.

But Chelsea fell away during the spring, and Tuchel also had a bad start to the current season and the new owner lost patience. He sacked the German coach, much to the dismay of the public and Chelsea fans.

He brought in probably the best possible replacement for his position, Graham Potter deserved the promotion for his great work at Brighton and the move was applauded among fans and pundits alike. But the likeable coach couldn’t and wouldn’t break it at Stamford Bridge.

Already the end of the autumn has been very bad, with Chelsea losing to both Arsenal and Newcastle in the league, and also crashing out of the EFL Cup against Manchester City. But the return after the World Cup has not brought any improvement.

The Blues only beat Bournemouth, then came a draw with Nottingham and a loss to Manchester City. Chelsea met the same opponent for the third time this season and fell for the third time in a few days. This time, however, with the greatest shame.

In the 1/32 final of the FA Cup, both teams fielded changed line-ups, with the Citizens leaving their main stars Erling Haaland and Kevin de Bruyne on the bench, while Ederson, Gündogan, Cancelo and Stones also sat on the bench. And they still made a mockery of their London rivals with a 4-0 debacle.

Chelsea are out of both cups and in tenth place in the Premier League. It is surrounded by teams like Brentford, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace, which fans are not used to at all. In addition, Borussia Dortmund await them in the Champions League eighth round, which is not an easy opponent.

If this keeps up, Chelsea might not play in the cups next year. And that would be a big blow to the management. How solid is Graham Potter’s position?

Not much, at least with the fans. After the debacle at the Etihad Stadium, they invoked the name of former coach Thomas Tuchel, at the same time as Roman Abramovich, the former owner.

On the other hand, he found support from the Citizens coach. “Give him time. All coaches need time, he is the right man for the job,” Pep Guardiola said after the game.

But Potter is not so much criticised for his results as for his performances. The players look completely bloodless, as if they don’t even care about the game. This was most evident in the last game against the Citizens, when the Blues went into the game rather unmotivated.

Chelsea have won 8 games out of 18 under Potter, which is a pretty poor number for a Premier League leading side. If that record doesn’t change quickly, owner Tedd Boehly will probably be looking for a replacement quickly.

Source: Premier League