Chelsea: Is Graham Potter right for the job?

 

As at the time of writing this post, Chelsea are in talks to get Brighton and Hove Albion manager Graham Potter into the club after sacking Thomas Tuchel.

First of all, let's see why Graham Potter has caught the eye of the hierarchy at Chelsea. He has gotten Brighton to the top 4, even though the season is still young. He has stayed in the Premier league for a couple of years and can claim to have some experience.  His brand of football is also eye catching,  with fast paced passing football which promises(and usually delivers) a lot of excitement and goals. He has also been known to shop for hidden gems in the lower leagues across Europe and make them superstars. Cucurella and Bisouma are good case studies.

However, I do have some doubts about how good he will be for Chelsea. The pressure in Chelsea is far higher than what is obtained at Brighton. If he gets appointed, Graham Potter will suddenly have to face European nights at Milan and in Austria. Even though he has a little experience in Europe due to his time in Sweden( he was the coach that led Osterunds to defeat Arsenal in the Europa League a few seasons back), it will be quite a different experience in Chelsea. He will not just be expected to win games, he will be expected to challenge for titles.  While defeats against Manchester City or Arsenal can be waved off as a Brighton coach, it will be well scrutinized if he manages the Blues. He may have gotten Brighton to their highest even finish in the Premier league (9th last year) but even last season there were periods when they struggled and lost consecutive matches. If that repeats itself in any form in Chelsea, he will likely get the sack.

As a bigger club, Chelsea will be expected to get marquee signings season after season. Will super stars with the egos bigger than a skyscraper be able to follow a man whose biggest achievement may be the Chelsea gig? How will he manage the big egos in the club will be another aspect that would be interesting. Will he be able to command the respect of the players in the team already? 

 Also, it's very likely that he won't be able to make those cut-throat signings that he managed to get at Brighton, as clubs will automatically raise the transfer fee if it's Chelsea that comes calling. This will increase  the pressure on the man. That pressure will increase if his signings fail to have the expected impact or become a flop. Even at Brighton, he has signed a few players that have flopped.

The most important aspect, however is to improve the current form of the team. If Graham Potter can do that, I believe the rest will be sorted out in time.