Worst record since 1996
Nothing seems to mean the opposite to what it is initially suggesting, quite like a manager receiving a vote of confidence from the club’s owner or chairman. While it may seem like a solid endorsement of said coach, it more often than not means that the club in question is desperately trying to put on a brave face in public, while it chaotically and frantically considers its options behind closed doors. For Graham Potter and Chelsea, that seems to be where things are at this moment in time.
Graham Potter’s Chelsea side have only won two of their last 15 games pic.twitter.com/8ZscsbNOFp
— Transfermarkt.co.uk (@TMuk_news) February 27, 2023
Following a 2-0 defeat to Tottenham in the Premier League on Sunday, Potter’s side now find themselves sitting tenth in the league table with just three wins from their last 15 games. And, rather worryingly, now closer to Everton in eighteenth place, than they are to the aforementioned Spurs in fourth place. And as such, Potter now finds himself under immense pressure to turn things around at Chelsea. According to the Telegraph, club owner Todd Boehly will be joined by co-owner Behdad Eghbali for the club’s upcoming home ties against Leeds United and Borussia Dortmund in the league and Champions League respectively. And should Potter fail to win those games, he could find himself out of a job sooner rather than later.
Worse than Lampard, Hiddink and Benítez – Potter’s poor Chelsea record
Indeed, despite a strong start at the club which saw Potter’s side win six of their first nine games and go undefeated until a 4-1 defeat to Brighton in his tenth game in charge, the wheels soon came off at Stamford Bridge in November and since then the 47-year-old head coach has struggled to get his team back on track. Since the aforementioned defeat to his former club, Potter’s Chelsea have won just three of their last 15 games in all competitions. And that has left the new manager with a rather unenviable record at the club.
To date, Potter’s record at Chelsea points to a rather dismal average of just 1.31 points per game in all competitions with the club. Not only is that a sizable 37% drop from Tuchel’s average of 2.07 points per game, but it’s also the worst record for a Chelsea manager over the course of the past 10 years at the club. In fact, the last manager to have a record as poor as that was Glenn Hoddle, who coached the club between July 1993 and June 1996. And Hoddle & Co. certainly didn’t get to spend the kind of money Potter has had at his disposal this season.
As such, Potter is under immense pressure to start winning games with his star-studded squad and the next two fixtures could prove pivotal to his future at the club. In Leeds, Chelsea face a team that have also struggled this season and recently sacked their own head coach as a result. However, a 1-0 win over Southampton at the weekend suggests that the Elland Road side may have some confidence going into the game.
Highest transfer spending in a single season – Chelsea surpass Barça
Perhaps the Champions League could rescue Potter. While Dortmund have been flying high in the Bundesliga since the turn of the year and did well to win the first leg 1-0 in Germany, their squad’s market value stands at just €523 million – almost half Chelsea’s own market value of €1.04 billion. And Chelsea could yet overturn the small lead and win the tie to progress to the next round.
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