KenM

from David Orstein:
Potter’s Chelsea departure explained, Nagelsmann link and Man United ‘credit card’
David Ornstein
Apr 3, 2023
Chelsea and Graham Potter parting ways was without a doubt the story of the weekend and there is a lot we will dig into and explain on The Athletic around it in the coming days.
On Sunday morning, even some members of the hierarchy were under the impression he would still be in charge for Tuesday’s Premier League game against Liverpool. But things changed rapidly, with Potter dismissed after just 31 matches in charge and the decision unanimous.
While we gather the inside story and find out what the club have planned next in the coming days, we’re going to use the start of this week’s column to explain how we got here (using a slightly different format from normal).
Why has Potter gone now?
Chelsea’s owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital felt results were too disappointing and were not seeing the progress they wanted. The team slipped into the bottom half of the Premier League table after Saturday’s defeat at home by Aston Villa, with Champions League football next season almost definitely reliant on winning this year’s competition, which is a tough task.
Despite being defiant in their backing of the former Brighton manager when results were poor either side of the World Cup, concerns have grown considerably in recent weeks and the club’s four key decision-makers — Boehly, Behdad Eghbali, director of global talent and transfers Paul Winstanley and technical director Laurence Stewart — weren’t seeing the progress they wanted. Chelsea have now won just four of their past 19 Premier League games, despite impressive performances in Europe.
Potter is believed to have taken the news, delivered face-to-face at the training ground, incredibly professionally and has agreed a severance package unrelated to the five-year deal he signed when he joined. Players and most other staff were not told in advance in order to avoid leaks.
What about Tuesday against Liverpool?
One of the unusual parts of Potter’s departure is that most of his backroom staff will stay in place until a successor is hired. This is something Potter has supported. That means former Brighton defender Bruno will be in charge of the team for the home game against Liverpool on Tuesday and possibly after that. Bruno worked under Potter after retiring in 2019 and the Spaniard moved to Stamford Bridge alongside him earlier this season. The board wanted some consistency and believe the infrastructure is there to bounce back in the league and compete against Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-final.
Will Chelsea be moving fast for Nagelsmann?
Julian Nagelsmann was sacked by Bayern Munich last month and has already been linked with Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain. At this stage, it is unclear where, if at any of these clubs, he will end up and Chelsea were insistent on Sunday night that they will be taking their time and ensuring the search for the new head coach will be exhaustive and thorough — and that they have yet to speak to any candidates for the permanent position.
Like most clubs, they do have a list of managers they admire but that will be updated in the coming days and weeks. The possibility of all the above sides looking for a new head coach prior to the 2023-24 season means competition will be high, but Chelsea feel removing Potter now may give them a headstart on the likes of PSG and Real if they make a change.
Stewart and Winstanley will look to identify the head coach they believe can deliver trophies to a squad that has been assembled at enormous cost and then make a recommendation to Boehly and Eghbali.
Does this mean Potter is heading to Leicester or Spurs?
It’s far too early to say. Leicester have long admired Potter and Spurs held discussions with him two years ago but he wasn’t an option until Sunday night. Chelsea believe Potter will be better for the experience of the past few months and will go on to be a top coach but it is unclear at which level he will be welcomed back to the Premier League at this stage.
We will update you as and when we know more.

How About Stop Typing In Capitals All The Time.

I was going to go tomorrow but I've just found out I'm presenting match of the day.

they hadn't lost in 10 games and we had 2 wins in 17 
 

Frankly I just want to see us putting in a decent shift. Can't see us going through but show some balls for Gawd's sake. 

Frankly I just want to see us putting in a decent shift. Can't see us going through but show some balls for Gawd's sake. 

I would rather we had no manager. He has to go 

It's not just needing a striker. When we are on top, we should be forcing things more. Look how much of the ball we had in that half and only Chilwell and Sterling were running at players and trying to force things to happen. We play far too slow, we allow teams to keep their shape. We are so easy to defend against. No other team makes it this easy for the opposition. We are basically hoping the nobody makes a mistake at the back, because we aren't going to do anything as an attacking team playing like this.