I hope Bohley has done the maths on not getting top 4 for a couple of seasons because I can’t see us doing it under Potter. His teams are just not attacking enough. It would be a complete waste of a talented squad 

30 minutes ago, JM7 said:

I hope Bohley has done the maths on not getting top 4 for a couple of seasons because I can’t see us doing it under Potter. His teams are just not attacking enough. It would be a complete waste of a talented squad 

Worth remembering, that while results are not the best, Potter has an excellent relationship with the higher ups, especially Todd, the Eggman and even our own topclas women's team manager Emma Hayes.

Todd and Co are said to be delighted with his emotional intelligence at dealing with difficulties and his approach to the media. That calmness is what they want apparently.

The usual suspects in the media are now fomenting outrage because Potter is "too nice", apparently. Football is increasingly a pastime supported by social media addicts and drama queens - celebrity gossip magazines for males

Some outrage, strong words, big feelings goes down well with most fans because it appears to be understanding, that Potter feels what we fans feel. Ultimately, it's useless, as no result has ever been changed by a manager's post-match outburst and it serves no purpose but to further increase the toxic mentality of fans on social media.  

It is also misplaced, as the real story here is that Chelsea had ample chances to put the game beyond West Ham and didn't take them nor create enough against an abject West Ham. Soucek's obvious handball should have been a hilariously terrible VAR footnote in a 3 or 4 goal win.  A real criticism of Potter is that there appears to be no plan when his team dominates the game, as he is fundamentally a reactive manager who relies on adjusting his plan to the opposition. None of the attacking players seemed to have much of a plan and it was rather fortunate that Felix, Havertz and Fernandez had something approaching a connection or we'd have gone goalless and chanceless.

It's now been months since Potter's appointment and we're yet to see a skerrick of an identity for this team. While there are some extenuating circumstances (injuries, transfers), unfortunately there is nothing in Potter's history to suggest he is capable of actually developing one.

 

Edited February 12, 20233 yr by SydneyChelsea

38 minutes ago, axman2526 said:

Worth remembering, that while results are not the best, Potter has an excellent relationship with the higher ups, especially Todd, the Eggman and even our own topclas women's team manager Emma Hayes.

Todd and Co are said to be delighted with his emotional intelligence at dealing with difficulties and his approach to the media. That calmness is what they want apparently.

His emotional intelligence degree seems to be best suited for defrauding the higher ups into believing he's a good manager

18 minutes ago, SydneyChelsea said:

The usual suspects in the media are now fomenting outrage because Potter is "too nice", apparently. Football is increasingly a pastime supported by social media addicts and drama queens - celebrity gossip magazines for males

Some outrage, strong words, big feelings goes down well with most fans because it appears to be understanding, that Potter feels what we fans feel. Ultimately, it's useless, as no result has ever been changed by a manager's post-match outburst

 

People don't expect a change to the result, and you know it, what we want is pressure put on the ref in future games, all the top managers do it for a reason. Subconsciously the refs will be thinking when making decisions "it's only Potter". 

19 minutes ago, SydneyChelsea said:

The usual suspects in the media are now fomenting outrage because Potter is "too nice", apparently. Football is increasingly a pastime supported by social media addicts and drama queens - celebrity gossip magazines for males

Some outrage, strong words, big feelings goes down well with most fans because it appears to be understanding, that Potter feels what we fans feel. Ultimately, it's useless, as no result has ever been changed by a manager's post-match outburst and it serves no purpose but to further increase the toxic mentality of fans on social media.  

It is also misplaced, as the real story here is that Chelsea had ample chances to put the game beyond West Ham and didn't take them nor create enough against an abject West Ham. Soucek's obvious handball should have been a hilariously terrible VAR footnote in a 3 or 4 goal win.  A real criticism of Potter is that there appears to be no plan when his team dominates the game, as he is fundamentally a reactive manager who relies on adjusting his plan to the opposition. None of the attacking players seemed to have much of a plan and it was rather fortunate that Felix, Havertz and Fernandez had something approaching a connection or we'd have gone goalless and chanceless.

It's now been months since Potter's appointment and we're yet to see a skerrick of an identity for this team. While there are some extenuating circumstances (injuries, transfers), unfortunately there is nothing in Potter's history to suggest he is capable of actually developing one.

 

I don't really mind him being nice, I mind the fact that he's dragged us into 10th and gotten us knocked out of 2 Cup competitions in the space of 5 months, after spending 300m. If we lose at Dortmund the season's pretty much over.

 

42 minutes ago, charierre said:

 

I'd love to see if she could hack it as the men's manager. I bet she would do really well ... 

8 hours ago, nonotnowjim said:

All the talk of “give him 2 years” and “sack him now” is all a load of nonsense.

Some of our posters in here are either a) over simplifying the ease of the task (or under estimating the rot in our team), or b) too willing to stick with him whatever the result.

The “sack him now” camp need to chill, get behind the team and see how it goes. We have seen the team stagnate for years - and this is just the start of what we knew would be a long arduous process - which will have its ups and downs.

The “give him 2 years - trust the process” brigade  also need to realise that that we should not stick with someone simply for the sake of continuity. There needs to be progress. At the moment Potter hasn’t got any good will in the bank, so in order to get the time, he has to start showing something more…. Be that results, a tactical / system identity, or simply a bit of grit and fight to win etc.

At the moment we are stuck between a rock and a hard place. 

I agree with a lot of what you've said. 

But I'm in the sack him now camp because I never believed in this appointment in the first place, we barely even had a manager bounce. I'm not under the illusion that a manager would've had an easy time this season. But we definitely could've seen some improvement here and progress. We actually have a very good side at the minute but we look absolutely toothless. 

The sooner we cut our losses the better, and I'm even fine with getting an interim manager to just put us on the right track. Because I think we are destined a below to midtable finish and an early CL exit with Potter. That's just not good enough really, and yes the season is a write-off but at least put us on the right track for next season. 

I think people would be very surprised how well this team would play under a better manager right now, but Todd has put so much investment into Potter that I'm genuinely afraid he's here to stay for quite a while no matter how poorly he performs. Even if we kickstart some good form starting from the next game and go on a decent win streak I'll still not be convinced Potter is the man to challenge for the league and win trophies, that's how disappointing this managerial appointment is for me. Getting rid of Tuchel for Potter is one of the worst mistakes this club has made for a long time and I'll stand by that. 

Heard it well put on talksport I think it was. The ownership has changed, but the fans have not. Many of our fans are used to Roman's way of doing things that brought a lot of success.

Would Roman have fired TT? Quite likely, just either at the end of last season or maybe ahead of the world cup if his own run of poor results continued.

Would he have hired Potter? I highly doubt it.

If he had of hired Potter would he be sacking him now or maybe earlier? Of course he would have.

However the new owners have their own way of doing things, and we as supporters, have to get used to that.

Don't matter what we think, mind you did it under Roman? Most of the fans wanted Claudio to stay on. He still sacked him. Ditto Jose mk 1, Carlo, Conte, etc. Was what Roman himself, Marina and the players thought that mattered to Roman.

Roman did what he wanted to do, even appointed Rafa. The new owners will do what they want to do. If they are happy to keep Potter for 5 or more years, even if that is 5 years in mid table, they can, no matter what we do or say online or in and around the stadium. Not saying they will be happy with that level of performance but if they were to be we would just have to accept it because they own the club.

2 wins from the last 13 games

jesus christ 

how bad is this....

3 minutes ago, Mário César said:

2 wins from the last 13 games

jesus christ 

how bad is this....

well tbh I don't how what season is worst... this season or 15/16 season

I think that 15/6 was worst because we were epl champions but this season jesus christ even first lampard season wasn't so bad like this season and we invest a insane amount of money

very very bad 

Refreshing to hear what Emma said, don't think the men's team has a standard right now. The key difference is Emma clearly understands the responsibilities and exepctations with the Job. Promote her to the men's team manager may just be the kick the players need, although be so unfair to the women's team.

3 minutes ago, icecoolguy22 said:

Refreshing to hear what Emma said, don't think the men's team has a standard right now. The key difference is Emma clearly understands the responsibilities and exepctations with the Job. Promote her to the men's team manager may just be the kick the players need, although be so unfair to the women's team.

Leave Emma alone. 

2 hours ago, coco said:

People don't expect a change to the result, and you know it, what we want is pressure put on the ref in future games, all the top managers do it for a reason. Subconsciously the refs will be thinking when making decisions "it's only Potter". 

I've always felt you can extend this to our home fans Coco. We are soft. Our home fans do not give bias refs a rough enough ride. 

We are wilfully f**ked by Antony Taylor in particular on a regular basis. And yet our fans in the ground bend over and receive it every time. He would not dare try it at Newcastle, United, Liverpool because some of their hardcore fans would be on the pitch trying to get at him. 

 

I couldn't give a toss if he's a "nice guy", or if he's got a degree in emotional bollocks. How is any of that helping Chelsea win?

22 minutes ago, just said:

I've always felt you can extend this to our home fans Coco. We are soft. Our home fans do not give bias refs a rough enough ride. 

We are wilfully f**ked by Antony Taylor in particular on a regular basis. And yet our fans in the ground bend over and receive it every time. He would not dare try it at Newcastle, United, Liverpool because some of their hardcore fans would be on the pitch trying to get at him. 

I'm the first one out of my seat giving the refs hand signals to go masturbate, that's all it needs, nobody needs to get offended, it's part of our football heritage giving the ref a few hand signals and asking him if he knows what he's doing.

If you've been a fan for 53 years like I have or a JCL please take note.

 

Edited February 12, 20233 yr by bluehaze

5 hours ago, SydneyChelsea said:

A real criticism of Potter is that there appears to be no plan when his team dominates the game, as he is fundamentally a reactive manager who relies on adjusting his plan to the opposition. None of the attacking players seemed to have much of a plan and it was rather fortunate that Felix, Havertz and Fernandez had something approaching a connection or we'd have gone goalless and chanceless.

It's now been months since Potter's appointment and we're yet to see a skerrick of an identity for this team. While there are some extenuating circumstances (injuries, transfers), unfortunately there is nothing in Potter's history to suggest he is capable of actually developing one.

Good post as usual, but I think I disagree with parts of this. I don't think he is a reactive manager in the sense you describe, and I do think if you look at his past sides they have a clear identity - an identity of fluid attacking football with a lot of positional rotation.

At Brighton that included routinely creating a lot more than they scored. His history and reputation is almost entirely predicated on being able to create and impose that identity (and to a lesser extent on his history of improving players individually). Brighton profited from that when he was there and continue to do so now. 

Where we are in total agreement is that thus far he is spectacularly failing to do that at Chelsea. The only thing that is identifiable about this Chelsea side is its brittleness.

I posted a few weeks ago to say that 1) he's obviously not the type of manager capable of making an immediate impact (either through his charisma or one-off tactical plans - he's a 'head coach' in the purest sense), but 2) given that, to give himself the best chance of being a success he needs to recognise the job he's in and cut out unnecessary mistakes.

At the moment he is continuing to do neither. Making a fuss about the VAR decision gives his players and the fans something to unite around and focus their energy on. He doesn't have the luxury of ignoring such options. 

Similarly as he cites the challenge of integrating new players (and to be fair it is a tricky thing, and the squad size is liable to be hugely problematic), it is incumbent on him to decide quickly which players he is going to rely on and which ones he isn't. He could also do himself a favour and stick to a core of 7/8 players in one or two basic shapes and win some points and integrate the others more slowly. 

Fundamentally lots of problems the team is experiencing is a consequence of some baffling / arrogant decisions taken by the ownership. The sheer amount of money spent may well eventually bail them out, but the mess this season has turned into was entirely avoidable. Even if one accepts tuchel wasn't for them, sacking him immediately or keeping him until the end of the season would have resulted in better performances, better results, and all for a lower transfer spend. 

Edited February 13, 20233 yr by g3.7

On 11/02/2023 at 22:01, dansubrosa said:

Give Tuchel what Guardiola and Klopp had, he’d achieve just as much as them imo. He genuinely is the best coach I’ve seen since Mourinho. 6 cup finals in 15 months!!!

Absolute joke that he was sacked. Some fans being okay with it clearly have short memories as well. Not since Mourinho first time around have I taken so long to get over a sacking. Whatever the problem was, work around it and sort it out. I bet a lot of players were pissed at Tuchel getting the sack too.

It felt like Tuchel became one of us, one of the only bright spots when we were going through the scariest time as Chelsea fans in a long time. Potter instills nothing, no belief, barely any emotion, no motivation. I look at him and all I see is nothing but bland and boring. Tuchel gave off the feeling that things would work itself out, Potter would just make you more worried. Imagine if he was in charge when the government took control, he would just shrug his shoulders at the questions asked of him and say "I don't know, we'll just have to wait and see".......instead of feeling reasurred, he would make us feel more anxious.

It will never happen, but I would take Tuchel back in a heartbeat if the chance was there. We all said he needed a break after his divorce, well he's had it now, bring him back 😆

Edited February 13, 20233 yr by Scott Harris

12 hours ago, Jangz said:

If you think it wasn’t a miracle finishing 4th with that squad you must be joking .. James, Tomori, mount and Abraham were playing championship. How many of the big 6 have a squad where their core was playing championship level the season before.

comparing pulisic and this lot is a disrespect to what hazard did and was for the club.. 

with that squad we did the double over spurs, beat arsenal. In the FA cup bettered united and pool. 
 

GPs and his team has floundered very big test fact is we have not beaten a single top 10 team in the league. Players generally have 8-10 years at the top .. this season has virtually meant that 10% of their career means nothing g .

I don’t know him personally but he hasn’t said or showed anything for me to want to trust his methods.

Like I said the other day, there is a lot of rewriting of history going on on here of late.

Downplaying our Champions League win, downplaying what Lampard did with the squad a few seasons back, pretending that we were a mess despite playing in 4 cup finals, winning 2 trophies and finishing 3rd in a season where we had our club santioned by the government, and for what? Graham Potter of all people, a coach that has us playing like a team fighting relegation, a coach that has us looking like one of the worst teams to watch in the league, a coach that is so bland and doesn't even give you the slightest bit of confidence that things will improve. It's delusional.

4 hours ago, just said:

I've always felt you can extend this to our home fans Coco. We are soft. Our home fans do not give bias refs a rough enough ride. 

We are wilfully f**ked by Antony Taylor in particular on a regular basis. And yet our fans in the ground bend over and receive it every time. He would not dare try it at Newcastle, United, Liverpool because some of their hardcore fans would be on the pitch trying to get at him. 

 

Spot on. Our travelling away fans are the best in the business.

At home their support gets diluted and there is rarely an atmosphere to intimidate rival teams. 

 

53 minutes ago, Scott Harris said:

Like I said the other day, there is a lot of rewriting of history going on on here of late.

Downplaying our Champions League win, downplaying what Lampard did with the squad a few seasons back, pretending that we were a mess despite playing in 4 cup finals, winning 2 trophies and finishing 3rd in a season where we had our club santioned by the government, and for what? Graham Potter of all people, a coach that has us playing like a team fighting relegation, a coach that has us looking like one of the worst teams to watch in the league, a coach that is so bland and doesn't even give you the slightest bit of confidence that things will improve. It's delusional.

I agree to an extent - but for me, despite those achievements (and the champions league win), the rot has already set in. Stagnant and stale, playing bland passionless football for the majority of the last 6 seasons. 

The work of getting us top 4, to those finals, winning the champions league should not be underestimated - if anything they were miraculous. But that act of relying on miracles when the group is rotten to the core can't continue. 

Time will tell if Potter is the right man for the job - As i have said multiple times, I think he probably won't be.... but it is too soon to tell. 
 

 

5 hours ago, Mário César said:

well tbh I don't how what season is worst... this season or 15/16 season

I think that 15/6 was worst because we were epl champions but this season jesus christ even first lampard season wasn't so bad like this season and we invest a insane amount of money

very very bad 

We were european champions then.

We are world champions now.