Commentary: Potter can work his magic, but will Chelsea give him what he needs?

SINGAPORE: The news that Thomas Tuchel parted ways with Chelsea earlier this week sent shockwaves through the football world.

And with good reason.

During a tenure of less than 20 months, the German guided the team to the trophy at the Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup. He boasted a 60 per cent win record with the Blues, and helped Chelsea secure a third place finish in the Premier League last season.

Yet just weeks into the new season, the club announced the German's departure, a day after suffering a 1-0 loss to Croatian team Dinamo Zagreb in their opening game of the Champions League group stage.

Chelsea were sixth in the league.

Within days, Englishman Graham Potter from Premier League rival Brighton was appointed as a replacement. Yet, doubts swirl.

After all, Potter has no trophies in the English game, no glittering CV, and no experience managing a team competing in the Champions League, detractors point out.

A NEW DIRECTION

While the decision of dismissing Tuchel is undoubtedly rather odd, Potter could yet be a success at Chelsea.

The key, however, would be defining what success is.

In a statement announcing Tuchel's departure on Wednesday (Sep 7), the club said: "As the new ownership group reaches 100 days since taking over the club, and as it continues its hard work to take the club forward, the new owners believe it is the right time to make this transition."

And therein lies the key. Taking the club "forward".

After splurging more than £250 million in the summer transfer window, the London side do not look markedly better than they were last season.

They have brought in Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang, 33, to lead the line, Kalidou Koulibaly, 31, to shore up the defence, and Raheem Sterling, 27, to provide attacking thrust.

But these are not players in the prime of their careers.

Chelsea have a team which can compete for the top four, but will come nowhere close to the league title. If this is a side built to win now, win they will not.

Yet, the club has the foundation for a promising future.

The signings of Carney Chukwuemeka, 18, Wesley Fofana, 21, Marc Cucurella, 24, will complement the likes of Armando Broja, 21, Reece James, 22, as well as Conor Gallagher, 22. There is also Kai Havertz and Mason Mount, both 23.

Perhaps Chelsea's owners have decided that it is time for a total rebuild. And therein lies the appeal of Potter, a man who can spearhead this.

At Brighton, the Englishman helped to polish youngsters into gems. Some of them have since been snapped up by top clubs, with Cucurella now at Chelsea, Yves Bissouma now at Tottenham Hotspur and Ben White at Arsenal.

On the pitch, Potter has also not shied away from blooding youth ever since he got to the club. Wingback Tariq Lamptey is a prime example of this. Months into his reign, Potter fielded the club's youngest-starting 11 in league history - 24.4 years old.

If the new Chelsea ownership led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital want a team with a youthful core built for long-term success, Potter is the man to mastermind it.

BRINGING OUT THE BEST IN PLAYERS

The 47-year-old's time in Scandinavia with Swedish side Ostersund is a perfect example of Potter’s man-management abilities.

“I have had about eight managers since Graham and you realise how much better he is than others,” former player Jamie Hopcutt told the Daily Mail.

“First and foremost, it’s his style of play. Then it’s the way he works with the individual on and off the pitch. He really cares about the human being, not just the footballer.”

Brighton defender Adam Webster had similar words for his former manager.

In a post on Instagram on Friday after Potter said his goodbyes at Brighton, Webster described him as “an amazing coach and an even better person".

Potter, who has a master's degree in leadership and personal and professional development, has by all accounts been able to make use of that to build his teams.

He spent about seven years in Sweden, guiding the team from the fourth division to the top tier, and even making the last 32 of the Europa League where they lost to Arsenal on aggregate but beat the Gunners at the Emirates in 2018.

“In the early years when I was playing for him, he started playing a back five. A lot of press in the local area were saying, ‘You can’t play a back five, it doesn’t work’. They were quite critical; local journalists, newspapers, fans. It didn’t bother him. He implemented everything he wanted to do, got everybody understanding it,” Potter’s former player Brian Wake told The Athletic.

“He actually affected Swedish football because back then, most teams were playing 4-4-2. By the time Graham finished here, everyone was playing different systems.”

During his time with the Seagulls, Potter transformed them from pragmatic to progressive. His style of football was enjoyable to watch, and keeping possession was the mantra.

After two seasons where he helped them to avoid relegation, Potter led Brighton to their best finish in Premier League history last season as they finished ninth. This season, they are currently at a dizzying fourth in the table.

One of Potter’s key attributes is his ability to get the best out of his players, and there are numerous examples of this.

Take former Arsenal and Manchester United player Danny Welbeck for example. Released by Watford in 2020, the 31-year-old is now an undoubtable asset to the team. Similarly, 34-year-old midfielder Adam Lallana has also been a plus for the Seagulls during his time at the club.

Players such as Pascal Gross, Joel Veltman and Webster have also done well since joining.

Potter's tactical abilities have also won him plaudits. Usually favouring a set-up with three at the back and attacking, aggressive wing-backs (not entirely dissimilar to Chelsea), Potter does not rigidly stick to this system. There is flexibility to the way he works, and this is clearly illustrated in how he has deployed his players at Brighton.

Belgian Leandro Trossard, who is primarily a winger, has proven his versatility and featured as forward and even wing-back, while Alexis Mac Allister, who used to be an attacking midfielder, has this season dropped into a deep-lying role.

Given the fact that Potter has taken his power base from Brighton to Stamford Bridge - assistant Billy Reid, coaches Bjorn Hamberg and Bruno, goalkeeping coach Ben Roberts and assistant head of recruitment Kyle Macaulay - this will allow him a chance to establish his ideals and ideas.

TIME A COMMODITY

Despite all of Potter's attributes, his success could eventually boil down to one key factor - time.

Given Chelsea's track record over the last two decades, the odds do not favour the Englishman.

After Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich took over the club in 2003, the club chopped and changed its way through 14 different managers. None of them lasted more than three years, apart from Jose Mourinho during his first spell at the club (three years, three months).

While Abramovich has since left, some feel that new co-owner Boehly appears rather trigger-happy.

After all, he gave the green light to a huge summer window signing spree, only to dismiss Tuchel six games into the season.

But the American notably eschewed some of the bigger managerial candidates in favour of Potter. Mauricio Pochettino and Zinedine Zidane were two options passed up.

And given Potter's penchant for a new project, it would be fair to assume that Boehly would be more than aware of what he needs and wants.

Though not a like-for-like comparison, it is also interesting that Los Angeles Dodgers, the American baseball team that Boehly co-owns has had the same manager for seven seasons.

The true test for Potter will be when he hits a road bump.

At Brighton, an 11-game winless streak threatened to derail their last campaign. Yet, time was afforded to Potter and the club rebounded in style.

Will he get the same level of patience at Chelsea? When the results go awry and the fans grow uneasy, will the owners push the panic button?

They must recognise and stick by this long-term solution instead of looking for a short-term fix.

Without a doubt, Potter has the ingredients to work his magic as part of this new partnership. But for a successful spell, the magic ingredient will be time.

Whether he gets that remains to be seen.

Matthew Mohan is a senior journalist at CNA.