SOME Chelsea players are reportedly “unhappy” with manager Graham Potter, but the board remain convinced he is more suited to the role than predecessor Thomas Tuchel.
Tuchel, who was 49 at the time, was replaced by the former Brighton head coach, who is 47 years old. This happened in September of the previous year.
And after spending more than £300 million on players during the January transfer window, Potter has been unsuccessful in his attempts to improve morale at Stamford Bridge.
They are currently 10th in the Premier League league after suffering a loss to Southampton by the score of 1-0 on Saturday afternoon. This places them 11 points behind the top four teams.
And Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is reportedly one of the few players who is still upset with Potter’s system, as stated by Caught Offside.
Nonetheless, the leaders of Chelsea continue to believe that the Blues manager is the best candidate for the position. According to journalist Ben Jacobs, “Potter has not deteriorated into a poor manager since he left Brighton.”
And the owners look to Arsenal, and how much pressure Mikel Arteta has been under in previous seasons, and hope that their tenacity in Potter pays off much like it has for Arsenal with Arteta. “And the owners look to Arsenal, and how much pressure Mikel Arteta has been under in previous seasons.
Firing Potter, which under Roman Abramovich would have undoubtedly already occurred, might be counter-productive to Chelsea’s long-term objective.
This is dependent on youth, and the manager needs to be comfortable with the model and skilled at managing emerging talent in order to be successful. Potter checks all of those boxes.” He proceeded by saying, “The third point I would want to add is that despite rυmors stating that certain senior players are disgruntled under Potter, my knowledge is that he is still liked and respected at Cobham.”
“When he first started, he had a series of early one-on-one meetings to establish the tone for the company. He also maintains an open-door policy, which is very much appreciated.
“One or two players are plainly dissatisfied, such as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who has been left out of the matchday squads for the last three Premier League matches and was left off of Chelsea’s updated 25-man roster for the Champions League. Nonetheless, Potter was the one who ultimately decided this, with the support of the board.
“I think Raheem Sterling was a touch uncomfortable when forced to play at wing-back, and Mason Mount hasn’t recovered his scoring form from last season. Both of these things are concerning.
But, none of this should be taken as evidence that there is a rebellion against the manager. It’s really more of a byproduct of Chelsea having too many players on their roster, as well as the team missing a little of confidence and identity.
In their last five games across all competitions, Chelsea have not won a single one of them.
When Potter and his team play against Tottenham on Sunday, they will be eager to put an end to their winless streak.
After that, they will play at home against Leeds, who are currently in a relegation bαttle, before returning to Stamford Bridge on March 7 for the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against Borussia Dortmund.
In the first leg, the Bundesliga team prevailed over their opponent by a score of 1-0.
