Chelsea head coach Graham Potter is reportedly under pressure from the Blues board to obtain a positive result against Fulham on Thursday evening. An adverse outcome could lead to his job being in danger. This is in spite of contrary reports stating that co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali are committed to the Englishman’s Stamford Bridge project. But, The Pride of London asks, for how long will ownership watch the ship sink?
If you want my honest opinion on Potter’s suitability and progress as Chelsea boss, I’ll give it to you. The current situation that CFC find themselves in is not particularly his fault.
The former Brighton & Hove Albion gaffer has made a few minor tactical mistakes. Not to mention arguably getting it occasionally wrong with respect to choices of certain starting personnel, along with substitutions and so on. In the meantime, the squad being so depleted is a major, significant reason why the team are in the unacceptable position of tenth in the Premier League.
Meanwhile, nearly all of the high profile signings have not worked out as of yet, for various reasons. Raheem Sterling could become a decent buy, still, though the success of his transfer hangs in the balance. Wesley Fofana has the ingredients to be a Blues and France National Team icon, if he stays fit and focuses.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is turning into a bad acquisition, he’s becoming a foolish stopgap for the fee and wages required. Maybe the fact that the English coach hasn’t been able to extract the best from Marc Cucurella is telling of Potter’s tenure. Though the Spaniard’s poor form cannot be wholly weaponised against his manager.
Nevertheless, all of those incoming players’ moves were completed prior to the 47-year-old’s arrival at the Bridge. The man hasn’t even got one entire transfer window under his beat on Fulham Road yet, let alone been afforded time to assemble anything like a side to call his own.
However, CFC sources supposedly remaining pro-Potter are having to establish that the team’s chief retains backing from the west London club’s hierarchy. I never consider votes of confidence – public, private or assertions – as good signs. This story suggests that there is an “emphasis” on the clash at Craven Cottage versus Fulham on Thursday evening:
"the Blues face west London neighbours Fulham on Thursday night and while a negative result against Marco Silva’s side would not leave Potter in any immediate danger, there is understood to be an emphasis on the clash at Craven Cottage as the owners look for signs of improvement.Potter is in regular contact with Boehly and fellow co-owner Behdad Eghbali who are understood to have re-iterated they had at the outset – that this Chelsea project under the new regime is a long-term one and their acceptance that rebuilding the club will take time."