Chelsea head coach Graham Potter has divulged the reasons why he overlooked substitute striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang when the Blues needed a goal against London rivals Fulham in the most recent disappointing loss.
Losing to the sixth-placed Premier League team – Fulham have risen since Thursday evening’s encounter – is no embarrassment. And that assertion applies even for prime Chelsea, who were typically always much higher than that! However, for the Blues to be five positions below and six points behind the Cottagers in the English top-flight is edging toward the unacceptable.
Imagine if Marco Silva’s side were where people predicted in the table and CFC were behind. Hopefully that hypothetical scenario stays as such. But you get my point about this season being almost a write off for Potter and his not very merry men. In fact, if the ex-Brighton gaffer’s results don’t improve at Stamford Bridge, they could finish in the bottom half of the EPL.
I’m not doom mongering, it is just hard to accept the current state of affairs on the field of play, if not away from the pitch, too. Although, I do believe the ownership have a prudent plan in place, sadly it is long-term. For an excellent example there, the new or heavily renovated ground intentions.
Will Todd Boehly and his cohorts and associates on the Chelsea board wait for Potter’s vision and player assembling to come to fruition? Probably, unless there are another four or five successive losses in the near future. I’m not sure anyone else would be able to come in and make major improvements with the current squad and its missing components. Luck is just not with CFC currently – ask Joao Felix! Be patient, Blues.
Chelsea boss Graham Potter explains why he snubbed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the derby
There were so many talking points from the week’s match. Though one aspect caught my attention in-game and was swiftly rationalised by the manager after the final whistle, thanks to Adam Newson‘s usual fine work.
Picture the scene: the Blues require a goal, have an attacker already dismissed and leave the formerly deadly Aubameyang on the bench. So why didn’t Potter put the Gabonese into the action at Craven Cottage?:
"“We had a back five and felt we should go to a 4-4-1 and keep Kai [Havertz] on because I felt he was leading the line and winning challenges and duels.“We wanted to use Hakim [Ziyech] and Carney [Chukwuemeka] to break from wide and Conor [Gallagher] to break from the centre because you know you’re going to get driven back a bit. So that was the thinking.”"