Tottenham 2-0 Chelsea: lessons learned for the Blues

So what is next?

There is understandably a lot of anger within the Chelsea fanbase right now but I just want to take a moment here, to address the death threats that Potter has been facing from the fans since his appointment by the club. I understand that as fans, we naturally want what is best for the club. I also understand that winning has become so ingrained into the Chelsea DNA under Roman Abramovich that we not only expect success. We demand it.

Yet the line has to be drawn somewhere, and it is important to recognise that the way in which some fans have chosen to express their anger and disappointment is wholly unacceptable. It is never okay to wish death or serious injury to another person over a game of football, or anything actually. There are no “ifs” and “buts” to this statement and no amount of justification or caveat can ever give rise to a scenario where one thinks it appropriate to act or comment in such a manner. With all that unpleasant business out of the way, I move on now to consider the question that is presumably on every Chelsea fan’s mind right now, what is next for Potter. It is important to first recognise that the board are in fact in a rather impossible position right now.

On one hand, the form of the team right now certainly justifies consideration as to the possibility of sacking the manager. No matter how one cuts it, two wins in 16 games is unacceptable for any club, notwithstanding the fact that we are talking about a club of CFC’s stature and consistent history of success. On the other, to sack a manager less than six months into a supposed five-year project is embarrassing to say the least. This, alongside the fact that the board saw it fit to replace a Champions League winner in Thomas Tuchel with Potter means that any conversation of yet another managerial change would understandably be a touchy one.