Tactics and Transfers: Career Risk and Investing in Graham Potter

But in a match where Chelsea should be collecting points in a bid to at least move into some sort of European place to guarantee slight TV revenue and more matches for matchday revenue next season is a suicidal time to make such a decision. To do it purely for unnecessary experimentation made no sense.

The best and most consistent center-back he has had this season was available in Benoit Badiashile. A player whom it should be noted has displayed the beginning of a relationship with teammate Kalidou Koulibaly. The sort of relationship that generally stops a mistake like that between the aforementioned Senegalese player and his new teammate Marc Cucurella.

In the old words of Sir Alex Ferguson, “You do not change the back line”. The relationships between defenders are so important that chopping and changing them is considered a mistake in and of itself. To do it this often and without necessity begged questions that did not suit Potter to have answered.

For a team then struggling as much as Chelsea is to have played their literal best player, Reece James, out of position when they’re struggling for creativity up front was crazy. To do it while having Trevoh Chalobah a player who once held a personal unbeaten record and was noted for his consistency under former manager Thomas Tuchel was madness.

Then removing Mikhailo Mudryk, the only player who though he missed, looked to have a method towards creating clean-cut chances after only 60 or so minutes was wild.

How did he conceive of a reason to not bring on the highest-paid player at the club and also perhaps the only experienced goalscorer there in Raheem Sterling?

These are the questions that left people wondering and likely are what cost Potter his job.