Former Chelsea manager Graham Potter has disclosed the reasons behind his premature sacking at Stamford Bridge during the 2022-23 season. According to Potter, fixture congestion, injuries to key players, and a bloated squad filled with ultra-expensive stars all contributed to his bitter exit.
Chelsea appointed Potter as Thomas Tuchel’s replacement in September 2022. Thanks to his impressive run at Brighton & Hove Albion, there was hope that Potter would be able to offer stability to the Stamford Bridge outfit. Unfortunately, that did not turn out to be the case, as he lost his job after just seven months. During his ill-fated tenure in West London, Potter took charge of the Blues in 31 games, winning 12, drawing eight, and losing 11.
Graham Potter Says Winter World Cup Contributed to His Fate
In an interview with The Telegraph, Potter began by explaining how fixture congestion due to the winter World Cup hurt Chelsea.
“It was almost like the perfect storm,” said Potter (via The Daily Mail).
“It was 14 matches in six weeks prior to the World Cup. It was like you were in the washing machine, that’s what we said within the staff, because the games kept coming and we had no preparation time. We lost Reece [James] and Wesley [Fofana] to injury. I think we had the most players at the World Cup and pretty quickly afterward we lost Raheem [Sterling] and Christian Pulisic.”
Potter Says Exorbitant Spending Multiplied Pressure
In the January transfer window, the Todd Boehly-led consortium approved some mega signings to boost the club’s chances of securing a top-four finish. The Pensioners splurged around £300 million ($401.4 million) to bring eight players into the fold, including Enzo Fernandez, Noni Madueke, Mykhailo Mudryk, and Benoit Badiashile.
Potter claimed the spending spree only increased pressure as it was impossible for everyone to hit the ground running.
“If you are spending £300m on players coming from outside the Premier League, from countries having a mid-season break, then the reality is you can’t just imagine they are going to hit the ground running and everything’s going to be fine.
“But, obviously, if you spend £300m, the pressure on the team goes up and the pressure on the coach goes up. And people go: ‘Come on then, you’ve spent all this money.’ I think if I’d have spent it on Harry Kane and Declan Rice, fair enough, but at the time that was the decision.”
He concluded by adding:
“We tried to support it as best we could, but it left us with a challenge of a lot of players after January and then they can’t go anywhere.”
Chelsea was toiling in 11th place when Potter left in March 2024. Frank Lampard filled in as interim manager for the remainder of the 2022-23 season but could only take them to a 12th-place finish.
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