I know the 2021/22 football season must be a disappointing one for Chelsea as a club, Thomas Tuchel and his boys performed below the management and fans expectations, and he had to face the heat which led to his sack after losing to Dynamo Zagreb in the Uefa Champions opening match last week Tuesday.
I will like to clarify the fact that losing to Dynamo Zagreb only fastened his sack, the match wasn't enough reason to sack the ex- Chelsea manager. Last season wasn't great for them, a lot of people expected more from a club that won the Uefa Champions League in the 2020/21 season but all they could achieve in 2021/22 was keep their head in the Champions League spot for the 2022/23 season which came with lots of struggles.
Chelsea lost two cup finals last season to Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp and his boys took the glory of the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup after winning in the penalty shootout of both finals. I believe Tuchel's performance must have been giving the management concerns and they had to use the Champions League poor performance as an opportunity to get rid of the German manager.
Chelsea's Premier League performance is not convincing either and the club has every right to take action even though I believe Tuchel can bounce back if allowed to stay but the club wouldn't because they need someone to bring the team back to life in a twinkle of an eye. His time is definitely up at Chelsea and what baffles me most is why Graham Potters was chosen as a replacement for Thomas Tuchel for Chelsea's managerial role.
I have been processing the club decision because I don't see him giving Chelsea the immediate change they need in the team.
Graham Potters became Brighton's manager in 2019 and have performed so well for the club since his arrival, 2021/22 season was the biggest for him. Brighton has struggled in the relegation battle almost every season before his arrival, he finished 15th in the 19/20 season, 16th in the 20/21 season, and 9th in the 21/22 season. That might be a big improvement for the club but I don't think it is enough to handle a team like Chelsea.
I won't deny the fact that he is good to an extent but the competition and pressure at Chelsea requires a coach with a wide range of experience in top-flight leagues.
Brighton hasn't played outside the Premier League under his reign as a manager, he has played a few matches every season in the FA Cup and Carabao cup which is not enough for him to stand the challenge with Chelsea.
He played once in the European Competition with Ostersund, his experience as a player and coach made me wonder how he is going to lead Chelsea to success in all competitions now that he has to play in more competitions. At Brighton, his biggest task was keeping them in the league, and probably when he was able to achieve that, they pushed for finishing about 10th and he did that as well.
At Chelsea, the target is bigger than that. Being a Chelsea manager requires you to win titles because the club is big, they aren't in the race of keeping their head in the league.
At the moment, he is required to win titles. Look at Mikel Arteta, he is gradually building the Arsenal team. Do you know how long he has been doing that before Arsenal became what it is?
Brighton currently sits 4th on the league table and yet, I do not expect a miracle from Graham Potters, he is good but I don't think he is good enough for Chelsea at the moment.
Coaching a top-class team isn't an easy thing especially when you don't have much to your name as a manager, he will be working with big names in football which will require him to be smart and make choices that might make him good and bad to some players, will he be able to stand on his decisions in the dressing room?
I have seen several predictions about how well he is going to transform the Chelsea team and I think a lot of people are mistaken, they believe he will do great because he has big players to work with but things don't appear as it looks.
At Brighton, he had limited resources. He didn't have to rotate players for different competitions, he doesn't go too far with Brighton in domestic cups so he has the team energy channeled into the Premier League only. It will be completely a different thing having varieties of players on the team, you have to rotate them for different matches and competitions, it is not as easy as we think.
It's a long journey ahead for the new manager and it is hard to tell what things will look like for him by the end of the season I am eager to see how he intends to put his team in the grip of achieving success. It will be interesting to see how he competes against Guardiola, Ten Hag, Jurgen Klopp, Conte, and the others. I honestly hope it doesn't turn out to be a bad decision for Chelsea and it is all well if he eventually leads the team to glory.
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