Pressure is starting to build on Chelsea manager Graham Potter just 18 matches into his reign since he arrived from Brighton.
Since returning from the World Cup, the Blues have beaten Bournemouth but gave up a lead to draw with Nottingham Forest and been outplayed twice by Manchester City. The 4-0 FA Cup third round defeat to Pep Guardiola's men was labelled "shameful " and "embarrassing" and heard Chelsea fans chanting for Potter's predecessor Thomas Tuchel.
Potter said after the match: "We can't do anything but do our jobs better and work harder. We understand the supporter's frustration but our job is to do our job. There are always other opinions, criticism and negativity, but that's part of the challenge."
But having only worked at Leeds Carnegie, Ostersund, Swansea and Brighton beforehand, we've asked Mirror Football writers: 'is the Chelsea job too big for Graham Potter'...
John Cross
The job isn’t too big for Graham Potter. But the question is: is it the right job for Graham Potter?
Anyone could see from the job Potter did at Brighton that he is a manager who needs time to build his vision, build a team and a dressing room.
Potter is not a superstar manager with a quick fix who can lift a dressing room in the way Thomas Tuchel did when he took over in a January - and then won the Champions League the following May.
But Chelsea ’s new owners wanted to go in a different direction with a young, exciting coach with different ideas who is prepared to build a legacy and lay down lasting foundations. If they want the “boom and bust” option then Antonio Conte might be available in a few months.
JOIN THE DEBATE: Is the Chelsea job too big for Graham Potter? Have your say here
If they want to stay true to the reasons they appointed him last year, then Potter is still the best man for the job. And no, the job is not too big for him.
But they need a proper direction, a clear transfer strategy, not just panic buys and moving from one defender to the next. The owners look like they’re playing Fantasy Football. It’s embarrassing.
It was great to see Potter show passion in his press conference ahead of the Manchester City FA Cup tie. It wasn’t a tense or angry press conference. It was just a manager showing what he’s really about.
He has got the drive, determination and desire to succeed. But also needs time and that’s something which has always been in short supply at Chelsea.
For the good of young up-and-coming British managers, it would be great to see Potter succeed. And he deserves the chance to get it right.
Andy Dunn
The Chelsea job is not too big for Graham Potter, who is an accomplished coach, an excellent communicator and - if the testimony of so many players is to be believed - a good man-manager.
But what exactly is the Chelsea job right now? Come up with a long-term plan? Develop the younger players? Or quickly gel a group of signings that appears to have been thrown together with no apparent joined-up thinking?
Potter must wake up and wonder what and who Todd Boehly is going to come up with next. Although injuries are plentiful, Potter has a big squad but it is a dysfunctional squad.
Until the ownership develops a clear pathway - Boehly is still the ‘interim sporting director’, for goodness sake - any manager would struggle to shine at the Bridge right now.
Neil McLeman
The evidence so far is not great but it is still too early to tell. It was always going to be a tough task to take over in mid-season under new owners with an expensive but unbalanced squad.
The injuries to Reece James and Ben Chilwell have also been massive. But Potter should be able to get these players into at least the top seven and European football, even if the Champions League seems unrealistic now. If he doesn't, questions have to be asked - not least by the owners.
Simon Bird
More pertinent questions would be to ask: why is the Chelsea job a graveyard for the biggest names in management? Or, can anyone last more than five minutes amid the impatience and sense of entitlement to success that surrounds Chelsea.
Or how about asking: does the cycle of sackings, multi-million pay offs, instability and lurching from plan to the next stop Chelsea from becoming a major, consistent European power?
Tuchel, too ranty, Lampard, too inexperienced, Sarri too toxic, Mourinho, too old fashioned and arrogant, Conte too explosive? And that’s just the last four and a half years.
And now, because Potter has built a career from humble beginnings, through the ranks. Potter: can’t handle the big time. Give him space, backing and patience, as was promised in the summer, and let him build.
Alex Richards
Graham Potter has done fantastic work at all his previous clubs and after the way he turned Brighton from relegation battlers to an upwardly-mobile club with European aspirations, deserved his shot at Stamford Bridge.
He's an excellent coach and a fantastic man-manager, so rather than this job being too big for him, perhaps it is merely a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
There were always going to be teething troubles early on in the post-Roman era, and seemingly the new owners were happy to take the rough with the smooth as they look to change the culture at the club.
Todd Boehly and his cohorts have wanted to go away from the 'hire and fire ' manner of their predecessor, with a young coach and a younger team. But there has appeared to be a lack of cohesion from top to bottom - whether in hiring new backroom staff, or with Boehly's dealings in the transfer market.
Their hope, no doubt, was that on-field results would remain stable and the club would continue challenging for a top four spot. That hasn't happened and perhaps the off-field turmoil of the last 12 months is finally catching up, in tandem with a rotten injury list.
Certainly, Potter hasn't covered himself in glory amid their dire recent run. But he doesn't think the job is too big for himself and feels he will turn things around. Where we stand now, he deserves the benefit of the doubt.
Tom Victor
It's less a case of whether the job is too big for Potter, but rather a question of whether any manager would be able to thrive with this version of Chelsea.
The current manager's task has been made far more difficult due to injuries to key men, with the absence of Wesley Fofana and N'Golo Kante likely to harm any team, let alone one still adjusting to the exits of senior centre-backs over the summer.
Potter is attempting to make things work with a mismatched squad full of players yet to fully discover their place after the summer spending spree. While we're repeatedly being assured Todd Boehly's Chelsea isn't the same as Roman Abramovich's Chelsea, it's hard to ignore the fact that all manner of managers - from vastly-experienced big names to highly-rated up-and-comers - have encountered challenges at Stamford Bridge.
It may be the case that Potter proves to be the wrong fit, but to come to that conclusion before he has even been given a transfer window to address the issues left by his predecessors seems particularly harsh.
Jacob Leeks
The way out of Chelsea's mess is not to keep sacking their manager and Graham Potter should be granted much more time. The Blues have been battered by injury and let's not forget that Potter's first transfer window in charge has only just started.
Chelsea's transfer strategy has been all over the place for years and Potter must be granted the opportunity to clean it up. The Englishman had mixed starts at both Swansea and Brighton, but ultimately impressed with both teams.
Potter has earned the right to turn Chelsea around and there are no quick fixes to their problems. The man currently in the job is the one best-placed to launch a long-term overhaul, especially given his track record.
Daniel Orme
There are no doubts that the current run of form at Stamford Bridge is simply not good for the wealth of talent Chelsea currently have. The Blues have lost six out of their last nine matches in all competitions and look set to lose out on a place in the Champions League - that slump coming just 18 months after the London side lifted their second European title against Man City.
There are also no doubts that Graham Potter is a talented coach but during his spell at Brighton, he showed a worrying habit of being unable to break indifferent runs - the Seagulls having embarked on separate runs of seven, nine and 11 Premier League matches without a win during his time at the Amex.
That inability to arrest Chelsea’s current woeful run could very quickly see faith at Stamford Bridge diminish and could potentially see the job become too big for him - if it isn’t already.
