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Daniel Childs

Graham Potter honest Chelsea failure proves why he can break Thomas Tuchel trend

Graham Potter has not provided the eye-catching lines or self-deprecating humour of his predecessor in his first few weeks in charge of Chelsea. The 47-year-old does not seem too bothered about using his time in front of the media to grandstand or make bold proclamations.

That trait certainly is not favourable to those of us who report on the club, but it is not really his responsibility to give us great lines. Although he may never rival those before him, Potter might be starting to relax in his chair a bit more and open up about his thought process a bit more.

Ahead of Sunday's clash with Arsenal at Stamford Bridge, Potter was not afraid to admit he has already made mistakes in the role.

READ MORE: Graham Potter makes humble Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang Chelsea claim after bitter Arsenal fallout

"I think you have to remember when you are trying to do something new, there will be a chance it goes wrong," Potter said on Friday. "You always have to be prepared for that. That sounds a bit strange because you should come across as this all-knowing person with all the answers but the reality of making progress and the reality of doing something different and new is you have to prepare to be an idiot.

"If it goes wrong or it fails then you are open to criticism. The flip side of that is if you don’t anything and you just do the same stuff then nothing changes. And it's that balance. You have to have the courage to do that and accept the consequences when it doesn’t go your way."

This sort of honesty from a top-level coach is refreshing. And the point he makes about not acting and then subsequently, not making progress feels like a telling point regarding Chelsea's recent issues.

Although much has happened in recent years at the club, the feeling of stagnation in the Premier League has remained. Chelsea under the past three head coaches have failed to build a respectable title challenge as Manchester City have dominated proceedings under Pep Guardiola.

Thomas Tuchel has inarguably been the most successful Chelsea coach since Antonio Conte, but even his European triumph could not alter the wider issues in the league.

The major failure Potter is referring to is the defeat at the hands of his previous employer Brighton last weekend. Chelsea played an ambitious system with Raheem Sterling and Christian Pulisic operating as wingbacks but stationed high against Brighton's back-three. Although the trick worked in the previous midweek at Salzburg, it was exposed by a motivated Brighton side who exploited space in behind both wingbacks and isolated Chelsea's back-three.

A 4-1 defeat was more than a worthy scoreline given the host's dominance and how easily the Blues had been outplayed. It was a horrendously bad afternoon, one that emphatically ended Potter's unbeaten start in the Chelsea dugout.

But if Potter had tried more experienced figures like Cesar Azpolicueta, gone for the slightly predictable approach of a safety-first 3-4-3 that did not create many good chances and Chelsea still lost, Potter would have also been criticised for not being braver.

If Potter is going to move Chelsea forward, there will need to be an element of risk and trying new ideas. The Pulisic and Sterling approach might have been a response to the absence of Reece James rather than a long-term tactic.

Potter is humble enough to admit those mistakes and his likely to make more. Given the slightly tiresome flaws, Chelsea supporters have bemoaned in recent years, playing it safe is an approach Tuchel tried and it eventually found its limitation.

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