Graham Potter has received some well-needed support after a torrid week as Chelsea boss. His side are on a horrible run of form and have plummeted in the league table whilst being dumped out of both domestic cups at the hands of Manchester City. Almost halfway through the season and Chelsea are yet to beat a side in the top 10.
Part of this was overseen by Thomas Tuchel, who ended with 10 points from six games. Potter has 15 points from the next 11 games including a run of one win in seven matches, leaving the Blues stranded in 10th place. Due to the popularity of Tuchel and his achievements with a previously underperforming squad it has resulted in a fractured fanbase turning on Potter already.
Despite 10 injuries to his current squad, with the three best players currently out, Chelsea have fallen way below expectations this season and things are starting to turn toxic. During a state of transition Potter has received plenty of criticism already for his role but Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has come to his defence.
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The former striker told Betway, "It's way too premature for fans to be calling for Graham Potter to leave Chelsea and it's not fair." Potter himself would unsurprisingly take a similar line on the situation and has the support of Todd Boehly too. Convincing fans is a different matter though.
"He's inherited this squad and the problems at Chelsea were already here before Potter became manager," Hasselbaink added. "Potter needs to be given time, the fans need to be patient and let somebody do the job.
"Chelsea do need results, that's the only problem at the moment. You can lose at home against Man City and play well, but you can't draw against Nottingham Forest and play the way they did. That's the problem."
Up next is a slight comedown from back-to-back fixtures against the league champions with a trip to neighbours Fulham. The Cottagers are above Chelsea as it stands and Hasselbaink thinks that the team needs more creativity in order to get a result. When asked about potentially hijacking Arsenal's deal for Mykhaylo Mudryk he said, "I don’t know Mudryk too well but apparently, he’s an amazing player.
"I’m not sure how much truth there is that Chelsea want to hijack any deal for him but they do need more creativity and a bigger threat going forward. Christian Pulisic has tried his best recently but Chelsea aren’t creating enough. Kai Havertz is half of the player that he was last year so they need more players who can come into the team and make a difference straight away."
Havertz was hooked by Potter at halftime against Man City after the striker was sloppy on the ball and gave away a cheap penalty, handling a corner when attempting to clear it. He is the squad's top scorer under Potter but has been struggled with end product regardless.
David Datro Fofana was his replacement at the Etihad Stadium having joined from Molde this month.
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