Chelsea boss Graham Potter has been warned that his newly-inherited dressing room 'looks a mess' ahead of the Blues' clash with Liverpool next weekend. With Queen Elizabeth II's funeral at Westminster Abbey on Monday, September 19, it remains to be seen whether Stamford Bridge will welcome Jurgen Klopp's side to west London the day prior.
Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to visit London over the coming days so it would present a sizeable task for the police and security to juggle several high-key events, with Brentford versus Arsenal also scheduled for the same weekend. But, assuming Chelsea's clash with Liverpool goes ahead, Potter will be make his Premier League debut as Blues boss.
However, it won't be plain sailing. Potter has inherited a squad which is said to house a number of players who were seeking exits over the summer; it is his job now to weather the storm while also implementing his philosophies on the pitch.
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Ahead of the west Londoners' bout with Liverpool, Robbie Fowler has warned the former Brighton boss that there are issues to address in his dressing room. In his column for the Daily Mirror, the former Reds striker wrote: "The dressing room looks a mess as well. Maybe that’s Tuchel’s fault, maybe not.
"There are a lot of big egos in there, and some of them seem to be butting up against each other. I didn’t like the body language of that free-kick exchange between Reece James and Hakim Ziyech, which spoke volumes on the issues Potter will be inheriting.
"I’ve already heard questions about whether he’ll be able to handle those big egos, and win over players who seem to have the power at that club to get managers sacked. He’s shown at Brighton he can improve players massively, and he’s also shown he knows the game, has refreshing ideas and is astute technically and tactically.
"How does he deal with a split dressing room though? The answer is to go in there without preconceptions"
However, Liverpool have problems of their own which could play into Chelsea's hands. Fowler added: "It looks like Liverpool have some real problems, there’s no doubt about that, and no hiding from it either.
"In the insane parallel universe of social media it’s ‘obviously’ down to the end of an era, the disintegration of the Klopp empire, the collapse of his team as a force, or whatever. In real life, it doesn’t happen in seven games.
"Nine games ago, Liverpool were on the verge of a historic quadruple and the undisputed title of the greatest team of all time. They were a few minutes away from the title, until Villa collapsed at the Etihad.
"They were by far the better team in the Champions League final, against a Real Madrid side who were clearly fearful of Liverpool, and astonished that they had won. Now, seven games into a new season they’re finished as a force? It doesn’t happen like that. Great teams do decline, but it’s over years, not days."
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