"We're going to try and create a winning team and that's a fantastic opportunity for me."
Some of Graham Potter's first words when he was appointed Chelsea head coach back in September. Words that you want to hear from your new manager, words they have to say and words every coach hopes comes true as they look to implement their philosophy at the football club.
Winning football matches is embedded into Chelsea Football Club. A club with a rich history and in a century when success is all that has been known at Stamford Bridge. So it was always going to be extremely difficult for Potter. He had to come in and work with a brand new squad, with players who had little to no experience of playing together after a hectic summer transfer window and the head coach had to try and get his style across to each and every one of them.
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Potter's job was to try and find the right balance between implementing a new style of football onto his squad and also managing to find some momentum in terms of winning. It's something that is incredibly difficult to do for every coach and everyone knows the pressure that comes with being the manager at Chelsea.
It was always going to take serious time for it to work. Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali, the two main faces from the new ownership group, offered the 47-year-old their support on numerous occasions, insisting he is the right man for the job and the right man to spearhead their ambitious project at the football club.
Even on Sunday morning, the day he was actually sacked, the club were very much in 'business as usual' mode with a crucial Premier League match against Liverpool days away. But after intense talks on Saturday night, hours after Chelsea were beaten by Aston Villa in front of a furious and vocal Stamford Bridge crowd, the club confirmed the decision to part ways with Potter on Sunday evening.
football.london understands a decision to relieve Potter of his duties came after behind-the-scenes talks on Saturday evening. Boehly and co. are really grateful for what Potter has done in his short time as Chelsea head coach but they now feel it is the right time to move on and look to appoint someone else.
Julian Nagelsmann is someone who is really admired by the club's ownership group and they feel the German has the attributes that match their long-term project at Stamford Bridge. The 35-year-old was recently let go by Bayern Munich who consequently appointed former Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel.
Nagelsmann, like Potter, would have a serious job on his hands. The German would inherit a squad of players who had just been learning Potter's ways and transform the way they play. So if he was to be appointed then he will absolutely require the backing of the ownership group who really wanted Potter to succeed at the club.
One thing is for certain, though, and that's if Nagelsmann is appointed as Chelsea boss, then he already has a one-up in some respect on Potter. The main problem for Potter, sadly, was that he wasn't Tuchel. Chelsea supporters idolised Tuchel and when he was sacked, it came as a genuine shock and it was a decision that made little to no sense to the majority of the fan base.
Potter was doomed from day one in that regard. He was not Tuchel. He was nothing like Tuchel. And that's absolutely alright for Potter. He doesn't need to be anything like the German, it's his right. He wanted to create his own legacy at Chelsea. But it didn't work out for a multitude of reasons.
For Nagelsmann, should he move to west London, he has a clean slate and it's actually beneficial to him that he's not Potter. Chelsea fans will no longer be making these Tuchel comparisons, or they shouldn't do anyway. Nagelsmann can start fresh with an extremely powerful financial backing and look to create a legacy at the club.
The next week or so is going to be another huge one for Chelsea. The right decision needs to be made to avoid another, let's be honest, absolute mess from start to finish for the club. It never felt right unfortunately for Potter. The inevitable has happened, perhaps earlier than I expected, but it is definitely not a shock.
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