Todd Boehly's patience eventually wore thin with Graham Potter, who was sacked as Chelsea boss on Sunday night.
The Blues lost once again on Saturday as Aston Villa left Stamford Bridge with all three points as fan anger continued to mount with the west Londoners now in the bottom half of the table. Potter was only appointed in September, but struggled to produce the desired results.
That was among the key reasons for his departure with owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital growing frustrated by matters on the pitch. The Athletic reports that they were also not seeing the progress they felt the squad were capable of following huge investment.
Potter only won 12 of the 31 games he took charge of, losing 11. Defeats to the likes of Southampton, Tottenham, Manchester City and Fulham since the turn of the year ultimately sealed Potter's fate despite him signing a five-year deal when he arrived at Stamford Bridge.
Boehly had been determined to back the Englishman, who was attempting to prove himself at a major European outfit for the first time. Thomas Tuchel was sacked weeks into the season and the decision to employ the former Brighton boss did divide opinion.
Upon Potter's arrival the American said: ''Not only is he extremely talented on the pitch, he has skills and capabilities that extend beyond the pitch which will make Chelsea a more successful Club. He has had a major impact at his previous Clubs and we look forward to his positive impact at Chelsea."
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Huge sums were spent on players, both before and during Potter's tenure. That left him with a squad of talented individuals, but who were yet to be moulded into a well-oiled machine, which he ultimately failed to do.
In his final game, in which a host of the crowd turned against him, Potter chose to name two wing-backs as part of his back three despite having centre-halves available to him. His system backfired and Chelsea offered little, which has been a trend this term, especially in the final third.
Potter said in his final press conference: “Today is a bit of a setback, of course it is. We can feel the pain of the supporters. I understand when you lose at home, the emotion of the game is such that people are going to be disappointed and frustrated and angry. Where we are in the league table, no one’s happy with.
"Whatever criticism comes I have to accept. We’ve got no time to feel sorry for ourselves. We have to respond. We have to prepare for another big game.”
Ultimately Potter didn't get that chance, with Boehly and the Chelsea board now beginning what will be an exhaustive process to find a new manager with Julian Nagelsmann, Marco Silva and Mauricio Pochettino among the leading candidates.
