Graham Potter is regarded as the leader to guide Chelsea back to glory.
While it is definitely seen from the outside as a risk to appoint Potter to one of Europe’s biggest clubs, the Chelsea hierarchy love that quality in their new manager. Chelsea owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali regard 47-year-old Potter as an over-achiever, a leader and a risk taker who is prepared to take gambles for big rewards.
Potter has worked his way up from being a journeyman player with West Brom, guiding Swedish minnows Ostersunds from obscurity to the Europa League and then exceeding all expectations at Swansea and, in particular, Brighton.
Solihull-born Potter has got a degree outside of football - a Masters in Emotional Intelligence - and was willing to leave England to move to Sweden to further his career. Clearly, Potter’s reputation for playing stylish football, developing talent and upsetting the big boys during his three years in charge at Brighton has already caught the eye.
Potter led Brighton to ninth in the Premier League last season and was even seen as a potential future England boss as someone to succeed Gareth Southgate in the long term. Boehly and Eghbali were interested in other bosses such as former Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino who was also available and has Premier League experience.
Chelsea did sound him out but it is Potter who really caught their eye when they were forced into a change as the wheels came off during Thomas Tuchel’s reign. They had to move fast as results slipped away and Tuesday’s defeat at Dinamo Zagreb was not the defining moment but Tuchel was axed the morning after at the training ground.
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Boehly and Eghbali spoke to the first team squad for around 15 minutes at Cobham on Wednesday afternoon and also spoke to senior players more separately. They assured the players they had their backs and would do everything to help them enjoy sucecss.
They wanted to reassure the players they were making decisions for the long term and even point towards Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang being a “club signing” rather than a favourite of Tuchel after the pair worked together at Borussia Dortmund.
But they also have total faith in Potter’s ability as a communicator and being able to command respect within the dressing room even with the biggest names and egos.
Potter also relies heavily on stats which is a huge part of US sports with Boehly co-owner of LA Dodgers. Sources close to Boehly and Eghbali have been quick to stress that, despite axing Tuchel quickly and just six games into the Premier League season, they have a track record of sticking by their own choice and appointments.
LA Dodgers coach Dave Roberts, 50, was appointed seven years ago after exceeding expectations and the odds while in charge of San Diego Padres and was then given one of the biggest jobs in Major League Baseball.
Now they want Potter for the long term as the new Chelsea boss arrived at the club’s training ground around 2pm on Thursday afternoon and will now be expected to turn their fortunes around after a sticky start to the season.
Potter is not the name that some Chelsea fans wanted and Tuchel will be a tough act to follow after he won the Champions League within weeks of taking charge. But the Chelsea hierarchy firmly believe in the youth, enthusiasm and drive of their new coach and his ability to begin a new era at Stamford Bridge.
