What Graham Potter brings to Chelsea
Graham Potter signed with Chelsea earlier this month to fill their vacant manager position after new owner Todd Boehly fired Thomas Tuchel six games into the season. According to SkySports, the thing that is most impressionable on players about Potter is “how he plans the game and what he wants us to do.”
The video above shows the tactical genius of Potter during his time at Chelsea and how he got one of the lowest funded teams in the Premier League to be in the top half of the table. Former players and coaches have spoken highly of Potter’s ability to coach, fix problems, work with players, and win.
“He’s a players’ manager,” former Swansea winger Nathan Dyer told Sky Sports News. “He’s a problem solver. Tactically, he’s incredible at making sure when you step onto the pitch, everyone knows what they’re doing. What he’ll bring to Chelsea is exactly that.”
According to The Athletic
Ultimately Chelsea is getting a tactician who can coach and get the best out of players. So the main question about Potter is if he is ready to manage a top-six club and the pressures that come along with that as opposed to if he can coach.
According to The Independent, Potter is known for his “tactical flexibility... Chelsea is getting a highly intelligent coach who thinks outside the box – literally, given the only thing missing from Brighton’s play was often a killer finish in the area (only 29 percent of Brighton’s shots were on target last season, the third lowest in the premier league”.
Potter’s ability to adjust and change mid-game is the big difference between him and the Premier League’s top managers, who rarely change formation. An example of such flexibility came last season when he flipped to a back four, surprising Liverpool, and earned a 2-2 draw at Anfield.
The biggest question surrounding Chelsea’s appointment is how will top players react to his tactics, and is this too much of a step up from Brighton for him to succeed?