Stay Tuned: Chelsea and Boehly are ‘holding internal talks today’ over Potter at Stamford Bridge.
If this sack happens lastly we will be here to inform you but as at bow there are talks going on between Todd Boehly and Chelsea on the Potter situation at the Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea fans had largely still been backing Potter before the weekend. Whilst there was huge unrest via social media fans and some calling for Potter to be sacked before the Southampton game, the general consensus among match-going fans and fans collectively, was that they were still backing Potter.
However, the tide has turned come the final whistle on Saturday afternoon after losing 1-0 to The Saints. There was a gloomy feel inside the stadium as boos rang out, and in the pubs after the game the narrative has fully turned. Make no mistake, Chelsea fans collectively now want Potter sacked as soon as possible, and this has put the owners in a precarious and no win situation. Whatever they do now will be under scrutiny. Stick with Potter and they have almost an entire fanbase against them. Sack Potter and it will be admitting they have chosen the wrong man and their belief in him was wrong. It will also point back towards the hiring and firing culture that they said they want to move away from.
I understand when the new board were put in place at Chelsea they made two main agreements. One was that they agreed to rebuild the squad entirely. And the second agreement was to move away from the manager merry-go-round we have seen in the last 15 years at the club.
But the club are now stuck between a rock and a hard place, purely due to fan pressure. The club value fan opinion, and it’s got me wondering whether this might change their stance on backing Potter, which is a stance I was told over the weekend that the club are still taking.
There will be internal discussions today (Monday) amongst the Chelsea hierarchy, which is completely normal anyway. But you can be sure that one of the topics of conversation will be regarding Potter, current form, and whether they stick or twist. It’s also completely normal for every club to have contingency plans and managers on the list just in case. It’s like transfer targets, there will always be shortlists. Although I don’t know any names on that list, the club did also approach Mauricio Pochettino at the same time they approached Graham Potter, so you’d wonder if they turn back towards him, IF they decide to sack Potter.
But when I spoke to people at the club early on Sunday morning, the general feeling was at that point, they were/are still backing Potter and want to continue doing so. Even with that said though, there is no way that I would be out there betting on Potter NOT being sacked this week. Fan voice is strong, and it’s unanimous right now. We’ll see what today and this week brings, but it does feel like a situation that is on a knife edge right now, with some big decisions to be made at the club.
In other news, and thankfully, more positive news, I am told that N’Golo Kante is expected back in full team training this week after returning to the grass for individual drills last week. It will take some time for him to get back to full match fitness, but just him returning to team training and back with the group will be a huge boost for fans, players, and the staff.