Graham Potter may have won three consecutive matches before Saturday’s tie against Everton, but it is still not enough to change the perception of Chelsea fans about him. The English man obviously played into the hands of Everton gaffer, Sean Dyche last night and the Toffees were able to pick a point at Stamford Bridge.
Graham Potter’s mentality is one major thing Chelsea fans don’t like about him. The way he has handled this team so far, it’s not hard to tell that he doesn’t have a winning mentality. With the way Chelsea are being set up under Todd Boehly, Potter needs to step up his game and remember he’s no more at Brighton. This financial back-up he’s getting comes with expectations, and a draw against a team battling relegation will never do justice to that.
Potter’s man management has also left so much to be desired. Man management is basically knowing how to get the best out of your players. I never thought it would take Potter this long to figure out the best role for João Félix. Felix and Havertz both have a history of playing as supporting strikers, and having them in the same team means the coach has to decide who plays as the top striker.
It’s quite obvious that Felix is a better finisher than Havertz, but Potter has mostly played him behind Havertz which puts a question mark on his technical ability as a coach. Felix played ahead of Havertz yesterday and he showed how dangerous he can be in the opposition box. He scored a brilliant goal by the way.
Potter’s preference for Havertz is also getting annoying that the team begins to look like it has no depth. Havertz is actually a brilliant player, but he won’t be the solution to the team’s problems all the time. Apart from the penalty, which could have scored by any other player, Pulisic had a better game than Havertz on Saturday. Subbing off the American so early says a lot about Potter himself.
Todd Boehly embraces Graham Potter and hands him a beer (Video)
Another thing Chelsea fans can’t stand anymore is Potter’s substitutions. It’s now so predictable that the moment Chelsea have a goal lead, he takes off a forward and then, brings on Connor Gallagher. He is already trying to roughen things up and see out the game. That is too conservative for a club like Chelsea. It will only take a match against Manchester City to expose such a strategy. Everton did that already anyways.
Chelsea have got some tough fixtures coming up in April after the international break and Potter needs to be fully braced up. We hope he eventually uses his team’s strength in depth to his advantage and give Chelsea fans a glimmer of hope.