Robert Huth believes appointing Graham potter could cost Chelsea a top-four finish
Speaking to Ladbrokes (h/t Express), former Chelsea defender Robert Huth believes the appointment of Graham Potter may cost the Blues a top-four finish at the end of this Premier League season.
Huth, who won a Premier League title in 2016 with Leicester City and two with Chelsea before, thinks the club’s hierarchy has jumped on to the decision to sack Thomas Tuchel very early in the season.
Tuchel was relieved of his duties on September 7, a day after the defeat to Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League and a week after the deadline day of the summer transfer window. Potter was appointed immediately a day later as if it was all pre-planned.
Here’s what Huth said regarding the club’s decision (h/t Express):
“How many times do we see these kind of decisions being made, where a manager is losing their job a couple of days after the transfer window closing? Chelsea should really be close to the top four, but I just think in terms of the other managers at the top end of the table – without being disrespectful to Potter whatsoever – the likes of Pep [Guardiola], [Jurgen] Klopp, [Antonio] Conte and [Mikel] Arteta, I think they’re all ahead of him in terms of experience at this level. I fear that Chelsea will miss out on the top four.”
The former Brighton and Hove Albion manager has taken charge of one Chelsea game so far – against RB Salzburg in the Champions League. The match ended in a draw. He could have played two more games but both got postponed due to the death of the Queen.
So, it is probably a bit too soon to judge him and his managerial work at Stamford Bridge. With what we have seen of him in the past, especially at Brighton, the Englishman has all the tools to be a successful manager at Chelsea, granted he is given time and not judged after every game.
On the contrary, Chelsea are a club that is famous for sacking managers if they are not delivering success in due course of time, irrespective of what they have done with the club in the past.
It remains to be seen whether Potter would get time under the new ownership, or if the model of manager hiring/sacking is the same as before.
More Chelsea News:
- AC Milan keen to keep Chelsea target Rafael Leao at the San Siro
- Jose Enrique urges Chelsea not to sell Armando Broja amidst AC Milan interest
- William Gallas slams Chelsea manager Graham Potter for using Raheem Sterling as a left wing-back
The Blues have 13 games lying in wait in October and the early part of November before the start of the World Cup. The manager will have his squad rotation and team preparation capabilities tested because at Brighton it was mostly one game a week. Nothing like that here.