After less than seven months in charge, Chelsea fired manager Graham Potter in the wake of Saturday’s 2-0 loss to Aston Villa at home.
Since taking over for Thomas Tuchel at Stamford Bridge on September 8, the Englishman had lost 11 of 31 games.
Chelsea, who spent more than £550 million on new players this season, is now 11th in the Premier League, 12 points behind the top four.
Owners of the team claimed they were “disappointed” to fire Potter.
Bruno Saltor, who worked with Potter at Brighton, will lead the team as temporary head coach, according to Chelsea, who also claim that Potter “has agreed to assist with the club to enable a smooth transition.”
Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali, the co-controlling owners, declared in a statement: “We have the utmost regard for Graham as a coach and as a person.
We are all unhappy in the decision because he has always acted with professionalism and integrity.
Chelsea will play Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal on April 12 after hosting Liverpool in the Premier League on Tuesday.
With Leicester also firing Brendan Rodgers earlier on Sunday, there have now been 13 managerial changes in the Premier League this season—three more than in any other prior campaign.
The Chelsea owners continued, “Together with our fantastic fans, we will all be supporting Bruno and the club as we concentrate on the remainder of the season.”
“We will give all effort and devotion to every one of the 10 Premier League games left and the Champions League quarterfinal that lies ahead so that we can complete the season on a high,” said the team.
He managed 1.27 points per game in the Premier League, the joint-lowest of any manager to take command of 20 or more games for Chelsea in the Premier League, along with Glen Hoddle. He won 12 of his 31 games under his direction in all competitions.
Former Brighton right-back Bruno, 42, played there for seven years as a player before quitting in 2019 and transitioning to coaching.
Potter, an Englishman who made an impression during his three years at Brighton, was Boehly’s first managerial hire after taking over the club in May 2022.
After her Chelsea team defeated Aston Villa in the Women’s Super League on Sunday, manager Emma Hayes expressed her disappointment for Graham and the club in a statement to Sky Sports.
“Of course, as usual, I support the decisions and wish Graham the best if the owners decide they must take another road.
“I’m a manager and I’m always gutted when managers lose their job. With 10 games remaining in the Premier League, I’m sure the guys will do everything they can to bring us back on track.”
In September, when the Blues were sixth in the top division and after a summer in which they spent £255 million on acquisitions, Potter took over for Tuchel, who had won three titles in 20 months at Stamford Bridge.
Owner Boehly spent £288 million in January in yet another extraordinary spending binge.
Enzo Fernandez of Argentina and Mykhailo Mudryk of Ukraine were two of eight mid-season acquisitions, although the new players have had trouble integrating onto the pitch.
Analysis: Potter’s downfall was a lack of advancement
Alex Howell of BBC Sport
Stamford Bridge has seen rapid change. The media schedule for Potter’s news conference before the match versus Liverpool was distributed on Sunday morning, but by 8 o’clock that evening he was no longer in command.
At Stamford Bridge, there is a perception that the team’s lack of advancement as a whole, rather than just his poor performance, was what caused his resignation.
Paul Winstanley and Lawrence Stewart, the co-sporting directors, took the initiative to remove him from his position, with the support of chairman Boehly and co-owner Eghbali.
It is acknowledged that Potter will not be paid for the whole five years of his 2022 deal.
The squad is believed to have the best chance of saving the season with Bruno in command.
Although the hunt for a new manager has begun, no replacement is anticipated to be named in the next days.
Some managers are more effective with underdogs.
The need for success at Premier League teams has created a “crazy” football climate where people “push the panic button,” according to former England striker Alan Shearer on Match of the Day 2.
These days, you enter a job knowing the regulations, said Shearer.
But who on earth hires Potter and his staff for £20 million, gives them a five- to six-year contract for £10 million annually, gives them an absurd number of players for an absurd sum of money, and then fires him after just seven months?
“It’s a football thing, only. Anyone with even a little knowledge of football can tell you that adding that many players won’t help.
Former England player Danny Murphy thinks Potter’s record at Brighton demonstrated that, in contrast to Chelsea, he was successful in leading a club that was “punching above their weight.”
The majority of people anticipated it to be better than it has been, according to Murphy, who added that Potter’s numerous modifications didn’t help.
The owners of Chelsea thought, “Let’s do it now.’ From a poisonous stadium where they were booing, I don’t know how you come back from that.
“I think Potter may be that manager,” the manager said. “Some managers are better suited to managing the underdogs who have to punch above their weight.”
Chelsea drop their “long-term” Potter strategy
The removal of Potter marks Chelsea’s 17th management change this century, and his tenure as a full-time manager was by far the shortest.
Potter outlasted only Luis Felipe Scolari (36), Andre-Villas Boas (40), and Roberto Di Matteo (42) in terms of games managed, and even Rafael Benitez, the interim manager, lasted 48 games longer.
Boehly stated at the time that Potter suited “our vision” and had “skills and qualities that transcend beyond the pitch which will make Chelsea a more successful club” Chelsea compensated Brighton more than £21 million to lure Potter to Stamford Bridge.
That suggested Chelsea was aiming to adopt a long-term strategy in the dugout following Tuchel’s dismissal.
After a bright start of nine games without a loss, including five straight victories and easy qualification for the Champions League knockout stages, everything started to fall apart just before the World Cup break.
His previous team Brighton was humiliated 4-1 to start the collapse, which also included losses to Arsenal and Newcastle and a Carabao Cup exit at Manchester City.
They beat Bournemouth 2-0 when they returned from the World Cup break, but only three of their following 13 league games were victories.
Potter’s team lost 4-0 to Manchester City in the FA Cup third round in January as well. Nevertheless, last month, they overcame a first-leg disadvantage against Borussia Dortmund to advance to the quarterfinals of the Champions League.
Following the club’s dismal run of form, Potter claims his family experienced anonymous harassment in February, which negatively impacted his mental health.
First firing of a manager with a successful track record
Potter had been a successful manager at each of the three clubs he managed before his brief tenure at Chelsea.
With three promotions in five seasons, he guided Ostersunds of Sweden from the fourth division to the first division. In addition, he led Ostersunds to the 2017 Swedish Cup victory, which earned them a spot in the Europa League and advanced them to that competition’s knockout rounds.
Following their relegation from the top flight in his sole subsequent season with Swansea City in 2018–19, they finished 10th in the Championship and advanced to the FA Cup quarterfinals, where they trailed Manchester City 2-0 before falling short 3-2.
After three seasons of gradual improvement, Potter was hired by Brighton, where he guided them to their highest-ever Premier League finish of ninth last season while garnering a lot of accolades for their brand of play.
As he left for Chelsea in September, they were ranked fourth in the standings for this season.
After his departure, Brighton has flourished under new manager Roberto de Zerbi and is currently contending for a place in Europe.
