Graham Potter started his journey as a Chelsea manager very well, going on a nine matches unbeaten run, and was on the course of becoming the first English manager to be undefeated in his first 10 matches as a coach before a 4-1 defeat to Brighton.
Chelsea had gone on a back-to-back defeat in the Premier League and have two points in their last four Premier League matches. The blues have also dropped from the top four and are currently seventh in the Premier League.
However, Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has warned Chelsea fans that there is going to be a bit of pain on the Journey, insisting that Graham Potter will need the support and backing from Toddy Boehly and the Chelsea supporters.
What did Rio Ferdinand say?
Rio Ferdinand said on Vibe with Five: “New owners want their manager, they want their guy in charge.
“I spoke to him [Tuchel] immediately after it, disappointed, obviously, because he absolutely loved it at Chelsea. Loved being in London, loved his life, loved the club, had a project he believed in 100 percent, recruited all the players in the summer, and thought, ‘right, we’re going along with it.
“Quite quickly he realized that things weren’t going to be as rosy as he’d imagined they would be and that he maybe wasn’t going to get the time he thought he may have earnt given what he’d done since he came through the door, winning the Champions League. Conversations were being had then all of a sudden, bang, he’s off.
“I think these new owners are businessmen, they’re not football people, they’re business guys. They’ve got a big media background, big influencers around them in that field and they’re trying to merge that with football, but also very data-driven, that’s just looking on the outside and murmurings I’m hearing.
“They want the input of data, they want their input and the technical staff behind the scenes to marry up with the manager, they don’t want the manager of having their own idea of how things go and the people at the club have maybe got a different idea, maybe that might have been a big difference.
“They’ve got a manager now who they’ve given their ideas to and who’s probably agreed to it and said, ‘yes, that’s what I like as well, but also, ‘this is how it needs to run from my perspective’. They’ve merged that together and had a good, positive conversation and got to a point where they say Potter is the man.
“I believe in Potter as a coach, forget everything else, in the way he coaches and can make a team play football if you looked at the way his Brighton team the way that they play, you’d go, ‘this guy is a coach among coaches. In that aspect, you’re delighted.
“It’s just the recruitment and the controlling, the carrying of big players, and making sure the recruitment stands alongside the principles of the way he wants to coach. If that marries up and they believe in the project long term then you’ve got a good chance.
“The new owners, time will let us know. But, it’s the same as what we’re saying about Man United at Chelsea, you’ve got to understand there’s going to be noise outside and there’s going to be a bit of pain on the journey, can you stick with it?”
