Graham Potter's Chelsea Specials

Following the recent arrival of Graham Potter from Brighton & Hove Albion in the aftermath of Thomas Tuchel’s shock sacking, we take a look at the former Swansea City manager’s Chelsea Specials for the 2022/23 season.

Chelsea have won the Champions League twice in their history, with both of these ironically being under managers that have been appointed partway through the season.

In the 2011/12 campaign, the Blues famously won it under Roberto Di Matteo’s management following the sacking of Andre Villas-Boas. Chelsea sealed a stunning comeback win against Napoli and showed a lot of character to overcome the likes of Barcelona and Bayern Munich on their way to winning their first Champions League crown.

Meanwhile, Tuchel won the Champions League as recently as 2021 at the expense of Manchester City in Porto after replacing Frank Lampard as coach. During this run, the German managed to see off the likes of Atletico Madrid, Porto and Real Madrid before Kai Havertz’s famous goal against Pep Guardiola’s side.

Potter will find his side at the bottom of Group E after Tuchel’s last match saw the Blues lose 1-0 away at Dinamo Zagreb. He will have to navigate his way past the Croatians at Stamford Bridge, whilst also competing with AC Milan and Red Bull Salzburg if Chelsea are to advance to the Round of 16.

Chelsea have made it to both of the last two FA Cup finals, however, they lost both of them to Leicester City and Liverpool, whilst failing to score in either of these matches.

The Blues have a good record in the FA Cup, as they have won it eight times, with five of these being since the opening of the new Wembley Stadium in the 2006/07 season.

Potter will have to considerably improve his record in this competition, having only made it as far as the fifth round in the last three seasons, where Brighton were knocked out by Leicester in 2020/21.

His best run actually came at Championship outfit Swansea City, where they were unfortunate to lose 3-2 to Manchester City in the sixth round (2018/19), after taking a 2-0 lead against Guardiola’s men.

Like the FA Cup, Chelsea were runners-up to Liverpool in the League Cup having also lost this final on penalties.

The Blues have won the League Cup five times, with the last being in 2014/15 under Jose Mourinho as they went on to win a double that year under the Portuguese manager.

Perhaps their failure to win either of the cups last season will give Chelsea extra motivation to go on and win one of them this time around. The Blues will face a tricky task in the League Cup though, as they have been drawn away at Manchester City in the next round.

This season, it will likely be top four or bust for Potter, although it must be said, nobody expected to see German manager Tuchel sacked after just seven games following the Blues' heavy spending spree under Todd Boehly.

What may be a saving grace is the fact that Potter has been given a five-year deal worth around £60m, although Boehly has clearly shown that money is no object to him, having paid £20m compensation to Tuchel, on top of a £16m buyout clause for Potter.

The last time Chelsea had three managers in the same season was back in 2015/16 season, when Mourinho was sacked, whilst Steve Holland acted as caretaker before Guus Hiddink filled the role of Interim Manager.

Potter could be treading on eggshells if results don’t go his way early on, as Chelsea still have to qualify from their Champions League group and face Manchester City in the League Cup before Christmas.

At present, the Stamford Bridge club are also sixth, with 10 points from six matches. Potter’s win percentage of 31% at Brighton is something that he will have to desperately avoid as club officials and fans' attitudes are a lot less forgiving at big clubs, on top of added media scrutiny.

At Boehly’s current rate in the 2022/23 season, if he was to sack a manager after every six Premier League matches, then Chelsea will have had six managers sacked by the end of the campaign. The 48-year-old’s management of the club has looked erratic so far, so this may be a special to keep an eye out for.