Jamie Carragher has claimed it was a ‘ridiculous decision’ to replace Thomas Tuchel with Graham Potter, after it was announced that the Chelsea boss had been sacked by the club earlier this evening.
Despite helping the club achieve a berth in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, pressure has been mounting on Potter for some time after a poor run of form saw Chelsea drop to 11th in the Premier League, 12 points off the relegation zone.
Potter, who took over from Tuchel back in September, has lost nine of the 28 league games he’s overseen at the club, which included yesterday’s disappointing 2-0 loss to Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge, where his side were booed off the pitch at both half-time and full-time following a lacklustre performance.
Earlier this evening, the club released a statement thanking Potter for all his efforts, announcing that he would not be continuing in his role, with Bruno Saltor taking charge of the team as Interim Head Coach.
Yet former Liverpool defender, Carragher, believed that it was a mistake for Chelsea to appoint Potter in the first place, after Todd Boehly chose to sack Tuchel last year, despite the German winning the Champions League with the club in 2021.
Graham Potter has been sacked by Chelsea having only joined the club back in September © Provided by Daily Mail
Thomas Tuchel oversaw his first win as Bayern Munich manager against Borussia Dortmund © Provided by Daily Mail
Jamie Carragher claimed that Potter should not have been appointed over Tuchel to start with© Provided by Daily Mail
‘Todd [Boehly] said he would be different to Roman [Abramavic],’ Carragher wrote on Twitter, in response to Chelsea’s official announcement Potter had been sacked.
‘I feel for Graham Potter, but it was inevitable,’ he added. ‘You don’t change Tuchel for Potter. Ridiculous decision to start with.’
The 47-year-old joined the club on September and had initially agreed a five-year deal to stay at the club after his success at Brighton.
But after just under seven months at the club, Chelsea co-owners Boehly and Behdad Eghbali thanked the British manager for his work in a statement tonight, before asking fans to back interim coach.
‘On behalf of everyone at the club, we want to thank Graham sincerely for his contribution to Chelsea,’ they said. ‘We have the highest degree of respect for Graham as a coach and as a person.
‘He has always conducted himself with professionalism and integrity and we are all disappointed in this outcome.
‘Along with our incredible fans, we will all be getting behind Bruno and the team as we focus on the rest of the season.
Chelsea owner Todd Boehly (right) replaced Tuchel with Potter back in September© Provided by Daily Mail
Carragher also claimed that Potter’s sacking was ‘inevitable’ after his struggles at Chelsea© Provided by Daily Mail
‘We have 10 Premier League games remaining and a Champions League quarter final ahead.
‘We will put every effort and commitment into every one of those games so that we can end the season on a high.’
It’s been an interesting 10 months for the Chelsea owners, who despite taking over last May, have spent a whopping £535million on new players and have now sacked two managers.
Potter had guided Chelsea to two wins in the league March against Leeds and Leicester, as well as a huge win against Borussia Dortmund that sent the side through to the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
But his side have now dropped points twice at home in their last two matches, conceding late on against Everton before the international break, while suffering a poor defeat to Villa yesterday.
While Carragher claimed the announcement was ‘inevitable’, Chelsea Women’s manager Emma Hayes, whose side were actually in action as the news broke, said she was upset for Potter.
‘Obviously I’m upset for Graham [Potter] and the club too, I know everybody wanted to make it work,’ she told Sky Sports after her side defeated Aston Villa 3-0 earlier tonight.
‘But no if the owners feel that they have to go in another direction, of course as always I support the decisions and I wish Graham the best.
‘With ten games left to play in the Premier League I’m sure the boys will do everything to get us back on track.
‘I’m a manager and I’m always gutted when a manager loses their job. He’s a top persona and someone that I’m disappointed and I haven’t really quite digested it yet having just heard the news.’
Former Chelsea winger Pat Nevin told Sky Sports News: ‘I’m really sad, especially because he’s a decent bloke.
‘Football puts massive pressure on not just managers and players but also owners.
‘When the groans start coming up from the crowd and start getting beyond the dugout and start getting a bit higher than that, it’s tough.
‘I’m saddened, in many ways, but I have to say I completely and utterly understand why they’ve done it.’
Chelsea were beaten 2-0 by Aston Villa at home yesterday, dropping to 11th in the League © Provided by Daily Mail
Brendan Rodgers was also sacked today as Leicester dropped into the relegation zone © Provided by Daily Mail
Reports from journalist Fabrizio Romano suggest that former Bayern Munich boss, Julian Naglesmann could be one of the favourites to replace the Englishman, claiming that his name ‘was mentioned yesterday in internal discussions.’
Potter wasn’t the only Premier League manager who was sacked today with Brendan Rodgers also leaving Leicester today following their 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace.
He was sacked from his position at the Foxes after a dismal performance at Crystal Palace, which saw Leicester slide into the bottom three with 10 games remaining.
The club announced today that Rodgers, who joined the club in 2019 and won the FA Cup with Leicester, had ‘mutually agreed’ to end his contract.
