'Fighting a losing battle!' - Why Chelsea sacked Graham Potter after less than seven months in charge

Graham Potter was mocked with Harry Potter references and Chelsea players “never took” him seriously during his ill-fated spell at Stamford Bridge, according to stunning reports.

Chelsea’s 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday at Stamford Bridge proved to be the final nail in the coffin for Potter’s time at the Premier League club.

Potter arrived at Chelsea from Brighton last September after Bayern Munich manager Thomas Tuchel was axed from Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea have confirmed that Potter’s assistant coach Bruno Saltor will be the interim head coach at the club until a new manager is appointed.

“Chelsea FC has announced that Graham Potter has departed the club,” reads an official club statement on Sunday.

“Graham has agreed to collaborate with the Club to facilitate a smooth transition.

“In his time with the club, Graham has taken us to the quarter-final of the Champions League, where we will face Real Madrid.

“Chelsea would like to thank Graham for all his efforts and contribution and wish him well for the future.”

According to The Independent, Potter inherited nicknames from Chelsea players ‘based on his wizard namesake’ and ‘there were repeated references to Quidditch.’

The publication added that some Chelsea players were forced to ‘look up his career’ and even transfer targets ‘didn’t know that much about’ Potter.

READ MORE:

• Chelsea’s ‘three-man shortlist to replace Graham Potter’ has been revealed, one is already the ‘favourite candidate’
• Fans all saying same thing as Chelsea lose to Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge
• Two Chelsea players ‘like’ Instagram post announcing Graham Potter’s sacking

It is believed that the former Chelsea and Brighton manager was ‘fighting a losing battle from the very start’ and ‘didn’t win enough’ matches to keep his position at the Blues.

Chelsea’s owners were keen to offer their ‘full support’ to Potter and ‘think highly of him,’ with the 47-year-old initially seen as a ‘long-term project’ for the club.

“The unprecedented level of turnover at Chelsea means this isn’t all about Potter,” Miguel Delaney wrote.

“That was always going to be difficult to manage, and by definition ensured he had at least 10 disgruntled senior players with every line-up.

“But the feeling persisted that it was mainly about him.”

Topics: Chelsea, Graham Potter, Premier League, England, Football

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

@AdnanRiaz9