Chelsea players mocked Potter, viewed him as owners' lackey

Posted Wednesday, April 05, 2023 by thescore.com

As details begin to trickle in about Graham Potter's dismissal, it's become clear that there were several factors besides poor results that doomed the English manager's brief spell at Stamford Bridge.

While the 47-year-old was seemingly liked by the team's owners, frustrations in the dressing room snowballed to a point where players resorted to name-calling before the club decided to move on from Potter after less than seven months, according to Simon Johnson, David Ornstein and others from The Athletic.

Some Chelsea players called Potter "Harry" and "Hogwarts" in reference to the main character from the Harry Potter series of novels and movies. While such petty insults likely didn't weigh into Chelsea's decision to fire him, it's a clear sign that Potter failed to command the same respect as his predecessor, Thomas Tuchel.

Additionally, it's understood that there wasn't a mutiny before Potter was sacked, but some core players were becoming increasingly indifferent by the former Brighton & Hove Albion manager's echoed attempts to encourage the squad.

There was also a lack of trust among a select group of players who believed that he was acting as a "lackey" on behalf of the Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital ownership group. Some believed that Potter was heavily influenced by Boehly and co-owner Behdad Eghbali in relation to transfer and lineup decisions, The Athletic adds.

The belief that he was a "yes man" for club owners was widely considered a rumor that generated in the dressing room, as The Athletic's sources close to Potter have rejected that notion.

In terms of transfer recruitments, it's been reported that Potter wasn't privy to a number of the lucrative deals that Chelsea executed during the January window, according to The Athletic.

There's been a massive influx of talent since Chelsea changed owners last summer. The changes continued in January with several high-profile deals being completed, leading to speculation over Potter's involvement - or lack of - in negotiations and whether he supported breaking up a team that was less than two years removed from winning the Champions League.

The squad became so bloated that some players were forced to get dressed in the hallways of the club's training ground, while some sessions featured a 9 vs. 9 match on top of the standard 11 vs. 11 game.

Another damaging indictment on Potter's reign was his apparent eagerness to discover what Chelsea players thought about him as their coach.

The Athletic reports that one source indicated Potter was heard asking a member of the team, "What do the players think of me?" It was another sign that suggested to the squad that Potter was out of his depth.

Potter, who arrived at Stamford Bridge in September after Tuchel was fired, only won seven of the 22 Premier League matches he was in charge for. Saturday's defeat to Aston Villa - Potter's last in charge - saw the Blues slip down to 11th place in the table with 10 games to go.