Joe Cole is great as a pundit, and he’s bringing plenty to the table as a writer for the Telegraph too.
This week he’s putting in a passionate defence of Graham Potter, telling fans to be patient and the owners to stick with the plan.
It’s not an easy argument to make given results, but you’ve got to respect Cole’s knowledge as someone who knows football – and specifically Chelsea – inside out.
Cole’s reasoning mirrors what many people have said in recent weeks when defending the coach, but it means more when it comes from someone who has actually been on the inside. He points to the injuries, to the new signings, to the general chaos around the club for the last 12 months.
He thinks the bosses may admire Potter for his stoicism:
“Potter has been stoic about it – no blaming his players, or the referees, or anyone else. You have to suppose that Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali, the principals of the consortium in charge, will admire that. Potter came into a team that was not in a good place, with injuries, and it has proved as difficult as most people expected.”
Let’s hope the former winger is right, and another week on the training ground can help the beleaguered Chelsea boss turn things around. A game against Tottenham is a great chance to do that – or to send us even deeper into despair.
As well as the disastrous results, Potter’s biggest issue is that he isn’t a winner and we can see it seeping through the whole club/squad. That’s something that is unlikely to ever change and fans know he will never be able to win the league over Pep so might as well get rid of him now. The only argument for keeping Potter is for him to be able to build this team for the next 18 months until a top winning manager comes in but I am concerned his loser mentality will set the tone for this new era of Chelsea/players
I think Cole has got it right. Doesn’t necessarily mean Potter will ultimately be our Sir Alex, but I think he’s one of the few pundits to properly identify Potter’s demeanor as a strength (not a lack of passion or weakness). Give him more time to prove whether he’s got the football mind and the man management to whip this squad into shape.