Latest from Chelsea: The Blues struggled to another loss, this time against Southampton, who are currently in last place in the table. Graham Potter is under increasing amounts of pressure.
A comprehensive shortlist of candidates to succeed Antonio Conte as manager of Chelsea FC is currently being compiled, and it is widely expected that Graham Potter will be the next Premier League manager to lose his job. In spite of the fact that they have only been in charge for a total of 24 games, many people consider Chelsea’s 1-0 loss at home to bottom-placed Southampton to be the turning point. Boos could be heard at both half-time and full-time during the game.
The free-kick taken by James Ward-Prowse was all that was needed to secure the three points for interim manager Ruben Selles, who now has the same number of victories in 2023 as Potter does. There was still a chance for Chelsea to win despite the fact that they had only one clean sheet in their previous 28 games, but a combination of miraculous misses, heroic defending, and poor finishing caused the game to end scoreless once more.
Since then, Potter has only had three victories in the last 15 games, including one over Bournemouth, which is currently in 17th place. It’s run of form that’s up there with the worst anyone can remember, and that includes fans who remember the club before Roman Abramovich was involved.
Nothing about this has been helpful to Potter in terms of developing a relationship with the fans at Stamford Bridge. His laid-back approach to press conferences has been used as a weapon against him, while the decision to give a group of first-team stars the day off on Saturday was a huge mistake that ended up costing the team the game.
The combination of these factors, along with a decline in performance from what had been an encouraging showing despite losing 1-0 to Borussia Dortmund in the previous week, has led bookies to make him the favourite to be the next coach to be fired from his position. Cherries manager Gary O’Neill is currently the second favourite, according to William Hill’s updated odds, which place him at 5/4.
After losing to the team at the bottom of the table, it looks like the last chance saloon for Graham Potter at Chelsea, and we’ve had to cut him to 5/6 to be the next top-flight manager to depart. Antonio Conte is some way behind them at 4/1. A spokesperson named Lee Phelps explained: “After defeating to bottom of the table Southampton, it looks like the last chance saloon for Graham Potter at Chelsea.”
In the meantime, the pool of candidates for the vacant head coaching position is much deeper. Mauricio Pochettino, who has previously managed both Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain, is currently the favourite to win with odds of 6/5, putting him a significant distance ahead of the rest of the group. Zinedine Zidane, who has won the Champions League three times as a coach, is currently the second favourite with odds of 6/1.
Luis Enrique, the former manager of Spain, is currently listed as the favourite at 8/1, followed by a list of names that have been consistently and previously linked. Brendan Rodgers, a former coach at the club, is currently at 9/1, while Diego Simeone, who is currently playing for Atletico Madrid, is at 12/1. Simeone’s plans for the future in Spain are not entirely certain. It’s anyone’s guess who’s standing behind him in terms of former Blues managers.
Incredibly, despite having left the club only eight months ago, Thomas Tuchel is currently favoured to become the next manager of Roma ahead of Jose Mourinho, who is currently listed at odds of 16/1. Carlo Ancelotti, the current champion of the Champions League, is further back in the betting at 20/1.
Even though those who are watching the matches are not as convinced as those who are watching from the stands, it appears that Potter has the support of the new owners for the time being. Since chants for Tuchel and Abramovich have been heard around English stadiums in recent weeks, this is a predicament that will not be easy to resolve and will require significant effort.
