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Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly’s admiration for Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has been revealed in a new report, as questions mount over Graham Potter’s future at Stamford Bridge.
Potter finds himself under pressure at Chelsea less than six months after being appointed manager on a five-year deal.
A humiliating 1-0 defeat at home to struggling Southampton has left the Blues in 10th place in the Premier League, 11 points off the top four.
Chelsea have now won just two of their last 15 matches in all competitions, despite spending more than £300m on new signings in the January transfer window.
Fans turned on Potter after Saturday’s defeat to the Saints, with some calling for him to be sacked at full-time.
But reports claim the former Brighton boss retains the backing of the club’s board, at least for the time being.
Chelsea ‘admire Klopp and Arteta’
The Evening Standard claims the success of Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool and Arsenal’s improvement this season under Mikel Arteta has convinced the club to stick with Potter.
The report claims that Chelsea ‘see Mikel Arteta’s early struggles at Arsenal as an example of a rebuild needing time’.
It adds that there ‘is similar admiration at Chelsea for the way Jurgen Klopp built at Liverpool’, with the German needing three seasons before he could challenge Manchester City at the top of the table.
Both Klopp and Arteta finished eighth in their first seasons at their respective clubs, before seeing significant improvement once they had implemented their style of football.
But it remains to be seen whether Potter will be afforded the same amount of time, particularly if Chelsea continue their slide down the table.
The Blues are now as close to the relegation places as they are to the Champions League spots and Potter is desperately in need of a victory to quell the discontent that is growing at Stamford Bridge.
They return to action on Sunday with a difficult trip to London rivals Tottenham, who moved back into the top four with a 2-0 win over West Ham on Sunday.
Chelsea then face Leeds at home on March 4 before hosting Borussia Dortmund in the second leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie, with the Bundesliga club leading 1-0 from the first leg in Germany.
Graham Potter responds to reporter saying fans are calling him the ‘worst manager in Chelsea’s history’
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A reporter told Graham Potter that Chelsea fans were calling him the ‘worst manager in the club’s history’ during his post-match press conference.
Chelsea suffered a shock 1-0 home defeat to the Premier League’s bottom team Southampton on Saturday.
James Ward-Prowse scored in first-half injury time to hand the Blues their eighth league defeat of the season as they languish in 10th place.
The Stamford Bridge faithful made their feelings known as they booed Potter’s side at the final whistle, with fans frustrated at the recent run of results.
After the match, Potter was grilled during his post-match presser as a reporter told him that one fan said he is the ‘worst manager in Chelsea’s history’.
A deflated-looking Potter responded to the ruthless claim by saying the criticism is understandable while referencing the integration of his new players into the league.
“After a 1-0 defeat at home, any criticism you get is understandable,” he said.
“I think we have had a tough period and I think we have had lots of challenges in terms of integrating younger players into the Premier League.”
The 47-year-old added: “That’s how it is and I am sure there will be people out there who think that I’m the problem. I don’t think that they are right but I am not arrogant enough to say that their opinion isn’t worth articulating.
“The truth is we took a step back in terms of our performance in the first half. The response in the second half was good but obviously it wasn’t good enough.”
Under Potter, Chelsea have failed to win their last four league matches, having drawn against Liverpool, Fulham and West Ham United and, of course, losing to the Saints.
They’re a massive 10 points behind fourth-placed Newcastle United as Champions League qualification looks very, very dim at this point of the season.
Will Potter turn it around at Chelsea? Let us know what you think.
