I can relate to several sides in the Graham Potter scenario as both a player and a co-owner of a team.
Being the “Chelsea of non-League,” Macclesfield is everyone’s cup final. I can now imagine what it must be like to win every football game at the highest level. We have the largest budget, the best capabilities, the largest stadium, and the best players, so the pressure to win is tremendous. It’s enormous.
I played in the Premier League for Leicester, Blackburn, and Derby, and you can usually tell when a manager is under duress. You can feel it and see it, and I have to admit that football players are highly self-centered.
Boys will chat in the locker room. Their WhatsApp groups will exist. They will be aware of the pressure a management is facing. Graham Potter and his next two Champions League games against Leeds and Borussia Dortmund are therefore very important.
Graham would legitimately be under pressure if he had stated that he required x or y player for his system and they had completed all the analytics and provided him with those guys. But if the organisation had recruited all of those players and instructed him to make it work, I would anticipate that those in charge up top would support him.
If Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang doesn’t start against Leeds on Saturday, I’ll be shocked. You must operate in the best interests of the club, regardless of any issues that may exist behind the scenes. I don’t know how Potter trains, what his personality is like, or whether or not he’s a good influence.
Hence, if you can’t accomplish your short-term goals, you can’t expect to accomplish your long-term ones either. Only two of Chelsea’s last 15 Premier League games have ended in victories. They have lost their last three games without scoring, and in their 11 games this year, they have scored four goals. It is insufficient.
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Is Aubameyang in Graham Potter and his plans?
It’s not that I have anything against that manager; you have to be in the top 1% to manage in the Premier League. Because of my performances and my damaged leg, I think I let him down because I wasn’t the player he expected when he signed me.
But as a player you’re thinking, “I signed the contract, the club gave me that contract in good faith. Why should I relinquish all that money when I’ve signed in good faith? It’s not because I’m not trying”.
So that you have a group of players in the plans of whichever manager you hire, sports directors are crucial. I ran a club for two years and witnessed a great deal of stuff that supporters can never truly comprehend. Everything big and small, concerns, and family problems that affect decision-making on matchday.
Thus, when this is over—or even before then—serious inquiries regarding Chelsea’s hiring must be made. Potter won’t know his best team until the following season because they’ve added so many guys. We have put together a team at Macclesfield that we are confident in. They are skilled at what they do. Like muscle memory, really. Yet, that follows six months of playing together.
Graham Potter may live that long, but given the current state of affairs, I can’t guarantee it. Now, not even the owners, can. “Graham won’t know his best team until next season“.
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