At Brighton, the Englishman helped to polish youngsters into gems. Some of them have since been snapped up by top clubs, with Cucurella now at Chelsea, Yves Bissouma now at Tottenham Hotspur and Ben White at Arsenal.
On the pitch, Potter has also not shied away from blooding youth ever since he got to the club. Wingback Tariq Lamptey is a prime example of this. Months into his reign, Potter fielded the club’s youngest-starting 11 in league history – 24.4 years old.
If the new Chelsea ownership led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital want a team with a youthful core built for long-term success, Potter is the man to mastermind it.
BRINGING OUT THE BEST IN PLAYERS
The 47-year-old’s time in Scandinavia with Swedish side Ostersund is a perfect example of Potter’s man-management abilities.
“I have had about eight managers since Graham and you realise how much better he is than others,” former player Jamie Hopcutt told the Daily Mail.
“First and foremost, it’s his style of play. Then it’s the way he works with the individual on and off the pitch. He really cares about the human being, not just the footballer.”
Brighton defender Adam Webster had similar words for his former manager.
In a post on Instagram on Friday after Potter said his goodbyes at Brighton, Webster described him as “an amazing coach and an even better person”.
Potter, who has a master’s degree in leadership and personal and professional development, has by all accounts been able to make use of that to build his teams.
He spent about seven years in Sweden, guiding the team from the fourth division to the top tier, and even making the last 32 of the Europa League where they lost to Arsenal on aggregate but beat the Gunners at the Emirates in 2018.
“In the early years when I was playing for him, he started playing a back five. A lot of press in the local area were saying, ‘You can’t play a back five, it doesn’t work’. They were quite critical; local journalists, newspapers, fans. It didn’t bother him. He implemented everything he wanted to do, got everybody understanding it,” Potter’s former player Brian Wake told The Athletic.
“He actually affected Swedish football because back then, most teams were playing 4-4-2. By the time Graham finished here, everyone was playing different systems.”
During his time with the Seagulls, Potter transformed them from pragmatic to progressive. His style of football was enjoyable to watch, and keeping possession was the mantra.
After two seasons where he helped them to avoid relegation, Potter led Brighton to their best finish in Premier League history last season as they finished ninth. This season, they are currently at a dizzying fourth in the table.
One of Potter’s key attributes is his ability to get the best out of his players, and there are numerous examples of this.
Take former Arsenal and Manchester United player Danny Welbeck for example. Released by Watford in 2020, the 31-year-old is now an undoubtable asset to the team. Similarly, 34-year-old midfielder Adam Lallana has also been a plus for the Seagulls during his time at the club.
Players such as Pascal Gross, Joel Veltman and Webster have also done well since joining.
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