Why Chelsea haven’t sacked Graham Potter: Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali ‘accept “selfless” decision

Graham Potter’s work behind the scenes at Chelsea and hopes he can turn the Blues into a force in the long term are just two of the reasons why co-controlling owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali will persist with him.

Calls are growing louder for Potter to be removed from his position after another difficult weekend that saw the Blues beaten 1-0 by Southampton, the Premier League’s bottom-placed club.

Despite some sections of Stamford Bridge audibly venting their frustration after the loss – which meant they’d won just two of their last 14 – the club’s board seemingly remain in full support of Potter and are against removing him from his position.

According to The Telegraph there are long-term factors for keeping him in charge at least until the start of next season.

While results and performances are in the spotlight, the owners are said to be happy with Potter’s work away from the pitch. 

Chelsea co-owners Todd Boehly (right)  and Behdad Eghbali (left) are standing by Graham Potter

Potter has faced calls to be removed as Chelsea manager following a torrid run of results

Chelsea’s poor run continued on Saturday after losing to bottom-of-the-table Southampton

Training and analysis have been described as ‘excellent’ while key decisions – like the one to exclude Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from their Champions League squad – were taken after consultation with the board. 

The 47-year-old was criticised for deciding to rest stars such as Reece James, Thiago Silva and Raheem Sterling against Southampton but the owners were aware of why he selected that team beforehand.

Potter was reportedly told that James, Silva, Kai Havertz, Sterling and Mykhailo Mudryk were all at serious risk of injury and that selfless call has been recognised by Boehly and Eghbali.

It has also been levelled at Potter that he doesn’t show enough emotion or anger on the touchline – particularly when things haven’t been going well.

But behind the scenes, Potter is said to have struck a different tone and has held tough conversations with his players and expressed his unhappiness at what they are serving up on the pitch.

Although joining Chelsea represented a huge step-up for Potter, who at the time was manager of Brighton, there is also suggestions that Boehly and other directors feel judgement should be reserved until next season.

He faced a hard task in taking over from Chelsea’s Champions League winning coach Thomas Tuchel after the season had started and is perhaps facing the punishment for not getting a proper pre-season in with his squad.

The decision to rest stars such as Reece James (white jacket) at the weekend was questioned by some fans but had been given the green light by directors

Potter (left) has been questioned by some for not showing his emotions but Boehly (right) reportedly believes he is the right man for the job

Chelsea supposedly believe they can replicate the relationship City boss Pep Guardiola (far right) has built with his club directors

Sacking Potter now would then hand the club the difficult challenge of finding a new manager that is good enough for Chelsea with just three months left to run in the season, an incredibly difficult task regardless of how big a club is. 

Replacing him with an interim coach would only delay the planned redevelopment of the squad and set Chelsea back even further.

When Boehly secured his takeover of the club last year, he along with co-controlling owner Behdad Eghbali apparently understood that re-establishing Chelsea as title challengers would be a difficult and timely process but eventually worth the wait. 

The deciding duo apparently believe the squad can be rebuilt over the course of three transfer windows and understand that there will be erroneous patches of form, such as the one currently, to overcome.

Potter’s position is safe for now as club executives believe he should be afforded time and at least one pre-season in charge

Yes, Potter has spent heavily on new players since his appointment but there is also a degree of caution that he wouldn’t have brought in the similar style of players as his predecessor and therefore should be afforded more time to build his own team. 

Man City’s top-flight dominance over the past decade has apparently caught the attention of Chelsea’s directors who are understood to have analysed the relationship between Pep Guardiola and Txiki Begiristain.

The pair have managed to work efficiently in the transfer market to identify targets and bring them in with seeming ease, something that Chelsea are hoping to replicate. 

The understanding between co-sporting director Paul Winstanley and Potter was strengthened during their time together at Chelsea and it is hoped that they will be able to transform the club’s current position if given enough time.