It all went downhill for Tuchel after the Conte handshake.
ANTONIOOOOOOO, ANTONIOOOOOO, AN-TONI-O! AN-TONI-O! AN-TONI-O! ANTONIOOOOOOO! Love that silly I-talian!
There are only so many big team jobs but I’d be really disappointed to see Potter move to Chelsea right after the season starts. He’s quality and Chelsea should want him but it just feels rotten.
I think Potter takes the job if offered. You only get so many shots to make this kind of leap to a big club. If Chelsea hires another manager, Conte signs a new deal, and ETH doesn't bomb, the big six could be a closed shop next summer. By 2024 maybe Brighton has had a downturn in fortunes and he is no longer seen as the next big thing.
Its a really difficult job to walk into though - huge expectations, roster a bit of a mess, no DoF, and you come in during an insanely congested fixture schedule that gives you very little time to actually train your team.
Hmm - the speed of this would indicate they had already approached him unofficially to sound him out.
This sucks for Brighton. And it will probably suck for Potter as well when he realizes what he’s gotten into.
I recently found a business of world football podcast that's pretty good, and they spent a good chunk of time on this managerial change. They said the same thing as
@Morgan's Magic Snowplow about this opportunity for Potter, and added that he didn't make a ton of money as a player or manager yet, so this is his opportunity to be set for life. I won't ever begrudge anyone that, even though I agree with you all that this is going to be a total slog for him. He's a system/tactical guy, and not a man manager like Zizou. I expect will see a new manager bounce from now until the WC, but since almost all of Chelsea's premier players are going to be in the Q, that's not going to be a chance for him to work with them. I do expect that he will get the ship righted in the second half of the season, but I also think we'll see a pretty drastic change in the XI and rotation.
And now that I think of it , the Brighton job could be ideal for Poch.
Oh man, I'd love that for Poch.
So what do the SoSH Blues fans think of Tuchel's stint overall? In the 20/21 season when he took over for Fat Frankie, I think he took the reigns after MW 19 with the Blues sitting in 9th, with 29 points from 19 played. But it should be noted that trying to match the table with MWs during the COVID seasons is a nightmare. In any event, after 19 matches Chelsea had a +10 GD, scoring among the best sides in the EPL, but conceding more than them. Chelsea then earned 38 points from 18 (not sure about that math?) matches to finish 4th. More importantly, he took down Atleti, Porto, Real, and MANC in the final to capture a UCL title. They lost the FA Cup final to LCFC, and they were eliminated by SPURS on pens prior to Tuchel. Overall, things were looking great!
Last season, Chelsea finished a respectable 3rd in a season where MANC and Pool were just another level of dominant. But Chelsea were also pretty clearly the third best side in the EPL*. They sputtered once the calendar turned to April, but their top 4 spot was never really in doubt. They crashed out against Real Madrid in UCL during the QFs. They also somehow lost to Pool in both domestic cups on PKs (gotta love any opportunity to remember the Carabao finish).
Potter will now take over a Chelsea side that somehow sit 6th in the table with a GD that has them tied for 11th(!).
I think Kante's age and injury history have had a lot of impact on Chelsea's overall success. He was mostly healthy down the stretch in 20/21, was hobbled thoughout 21/22, and hasn't played much at all so far this season. However, there's something to be said for finishing 3rd last season essentially without Kante. But it's also clear as day that Chelsea have a crazy talented squad, so maybe Kante is the difference between winning competitions and merely being competitive in them.
*Quick tangential question: is there any term to describe England and Wales together geographically? It wouldn't be correct to say that the best team in the EPL is the best team in Britain, the UK, nor the British Isles, but it would be accurate to say that they're the best team in England and Wales? CMON, this is England we're talking about! They love unnecessary organization and nomenclature, don't let me down!