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GRAHAM POTTER PAID for Chelsea’s poor form as the Englishman was sacked on Sunday after just seven months in the job.
The Blues had slipped to 11th in the Premier League table after a 2-0 home defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday despite spending over €570 million (£500m) on new signings this season.
Former Brighton defender Bruno Saltor has been placed in interim charge.
Chelsea have won just three games in their last 11 but have progressed to the quarter-finals of the Champions League where they face defending champions Real Madrid.
That tie may have been the decisive factor in the club’s new American owners pulling the trigger now, with the first leg in Madrid just 10 days away.
“We have the highest degree of respect for Graham as a coach and as a person. He has always conducted himself with professionalism and integrity and we are all disappointed in this outcome,” co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali said in a statement.
Club statement.
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) April 2, 2023
“We have 10 Premier League games remaining and a Champions League quarter-final ahead. We will put every effort and commitment into every one of those games so that we can end the season on a high.”
An unlikely run to the club’s third European Cup now appears Chelsea’s only route back into the Champions League next season as they sit 12 points adrift of the Premier League top four.
Potter becomes the second manager sacked by the consortium led by LA Dodgers co-owner Boehly and private equity firm Clearlake Capital in their first season in charge.
Thomas Tuchel, who was appointed Bayern Munich boss last week, was dismissed in September, just over a year from leading Chelsea to Champions League glory.
Chelsea paid €24.5m in compensation to Brighton to appoint Potter.
But that sum pales into comparison next to the fortunes the club have spent on players over the past 12 months with little return.
Argentine World Cup winner Enzo Fernandez was signed for a new English transfer record €120 million in January, while huge sums were also spent on Mykhailo Mudryk, Wesley Fofana, Marc Cucurella and Raheem Sterling.
But Potter has struggled to strike upon a winning blend as he switched between formations and personnel without success.
The 47-year-old won just 12 of his 31 matches in charge and was widely booed by the Chelsea support after defeat to Villa at the weekend.
“I don’t like to blame anybody, I have to take responsibility,” said Potter after that match.
“We can feel the pain of the supporters… I understand when you lose at home, the emotion of the game is such that people are going to be disappointed and frustrated and angry.
“Where we are in the league table, no one’s happy with. Whatever criticism comes I have to accept.”
Saltor’s first match in charge will be on Tuesday when Liverpool visit Stamford Bridge.
Written by AFP and posted on the42.ie
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Oh my God, that is just awful, I hope she makes a full recovery. What a dreadful journey for any parent to make.
Conveyors are extremely dangerous I know people who have lost limbs and been killed by them, she is very lucky to be alive once you are caught by it either your clothing or hair gives way or you get pulled in, hope she makes a full recovery.
Poor girl
God love her, sounds awful
Get well soon. poor girl
Such a pity the author had to refer to this poor girl by just her surname, in his comment he says “Dunnes parents have flown out to Australia to be with her”…… Such a lack of respect for her as she was named Annie at birth… Hope Annie makes a full recovery.
In most reports people are referred to by their surname not their forename, they could have used Miss though.
Cindy, congratulations in advance on winning Nitpicker of the Year 2015!
Cindy, I’m sure if the family are reading this they will be appreciating your valuable input.
What an horrific, freak accident! Sincere hopes for a full recovery.
Why would 5 people give the thumbs down or dislike for the comment .am I missing something ?
Trolls patrick… theres no escaping the trolls… some people just want to watch the world burn
Scrubbed in on one those scalp transplants in the past. It’s a gore fest but recoverable. Good luck to her.
Jesus, that’s horrific, I hope she’ll be ok.
Who the hell is giving all the red thumbs?
Loyal haters I think, my common number is 5 nearly in every comment. Don’t worry about it, go by the green thumbs.
Cute: stop coming back to check how many thumbs you got.
*Cure:
I never consider them, or what colour they are Michael. I consider the comment, and/or the debate. There’s some that do though and that’s sad.
@Neal, cute is better :).
Molly, you see the red thumbs up even on people who send out sympathy comments to tragic stories and you wonder what is wrong with some people. I never go by the red myself as I am happy just to have 1 green thumb, reds just means they did bother to read it lol.
Just telling John not to worry about the red thumbs, once you mention the red thumbs then they build up. Once you say anything negative about yourself in public then they are out for their pound of flesh, here is no different but it is a dark sense I have as well lol.
Hope she has a speedy recovery, last thing you want over here. Hope her employer had insurance too. God speed
Why do these beautiful people have to go away for work… Get well soon.
Apparently they don’t have enough ugly people to fill these positions.
That’s true, send all the ugly one’s.
That’s horrific. I did my farming on the same farm as where it happened. Poor girl, I hope she has a speedy recovery.
I only thumb down people who complain about thumb downs,or thumbs down,or thumbs downs.
Thumber downers obviously do their thumbing downing just for the schadenfreude of annoying the people who don’t like thumb downs (or should that be “thumbs down”?)
I’ll start the ball rolling by giving myself a thumbs down for this comment.
Kudos for use of shadenfreude
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