Following Thomas Tuchel’s controversial sacking, Graham Potter has been appointed Chelsea manager.
The former Brighton manager had a one-off trip to the Stamford Bridge dugout. Even though football management is unlike any other profession, the old adage ‘the cream rises to the top’ still holds.
Potter’s appointment as the next manager of Chelsea Football Club sends a message that there is still hope for the beautiful game in a sector of the economy that is increasingly concerned about star power, brand identity and celebrity status.
After going unnoticed for a decade, the 46-year-old has become one of the most fascinating managers in England, if not the world. After leaving Brighton & Hove Albion this week and accepting the top spot for the most expensive club in football history, he suddenly became a household name.
Although Potter quickly became known in the industry thanks to the flash and glamor of West London, anyone into a sport, from beginners to top athletes, can relate to his humble beginnings.
The Solihull-born left-back made 320 appearances for sides including Birmingham City, West Bromwich Albion, Southampton and most notably York City, despite having a less distinguished playing career than some of his fellow Premier League managers.
Potter, who was just 30 and still fit when he retired from football at Macclesfield Town in the summer of 2005, also earned a cap for the England Under-21 side in a game qualifying for the 1996 European Championship. In an interview with Athletic, he said: “I just felt like I was heading towards the end.”
“The excitement and intensity wasn’t as high as it should have been. After being released by Macclesfield he traveled to the lower leagues. He had other options and might have joined other clubs. He always assumed that at that point he would wait for the game to send him off.
“So he made a proactive decision to plan what he would do for the rest of my life and my career. He didn’t want to be one of those employees who wouldn’t be able to give it his all or be professional enough to keep a Many people urged him to ‘stay in the game’ and ‘play as long as possible’, but he knew what it was good to do. A tough time, though.
Potter began his coaching career while attending college.
Potter took charge of the football team at Leeds Metropolitan University – Leeds Carnegie while pursuing a Masters in Leadership and Personal and Professional Development. He had previously started his coaching badges and completed his social science degree at the Open University.
His time as an assistant coach at the University of Hull did not limit him to coaching in the Northern Counties East League; he was also Ghana’s technical director for the 2007 Women’s World Cup in China. Then Potter got a job in Sweden, where he would become well known.
In December 2010, Potter and his family traveled to Scandinavia after being sent by a former Boston team-mate – current Newcastle manager Graeme Jones – to Ostersunds FK chairman Daniel Kindberg. Charlie, her child, was only 11 months old and the Potter family had many difficulties adjusting to the freezing terrain.
He said it was not much higher than the ninth tier in the UK as it was the fourth tier of Swedish football. “For him, it wasn’t about that. They had a great intellectual connection when he first met the president. He thought his plan was good; he talked about trying something new, aiming to create an atmosphere and to play a particular brand of Football.”
Potter rarely enjoyed the sunshine he would soon experience on Brighton’s bright south coast, and the team had to train indoors all winter due to the freezing cold. But it would all be worth it for Ostersunds, who have achieved unprecedented success under his leadership.
The team were promoted three times under Potter’s seven-and-a-half-year-old, and they also won the Swedish Cup, earning them a spot in the 2017-18 Europa League qualifying rounds. Their streak of 14 games in a row ended in a loss to Arsenal, but it wasn’t that bad. They beat Galatasaray, Hertha Berlin and PAOK Salonika before winning a group which included Athletic Bilbao.
While Potter’s side stunned the Emirates and the result made them famous, a 2-1 return leg win in north London was not enough to prevent a 4-2 aggregate defeat. A few months later, Swansea hit and the decision to leave the Swedish city was a difficult one.
