Why have Chelsea not sacked Graham Potter?

Much like his opposing manager Ruben Selles when Southampton came to Stamford Bridge recently, Graham Potter cut a sharp figure when he stepped out from the tunnel for his first game in charge of Chelsea ⁠— which ended in a 1-1 draw against RB Salzburg at home in the Champions League group stage.

Fast forward from September to the current day and that seems like a lifetime ago, however. Potter looked like he hadn’t slept a wink in weeks when the Blues hosted the Saints on February 18 and Selles — whose turn it was to don a turtle neck and fitted suit in what was his first game as Southampton caretaker manager — made matters worse for the Englishman.

The south coast outfit frustrated Chelsea in west London and a James Ward-Prowse specialty freekick dealt them their fifth defeat in 11 games since the turn of the new year. To make matters worse, the Blues have won just twice in that time, have been embarrassed by Manchester City in the FA Cup and are staring down the barrel of a Champions League round of 16 exit after losing 1-0 to Borussia Dortmund.

You’d be foolish to back Chelsea in the football odds and the Stamford Bridge faithful have made their frustrations felt since before the unprecedented stoppage for the World Cup — when things first turned sour thanks to a run of five league games without a win, the last three of which were successive losses against Brighton (4-1), Arsenal (1-0) and Newcastle (1-0).

To add insult to injury, Potter has just a 28.8% in the top flight — giving him the worst record of any Chelsea manger in the Premier League era — and his side have even failed to score in eight of their last 13 games. Yet, the Englishman is still in a job and is adamant that he is not the problem.

It’s to the disbelief of many as well. If Roman Abramovich was still Chelsea owner, Potter would have been sacked a long time ago. But Todd Boehly, despite sacking fan favourite Thomas Tuchel earlier in the season, seems to be taking a different approach — which has earned him plaudits from some.

It is heavily reported that Potter still has the full backing of the Boehly and Clearlake Consortium as they are looking at the long-term picture for the manager they handpicked themselves after dismissing Tuchel.

They have also been impressed with Potter’s work away from the pitch, with the 47-year-old particularly impressing his bosses with training techniques and the ability to handle big decisions well, while also does not shy away from having difficult conversations with his players behind closed doors — like having to tell Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang that he would no longer be included in the Champions League squad — despite the media painting the picture of him being too nice.  

However, how much longer can they keep that up as the pressure mounts from the supporters. The last thing the new owners will want is the fans starting to turn on them as well as the manager and players. If results don’t pick up and tensions mount higher, it’s surely only a matter of time before Potter is shown the door. But it is arguably already too late to salvage something from this season.