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The Englishman may eventually lose his job at Stamford Bridge, but it should not be because the talented ex-Bayern head coach was given the heave-ho in Bavaria.
Depending on who you believe, Julian Nagelsmann’s sacking as Bayern Munich's head coach last week was either panic-stricken or well-thought-out.
Observers resonating with the former suggestion remark how Bayern’s involvement in three competitions — the Bundesliga title race, the Champions League and DFB Pokal — should have seen the 35-year-old remain in situ until the end of the season.
On the other hand, some reckon the inconsistency in the Bavarians’ performances and results since the turn of the year guaranteed little success in the remainder of 2022-23.
Oliver Kahn and Hasan Salihamidzic — Bayern’s CEO and sporting director, respectively — believe the downturn merited Nagelsmann’s dismissal and subsequent hire of Thomas Tuchel to navigate the rest of the campaign. It is a risk the club’s hierarchy deemed worth taking.
The jettisoned Nagelsmann has been linked with several clubs since his sacking at the 32-time Bundesliga champions: Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur.
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23:54 - 24.03.2023
BUNDESLIGA Bayern chiefs reveal the real reasons for Nagelsmann sacking
Bayern Munich chiefs have revealed the real reasons for manager Julian Nagelsmann's departure
Of the clubs the former Hoffenheim and RB Leipzig boss could end with, only the Spurs job is vacant, following Antonio Conte’s recent firing in North London.
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Be that as it may, Carlo Ancelotti’s future in Madrid is unclear beyond this season, Christophe Galtier is strongly rumoured to be fired at the campaign’s denouement, and Graham Potter’s future at Stamford Bridge is uncertain and muddled.
Furthermore, FIFA’s decision to extend Fabio Paratici’s 30-month ban to have a worldwide effect could scupper any short-term desire to make Nagelsmann the London club’s Conte replacement in the summer.
Tottenham’s managing director of football was meant to oversee the search for the Lilywhites' new head coach, but that plan is now in immediate disarray until the 50-year-old’s situation is cleared up.
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Thus, with Ancelotti and Galtier expected to see out this season with Real and PSG, that ostensibly leaves Chelsea as potential suitors for Nagelsmann.
Like Bayern were with Nagelsmann previously, the Blues appear locked into Potter, evidenced by his contract length, some of the members of staff brought in since September 2022, and conversations had with the club’s new owners, effectively led by Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali, before replacing Tuchel.
While the Bundesliga giants have shown ruthless decisiveness to cut short the young manager’s five-year contract less than two years after paying a world record managerial transfer fee of €25m in 2021, the Blues cannot be that merciless with the man they appointed from Brighton & Hove Albion last year.
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A few members of the Brighton staff were all brought in with the former Swansea City boss in coaching and recruitment capacities, with Paul Winstanley and Kyle Macauley the protagonists in that area.
Winstanley, Chelsea’s Director of Global Talent and Transfers, was involved in the January recruitment drive that saw the West Londoners acquire seven first-team players (eight if you include Malo Gusto, who returned to Olympique Lyon on loan).
Potter, despite contrary reports, was part of the conversations regarding these January arrivals, and there is little logic in changing head coach months after his involvement in the club’s collaborative approach to decision-making.
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Apart from the financial hit of jettisoning Potter, the new owners risk losing credibility in the aspiration to change the club’s culture of a revolving managerial door under the previous regime.
Admittedly trophies were won in those years — Chelsea were England’s most successful club under Roman Abramovich — but the final years of the Russian’s ownership saw them essentially become a cup team that failed to sustain a Premier League challenge.
With so much upheaval in the last 12 months, with the sanctions that ultimately led to the club’s sale, an influx of players in the summer and winter windows, the overhauling of the team’s medical setup and an alteration in transfer strategy, another managerial change at present seems ill-advised.
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10:17 - 24.03.2023
Todd Boehly can learn from Bayern's ruthless sacking of Nagelsmann
Bayern Munich have confirmed the sacking of head coach Julian Nagelsmann, here is how Chelsea owner Todd Boehly can draw inspiration from that to apply towards Graham Potter.
Of course, many supporters will be reactionary and lament the club’s perceived slide into mediocrity without considering the unprecedented mitigating circumstances Potter has had to battle since his appointment last September, forgetting the Englishman thrives amid stability and admittedly is still green at this level.
The former Brighton boss is no firefighter — a characteristic understood by the new owners who must have foreseen the ongoing growing pains of their rebuild — and the impact of a lengthy list of absentees pre-World Cup and difficulty finding cohesion in a bloated squad post-January must be considered.
Whether anyone believes the decision to stick to Potter is financial or not, letting go of the 47-year-old will be a head-scratching decision and overly short-sighted, even if disgruntled supporters are likely to harp on the current Chelsea boss statistically being one of the worst managers at the club in the Premier League era.
Indeed, it will take some doing to change the culture of a fanbase accustomed to almost two decades of the boom and bust cycle that brought success.
Potter is expected to remain in situ, all things considered, with Boehly and Clearlake Capital unlikely to make any knee-jerk decisions despite Nagelsmann being out of work.
But the embattled Chelsea boss must get enough positive performances — which have broadly improved since the turn of the year — and results in the interim to justify staying on at Stamford Bridge beyond the summer.
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08:39 - 28.02.2023
PREMIER LEAGUE Chelsea to stand by Garaham Potter despite poor form
Chelsea are reportedly set to give Graham Potter time to turn things around despite the disappointing period the club has endured recently.
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