Chelsea have sacked manager Graham Potter after just seven months in charge following Saturday’s 2-0 home defeat by Aston Villa. The Englishman had been in charge since 8 September, having replaced Thomas Tuchel at Stamford Bridge, and won 12 of his 31 games in all competitions. His 1.27 points per game in the Premier League was the joint-lowest of any manager to take charge of 20 or more games for Chelsea in the Premier League, alongside Glen Hoddle.
The club’s owners said they were “disappointed” to sack Potter and he has agreed to collaborate with the club to facilitate a smooth transition. Bruno Saltor, who worked with Potter at Brighton, will take charge of the team as interim head coach. The decision to relieve Potter from his post was led by Paul Winstanley and Lawrence Stewart, the co-sporting directors, with backing from chairman Todd Boehly and co-owner Behdad Eghbali.
Chelsea have now made 13 managerial changes in the Premier League this season – three more than in any other previous campaign – with Leicester also sacking Brendan Rodgers earlier on Sunday. Former England striker Alan Shearer told Match of the Day 2 the demand for success at Premier League clubs has led to a “crazy” football environment, where they “press the panic button”.
Ex-England midfielder Danny Murphy believes Potter’s record at Brighton showed he was effective managing a team “punching above their weight” as opposed to Chelsea. Potter’s dismissal is Chelsea’s 17th managerial change this century and, of the full-time incumbents of the role, his reign was by far the shortest.
Owner Boehly went on a remarkable spending spree in January, shelling out £288m on new players, but the new additions have struggled to click on the pitch. Chelsea have dropped to 11th in the Premier League – 12 points outside the top four – having spent more than £550m on new players this season.
The search for a new manager begins now but it is not expected that a replacement will be named in the next few days. Emma Hayes, Chelsea’s Women’s Super League boss, said: “Obviously I’m upset for Graham and the club. I know everybody wanted to make it work.” With 10 games left to play in the Premier League and a Champions League quarter-final ahead, Chelsea will put every effort and commitment into every one of those games so that they can end the season on a high.
Chelsea have abandoned their ‘long-term approach’ with the sacking of Graham Potter after less than seven months in charge following Saturday’s 2-0 home defeat by Aston Villa. The Englishman had won 12 of his 31 games in all competitions and managed 1.27 points per game in the Premier League – the joint-lowest of any manager to take charge of 20 or more games for Chelsea in the Premier League, alongside Glen Hoddle.
The club’s owners said they were “disappointed” to sack Potter and he has agreed to collaborate with the club to facilitate a smooth transition. Bruno Saltor, who worked with Potter at Brighton, will take charge of the team as interim head coach. The decision to relieve Potter from his post was led by Paul Winstanley and Lawrence Stewart, the co-sporting directors, with backing from chairman Todd Boehly and co-owner Behdad Eghbali.
Chelsea have now made 13 managerial changes in the Premier League this season – three more than in any other previous campaign – with Leicester also sacking Brendan Rodgers earlier on Sunday. Former England striker Alan Shearer told Match of the Day 2 the demand for success at Premier League clubs has led to a “crazy” football environment, where they “press the panic button”.
Ex-England midfielder Danny Murphy believes Potter’s record at Brighton showed he was effective managing a team “punching above their weight” as opposed to Chelsea. Potter’s dismissal is Chelsea’s 17th managerial change this century and, of the full-time incumbents of the role, his reign was by far the shortest. Owner Boehly went on a remarkable spending spree in January, shelling out £288m on new players, but the new additions have struggled to click on the pitch.
Chelsea have dropped to 11th in the Premier League – 12 points outside the top four – having spent more than £550m on new players this season. The search for a new manager begins now but it is not expected that a replacement will be named in the next few days. Emma Hayes, Chelsea’s Women’s Super League boss, said: “Obviously I’m upset for Graham and the club. I know everybody wanted to make it work.” With 10 games left to play in the Premier League and a Champions League quarter-final ahead, Chelsea will put every effort and commitment into every one of those games so that they can end the season on a high.
Chelsea have abandoned their ‘long-term approach’ with Potter’s sacking and replaced him with Bruno Saltor as interim head coach. The decision to relieve Potter from his post was led by Paul Winstanley and Lawrence Stewart, the co-sporting directors, with backing from chairman Todd Boehly and co-owner Behdad Eghbali. Former England striker Alan Shearer told Match of the Day 2 that the demand for success at Premier League clubs has led to a “crazy” football environment, where they “press the panic button”.
Ex-England midfielder Danny Murphy believes Potter’s record at Brighton showed he was effective managing a team “punching above their weight” as opposed to Chelsea. Potter’s dismissal is Chelsea’s 17th managerial change this century and, of the full-time incumbents of the role, his reign was by far the shortest. Owner Boehly went on a remarkable spending spree in January, shelling out £288m on new players, but the new additions have struggled to click on the pitch.
Chelsea have dropped to 11th in the Premier League – 12 points outside the top four – having spent more than £550m on new players this season. The search for a new manager begins now but it is not expected that a replacement will be named in the next few days. Emma Hayes, Chelsea’s Women’s Super League boss, said: “I’m sure the boys will do everything to get us back on track.” With 10 games left to play in the Premier League and a Champions League quarter-final ahead, Chelsea will put every effort and commitment into every one of those games so that they can end the season on a high.