Graham Potter gives shocking insight into Chelsea’s overcrowded dressing room and how stars dealt with conditions
GRAHAM POTTER has revealed that some of Chelsea’s stars had to sit on the floor in the Blues’ meeting room during his stint at Stamford Bridge.
Potter was sacked by Todd Boehly and Co back in April 2023, just 31 games after his arrival and having been backed to the tune of £323MILLION by the club’s new owners in the January transfer window.
The former Brighton boss, 49, was unable to get his new-look squad ticking in the second half of the campaign, and now he reckons that the heavy investment could have been his downfall.
Although he acknowledges that the result were largely down to him, Potter told The Telegraph that an influx of new faces piled more “pressure” onto him and the team.
He said: “I take responsibility for the results. I’ve never said I’ve ever been perfect and you live and you learn.
“And you are grateful for the opportunity and grateful for the experience you had there. But there’s probably a context that has appeared.”
Adding: “The ownership decided to invest a lot of money in the squad, £300million in the January transfer window.
“Now, if you are spending £300million on players that are coming from outside the Premier League, from countries that are having a mid-season break, then the reality is you can’t just imagine they are going to hit the ground running and everything’s going to be fine.
“But, obviously, if you spend £300million, the pressure on the team goes up and the pressure on the coach goes up. And people go: ‘Come on then, you’ve spent all this money.’”
That pressure did begin to mount on Potter back then and ultimately meant that, because the results didn’t follow the investment, he was let go before the end of the season.
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But managing such an inflated squad isn’t easy – as exampled by Enzo Maresca so far this season – and Potter explained what it was like having to leave out so many stars.
Discussing what team meetings were like, he revealed: “A few of them just had to sit on the floor.
“It’s not ideal, of course. Everybody recognised it was a really difficult situation because you can only pick 11 players and if you’ve got 20 players not playing, it doesn’t matter where you are.
“If you can find a coach out there who says: ‘Yeah, that’s the best condition for me,’ I’d be very surprised.”
Current Chelsea gaffer Maresca hasn’t exactly relished the challenge of balancing the ballooned squad at his disposal either.
The Italian, 44, has already publicly told some players they won’t play any minutes under his management – ultimately forcing the Chelsea hierarchy to pay Raheem Sterling £10m to play for Arsenal.
While he has had to form a “bomb squad” of players who are training away from the main group in order to ensure his first team stars are his main focus.
The Premier League’s official website lists Chelsea’s first team squad as having 34 players.
While stars such as Wesley Fofana and Cole Palmer were left out of the Blues’ initial Uefa Conference League squad this season.
Maresca seems a little less fazed by difficulties of balancing such a large squad, explaining he “doesn’t care” when describing his “honest” approach.
Speaking during the summer transfer window, he said: “I am working with 21 players. Today’s [training] session was with 20 players, yesterday was 21.
“The other 15-20 are training apart. I don’t see them. It is not a mess that it looks from outside.
“I am here to take decisions and to think who is the best for us. I am not thinking about how many years [are left] on their contracts, it is not my job.
Chelsea player ratings vs Barrow
JOAO FELIX and Christopher Nkunku stole the show as Chelsea thrashed Barrow in the Carabao Cup.
A hat-trick from Nkunku along with goals from Felix and Pedro Neto secured a 5-0 third round win at Stamford Bridge.
Here’s how the starting XI rated…
Filip Jorgensen – 6
Looked shaky as Barrow launched a string of early throw-ins into the box. Forced into a smart stop down to his right at the start of the second half but otherwise untroubled.
Malo Gusto – 7
Lack of threat from visitors allowed him freedom of the right flank and the full-back regularly posed a threat as he linked up with Neto.
Axel Disasi – 6
Unconvincing in possession despite little pressure but performed defensive duties throughout in solid partnership with Benoit Badiashile.
Benoit Badiashile – 6
Barely troubled by Barrow forward Emile Acquah. Assured in possession and showed his passing range by switching play to his wingers when available.
Renato Veiga – 6
Looked a class above when stepping into midfield when Chelsea were in possession but far from convincing in defence. Gave away several needless free-kicks in dangerous areas.
Cesare Casadei – 7
Shaky at first on his maiden Chelsea touch before growing into the game in the centre of the park.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall – 7
Afforded plenty of time and space on the ball for much of the game and even came close to a goal of his own.
Pedro Neto – 7
Link-up play with Malo Gusto was a constant threat down the right. Finished off a flowing team move for his first Chelsea goal.
Joao Felix – 8
Unlocked the Barrow defence with a beautiful scooped pass to set up Nkunku’s opener. Followed it up with a perfectly placed free-kick off the post to put his side 3-0 up before half-time.
Mykhailo Mudryk – 7
Gave Chelsea an outlet with his pace down the left, showed to perfection as he raced away before squaring for Neto to score moments into the second half.
Christopher Nkunku – 9
Showed his clinical edge in front of goal by grabbing a hat-trick with three well-taken strikes inside the penalty area, including an exquisite back-heeled flick into the corner.
Subs
Ben Chilwell (45’ for Gusto) – 6
Given a rapturous reception on his return from the Chelsea ‘bomb squad’. Tightened up the left-hand side for the Blues, with Veiga moving to central defence.
Tyrique George (63’ for Neto) – 6
Dragged a brilliant chance to score his first Chelsea goal wide of the post. Later denied by Farman as he showed promise down the right.
Josh Acheampong (63’ for Disasi) – 6
Slotted into the back four with ease and executed his defensive duties on his second senior appearance.
Marc Guiu (76′ for Nkunku) – 6
Continued to provide a threat to the tiring Barrow defence late on.
Carney Chukwuemeka (76′ for Felix) – 6
Quickly imposed himself on the action with several powerful runs through midfield to drive the hosts forward.
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“If I don’t like them, they can have 20-year contracts, I don’t care. I am just here to make the right decision for the team, no more than that.
“It is the job of all managers to keep players happy. This is something almost impossible because they train every day to get minutes and only 11 are going to play.
“I try to be honest with all of them. In this moment the noise is more outside because I am working with 21-22 players since we came back from USA [pre-season tour].”
Chelsea’s exiled “bomb squad” had included Ben Chilwell – but the England defender was reintegrated into the side for the London club’s 5-0 thrashing of Barrow on Tuesday.
Most of the “15-20” players that Maresca had mentioned earlier the summer managed to find a way out of the club, be it on loan or in a permanent exit before deadline day.
But it’s thought that five still remain exiled from the main group including the likes of David Datro Fofana and Lucas Bergstrom.
Although a rather a bullish approach, Maresca’s man management appears to be getting the best out of the players at his disposal.
Chelsea are fifth in the Prem table so far this season and have only lost to four-in-a-row champions Man City in the league.
Chelsea's exiled players
Here's a look at the five players who are still left in limbo at Stamford Bridge...
- David Datro Fofana
- Deivid Washington
- Angelo
- Harvey Vale
- Lucas Bergstrom