Potter's Curse on Chelsea

After Chelsea's uninspiring performance mid-week against the titans of Manchester City, Potter got his chance at redemption Sunday morning in the Third Round of the FA Cup.  After the 1-0 defeat, and two more critical injuries, patrons were pondering if this is a sign of things to come for the rest of the English and European campaigns.  This morning that question was answered with a shocking display of football.

In my first blog post, I was critical of both managers, as they both made mistakes.  Pep Guardiola did not become the most sought after and most accomplished manager in the world by remaining stagnant and stubborn in his own ways.  The great managers understand the necessity of adaptations, and honest self analysis.  In my previous 'Chelsea Blues' critique, I admonished Pep's incistance on utilizing Phil Foden as an isolated winger.  

For today's match, the unseen level of squad depth (chequebook) was utilized and Pep wisley rotated the world class stars of De Bruyne and Erling Haaland.  Moving Foden into a free playmaking role;  utilizing Mahrez as winger stalking the penalty area the way a lioness stalks the African bush;  and bringing on the World Cup revelation of Julian Alvarez transformed the stagnant attack into a raging river of created chances.  The immense pressure of the rivatilized attack caused the dependable backline of Chelsea to collapse like a neglected and abandoned dam. 

On the other side of the pitch, there is Graham Potter.  Admittedly, I did not watch, nor pay attention to the tactics of his tenure at Brighton & Hove Albion.  However, if this is his plan for the London Blues, Chelsea are in trouble.  Injuries are difficult to overcome, however, it is a manager's responsibility to adapt, not collapse.  After trotting out an inexplicable 4-2-3-1 (4-2-4) formation for Thursday's match, Potter decided on a 4-3-3.  Dropping Cucurella, the scapegoat of Chelsea *I am biased towards La Masia products*, rotating Thiago Silva (38), reintroducing Jorginho, and "reinforcing" the midfield with Gallagher.

In football, the opponent adapts to you or you adapt to your opponent.  On rare occasions, like Pep's Barcelona or his current City squad, he has the ability to adapt to himself.  Chelsea, on the other hand, do not have the level of class, depth, nor discipline to play their own game.  Something that a manager like Tuchel understood having beaten Manchester City three times in his first four months as the manager of Chelsea including the Champions League final.

The malpractice carried out by Potter led to a 3-0 thrashing at halftime.  A wonder of a freekick by Mahrez, penalty by Alvarez, and a breathtaking team goal punched in by Phil Foden as effortlessly as the average joe punching into their desk job.  Somehow a 3-0 scoreline was not the most embarrassing thing to look at for Chelsea.  You may have noticed that I did not discuss anything Chelsea did in the first half.  Not because they did not score, but because they literally did...nothing.  Take a look for yourself.

Zeros across the board.  Maybe fans would have not started chanting for Thomas Tuchel, their former Champions League winning manager before being sacked to make way for Bohely approved ball.

So many donuts.  Maybe Potter was trying to get Big Cat's attention to retweet his homemade box of donuts.  The blogger for Barstool Sports that seems more excited to tweet out his Sunday donut selection than the NFL Sunday slate of games.  That would at least be amusing.

Another campaign ended in humiliating defeat.  Perhaps the reduced number of competitions can allow the depleted and bloodied squad to focus on remaining somewhat competitive for the second half of the premiership.  However, with the harsh injury record and incompetence at the top, I have my doubts.  Contrasted to Tuchel's aforementioned record, Potter has now lost to the Cityzens three times in his first four months as Chelsea's manager, unable to score in all three matches.

I want to take a moment to thank those who have read and have been complimentary.  I appreciate the support.  I don't know why I started this.  I know I love sports and discussing them.  So who knows, but I am enjoying this.  So again, thank you.