Behind the scenes of Thomas Tuchel's sacking at Chelsea and the prospect of an incoming manager, Graham Potter, to shoulder the demands of a new era

The departure of Thomas Tuchel has finally crowned the start of a new era under the Todd Boehly consortium, who took over the ownership of the West London club a few months back.

If there is one thing the new owners of Chelsea have in common to their predecessor, that is how quick they are in changing managers when results is not going the way they want it.

It has brought the Roman Abramovich era unprecedented success and fans will hope for the same fortune of the Boehly's, even though a part of them find it difficult to accept the sacking of the German tactician, however, the show must continue.

It came out of the blue, the sacking of the German tactician, who was appointed in 2021, replacing club legend, Frank Lampard and winning some important silverware, including those the club have won for the very first time.

Months into his Chelsea reign after inheriting a rich but disoriented group of players left behind by Frank Lampard, Thomas Tuchel delivered the Champions League title, beating Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid on their way to beating Manchester City in the final.

The German also won Chelsea's first UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup titles by beating Villarreal and Palmeiras respectively in the finals.

Thomas Tuchel reached six finals (including the UEFA Super Cup) in his almost 20 months in charge at the club of which three titles were delivered while he lost to Liverpool twice last season in the Carabao and FA Cup finals, adding to the loss to Leicester City in the 2021 FA Cup final.

The problem started for Tuchel in the later stages of last season albeit the club still managed to secure Champions League football, the start to the new season hasn't been positive and even though many thought the relationship between Tuchel and the hierarchy was okay, it came as a shock that he has been sent packing after only seven games this season.

A bizarre window

Chelsea's messy end to the season extended to the start of the summer transfer window as they wasted a lot of time even after the sanction was lifted before commencing business on securing incomings.

Despite knowing there were lots of holes to fill, Chelsea's dealings in the window was unconvincing, which was very unusual under the past administration of the club in Roman Abramovich.

A huge blow was dealth with the departure of their business manager, Marina Granovskaia, who had been at the club since 2003, following chairman Bruce Buck out of Stamford Bridge as the new era started to take shape.

While the club maintain there was no hard feelings playing to the exit of Marina, sources around the club, amongst ex-players confirmed the club was riven by instability following her departure as she was a likable and respectable figure at the club.

Todd Boehly took over the position of the departed two and his know-how can be defined with the summer Chelsea enjoyed but according to the informations gathered as well, the sore relationship between himself and Thomas Tuchel played a part as to reason the window didn't play well.

Earlier in the summer, Todd Boehly suggested that the club sign Cristiano Ronaldo as the player was available but Thomas Tuchel objected this take as the manager feels the presence of the Portuguese will affect the dressing room.

This was believed to be the first reason the relationship between both started to deteriorate.

Thomas Tuchel also feels Todd Boehly is not doing enough to get him needed players during the transfer window. The disagreement between the two also played a role in letting Jules Kounde slip from their grasp even when they offered more then Barcelona, who beat them to his signature.

Todd Boehly had everything agreed to sign Koundé from Sevilla and even the Spanish club confirmed the agreement but Thomas Tuchel had other priorities and the management backed him while Kounde went on to sign for Barcelona.

While Todd Boehly also had an agreement with Leeds United for Raphinha, Thomas Tuchel did not play his part of convincing the player to sign for his side, same thing that happened with Jules Kounde.

Questionable style of play

It is evidence that attacking players struggle to thrive in the set-up of Thomas Tuchel with his defence obsessed style and that even looked bursted taking the numbers in his final days at Chelsea into perspective.

On their way to winning the Champions League title in his first season in charge, Chelsea were very solid defensively and even though they were not scoring much, they conceded limited opportunities to the opponents to operate in attack.

However, the manager wanted the club to do more in attack and that was why Romelu Lukaku, on the back of a remarkable season with Inter in the Serie A, where he won the Scudetto and was also named the player of the season in the league, was brought back to Chelsea for a club record fee.

The situation would not improve and instead, the player had a fallout with the club and manager midway through the season following his infamous interview. Mason Mount last season, is the only player to hit double figures for goals in the league for Chelsea under Thomas Tuchel.

Also defensively, Chelsea only conceded 25 goals in their first 50 games under Thomas Tuchel, five of which came in one match against West Bromwich Albion on an unusual Premier League afternoon, which saw Thiago Silva pick up an early red card.

They were a very difficult team to score against and this fact made the 81 goals scored in that time very effective and efficiently utilized to achieve their objectives.

However in his final 50 games in charge at the club, they conceded 53 times, more than double they did in his first 50 while scoring 87 times even after spending a fortune in attack.

End of the road

The start to the current season hasn't been encouraging as well. Three wins from seven games and three disappointing defeats that have come against teams they'll be expected not to have lost against has obviously infuriated the hierarchy.

In his final assignment at Chelsea in Zagreb, Chelsea started with five defenders, four attacking players and that left Mateo Kovacic the only midfielder in the side.

After conceding a rather cheap goal in the 13th minute, they struggled to breakdown an overloaded Dinamo Zagreb box for more than 80 minutes of play and ended up losing the match by a lone goal.

His job has been under threat since Tuesday and after the loss in Zagreb, it was considered unforgivable and time has to be called on his time at the club as first time head coach.

Fallout with players

Even though many believe Christian Pulisic is not good enough to star at Chelsea, it appears the manager’s reluctance to play him regularly also played a part in him losing his job.

Under the new American owners, Pulisic, who is a hyped personality in the US is expected to be afforded more chance to thrive but unfortunately, Thomas Tuchel didn't find him a fit to be a significant part in the set up.

It will also be kind to note that it would not have come down to this had Tuchel been able to produce positive results but an underperforming team would not help his cause to justify his decision not to play the former Borussia Dortmund man.

Players like Mason Mount and Hakim Ziyech have also been questioned of their contributions in the later games leading to the sacking of Thomas Tuchel.

Just like it was when Frank Lampard was sacked, players will also have part blame in situations like this but it will never be an option anywhere to get rid of all the players to satisfy a manager.

Thomas Tuchel is now a victim in Chelsea's rebuild as he did not even get to enjoy the players signed this summer play games for him. The club will however continue without the German.

Moving on with Graham Potter (leading candidate)

The new era now awaits the appointment of a new manager of which current Brighton boss, Graham Potter has been identified as the successor of Thomas Tuchel if it all goes as planned.

Chelsea have already contacted Brighton to enquire about the possibility of luring the 46-year old English manager to the Stamford Bridge and negotiation is advanced.

Potter has a release clause of around £15 million at Brighton and Chelsea will be looking to finalize a possible deal as early as can be albeit some reports has it, it might also prove difficult as England also see him as the man to replace Gareth Southgate.

It will be interesting to see if Potter choose to move to Chelsea instead of waiting for the Three Lions job but the fact that Brighton has been contacted could only mean Chelsea have Potter's consent.

A look at Potter's approach

Graham Potter has been successful with his progressive and unconventional approach while with Ostersund, Swansea and currently at Brighton.

The 49-year old described his sides as tactically flexible, attacking and possession based. He prefers 3-4-2-1 but is very versatile and non rigid oftenly playing 3-4-3, 3-5-2.

He is one of the few managers that alters formation during play. His style makes him best suited for the Chelsea managerial role as it is very near that of the just sacked manager, and that will make it easier for him to move on quickly from where Thomas Tuchel left things.

The players available can also make it very easy for him. In Marc Cucurella and Reece James, Chelsea have arguably the best wingbacks in the league while they also have Ben Chilwell to deputize on the left-wing back position, a manager doesn't get better luck.

Wesley Fofana, Kalidou Koulibaly, Thiago Silva, César Azpilicueta and Trevoh Chalobah are also available as options in the heart of defense. Though most of them have struggled this season but if there's anyone to believe in players’ comeback, then that would be Chelsea.

The same players that looked lost and undeserving under Frank Lampard led them to the Champions League title few months later. The quality of the players is undeniable and getting them fighting again will be an early task for Potter.

However, should Chelsea look to revoke the approach of Thomas Tuchel, which has seen attackers struggle, it would not be too wise to go for the Brighton coach.

Still, unlike Chelsea, his Brighton side choose zones and traps to press. Sometimes, he sets his team up with zonal markings which end up catastrophically opening defence in wide areas and enables his team create more chances.

His midfield is fluid and encourage players to move with the ball to create space. During attack, his defenders push into midfield allowing the upfield players create a wide five attack with the help of the wingbacks.

This could also mean change in role for most of the attacking players. The wing players who didn't favour the wingback positions under Tuchel might be tasked to fill in.

Leandro Trossard for instance is now thriving in the wingback role for Brighton having been moved there by Potter but will the likes of Raheem Sterling want to go that deep or the likes of Christian Pulisic, who was uncomfortable playing there for Tuchel now thrive in the role ?

That is still very much to be seen.

As much as Potter has been hailed for his tactical brilliance, his team also have their lows. Brighton made an explosive start to the league last season but went on an eleven game winless run, which costed them what would have been a dream ending to their season.

Such runs will not be tolerated at Chelsea though the quality of players is bound to go levels up if he make the switch to West London, and that can also ease the task for the manager.

In each of the club he has managed, Graham Potter is the most important figure in the dressing room and this can be negative impact in a bigger club just like it happened to Nuno Espirito Santo at Tottheham Hotspur.

Things are more complicated at bigger clubs and even though results tend to improve in the early days, it becomes very devastating as time goes on.

Falling out with players is one of the troubles Thomas Tuchel, like any other manager at bigger teams had and Graham Potter will also have to suppress his ego, if he wants to succeed, if appointed new Chelsea boss.

Result wise, Potter has found joy playing against Chelsea's rivals in the like of Manchester United, Tottheham Hotspur and Arsenal. Knowing his onions against these teams will make him a fan favourite if he can keep consistent positive results.

Potter is a very likable figure, and that is one of the positives he brings to any side employing him. Beyond football, he encourage his players and staff to engage in community activities, which he feels will improve the mental status to perform well their duties.

Provided he is able to handle the pressure that comes along with managing a top team, Graham Potter have what it takes to lead Chelsea and help them overcome their poor start to the season.

It is very interesting to know that Potter has a master's in leadership and emotional intelligence, which has helped him succeed in his previous tasks. It will be put to the biggest tests so far, if the move to Chelsea materializes.

Author: Kehinde Hassan Afolabi