Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Samuel Meade

Chelsea issue clear as Gary Neville fears realised after "Football Manager" jibe

Gary Neville had previously "hoped" Graham Potter wouldn't be under pressure at Chelsea and claimed their project would "take time".

In the end the former Brighton boss got less than seven months at Stamford Bridge with a loss to Aston Villa at the weekend proving to be the final straw. Todd Boehly paid over £20m to get Potter out of the Amex, but 11 defeats in his 31 matches has now seen him sacked.

Neville, who himself had a short stint in management, is among those to call for patience in the past and commented previously that Potter was being handed a tough gig given the fallout of the previous ownership and the huge sums being spent on players.

Boehly has forked out £600m since arriving at Chelsea, breaking the British transfer record in the process. But his scattergun approach in the market saw Neville accuse him of playing "football manager" and maintained that recruitment would be their undoing with their millions not manifesting themselves on the pitch.

He said on his own podcast: "Graham Potter is under big pressure at this moment in time. I hope he's not under pressure, I hope they see it through because this is a culmination of Abramovich leaving, the new owner coming in and sticking his chest out and going around Europe thinking he can play Football Manager. I've seen it before at this club [ Manchester United ], it doesn't tend to work.

"Chelsea have always been a really smart, efficient, clinical operator in the recruitment. They're one of the big stories at the start of the season and I think they'll improve but there are going to be questions asked. They're a club, and I look at Man United sometimes and think 'where's the £250m gone?' It's a quarter of a billion quid. Where's it gone?

Todd Boehly has copped criticism for how he's run Chelsea since arriving (Charlotte Wilson/Offside/Offside via Getty Images))

"How have they enhanced the squad? Chelsea fans will be in a position whereby they'll have to test if the Abramovich reactive nature we've seen at Chelsea over the last 20 years is still there under the new ownership. They'll have to prove that they are a more forgiving, rational and looking at longevity."

Instead the current hierarchy look to have inherited tricks from the previous bosses. Abramovich had a reputation for hiring and firing with Jose Mourinho, who spent just over three years at the club, the Russian's longest tenure. Five managers all failed to make it past a season under Abramovich.

Boehly meanwhile is looking for his third manager in a season after sacking Thomas Tuchel in September. Upon hiring Potter the American claimed he fitted the club's new "vision" but a string of poor results and performances eventually cost him as he failed to find a winning formula with his star-studded squad.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.