Chelsea appoint a “high school student” from Sweden? Paul Merson makes us angry
We didn’t intend to dedicate the whole of Mediawatch to Paul Merson on Chelsea, Potter and Zidane but then we got carried away…
As the football media reacts to the sacking of Thomas Tuchel and the likely appointment of Graham Potter, we turn – as we always do – to the experts. And then to Paul Merson on Sky Sports website.
He is shocked. Stunned. And all the other things that nobody really should have been; Chelsea has been the sixth best team in the Premier League 2022 and it’s not very good.
‘I didn’t see that coming. They won the other day. They beat West Ham 2-1. Yes, they rode their luck with VAR but it was still a win. Then they go to Zagreb, not the easiest place to go, play a couple of French players and get beaten.
By the way, this is the Chelsea team that lost to Zagreb: Kepa; Azpilicueta, Fofana, Koulibaly; James, Mount, Kovacic, Chilwell; Havertz, Aubameyang, Sterling.
Apart from Kepa in goal, where the hell are the wingers?
Merson then moves on to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang:
“People tell me it’s been brewing, but if it was brewing, why do you bring in a player because the current manager says he’s worked with him before and knows him?” I don’t think any other manager will be excited by Aubameyang.
“Any other manager who comes in can easily say they don’t want him. Tuchel has spent £200m on players and now someone else has to work with them.
Now this is a theme that permeates pretty much all coverage of this raid, as if Aubemeyang is some sort of lame duck that no one could possibly want.
He literally scored 11 goals in 17 La Liga games last season. Brighton’s top scorers scored eight goals each in the whole of last season; we don’t think Graham Potter or anyone else will be curious about Aubameyang. He has had to work with Neal sodding Maupay for three years.
“There aren’t too many elite managers around the world. Chelsea had one. He’s won the Champions League. Managed top teams. For me he’s an elite manager and they’ve let one go.
That’s true, Paul, but it’s also true that the methods of elite managers can fail. Also see Antonio Conte at Chelsea, Jurgen Klopp at Borussia Dortmund, Mauricio Pochettino at Tottenham and Jose Mourinho almost anywhere.
“You need an elite manager to train elite players, in my opinion. You don’t go and buy a racehorse for a million pounds and get the guy from the local stable to train it.’
Wow. It’s just not very nice, is it?
And pray tell, how does a non-elite manager become an elite manager? Tuchel coached at Mainz before Dortmund, Pochettino at Southampton before Tottenham and Conte at Atalanta and Siena before Juventus. If you are not Pep Guardiola, you are not born into an elite club.
‘I like Potter. I think he is a good manager. Apart from Manchester City, the best team I saw at Stamford Bridge last season was Brighton. They were incredible. Potter makes teams better. He improves players.
“But is it the Chelsea job?”
If that’s not the job at Chelsea, what the hell is the job at Chelsea? They definitely need to get better and the players definitely need to improve.
I think he could have got the Manchester United job. There are more youngsters in Manchester United and it needs to be rebuilt a bit. What needs to be rebuilt in Chelsea? Every player is a £50m player.’
F*** knows this means Chelsea’s average age this season is pretty much the same as United’s. And eight of the 20 players they have used in the Premier League this season are aged 23 or under.
– These are international matches with a million international matches between them. You just have to take care of them. You don’t have to teach them the game. It’s horses for courses.
That’s obviously not true, Paul. Obviously, you still have to coach them and organize them. Are you saying that “elite managers” are just glorified babysitters?
‘Potter would find players and make them better. He is a project manager. Give him five years and he’ll tear it up. That is not Chelsea’s philosophy. Chelsea’s philosophy is to go out and buy the best players. I just don’t see it in Chelsea. He could be unemployed in a year.
“The way Chelsea is, the way it’s run, how long will you be in the job?” They won the Champions League last year. They lost two cup finals on penalties this year.’
Does it matter? As we detailed elsewheresacked Chelsea manager of the last decade is now boss of Roma, Tottenham, Lazio and Everton.
Oh and Potter only had three years at Brighton and “torn it up”.
“For me, the only one who ticks the box is Zinedine Zidane. He is a legend. Nobody questions him. He was one of the best players in the world and he has managed Real Madrid. He has managed top players.
He’s not a manager who wants to be around for five years and build a project, he just wants it now. He is not going to build a team. He wants a team that is already full of superstars. People will listen to him.’
He has literally run a club. And has shown no interest in making it in England. Indeed, his agent said: “I don’t think he’ll make it in England. It’s much less his style. I’ve discussed it with him, it doesn’t really appeal to him.” Seems pretty unequivocal.
You can’t give it to Graham Potter for five years and tell him to build something. That’s not the job. It’s a Zinedine Zidane job. He would settle for two years. If he hasn’t won anything then he’d be the first to say he’s moving on.’
It’s literally not a Zinedine Zidane job. And if any Chelsea manager doesn’t win anything for two years, it won’t be the man himself who will “be the first to say he’s moving on”.
“It’s an incredible opportunity for Potter. It might not come again. But he’s going to pull his hair out tonight. I don’t think people realize. He’s not going to do cartwheels because it’s such a big decision. I feel sorry for him in a way It’s a hard decision to make.
‘You go from one extreme to the other. It’s like leaving high school and then someone tells you you’re going to Oxford University tomorrow. You would think, ‘I haven’t worked at that level before, I’m not ready for it.
This is incredibly condescending. Potter has managed in the Premier League for three seasons and has just secured a top-half finish. If you really have to use an educational metaphor, he’s at the University of Brighton, not bloody high school.
He has come from Sweden and now he is in Brighton. They lost to Fulham last week which I thought was a shock but you didn’t hear much about it. No one went crazy right? Chelsea get beaten by Leeds and it’s chaos. That’s the difference.
No, “nobody went crazy” when Brighton lost 2-1 to Fulham, who had already drawn with Liverpool and beaten Brentford at home this season. And yes, there was “chaos” as Chelsea (third last season) lost 3-0 to Leeds United (17th last season). That’s funny.
And what happened to Paul Merson who was glowing about British bosses not getting a chance? Is it different when it’s your club?