When Graham Potter departed the south coast for Stamford Bridge in September, there was a fresh sense of optimism in a new era under Todd Boehly and the Clearlake consortium at Chelsea. The board made his appointment the first key move in their ownership, designating the relatively inexperienced manager as the one to take them forward.
Not that Potter is inexperienced in the Premier League, but a club with the demands and expectations of Chelsea is a different kettle of fish.
20 games later, his former side Brighton is flourishing under Roberto De Zerbi, and Potter is facing an extreme struggle to find any sort of form, understanding or cohesion with his new squad. So why has his side struggled so much and what is the way forward?
The promising English coach was one of the most admired managers in the league just six months ago and now he is the face of a club staring down the barrel of criticism and media ridicule as they battle through a run of one win in 10, no chance at domestic silverware, and being on the edge of dropping out of the Champions league.
With many calling for his time in charge to be cut short, you only have to gaze at his spell with Brighton to understand that this long-term project will elicit frustration and poor form to begin with before the results start to flow.
Potter revolutionised a Brighton side that had spent three years surviving in the Premier League through grit, determination and defensive organisation, mixed with pieces of individual quality. Chris Hughton did an amazing job at solidifying the Seagull's place in the division - however, his playing style was unsustainable in the long term.
Taking over from this and pushing a new philosophy on players that had little previous experience with a highly intricate possession-based style took time and sacrifice in the short term to get to where the Brighton board wanted the side to be.
Why keep the faith?
Potter flourishes as a coach - he is a man manager that works with his players daily to grow them both as players in his system and as individuals on and off the field.
Throwing a dozen new players worth over half a billion pounds in transfer fees at him and expecting results straight away is not realistic. At Brighton, he was working with players that were willing to grow and cooperate with his ideas. Chelsea's approach as a club has often not allowed for time and development, and the spending spree is not what a talented coach like Graham Potter needs.
A big squad rife with talent is hugely promising, but trying to get all of the players to come together as a side and defeat organised and structurally-sound opponents render all of their options ineffective. This Chelsea side at the moment looks similar to the Belgian national team - quality and talent all over the pitch but lack understanding, patterns of play or togetherness to defeat the world's elite.
This is something that only time can solve - Chelsea fans, the Board and players are going to have to "suffer" through a difficult period to reap the rewards that they will inevitably achieve in the future.
The pure amount of money that has been poured into the cub is astonishing, and whilst detrimental to the market, will no doubt establish Chelsea as one of the powerhouses in global football. Whether Potter will be the man to take them there is one question, but he has the capabilities to do so, and with the backing of those above him, results will arrive that show the progress he's making.
Brighton showed faith in Potter when many clubs would have cut ties with him. The platform he has set for Roberto De Zerbi is incredible, but his time in charge was full of winless spells and times when fans questioned the play style and direction of his coaching. Tony Bloom never flinched, he kept the faith, and, therefore, saw the outcome of the project. At the start of 2021, Brighton's last two home wins were in 2019 and 2020, something that makes his run with Chelsea at the moment look relatively insignificant.
If Chelsea stick by him, they will find themselves in a better place as a club and as a footballing unit. Whether his appointment in the first place was the right one will only be clear as time goes on, but his skill and nous tactically will undoubtedly drag the Blues out of their current rot.
Is he the right man for Chelsea?
Managing Chelsea requires a certain type of character. For this, you don’t have to look much further than many of their recent coaches. Jose Mourinho, Thomas Tuchel, and Maurizio Sarri are all experienced, quite confrontational and bold personalities that have delivered success to Chelsea since the Roman Abramovic takeover. Potter breaks the mould and is almost a juxtaposition to these coaches. He is emotionally intelligent, more down to earth and gracious in defeat and victory - something that seems to draw out unnecessary criticisms from the media.
The Chelsea dressing room has been flooded with talent and ability that doesn't need as much coaching in the short term, but rather an experienced figure that can guide and organise an eleven to pick up results. Potter isn't used to dealing with particularly egotistic or self-indulged individuals that may try to dominate behind the scenes -something that is destined to happen when you bring in players worth upwards of 50 million.
Undoubtedly, Potter knew that Chelsea were going to significantly strengthen in January and begin an overhaul that would set up the club's future. Whether he knew he had signed up for something of this magnitude is something only he knows.
Next summer will likely see a large offload and even more additions to the squad, which will hinder the coaching staff's ability to develop a "team" even more, and begs the question again as to why Boehly believed that someone with the skillset of Potter would be the right man for the start of his project, when someone with more experience at dealing with a squad like Chelsea's may have been a better option to start off with.
Where do they go next?
Boehly and the Chelsea board have two possible avenues in their next approach: let Potter go and find an alternative or the far more logical and practical approach of almost writing this season off and starting afresh next year.
Finding a new manager, in Chelsea's current circumstance, would be incredibly difficult. Potter's brief spell so far has highlighted the intensity and pressure of his position and the chances of anyone being willing and able to jump in are very low. The cost of paying his contract out at around £55 million would also cause a serious financial dent and have detrimental effects on the club's balance of spending.
The key thing with anything in football is time. Give Graham Potter time, and results will eventually start to come. Chelsea have signed up for a six-year project. But if his time at Brighton is anything to go by, Chelsea's future is in very safe hands. As Brighton fans preached game after game: Trust the Process.
