•Tottenham v Chelsea will be a crunch match for the Blue’s coach Graham Potter this weekend. His job at Stamford Bridge is undeniably under intense pressure.
•The 0-1 home defeat to bottom club Southampton was too much for many fans and boos and chanting protests forced the players off the pitch early at the end of the match.
Image: HANDOUT
Coach Graham Potter and his players attended an emergency Chelsea meeting at their Cobham training ground on Wednesday and talked with several of Chelsea’s hierarchy including the Sporting Director.
The owners did not attend. The aim of the meeting was to analyse how to turn things around for a club which is 11 points adrift of the top four.
Tottenham versus Chelsea will be a crunch match for Blue’s coach Graham Potter this weekend. His job at Stamford Bridge is undeniably under intense pressure.
The 0-1 home defeat to bottom club Southampton was too much for many fans and boos and chanting protests forced the players off the pitch early at the end of the match. Owner Todd Boehly says he is determined to back the manager he appointed last September and keeps pointing to the poor start Mikel Arteta endured at Arsenal and the dramatic turnaround to top the table.
It must also be remembered that Pep Guardiola only just qualified for the Champions League on the last day of the season when he first took over Manchester City. Like many of my colleagues, I think Potter has to be given more time because of the chaos currently surrounding the club with new owners, new staff and new players. Potter has to work with all that going on around him.
Ex-Real Madrid and former French international Zinedine Zidane's name keeps cropping up in the media but I can tell you that no conversations have been held yet and will only happen should Boehly finally give up on Potter.
Chelsea staff also point out that former sacked coach Thomas Tuchel left mainly because of his outspoken views about the direction the new owners were taking the club. He then admitted, after a pre-season defeat to Arsenal, his team was not ready for this current season. That is certainly not the way Potter behaves.
Despite being in a lower position now compared with Chelsea last season under Tuchel, Boehly still believes Potter can turn things around. Potter, for instance, listens to his assistants and the medical staff and never rushes players back into action after injury. He is cool, calm and thoughtful both on the line and in the dressing room.
Boehly recognises that with hundreds of millions spent on new players, it does take time to mould them into a balanced unit, especially when so many of them are stars of the game and all want to play every week. Potter, unlike Tuchel, does not rant and rave on the touchline and many fans think this is a lack of passion but I know that is not true.
The owners also recognise that with big names such as Antonio Rudiger,Timo Werner and Andreas Christensen leaving at the end of last season and many new faces arriving, it was always going to take time to rebuild successfully.
Potter’s job has not been made any easier because of the £345million spent in January, apart from the excellent holding midfield player Enzo Fernandez, they are all ball players who like to dribble with the ball, beating players but they are not creating enough movement as a team. They need to play together and not individuals all trying to win matches on their own.
Zinchenko must stop roaming
There is no doubt that Oleksandr Zinchenko is an excellent player and has strengthened Arsenal. However, after in-depth analysis, it is obvious that Oleksandr’s positioning is causing problems. Zinchenko likes to drift inside from his left back position and move forward. However, that is leaving Leandro Trossard and Grabriel Martinelli exposed an isolated.
His movement inside puts pressure on the winger playing in front of him and unbalances the left-hand side of Arsenal’s line-up leaving them vulnerable to a counter-attack. Bukayo Saka is having a fine season and this is helped by Ben White at right back who stays true to his position and backs up the mercurial winger. White frees up Saka to move forward and they know that any counter-attack will be met by White because he rarely moves out of position.
Radcliffe will not write off United £500million debt
The two serious bidders for Manchester United differ in ways which will dismay supporters. The Glazer brothers intend to sell the club (at the moment, but you can never be sure until contracts are signed) and intend to leave behind a £500million debt.
Al Thani’s Qatar-based group claim they will buy the club and clear it of all debt to guarantee future investment. However, Sir James Radcliffe is not making paying off the debt a part of his offer. This will influence the Glazers and United directors and put the Qatari bid in a better position to eventually win control of United if, as I said, the Glazers go through with the sale.
An interesting point: Radcliffe is trying to appeal to supporters as a local “Manchester boy” and a fan since childhood. He didn’t, however, mention that he holds a Chelsea season ticket!
Dortmund losing another key player
I felt sorry for Borussia Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl this week after he reflected on losing key players. Having failed to keep hold of Erling Haaland and Jadon Sancho, he is now resigned to losing Jude Bellingham at the end of the season.
Dortmund will fight to keep him but admit that might not be possible given the interest from Europe’s leading clubs including Liverpool who will battle Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City and United.
Kehl said: “Can you imagine the opportunities that would present themselves having those three players in my team.”
Buyers circle around Tottenham
I understand that Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy and owner Joe Lewis have been in discussion regarding offers for the club. They cannot decide whether to sell a minority share, the full club or remain in control.
Iranian-American billionaire Jahm Najafi and PSG’s owners in Qatar have voiced an interest in buying Tottenham, valued at £3.5billion. Spurs deny that a meeting took place between Levy place and Qatari Sport Investments, owners of Paris Saint-Germain despite reports in the media. Levy says that any talks would be exploratory but most are merely speculation. He added that he wants to remain as chairman regardless of what happens.
Tottenham coach Antonio Conte’s chief assistant, Cristian Stellini, said two days ago: “I am not expecting Antonio back for Tottenham against Chelsea but I expect he will be back the week after for Milan or Wolverhampton."
Rafa Benitez could replace Moyes
By the time you read this David Moyes might no longer be in charge of West Ham. Insiders have informed me that a loss to Nottingham Forest this weekend could force the directors of the club to appoint a new manager.
The main name in the frame for the job is our old friend and ex-Newcastle coach Rafa Benitez. Make no mistake, the directors do not want to lose Moyes given the Hammers' success last season but this season has been a different story. After a run of 11 games with only one win, they are third from bottom.
Mauricio Pochettino and Thomas Tuchel have both indicated they are not interested in the job but Rafa has said that, providing he is given a long-term deal, he would like to talk.
Javi Gracia takes over at Leeds
Leeds sit in a perilous second-from-bottom place in the league and are two points behind 17th-placed Bournemouth.
The club hope to have Gracia in the dugout on Saturday against Southampton in a bottom of the table contest. As I write this, however, Gracia still needs a work permit to allow him to start his new job. His instructions are simple: save Leeds from relegation.
He was not the first choice coach but Leeds were unable to secure the services of first-choice Rayo Vallecano manager Andoni Iraola since they would not buy out his contract. Leeds also failed to hire Feyenoord boss Arne Slot. If Leeds do not move up the table, this could be a short stay for the Spaniard and his contract, according to my sources, is 'flexible' which means he could be dismissed without the club paying him a large sum of money. I understand the contract is only until the end of the season when it will be reviewed based on results.
Newcastle return to the Black and Whites
Newcastle United have arranged to drop their new Saudi influenced white and green kit in favour of the famous traditional black and white stripes when they appear in the Carabao Cup on Sunday.
Fans were very unhappy with the new look and it attracted a lot of criticism linking the club to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund which had to be disproved before a takeover of the club was allowed by the Premier League. Players wore white tops, green shorts and green socks, none of which have ever played any part in Newcastle’s history. It is the first final for the club in nearly a quarter of a century and Eddie Howe’s team will meet Manchester United.
FSG to keep majority stake in Liverpool
I wrote several months ago that I doubted Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group were seriously going to sell a majority stake in the club despite reports that they intended to do so.
Despite appointing an investment bank to sound out potential buyers last November, owner John W. Henry said that it was to sound out potential investors and the group has no plans to sell their majority shareholding in the club. Henry said that FSG would probably not be in the UK forever but they are definitely not selling yet.
FSG bought Liverpool for£300million and in March 2021 sold 10% to Red Bird Capital Partners for £543million. The group is seeking investors to fund major changes to the team this summer which will be spearheaded by Jurgen Klopp.
Guardiola looking to the future
Manchester City are ready to open talks with World Cup star Julian Alvarez about a new contract despite his current deal not expiring until 2027.
Despite City facing financial investigations by the FA, the club say it is business as usual. 23 year-old Alvarez is already impressing Pep Guardiola after his £14million transfer last summer.
Guardiola is rebuilding with a younger squad and he is key to his plans. Both Ilkay Gundogan and Kyle Walker are 32 years-of age and will need to be replaced soon.
Nathan Ake, who celebrated his 28th birthday last week, is also due for a new deal and his wages will rise from £80k-a-week to £120k. He has become a vital player for Guardiola, operating in central defence and leftback, both very successfully.
Update on Cesar Azpilicueta
I checked on Chelsea club captain Cesar Azpilicueta this week after he was rushed to hospital following a head injury in the Blue’s defeat to Southampton.
The Spaniard had to receive oxygen and was stretchered off after suffering concussion but managed to wave to the crowd as he left the pitch. The 33-year-old was given various checks in hospital, left on Tuesday and went to watch Chelsea training at Cobham.
Under strict FA medical rules he will not be allowed to return to any form of training or matches for six days and is unlikely to be available until the match against Leeds on March 4.
Last laugh…
I had to laugh when I was told that following Bournemouth’s win over Wolves last Saturday, the players asked for a day off. Coach Gary O’Neil responded that one win was not enough and they had to win two in a row!