Timing and luck: there is more to Graham Potter’s strife than a lack of passion

Brighton’s recent progress under Roberto De Zerbi emphasises the role other factors play in a manager’s success

He’s not good enough. He’s not cut out for this level. He can’t handle the club. He’s out of his depth. It is never hard to propose simple explanations for why things have gone wrong for managers. But football is rarely simple. Everything is contingent; very little is true in itself. There is no simple explanation for Graham Potter’s struggles at Chelsea.

And these are struggles, even before you consider expenditure in excess of half a billion pounds over the past year. Chelsea started the weekend as close to the relegation zone as the Champions League qualification places. They are averaging a goal a game. They haven’t beaten a top-half side this season. They haven’t won a domestic cup tie and trail Borussia Dortmund after one leg in the Champions League last 16. And yet before Sunday’s game against Tottenham, Potter’s job is apparently not under threat.

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