Thomas Tuchel presents Graham Potter with a challenge in more ways than one. He's a long way from becoming as popular with the fans or winning the Champions League like his predecessor, though, after only six months in command.
When supporters were permitted to reenter stadiums in the second half of 2021 to witness Tuchel's Chelsea, they had become a merciless machine. His remarks about building a team that fans would dread inspired spectators as well.
With a manager who had first been questioned, there was practically an instant bond. Many continued to support him up until his dismissal in September of last year, despite mounting signs that things weren't going well.
First off, Chelsea's 2022 wasn't only unsuccessful from the beginning of the new season. Tuchel's record had slowly been getting worse. His first 50 games and second 50 are chalk and cheese: it was a gradual decline.
The former Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain coach wasn't just let go for his poor run to the season, it went beyond that and came from a deteriorating relationship with the owners off the back of a hopeless and shambolic pre-season. Outside of unexpected and remarkable losses to Leeds and Southampton, Chelsea had been terrible.
The bad run effectively started in March 2022. From the point that Roman Abramovich put the club up for sale things started to turn. Given the nature of the test and emotional strain, that was understandable. It just meant that when Tuchel fell to an opening game defeat in the Champions League against Dinamo Zagreb, the internal state was worse than previously thought.
Now it's Potter's turn to get through the mess. In an eerie omen, Tuchel's last three games in charge were against West Ham, a defeat to Southampton and a 1-0 away European loss. Potter may be fearing the worst. His last three matches have now been against West Ham, a defeat to Southampton, with an away Champions League loss in the middle.
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