Porter is in Chelsea and is like a fish out of water

This article was compiled from: telegraph

BY OLIVER BROWN

原标题：Graham Potter was a fish out of water at Chelsea

You can imagine Abramovich enjoying the comfort of the subtropical sunset on any of his 16 yachts, smiling dismissively at the chaos that had swallowed away his former pride and joy. Whatever the reason for objecting to his habit of sacking Chelsea managers at will, as did Lord Hugher sacking a deceived young entrepreneur, he knows that the recent soap opera at Stamford Bridge (Chelsea brought Porter from Brighton to Chelsea for £21m and dumped him after seven months) would never happen during his tenure.

First, he believes any humiliation suffered by the team during Porter's short managerial career at Chelsea cannot be tolerated. A 4-1 defeat to Porter's old club Brighton last October? Lost 4-0 to Manchester City in January? Having lost 1-0 at home to Southampton, they should be familiar with their dysfunctional play, right? All of them behaved to the point where Abu could not tolerate it, so they would all be thrown out the window immediately.

Of course, it's more likely that he'll veto any proposal to hire Porter in the first place. Imagine his face when his cronies told him that appointing the man who had led Östersund to Swedish football's top flight and Brighton to ninth place in the Premier League would better achieve Chelsea's ambitious long-term goals. Both of Porter's previous experiences are laudable feats when put in their proper context. But these two experiences alone will not be enough to convince a militant oligarch to prove his ability to lead Chelsea to lasting success.

Abu is not the kind of person who is obsessed with appointments that are recognized only by a few. He hopes his manager will combine the Blues' iron-blooded with box office appeal, and even then he reserves the right to get them off quickly in an unseemly way. Scolari came here in 2008 as a World Cup-winning manager, but only stayed for seven months. Carlo Ancelotti led Chelsea to a double in 2010 but left a year later. Mourinho, who was at his peak in charge in 2005, was a charismatic leader who made an exception to name all members of his squad ahead of the second leg against Barca in the round of 16 of the Champions League and eventually won that match. But Abu fired him twice.

Against this backdrop, Porter has never had the arrogance necessary for a top team manager. Over time, the decision to trade Tuchel for a man once known in the industry as "The Hipsters 'Hero" became the most confusing decision the billionaire ever made. A lot of talk has been about Burleigh's big spend, whether it's spending £323 million on Chelsea and still failing to sign a major centre-forward, or imagining that the complex hierarchy of English football somehow helps host a North-South All-Star game, but he says the bet on Porter is the stupidest.

The signs that Porter are not suitable for Chelsea are clear. Porter found a head coach position that suited him, but his talent didn't bear fruit immediately. During his full season in charge of Swansea, Swansea failed to reach the Championship promotion play-offs. In his first Premier League season with Brighton, Brighton finished 16th. Ultimately, he has allowed the South Coast club to develop a stable, sustainable, data-driven operating model that can play its part. But in today's Chelsea, which is like a nest of poisonous snakes, time is a rare luxury.

At Brighton, he can polish jade like Caicedo, Mweb, and McAllister until they sparkle. But after moving to Chelsea, he had to integrate the distinctive but disparate elements of Enzo, Mudrick and Aubameyang into a complete whole within a few weeks. On the surface, it seems like a privilege to have a talented player like Enzo, who is probably Europe's most exciting (and certainly most expensive) young player. But behind all this, there's always a harsh and constant noise coming from people who think you're not fit for the job at all.

It's a pity that a very kind character like Potter was thrown into the wolves so quickly. Just because his players didn't score three points against Nottingham Forest, he and his family have received death threats, a football culture that's really disgusting. But Porter had to climb up the bottom of management's food chain to seize the opportunity. He doesn't need to be obedient in this extremely brutal industry. He heard early on about short-term success, especially at Chelsea, where the bored Abou even thought Carlo Ancelotti's 2011 Premier League runners-up finish was a failure.

Thus, Porter was the first victim of Burleigh's reign. Burley's takeover at Chelsea was supposed to mark a departure from the "chair-grabbing game" of the Abu era. But unlike the departures of Tuchel and Carlo Ancelotti, this parting was not based solely on results. Porter scored just 28 points in 22 games, making him officially the least successful coach of Chelsea's Premier League era. Considering the recent big investments, this is a rather poor return. In a way, this period will serve as a model for Burleigh's "tail-piercing" approach to football ownership. On the other hand, it will also be remembered as a head coach who came out of place in a world like a fish leaving water.

One hopes Potter won't be permanently harmed by the experience. After all, it took Moyes 10 years to heal the scars of his unfortunate managerial experience at Manchester United. Potter has always maintained his dignity, but it all goes too far and all happens too fast.

As for Chelsea, they can only blame themselves for a lack of due diligence. They thought they had found someone who could do wonders, and instead, thanks to the bizarre promise that "Porter had agreed to work with the club to facilitate a smooth transition," they ended up with an overpaid recruitment consultant.