Graham Potter’s first team at Chelsea was so big, following the ridiculous amount of January transfers, that they couldn’t all fit in the dressing room.
The end of Potter’s time at Stamford Bridge came on Sunday, after just seven months and 31 games at the helm of the team who’d reached two finals last season.
The final straw had come the previous day, when the Blues had been beaten 2-0 by Aston Villa, with fans once again slamming Mykhailo Mudryk.
His signing was one of many at the club back in the January transfer window, one of many transfers that really hasn’t worked this season.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been another of those incomings from last summer that hasn’t worked out, with the striker joining under Thomas Tuchel, only to see the German leave weeks later.
The striker is clearly desperate for a return to Barcelona, something the club have blocked so far, and was happy to see Potter leave, based on his social media activity.
And it seems the huge number of signings not gelling wasn’t the only issue with signing 16 players in a season, and it also the space at the club.
According to the Athletic, they ended with a squad of up to 40 players, depending on injuries, and it led to the dressing rooms not having enough room, and some having to get ready in the corridor at the Cobham training ground.
The media theatre inside the ground was also so packed for team meetings that some were left having to sit on the floor, whilst the manager spoke to them.
Aubameyang was one of many players rarely used. Image: Alamy
Every player in the squad believed they were good enough to be a member of the first team, making it difficult for Potter to drop any of them.
He didn’t send anyone to train with the reserves, leading to him having a huge number of players to work with, whenever everyone was fit.
The former Brighton boss ended up having an 11vs11 game in training, whilst on the neighbouring pitch a 9vs9 game was also going on, in order to have everyone involved.
Much like the end of Ralf Rangnick’s time at Manchester United last season, some of the players cruelly had nicknames for the manager.
The report claims that, behind his back, the 47-year-old was being referred to by some as ‘Harry’ or ‘Hogwarts,’ due to his surname.
With the situation the way it was, it’s no wonder he struggled to get the results to keep him in the job, and that very few of the players have publicly wished him well since.
