Fulham v Chelsea

Fulham have their 4th London Derby out of their last 5 Premier League matches this Saturday at the Cottage @ 07:30 EDT on the USA Network. Chelsea arrive in a unique situation after they lost a midweek Champions League match in Croatia and subsequently returned without their manager. I'm not sure what this will mean for the on field performance, but Chelsea certainly have quality. This will be tough match for Fulham, but also an another opportunity for them to assert themselves as a tough opponent no matter the opposition. And given Chelsea's frailties, Fulham should have reasonable hope for taking all three points. The full week between matches should also have the team rested and ready. I wonder if we'll see some of the recent arrivals in the starting 11 and how much the injury to Robinson affects that.

 

I was shocked they pulled the trigger on Tuchel so soon in the season and I certainly don't seem Graham Potter as a step up. When he was at Swansea he couldn't even get the just relegated Swans to the playoffs finishing in 10th. Potter then had two "meh" seasons at Brighton (each only 5 points better than the season that got Hughton sacked) followed by a good season in 2021-22 and an excellent start to this season, but we are only six games in! Last season Brighton also had 13 points through their first six and then didn't win a match for another three months. In each of the seasons he's managed Brighton they have had the most draws in the league. He feels like a slightly more competent manager than Parker, but in a similar mold with generally uninspiring play. Maybe he's managed squads at Brighton that lacked skill (see my earlier comments on Maupay) and should have been relegated three times over, but I just don't get how he's worthy of the Chelsea position.

Anyway, it would be fun if Chelsea makes him manager in time for Saturday and Fulham beat Potter twice within two weeks. On second thought, if that does happen then Chelsea will probably have immediate buyer's remorse and decide they want Silva as their next manager. So maybe for Fulham's long term health a draw would be a better result.

 

We now have an official announcement: https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/article/welcome-to-chelsea-graham-potter. The article ends with: "Potter will take charge of the team immediately."

I wonder if part of the reason for the firing was that Tuchel had lost the buy-in from key players. There is no reason that Chelsea (or Liverpool, for that matter), with their personnel, should not be getting better results. Tuchel had certainly lost Pulisic. I don't think that Todd Boehly would consider him a key player at this point, but as the owner he can't miss what a Pulisic means for Chelsea commercially in the US market.

It would be nice to beat Potter twice at home in the same season.

 

I was planning to put a little money on this game, but with all the changes I don't know what to expect anymore. Probably safer I hold onto my cash.

 

This weekend's matches have been postponed out of respect for the passing of Queen Elizabeth II.
https://www.bbc.com/sport/62846756