Graham Potter led first Chelsea training session on Friday despite postponement

By Nick Purewal, PA

Graham Potter led his first training session as Chelsea boss on Friday, despite the weekend’s Premier League postponements.

Chelsea, who had been due to visit Fulham on Saturday before football fixtures at all levels across the UK were postponed as a mark of respect to The Queen, are currently understood to be preparing as normal for Wednesday’s Champions League clash against RB Salzburg at Stamford Bridge.

Potter was confirmed as Chelsea’s first managerial appointment under new owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali on Thursday.

Chelsea Football Club is delighted to welcome Graham Potter as our new Head Coach! 🤝

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) September 8, 2022

The 47-year-old spent Thursday afternoon at Chelsea’s Cobham training base, meeting club staff.

Co-controlling owners Boehly and Eghbali addressed Chelsea staff, along with Potter on Thursday, as the Blues’ new era took another big step forward.

Potter met his Chelsea squad for the first time on Friday morning, before getting down to work on the training field.

Chelsea chairman Boehly regards Potter in similar mould to Andrew Friedman, the baseball boss his LA Dodgers headhunted to lead the California franchise.

Boehly and his fellow Dodgers owners saw Friedman as effectively learning all the tricks of an entrepreneurial trade in his overachieving stint at Tampa Bay Rays.

Boehly and Eghbali believe Potter developed that same kind of innovative spirit in maximising resources at Brighton, and believe the extra weapons in Chelsea’s arsenal could see him make a significant impact at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea’s new owners have already sunk their teeth into their long-term project to transform every aspect at the west London club.

Thomas Tuchel was sacked on Wednesday as the result of the new Blues bosses’ 100-day review of their embryonic ownership.

The Chelsea board felt Tuchel’s tenure had lost its way after the stunning start that had seen the German coach drive the Blues to the Champions League title in just 124 days at the Stamford Bridge helm.

Chelsea opened their Champions League account with a chastening 1-0 loss at Dinamo Zagreb on Tuesday night, but the decision to remove Tuchel had effectively already been taken.