Paul Merson admits he’s surprised to see Chelsea hiring Graham Potter as their manager to replace Thomas Tuchel, as someone like former Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane would have been a better fit.
The Blues sacked Thomas Tuchel yesterday, and it now looks like Potter will be leaving his role at Brighton to take over at Stamford Bridge, as per Fabrizio Romano wrote this morning in his CaughtOffside column, which also features further insight into where it went wrong for Tuchel under new owner Todd Boehly.
Responding to the news, former Arsenal star Merson questioned the decision to go for a project manager like Potter, as opposed to someone like Zidane, who would not require a major rebuild and would look to deliver success straight away.
The French tactician did great work in his time at Madrid, winning the Champions League three times, working with some of the biggest names and egos in world football, similar to the expensively-acquired signings at Stamford Bridge.
Writing in his column for Sky Sports, Merson said: “I like Potter. I think he is a good manager. Apart from Manchester City, the best team I saw at Stamford Bridge last season was Brighton. They were unbelievable. Potter makes teams better. He improves players.
“But is that the job at Chelsea? I think he could have got the Manchester United job. There are more youngsters at Manchester United and it needs a bit of rebuilding. What needs rebuilding at Chelsea? Every player is a £50m player.
“These are internationals with a million caps between them. You just have to look after them. You don’t have to teach them the game. It is horses for courses.
“Potter would find players and make them better. He is a project manager. Give him five years and he will rip it up. That is not Chelsea’s philosophy. Chelsea’s philosophy is to go out and buy the best players. I just do not see it at Chelsea. He could be out of a job in a year.
“The way Chelsea are, the way it is run, how long are you going to be in the job for? They won the Champions League last year. They lost two cup finals on penalties this year.”
He added: “For me, the only one who ticks the box is Zinedine Zidane. He is a legend. Nobody is questioning him. He was one of the best players in the world and he has managed Real Madrid. He has managed top-drawer players.
“He is not a manager who wants to be around for five years and build a project, he just wants it now. He is not going to build a team. He wants a team that is full of superstars already. People will listen to him.
“You cannot give it to Graham Potter for five years and tell him to build something. It is not that job. It is a Zinedine Zidane job. He would settle for two years. If he has not won anything by then he would be the first to say he is moving on.”