Chelsea were condemned to a third-consecutive Premier League defeat by Newcastle on Saturday, placing further pressure on boss Graham Potter. The Blues head into the World Cup break a mammoth eight points outside the top four.
Potter must use the six-week suspension of domestic football to solve the many issues facing the west Londoners. Express Sport looks at four things the Chelsea head coach must do.
Summer signings to find form
It might be hard for Potter to get the best out of Chelsea’s £280m-worth of summer arrivals. After all, each of the seven signings were signed under Thomas Tuchel and were not Potter’s choices.
But the Chelsea boss needs those stars to begin performing. Raheem Sterling, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Kalidou Koulibaly and Marc Cucurella have all produced too many poor displays.
Those four were all signed to upgrade their respective positions, but they have failed to improve the Chelsea team.
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Settle on a consistent system
One of the most striking elements of Potter’s first two months is his tinkering with systems. One week, there will be a 4-3-3. The next there will be a 3-5-2. Another time, there will be a diamond midfield.
Potter’s success at Brighton was built upon a foundation of having two distinguished formations and a consistent starting 11.
But Potter is yet to stumble upon the best system for his players. That might be because the squad has been built by several different managers and Potter is yet to have a transfer window of his own. The changing system is having a negative impact on performance, though, and a consistent formation needs to be found.
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