Posted: 16:52, September 9, 2022 | Updated: 18:10, September 9, 2022
Graham Potter held his first training session as Chelsea manager on Friday, despite the weekend’s Premier League postponements. Chelsea, who were due to visit Fulham on Saturday before football at all levels across the UK was suspended as a mark of respect for Her Majesty the Queen, are understood to be preparing as normal for Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Red Bull Salzburg. at Stamford Bridge. Potter was confirmed as Chelsea’s first manager under new owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali on Thursday. Graham Potter (left) had his first Chelsea training session despite weekend postponements following the sacking of former manager Thomas Tuchel (right) Chelsea stars including Christian Pulisic and Denis Zakaria are pictured during a training session held at the club’s training ground in Cobham on Wednesday. The 47-year-old spent Thursday afternoon at Chelsea’s Cobham training ground, meeting staff at the club. Co-owners Boehly and Eghbali addressed the 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 to work on the training ground. Chelsea chairman Boehly sees Potter in a similar mold to Andrew Friedman, the LA Dodgers baseball boss he was chasing to lead the California franchise. Premier League postpones matches as a mark of respect for Queen Elizabeth II Boehly and his fellow Dodgers owners watched Friedman learn virtually all the tricks of the trade in his wildly successful tenure with the Tampa Bay Rays. Boehly and Eghbali believe Potter developed the same innovative spirit in maximizing resources at Brighton and believe the extra weapons in Chelsea’s arsenal could see him make a major impact at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea’s new owners have already sunk their teeth into their long-term project to transform every aspect of the west London club. Potter will lead Chelsea against Red Bull Salzburg in the Champions League on Wednesday Thomas Tuchel was sacked on Wednesday as a result of the new Blues bosses’ 100-day embryonic ownership review. The Chelsea board felt that Tuchel’s tenure had lost its way after a stunning start which had seen the German boss lead the Blues to the Champions League title in just 124 days at the helm at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea opened their Champions League campaign with an emphatic 1-0 defeat at Dinamo Zagreb on Tuesday night, but the decision to ax Tuchel was effectively already made.
