By SABC Sport
12th January 2023
The team have struggled in the wake of being sold by Roman Abramovich, who brought unprecedented success during his nearly two decades in control, with a huge transfer outlay sanctioned by Boehly during the last six months yet to pay off.
Chelsea are 10th in the Premier League despite having spent nearly £350million since the American took control, with supporters singing the name of Abramovich and former head coach Thomas Tuchel during Sundays 4-0 defeat at Manchester City in the FA Cup third round.
I think this club was run in a certain way for 20 years, and really well, Potter said. I have the utmost respect for the previous ownership and what they achieved and what they did. Its fantastic.
But, unfortunately, theyre not here anymore. Youve lost all that leadership. Its a new ownership, everythings changed pretty quickly. If you look whats happened in the last six to 12 months, its an incredible amount thats happened. Sometimes that can manifest itself in different ways.
It would be disrespectful to say well, thats gone and well just pick it up. Weve got new staff, new structures, new people. Lots of things went and you have to try to build it up again. But, in the meantime, youve still got Chelsea, youve still got the demands and the expectations.
The reality of where the club is in terms of establishing itself as a well-run football club, functioning well in a really competitive environment, maybe were not quite there yet. In my head, thats quite easy for me to understand and get. But I know theres a lot of people that dont see it that way.
Chelsea confirmed their 13th first-team signing of Boehlys ownership on Wednesday with Portugal international Joao Felix signing on loan from Atletico Madrid, with Potter hopeful the forward will receive clearance in time to face Fulham on Thursday night.
The 23-year-old, who was crowned European footballs Golden Boy in 2019 before signing for Atletico from Benfica for £113m, will be required to make an immediate impact if Chelsea are to rekindle their faint hopes of qualifying for the Champions League.
The team are in the grip of an injury crisis, with nine players still unavailable for the trip to Fulham and last summers transfer intake still largely struggling to make an impact.
Change is challenging in any organisation, Potter said. Its not like theres some sort of coup gone on. This is what it is. We have to deal with the new now. We have to build things up again because things have changed, things have gone and things have left.
I think this is probably the hardest job in football. Because of the leadership change and because of the expectations and, rightly, where people see Chelsea. But I didnt think wed lose 10 first-team players. Thats just where were at.
The previous ownership, its fantastic what they achieved. But this is a new era, a new chapter. Yeah, were going through some pain, its difficult at the moment. I understand the frustration and I appreciate the support.