Graham Potter’s search for answers continues as Chelsea lose again

We came, we saw, we ... got the participation trophy.

Then again, did anyone actually expect Chelsea to win? Regardless of how you might rate the job Graham Potter’s done so far, it didn’t seem like anyone actually expected Chelsea to win against Newcastle United at St James’. And so we didn’t.

Who says this fanbase can’t stand united?!

Unfortunately, it didn’t look like the players had the belief either. I’m not going to hazard a guess as to what Potter himself might have believed, but ahead of the trip, he said he was looking to keep learning from this game, and to keep trying do our best.

Let’s hope he learned something then, because our current “best” is far, far from good enough — and not just because of the results.

“I thought the first half was even, they started the second half better than us. We had to adjust a little bit and we did that [but] we had too many unforced errors to maintain any real good quality and pressure. Again, credit to Newcastle, they’re playing well, and they’re in a really good moment. You can see probably the difference in schedules of one game a week versus the intense period we’ve had.”

[...]

“It’s not nice to not get results. It’s as simple as that but I have to look at why that is and the situation that we’ve had to deal with. It hasn’t been straightforward at all. We’ve had a lot of games, a few injuries to key players, destabilised us, today again you see they’re missing.

“Just had a period that’s been incredibly challenging. You face four of the teams in the best moment in the Premier League in terms of the version of themselves and that can challenge you as well. As much as we can’t accept it, we have to deal with it and try to move forward.”

-Graham Potter; source: Football.London

Here’s to moving forward, or at least finding first gear.