Hansi Flick’s ‘incognito’ visit to Chelsea went same way as Germany’s World Cup

The Graham Potter Trust The Process Experience continues to show no outward signs of actual process or progress, though he retains plenty of trust from the hierarchy. There’s not much doubt about that, despite our poor form now extending to just 2 wins from 11 in all competitions and 2 wins from 12 (11 points) in the league.

Needless to say, as the world’s greatest card-carrying Graham Potter fan, I’m absolutely delighted by all that. Ride or die, baby!

And it’s been mostly quiet on the media front, too, when it comes to Potter’s prospects, which is perhaps as good an indicator as any of just how long of a leash he’s getting as The Chosen One for Boehly & Co. Only the most speculative of sources, such as Fichajes in Spain, have managed to conjure up any rumors (Luis Enrique, anyone?), and we’ve also had some José Mourinho silliness make the rounds, because why not. Come on home, The Special Happy Rebuilding One.

But eagle-eyed observers spotted a certain Hansi Flick at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, looking positively enthralled by the 0-0 draw against Fulham, and speculation has rapidly ensued, at least on social media. (No such speculation ensued for Steve Holland however; sorry, Steve!) And Flick would certainly fit the bill for an Abramovich-era Chelsea appointment: his CV is almost immaculate (well, except for the 2022 World Cup), the treble with Bayern Münich in 2019-20 impressive even by Bayern standards. Add in a bit of education under Giovanni Trapattoni and a long tenure as Joachim Löw’s assistant, and it’s easy to see why his reputation is top-top.

But despite Germany’s failure to get out of the group stage at the World Cup, Flick doesn’t look to be going anywhere from the dream job for which he gave up his Bayern position. In fact, his visit to the Bridge was probably part of his own rebuilding attempt with the national team. Those visits to watch his players play in person were supposed to be “incognito”, precisely to avoid such drama, but clearly they succeeded at that about as well as Kai Havertz succeeded in finishing off his chances on Sunday Friday. Eyyyyyy...

Should’ve used that invisibility cloak like Potter! (The other one.)