Graham Potter cannot return as Brighton head coach… can he?

Graham Potter return to Brighton? Five words which are enough to leave Albion fans spitting feathers. And yet if you believe the latest set of reports regarding who replaces Roberto De Zerbi as head coach, an idea which the club are apparently giving serious consideration.

To say Potter coming back to Brighton would be controversial is a slight understatement. The manner of his departure and his attitude when he was at the club still rankle Seagulls supporters over 18 months on from him slithering off to Chelsea in September 2022.

One of the best comments seen on Twitter regarding the return of Graham Potter from Brighton comes from the famous Jack Albion. Here is a man who survived a stabbing in Rome and yet is willing to set himself on fire outside the Amex if Potter succeeds De Zerbi.

(Just in case anyone with a sense of humour bypass at the club is reading this, Jack is not being entirely serious. Or at least I don’t think he is).

Yet longstanding Brighton fans going up in flames could be a very real possibility. According to Gary Jacob of The Times, Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna remains the Albion’s number one choice and they are willing to pay the reported £6 million in compensation required to secure his services.

But with Chelsea and potentially Manchester United also interested in McKenna, Brighton will turn to Potter if the Tractor Boys boss opts for Stamford Bridge or Old Trafford.

It is hard to imagine an appointment which would polarise Brighton fans and potentially turn the atmosphere at the Amex toxic more than a Graham Potter return.

Potter and Chelsea

In fairness to Glow Up Graham, not many people would have turned down a £12 million per year, five-year contract if offered to them. But it is the way he and Chelsea conducted themselves in the aftermath of his move to the Blues.

First, Potter gutted the Albion’s backroom staff. Fair enough taking his tried-and-trusted staff Billy Reid, Bjorn Hamberg and Kyle Macaulay. But he also tempted away Albion greats Bruno and Ben Roberts with the lure of cold, hard cash.

A month later and Chelsea conveniently came in for Brighton head of recruitment Paul Winstanley. The January 2023 transfer window then saw the Blues offer £55 million for Moises Caicedo just four months after Potter said the midfielder was worth £100 million.

Man who said Moises Caicedo was worth £100m bids £55m remains one of the most popular headlines ever run in 15 years of WAB.

The pillaging of course was not entirely down to Potter. Chelsea were a Frank Lampard and Mauricio Pochettino down the line by the time Caicedo eventually signed for £115 million.

Robert Sanchez made the familiar move the same summer. Winstanley’s replacement as head of recruitment, Sam Jewell, will follow suit.

“If I wanted a nice easy life, I’d have stayed at Brighton”

Worse than Potter and Chelsea wanting to take anything from the Amex not nailed down was the way Glow Up continued to take little digs at the Albion throughout his Stamford Bridge tenure.

You might have thought becoming a multimillionaire would be enough for him to forget about Brighton. But no. The hostile reaction to his departure should not as come as a surprise and yet it seemed to anger Potter, made even worse when Brighton humiliated Chelsea 4-1 at the Amex.

Potter initially claimed managing Chelsea was easy compared to Brighton because he was now working with high quality players. That came after the Blues won six and drew three of his first nine games in charge.

Defeat at the Amex was Potter’s first as Chelsea boss. Just one month later and things were already starting to go so wrong that Potter told the press he would have stayed at Brighton if he wanted a nice easy life.

Potter also threw his toys out of the pram with his comments after Brighton thrashed Chelsea: “I have nothing to say sorry for or apologise for, I did a good job, took over when they were fourth from bottom in the Premier League and were probably the third-worst team.”

“I hope for their sake, the next managers do as good a job and that’s brilliant for them.” No need to worry Graham, the next manager did as good a job.

Graham Potter and a Brighton history lesson

Brighton fans were no stranger of course to Potter taking aim. He had shown his thin skin during his time at the Amex, most notably with those history lesson comments as the Albion made it 10 games without a win in the autumn of 2021.

A handful of fans booed following a 0-0 draw with The Leeds United. Potter could have brushed it off, saying supporters are entitled to their opinion.

Instead, he fired back a jibe insinuating Brighton fans should be utterly grateful that he was doing miracle work in keeping the club in the Premier League.

It created a mountain out of a molehill and led to many column inches being dedicated to disgraceful Brighton supporters.

Some even cited boogate as the reason why Potter left for Chelsea. Micky Gray on talkSport said: “Remember when Brighton fans booed Graham Potter? Maybe that is in his mind. Be careful what you ask for!”

Earning £60 million over five years was probably more on Potter’s mind than 50 people moaning about a bore draw with Leeds when he decided to join Chelsea.

In any case, De Zerbi went onto make Potter’s history lesson look even sillier than it did when Glow Up made the comments.

Forget being thankful about 0-0 draws edging towards top flight survival. The fiery Italian instead dared the Albion to dream about rewriting the record books.

He of course did precisely that with a top six finish resulting in Brighton playing European football for the first time.

De Zerbi’s success also means that if Graham Potter did return to Brighton, the spectre of his history lesson would never be far behind.

You can imagine it already. “You love a history lesson, Graham… De Zerbi took us to sixth place… you have just lost 3-0 at home to Ipswich Town.”

The Albion have moved on from Potter

Beyond the animosity Potter would face from fans, there are footballing reasons as to why he should not succeed De Zerbi as Albion head coach.

The current Brighton squad is one with so much talent out wide. Kaoru Mitoma, Solly March, Simon Adingra, Ibrahim Osman, Valentin Barco, Pervis Estupinan, Tariq Lamptey.

Potter in his previous spell at Brighton appeared to have a phobia of wingers. Case in point – Estupinan and Mitoma only became regulars in 2022-23 after De Zerbi took charge.

Brighton looked terrible this season whenever De Zerbi played three at the back. Potter’s favoured formation is a back three.

Potter’s preferred tactics and style of play do not look well suited to this group. It could lead to him coming up with all kinds of whacky ideas, trying to cram players into his starting XI.

And three seasons of Ben White and Bernardo in midfield, Dale Stephens at right back and Alireza Jahanbakhsh as a false nine was enough to last a lifetime.

Reasons why Graham Potter should return to Brighton

In the interests of balance, we will cite some reasons as to why Graham Potter should return to Brighton. The main one seems to be that he knows the club and buys into its methods and recruitment policy.

Potter is never going to say in his post-match press conference that Tony Bloom should have signed two more midfielders or the board needs to learn lessons from this season.

Following the headstrong character that was De Zerbi, the brute honesty and the fireworks all that brought, a yes-man like Potter is the exact sort of drama-free appointment Bloom might feel he needs.

It took nearly a decade for the Albion owner to appoint another maverick after the Gus Poyet Experience. Safe pair of hands Oscar Garcia, Sami Hyypia, Chris Hughton and Potter all came between Poyet and De Zerbi.

Better the devil you know?

How Potter could win Brighton fans back over

If Graham Potter were to return as Brighton head coach, he would face a mammoth task winning Albion fans over. The only way to do so would be by winning football matches.

That in itself presents a problem. Potter’s track record is of a manager who needs time and patience to implement his ideas and deliver results. It is why Chelsea and their demand for instant success was never the right club for him.

It took two-and-a-half seasons of questionable results and performances for Potter to get it right last time at Brighton. He is the proud owner of club records for worst ever start to a top flight season and longest home run without a victory.

Brighton won just once at the Amex in the calendar year of 2020. There were 10 game winless streaks and sequences like six defeats in a row with no home goals scored for three months.

At almost any other club in England, such sequences have fans calling for the manager’s head. Not Brighton, making those history lesson comments particularly pathetic.

Many chairman would have ended up with an itchy finger. Not Bloom. Potter of course repaid that patience and faith by walking out after 13 good results at the first sign of a huge wad of cash.

With Potter so despised amongst huge swathes of the Brighton fan base, he would have to hit the ground running. History suggests he is not capable of that.

A slow start to 2024-25 and there would soon be hostility on the terraces, the likes of which we will not have seen since Hyypia oversaw a 2-0 defeat to Millwall in his final home game in charge.

Not to mention supporters setting fire to themselves. Graham Potter surely cannot return as Brighton head coach… can he?