News about Graham Potter

MATT BARLOW: Not too long ago the Europa League felt like a booby prize. There was the Thursday-Sunday schedule and travel to unfamiliar, distant locations, combined with a lack of interest, weakened teams and distinctly sub-capacity crowds. There was not a lot of money to be made in the early rounds and sometimes clubs even lost money when it was the plain old UEFA Cup. But on Thursday night inside the Brighton Museum and Art Gallery, the competition seemed like the most exciting thing in the world. Chairman Tony Bloom rekindled the drama of Joao Pedro's late goal to secure Brighton top spot in Group B last season, while others recalled the pinch-yourself draw that promised games with Ajax, Marseille and AEK Athens.

Graham Potter has insisted that Moises Caicedo is proving his doubters wrong at Chelsea , after initially coming under fire for underwhelming performances and an immense £115million transfer fee. The former Blues manager worked with the Ecuadorian at Brighton , where the midfielder became well-known for dominant midfield displays in a free-flowing Seagulls side. His stock continued to rise once Potter made the switch to Stamford Bridge, helping the south coast outfit to sixth place, their highest ever finish. Caicedo's talent caught the eye of Chelsea last summer and he transferred to Mauricio Pochettino 's side for a hefty price tag but his performances dipped as the team struggled.

Ruud van Nistelrooy is a 5/2 favourite with Sky Bet to be the next Manchester United manager following Thomas Tuchel's appointment as England manager. Meanwhile, Tuchel's England predecessor Gareth Southgate has shortened from 5/1 to a 3/1 second-favourite be the next United boss. The shortening of his odds may come as somewhat of a surprise to fans and pundits alike - with Southgate announcing last week that he will not return to coaching within the next year. While Southgate has effectively ruled himself out of the running to become United manager - could the powers that be at Ineos table an offer that is too good to refuse? For those after outsiders - Michael Carrick, Kieran McKenna and Graham Potter round out the five favourites in the market - with the trio priced at 6/1, 8/1 and 9/1 respectively.

The FA's reasons for appointing Thomas Tuchel over Graham Potter as England's new permanent manager have been revealed. Tuchel's appointment was confirmed on Wednesday morning, as he becomes England's third foreign manager after Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello. Picking the 51-year-old German over a homegrown option has caused some controversy, with some believing the England manager should always be English.

A shock contender has reportedly emerged for the Manchester United role should the club swing the axe on Erik ten Hag. The Dutchman has overseen United's worst-ever start to a Premier League season as they sit 14th with just eight points from seven games and are winless in their last five matches across all competitions. However, Ten Hag has avoided the sack after United's senior officials held a six-hour meeting at minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe's INEOS headquarters last Tuesday.

Ten's Hag's future remains in doubt amid a disastrous start to the season for the club, with United without a win in five games on the back of a 0-0 draw with Aston Villa last time out. Despite going three games without a goal too, Ten Hag continues to be backed by United executives after being chosen to stay on as manager last season after winning the FA Cup. The likes of Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter and current assistant Ruud van Nistelrooy have all been linked with the role, but the Dutchman will at least get a period after the international break to prove his worth.

CHRIS WHEELER AND NATHAN SALT: The inquests into Manchester United's latest setback under Erik ten Hag had already begun when the manager gathered his players together in the home dressing-room at Old Trafford on Sunday evening. Ten Hag could have been forgiven for tearing into his team after the defeat to Tottenham plunged him back into crisis and cast fresh doubt over his future at the club. However, Confidential understands that Ten Hag kept his cool despite admitting United's first-half performance had been awful after they came in at half-time one goal down and one man down following Bruno Fernandes' sending-off.

Graham Potter has revealed the one mistake he made during a miserable six-month spell as Chelsea boss in a rare appearance on TV. The Englishman was appointed Blues boss in September 2022 after a successful spell at Brighton which saw him take the Seagulls to ninth in the Premier League table - their highest finish in the competition at the time. Potter suffered a setback within his first month at Stamford Bridge, slipping to a humiliating 4-1 defeat against his old side, and the manager struggled to revive his perception among the fans. He was fired in April 2023 with several games left in the season. Over the last year or so, Potter has rarely been spotted in public but has still been linked to various jobs offering him a route back into football, including the England role.

The future of the manager's role at United remains unclear with Erik ten Hag under increasing pressure following his club's dismal 3-0 defeat by Tottenham on Sunday afternoon. Should the club look elsewhere, Potter would be one of the favourites for the job despite having been out of work for well over a year. After joining the Blues from Brighton in September 2022, Potter lasted a matter of months before losing his job in April the following year, but could now be ready to return to management.

Graham Potter has revealed he is 'open to anything' and described the role of England manager as a 'fantastic job' in a rare public appearance 18 months after he was sacked by Chelsea . The 49-year-old was appointed Blues boss in September 2022 after a successful spell at Brighton which saw him take the Seagulls to ninth in the Premier League table - their highest finish in the competition at the time. Potter suffered an early setback within his first month at Stamford Bridge, slipping to a humiliating 4-1 defeat against his old side, and the manager struggled to rescue his perception among the fans. He was fired in April with several games left in the season. Over the last year or so, the boss has rarely been spotted but there has been much speculation over a potential return to management and whether he is line to take the England job.

Potter, 49, was dismissed in March 2023 in the wake of a 2-0 home defeat by Aston Villa after less than seven months in charge at Stamford Bridge. The loss was his 11th in 31 games after he replaced Thomas Tuchel in the dugout on September 8. By the time of his departure, the Blues had dropped to a lowly 11th in the Premier League and fallen 12 points adrift of the Champions League places. The board had also given the green light for a transfer splurge of around £550million on new players in both the summer and winter transfer windows, leaving Potter with a bloated squad and little time to bed in his new arrivals. However, the coach, who has also admitted he is ready to return to management despite his bruising Chelsea stint, has taken responsibility for the poor results.

TOM COLLOMOSSE: If Leicester, with their relatively modest budget, could outmanoeuvre the Premier League's finest legal minds, then what chance did the governing body have against the financial might of the reigning champions? The first thing to say is that no two cases are the same. Just because Leicester have been able to escape punishment, it does not follow that the League will also be frustrated in their attempts to make the 115 charges against City stick.

CRAIG HOPE: Conversations have taken place with some contenders beyond interim Lee Carsley. My Mail Sport colleague Sami Mokbel reported on Wednesday that Howe is among the leading candidates, with Graham Potter, Pep Guardiola and Thomas Tuchel also mentioned. However, as of now, no representation has been made to Howe and the club. There is a feeling among some that the FA speaking to others beyond Carsley is more so them following a recruitment process, and that the current incumbent will get the job on a permanent basis.

SAMI MOKBEL: The Football Association have begun the process of discussing the permanent England head coach vacancy with external candidates. Current interim boss Lee Carsley is emerging as a strong contender to replace Gareth Southgate following his promotion from the Under-21s after making an impressive start to his temporary spell in charge. But Mail Sport understands that, as part of their process to appoint a new full-time boss, the FA have started sounding out candidates outside of the governing body's umbrella. The FA are refusing to comment on the process or identity of the candidates included in their search for Southgate's successor but Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe is understood to be a lead candidate.

Pressure has increased on the Dutchman on the back of his side's 3-0 defeat by Liverpool last Sunday, with the Red Devils losing two of their first three matches of the season. Ten Hag came close to losing his job in the summer, but United's new hierarchy opted to stick with him as manager of the team rather than making a change. The future remains unclear, however, despite public backing from CEO Omar Berrada, with fans still split with their opinions on his role.

The League Managers' Association has called for an end to the 'bias' in recruitment which it believes is fostering a lack of diversity among bosses in the English game. There are currently just two black managers out of the 92 clubs in the top four tiers of English football - Nuno Espirito Santo at Nottingham Forest and Darren Moore at Port Vale in League Two. LMA chief executive Richard Bevan insists clubs and governing bodies have to act quickly.

Erik ten Hag's new favourite answer when a journalist asks him a question he does not like is: 'I am sorry for you.' He was at it again on Sunday evening after his Manchester United side had been hammered 3-0 by a Liverpool team that was on a different level. Ten Hag, just for context, led United to their worst top flight finish for more than 30 years last season. He has started this campaign with two defeats in his first three games despite having blown more than £600m on new signings. This time, after he had been asked a fair question about the efficacy of his coaching methods, it was my Mail Sport colleague Ian Ladyman that Ten Hag said he pitied.

KIERAN GILL AT MOLINEUX: Enzo Maresca hailed 'special' Cole Palmer but admitted he was 'not happy' with Mykhailo Mudryk after Chelsea's mauling of Wolves with the 23-year-old Ukrainian the only loser among the victorious visitors. Mudryk was hooked at half-time for not meeting his manager's standards. It was 2-2 at the time of his substitution and with the help of his replacement Pedro Neto, they went on to win 6-2. Chelsea beat Arsenal to the signing of Mudryk in January 2023 in a deal worth up to £89million and Maresca is the latest manager to be tasked with unlocking his potential after his predecessors Graham Potter and Mauricio Pochettino struggled to do so.

INTERVIEW BY KIERAN GILL: You walk out of interviewing Jan Paul van Hecke at Brighton's training ground with the urge to phone your dad, just because you realise how lucky you are that you still can. This 24-year-old from the tiny Dutch town of Arnemuiden wishes he could. To talk football. To talk family. To talk anything. His father, Guus, died two years ago and it was crushing to lose that reassuring voice who regrettably missed seeing how his son became one of the Premier League's most reliable defensive lynchpins. 'He was my best friend,' Van Hecke says. 'When he was not there, it was hard. I was speaking to myself more. After a while, I found my way. In football, there's a lot of mental health, so you need to always speak with somebody. But when there's not really somebody?

JOE BERNSTEIN: Tens of thousands of Mail readers have voted over the summer to choose the greatest-ever player at every current Premier League club. Thank you to everyone who participated either through our online poll or by email. With the 2024-25 top-flight season beginning on Friday August 16, we are revealing all the winners this week.

The new England boss could be a foreign manager, after it emerged that the FA board had 'given approval' to expand the search beyond just English names. Gareth Southgate's departure came on the back of another European Championship final defeat, and the FA have pledged to take as long as necessary to find a successor with an interim option in place if required. The recruitment process is believed to involve finding a manager through interviews with diverse coaches, with a number of candidates already identified. Eddie Howe and Graham Potter appear to be the early favourites with under-21s boss Lee Carsley an option to take interim charge while football's governing body, led by Mark Bullingham and technical director John McDermott, ramp up the hunt. And now it seems that the search is set to widen further with the board approving the move towards interviewing foreign candidates, The Guardian reports.

Kieran McKenna has emerged as a shock contender to replace Gareth Southgate as England manager, according to reports. The Three Lions are on the hunt for a new first team manager in eight years after the resignation of Gareth Southgate, on the back of their Euro 2024 final defeat by Spain. Names such as Graham Potter, Eddie Howe and Lee Carsley have all been in the discussions as to who should succeed Southgate - but now McKenna joins that list. 

OLIVER HOLT: Because of its four-year cycle, it is the last of the great global sporting events to get back to normal after Covid. Our last Olympics was still wonderful because of its athletes and the feats they performed but it was scarred and compromised. Paris will draw a line under the pandemic for sport. This time, it will be a proper celebration of the greatest athletes in the world, a chance for them to compete in front of cheering, adoring, excited, tumultuous fans in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The freedom to acclaim the best of humanity's sporting endeavours has a price but as we prepare to glory in archery at Les Invalides, athletics at the Stade de France, beach volleyball in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, marathon events that race past the Tuileries Gardens and the Pantheon and tennis at the clay cathedral of Roland Garros, it feels as if life is about to be breathed back into the Olympics.

JACK GAUGHAN IN CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA: Manchester City's Rico Lewis has thrown his backing behind Lee Carsley replacing Gareth Southgate as England manager. Lewis, who has made five Under-21 appearances under Carsley, was given senior recognition by Southgate last season but then missed out on the European Championship squad. Carsley - up against the likes of Eddie Howe, Graham Potter and Mauricio Pochettino for the job - is a popular figure among England's younger contingent.