Todd Boehly Criticized For "Ridiculous" Decision To HIRE Graham Potter After Firing Him 206 Days Into Five-Year Contract
Ex-England defender Jamie Carragher and former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan both criticized Todd Boehly after Graham Potter was sacked on Sunday.
Potter was dismissed by Chelsea chairman Boehly just 206 days after he had been appointed as manager on a five-year contract.
Boehly has now fired two managers since taking over at Chelsea last year.
The American got rid of 2021 Champions League winner Thomas Tuchel in September.
After replacing Tuchel with Potter, Boehly described his new hire as: "An innovator in the Premier League who fits our vision for the club."
However, reacting to Potter's departure on radio station talkSPORT, Jordan suggested that Boehly had misread the room when he brought in the former Brighton boss.
Todd Boehly has fired two managers in his first year as Chelsea chairman
IMAGO/Sportimage/Paul Terry
"I do believe he wanted to defy conventional wisdom," said Jordan.
"He wanted to countermand the orthodoxy of Chelsea, which is: 'if it doesn't go right, he's gone.'
"Everybody knew from the outset that Potter was going to struggle.
"It was a strange appointment from the outset, just because it looked like Todd Boehly had got a progressive coach...
"[But] Chelsea are not a progressive football club. They're an instantaneous hit or there is a problem."
Jordan's words came after Carragher had blasted Boehly on Twitter.
Carragher appeared to accuse Boehly of hypocrisy, after the American had promised to rule with more patience than former owner Roman Abramovich, who fired 14 managers in less than 20 years.
"Todd said he would be different to Roman," wrote Carragher, followed by two laughing emojis.
"I feel for Graham Potter, but it was inevitable. You don't change Tuchel for Potter. Ridiculous decision to start with."
Boehly fired Tuchel less than a week after signing striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang based on his good relationship with the German.
In total, Chelsea spent more than £270 million on new players during Boehly's first transfer window at the club, before splashing out another £300m on signings for Potter in January.
Speaking on BBC Match of the Day 2 on Sunday, former England captain Alan Shearer scoffed: "Who on earth goes to a football club and pays over £20m to hire a manager and his staff, puts him on a five-year contract on £10m per year, gives him this ridiculous number of players, spending a stupid amount of money, and sacks him seven months later?"
