{"id":622359,"date":"2023-02-28T11:19:31","date_gmt":"2023-02-28T16:19:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/?p=622359"},"modified":"2023-02-28T11:19:31","modified_gmt":"2023-02-28T16:19:31","slug":"martin-keown-slams-graham-potter-and-chelsea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2023\/02\/28\/martin-keown-slams-graham-potter-and-chelsea\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018That Squad Is More Than Good Enough\u2019 \u2013 Former Arsenal Defender Slams Graham Potter and Chelsea"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Former <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2023\/02\/23\/jorginho-reason-leaving-chelsea-join-arsenal\/\" target=\"_self\">Arsenal<\/a> defender Martin Keown has slammed Graham Potter and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2023\/02\/24\/eni-aluko-victor-osimhen-chelsea\/\" target=\"_self\">Chelsea<\/a>, describing how the current crop of players is <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/talkSPORT\/status\/1630241347755032583\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u201cmore than good enough\u201d<\/a> to turn things around. Pressure on Potter is growing, with his team winning just two out of their last 15 league games and fans starting to turn against him.<\/p>\n<h2>Martin Keown Slams Chelsea and Graham Potter<\/h2>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\ud83d\ude20 &quot;That squad is more than good enough!&quot;<\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\ude2c &quot;They don&#39;t look like they can win a game.&quot;<\/p>\n<p>Martin Keown believes that it&#39;s down to Potter to find a solution for <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/CFC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#CFC<\/a>&#39;s poor performances. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/szlYarEfqo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/szlYarEfqo<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/talkSPORT\/status\/1630241347755032583?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">February 27, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>Keown on Chelsea: &#8216;It\u2019s Down to the Manager&#8217;<\/h3>\n<p>Speaking on <em>talkSPORT<\/em> on Monday, Keown said that the players currently at Chelsea are more than capable of winning games. He then went on to say that it was up to Potter to get the best out of the squad.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat squad is more than good enough to be winning games of football,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/talkSPORT\/status\/1630241347755032583\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Keown said<\/a>. \u201cYou look at the likes of [Raheem] Sterling in there, [Kai] Havertz, [Joao] Felix. They\u2019re international players. They\u2019re top players. It\u2019s down to the manager, he has to find a winning solution.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Read More: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2023\/02\/27\/chelsea-andrey-santos-vasco-da-gama\/\" target=\"_self\">\u2018Almost Done\u2019: Chelsea Closing in on Loan Move for 18-Year-Old \u2018Physical Beast\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think they have his backing, but it\u2019s time now to turn up and get results.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Fans Losing Patience With Potter<\/h3>\n<p>Keown is not the only one who has criticised Chelsea\u2019s performances lately. Fans have also been losing patience with Graham Potter in recent weeks.<br \/>\n<a id=\"gdN5akrTSoV-O-9xSWAqSg\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1247533626\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'gdN5akrTSoV-O-9xSWAqSg',sig:'zUNrskqpKpubFNlqUsjjZS_hBzt0LfehZid1_mBjmzo=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1247533626',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The tide really seemed to turn after his side lost 2-0 to <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2023\/02\/12\/tottenham-hotspur-rodrigo-bentancur-injury-blow\/\" target=\"_self\">Tottenham Hotspur<\/a>. Fans created <a href=\"https:\/\/www.change.org\/p\/graham-potter-to-be-sacked\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a petition<\/a> on Sunday after the game, demanding that Chelsea\u2019s owners sack Potter. At the time of writing, it has reached over 39,000 signatures.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Read More: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2023\/02\/27\/jude-bellingham-liverpool-top-target\/\" target=\"_self\">Fabrizio Romano: \u2018Fabulous\u2019 Midfield Talent Remains \u2018Top Target\u2019 for Liverpool<\/a><\/p>\n<p>It is not as if the criticism has been unwarranted either. Not only have Chelsea won just two out of their last 15 league games, but Potter&#8217;s side have only scored six goals in their last 12 matches. No Premier League side has scored fewer since the start of November.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">6 &#8211; Chelsea have scored six goals across their last 12 games in the Premier League; no side has scored fewer in the competition since the start of November. Chore. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/fKrdXiwyeR\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/fKrdXiwyeR<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/OptaJoe\/status\/1629867299183132673?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">February 26, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>Reece James Defends Potter<\/h3>\n<p>But despite criticism from fans and pundits like Keown, defender Reece James insisted after the Tottenham match that Chelsea players were still all behind the manager.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNothing happens overnight,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/beINSPORTS_EN\/status\/1629877573298835458\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">James told <em>beIN SPORTS<\/em><\/a>. \u201cWe don\u2019t just wake up tomorrow and we\u2019re out of the situation we\u2019re in, it\u2019s going to take weeks and months to get to where we\u2019re meant to be. We\u2019re all on the same page, we\u2019re sticking together and that\u2019s a big positive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Read More:\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2023\/02\/26\/manchester-united-player-ratings-carabou-cup-final\/\" target=\"_self\">Casemiro 9, Dalot 6: Manchester United Player Ratings vs Newcastle United in Carabou Cup Final Win<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cEveryone has seen how good of a manager he is. That showed when he was at Brighton and they were in and around top four. His ability is definitely not questionable.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s in a similar position to us players. We\u2019re the ones out there on the pitch performing, so just as much stick he gets the players are playing as well, we\u2019re in it together.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>&#8216;Make or Break&#8217;?<\/h3>\n<p>There have been conflicting reports regarding Potter&#8217;s future on Monday. <a href=\"https:\/\/theathletic.com\/4256308\/2023\/02\/27\/graham-potter-chelsea-vs-leeds\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>The Athletic <\/em>reported<\/a> that Potter was appointed by Chelsea\u2019s new owners with a long-term plan in mind and that they are not planning on sacking him just yet.<\/p>\n<p>However, other reports have indicated that Potter needs to turn things around soon. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/football\/2023\/02\/27\/graham-potter-faces-make-break-games-despite-backing-chelsea\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Matt Law and <em>The Telegraph<\/em><\/a> reported that while the owners want to continue to back Potter, there is a growing feeling that the next two games will be \u201cmake or break\u201d for the Englishman.<\/p>\n<p>After spending more than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skysports.com\/football\/news\/11668\/12799395\/enzo-fernandez-to-chelsea-blues-agree-premier-league-record-105m-transfer-deal-for-benfica-midfielder\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u00a3600 million<\/a> this season, Keown is right to suggest Chelsea\u2019s current squad is good enough to turn things around. But if they do not beat Leeds United and Borussia Dortmund in their next two games, Chelsea\u2019s owners might be forced to act.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown has slammed Graham Potter and Chelsea, describing how the current crop of players is \u201cmore than good enough\u201d to turn things around. Pressure on Potter is growing, with his team winning just two out of their last 15 league games and fans starting to turn against him. Martin Keown Slams [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4374,"featured_media":622377,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,11],"tags":[2024,3571],"class_list":["post-622359","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-premier-league","category-chelsea","tag-graham-potter","tag-reece-james"],"modified_by":"Jordan Hackett, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/622359","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4374"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=622359"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/622359\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/622377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=622359"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=622359"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=622359"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}