Happy April everyone. Spring is coming and we’re all feeling good…unless you happen to be Graham Potter or Brendan Rodgers. The managers of Chelsea and Leicester City were handed their walking papers this weekend. I’m Mike Goodman, this is the Golazo Starting XI, and I’m here to show you what comes next as the management carousel spins.
So, let’s get to the point:
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๐บ Football on Paramount+
All times US/East.
Monday April 3
๐ณ๐ฑ Series A: Empoli vs. Lecce, 12:30 p.m. โก๏ธ Paramount+
๐ณ๐ฑ Series A: Sassuolo vs. Turin, 2:45 p.m. โก๏ธ Paramount+
Tuesday April 4
๐ฎ๐น Coppa Italia semi-final: Juventus vs. Inter, 3 p.m. โก๏ธ Paramount+
๐บ Elsewhere…
All times US/East
Monday April 3
EPL: Everton vs. Tottenham, 3pm โก๏ธ USA Network
Tuesday April 4
EPL: Chelsea vs. Liverpool, 3pm โก๏ธ Peacock
Chelsea’s post-Potter dilemma
Graham Potter was officially appointed as Chelsea manager on 8 September 2022. He didn’t even make it to seven months …and that was with a World Cup break in the middle to boot. We were only six games into the Premier League season at the time of his appointment and Chelsea were a disappointing sixth, three points outside the top four, albeit with a worrying goal difference of -1. Things are a bit worse these days. They rank 11th, 12 points out of the top four, and any chance of salvaging anything from this lost season runs through the quarter-finals of the Champions League with a date against Real Madrid next week. It’s hard to argue that Potter deserved more time, but as James Benge writesthis is a big blow for Chelsea:
- Advantageous: “Less than seven months into what should have been a new era of ‘collaboration, innovation, teamwork, player development and commitment to excellence on and off the pitch’, Chelsea head coach Graham Potter has sacked in a humiliating defeat. for their property consortium. The words of Behdad Eghbali and Jose E. Feliciano could be remembered as if they always put Potter at the last minute. The manager for whom she and Todd Boehly were willing to fire Thomas Tuchel would always have been doomed by the reality that few coaches can deliver on such lofty promises.”
The decisions to hire and then fire Potter are, in a vacuum, both defensible. Potter was an exciting young manager, who at the time Chelsea hired him, had Brighton three points above the London mega club (they are currently five points ahead with two games to play). And while the man he replaced, Tuchel, had much more pedigree as a manager in the game’s top echelons, he was a holdover from the Roman Abramovich era. It is not uncommon, nor necessarily unwise, for a new owner to want to put his own man in charge. And, as it turns out, that man was not the right person for the job. You can’t be Chelsea and be 11th in the table. It doesn’t work that way for a club with lofty ambitious such. So, fair enough, until now.
The problem is that the approach to ownership is based on long-term movements. The much-discussed winter transfer strategy involved buying many young players and signing long, relatively cheap contracts. It’s a distinctly American approach. Potter seemed to be on board for that challenge, but it comes with a set of mismatched expectations. At Chelsea, the manager has to win now. But the affairs of winter, from Enzo Perez to Mykhailo Mudryk to Noni Madueke to Benoรฎt Badiashile and the rest, are designed to peak in three to five years. So, the next manager will either accept that unique challenge, or Chelsea will have to change their approach – for the third time in as many transfer windows. Anyway, it’s an extremely long question.
The lesson of the Graham Potter era is not a new one, but one that clubs generally need to emphasize over and over again. Long term plans are great. They are needed. You cannot win without them. But everyone has a long-term plan if they win, and the dilemma is what happens if you lose. Are you still sticking to the plan? Chelsea is about to figure out which way to go.
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Napoli suffers the biggest defeat of the season
Finally something went wrong for Napoli this season as they headed for their first Scudetto since the Maradona era. After being absolutely broken up by AC Milan, 4-0 at home, for the first time there are questions about this phenomenal Napoli squad. The loss wouldn’t be so worrying if Serie A were all that was at stake. After all, they still have a 16-point lead after 28 games. The problem is that Milan and Napoli will kick off next week for a quarter-final in the Champions League and Luciano Spaletti must be at least a little concerned that Milan could have his team’s number. Stefano Pioli turned his side back into a back-four in defense and the move worked to perfection, especially in the way freed up star winger Rafael Leao to do his thing. Here’s Francesco Porzio with more:
- Portius: AC Milan needed the best version of Rafael Leao to pull off this kind of performance against the best team in the Italian league. The Portuguese winger scored his second brace of the season and finally shined after a struggle when Stefano Pioli decided to change the tactical system in January. Leao struggled to adapt to the 3-4-2-1 and against Napoli he showed all his potential and skills, just when Pioli decided to go back to the four-man defense.”
And now let’s go to some links:
๐ Leo Messi is booed at PSG and it seems his time in France is drawing to a close, writes Jonathan Johnson.
๐ Both Arsenal and Manchester City kept rolling despite missing crucial stars, writes James Benge.
๐ With Rodgers out of Leicester City, Benge watches a wild relegation race in the Premier League.
๐ In the NWSL, the Houston Dash shone in a victory over the Chicago Red Starswrites Sandra Herrera.
๐ Thomas Tuchel made his debut with Bayern Munich in a dominant victory over Borussia Dortmund.
๐ Julian Alvarez of Manchester City has taken a big step to make up for Erling Haaland’s absence.
๐ Our Serie A crew was joined by none other than Gianfranco Zola in Napoli, who reminisced about the legendary Maradona.
๐ USWNT New World Cup Kits Dropped, and we have an infusion set to look forward to!
๐ House of Champions: Fabrizio Romano joins the show to talk about the future for Chelsea.
๐ Here we go! Romano has also kept you up to date with the latest news about Messi’s future.
๐ Attack third: NWSL week two recap as Sophia Smith becomes the youngest and fastest to 25 NWSL goals.
๐ And don’t forget, all your football needs – from NWSL to Champions League to Serie A and beyond – are available on Paramount+. ๐บ You can try a month for free with the code: NWSL2023.
๐ต Best bets
All odds courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook and all times US/Eastern. SportsLine has you covered with this weekend’s best bets.
- EPL: Everton vs. Tottenham, Monday, 3pm
๐ฐ THE CHOICE: Tottenham Hotspur (+118) — Despite all the chaos surrounding Tottenham Hotspur and manager Antonio Conte leaving the club, they are still fifth in the Premier League and Everton are still 18th. It’s hard to overlook getting a good price for Spurs, especially when you consider that Everton are in the middle of their own troubles as the Premier League investigates them for FFP offences. The Toffees have improved a lot under Sean Dyche but still expect a win from the Spurs here. - Coppa Italia: Juventus vs. Inter, Tuesday, 3 p.m
๐ฐ THE CHOICE: Juventus (+130) — Juventus have been on fire lately, winning their last five games and eight of their last nine. That stretch includes a 1-0 win away from home against the same Inter side they host in the first leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final. These are perhaps the most important games of the season for Juventus when you consider that the other semi-final consists of Fiorentina and Cremonese. This is Juventus’ best shot at a trophy. Inter, meanwhile, has a race in the top four to worry about and still lives in the Champions League.