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‘He has a whole squad that would end up in the top six injured’: Joe Cole urges Chelsea fans to back Graham Potter after the Blues’ 2-1 defeat at Fulham as he insists that ‘the team It will be better for you to have gone through this difficult period’
- Chelsea lost 2-1 in their Premier League clash with Fulham on Thursday night
- Joao Félix was sent off in the game and will be banned for three games
- The Blues have now won once in their last eight games in all competitions.
- Joe Cole urged fans to ‘stick with’ Graham Potter despite club’s slump
Former Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole has urged fans to get behind manager Graham Potter after another disappointing result for the club.
The Blues lost 2-1 to Fulham on Thursday night after their new star striker Joao Felix was shown a red card on his debut after a poor tackle on Kenny Tete.
Felix will now be suspended for the next three games of his half-season loan spell, and Potter’s men have now won just once in their last eight games.
Chelsea lost 2-1 in their Premier League clash with Fulham on Thursday night
The Blues have now won just once in their last eight games in all competitions.
Joao Félix was sent off in his debut with the Blues and will be sanctioned with three games
Despite the obvious sadness, Cole felt it was vital Chelsea fans remained patient with the new manager, telling BT Sport: “He needs time.” We did see a bit of frustration from the fans that came in today, you just have to understand that there have been a lot of changes.
I think we’ve seen enough Chelsea sparks tonight. There is enough to believe that the results will change.
“The club had been so stable in its own unique way for the last 20 years in its own way, and then you come in and you’re changing things behind the scenes, changing recruiting, you have new owners.”
There were some complaints on the ground about the future of manager Graham Potter.
Potter’s reign started well as he followed up a draw in his first game in charge with five wins on the rebound, but things have gone downhill since a 4-1 defeat to his former club Brighton in October.
Cole also noted that Potter has had terrible luck with the club’s long injury list, which includes the likes of Raheem Sterling, N’Golo Kante, Edouard Mendy and Reece James.
‘That list of injured players, that’s a top team. He has an entire team out injured that would end comfortably in the top 6 of the Premier League. So you have to keep going,’ he said.
‘The fans should stay with him, they should stay with the players. There is a whole new generation of Chelsea fans who are not used to going so long without changing.
Joe Cole urged fans to ‘stick with’ Graham Potter despite club’s slump
“The coach and the team will be better for having gone through this difficult period. They have to move on.
Peter Crouch backed up his fellow pundit when he asked: ‘The manager is on a six-year deal, they want to build something but that doesn’t work if they sack him now, are the fans going to sit down and watch this?’
The fact that the Blues haven’t beaten their west London neighbors means they remain 10th in the Premier League.
They take on Crystal Palace on Sunday and are seriously in need of a season-boosting result.