Many names have been rumoured for the vacant managerial position at Everton since Carlo Ancelotti’s departure after just one and a half season at the helm. With the likes of Nuno Espírito Santo, Ralf Rangnick, Paulo Fonseca, and Duncan Ferguson linked to the Everton job. Another name that has been touted for the Toffees job is that of former Östersunds FK and Swansea City manager, Graham Potter.
Potter was appointed as the head coach of Brighton & Hove Albion back in May 2019 where he signed a 4 year contract. In his debut season, he led the Seagulls to their highest points total and goals scored in the Premier League, his side collected 41 points and scored 39 goals in the process. His coaching is known for it’s progressive and unconventional methods. When he was in charge at Östersunds, he encouraged his players and staff to engage in community activities to take them out of their comfort zone. His sides tend to play possession-based attacking football.
When coaching icons like Pep Guardiola and Marcelo Bielsa praise someone, surely it means that the person mentioned isn’t an ordinary coach and that his work should be held in high regard. This is what Guardiola had to say about Potter after his Manchester City side beat the Seagulls 1-0 at the Etihad in January 2021
"We were in front of the best English manager right now, you have to be a top side to play that way. As a spectator, I like to watch these teams. I like watching Brighton play. I recognize it. (via Brighton & Hove Independent)"
Here are the 3 things Graham Potter can bring to Everton:
Working With What You’ve Got
Graham Potter isn’t one of those coaches that relies heavily on transfers to help ensure that his side play the football that he ideally wants them to play. Potter has been known to play the cards that he has been dealt with.
During his 7 year stint with the Swedish side Östersunds FK, he spent less than €1 Million and took them from the fourth tier of Swedish football to the top flight with a limited budget playing some beautiful football. Östersunds FK qualified for the 2017-18 Europa League under Graham Potter, making their first appearance in European competition since the club was founded back in 1996. Another remarkable achievement was the first major trophy win in 2017, lifting the Svenska Cupen, after defeating IFK Norrköping 4–1 in the final.
After spending more than £500m on transfers and not being able to establish a clear identity nor a winning formula, Graham Potter seems the ideal manager to take charge of this Everton side. Potter seems to know how to make full use of even the bit-part players at any club and is no stranger to giving youngsters a chance to feature prominently in his side.
Look at how important Ben White and Yves Bissouma were for his Brighton side this season, racking up the most minutes in the squad with White playing 3,191 minutes which is the highest in the squad and Bissouma playing a total of 3,111 minutes which is the 2nd highest in this Brighton team. It will be intriguing to see what Potter does with players like Jarrad Branthwaite, Anthony Gordon, Jonjoe Kenny and Niels Nkounkou come next season.
(stats via FBref)
Long Term Option
After Roberto Martinez was sacked back in 2016, no other manager has completed 2 whole seasons in the Everton dugout. Farhad Moshiri has been very generous when it comes to providing funds to the new manager to help them build their squad the way they want. This has led to different type of signings being made that vary with the philosophy of the coach during their tenure.
Ronald Koeman bought in the likes of Gylfi Sigurdsson, Yannick Bolasie, Morgan Schneiderlin, Ashley Williams and Sandro Ramírez. Sam Allardyce spent the funds to bring in Theo Walcott and Cenk Tosun. We can say that the signings mentioned above didn’t meet the expectations and became a liability for the next manager, costing the team millions in the wage bill.
Even though Marco Silva had a much better list of transfers made during his tenure with the likes of Lucas Digne, Yerry Mina and Richarlison coming in, he wasn’t able to implement his system properly at the Merseyside and grind out the desired results
If someone like Graham Potter comes in, the risk associated with his signings will be very less when compared to the previous managers at Everton. Potter’s track record has been very solid when it comes to signings, players such as Adam Webster, Leandro Trossard, Tariq Lamptey, Joël Veltman and Neal Maupay have played a significant role in his Brighton side and will only grow better with time.
If there is anyone who Moshiri should trust with his funds, Graham Potter is the man. The 43-year-old Solihull-born manager is a man that can lead a project forward with the right stability, something that Everton have been looking for desperately since the past few years. If Potter can build the foundation that he wants and sticks with the club for a couple of years, we can see him creating a successful legacy at the Merseyside.
Excellent Underlying Stats
According to the expected points (xPTS) of the 2020-21 season, Brighton should’ve finished 5th in the Premier League season. Unfortunately for Brighton, their strikers had a season to forget. Neal Maupay, Danny Welbeck and Aaron Connolly scored a combined total of 16 goals only. Maupay himself had an expected goals (xG) tally of 13 which he wasn’t able to match and merely scored 8 goals.
However, Brighton played some beautiful possession-based attacking football. Anyone who has seen Brighton play this season can tell that Potter is stamping his authority on this side with the way he wants his side to play football. Brighton as a team had an xG of 58.32 goals but unfortunately, they were only able to score 40. Their expected goals against (xGA) was a 39.91 but they conceded 46.
But despite the unfortunate circumstances, Potter’s second year in charge of the Seagulls finished with a record equalling points tally of 41 points, which they also achieved before in the 2019-20 season along with this, their 40 goals scored in the Premier League, 46 conceded, a –6 goal difference and the 12 clean sheets kept, all being new club record statistics for Brighton while playing in the Premier League.
Even at Swansea City, Potter’s team completed the most passes per 90 minutes in the Championship during the 2018-19 season. Everton fans have been longing to see their side play some good attacking football. Having endured the pragmatic coaching style of Carlo Ancelotti, Sam Allardyce and Ronald Koeman during their respective tenures.
Potter’s ideology can earn the right results while also playing some positive football. The stats don’t lie, even though the Premier League standings sometimes do. Potter is everything that Everton need in a coach.
Will Graham Potter become the next Everton manager?