Who is most to blame for Chelsea's failure under Graham Potter?

Graham Potter’s less than seven month reign as Chelsea boss came to an end on Sunday, with the club’s co-controlling owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali losing patience following a 2-0 home defeat to Aston Villa.

Potter’s arrival from Brighton had been hailed by both Boehly and Eghbali when the English coach replaced Thomas Tuchel on a five-year deal.

The Chelsea owners praised Potter’s progressive football and innovative coaching with the Seagulls. The club had also highlighted Potter’s ability to develop ‘attacking and winning football’ and his tactical flexibility.

The promised vision failed to play out during Potter’s time at Stamford Bridge, with the 47-year-old leaving with the joint-lowest points-per-game return of any manager to take charge of over 20 games for Chelsea in the Premier League.

Potter left with the same ratio of 1.27 points per game to Glenn Hoddle, who was in charge between 1993 and 1996. His win percentage of 39 per cent was also the lowest of any permanent Chelsea boss this century.

Despite enjoying an unbeaten run of nine matches at the start of his tenure, which included six wins, Potter was unable to build momentum and coherent team at Chelsea.

The lingering question is how much of the blame does Potter take for Chelsea’s struggles this season, which has led to the Blues dropping into the bottom half of the table with just 10 games to go.

Potter’s team selections and Chelsea’s inability to find the back of the net on a regular basis have been pinned at his door.

There is also sympathy that Potter may have been handed an unmanageable situation by a new ownership group in Premier League, who destabilised his reign by approving a vast array of arrivals into the squad.

Sportsmail examines who carries the blame for Chelsea's failure to launch their new era.

Potter's failure to address Chelsea's dire home form

With boos ringing out at both half and full-time of Saturday's home defeat to Aston Villa, Potter's job looked increasingly under threat with the fanbase appearing to have completely turned on the manager.

The defeat had become the norm rather than an aberration under Potter, who oversaw just four wins in his 11 Premier League home matches in charge.

His four victories came against Wolves, Bournemouth, Crystal Palace and Leeds, with two coming by slim 1-0 margins against teams battling against the drop this season.

A toothless performance in a 1-0 home defeat to bottom of the table Southampton in February only highlighted Chelsea’s issues, while the Blues were also stung by a last minute equaliser by Everton in a 2-2 draw last month.

The draw may have proved a decisive moment in Potter’s tenure.

The Blues had appeared on course for four successive wins in all competitions which included their 2-0 win over Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League. The result ultimately proved the high point of Potter’s time at the club.

Potter proved unable to find a winning formula at Stamford Bridge and failed to find answers when the hosts were struggling in matches.

Their poor home form can only rest at his door. While the owners have given Potter more time than he would have had under the previous Chelsea regime, he has forced their hand by failing to deliver results to keep the fans on side with the perceived long-term project.

To blame: Potter

Chelsea's goalscoring blues

During his three seasons at Brighton, Potter's side had become well-known for their attractive play, but also their inability to convert the opportunities they created.

The question was whether Brighton's inability to take chances was down to a flaw in Potter's system or if higher quality players would turn expected goals into the real thing.

The trend continued for Potter at Chelsea, while Brighton have gone from strength to strength under his successor Roberto de Zerbi. Neither of which were a good look.

Chelsea have remarkably scored just 29 goals in their 28 matches this season. The record makes the Blues just the 13th highest scorers in the Premier League, with relegation threatened Leeds and Leicester having found the net more often.

While some of that came under Thomas Tuchel's tenure, Potter's 22 league matches in charge saw the Blues score just 21 goals. Chelsea are also underperforming their xG total of 38.80, but the figure still only ranks the club down in 11th place.

Potter oversaw a run of just one goal in five matches at one stage, with Liverpool, Fulham, Southampton and Tottenham all able to hold Potter's side at arms length in February and March.

The limp 2-0 defeat to Spurs was the last time Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang featured for the club in the Premier League, with the forward's seven minute cameo coming just after Spurs had doubled their lead.

While Aubameyang was signed for Tuchel, the Gabon striker was one of few proven goalscorers in the Chelsea squad. Potter's reluctance to use him may have been costly in the end with the likes of Kai Havertz having failed to convince in their search for goals.

Chelsea's hierarchy could face some blame as despite shelling out £600million on new players over the last two transfer windows, the club failed to invest in a proven number nine to convert chances into goals.

Other teams though have managed to cope without an established centre forward, so the fault lies mostly with Potter here for not finding a solution.

To blame: Potter

Potter proving he was the wrong fit for the job

Replacing the popular Thomas Tuchel was never going to be an easy task for Potter, with the German having led Chelsea to their second Champions League title.

While Tuchel remains one of the established elite level managers - shown by Bayern Munich's ruthless decision to sack Julian Naglesmann in favour of his fellow German - the jury was always going to be out as to whether Potter was up to the task of managing a Champions League level side at this stage.

Potter should face little criticism in jumping at the opportunity of one of the plump jobs in British football, particularly with few English coaches getting the chance to make the leap.

Whether his personality was the right fit for the job is another question. Potter had faced criticism for his measured response to Chelsea not being awarded a penalty in a draw at West Ham in February, with the 47-year-old responding by saying he wanted to act in the right way.

The suggestion from pundits was that Chelsea managers of the past, such as Jose Mourinho or Antonio Conte, would have reacted in a manner which could have helped their sides land on the right side of decisions in the future.

Potter's X-rated comment at a club event that 'we'll try and win the f***ing Champions League' appeared an attempt to live up to the expectations associated with a Chelsea manager.

A major talking point when Potter was appointed was whether he would be able to manage big egos, with previous Chelsea managers having been chewed up and spat out of the club.

Reports that the dressing room desired a stronger character seem to confirm that Potter failed in this aspect, further highlighted by Aubameyang's decision to like a post confirming Potter's departure.

Potter simply appeared the wrong fit for the job. The fault for that should also lie with those who appointed him in the first place, rather than Potter for acting in the manner he always has.

To blame: Potter/Ownership

Chelsea's squad destablished by Todd Boehly's spending

Potter enjoyed an settled environment at Brighton, but this was absolutely not the case at Chelsea.

While most teams attempt to add only one of two fresh faces in January, Chelsea's £323million outlay on new players in the window clearly did not help Potter.

The first team squad size swelled to 31 players following the arrivals, with only Jorginho departing.

With Potter having earned praise for his work on the training ground to improve players and establish a system, Sportsmail reported in February that he believed his work was being undermined by the bloated first team squad.

Potter reportedly had to leave players working in smaller groups than his typical training sessions, with the squad size forcing him to adapt his previously successful methods.

While the Blues may benefit long-term from the vast investment, Potter undoubtedly drew the short straw in having to bed in a host of new signings mid-season. The task of having to jettison members of the Champions League squad to make room for new arrivals was always likely to generate friction.

The failure from the club to move on the likes of Hakim Ziyech also left Potter with the task of having to reintegrate stars who had appeared to be heading for the Stamford Bridge exit.

To blame: Ownership

Defensive deficiencies

Chelsea were accused by pundits of schoolboy defending in the 2-0 loss to Aston Villa, with Ollie Watkins having been gifted an opportunity for the opener on Saturday.

Marc Cucurella's misjudgement allowed the England international to advance and lob the onrushing Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Cucurella himself has endured a difficult first season since moving from Brighton, but Chelsea fans questioned the wisdom of Potter playing the wing back and Reece James as two of his three centre backs for the match.

The decision came weeks after Chelsea had twice thrown away leads against Everton at home.

Potter had admitted after both matches his side had been guilty of giving up too many opportunities, which ultimately proved costly for his side.

The now former Chelsea coach may feel he was unfortunate to have lost James, Ben Chilwell and Thiago Silva to injuries during his time at the club, but an inability to forge an established defensive line only added to his woes.

To blame: Potter/Players