The Art of Failing Upwards

After being fired by West Ham, Graham Potter’s managerial future at the top level seemed over. However, out of nowhere, the Swedish national team came calling.

Once again, another Premier League manager fails upward.

A few years ago, Potter promised to be the next English manager to truly take over the Prem. Even after his disastrous spell at Chelsea, some English fans still viewed him as the manager to replace Gareth Southgate for the English job.

Instead, the former Brighton manager continues to prove that his time with the Gulls may have been a fluke. Given that Brighton has remained a competent side since his departure and Potter’s lack of success, this is reinforced. With Sweden finishing another disastrous qualifying campaign, Potter’s appointment feels doomed.

One of the benefits of both coaching and playing in the Premier League lies in the constant opportunities it offers, thanks to the league’s prestige. Being part of the most powerful league gives anyone involved an aura of greatness. A feeling that exists in one exists in this reservoir to be tapped into, making plenty of teams invest in the league’s exports.

Should Potter fail with Sweden, which seems likely, it’s almost certain that some club will roll the dice with him.

Even as the years continue to pass from his time with Brighton, that brief success will cloud some team’s judgment. 

At the bottom of their group, Sweden has no hope of reaching the World Cup. Rather than bringing in a new manager to lead the country’s football revival, Potter fails upwards..

To be fair to the Englishman, his Brighton side electrified the Prem after promotion. After securing their spot in the top flight, the Gulls quickly became the best team outside the top six.

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Potter deserves some credit for playing a fun, exciting system that got the most out of a young, talented side. However, as time goes on, Brighton’s player evaluation system keeps the club running. No matter the manager, the club will keep finding future stars whose style meshes perfectly with the Prem.

When he arrived at Stamford Bridge, the expectations immediately skyrocketed. This was a club with new, aggressive ownership that expected a European spot at the bare minimum. Armed with players who cost more than the entire transfer fees doled out in his career, the pressure ramped up.

Unfortunately for the wunderkind, everything fell apart, as his style did not translate to Chelsea. The players he now employed were of a higher quality, and he kept misusing them. With performances waning, Todd Boehly didn’t even wait until the end of the season to fire Potter.

Placing all the blame on Potter for the mess at West Ham is wrong, but he’s not without guilt. He underestimated the mess at the club, refusing to change anything as his side fell apart. The team Potter assembled mirrored the broken nature of the manager and club. 

After having taken a break after his dismissal from Chelsea, it felt natural that Potter would wait once more for another opportunity.

Instead, Sweden gave him a lifeline for no real reason.

Playing or managing in the Prem yields constant opportunities, no matter the failures. From Junior Fripo to Potch, plenty of former Prem fixtures find cushy landing spots after flaming out.

Focusing on the managers, while Potch’s Premier League reputation eclipses that of the Englishman, his final few years with Spurs and PSG hurt his reputation. Failing with squads featuring Harry Kane and Lionel Messi should have impacted his future opportunities, but the USMNT didn’t care.

Potch is one of the higher-end outcomes of Prem managers who overshoot their skis. Every league that becomes the league de jour sees this pattern unfold.

Erik ten Hag feels like the most obvious example of the Prem’s prestige zone, given how badly his United tenure ended. Not only did he find a job relatively early, but it was to replace Xabi Alonso at  Bayer Leverkusen. To no one’s surprise, his brief stint ended in disaster, with the club looking to part ways almost immediately.

Another example is Ronald Koeman, a Dutchman whose tenures at both Everton and Southampton underwhelmed. His tenure left both clubs in poor states, but that didn’t stop the Dutch national team and Barcelona from bringing him in. While his current stint with the Dutch team continues to be relatively positive, Koeman’s time with Barcelona saw the club fail to break out of its slide.

With unrivaled financial prowess, the Premier League envelops all it touches with a sense of superiority. One that states that being a part of the Prem means that you have made it. Teams continue to fall for this fallacy, but if you’re a mid-manager, you have job options for the rest of your life.

Managers like Koeman and Potch keep finding new lives to extend their coaching careers. Like Potter, they seem to keep failing upwards, even as their results fade into the past.

Graham Potter’s appointment to the Sweden job makes no sense at any level, as the manager lacks the experience needed to rebuild the Swedish football program. However, that brief period of success with Brighton opened this door for him.

The sheen of prestige that comes with having managed in the Premier League continues to extend the careers of managers who have proven nothing.