"Justice" - Brighton and Chelsea fans react to the sacking of Graham Potter

The former Brighton manager was relived of his duties at Stamford Bridge on Sunday evening (April 2), following a 2-0 home defeat to Aston Villa – his eleventh defeat in 31 games in charge.

In a statement, co-controlling owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali said: "We have the highest degree of respect for Graham as a coach and as a person.

"He has always conducted himself with professionalism and integrity and we are all disappointed in this outcome."

Chelsea are currently 11th in the Premier League table, 12 points outside of the top four, and out of both domestic cups.

They face Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final on April 12 and host Liverpool in the Premier League on Tuesday.

The search for a new manager has already begun and former Brighton player and coach Bruno Saltor will take charge of the team on an interim basis.

Potter was named as Chelsea manager following the sacking of former head coach Thomas Tuchel on September 8.

The 47-year-old signed five-year deal that was worth £12 million per year, as owner Todd Boehly splashed out £21.5m to buy out his Brighton contract and bring him to the capital.

Potter was joined by former Albion assistant Billy Reid, as well as first-team coaches Bjorn Hamberg, Bruno and head of recruitment Kyle Macauley. Goalkeeping coach Ben Roberts also left the club to join Chelsea and later ex-Brighton employee Paul Winstanley was appointed as the club’s new transfers director.

Despite being acquitted with eight new signings in January, including Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez and Ukraine forward Mykhailo Mudryk, results have failed to pick up and Potter has paid the price.

A number of Brighton fans were overjoyed with the news of their former manager being sacked, having felt betrayed by his departure earlier in the campaign.

One fan wrote: “Potter was backed through 11 games without a win at Brighton. 6 defeats in a row. 2 wins in 18 for a club record worst start to a season. 14 home games without a win for another club record. He repaid that by walking out & asset stripping the club of its staff. Justice.”

Another said: “I think most Brighton fans have a similar viewpoint to you. Potter left in a very ungracious way. The atmosphere at the Chelsea game clearly showed that most fans were upset, angry or pissed off with him. Karma has now smacked him in the face. Good.”

Others were still angry at the fact that Potter took six other members of the Brighton staff with him to Chelsea, with one saying: “He didn’t have to gut our club on the way out and make disrespectful comments about us though.

“I don’t think anyone had a problem with him moving to a “bigger” club (tho Chelsea was a suspect choice), it was the way in which he went about it.”

Potter was hired as Chelsea manager having achieved Brighton’s highest-ever top flight finish the season prior (ninth).

Since being sacked, some fans are even questioning this achievement, pointing to the success of his replacement in the Amex Stadium hotseat, Roberto De Zerbi.

Since the Italian has taken over from Potter, the Seagulls have had more points (30) than the Blues (28).

One supporter wrote: "There's a misconception Graham Potter "laid the foundations" for Brighton. In reality, while he did help the team gel together and get them playing possession-based football, Brighton laid the foundations for him to succeed”

Another pointed out: “Graham Potter avoided relegation with Brighton twice. Then after some good recruitment by his team finished 9th. Then got the top job. If he wasn't passport protected he wouldn't have even gotten an interview after 9th once as his career highlight.”

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Some supporters were more sympathetic towards Potter following the news of his sacking.

One wrote: “I like Graham Potter, and hope he's OK and goes on to succeed somewhere supportive. However, the Chelsea saga is still very funny in the same way that Bissouma is. Does well at little old Brighton, jumps ship for the money and falls on his arse. We upgrade. That's funny.”

A second added: “Graham Potter was one of the best up-and-coming managers at Brighton. Everyone seemed to love him and Brighton. He was destined for success at the top level. Half a year later, his career has taken a huge hit. Football is cruel.”

A third said: “I'm convinced Graham Potter is still a great coach. He just didn't have the personality for a club like Chelsea. He had something special with Brighton, but "it is what it is." I'm sure he'll "take the positives" from the situation.”

Henry Winter, chief football writer for The Times, summed up the news by tweeting: “End of an error. Graham Potter sacked. Good coach but not elite level yet. Never looked or sounded like a Chelsea manager. Never won the fans over, not least because of some strange tactics and players out of position. Some sympathy as he wasn't bought a centre-forward.”