Graham Potter is highly regarded as one of the biggest upcoming coaches in the country, transforming Brighton & Hove Albion into an expansive outfit that is performing consistently in the Premier League. After a playing career spanning over 13 years in England, the Seagulls’ head coach hasn’t taken the most conventional route into coaching in The Premier League…

From Sweden to the south coast, Potter has received admiration from many, including none other than Pep Guardiola. We take a look at his pathway into coaching that has brought him to the greatest league in the world.

1992-2005: Playing Career

Potter’s playing career began at Birmingham City, which included a loan spell at Wycombe Wanderers. The former left-back then moved on to Stoke City where he spent 3 years at the club, before moving to the Premier League with Southampton. Potter was involved in the Saint’s infamous 6-3 win over Manchester United in 1996.

Loan spells at Northampton Town and Reading followed before signing to York City. Potter then spent time at Boston United, Shrewsbury Town (Loan) before finishing his career at Macclesfield Town.

2005-2010: Education & Futher Roles

Potter graduated from the Open University in 2005 with a degree in social sciences, with support and guidance from the Professional Footballer’s Association (PFA). He then went on to work at the University of Hull as their football development manager while taking a role as Ghana’s technical director for the 2007 Women’s World Cup.

Coaching opportunities began at university level, firstly as the assistant coach for England’s University squad, then a similar role at Leeds Metropolitan University. Potter completed a Master’s Degree in leadership and emotional intelligence during his time at Leeds.

2011-2018: Östersunds

In 2011, Potter started his managerial career in not the most conventional way for a British coach. He signed a deal with Swedish club Östersunds, who were playing in the fourth tier of Swedish football at the time. After a pre-season friendly with Swansea, Potter was recommended for the job by Swansea’s assistant and friend Graeme Jones to Östersunds Chairman Daniel Kindberg.

Potter’s aim was to turn a club that were still hurting after being relegated to the fourth tier, into a club where players enjoy playing and fans enjoy watching. He quickly achieved success, guided them to 2 successive promotions in his first 2 seasons in Scandanavia.

Potter signed on for another 3 years after the second promotion, and in October 2015, Östersunds secured promotion to the Allsvenskan (the top-flight league in Sweden) for the first time in their history.

Potter’s side were being lauded for their positive playing style and their ability to compete with a small budget compared to the rest of the teams in the league. In their debut season in the top-flight, Östersunds finished the season in 8^th place.

April 2017 brought silverware to Östersunds, with Potter guiding the club to the Svenska Cupen, the main cup competition in the country. This secured them a position in the Europa League qualifying rounds for the 2017-18 season.

Galatasary, Fola Esch, and PAOK were defeated in qualifying rounds to reach the group stage of the Europa League, a historic feat for the club. A 2_^nd placed group stage finish was achieved, which brought a tie against English powerhouse Arsenal in the last-32, which is where people started to recognise the magnificent job Englishman Potter has done in Sweden.

The 1^st leg saw Potter’s side lose 3-0 to the Gunners, putting Arsenal in a strong position for the 2^nd leg back at the Emirates. In what seemed to be a routine progression into the last-16, Potter’s side gave Arsenal a big scare early on. 2 goals within 2 minutes of each other put the Swedish club ahead inside 23 minutes and brought the deficit down to 1 goal. Although Arsenal went on to win the tie 4-2, Östersunds beat Wenger’s Arsenal at the Emirates and people began to take notice of the work Potter is doing.

2018-2019: Swansea City

Potter took the opportunity to manage in the UK and accepted the offer as Swansea City manager in 2018. His philosophy and style of play was a key factor for the Swansea board and saw him as the right man to get the Championship club back in the Premier League at the first attempt.

Swansea finished the season strongly but an inconsistent season saw them miss out on the play-offs, finishing the league campaign in 10^th place. Potter’s Swansea reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup where they hosted Manchester City. They lead the Premier League champions 2-0 after 30 minutes but eventually lost the game after a City comeback.

2019-Present: Brighton & Hove Albion

After interest early on from Brighton, Potter signed a three-year deal to become manager of the club for the start of the 2019-20 Premier League season. Brighton had enjoyed 2 years in the Premier League under Chris Hughton, where the aim was to avoid relegation. Potter was brought in to get the club to ‘kick-on’ and change the playing style of the Seagulls.

His first season saw the club reach their highest points tally in the Premier League (41) while achieving the highest number of goals (39). The club finished 15th, their joint-highest place with their first season in the Premier League.

Despite finishing a place lower the following season, Potter’s Brighton finished on 41 points for the second consecutive season, while setting new records for goals scored (40), goals conceded (46), goal difference (-6), and clean sheets (12).

Potter has since reached 100 games in the Premier League as Brighton manager and the club has started the 2021-22 season strong, consistently staying in the top half of the table.

His Story

Potter’s desire to succeed as a coach in football is shown with the decisions he has made in his career. He was keen even his playing days to further enhance his knowledge of the game which set him up for his experiences in education once his playing career came to an end.

Opportunities to manage in England were at a minimum back in 2011, but the decision to move to Sweden was not as easy as it sounds. The life-changing decision brought him success early on and eventually opened doors for him that weren’t there before.

After links with many top clubs including Manchester United, while still showing progression with Brighton, that is still plenty more chapters in the Graham Potter story.

Leeds United is one of the biggest clubs in the country and recently returned to England’s top-flight, where many regard them as “where they belong”. The Yorkshire club were promoted to the Premier League in 2020 after a 16-year absence.

In recent games, Marcelo Bielsa’s squad has been very depleted with key players out through injury and illness. Much has been mentioned with the average age of the Leeds United bench each game, with academy players stepping up for the weakened first team.

Awarded Category One status in 2020, the club has had a history of academy players developing and progressing to feature for the first team, as well as continuing their careers elsewhere. Leeds have won the FA Youth Cup in 1993 and 1997, and have recently won the U23 Professional Development League Division 2 in 2021.

We take a look at the graduates from the Leeds academy and where they are now and where they went and achieved in their careers.

Currently Academy Players in the First Team:

Kalvin Phillips

Kalvin Phillips is currently the poster boy for the Academy and a prime example of what can be achieved coming through the system. Nicknamed ‘The Yorkshire Pirlo’, he has been a key part of Leeds’ squad for the last few years and has been linked with many top clubs both in England and abroad.

Phillips has made over 200 appearances for Leeds and has gone on to represent England at senior level. He was a regular feature in the Three Lions run to the final of Euro 2020.

Jamie Shackleton

Shackleton has been a feature in the first team for the last few seasons and was handed his senior debut by Marcelo Bielsa in the second game of the 2018-19 season. He is a versatile player that can play in midfield and at right-back, with pace and technical ability to play in both positions.

The 22-year old has gone on to feature over 60 times for the first team and signed a four-year deal back in 2020 at the start of the Premier League season.

Pascal Struijk

Pascal Struijk signed for Leeds in 2018 after spending most of his youth career in Holland. With his contract running out at Ajax, Struijk joined the whites on trial before signing permanently. The Dutchman is a left-footed centre-back but has also been used as a holding midfielder by Bielsa.

He regularly featured in the U23 team that won the league in 2019. In December 2019, Struijk made his senior debut for Leeds and the following season saw him start in the first Premier League game of the season against Liverpool.

Joe Gelhardt

One of the latest academy graduates, Joe Gelhardt grabbed an opportunity handed to him after injuries to others created a pathway. The young striker spent the majority of his academy career at Wigan, signing for Leeds in August 2020 and spending a season in the U23s.

After making 19 appearances for Wigan, Gelhardt made his debut for Leeds in September 2021 and his Premier League debut a month later. The quick, energetic striker scored his first goal against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Other Academy Graduates

Sam Greenwood

Greenwood started his youth career at Sunderland before signing a scholarship at Arsenal. He joined Leeds in 2020 for a better pathway into first-team football and featured regularly for the U23s in the 2020-21 season. The striker made his first-team debut in January 2021 in the FA Cup. Greenwood made his Premier League debut against Arsenal in December 2021.

Charlie Cresswell

Charlie Cresswell has been at Leeds since the age of 10 and signed a professional contract in June 2019. The center-back has featured 4 times for the first team while also making his debut for England U21s in October 2020. Charlie’s dad Richard was also a former player and played 38 times for the whites.

Leo Hjelde

Like Gelhardt, Hjelde signed for the club after spending most of his youth career elsewhere. The defender spent time in his native Norway before signing for Celtic as a 15-year old. Hjelde joined Ross County on loan making 11 appearances, before signing for Leeds in August 2021 after not making a senior appearance for Celtic. He featured for the U23s regular then made his first-team debut in January 2022, starting alongside Cresswell in the FA Cup against West Ham.

Lewis Bate

Lewis Bate signed a professional contract for Leeds in July 2021 after being at Chelsea since he was 8-years old. The whites signed him for a reported fee of £1.5 million, where Bate saw an easier pathway for first-team opportunities. He made his first-team debut in the FA Cup in January 2022 and his Premier League debut the following week.

Notable Academy Graduates

In recent history, notable Leeds academy players include:

• James Milner: Scored on his senior debut, aged 16 years and 309 days. 61 England caps
• Aaron Lennon: Became the youngest player to play in the Premier League, aged 16 and 129 days. 21 England caps.
• Fabian Delph: Spent 8 years at the club from the age of 11 before joining Aston Villa. 20 England caps
• Jonathon Woodgate: Won the FA Youth Cup in 1997 before going on to make 142 senior appearances.
• Paul Robinson: Over 100 senior apperances for the club. 41 England caps

Leeds have had a history of players coming through the academy to either feature regularly for the club and/or go on to have successful careers at the top level. Leeds’ most successful team back in the 1960s/1970s also had many academy graduates in the team, including club legends Billy Bremner, Eddie Gray, and Jack Charlton (Leed’s highest appearance maker).

Bielsa has handed many debuts to academy players during his time at the club, so a pathway is clearly there to progress to the first team.

Who is D’Margio Wright-Phillips?

D’Margio Wright-Phillips is a 20-year old winger who currently plays for Stoke City and is mainly involved with the U23s. He is a young player whose family tree alone gives him great potential to exceed in the game.

D’Margio is the son of former Manchester City and Chelsea winger Shaun Wright-Phillips who made over 500 appearances in his career. Not only that, his Grandfather is Premier League legend and current BBC pundit Ian Wright.

The 20-year old made his professional debut in the FA Cup on 9^th January This made him the 3rd generation in his family to play professionally at senior level and in the FA Cup. He then went on to make his Championship debut the following week, earning man of the match.

Where Did His Football Career Begin?

D’Margio Wright-Phillips joined the youth setup at his Dad’s former club Manchester City in 2015. He started a scholarship with the club in 2018.

He featured regulalry for the U18s, playing a total of 42 games, scoring 8 and assisting 15 in the league and FA Youth Cup. He struggled to make a break in the U23 side, playing 2 league games and featured once in the EFL trophy (an U21 side).

Wright-Phillips moved on loan to Blackburn Rovers for the remainder of his 2^nd year as a scholar. He played 3 games for the U18s including 2 Youth Cup games and 1 game for the U23s. He helped Rovers reach the Semi-finals of the Youth Cup, scoring in the Quarter-final.

His Next Move?

In February 2021, the wide player signed a professional contract with Stoke City and joined the clubs U23 side. He scored on his debut for the U23s in a 2-1 win over Burnley in Premier League 2. Wright-Phillips got regular game-time for the rest of the season and finished with 11 apperances for the U23s, scoring 4 and assisting 3.

The following season followed the same pattern, and the 20-year old was rewarded with his senior debut in the FA Cup 3^rd Round, starting in a 2-0 win over Leyton Orient. Amongst the goalscorers in the win was Tyrese Campbell, the son of Kevin Campbell, a former teammate of Grandfather Wrighty.

Wright-Phillips made his Championship debut a week later, starting in a 2-0 win away to Hull City. He tormented the Hull defence all game and was awarded Man of the Match.

What’s Wright-Phillips’ Playing Style?

D’Margio is a bright attacking player who has similar traits to his Father. He can play in a number of different roles, most often used as a wide player, predominanlty on the right-side> Wright-Phillips can also play as a striker, which is where he made his senior debut as part of a front 2.

He enjoys being on the ball, looking to receive on the half-turnand cause chaos to opposition defenders, however also isn’t afraid of running in-behind and stretching defenders. The wide player is positive in 1v1 situations and end product is a key asset of his, roughly scoring or assisting every other game.

What’s Next?

D’Margio Wright-Phillips looks to keep progressing in the game and after making his professional debut, he will look to add to his senior appearances and break into the First Team.

It’s a strong possibility that he could one day follow both his Father and Grandfather’s footsteps and feature in the Premier League, the first time that 3 generations of a family will do so.