PL Stories - Ep 34
Mar 22Potter: “Football cannot just be about how much money teams spend”
Brighton boss Graham Potter tells Michael Calvin's Football People podcast that football is about much more than what happens in the transfer market.
Brighton manager Graham Potter has insisted fans would fall out of love with football if money was the sole route to success.
The Seagulls boss inspired his shrewdly-assembled side to a historic victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford on the opening day of the season, winning the tactical battle against opposite number Erik ten Hag despite the opposition’s riches.
And Potter has made clear his belief that teams with lesser resources can find innovative ways to compete with the wealthiest clubs.
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“There are clubs out there that have spent a lot of money - we’re talking hundreds of millions - but haven’t quite got it right,” Potter said on Michael Calvin's Football People podcast, part of the new BT Sport Pods series.
“It can’t just be about how much money you spend. That would be quite depressing, and eventually people would fall out of love with football if that was the case.
“You always have to provide something beyond that for it to be of any interest or any importance. If it’s just a transaction, if it’s just about money, and everyone’s league table is determined by that, then clearly we’re not understanding football.”
Potter, who guided Brighton to a best ever ninth-place finish in the Premier League last season, also highlighted the importance of attracting the right characters.
“Some clubs get the wrong people, the wrong environment, they don’t appreciate recruitment and aligning the resources with the academy. That can damage your starting XI and then you can burn through a lot of money.
“There are a lot of examples of clubs that spend money very wisely. We have to just stick to our own idea and make it better.”
You can hear the full interview with Potter on Michael Calvin's Football People, available to download now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other popular podcast platforms.
New episodes of the podcast will be released every Thursday as part of the new BT Sport Pods series, which also comprises five other podcasts: The Joe Cole Cast, The Premier League Storybook with Jake Humphrey, Currie Club: The Scottish Football Sessions, Rugby Stories, and James Richardson's Kings of Europe.
