Before venturing into coaching, Potter played professionally for Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion and York City among other clubs, but it was in management where he truly shone.
Potter's progressive and unconventional coaching methods, combined with tactically flexible, attacking, possession-based football have seen him rise through the ranks of European football management.
While in Sweden he guided unfashionable Ostersund to successive promotions, a place in the Swedish top flight and the Swedish Cup in 2017.
His success led him back to the UK, where he impressed at both Swansea and Brighton, before landing one of the biggest jobs in football management at Chelsea.
But he lasted just seven months in West London, and was sacked in early April 2023 following Chelsea's 2-0 loss at home to Aston Villa, which saw them slip into the bottom half of the Premier League table.
He returned to management with West Ham in January 2025.
Potter made a name for himself in his first managerial venture at Swedish club Ostersund. He signed his first contract with the club in December 2010 and would go on to exceed all expectations.
Ostersund sat in the fourth tier of Swedish football when Potter arrived but within two years, he had achieved successive promotions.
A new three-year contract later, Potter had transformed Ostersund into one of the best teams in Swedish football, having guided them to promotion into the Swedish top flight in 2015.
It was at this point he became more well-known in his native England. In 2017, his side won the Svenska Cupen, which gave them a route into the following season's UEFA Europa League.
They progressed all the way to the round-of-32 stage, where they beat English giants Arsenal 2-1 at the Emirates, but lost to the Gunners 4-2 on aggregate.
Welcome to Emirates Stadium, @ofk_1996 👋 pic.twitter.com/RsdHPfGqJr
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) February 22, 2018
After seven years in Sweden, Potter moved from Ostersund to Championship side Swansea, signing a three-year deal on June 11, 2018. The Swans had recently been relegated to the second tier, with the Englishman admitting promotion was the aim.
Despite a 10th-place finish, Potter impressed in his first season. His side reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup where they faced Manchester City, falling 3-2 despite securing a two-goal first-half lead.
Swansea had ended the season strongly, just missing out on the play-offs. However, Potter wouldn't remain in Wales for much longer due to the departure of Chris Hughton at Brighton. Swansea initially rebuffed Brighton's approach, but Potter subsequently informed the Swans of his desire to leave.
Despite offering a new contract that would have made him one of the highest earning managers in the Championship, Potter was eventually granted permission to speak with Brighton and a compensation deal was agreed.
Potter signed a four-year contract with Brighton on May 20, 2019, and they beat Watford 3-0 in his managerial debut on August 10. His first Brighton home game was a 1-1 draw against West Ham a week later.
✍️ The club are delighted to announce the appointment of Graham Potter as the new head coach of the football club.
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) May 20, 2019
📲 Breaking news brought to you by @eToro #BHAFC 🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/rfRdm94Czn
In Potter's first season in the top flight, his Brighton side beat Spurs, Arsenal twice and Everton, as well as claiming crucial points against Chelsea. However, they exited from the FA Cup in the third round, losing to Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 at home.
The Englishman impressed in his first campaign in the Premier League, with his side finishing 15th, seven points from the drop. Brighton had picked up 41 points and scored 39 goals, both Premier League records for them. Fifteenth was also their joint-highest finish in the Premier League era.
His second Premier League season followed the same template as the first, with some strong results, but ultimately finishing in the bottom half of the table, this time in 16th. However, again they picked up 41 points, while 40 goals scored, 46 conceded, a goal difference of -6 and 12 clean sheets were all Premier League records for the club.
Highlights in this campaign were Brighton's 1-0 victory at Anfield against defending champions Liverpool, as well as a 1-0 defeat of Spurs at home. They also came back from 2-0 down to beat Manchester City 3-2 at the Amex.
Brighton’s stadium absolutely erupted when Dan Burn put them ahead against Manchester City 🎉
— Goal (@goal) May 19, 2021
Fans in stadiums 🥰pic.twitter.com/Wo6WEGp9XF
Potter led Brighton to their highest Premier League finish in the 2021/22 season, closing out the campaign in ninth after a 3-1 win over West Ham on the final day. They finished a point off Leicester City in eighth.
Despite the big-money sales of Yves Bissouma and Marc Cucurella over the summer, the Seagulls made another impressive start to the 2022/23 season.
After the first six matches, they sat in fourth place in the Premier League having won four and drawn one. Then Chelsea decided to sack Thomas Tuchel.
The London club moved quickly to bring in a new head coach, and in less than 48 hours Potter was named the new Chelsea manager on a five-year deal on September 8.
Potter was appointed in September taking over from Champions League-winning manager Tuchel, whose relationship with the owners soured after a difficult pre-season tour to the United States. Senior players later admitted it was the worst pre-season they had experienced.
The club paid £21.5m in compensation to Brighton in order to release Potter and his backroom staff, a record fee paid by an English club for a manager and second only to the figure stumped up by Bayern Munich in 2021 for Julian Nagelsmann.
There was a sincere belief amongst the owners that Potter could ultimately get the best out of the players and that he was a suitable long-term appointment.
The recent good performances of new signings Benoit Badiashile, Joao Felix and record-buy Enzo Fernandez suggested that faith might be well held.
Potter was unbeaten in his first nine games at Chelsea, but a 4-1 hammering by his former club, though, ended that run emphatically and started a downward spiral.
Potter had briefly looked to have revived his ailing tenure with three-consecutive wins before the international break, including victory against Borussia Dortmund that saw the side reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
However, he was sacked on Sunday, April 2 after a run of only three wins in 11 games in all competitions and following a 2-0 Premier League defeat at home to Aston Villa, which saw the Blues drop into the bottom half of the Premier League table.
During his 31 games in charge he won just 12 matches, drew eight and lost 11.
On January 9, 2025, Potter made his long awaited return to management with Premier League side West Ham.
Potter, who signed a two-and-a-half-year contract, replaced the sacked Julen Lopetegui who left the club after six months in charge.
West Ham were 14th in the Premier League when Potter took over - seven points above the and with just six league wins.
"It's a proud day to be head coach of this amazing club, big tradition, big history, big expectations, big challenge," Potter said.
"I'm really excited, it's a bit like Christmas – Christmas for the adults. Excited, not the best of sleeps last night just from excitement.
"I'm looking forward to meeting the players today, meeting our supporters and getting going.
"It's been 20 months of a good rest, a good break and you can imagine in that time you speak to lots of people. Lots of conversations with different owners and different directors," he added.
"But it was important that I chose the right option for me at the right time and as soon as I spoke to this club, it just felt right for me.
"It's an amazing club with a tremendous, loyal fanbase that is passionate, knowledgeable, knows their football and what they want. I think it's a good fit.
"My experience is that if you can build a team that is recognisable on the pitch, that the supporters identify with, are proud of and enjoy watching and you get that trust and connection between the players and the supporters, with everybody aligned, that's the key."
Graham Potter is married to wife Rachel, who ran a Pilates business in York. She introduced Pilates to Ostersund when her husband was offered the job there.
The couple have a son, Charlie, who was born in the UK but grew up in Sweden with his parents. They also have twins, Sam and Theo.
During lockdown, Potter had the opportunity to take a break from soccer and grieve for his parents, who he had lost the year before. He sees this period in his career as the most difficult of his life.
Graham Potter's net worth is believed to be £2million.
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