Full name Graham Stephen Potter Name Graham Potter 1992–1993 Birmingham City Education Open University | Years Team Height 1.85 m Place of birth Solihull, England Role Footballer Current team Ostersunds FK | |
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Date of birth (1975-05-20) 20 May 1975 (age 40) 1993 → Wycombe Wanderers (loan) | ||
Bonsai demo by graham potter
Graham Stephen Potter (born 20 May 1975) is an English former footballer who is head coach of Swedish Allsvenskan club Östersunds FK. In a 13-year playing career, he made 307 appearances in the Football League, mainly as a full back, and also played in the Premier League for Southampton. At international level, he was capped once for England at under-21 level. He took over at Östersund ahead of the 2011 season.
Contents
- Bonsai demo by graham potter
- Playing career
- Coaching career
- stersunds FK
- Career statistics
- Manager
- References
Playing career
Born in Solihull, Potter began his career as a trainee at Birmingham City. After a loan spell at Wycombe Wanderers, he moved on to Stoke City, then to Southampton, where he played in the 6–3 win over Manchester United in 1996. While a Southampton player, he was capped for England U21s in a European Championships qualifier against Moldova.
He joined West Bromwich Albion in 1997, and after three-and-a-half years, which included loan spells at Northampton Town and Reading, he signed for York City.
Potter moved from York City to Boston United in the summer of 2003. He joined Shrewsbury Town on loan in November 2003. In 2004, he moved on a free transfer to Macclesfield Town, where he finished his senior playing career.
Coaching career
With support from the Professional Footballers' Association, Potter graduated from the Open University in December 2005 with a degree in Social Sciences. He worked as a football development manager for the University of Hull and as assistant coach for the England Universities Squad, before joining Leeds Metropolitan University in a similar role; while at Leeds, he completed a master's in leadership and emotional intelligence.
Östersunds FK
In December 2010, Potter signed a three-year contract as coach of Östersunds FK, who were then playing in the fourth tier of Swedish football. In 2013, after two successive promotions, he prolonged his contract with the club for another three years. On 27 October 2015, Östersunds FK secured promotion to the Swedish top flight, Allsvenskan, for the first time in their history. On 13 April 2017 he won his first title as a manager when Östersund won the Swedish Cup. This granted the team a place in the second qualifying round of the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League where they defeated Galatasaray 3–1 on aggregate. In the third round they defeated Fola Esch 3–1 on aggregate and in the play-offs they knocked out PAOK (3–3 on aggregate with more away goals), thus securing a historic entry into the Europa League group stage.