Maybe the penny is finally dropping with Todd Boehly that he can’t run Chelsea Football Club like an American sports franchise.
The new owner is consistently making a name for himself but it appears for all the wrong reasons.
Sacking Graham Potter with just a handful of games left of the 2022/23 season made little sense unless he did genuinely believe that Chelsea would have a better chance of beating Real Madrid with Frank Lampard at the helm.
Unfortunately for Boehly, Lampard has overseen four losses in a row, scoring only one goal in that time, and it’s the worst run of results for the Blues since 1993.
18 – Chelsea have lost four consecutive matches in all competitions for the first time since November 1993, while they’ve failed to score in 18+ different matches in a season for the first time since 1980-81 (21). Fall. pic.twitter.com/fa17NxpOFq
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) April 18, 2023
It’s not the only decision he appears to have had an error of judgment with either.
According to The Telegraph (subscription required), Boehly and Behdad Eghbali visited the dressing room after the most recent defeat against Real Madrid, and it wasn’t the first time they’d done so.
That’s a complete no no as far as former Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger, is concerned.
“No, I wouldn’t (allow that), that was always clear in my mind,” the Frenchman had said during punditry on beIN Sports, with his quotes published by The Telegraph.
“I always put that in my contract. The advice I give to young coaches when they make contracts, I say make what is important for you, put that clearly in your contract that you are the only one, nobody can buy a player without your agreement, nobody can interfere with the team, and you are solely responsible for managing the team.”
This apparent constant need to be the centre of attention is taking all of the focus away from the squad, but given how poorly they’ve been performing maybe that isn’t such a bad thing.
If he isn’t listening to those closest to him, then he’d do well to take in Wenger’s words.
With a new manager expected at some point this summer, there has to be a realisation that he be allowed to work as he sees fit, and not with the constant interruption of an owner that should know better.