Chelsea owner Todd Boehly caused waves with his comments at Financial Times Business of Football Summit earlier this week. The American spoke on the club’s ownership dynamic, criticism from Chelsea fans, and what he feels is the most misunderstood of what is being referred to as the “Chelsea Project”.
The biggest takeaway from the comments in our opinion is that Boehly and the rest of Chelsea’s ownership are taking a long term approach to building the club back up. This is not some massive revelation as anyone who has been paying attention to their transfer policy and long term contracts, but it is something that needs to be remembered.
Boehly said, as quoted by Give Me Sport, about the club’s approach and strategy:
"The most misunderstood thing is we are thinking about measuring success in years. You have to think both short and long term. We are focused on the combination on both those things and seeking the best way to execute. It is a balancing act. You can't turn left and turn right every three minutes. That might be some of the advice we get if you really boil it down."Todd Boehly
In response to the fan criticism, Boehly wanted to remind fans that the new regime has only been at the club for 3 years come June which is not a lot of time according to him:
"We are just trying to execute a plan and recognize things aren't linear, and we are trending in the right direction. The trend is moving in the right direction and that's the thing that really matters. In June, it will be three years in charge. That's not a lot of time, especially when you get to 50, 60 or 70 years old in life. It's a whirlwind of activity and steep learning curve, but I think that's also a good thing."Todd Boehly
If we could sum up what Boehly is trying to convey is that things are moving in the right direction for the club and that he is asking for more patience from the fans. To be fair to Boehly, the club’s current position in the table of 7th is an improvement over their 12th placed finish in 2022-23 but is right in line with their 6th placed finish last year.
We could allow for more grace for the Boehly and co if the club do indeed finish in the top four or five and get back to higher level European football, but to say they are miles better than before would be an overstatement.
Chelsea fans are used to quick success especially after the way Roman Abramovich stormed into the Premier League, spent loads of money, and won a title in his second season in charge of the club after a second place finish in his first. The world that BlueCo are operating in is vastly different thanks to FFP and other financial considerations they have to take into account.
Running a football club as an individual businessman with seemingly endless pockets is not the same as running it as a consortium of venture capitalists that are as interested in profit as they are in winning. They are trying to balance the need for on-field success with keeping the club in the black and that is a tricky thing to manage.
One thing we can give the new ownership credit for is that they are sticking to their guns when it comes to their transfer policy and team-building approach. To use a term from baseball, something Boehly knows a lot about as part owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chelsea are committed to building their farm system with young talent.
Apart from the Academy which has churned out some incredible players, they also have RC Strasbourg which is almost like a minor league affiliate of the club that they can send players to in order to develop without the pressure of wearing Chelsea blue. The only problem with this approach is that it will take years before we know if it is a success.
Unlike spending massive amounts of money on established stars like Abramovich and Manchester City did 10 or so years ago, this is not a quick fix approach. There are some growing pains which Chelsea fans are currently feeling and the hope is we still get some silverware along the way to ease the suffering.
Every big club goes through ups and downs but Chelsea fans are used to still winning trophies even when the team is struggling in the Premier League. The club used to operate ruthlessly with managers and transfers but is now focused on a long term view which many fans have been calling for anyway.
Todd Boehly may not be the perfect owner to convey this message as Chelsea fans are still smarting over the forced sale by Abramovich, but he is the face of the club for better or worse. His call for patience is one we can understand and we hope supporters can too but it will soon come time for these plans to come to fruition and for winning football to come back to Stamford Bridge.