Claims have been made by one ESPN writer that Chelsea’s owners have turned a club into a ‘farm team’ in a big deep dive article today.
The article, posted on ESPN by Ryan O’Hanlon, is focusing on BlueCo and the fact that they are trying to build a multi-club model with Chelsea and Strasbourg. So far though, they only have those two clubs, but the writer believes BlueCo have turned Strasbourg into a farm team.
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Being a ‘farm team’ is basically exactly what it says on the tin. You are farming players for another team in the future. A feeder club is probably a more familiar term for football fans, and to me, it basically means the same thing.
I’m sure BlueCo would argue that actually, this is not the purpose of the model at all, but O’Hanlon believes otherwise.
The report.
Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali at Stamford Bridge. (Photo by Nick Potts/PA Images via Getty Images)
Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali at Stamford Bridge. (Photo by Nick Potts/PA Images via Getty Images)
O’Hanlon writes:
‘Rather than being an antidote to the inequality that’s plaguing the sport, Strasbourg are just another example of it. For all intents and purposes, Strasbourg has become Chelsea’s farm team.
‘What they’re [BlueCo] doing with their second club, though, does feel like a genuine innovation that will create a competitive advantage for Chelsea — at the cost of Strasbourg.’
A managerial farm too?
O’Hanlon continues:
‘Strasbourg can also serve as a managerial farm system, too. Their current manager, Liam Rosenior, is only 41 years old. BlueCo will get more information about his managerial abilities than anyone else they might eventually hire to manager Chelsea.
“We are a farm team,” Alexandre, a representative from Strasbourg’s four major supporters groups, told ESPN. (He asked that we don’t use his last name.) “We don’t want to be a farm team because we feel we have a very strong history, we have a very strong local tradition, and we feel that the decisions for Strasbourg should be taken for Strasbourg’s interest. That’s not the case.”
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