The mood among Chelsea supporters right now is not a positive one. On the pitch, the Blues are struggling and off of it, Todd Boehly’s long-term plan simply is not working.
When Boehly took over from Roman Abramovich in 2022, along with Clearlake, the American owners engineered a five-year plan. Signing young players, hoping they would develop into a title-winning side.
But we are now four years down the line, and Chelsea do not look as if they have made any strides in the right direction despite a whopping £1.5bn spent on signings. Who is to blame and what is going wrong?
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Well, Chelsea fans believe the Boehly approach is simply not working. Now, Joe Cole has delivered a rant on the issues at Chelsea ahead of what looks like an inevitable exit from the Champions League tonight.
Everything Joe Cole said about Todd Boehly and the Chelsea plan
Like Chelsea fans, Cole isn’t happy. The rant comes after Chelsea were fined £10.75m for payments made during the Abramovich era, and yet, fans are angry with Boehly, not the man he replaced.
Speaking on The Dressing Room podcast, Cole explained that the five-year plan Boehly promised simply is not working. He criticised the huge turnover of managers and Boehly’s failing to adapt to nuances.
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“The fans are not happy. Since the takeover, they’ve spent £1.5bn. They’ve posted massive losses. They are four years into a five-year plan. It looks like, barring a miracle, they will be out of the Champions League. We need to talk about the strategy, the plan and where the club is going.
“This model of buy young, develop, and put value on. I thought to myself it sounds like buy and sell. Buy loads of players at 21, they will come into their prime at 25, and the average age of a Premier League-winning side is 27. Logically, buy them at 21, 22 or 23,” Cole continued.
“Seven-year deals, average age, develop, by the time they are 27, but it seems too data-driven, structured, without the nuance of having senior players, how important that is, the culture, getting fans onside.”
“We’re coming up to the fourth year of the masterplan. For all of the chaos of Abramovich’s exit, the plan was always clear. Buy the best players, get the best managers, win every trophy. If they lose games, managers were gone, players were gone, and everyone knew what was going to happen.
Chelsea v Arsenal - UEFA Europa League Final
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“Clearlake have come in and gone, this is too structured, we’re going to try a new long-term plan. The first alarm bell to me is the number of managers sacked. That tells me that it isn’t long-term thinking; it can’t be. If it’s long-term, you stick with a manager.”
Cole is not happy with selling homegrown to fund the failing plan
Cole, like Chelsea fans, is hurting. Perhaps, because Chelsea lack the kind of player that fans can relate to. In the past, there has always been a Frank Lampard or a John Terry, players who bleed the blue of Chelsea.
Reece James is a rare example, but even now, James has been sidelined for the next two months with a hamstring injury. Chelsea lack identity, the ability to get close to their fans and that is down to Boehly.
Cole questioned the decision to sell homegrown players like Mason Mount, Tino Livramento, Lewis Hall, Marc Guehi and Conor Gallagher. Players that boast pure profit, and have helped fund a failing plan.
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“Cole Palmer at £40m has worked, Caicedo and Enzo were a lot of money but have worked. But there are lots that haven’t worked. There is a lot. [David] Fofana £10m, Koulibaly. £33m is high risk; it has to work.
“Players who have gone out the door, Hall and Livramento could be in the England squad. Mason Mount hasn’t worked at Man United but he was a legend at Chelsea. Marc Guehi, now he’s starting for England.
“Conor Gallagher, just to balance the books and make this long-term plan work, how long do you go down the road with this long-term plan before you go, we need to adjust. I feel like a broken record.”
For a player so closely connected with Chelsea to go on such a rant highlights the pain that supporters must feel. Especially, amid reports that some Chelsea board members think Liam Rosenior could go.
Ultimately, this is not working. Chelsea are no different to what they were when Boehly arrived, despite spending £1.5bn and selling their soul. It’s only downhill from here, unless something changes.
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