Chelsea’s Todd Boehly may get more criticism for two controversial choices he made.
There has been no honeymoon period for Chelsea owner Todd Boehly as the American billionaire continues his steep learning curve in his first eleven months in English football as the club approaches the one-year anniversary of his historic takeover of the London side.
He has two tough choices to make before the summer transfer market opens, and any one might further damage his reputation with the club’s fanbase.
Following his £4.25 billion takeover of the club in May 2022 with equity firm Clearlake Capital, the 48-year-old has been criticized for his “trigger happy” approach to club ownership.
Frank Lampard’s Blues are 11th in the Premier League after spending £600 million on new players, and the club has already gone through four managers this season.
After a rough first season in which his harsh decision to fire Thomas Tuchel was widely criticized as premature and foolish, Boehly appears to be picking up the pieces and learning on the job.
After leading Chelsea to a second Champions League title only 16 months earlier, fan outrage was understandable when the German was fired.
The Blues owner apparently acted hastily in appointing Brighton coach Graham Potter, who despite his promise had never managed a club of Chelsea’s level before.
Boehly and his co-owner Behdad Eghbali decided to get rid of the Englishman after he had been in control for six months.
After appointing Bruno Saltor for one game before deciding the job was too stressful and Lampard, the club hero who has lost all four games in charge, neither proved to be a permanent replacement for Potter, therefore his next choice will be to identify Potter’s permanent successor.
Luis Enrique and Julian Nagelsmann, two coaches with high fan support and international renown, were eliminated from consideration after a “extensive” interview procedure with prospective managers.
Former Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino is the favorite to take over at Chelsea after Boehly was “struck” by the Argentine’s demeanor, however Vincent Kompany and Ange Postecoglu are also in the running for the position.
However, given Pochettino’s ties to the Spurs, this could lead to even more fan discontent.
Chelsea’s Todd Boehly may get more criticism for two controversial choices he made.