Todd Boehly says Chelsea’s board have ‘learned a lot’ in their first year of ownership (Reuters)
Todd Boehly is adamant that Chelsea’s hierarchy ‘are going to figure out’ how to recover from the club’s woeful season.
The 3-1 defeat to Arsenal on Tuesday evening was Frank Lampard’s sixth loss since he was brought in as caretaker manager, while Chelsea now face the prospect of recording their lowest points tally in Premier League history if they fail to register more than 10 points from their remaining five games.
Chelsea are expected to appoint Mauricio Pochettino as their next permanent manager at the end of the season but the club face another turbulent summer as several members of the squad need to be offloaded in order to meet Financial Fair Play regulations.
But Boehly insists Chelsea will get back on the right track and that the club’s board have ‘learned a lot’ during their first year of ownership.
‘Our view though was that this is a long-term project and we are committed to the long-term,’ Boehly said.
Chelsea have suffered six straight defeats during Frank Lampard’s short stint as caretaker manager (Action Images via Reuters)
‘We very much believe that we are going to figure it out. We’ve got the best league in the world, we’ve got what I think is the top city in the world and we’ve got an unbelievable location in the top city in the world.
‘There’s a market for top players in every country in the world and each one of those markets is different.
‘You have the Portuguese market, the French market, the English market so [you have] the ability to go to these markets. then of course you have to build a team, your coach is the conductor of the team.
‘There is a lot that we have learned about the different markets, the global aspect of it all. The fans are demanding. They want to win and we get that, we want to win.’
Chelsea face a huge squad clear-out this summer (EPA)
Meanwhile, Gary Neville has slammed Chelsea’s current situation and believes Boehly is solely responsible for the club’s current predicament.
‘It all comes from the top. It’s been chaotic, a mess since day one. Boehly has had a nightmare and misread this league. I’m sure he’ll learn quickly,’ Neville told Sky Sports.
‘What has happened this season is purely down to him. He needed to keep the footballing department together. He’s the non-footballing department.
‘You’re the owner. You’re not a player or a coach. You’ve got no experience in this league so stay where you are and allow the people to run the football club [who have done so] successfully over the last 10 years.
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‘Try and get a year out of them to learn the ropes and keep the stability and consistency of Chelsea.
‘Petr Cech left, Marina Granovskaia left, Thomas Tuchel was gone after a few games and all of a sudden you’re in complete turmoil.
‘Then they flipped it to a model giving players eight-year contracts to 22-year-olds!
‘When you start sacking groundsmen, physios, sports scientists, directors, managers, then you are throwing everyone under a bus saying, “it’s their fault not mine”.
‘Chelsea had a successful way of running the club. This is now what Boehly has created.
‘He created this mess. Like playing football manager, it’s been terrible.’
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‘Our view though was that this is a long-term project and we are committed to the long-term.’