Just as you think things can’t get any worse for Chelsea Football Club and its ludicrous Ownership, they have. According to reports, there is now a civil war between Co-Owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali.
While one side wants to become the powerhouse club Chelsea once was, the other is obsessed with selling for pure profit.
Issue 1: Pochettino and Manager Input
Embed from Getty Images2023-24 was a chaotic season for the Blue, yet they finished sixth under the Argentine.
However, things became ugly as Pochettino became frustrated with how the club was run, as he did not have a say in the Transfer Market.
According to The Independent, Pochettino was asked on his future following a 2-1 victory over Bournemouth on the final day of the Premier League season,.
His response was quite a fiery one.
“That is a question for the owners and the sporting director.” “For the history of Chelsea, it is hard to celebrate [finishing sixth],”
Pochettino: Independent
Thus, he ended up parting ways with Chelsea through mutual consent.
There is also the possibility that Enzo Maresca may go in the same direction if the Blues don’t get Champions League football and the Italian does not have a say in who he wants to buy or sell.
Issue 2: Selling Home-Grown Academy Players And Buying Too Many Players
Embed from Getty ImagesOver the past 20-30 years, Chelsea’s academy has produced some fine players like John Terry, Connor Gallagher, and Mason Mount.
But because of Egbhali’s pure-profit obsessiveness, they have had to sell their academy players because of FFP (Financial Fair Play).
When you overspend in the Transfer Window, you end up having to sell your academy prospects.
This means that your players, who have come from the grassroots, will not be able to fulfill their dream of playing for their boyhood club.
Although Mount was keen to join United, Gallagher’s departure was based on Paul Winstanley and Lawrence Stewart’s plan to create a squad with a midfield that did not include the England International.
Chelsea have spent £219.6 million this summer, and they’ve just got to stop buying players.
You can imagine that Maresca is having selection headaches every week, as he has never worked with so many players.
According to GiveMeSport, Chelsea is the top-ranked team in terms of squad size, with 41 players, along with Brighton.
Why are Manchester City and Arsenal currently the most established Premier League teams?
Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta are top-class managers, but their recruitment programme is much more organized than that of other clubs in the League.
And this is why they are the favourites for the Title this season.
Issue 3: Ownership Fight
Embed from Getty ImagesWhen you have more than one person running a football club, you ask for trouble.
One of them, being at least trying to make the club successful, has a fair case to put forward.
All fans want to see is success on the pitch, for which Boehly is trying to stake a claim, whereas Eghbali wants to do everything for pure profit.
Boehly wants a model similar to Fenway Sports Group, which oversees Liverpool.
Egbhali wants a day-to-day role with Stewart and Winstanley reporting directly to him.
So like FSG owns Liverpool and Boston Red Sox through its subsidiaries, perhaps Boehly feels that he needs to put more input into Chelsea than he does for his LA Sport franchises.
On the other hand, Clearlake is only interested in making a pure profit from buying and selling players.
This is why Blues fans would rather see Boehly put in charge, especially on the football side, as he has experience in the sporting industry.
Issue 4: Clarity Of Future
Embed from Getty ImagesWith this big war going on, the most concerning thing is how it affects the future, especially the manager and his players.
The main priority would be to focus on the football and to qualify for the Champions League, but if the club can stick to one person calling the shots (Preferably Boehly), we may see a brighter future for Chelsea,
What will be the outcome of this Civil War at Chelsea Football Club?
Find out on World In Sport.
#Chelsea #Boehly #Eghbali #Maresca #Gallagher