What is the Problem at Chelsea?

 What is the Problem at Chelsea?

    Chelsea FC has been a revolving door for managers for many years, but five managers in two years is excessive. It can be argued that some of those managers were not prepared to take on the juggernaut of expectations for a Champions League club with an astronomical budget, such as Graham Potter or Frank Lampard. However, Thomas Tuchel and Pochettino seemed to have the qualifications and support from fans for the job, yet they failed. To be fair, Tuchel led the club to their last Champions League cup and was thrown out with the dirty bathwater of the Abramovich era. 

    As a fan, I was really looking forward to seeing what Poch could do with a few seasons at the club. It took him five years to take Tottenham from the middle of the table to top contenders, so I expected no less for Chelsea. It appears as though Todd Boehly also hoped to give him another season after seeing the spark they've been missing during the club's five-game-winning streak to finish off the season. Pochettino's frustration with the Club's indecision about his future was evident at the final press conferences when he said, "it wouldn't be the end of the world" if Chelsea let him go. 

    Boehly had dinner with Poch after their victory against Bournemouth secured a sixth-place finish in the Premiere League. This made fans of Poch optimistic about his chances leading the club one more season. Shortly after, Behdad Eghbali of Clearlake Capital (who has been a lot more involved after the abysmal first season under Boehly's leadership) had dinner with Poch that led to his departure from the club. This is a bad look for the club because of the old saying, "a house that is divided cannot stand." The division at The Bridge has become evident which will likely deter solid managers from getting involved. 

The Solution

    There can only be one head chef in the kitchen who can unite the team under one vision and menu. As soon there are more people involved with their own agendas and values, dissension and disunity spread. That is why Chelsea was so successful under Roman Abramovich. He was the man in charge and the team had to unite under his vision for the club or they'd be gone. To make matters worse, they also have two Sporting Directors.  Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley were placed as Co-Sporting Directors which is a horrendous idea because they are going to have to agree on everything to get anything done. So, there are two owners wining and dining managers against each other and two sporting directors. 

    A manager is going to have to pick sides between the owners and sporting directors to buy, sell, or trade players. There are too many hands in the pot. They need to let go of control and put in ONE great Sporting Director who will work well with the manager to build a championship squad with a championship mentality. No other successful club is doing it the way Chelsea is doing it now. Sixth place was the best Chelsea could do despite the circumstances. Fans are upset that they let Poch when we were finally seeing the lads come together as a real threat. Our hope is that Chelsea ownership restructures their leadership to let a football wiz take the club to its former glory.