Extrapolation Sport

Recent turbulence from the current ‘World Champions’, has unearthed a plethora of worrying battle wounds under their new ownership. Having made several unpopular managerial changes that displeased the Chelsea faithful, the consortium led by Todd Boehly has come under scrutiny in recent weeks.

Much skepticism has aroused in recent weeks of the whole ‘BlueCo’ blueprint and whether or not it is fit for purpose. Ongoing rumours of nepotism within the academy with frequent links of favoring employee’s of ‘Kinetic Academy’.

Calum McFarlane, recent interim manager at Chelsea leapfrogged other suitors for the head coach role over several suitable candidates like Hassan Sulaiman. Hassan had been a first in class recruit since 2008, where he started the Cobham revolution into what it is now. McFarlane’s background with Joe Shields, director of recruitment and talent at Chelsea is to note, a pattern that has become something of a hallmark under this ownership.

Neil Bath and Jim Fraser, the architects of one of world football’s most envied academy systems, generated close to £1 billion worth of homegrown talent. Clearlake got rid of them, convinced they could do better through Shields.

Paul Green oversaw the Women’s team win 6 titles in a row, they got rid of him too, and is yet to be replaced. Thomas Tuchel was rumoured to be sacked for not wanting to sign Cristiano Ronaldo before his blockbuster move to Manchester United in 2021. The list goes on.

Rosenior now stares down the barrel of a daunting task, fixing squad size issues, investigating internal leaks, ‘bomb squad’, reports pressure from the board under Maresca of playing certain players for profit, and most recently, a suspended sanction for illegal payments to agents and players under Abramovich.

On the pitch it is looking bleak, with Chelsea sitting sixth in the Premier League, suffering an embarrassing defeat to PSG. Rumours are milling that Liam Rosenior could be on his way out in the summer as they are looking less and less likely to qualify for the Champions League next season.

Off it, matters are arguably worse. Between 2011 and 2018, Chelsea Football Club made at least 36 secret payments totalling £47.5 million through offshore entities associated with Roman Abramovich.

The relative leniency of the punishment has been attributed in part to the fact that the payments were self-reported by the club. Whether or not that reflects goodwill or the complexities left behind by Abramovich, but it does not help BlueCo’s mission to repaint their damaged image. And in protest, Everton fans this Saturday at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, will let their outrage known at the difference in treatment between the clubs.

And now lays the giant, who loomed in the summer following their Club World Cup win, have quietly decided to peel away their gold sticker emblazoned on their chest this season. Underneath said sticker is a club searching desperately for identity, and an ownership that has yet to convincingly prove it knows how to build one.

The uncomfortable reality is that Chelsea’s issues are no longer a teething period. Three years deep in BlueCo’s £5.35 billion [£1.3b on players] venture, the ‘project’ excuse has worn thin. What remains is a disillusioned club that has spent more than almost any other club in football history under this ownership, with little to show for it. No clear identity. No settled manager. No understandable philosophy.

Roman’s Chelsea, for all its cut corners and moral implications at least knew its direction. BlueCo’s idea of treating one of the worlds largest football clubs as a portfolio asset and starts treating it like a sports club, the sticker will continue to peel off.

This summer will be defining, if Rosenior departs, it will be another managerial casualty under BlueCo and they will restart their mission to reshape their culture and identity. Liam would leave behind a squad that needs radical surgery, fringe players cut, natural leaders brought in, and quality in a number of positions that it is seriously lacking in. It can be done, but it will take patience from the Chelsea faithful, that understandably is wearing thin.