BOEHLY TELLS FANS: WE’LL FIGURE IT OUT
CO-OWNER SAYS ‘A LOT HAS BEEN LEARNED’ IN HIS FIRST YEAR AT CHELSEA AND VOWS TO BRING GOOD TIMES BACK
CHELSEA co-owner Todd Boehly has promised fans he will get it right and bring the good times back to Stamford Bridge.
Boehly says he and co-owners Clearlake Capital have learned a lot about the transfer market in their first year in football and insists they will turn Chelsea back into winners.
The Blues have endured one of the worst seasons in their history and are on course for their lowest Premier League finish, despite spending more than £600million on new players since Boehly and Clearlake took over last May.
Boehly has been criticised for his running of the club, but he remains optimistic about the future, as Chelsea close in on the appointment of Mauricio Pochettino as their new head coach.
Speaking at the Milken Institute conference, Boehly said: “Our view was that this is a long-term project and we are committed to the long-term.
“We very much believe that we are going to figure it out. We have got the best league in the world, we have got what I think is the top city in the world and we have got an unbelievable location in the top city in the world.
“There is 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.”
May 30 marks one year since the Boehly-Clearlake consortium took control of Chelsea following their takeover from Roman Abramovich.
Fans in the away end could be heard chanting for Abramovich during Tuesday’s 3-1 defeat at Arsenal, which left the Blues languishing in 12th place in the Premier League.
But Boehly is focused on what is set to be another big summer at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea are planning a mass player clear-out this summer to reduce the size of their bloated squad and ensure they continue to comply with Financial Fair Play rules.
They are also ready to invest heavily in the transfer market again, as they target a new striker, midfielder and goalkeeper. Boehly said: “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.”
Former Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain manager Pochettino is the strong favourite to take over at Stamford Bridge after impressing during talks.
Boehly and co-owner Behdad Eghbali are under pressure to make the right appointment after a chaotic first season.
The hope is that Pochettino can have a transformative effect on Chelsea, like he had on Spurs, turning them into title contenders and improving many of their young players.
Chelsea, who have lost all six matches under caretaker manager Frank Lampard, are next in action at Bournemouth on Saturday.