21 April 2023 , 13:54
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Chelsea majority shareholder Todd Boehly has revealed at a private event the mistakes made in his first year at the club, with the Blues having endured a tough first season under his leadership.
US publication Bloomberg report that the LA Dodgers' owner was speaking at a private event at Stamford Bridge on Thursday and, while he admitted mistakes, he did not elaborate on the details. Boehly took over the club in a £4.25 billion ($5.3bn) deal last May and has since overseen a season which has taken the Blues from the Premier League top three last season into the bottom half, sitting in 11th place at present.
This week's event was supposed to have taken place in September, but was postponed due to the death of Queen Elizabeth II. It was around this time that Thomas Tuchel was sacked as manager, the first managerial change of a tumultuous spell for Boehly in charge of the West London club.
In that time, he has invested over £600 million in the playing squad, with three managers having failed so far to get the best from the playing staff at the club. Frank Lampard was brought in to replace Graham Potter earlier this month and has since lost all four matches during his interim tenure.
While he did not elaborate on the mistakes, sources state that Boehly took his chance to outline his vision for the future of the club, following criticism being put towards Boehly and the club's other investors by fans during last weekend's defeat to Brighton. After that match, Boehly is said to have entered the dressing room to deliver a speech to players, a move which did not go down well in the aftermath.
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The players have also expressed their frustration at a perceived lack of strategy, with experienced centre-back Thiago Silva speaking after Tuesday night's Champions League exit at the hands of Real Madrid. Silva explained that a range of factors had affected their season, choosing to focus on the size of the club's playing squad in particular.
Thiago Silva has been among those to speak out about the mistakes made by Chelsea this season (Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)"I think the first step has been made," Silva said. "An incorrect step, but it has been made. We can't be blaming the managers if we don't take responsibility. It's a hard period for the club, with a lot of indecision.
"Change of ownership, new players arriving – we had to increase the size of the changing room because it didn't fit the size of the squad. A positive point is that there are amazing players in the squad but on the other hand there are always players that are going to be unhappy.
"There is always going to be someone upset because not everyone can play. The manager can only pick 11 from a squad of 30-something – that's tough. Some can't make the squad, we signed eight in January, we need to stop and put a strategy in place otherwise next season we could make the same mistakes."