24 May 2023 , 14:34
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Chelsea chairman Todd Boehly is set to significantly reduce the time he spends on running the club at the end of a season in which more than half a billion pounds was invested on new players only for the team to finish in the bottom half of the Premier League table
Boehly and a group also featuring the US-based Clearlake Capital investment fund will celebrate one year as owners of the Stamford Bridge club next week - but it has not turned out as planned.
After sacking Thomas Tuchel early in the season, the appointment of Graham Potter as head coach did not work out and their form has tailed off further with Frank Lampard in interim charge to ensure the club will finish in its lowest position for 29 years.
According to Bloomberg, Boehly had been spending about 50 per cent of his time focused on Chelsea but with key appointments behind the scenes in place he now plans to dedicate roughly 20 per cent to the club.
He had already stepped down as interim sporting director in January, with Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart hired for a joint-role that will decide recruitment.
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It had always been Boehly’s intention to delegate once the new ownership had settled into the role following their £2.5bn purchase of the club from Roman Abramovich last year.
In a recent private event at Stamford Bridge the LA Dodgers minority owner admitted “mistakes had been made”. Details of his remarks were leaked shortly after the event and he is not understood to have elaborated on which mistakes in particular.
Frank Lampard has not impressed as interim head coach. (Chelsea FC via Getty Images)Yet a number of missteps relating to the team’s performance are clear - beginning with falling out with Champions League winner Tuchel and hiring Potter to a five-year contract having paid £20m to Brighton so he could be hired.
The Lampard decision has similarly backfired, while doubts have quickly been raised around some of the signings made. In total, 16 players have arrived since last summer, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang among the most questionable as the club still went through the season without a dependable centre forward.
Decisions to sign players to long contracts of up to eight years, in order to spread the repayment of transfer fees and thereby satisfy financial fair play rules, may also complicate the club going forward.
A clearout of unwanted players is expected this summer, while Mauricio Pochettino is set to be announced as the club’s new head coach in the coming days.