Chelsea are down in seventh in the table after suffering back-to-back Premier League defeats for the first time since December 2020.
Todd Boehly’s ruthlessness has come back to bite him (Image: GETTY)
Chelsea owner Todd Boehly surprised many when he sacked Thomas Tuchel just days after the summer transfer window closed. It was a summer in which he spent record sums backing the German head coach in the market and the decision is looking all too familiar for Blues fans from the managerial merry-go-round under Roman Abramovich. Questions were always going to be asked about how Chelsea would look under new ownership after Abramovich was forced to sell the club he had been in charge of since 2003.
Those questions were swiftly answered in the transfer market when Chelsea spent in excess of £250million. It was seemingly a huge sign of faith Boehly was placing in Tuchel to take Chelsea back to the top of the Premier League and challenge Manchester City.
But Tuchel soon lost his job following the 1-0 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb despite being just five points adrift of league leaders Arsenal. The decision caught many by surprise with noticeable similarities to Abramovich’s ruthlessness in regard to managers during his time as the club’s owner.
Tuchel, regarded as one of the world’s best managers, secured third place in the league last season and had the foundations of a team capable of building for the future. Instead, Boehly felt the need to change things with Graham Potter seen as the man best suited for the job.
Chelsea are divided on the future of manager Graham Potter as the under pressure coach enters a pivotal period
The Blues finally ended their long wait for a goal after going five games without scoring, with Wesley Fofana heading home from a Ben Chilwell corner on 52 minutes.
That proved to be enough for the west London club to clinch their first three points since January 15 – a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace – to ease the burden on Potter.
However, Boehly did not appear to be overly impressed with the team’s performance after catching the game on Saturday afternoon. And the American gave a blunt response when asked for his thoughts on their display when leaving the stadium.
Todd Boehly: Chelsea owner gave his verdict on the win against Leeds (Image: Twitter/Sky Sports)
A reporter for Sky Sports asked Boehly: “Did you enjoy that today?” to which the mega-rich owner replied: “It’s a result.”
It was far from a straightforward win for the hosts, however, as Leeds pressed for an equaliser and had several chances to level the score in the second half. But the victory will do wonders to their confidence ahead of their Champions League last-16 second-leg tie against Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday.
Boehly and his fellow co-owners Behdad Eghbali and Jose E. Feliciano have chosen to stick by Potter despite heavy opposition from the fanbase and calls for the former Brighton coach to be sacked.
Graham Potter: The Chelsea head coach got a much-needed win (Image: Getty)
Since taking over the club in May 2022, Boehly has spent close to £600million on revamping the club’s playing squad and senior management, but there are only glimpses that his heavy investment will bring positive changes to the club.
Potter was pleased with the response of his players after securing their first win in seven matches in all competitions to dampen the dissenting voices for now, praising the impact of goalscorer Fofana and Ben Chilwell.
“It is [massive]. Delighted for the players and supporters. We’ve had to suffer. It’s been a challenging period. I thought we played well in the first half and attacked well,” Potter said.
“We were a team who had something to lose so it was great character from the players, they cared and showed togetherness in the team. It gives us something to build on.”
source: www.express.co.uk
