Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital took ownership of Chelsea in 2022 after buying the club from Roman Abramovich.
For a major British football club like Chelsea, success means trophies, complete dominance on the Premier League, in a chaotically successful way, even if you have to sack the manager to do it.
Since 2022 Chelsea have had eight managers under Boehly’s reign and have bought over 50 players in the same time.
So what do the fans make of this merry-go-round of managers and an endless stream of money on players?
Luke McClelland, 22, a lawyer and Chelsea fan said: “We have spent close to £2billion since our club was taken over by Clearlake Capital and Todd Boehly’s consortium.
“No major trophies and not a single finish in the top 3 since 2022 clearly demonstrates that money does not guarantee success.
“I don’t think anything guarantees it, in all honesty, but I do feel that you are much more likely to be successful by having a cohesive and aligned club structure with an efficient plan than you are simply by throwing money at any issue that may arise.”
Where the money was well spent
Chelsea, for most of the 20th century, has been a giant of British football, with its on-pitch success leading to 21 major trophies under Abramovich.
The Blues finished 10th this season after spending £289million on players such as Joao Pedro and Alejandro Garnacho.
The season was not all doom and gloom as following the Brazilain strikers big move to West London, he scored on his debut to help the club win the Club World Club.
This immediate impact helped win fans over as he also became the clubs top goal scorer in the same season.
The club has also paid Brighton £257million in three years with Joao Pedro becoming 14th player or staff member to be bought by the West London side with this not equating to success.
A trophy also came Chelsea’s way in the 2024/25 season with a UEFA Conference League win, which added to Chelsea’s full trophy cabinet, however in reality, was it enough?
Where the money didn’t guarantee success
Chelsea have had quality managers since the 2022 takeover with Thomas Tuchel, and Mauricio Pochettino, with Tuchel being the current England manager who at the time of writing are into semi finals of the World Cup.
So is it a case of bad recruitment of players or bad appointments of managers?
Romeo Lavia, Raheem Sterling and Mykahlo Mudryk who were bought for over 50million pounds each have either underperformed, sold, or had off-the-ball scandals, as with the latter.
Under Boehly, the Blues have bought very well respected players such as Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo and turned them into world class players who are the spine of team.
However, the same cannot be said for many of players who Boehlys managers have bought, who either hardly feature or are either sent out on loan or sold for a slight profit such as Carney Chuckwuemenka or Aaron Anselimo who were exciting prospects when bought but have been added to the extensive Chelsea loan list.
A mixture of a lack of trust in managers and a constant axing of managers lead to more appointments and more signings, paving the way for more instability and more picnic signings without a clear vision.
Chelsea have also spent the second-highest amount in England since 2022 and have majorly underperformed with the team not finishing higher than fourth in four seasons.
What is the solution for Chelsea going forward?
Chelsea are without European football this season and this would a great time for the club to reset and focus on one game a week, which allows Xabi Alonso enough time to embed his tactics into the players.
Luke argued Brighton has a successful model, stating that rather than spending solely on transfer fees, they have developed world-class scouting networks, recruitment models and data analytics departments to identify undervalued talent.
He added: “Brighton has demonstrated how effective recruitment can transform lesser-known players into Premier League quality.”
Perhaps this is the way forward, spend less money and focus on players who are lesser known and fit a system.
Who knows by the time Todd Boehly’s reign is over at Chelsea we may see the fruits of the spending, but at the moment, the fruits are yet to ripen and the success is yet to come.
Featured image credit: Zakarie Faibis via Wkimedia Commons
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