Chelsea supporters criticise Todd Boehly as the situation deteriorates
It's not uncommon for disgruntled fans to vent their frustrations on football club chairs and owners, though it happens less frequently than jeers aimed at managers, teams, and specific players.
But even in the tumultuous recent history of events at Stamford Bridge, an owner making a comeback, as Chelsea's Todd Boehly looked to do after Saturday's 2-1 home loss to Brighton, is something of a departure. Even Ken Bates frequently vented his rage in his show notes.
Under Roman Abramovich's previous ownership, the directors' box at the Bridge was always a refuge of calm, with an occasional flicker of emotion across the Russian's typically impassive face during his early ownership years being as thrilling as it got. And there weren't many complaints thanks to the ongoing success his investment produced.
Fans were seen venting their annoyances over the parapet above Boehly's seat in the West Stand, above the owner's box, and he is obviously responding with them.
Fair enough, given that his consortium invested close to £5 billion, the American is probably just as disappointed in the team's play as the fans are.
The long-term strategy he had in mind when he spent £21 million (€ 23.5 million) to hire Graham Potter and his staff from Saturday's winners last autumn is in ruins, which must have hurt even more as Brighton outperformed his expensively assembled team with a team built on a relatively small budget and with the second-lowest wage bill in the Premier League.
A record must have been set in the transfer values of the eight players involved when interim head coach Frank Lampard attempted a desperate and ultimately unsuccessful quadruple substitution in the second half. The four players removed, Raheem Sterling, Enzo Fernandez, Christian Pulisic, and Wesley Fofana, alone cost £281.5 million.
However, it is undoubtedly far-fetched to argue that Boehly has grown weary of an investment that has rapidly gone bad.
Although he paid too much for the club, he undoubtedly had an eye on the profits from upcoming media deals and the potential revival of the European Super League in some form.
What will happen next, if Boehly is committed to the long run? The directors' box has a roof, right? Even though he has only coached three games, Lampard has a 100 percent losing record in his second tenure. But it would be wiser to hold out until Tuesday's home second leg of the tie, which Chelsea is behind Real Madrid by 2-0, and hope for a miracle that the former club hero was undoubtedly rehired to provide.
Lampard's next task will be to launch a rescue operation. He contests that his guys are not hungry. Instead, he aims to address their lack of confidence through one-on-one meetings, which, given the size of Chelsea's team, might take up the whole of the rest of the season.
Because the group has quality, some of it is young, and there have been some changes, confidence must be built, according to Lampard.
"Right now, talking to the players one-on-one has taken precedence over practising on the pitch. There have been more meetings and chats.
"At this point, we have to be pushing ourselves, but I'm not sure we are. No matter how we got here, it needs to be dealt with right away. Each conversation is unique. Every athlete requires confidence, but there are various routes to take.
"If you receive the ball when you are a yard short or unconfident, you may take your initial touch backward, and these actions may appear to be motivated by hunger or passion. However, I don't feel that. I'll support the guys who are eager to succeed for Chelsea. With Brighton, getting there required a lot of effort over time. They have an excellent situation.
Although Brighton is currently having its best season ever, they still want more. After seeing substitute Julio Enciso (19) score the goal of his young life to win the match, head coach Roberto De Zerbi was only interested in discussing how to better the Paraguayan spark plug, whose eyes are constantly fixed on the goal posts.
The Italian coach advised him to work on his mental game if he wanted to develop into a great player. Because I am one of our biggest supporters and want to aid him, I am speaking about him in this manner.
"He [Enciso] has probably never experienced the level of work ethic and detail it takes to make it in the Premier League, especially under this manager," said Brighton captain Lewis Dunk.
That's how specific and thorough he is—we had a discussion about how to improve last night after supper.
Of fact, Boehly certainly had a similar goal in mind when he persuaded Potter to leave Brighton, opening the door for them to hire De Zerbi.
