Chelsea Owner Boehly Pleads For Patience From Fans

Chelsea co-controlling owner Todd Boehly has pleaded for patience from the club’s supporters, assuring them that they will “figure out” a path to long term success.

Boehly and Clearlake Capital completed their takeover of Chelsea almost a year ago and invested more than £600 million on players but find themselves in the bottom half of the Premier League nearing the end of a trophyless season.

After appointing Frank Lampard as caretaker boss last month following the sacking of Graham Potter, Chelsea are looking for a new permanent head coach with ex-Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino in advanced talks to take the role.

Another summer of transition awaits and speaking in Beverley Hills in conversation with Milken Institute chairman Michael Milken, Boehly said: “The fans are demanding. They want to win. We get that. We want to win. Our view, though, was that this is a long-term project and we are committed to the long-term and we very much believe that we are going to figure it out.

“We have got the best league in the world, what I think is the top city in the world and we have an unbelievable location in the top city in the world.”

Boehly initially acted as interim sporting director following a huge turnover of club executives in the wake of the purchase from former owner Roman Abramovich.

Together with Clearlake’s Behdad Eghbali, he has since overseen a series of appointments including two sporting directors — Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart — as well as technical director Christopher Vivell and Joe Shields, Kyle Macaulay and Jim Fraser who are responsible for talent management and recruitment.

The new structure is designed to operate with greater understanding of the transfer market, something Boehly admitted was lacking previously.

“It is such a global sport and, unlike in the U.S., there are no unions, so there is a market for top players in every country in the world,” said Boehly. “And each one of those markets is different. You have got the Portuguese market, the French market, the English market, so [you have] the ability to go to these markets.

“Then of course, obviously, you have to build a team and your coach is the conductor of the team. I think there is a lot that we have learned about the different markets and the global aspect of it all.”.