OPINION: Chelsea are vying for the tag of worst-run-club-ever

I spend enough time here insulting South African teams and how badly they are run, so it is time to turn my attention to an absolute circus in London, England, threatening to win the award of ‘Worst-Run-Club-Ever’.

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When the British government seized control of Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich’s assets, including Chelsea Football Club, the future of the West London side looked decidedly bleak.

Optimism, however, soon returned as a consortium came in to buy the side, funded largely by private equity firm Clearlake Capital, and fronted by American billionaire Todd Boehly.

That optimism remained as the new owners seemed keen to match the spending sprees of Abramovich, bringing in an assortment of big-name players in the off-season, and into August, from across Europe.

What has transpired since, however, has been an unadulterated shambles, with the club in such a mess that these new owners may never recover.

When Frank Lampard, a wonderful player and a Chelsea midfield legend, but a man with a bleak coaching record in the top-flight, was brought back this week as interim head coach, it was reported by one tabloid newspaper that television celebrity James Corden had suggested the idea to Boehly.

Now this is probably nonsense, with these kinds of tabloids not exactly known for exclusively printing the truth, but the fact that they even feel emboldened enough to run with this kind of rumour shows you what chaos there is at Stamford Bridge at the moment.

“Chaos and Trophies” was a name Chelsea fans affectionately attributed to the club during the Abramovich era, as the Russian was not afraid of hiring and firing coaches, even in mid-season, but it did not stop a steady flow of silverware into Chelsea.

He did make some unbelievably rash decisions, no more so than when he fired Carlo Ancelotti just a season after the current Real Madrid head coach had won a league and cup double.

Just plain daft

No decision, however, was as just plain daft as the new regime’s choice to sack Thomas Tuchel this season, and replace him with Graham Potter.

Tuchel had his shortcomings, and the season had not started particularly well, but he clearly loved coaching Chelsea and had achieved notable success in his time in charge, winning the Champions League in 2021 and reaching two domestic cup finals in his second season in charge.

He was also the perfect statesman in dealing with the media after the British government had sanctioned Abramovich and seized control of the club.

The reasoning for the sacking seems to be that the new owners wanted someone more in line with their long-term vision for the club. So they hired Potter.

The problem is that Potter, while he had success with Swedish side Ostersunds and Brighton and Hove Albion had no experience at this high-pressure level, and after a bright start, looked utterly out of his depth.

He never seemed settled on what his best side was, even after he was backed by a spate of new signings in January. Admittedly Chelsea have a horribly bloated squad, and this cannot have helped Potter, but there was little sign of any kind of progress.

Egg on face

So long-term became short-term, with the new owners left with egg on their faces, and the unwanted tag of having fired two coaches in one season, something that never happened in the Abramovich era.

Lampard might somehow manage to turn it around, with Chelsea still in the Champions League, but it seems unlikely, and the side’s 1-0 loss to Wolves on Saturday was very much, as one journalist coined it, a ‘New manager Splat‘, as the Blues managed just one shot on target.

The basic fact is that these owners would have been better off if they had just left Tuchel to try and turn things around before they fired him. Everything about them screams novices in the game, not having a clue what they are doing.

Millions have been spent on players but the results have got worse and worse, with Chelsea currently not even completely safe from relegation. It’s embarrassing and the fans are furious. Todd Boehly will need a miracle to win them back now. After all, chaos without trophies is just plain chaos.