CHELSEA owner Todd Boehly vowed he cannot afford to be waylaid by fan protests at Stamford Bridge.
Blues boss Boehly was in the firing line along with boss Enzo Maresca in a public show of supporter unrest before Tuesday’s win over Southampton.
Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly has spoken out following protests[/caption]
Fans railed against the Americans’ ownership ahead of a win over Southampton[/caption]
But American Boehly, who will celebrate three years in charge at SW6 in the summer, launched a strong defence of his reign as he insisted he still believes he can oversee a Chelsea “dynasty” of success.
And if that means ignoring the complaint of the fans, then that is what he will have to do.
Boehly said: “The fans are the lifeblood of any sports team.
“You realise how important the team is to them and how important the fans are to the team. It’s hugely important.
“But the fact is that people say different things, change their minds all the time.
“The criticism is just par for the course. The sooner you learn you won’t keep all the people happy all the time that brings freedom.
“So you don’t have to live with their words. You can’t turn left and then right every three minutes, which is some of the advice we get, if you boil it down.”
Boehly, speaking at the FT Business of Football Summit, has come under pressure for the state of Maresca’s squad, with fans bemoaning the lack of a genuine striking option in the absence of injured Nicolas Jackson.
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But the US businessman, who also owns the World Series champions LA Dodgers baseball side in California, dismissed those frustrations with a withering put-down – as he publicly explained the club’s controversial transfer strategy.
Chelsea’s decision to offer new signings contracts of up to eight years saw Uefa and Prem chiefs forced to draw up new rules to ensure transfer deals for signings can now only be “amortised” over five years for FFP purposes.
Ukrainian winger Mykhailo Mudryk’s potential £88m arrival on an eight and a half year deal looked a mistake even before he was left facing a lengthy drugs ban.
While eyebrows were raised over the contracts for Wesley Fofana, Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo and others.
He insisted: “Strikers are hard to find. You can’t get one from the grocery store.
“It’s an amazing skillset and you have to have a fantastic mentality.
The criticism is just par for the course. The sooner you learn you won’t keep all the people happy all the time that brings freedom.
Todd Boehly
“The most misunderstood thing is that we’re thinking about it measured in years, not months.
“You have to think both short and long-term. We’re focused on a combination of both and seeking the best possible way to execute that. It’s a balancing act to figure that out.
“You have to have a plan and exercise it, accept that things are not linear and that the thing that matters is that the trend is in the right direction.
“Yes, it’s been a steep learning curve. We’ve been here for less than three years and that’s been a whirling dervish of activity. Nothing is a straight line, ever and sport is so humbling.
Chelsea ratings vs Southampton as Cole Palmer STILL can’t score or assist… and gets a horror grade
CHELSEA reverted to winning ways as they smashed Southampton 4-0 at Stamford Bridge.
Goals from Christopher Nkunku, Pedro Neto, Levi Colwill and Marc Cucurella set the Blues on their way to victory.
But there was STILL no joy in front of goal for Cole Palmer.
So, who was Chelsea’s best player on the night? And who had a game to forget despite the result?
Check out SunSport reporter Lloyd Canfield’s ratings, from nine… all the way down to TWO.
“If you look at contracts in football, a seven year contract is really a five-year contract.
“The reality that 95 per cent of the time by then you have to make a decision or you’ll shoot yourself in the foot
“At that point, you either agree an extension with the player or that greener pastures are out there for both sides.
“If you deny that you are kidding yourself.
“We felt the longer contracts meant we could amortoise but it was also about how we put together a team with the ability to stay together.
“Teams that are dynasties over the years had superstar captains that were able to lead. But how do you find those superstar captains?
“And in football, the market is obviously across multiple countries – so you’re thinking France, Germany, Brazil, Latin America – basically everywhere around the world.”
Strikers are hard to find. You can’t get one from the grocery store.
Todd Boehly
Boehly declined to expand on his strained relationship with co-owner Behdad Eghbali other than saying: “We’ve agreed on a strategy and the way forward and stuff’s getting done.”
That includes, longer term, “building a self-sustaining, very competitive club, figuring how to increase revenues” – in other words a likely new home away from the Bridge.
But while he admits he is still coming to terms with a very different sports world from the one he grew up with in the US, Boehly suggested Prem club chiefs will have to be prepared to sacrifice some of their sacred cows to really monetise their product.
Sky have been the Prem’s main broadcaster since its inception more than 30 years ago, with a new four-year deal – alongside a smaller one for TNT Sports – beginning next season.
But Boehly claims the idea of selling TV broadcast rights territory by territory is out of date – and that Prem bosses should be looking for one mega-money global deal with a streaming giant like Netflix, Amazon Prime or Apple.
He said: “The Premier League is one of the few truly global properties.
“It has unbelievable content with more people engaged than anyone else in the world.
“I’m not saying that bundling all the rights to package them globally is the direct answer at this minute but that’s where we are headed.
“The owners have to be willing to take that risk.”
