Spot on. Action number one let Todd run the club and employ the people he wants to employ. That’s when we might start moving forward in the right direction again.
Couldn't agree more. I'd just add that the coaches we've had under the new ownership have not been top-notch either. The latest—Maresca? Jury out as far as I'm concerned.
Well said! I’m at a loss of what they are trying to do because it won’t make for a successful team on the pitch. Maybe they liked what Ashley did at Newcastle, just about mid table and get a profit on sales. What’s happening with the stadium it’s just not big enough. They call themselves professionals well start acting like you know what that word means. I went to my first game in 1968 and there have been some very difficult times (relegation) but this is almost as bad as any because we shouldn’t be such a dysfunctional club.
I was re-watching Moneyball the other day and I realized that some people in the Chelsea organization right now think they are Billy Beane and/or Peter Brand. They think they know something the rest of the industry doesn't. It may seem to everyone on the outside that Chelsea need another striker and a top class goalie, but from the point of view of the data they are looking at, they are doing just fine.
There is, of course, many problems with this that I shouldn't have to point out but I will focus on just one.
Billy Bean run Oakland A's World Series Championships: zero
They have literally won nothing of consequence. Oh, they are super competitive and they get close every season with exciting games from time to time. But the last time they actually won the World Series is 36 years ago (well before Billy Beane took over)!
Really what it comes down to is your objectives. Is your objective to actually win a trophy or do you just want to be good enough to be successful as a business? Sure, you can want to have both but at the end of the day one of the two things has to be a slightly higher priority than the other and that has a dramatic impact on how you run the organization.
IMO it is super clear that while the owners would love to win trophies, it is not in reality their top priority. I certainly don't think they should abandon their principles of running a sustainable business. I just think they need to balance their Moneyball mentality with the need to build the right culture at Chelsea that includes winning trophies every single season (i.e. not constantly building toward some super team that will likely never happen in 3 to 5 seasons).
Sadly it feels as though we’re shouting in to the void. Eghbali is seemingly content with our two incompetent sporting directors and Boehly seems unable to step in despite how much we’d like him to.
What I worry is that now to try and save face they are going to rush a couple of signings late in January hoping that it’ll appease the fanbase, the part that worries me is I doubt it’ll be players we need.
My passion for the club is nearly at an all time low. Every time I watch a game I feel frustrated and watching how the people running the club have treated our players and how they’ve built this squad is just disheartening.
We are screaming out for midfield cover right now… you know who would’ve been absolutely perfect for us right now? Who could put the armband on and lead? Conor Gallagher. Boyhood club, loved the club and the fans. Gave us his all and was a vocal leader. What have we gained from his forced departure? Joao Felix who is now on the trading block and Dewsbury-Hall whose game doesn’t get near Conor’s. That picture sums up our experience with these sporting directors and the planning/squad building abilities.
Great article and correct, we have no management at the club who have won anything at all levels so how do they know how to build a team that will compete, based on FIFA or moneyball - if we actually played some of players we have in the correct positions that may help you know what’s next Real Madrid coming in for Palmer, we’ve turned into a club without identify we have no news on stadium if or when that’s going to happen personally I feel that it’s all about extracting as much cash out of this and not building a winning club and the fans still have no real connection with the club if we lose v WH it will turn ugly
unfortunately we are not the same club any more Score!
Club owners publicly praised clubs like Brighton and for anyone smart enough it was clear to see that they wanted us to be a beefier version of Brighton. The profits / returns come first and if along the way we pick up some wins that's great.
Iv been saying this for a long time that ambition is not spending money like drunken sailors on alot of young players. They are just building assets which can be flipped for a higher fee if possible down the line and more assets can be bought. Its a player trading exercise ever since Clearlake walked in.
Winning teams have experience, leadership and quality. Their model does not value experience or leadership. The quality is there in just a couple of positions. They wont change their model unless they face failure for multiple seasons... and thats unfortunate
I have said and will still say, the profits they make from us being CL regulars and trophy winners dwarfs any money they make selling players, to the point of insignificance. Behdad himself has said that, so has Todd, and its correct. The most profitable clubs are the most successful ones. So even if its for the wrong reasons, they definitely want us to be playing regular CL football and competing for the big trophies, because that's more money in their pocket. I think they want to find a way to ensure that IF we don't make CL we are still financially sustainable - which having seen us nearly go out of business twice I appreciate. My argument is they simply don't know football or how to win, and are listening to the wrong people.
oh totally agree with that. Success breeds success... but their 'model' of bringing on field success is a flawed and needs to be tweaked. Best teams include a mix of top academy players, elite talents and experienced heads
Perhaps the owners will only see sense if we get into a relegation dogfight and no young talent wants to come to Chelsea if there is a promising alternative; signs are already there.
the current team is good enough not to be involved in a relegation dogfight... the teams down there are horrendous. I think it will more be a case of missing CL for multiple seasons... and i dont like that to happen as it will hurt the club.
Agree with your point on the young talent refusing to sign if they keep seeing that all we are doing is stock piling talent
Spot on. Action number one let Todd run the club and employ the people he wants to employ. That’s when we might start moving forward in the right direction again.
Couldn't agree more. I'd just add that the coaches we've had under the new ownership have not been top-notch either. The latest—Maresca? Jury out as far as I'm concerned.
Too many cooks in the kitchen!! These guys have to go. And Eghbali has to stay out of footballing operations. It's pathetic.
Well said! I’m at a loss of what they are trying to do because it won’t make for a successful team on the pitch. Maybe they liked what Ashley did at Newcastle, just about mid table and get a profit on sales. What’s happening with the stadium it’s just not big enough. They call themselves professionals well start acting like you know what that word means. I went to my first game in 1968 and there have been some very difficult times (relegation) but this is almost as bad as any because we shouldn’t be such a dysfunctional club.
I was re-watching Moneyball the other day and I realized that some people in the Chelsea organization right now think they are Billy Beane and/or Peter Brand. They think they know something the rest of the industry doesn't. It may seem to everyone on the outside that Chelsea need another striker and a top class goalie, but from the point of view of the data they are looking at, they are doing just fine.
There is, of course, many problems with this that I shouldn't have to point out but I will focus on just one.
Billy Bean run Oakland A's World Series Championships: zero
They have literally won nothing of consequence. Oh, they are super competitive and they get close every season with exciting games from time to time. But the last time they actually won the World Series is 36 years ago (well before Billy Beane took over)!
Really what it comes down to is your objectives. Is your objective to actually win a trophy or do you just want to be good enough to be successful as a business? Sure, you can want to have both but at the end of the day one of the two things has to be a slightly higher priority than the other and that has a dramatic impact on how you run the organization.
IMO it is super clear that while the owners would love to win trophies, it is not in reality their top priority. I certainly don't think they should abandon their principles of running a sustainable business. I just think they need to balance their Moneyball mentality with the need to build the right culture at Chelsea that includes winning trophies every single season (i.e. not constantly building toward some super team that will likely never happen in 3 to 5 seasons).
Sadly it feels as though we’re shouting in to the void. Eghbali is seemingly content with our two incompetent sporting directors and Boehly seems unable to step in despite how much we’d like him to.
What I worry is that now to try and save face they are going to rush a couple of signings late in January hoping that it’ll appease the fanbase, the part that worries me is I doubt it’ll be players we need.
My passion for the club is nearly at an all time low. Every time I watch a game I feel frustrated and watching how the people running the club have treated our players and how they’ve built this squad is just disheartening.
We are screaming out for midfield cover right now… you know who would’ve been absolutely perfect for us right now? Who could put the armband on and lead? Conor Gallagher. Boyhood club, loved the club and the fans. Gave us his all and was a vocal leader. What have we gained from his forced departure? Joao Felix who is now on the trading block and Dewsbury-Hall whose game doesn’t get near Conor’s. That picture sums up our experience with these sporting directors and the planning/squad building abilities.
Enough is enough.
Amen
Spot on with this article, Score. Wish the owners would take the time to read articles like this.
Great article and correct, we have no management at the club who have won anything at all levels so how do they know how to build a team that will compete, based on FIFA or moneyball - if we actually played some of players we have in the correct positions that may help you know what’s next Real Madrid coming in for Palmer, we’ve turned into a club without identify we have no news on stadium if or when that’s going to happen personally I feel that it’s all about extracting as much cash out of this and not building a winning club and the fans still have no real connection with the club if we lose v WH it will turn ugly
unfortunately we are not the same club any more Score!
Club owners publicly praised clubs like Brighton and for anyone smart enough it was clear to see that they wanted us to be a beefier version of Brighton. The profits / returns come first and if along the way we pick up some wins that's great.
Iv been saying this for a long time that ambition is not spending money like drunken sailors on alot of young players. They are just building assets which can be flipped for a higher fee if possible down the line and more assets can be bought. Its a player trading exercise ever since Clearlake walked in.
Winning teams have experience, leadership and quality. Their model does not value experience or leadership. The quality is there in just a couple of positions. They wont change their model unless they face failure for multiple seasons... and thats unfortunate
I have said and will still say, the profits they make from us being CL regulars and trophy winners dwarfs any money they make selling players, to the point of insignificance. Behdad himself has said that, so has Todd, and its correct. The most profitable clubs are the most successful ones. So even if its for the wrong reasons, they definitely want us to be playing regular CL football and competing for the big trophies, because that's more money in their pocket. I think they want to find a way to ensure that IF we don't make CL we are still financially sustainable - which having seen us nearly go out of business twice I appreciate. My argument is they simply don't know football or how to win, and are listening to the wrong people.
oh totally agree with that. Success breeds success... but their 'model' of bringing on field success is a flawed and needs to be tweaked. Best teams include a mix of top academy players, elite talents and experienced heads
Perhaps the owners will only see sense if we get into a relegation dogfight and no young talent wants to come to Chelsea if there is a promising alternative; signs are already there.
the current team is good enough not to be involved in a relegation dogfight... the teams down there are horrendous. I think it will more be a case of missing CL for multiple seasons... and i dont like that to happen as it will hurt the club.
Agree with your point on the young talent refusing to sign if they keep seeing that all we are doing is stock piling talent