If Chelsea's owners really want us to be a serious club, start acting like it

I'm sick and tired of our club being run like an Old Boys Network

This week we’ve read a lot of stories from behind the scenes at Chelsea. Legitimate sources have spoken about head coach Enzo Maresca and Chelsea’s Sporting Directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart having a heated argument after the Atalanta game.

There were briefs trying to dumb down the comments made post Everton by Maresca, further briefs questioning his Atalanta tactics, and other stories that Maresca himself felt micromanaged and hung out to dry by those above him.

Then we heard that Maresca has “tactical discussions” with the SDs after every game. As if the Sporting Directors have any idea about coaching. Its not their job and they gave no experience of it yet want to tell the guy who helped coach a treble at Man City about coaching and tactics?

In the same report, the SDs briefed in essence that Maresca owes them his entire career in management, and they took a chance on him and gave him this job and a bigger salary. Implying he should be grateful to them and toe the party line, not speak his mind or speak the truth. Absolutely embarrassing. I’d love to see them try that with Pep or Jose, they’d be laughed out of the room, as that kind of behaviour returns.

None of this is how an elite football club operates. This isn’t new and modern way of operating, its absurd, and its disrespectful to Maresca. Not to mention, it ultimately causes harm to Chelsea Football Club.

Quite frankly, the impression I get - and this may be my personal perception, rather than reality, but its certainly how it comes across - is our club is run by people who just want to show how great they are, consolidate their reputation or power base, and put themselves first, not the club. The perception given to me - and I know I’m far from alone - is childish, ego driven pettiness. Not as much from Maresca, but certainly from a few of those above him.

The Sporting Directors have a track record of claiming credit and avoiding responsibility. Last season they made sure they were there when the women won the league, making themselves visible, and there were briefs emphasising how they’d hired Sonia Bompastor and helped build the team. When every fan of the womens team know it was Paul Green, along with Emma Hayes, who’d largely built that team and success. It was genuinely shameful of the Sporting Directors to dare claim credit.

How often after a player does well for Chelsea, do we read stories about who spotted what player, who negotiated which deal? Way too much. It’s like its some competition between them to sign the best players and get them in the team. Like a Frat Competition at university. Otherwise known as a pissing contest.

Its absolutely pathetic. No wonder Maresca is frustrated.

He’s here trying to win trophies for Chelsea and develop an elite team, winning trophies, and those above him are acting like children, trying to further themselves and make themselves look good. It seems in some cases they are flat out telling him how to do his job, and then claiming credit for his success.

It’s just embarrassing, and we look at joke.

No wonder Enzo Maresca is considering joining Manchester City. They’re a serious, well run club who’ve won 20 trophies, including 8 PL titles, in the last 15 years, we’ve won significantly less despite spending more money, under two different owners, and with a structure where a manager is respected and listened to.

They’re the men, we’re the boys right now. We talk a big game but actions never follow. We never challenge for the Premier League and won’t do what’s necessary to build an elite, title challenging squad.

Serious clubs have serious people running them. Elite clubs hire elite Sporting Directors to build their squad, and good Sporting Directors you rarely hear from. Arsenal have Andrea Berta (pictured above), Liverpool have Michael Edwards, Man City Hugo Viana. All proven elite sporting directors. This is just known. There’s no hidden other way, or smarter way. This is how its done.

But not us. Behdad Eghbali, who appears to think he knows better than everyone in football, hired two Sporting Directors with literally no experience in that role at any club, no experience working at a top club or high performance environment, who had never won a thing in any role. Then, he let them run amock with tons of power and a lot of cash to build an elite football squad, and over £1 billion later we’re still drawing with Quarabag and losing to Leeds. Absolutely laughable. And he expects us to take him seriously?

You never get stories from elite clubs about the Sporting Directors or owners mismanaging players, micromanaging the head coach, or refusing to listen to a manager or give them what they need, or briefs from them about how great they are and what they did, or how their plan is working.

They don’t need to promote themselves, because they just do their job well and quietly, their actions and results speak for themselves. You also don’t get regular fallouts with head coaches with elite SDs, because they know their place and how elite clubs operate and success is achieved - and they don’t interfere with their head coach’s work.

Our SDs constantly feel the need to tell us how great they are. Best in class people don’t need to do that, they let their actions speak louder. This speaks volumes.

These guys are clearly dead scared of authoritative figures who know their stuff. Because they feel threatened by them. When they should be inspired by them and learn from them. They have often acted like they know more about football and coaching than people who have actually been successful in the game, when they’ve never worked at a big club or won anything before joining Chelsea, and never coached in their lives. A bit of humility might be useful chaps.

Best in class isn’t people learning on the job. Best in class are people who have already chieved success at big clubs, are proven to be the best, have a CV which shows it and can bring that to your club. I’d say there’s probably 3 people including the manager who fulfil that criteria. The other two are Dave Fallows and Joe Shields.

This is Chelsea Football Club. The job is to build a squad which is capable of winning the Premier League and challenging for the PL and Champions League literally every single season, and actually win them. To have a winning mentality all the way through the club from top to bottom, proper accountability and responsibility, top people allowed to do their jobs, and where all work together for the collective good.

The goal is to be ruthless, serious and have well respected, elite, high performance football people in the room running things, with the focus on what’s good for Chelsea and achieving success. Not on personal egos, who spotted who, taking credit or controlling the coach.

With respect, most football club owners frankly are not football people so should hire the best and let them get on with it. The best know this. Man City, Liverpool, Arsenal, the owners don’t interfere. They let the best in class experts get on with it. Todd Boehly knows this, as its been reported many times he thinks we should have one Sporting Director and him be largely hands off and let them do otherwise.

Behdad Eghbali is the only one who doesn’t believe in this, and wants to be hands on. And it is hindering us, there’s no doubt.

The Head Coach is not a puppet at a serious club. They have an influence, their opinion is respected and listened to, and it’s a true collaboration with everyone’s voices equally valued and the goal being club/team success, not individual careers. They’re respected, trusted and allowed to do their job without much interference or micro-managing.

That’s not what we have at Chelsea currently, and most fans intuitively know it. Maresca has pretty much confirmed it now too. He’s called them out, he’s said what we all knew, and now its out of the box. Fans aren’t going to forget or be fooled.

I’ll be brutally honest, I have so little confidence in the SDs and Behdad, I’m almost at the point where I’ll start to accept we’ll remain only a top 4 club and cup winning team whilst Behdad and the Sporting Directors have the power and control here. The fact is they have shown they don’t know how to create an elite performance environment, or what it even is, and have no idea how to run an elite level, high performance football club which can dominate the PL and Europe for a decade or more. They’ve built Chelsea to a top 4 team which can win cups or knockout competitions, but are showing they don’t know how to take the next step.

They’ve done pretty well with Strasbourg, but Strasbourg are a smaller club with different expectations. This is Chelsea, and the demands and expectations are another level.

If Maresca has a good season this year then leaves for Man City, or even worse, we let him go of our own free will and he joins them, it will be an embarrassment and humiliation both to Chelsea Football Club, Behdad Eghbali and above all the SDs.

They will lose any authority or credibility they have, or think they have, if they allow a successful coach to leave for a direct rival. The SDs position will be untenable, and I already know many fans who’ve backed the owners and SDs all the way so far, saying they’re full on Clearlake Out if we let Maresca go.

The club will probably brief the media and blame Maresca and try to manipulate fans to take their side or excuse another failure. But we’re not stupid, we’ll all know who is really to blame and the absolute failure it is.

Not that Clearlake seem to care what fans think. They live in their own reality where they’re the best in the world at whatever they do, no one can question them, they have zero shame or integrity. They and the Sporting Directors know better than everyone, they can let any coach go and replace them with someone better.

This belief is not remotely engaged with the real world, with what football is like and how they’re perceived, not just by fans but many others - as a joke.

If Behdad and the Sporting Directors are reading this they should know this is not personal. I’m sure they’re good people who love their friends and family and work hard. Behdad has been hugely successful professionally and deserves respect for that The Sporting Directors have signed a lot of top talent and built a solid infrastructure at the club, and again, respect is due.

None of them are bad people or completely incompetent. This is about the work they do at Chelsea, nothing more. Squad building, the power structure and role of the coach, treatment of individuals at the club, micro-managing, not trusting the head coach, claiming credit and never taking responsibility.

Whatever the reality may be, to most fans, Behdad is too controlling, too hands on, and appears to trust his own judgement over experts. And with respect, its clear the Sporting Directors are two of the most overpromoted scouts in football history. Brilliant at spotting talent and signing young talent, pretty good at building a football infrastructure - but no experience or no idea how to run an elite football club, build a squad to dominate domestically and in European football, or how to respect football professionals.

They’ve built a squad that can get top 4, win knockout trophies and maybe do well in Europe, for which they get some credit - but not go further.

This is Chelsea, not some small mid table or Championship club. The goal is to be the best. Better than City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Real, Barcelona and Bayern. That’s how we need to talk, think and most importantly, act. Right now, we don’t. Simple as that.

And if people at the club can’t handle it, leave and get someone in who can handle the pressure and expectation, and deliver on it.

Fans won’t wait forever, they won’t swallow everything the club sell us, we’re not dumb, even though they treat us like we are. And if they let the best coach we’ve had for 3-4 years go because of their fragile egos and inability to admit they’ve failed build a squad to challenge, its them who will be responsible for it, and what follows.

We’ll hold them responsible and make sure the Sporting Directors know their current positions at Chelsea are untenable.

I’m absolutely not saying they should lose their jobs (some think they should, but I understand they have strengths elsewhere), but they should be moved to other roles which suit their skillset. To me and others, running a club as big as Chelsea is beyond their skillset.

Dave Fallows is the only one at the club actually qualified to do this. He’s built a title winning squad at a big club, Liverpool. He knows how to use data, and it should be him having the final say.

I’m tired of those running my club not doing their jobs properly and sabotaging our club’s chances. They make our club look like a joke publicly, embarrass us consistently and many of us have long had enough.

At the very least, they should have some cajones and take responsibility for their mistakes, stop scapegoating others, and start acting like adults. Right now we’re not taken seriously, and there’s a reason.

And when the owner and Sporting Directors have managed to get me resigned to not winning a PL title for a while, you know they’re doing a bad job.

The Score