Todd Boely (bottom left) appears to be discussing his disappointing defeat at home to Brighton with Chelsea fans. Photo: Getty Images/Alex Davidson
The venting of disgruntled fans on football club presidents and owners is nothing new, though less common than ridicule of managers, teams and individual players. But the return of the owner, as Chelsea's Todd Boley did after Saturday's 2-1 home defeat to Brighton, marks a departure of sorts even in the patchy recent history of events at Stamford Bridge. Even Ken Bates used to express his anger through his program notes.
The directors' box on the bridge had always been a haven of tranquility under previous owner Roman Abramovich, the occasional flash of emotion on the Russian's usually impassive features during his first years of ownership was as exciting as ever. And thanks to the sustained success that his investment has brought, there have been few complaints.
But fans over the owner's box in the West Stand were pictured leaning over the parapet over Pain's seat to voice their displeasure during and after Saturday's game, and he clearly objects to them in response.
To be honest, the American is probably as disappointed with the games on the pitch as the fans are, given that his consortium's investment is approaching £5 billion.
The long-term plan he came up with by paying £21m to bring back Graham Potter and his team from Saturday's winners last fall fell apart, which must have hurt even more as Brighton outplayed their costly team with a team built on relatively small budget. and the second-highest payroll in the Premier League.
When acting head coach Frank Lampard made a desperate and ultimately unsuccessful second-half quadruple substitution, she must have set a transfer value record of eight players involved: four players sent off — Raheem Sterling, Enzo Fernandez, Christian Pulisic and Wesley. Fofana alone was worth £281.5 million.
Any suggestion that Boehly may have grown weary of an investment that went bankrupt very quickly is certainly far from the truth.
He overpaid to buy the club, but his opinion was certainly related to income from future TV deals and the possible return of the European Super League in one form or another.
Assuming Boeli is in it for the long haul, now what? A roof over the director's box? He could always sack Lampard, who is, after all, 100% underdog in his second reign, albeit after only three matches. But it's better to wait for the second leg at home against Real Madrid on Tuesday, in which Chelsea lose 2-0, and hope for a miracle that the club's former hero must have performed.
After that, Lampard's task will be to launch a rescue operation. He denies that his players lack hunger. Rather, self-doubt needs to be addressed, and he plans to do so through individual sessions, which, with a team the size of Chelsea, could take up most of the rest of the campaign.
«It's a job of building confidence because there are talents in the team, some of them are young, and there have been some changes,” said Lampard.
“At the moment there was more talk and meeting than training on the field, individual communication with the players.
“At this level, we should be at the limit, and I'm not sure if it is. It doesn't matter how we got here, we need to decide now. Every conversation is different. Every player needs confidence, but there are different ways to get it.
“Sometimes if you're a yard behind or you get the ball tentatively, you take the first touch back and it can look like hunger. or passion thing. But I don't feel it. I will support players who want to succeed as Chelsea players. With Brighton, it's a long process that got them there. They are in a good place.”
In fact, Brighton are having the best season in their history, but they want more. After seeing substitute Julio Enciso, 19, win the game by scoring the goal of his young life, head coach Roberto De Zerbi only wanted to talk about how he could improve the Paraguayan spark plug that always looks only at the white pillars. /p>
“If he wants to become a great player, he needs to improve his mentality,” said the Italian. «I say this about him because I'm one of our biggest fans and I want to help him, just that.»
Brighton captain Lewis Dunk said: «He [Enciso] probably never didn't experience the level of work ethic and detail required to get into the Premier League, especially under this manager.
“We had a meeting after dinner yesterday about how to get better; that's how detailed and thorough it is.”
Boyley, of course, was probably aiming for something similar when he seduced the Potter of Brighton, paving the way for them to hire De Zerby. This is exactly the approach Chelsea needs now.
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