American owners are keen to buy up English football clubs, but may not realise the scale of the challenge, particularly at a leading club.
Chelsea fans have warned Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali that
a lack of clear direction at the club could lead to “irreversible toxicity”
among supporters and they have threatened “more impactful forms of protest” if
the situation doesn’t improve.
In a damning letter written on March 8 to the club’s
co-owners, the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust (CST) said it “would like to highlight
and address some serious supporter concerns and the disconnection felt by
supporters towards the majority of the team, the manager, the club ownership
and the board.”
Chelsea came 12th in the Premier League last season, their
lowest league finish in 29 years, and they are 11th this term, 17 points adrift
of the top four. Fans have regularly vented their frustration at Stamford Bridge
this season, including during Sunday’s chaotic FA Cup quarter-final win over
Leicester City. Raheem Sterling, Mauricio Pochettino and Boehly were all
targets of anger from the stands.
The current mood amongst supporters is critically low and
cannot be ignored,” the CST wrote in a letter to Boehly and Eghbali. “The
feeling that the club has become a ‘laughing stock’, both on and off the pitch,
is growing.
“The Chelsea Supporters’ Trust regretfully believes that we
are close to, if not already experiencing, a significant shift in supporter
opinion that could result in irreversible toxicity, almost irrespective of
results on the pitch.
“Unless the situation improves, this seems likely to
manifest itself in more targeted chanting, especially at televised games, and
quite possibly more organised, overt and impactful forms of protest by some
sections of the fanbase.”
Chelsea were taken over by the Boehly-Clearlake Capital
Consortium in May 2022 and the first two years have been turbulent on and off
the pitch. Chelsea have spent more than £1 billion on new players, many of them
young and inexperienced, while Pochettino was appointed last summer, after the
sackings of Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter, before Frank Lampard’s
unsuccessful spell as caretaker.
There are also serious doubts around whether Chelsea will be
compliant with the Premier League’s financial regulations at the end of June,
after the club’s latest accounts revealed losses of £90.1 million. They may
well have to sell players, including home-grown talents such as Conor
Gallagher, to avoid a points deduction.
The CST expressed frustration at the increase in match-day
costs, including of shirts, tickets for cup games and programmes, despite the
club insisting commercial revenue would be prioritised. “We were informed that
only once all commercial revenue streams were exhausted would the club hit the
pockets of the supporters. Supporters are frustrated and angry that this pledge
has been broken,” wrote the trust, adding that “any significant ticketing price
increase at this time would be extremely unwise”.
The CST complained about a lack of communication between the
board and fans. “The current feeling amongst Chelsea supporters in our opinion
is at its lowest since the early 1980s,” it said in the letter.
“While this may be expected with our current run of form and
position in the league table, a significant number of supporters that we speak
to are quick to express concerns that the lack of any public-facing vision from
the new ownership has led to an overwhelming sense of helplessness,
frustration, and deep concern.
“Supporters are saying that there currently seems a
fast-growing lack of trust from much of the fanbase, especially matchgoers
towards the board, partially due to severely limited communication. Many
supporters have significant concerns about the short and long-term future of
our football club.”
The CST’s letter received a reply from Chris Jurasek,
Chelsea’s chief executive officer, which read: “Without question, we want to
ensure we engage with our supporters regularly to provide them with clear lines
of communication and a significant level of transparency.
The letter and the club's response can be found here: https://chelseasupporterstrust.com/17911-cst-correspondence-with-chelsea-fc/
Football finance guru Kieran Maguire comments: 'Looks as if Chelsea fans will be the ones picking up the tab for the £50m payoff to former directors, including £35m to the highest paid executive (who may have the initials MG). Works out at £1,250 per seat at Stamford Bridge.'
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