It's Time for Change...Beyond the Manager
Enough is enough. It's time to get Chelsea competitive again
Of course, we’re all emotional right now, in the light of that shambolic 4-2 defeat to Wolves. It’s understandable. For two years, ever since the sanctions began, Chelsea fans have had it rough.
First with the media bombardment and scaremongering, saying our club deserved to be relegated or go bankrupt, and threats it could happen, onto the shambles on the pitch of the last 18 months and deserved mockery we’ve got as a result.
Sometimes Chelsea fans can be reactionary and entitled, but even the most rational, patient Chelsea fans have had enough. Including me.
Because I’m tired. I’m tired of being mid-table. We’re 11th in the league right now, and with the talent we have in the squad and money spent, its simply not acceptable.
I’m tired of seeing us run like a pub team by over-promoted sporting directors. I’m tired of seeing a squad with top young talent being squandered by poor coaching. I’m tired of my club being a banter club. I’m pretty sure most fans feel the same.
It goes way beyond anger. I’m just numb at this point. A lot of fans have just lost belief, we’ve lost hope, we’ve almost resigned ourselves to our fate of not being a top team again for a while. Some even think relegation and “doing a Leeds” by overspending without success is possible - I personally think this is nonsense, but it shows the depths of feeling and depression amongst supporters.
I know there’s co-owners and directors who read this site, I hope you don’t take any of this criticism personally. It’s meant respectfully and honestly, and out of love for Chelsea. I really hope the owners and directors start listening to the fans, because right now, many fans feel like their views mean nothing.
Whatever the truth may be, on the surface it seems like Chelsea is just an investment to the owners, but as fans we know, Chelsea is not just an investment. It’s a football club. A proud football club with a soul. It has fans who care, who fought to keep the club alive in the 1980s’, when we were average on the pitch a lot of the time. Fans who’ve been through a lot in the last two years and feel ignored.
So here’s the deal. Its pretty clear we need a complete structural review and overhaul on the mens side. Only Joe Shields of those hired can be sure their job is safe right now. Graham Potter, Paul Winstanley, Laurence Stewart, Mauricio Pochettino, haven’t been successful hires. Winstanley is an excellent scout, without question, but that’s not the job he’s been given. Graham Potter is a good coach, but was a poor fit. It’s increasingly clear the same is true for incumbent Mauricio Pochettino.
The owners told us when they bought the club they would make best in class appointments, but Joe Shields apart, we haven’t.
If the owners are as ambitious as they keep telling us, this needs to be rectified immediately. No debate. It’s a matter of urgency.
Obviously the first name to come up is Michael Edwards, former sporting director of Liverpool. However he’s stated he’s not working for individual clubs anymore.
But we don’t need to give up on Michael Edwards. Because he is currently Sporting Consultant for an organisation called “Ludonatics”, a sports advisory firm started by him and Ian Graham, former director of research at Liverpool, who built their data analysis systems which have helped them be so successful recently.
Both are known to Chelsea director Daniel Finklestein, indeed Graham wrote articles for “the Fink tank”. Daniel’s previous column in The Times. Below is the ‘about’ page about Ludonautics from their official website.
The key paragraph for me is this:
“Many teams have tried to implement a data-driven approach to player recruitment & performance analysis. Many teams have failed.
Ludonautics’ technical experience in developing statistical models, and practical experience making decisions using data, sets us apart. We are uniquely placed to give clients the opportunity to learn from the best.”
Ludonautics.com
This is it for me. This group is a set of best in class people who can do a structural review of our football club, a proper data based analysis of performance, and help us create a high performance environment and make better hires in terms of football structure. Let them come in and do a review now, then ensure you have a new sporting director, CFO and structure in place before the season is over, and then appoint the right manager to take us forward with this new structure.
As for right now? It’s clear we need change to save our season. The team look bereft of tactical ideas and strategy. They look lost, without any kind of tactical plan or set up, and are low on confidence. The young players are not developing as they should, nor are we developing as a team.
The long term answer will come in the summer. Short term, we need someone to come in able to deliver instant results, motivate the players and who has the tactical know how to get us playing to our potential.
Maybe an experienced elite manager who has built and coached winning teams, worked at elite football clubs, so knows how to build high performance environments and structures at football clubs. A coach who is strong tactically and knows how to win. A man who has deep football knowledge which our owners can learn from, and knowledge of Chelsea and connection with the the fans.
Maybe you have a Chelsea legend already working at the club as his assistant.
If you have Ludonautics doing their structural overhaul for the long term future, you can hire this man in the short term till the summer, to ensure we get European football and have a chance in the league cup final.
Then in the summer the overhaul is done, you have a better structure in place, European football and are more attractive to the right coach, who can be appointed by the new CFO and sporting director, together with Behdad Eghbali (I mean he’s going to be involved, he’s not yet appointed “his” guy yet and is majority owner). Then, you can target the right players in the summer to buy and sell and improve the squad for next season, and get us back on track.
Change is needed at Chelsea, right now. There’s simply no debating it anymore, and the fans are beginning to demand it. Because Chelsea FC and its fans deserve better than we are getting right now.
The Score
good points but we really need to call out the owners alot more. They are the ones who started this ruin by thinking they are smart, hired the wrong people and implemented the wrong strategy. They are PE vultures ... nothing more. They are not Harding, Bates or Roman who cared about the club.
Will Eghbali put his ego aside and give authority to a DoF to sign off on all footballing decisions? Someone who is more qualified then him to make the footballing decisions. Will they cut the crap with this collaborative approach so that they dont have to poke their noses in each and every footballing matter? Will they give authority to the manager and DoF to punish any players (who are their precious assets) when they are not in line? Will Eggbali appoint a winner in the dug out who might be more demanding?
About time you also call them out!
As much as I love the club and I am a supporter of 50+ years. I still don’t understand where any of us I support is have a right to criticise some genuinely experienced and knowledgeable businessman now on the club and have also been successful in other sporting areas. We seem to be reading even on this blog major criticism of the people they have appointed without any real knowledge of the job they’re doing, how successful they are or are not making snap decisions. The only thing we should be doing as a supporting group is getting behind everyone, and I mean everyone that CFC and excepting that we are going to have to go through bad times before they become good again. Let’s not forget, Liverpool went a significant period without winning the league , Man United are 10+ years in the doldrums, Arsenal are only just emerging from the post arson Vigar years. Other clubs, Tottenham, for example, have never had the opportunities as success we’ve had. Let’s not be greedy, let’s be patient and let people own the club do their job. Yes, they will make mistakes and I have every belief they will rectify them . Who they have and have not appointed does not take into account that they other people also have a say in the matter and perhaps they just don’t want to come to Chelsea at the current time.