SO this is the stage we’re at with Todd Boehly’s Stamford Bridge omnishambles.
A stage where Didier Drogba can accuse Boehly and co-owner Behdad Eghbali of lacking the ‘class’ and ‘principles’ of Vladimir Putin’s crony, Roman Abramovich, while everyone nods sagely and reckons the Chelsea legend has a valid point.
It says much about the way Chelsea, and the ownership of Premier League clubs in general, has evolved, that the tainted, hire-and-fire regime of Abramovich is now being seen as a benchmark for sense and dignity.
When the Russian became the first foreigner to buy an English top-flight club in 2003, he was soon accused by David Dein of parking his tanks on Arsenal’s lawn and firing £50 notes.
But Abramovich never scatter-gunned his cash like Boehly & Co — who have spaffed more than £600million in the transfer market, plus another £34m for hiring and firing Graham Potter — without a functioning team to show for it.
Being patient with Potter as a ‘long-term project’ was supposedly the definition of the new Clearlake ownership model.
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Seven months later, Potter was axed and that definition was clear as mud.
That Potter wasn’t the chief problem became increasingly obvious with the rose-tinted temporary appointment of Frank Lampard, which has heralded Chelsea’s first four-match losing streak in 30 years.
Nostalgia ain’t even what it used to be when the club’s record goalscorer returned a fortnight ago.
Chelsea, in the bottom half of the Premier League, are winless in seven games and have scored just once in six outings, via a wicked deflection in a home defeat by Brighton.
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Drogba, of course, was a mighty centre-forward. Now Chelsea don’t have any sort of centre-forward, despite their expensive trolley dash.
Last summer, Boehly wanted the human stinkbomb Cristiano Ronaldo in that role but was dissuaded by Thomas Tuchel, the Champions League winner he soon sacked.
In the meantime, N’Golo Kante was employed as an inside-forward during the 2-0 Champions League quarter- final second-leg defeat by Real Madrid at Stamford Bridge which sealed Chelsea’s fruitless campaign.
We can only hope, for the sake of Lampard’s own sanity, that he privately shares the views of his old team-mate Drogba about Boehly, who brashly predicted a 3-0 win in the Bernabeu last week.
Then, after defeat by Brighton, he stormed the sanctuary of the dressing room to accuse some players of being ‘embarrassing’ in what was said to be a ‘pep talk’.
And word has it that anyone assuming Eghbali is the quiet, sensible one of the ruling pair will be sadly mistaken.
Apparently, this is a double act without a straight man.
Why is Lampard acting as a human shield for these people?
Without a permanent role, he has nothing to lose and should be calling out, rather than defending them. Perhaps during the remaining six weeks of Chelsea’s season, Lampard might deliver a few home truths.
Ralf Rangnick did so at Manchester United last season and his medicine helped an ailing club.
Whoever takes over from Lampard will inherit an obese squad without a core, without identity, without balance, but with plenty of lengthy, fat contracts.
Chelsea must hold a summer fire sale, which has become even more of an emergency now that they are highly unlikely to play European football next season.
On Tuesday, Lampard claimed, with some complacency, that the ‘reality is this club is going to be back’. There is absolutely no guarantee of a swift Champions League return.
Chelsea have signed duds —Cucurella and Koulibaly have been huge disappointments, while nobody at Arsenal is mourning the hijacking of Mudryk.
The Clearlake crew are filthy rich but they must compete with the sovereign wealth of Abu Dhabi at Manchester City, Saudi Arabia at Newcastle and soon, perhaps, Qatar at Manchester United.
What Raheem Sterling made of Lampard’s team selection against Real — and what he made of Kante missing two excellent chances when the second leg was goalless — is anyone’s guess.
Sterling was supposed to be a statement signing in Boehly’s first window — a multiple title-winner lured from champions Manchester City.
The winger, once the subject of infamous abuse as a visiting player at Stamford Bridge, always felt like a bad fit.
Now he’s being scapegoated by fans and was benched for the club’s biggest match of the season.
Still only 28, he is no longer a first-choice England player either. Mason Mount, one of the few homegrown players with some feeling for the club, looks certain to be off this summer.
Chelsea have certainly signed some duds — defenders Marc Cucurella and Kalidou Koulibaly have been huge disappointments for a combined initial fee of £90m, while nobody at Arsenal is mourning the hijacking of winger Mykhailo Mudryk in an £88m deal.
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All in all, it is an epic mess.
And while Abramovich was worshipped at the Bridge — with many supporters perhaps fooled by the Russian’s expensive lawyers as much as to his close links to Putin — Drogba’s views are shared by many fans, who view Boehly’s mob with growing contempt.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
