I think this is actually very simple. There are certainly similarities between the way Roman Abramovich has operated as Chelsea owner compared to the way Todd Boehly and Clearlake have operated, at least so far.
However, it is impossible to determine these similarities so early in the tenure. Because I don’t believe this is how they will operate going forward and this is just an initial massive squad rebuild. But none of us know how they will move on, and of course one of the problems is that Boehly and Behdad Eghbali have different views on how the club should be run.
But in terms of spending big money, the new owners have basically done the same thing as Abramovich. They were thirsty and took no prisoners, sometimes with blank checkbooks.
Before we continue, let’s take a look at what former Chelsea striker Chris Sutton had to say about it this week.
Sutton said:
“While we were all putting our boots on, Chelsea knew what they were doing.
“But in many respects what has happened over the last few seasons has been so different from the Roman Abramovich era? It’s just that Abramovich brings in players who have already been there and done it.
“The difference is that Chelsea are now bringing in young players to improve. They seem to be a young and fearless team. “I think it’s a great team for Enzo Maresca and a good team for Chelsea.”
So he praised the new owner, which is deserved right now. However, he compared the operation to that of Roman.
On second thought, I think the only similarity is the big spending now. The big difference is the kind of players the new owners have targeted, at least since the co-sporting directors were hired. They were young and largely unproven, except in the summer of 2024 they took a small turn and signed more established, Premier League-proven and slightly more experienced players. I believe this transition has greatly aided our success so far this season.
But overall they signed players like Marlo Gusto and Renato Veiga. Both have proven to be gems of smart scouting so far. We have long-term contracts with young players and trust in our own scouting and judgment of talent. This may be a risk, but looking at the first 15 games we have played since the start of this season, it must be said that it has paid off.
Roman’s previous ownership liked big names and marquee signatures. The new owners have brought in players like Moises Caicedo, which can be said to be major signings, so there has been some balance as well. But overall, it’s more common for them to find unknown players to help them scout.
The reality is that we won’t really know if this will all come to fruition until we see where the season ends. But at least so far this season, it’s pretty good. The same can’t be said for the past few seasons, but some of that may have been down to the manager as well as the team not being mature enough at that point.
I have never doubted the owners’ ambition and vision, they have always had it. I always thought it was unfair for anyone to doubt that. They want to win. Of course they want to benefit, and they have to. After all, it’s a business. But I have always fully supported and believed in that ambition. In the end, winning brings more revenue and better sponsorship deals.
They made mistakes and will even admit it. The way they operated was so new that I think many of us have been overly cautious about the whole thing. This was all very foreign, because as humans we generally don’t like change anyway.
Will it work? We don’t know yet, but the signs are very good.
But in reality, Roman’s way of operating and the way he operates now were very different in reality. Roman has made it his goal to win here and now, and it has actually worked very well for him. We hired and fired managers (although these owners have been doing that as well), signed celebrities, spent money and won trophies. There is no right or wrong. I sincerely hope that this new way of operating will pay off. For now, the signs look very good.
