Only Chelsea could provide enough talking points in a week to warrant another fan survey so soon after the last one.
This is an unusual step for The Athletic but an important one. While views about the business conducted during the transfer window were the main focus before, the fallout from the Todd Boehly-Clearlake consortium situation has now taken centre stage and we wanted to know your views.
The nature of the rift and the reasons for it were explained earlier this week. The future of Stamford Bridge and the decision to part with head coach Mauricio Pochettino in May are among the topics to have increased the tension between co-owners Behdad Eghbali and Boehly.
Understandably, what is going on at Chelsea is causing concern. The number of comments and the intense debate between readers below The Athletic’s read on the situation is just one indication of that.
But we wanted to go further and get to the heart of how people feel about what is going on. More than 1,600 people responded, which is a small percentage of Chelsea’s vast global fanbase but enough to give an indication of a general feeling.
It is early days in the fallout, but the results detailed below do not make good reading for Clearlake’s board members.
Given recent events, there is only one place to start — what side people are on?
The drama began when a report from Bloomberg on Friday revealed both sides are looking to buy the other out. Clearlake is the majority shareholder at 61.5 per cent and insists it has no interest in selling up. It also says the capital is in place to buy Boehly’s shares (he owns just under 13 per cent), whereas the latter has to raise the funds. Still, the messaging coming from Boehly’s camp is that he has been approached by wealthy investors in recent weeks to do just that.
Boehly’s way of doing things is to be hands-off and let employees hired get on with the job. Behdad Eghbali, the most visible member of Clearlake, prefers to be more involved, although will argue he acts in a supporting role to co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart during the club’s transfer activity.
When it comes to which part of the consortium readers have most faith in to lead the club, Boehly is the clear winner, with nearly three-quarters of the vote. Clearlake’s share is very low at just over eight per cent. Despite all the success enjoyed under former owner Roman Abramovich between 2003 and 2022, less than two per cent put his name forward as part of the “Other” responses section of the survey.
For the situation to be resolved, it seems only a sale of a stake will do. Both parties are making it clear they want to stay, although we always have to bear in mind that someone who wants to cash in might be saying otherwise to ensure they get as big a sum for their investment as possible.
A quick agreement seems overly optimistic, although The Athletic has been told Boehly is looking at an outcome being decided within the next few months. Again, it is pretty obvious who those who answered the survey would like to see sell up, with well over half saying the club would be better off if Clearlake sold its shares and less than five per cent if Boehly does. Boehly should not get too comfortable, though, because nearly a quarter (22.4 per cent) see Chelsea as benefitting from both sides going.
No matter who is in charge, the future of Stamford Bridge, whether Chelsea stay or go, is a very divisive subject. One of the conditions when the consortium bought the club in 2022 was that sizeable funds would be committed to developing a new ground, whether it be improving their traditional home since 1905 or moving to a new site elsewhere.
Rebuilding Stamford Bridge, either by going stand-by-stand or playing at another venue, such as Wembley Stadium, for five to six years while a complete rebuild takes place, is not straightforward. It is unlikely to produce a calibre of stadium that could rival the much-revered Tottenham Hotspur Stadium due to the lack of space, even with the purchase of the Sir Oswald Stoll Mansions site adjacent to Stamford Bridge.
Using land identified at nearby Earl’s Court would provide a better chance of fulfilling ambitions. It also limits disruption to the team because they can continue to play home games at Stamford Bridge while construction takes place and the Earl’s Court venture is expected to be finished quicker, too. However, the plot’s majority owner, Earls Court Development Company (ECDC), is moving ahead with its own ambitious plans: a project that would provide 4,000 new homes, as well as extensive retail and office space, three large cultural and performance venues and an urban park.
Very little progress has been made over Chelsea’s final decision. It has been another source of debate among board members, although all have faith in president and chief operating officer Jason Gannon, who has been put in charge of the scheme.
Nearly two-thirds (62.4 per cent) of those voting in this survey want Chelsea to remain at Stamford Bridge, but it is not as big a majority as one might have thought, with a sizeable 34.9 per cent keen for the club to build a new venue at Earl’s Court instead.
The choice to part ways with Pochettino at the end of last season appears to have been a major tipping point in the souring of relations. Boehly did eventually sign off on the decision but made his viewpoint clear by publicly backing the Argentinian in the final weeks of the campaign. He also met Pochettino for a private dinner before the last game against Bournemouth. Clearlake felt these actions undermined the co-sporting directors, who conducted an end-of-season review that recommended Pochettino’s departure.
Chelsea have replaced Pochettino, who was announced as the head coach of the United States men’s national team this week, with Enzo Maresca. The former midfielder has limited experience as a head coach, with only a brief spell in charge of Parma and one year at Leicester City.
A resounding 77 per cent believe Chelsea were wrong to part with Pochettino, perhaps another indication of why they are siding more with Boehly’s way of thinking.
All this drama is not ideal for Chelsea’s hopes of enjoying a successful season. In August, speaking in the build-up to his team’s season-opener against Manchester City, Maresca said he had not been told by the hierarchy he has to secure a top-four finish in the Premier League in May, but it is not good for Chelsea’s finances or prestige to have a third successive year outside the Champions League.
Fifth spot could be enough depending on the Premier League’s co-efficient ranking and that is the best outcome Chelsea can hope for according to most answers to the final question. Despite the arrival of Pedro Neto, Jadon Sancho and Joao Felix in the summer window, 75 per cent are bracing themselves for the team to finish fifth to ninth. A gloomy three per cent see 10th or lower as a possibility, but the more positive among you, over 20 per cent, are targeting the top four.
Should Chelsea book a spot in the Champions League, any survey after that should make better viewing, no matter who is running things.
(Top photo: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
