Is there a genuine case to protest airing dissatisfaction regarding the way the Boehly- Clearlake consortium have managed CFC since they took over as we enter the final months of their second season in Charge?
Personally i do think there definitely is.
Im not at all in favour of senselessly bashing the team or manager in such protest. I think there is a genuine case to protest against the ownership's handling of clubs affaires.
The reality is Boehly- Clearlake own Chelsea football club, not us the fans.
Furthermore due to the significant amount of investment the consortium have risked, it is highly unlikely that the consortium will be prepared to sell the club at a sizable loss.They will be part of us for the foreseeable future.
They bought the club for 2.5 bln, they have already sold a stake in the club for 500m$ and are committed to a 10 yr strategy investing a further 1.750 bln, into club for stadium, squad development & business expansion, the latter point being a mute point.
Taking the clubs value at 2.5bln when they purchased the club May22 , the club had recently won the C/L, UEFA & FIFA world club trophies, the club was competing at a top 4 level.
Today, ? what is a mid table club , with a dysfunctional economy worth that is strapped to the hilt worth ?
It is not 2.5bln, i would hazard a guess and suggest more like 1.5bln due to the playing assets alone.
Today the club is not capable of competing at an elite level or even a top six level. The squad is not fit for purpose, it has significant weaknesses.
The club finds itself in a financial straight jacket due to the reduced shrunken size of the clubs economy & the financial model the bean counters have installed, this is an issue because the squad it has is far from being of such a quality and level that it will be able over the next season competitive enough challenge at a top 6 level & there will be limited funds to make the changes necessary in the next window to improve the squad.
In order for the ownership to improve the squad several things must first happen.
1: Ensure FFP/PS compliance, the club lost 22/23 in the region of 100m, there is nothing to indicate that the club has significantly reduced this loss for 23/24 or significantly improved the clubs income, through elite level competition entry or associated sponsorship/ marketing revenue. Furthermore this 100m loss was achieved through significant player sales, so it would seem based on that method that the club will first have to risk weakening the squad , selling pure profit assets to first cover the FFP/Ps compliance figure.
2: The club will also have to sell as many players( 5/6) who are surplus to the 25 man squad format, but the club has not put itself in the strongest position to sell, as the clubs financial position is well known and the June FFP compliance date is lumming.
After these two hurdles are cleared then the club will be able to invest into the changes to required to improve the squad and its competitive ability.
Another seismic issue is the length of contracts, the size of amortization & wage responsibility that exists with at least 8/10 of the 25 man squad.
Looking at the values involved it is highly unlikely that the club will not be able to afford to move these players for several years 3/5.
The ownership have invested in a squad which does not equate to sound business sense as a significant % of the players are not worth the fee that has been invested, furthermore these players are on sizable long term contracts all of which on current form render them unsaleable, unless the club is prepared to take significant losses & the players a significant wage reduction on the contract.
The only issue with this is that turkeys dont vote for xmas & the club cannot afford to take such losses, as the club is no longer competitive at an elite/ or even top 6 level and now operates within a shrunken economy. To take the losses would risk continuous FFP breaches .
Imo, the ownership do not seem to have brought anything to the table bar initial investment and a debt laden financial model that they are struggling to finance.
They lack solid football knowledge, they feel that as they have American sporting knowledge and experience that they are equipped to run CFC.
Todate this reasoning does not hold up.
So letting them know it is apparent that they currently are way out of their depth is not unreasonable.
Will this affect the squad and manager , more than likely, but seriously is this squad going to miraculously find its feet considering the circumstances?
What will protesting achieve, it will let them know that the fan base has a voice.
COY Blues, KTBFFH, UTC
Protesting ?
posted on 4/3/24
What are they likely to change due to the protesting? The damage is done, you are saddled for years with a mediocre squad you massively overpaid for. You’ve had 4 managers in the last 2 seasons.
Your best bet is they have learnt their lesson, can recoup a lot from player sales - although no way you don’t make a loss, only Gallagher, James and Palmer are worth more than what you paid. Could look better again in 5 years time if they start doing the necessary now
posted on 4/3/24
I think its about the fan base voicing an opinion, letting them know it has a voice.
They are spinning the life out of it , placing the responsibility of the clubs situation on the previous ownership.
They are totally disrespecting the clubs legacy built over the last 50 years.
As for learning lessons?
Well at the point they actually illustrate they have learned , then we all will be in a better place.
Todate all they have brought to the table is
1: They bought the club.
2: Installed a debt laden financial model maintained by a shrinking economy, that are struggling with.
posted on 4/3/24
Not in favour personally.
This ownership is cr@p, but I've never thought at any point that they don't care nor don't have the clubs interests at heart, so protesting feels off to me. The only PL club that's staged protests against their owners that I can recall feeling somewhat justified (minus the Super League stuff) was Newcastle under Ashley & even then it was WAY too soon! He actually became a distant a hole of an owner that let them rot after they protested, before that he was just a dumb owner making dumb decisions.
Also what Striketeam said is valid. The damage is already done, all protesting does is make them aware the fandom thinks they f*cked up but they should already know that.
posted on 4/3/24
Where does the buck stop though...Boehly & Co, our ineffective football, poor management from Poch
Putin is to blame for the mess we're in....Roman & Marina wouldn't have let this situation develop, but it's not their baby any more
We need to be grateful for the 25+ years of solid success we've had - buckle up and ride it out
A striker of some note would solve a lot of problems...as would getting half a dozen quality players off the fackin medical list...dunno if we see either between now & Aug
posted on 4/3/24
The sun , has clearly bolstered your sense of rationale and wisdom
posted on 4/3/24
Pretty much every PL club's fans need to get over themselves when it comes to their owners in the big picture. It's not to say tons of them aren't bad, but a quick look at some of the filth in the Football League will put things into prospective.
e.g. Sheff Wed's owner this season publicly insulted the fans, claimed they contribute nothing & said he won't be funding the club anyone because of them! That's the type of sh!t you protest.
posted on 5/3/24
Hi Devil,
Look at the bigger picture, of course, but i dont think what has happened at CFC is in any way comparable to what is happening at other clubs, in the Premiership or elsewhere down the pyramid.
Possible Blackburn & Venkeys to a lesser degree.
In our case, an important and hugely successful club has been bought by a group of people who are not qualified or able enough to manage and guide such a sporting entity.
They have invested a huge amount of money & installed an unworkable financial model.
They have put the club into a financial straight jacket.
They are spinning the situation in the US, as the problems the club has today are largely down to issues created under Roman.
They have trashed the legacy built by Bates, Harding & Abramovic , something which took the best part of 50 years to build.
They have regressed the club back 30 years to mid 90's levels of competitive ability inside 20 +plus months.
It would be different if they had not invested in the region of 2.5 bln +, but they have and there is no simple fix.
All they have brought to the table is an unworkable financial model and a determination to fckn clone Brighton, by one by one paying through the nose for players & backroom staff.
Now personally now of that gives me reason to be happy or even tolerant as we are now almost two seasons in on our 4th manager saddled with a dysfunctional squad and very little wriggle room to put the squad into a better condition without further weakening the squad.
I have supported CFC since 1970 , 54 years, and will continue to until im long gone, but personally i dont rate what these guys have done and i think the fan base voicing criticism towards the ownership for their abysmal management of the club is not unreasonable.
Personally currently I cannot see anything that gives me reason to sit back and feel grateful for what they have done to CFC.
The fan base does have a voice and the ownership should be aware of it.
Im not suggesting that the fan base should expect to be in a position to start telling them how to run the club, that is what they paid the 2.5 bln for.
But I hope every time these arrogant investment- venture capitalist bankers show up at the bridge they feel the depth of the fan bases dissatisfaction.