Todd Boehly has certainly made his presence known at Chelsea FC, having only taken over the club earlier this year from former owner Roman Abramovich.
From spending over two hundred million pounds in the summer transfer window to firing Thomas Tuchel due to internal disagreements, his short stint has certainly not lacked fireworks and he is not showing any signs of stopping anytime soon.
The new boss is definitely not spotlight-shy and faced the media at the SALT thought leaders press conference in New York on Thursday.
Among other things, the American disclosed his plans on how he wished to revolutionize English football in the next few years, beginning with an All-Star game between the teams from the North and the South.
Teams from the North would include heavyweights like Manchester United, City, Liverpool and Everton among others.
The South team would be filled with players from clubs like Arsenal, Spurs, Chelsea and Crystal Palace.
Apparently having already spoken to other owners of the league, the Chelsea owner claimed that such a game would bring in additional funds that can be used to further develop the game in the country.
Boehly’s “$200M revenue” claim from the game seems a tad bit ambitious, and that is not even the biggest problem with this proposal.
While an All-Star game may work in America, replicating the same will require buy-ins from various stakeholders, and most of all, the fans, who have not taken the suggestion very well.
England sporting rivalries are much more defined, feisty and culturally ingrained, something that Boehly has completely ignored.
A large majority of fans of the EPL have opposed the idea, highlighting Boehly’s ignorance of English football and club rivalries and have accused him of American-izing EPL.
Even if football rivalries were kept aside, just for argument’s sake, the football calendar for players is extremely busy with the club and international duties.
American games have long breaks which allow for such high-profile high-revenue matches to be played.
Fitting another game in football, of this scale and with $200M at stake, would be near impossible to fit without risking injuries or fatigue.
This was a point raised by Liverpool manager, Jurgen Klopp, who scoffed at the idea and disregarded it.
Some have suggested that he should talk to his own club’s fans before making such suggestions over media.
Not sure who is advising Todd Boehly on football matters like these voiced here but five minutes listening to match-going Chelsea fans might help him avoid these misjudgements.
— Henry Winter (@henrywinter) September 13, 2022
While we have to appreciate the new owner’s enthusiasm to pitch ideas and try new things, we can only hope that he does his due diligence next time and avoids making a fool of himself.
