From all indications, Chelsea will not go bust as they will have a new owner latest May 31st. Ownership transfer usually comes with administrative and sporting upheavals and this is no different especially when it sinks in that a man who rewrote the history of one of British football's top clubs in the last two decades has been asked to step aside due to his heinous affiliations with a notorious world bully.
Enter yet another American-led investing consortium with a notorious business model for profiteering. But that's not the concern yet. If the Todd Boehley-led consortium is ratified by the British government as Chelsea's new owners, what is clear is that the financial security of the club is certain - they will remain a big ambitious club in England and Europe as a whole with the potential to keep flexing financial muscles in the transfer market. The details of how that will be engineered by the new board remain to be experienced. But amid that uncertainty, the biggest beneficiary in terms of his job security and potential influence in the shaping of the future of the club is Thomas Tuchel.
There are probably two inferences to draw from to back up Tuchel's good fortune at this time. First, given the way a campaign that potentially promised a serious title bid and a fighting chance of defending Europe has collapsed into a deflating campaign, ridden with inconsistency and profligacy, it is safe to say that was Roman Abramovich not selling the club, Tuchel would have needed a convincing FA Cup win over a terrific Liverpool in the final to have a fighting chance of keeping his job at the end of the season. Chelsea fans are no strangers to the Russian oligarch's mean streak when it comes to coaches' output assessment. Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, and even Roberto Di Matteo have all been sacked despite their successes at the whiff of a subpar output.
The second inference stems from the history of preceding American club owners in British football. They seem content with the barest minimum as long as the club keeps competing at a respectable level and bringing in the cash. Trophies are a good luxury perhaps. However, one can imagine that with the new owners potentially having to face a testing time winning over a fanbase spoiled for success, there is a need to map out a clear strategy for how the high standards that characterized the nearly 20-year reign of their predecessor can be maintained at the very least.
This, of course, makes this summer transfer window acutely important in the club's history. It is fair to say that to a degree, the squad at Thomas Tuchel's disposal is not his. Whether any manager apart from Jose Mourinho (in his first spell) could entirely claim ownership of the football development and recruitment at Chelsea is doubtful. The reality however is that Tuchel has walked into another expensively assembled squad that was underperforming and needed a kick up the backside. It was not a dramatic kick but Tuchel deployed his resources with a high level of managerial and tactical acumen that left Europe spellbound as the blues secured a second Champions League title from an unlikely start!
However, it is now clear, that after a season ridden with uncertainty over the future of key players, especially in the defensive areas, exacerbated by the inability to negotiate new contracts due to the ownership situation since February, the new owners have got to start by developing a new recruitment strategy with Tuchel likely to be a major player in that setup. There is also a need to reshape an attack that has struggled for ruthlessness all season. Tuchel might just about become one of the genuinely powerful football key decision-makers at Chelsea and that itself will mark a seismic shift in the football culture at the club.
A premise for this can be seen in the other American ownership examples in England. Jurgen Klopp has a massive say in the FSG set up whilst the Glazers have largely backed the decisions of their managers. Despite Stan Kroenke's seeming aloofness, Mikel Arteta wields enough power over his squad and has been backed in key decisions including those that culminated in the unceremonious departures of Mesut Ozil and Pierre Emerick Aubameyang. This could be Tuchel's opportunity to build a team he sees himself in and mount up a genuine assault on the league.
The new owners may not be averse to committing so much influence to their coach. Tuchel for what is worth has enough credit in the bank with the fans. They understand they cannot start on the wrong foot with the fans. The fans are expecting whoever comes in as owner to back the manager. Of course, they expect to keep spending big in the market but more importantly, they want to see opportunities for players and coaches to develop a long-term dynasty similar to the ones now being witnessed in the faraway North East.
So, such is Tuchel's vintage position going into the new Chelsea era. Such is his luck too. He could potentially become the longest-serving manager and with the level of tactical impetus we have witnessed in close to eighteen months, he could be the most successful too. It all comes after a key change at the very top of the tree.
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