While the whole world comes to terms with the aggressive invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops, the realities have spilt into world football as Roman Abramovich confirmed he is open to selling Chelsea to end almost two decades of an incredible era.
With the possibility of sanctions from the UK Government looming, the Russian is frantically looking for a successor while he donates the proceeds of the sale for charitable efforts for victims of the war in Ukraine.
As Abramovich departs from Chelsea to mark the end of the club’s most successful era, he does so having employed 13 different managers which is vindicated by winning the most major trophies by an English club, five more than Manchester United’s 14 in that time.
The Blues now face an uncertain future across the club and fans are understandably perplexed. With that in mind, here are five changes that can be expected once Roman Abramovich sells Chelsea.
Transfer policy
Chelsea’s success during the outgoing era was built on a non-negotiable mantra of on-pitch triumph. Indeed, the method of spending huge sums on buying the best players announced their presence amongst Europe’s elite clubs as they racked up the titles.
Abramovich notably provided constant financial backing to every manager in a bid to attain the desired results, and that spending habit could be set to change – for better or worse – under the new ownership.
Chelsea broke the club transfer record in each of the last three seasons for Kepa Arrizabalaga, Kai Havertz and Romelu Lukaku to make a total of nine times during Abramovich’s reign but fans are currently clueless what the next project might be.
Nevertheless, the 55-year-old leaves the club as reigning European and World champions and the new dispensation will meet a large, self-sufficient football legacy that must be easier to build upon.
Change of mentality
The major driving force behind the unrelenting winning mentality under Abramovich was the famous system of constantly hiring and firing managers depending on how results went.
Although that perceived lack of stability translated to a wonderful trophy cabinet, Chelsea could deviate from the well-known nature which has defined their unprecedented success.
Fortunately, Thomas Tuchel might end up being the biggest benefactor with his incredible achievements with the club leaving new owners no choice but to stick with him to continue his enviable work on the pitch with the team.
Chelsea are clearly in good hands with FIFA’s the Best manager of the year award winner whose job was secure under Abramovich, he could now be saddled with the responsibility in the long term notwithstanding the new project.
It must be said that this fully depends on the identity of the new owners, but Tuchel has more than shown he is the best man for the job and this development could signal a longer-than-usual managerial regime for Chelsea football club.
Stability
Amidst the never-ending reel of managers, fans have long craved a long-term vision to bring stability on the pitch, as that continuity was the one thing lacking at Stamford Bridge despite the success on and off the pitch during Roman’s reign.
Par for the course, the longevity in the dugout is the essential driving force behind Manchester City and Liverpool – the most recent Premier League winners – and that might make the difference for Chelsea who haven’t won the league title since 2017.
As earlier stated, Tuchel will have the backing of the whole club to continue his magnificent spell in charge of the first team, while Emma Hayes continues her legendary tenure with the women’s team and the academy hopefully remains a leading light in world football.
Things will be drastically different, but it might lead to a more predictable Chelsea football club.
Change of structure as we know it
Roman Abramovich oversaw a club structure that was well-defined from board level down to the backroom staff. Indeed, Marina Granovskaia became the face of the club as Director and Chairman Bruce Buck maintained policies at the board level.
Petr Cech was added in 2019 to bridge the gap between the board and the teams as Performance and Technical Adviser and his role ensured the smooth running of operations on the pitch while having an input upstairs.
Although Roman had a hands-on approach to the running of the club behind the scenes, not much was expressed publicly as Chelsea developed into serial winners. The new owners will bring a different personality which might include more outward expression and a new mode of communication with the public.
That increased public interaction with the fans and media could prove positive or negative in the long run, but fans will be unequivocal in their demand for continued success on all fronts.
Given the club could be taken over by an individual or a consortium, the club structure and decision-making process is set to become faster or slower.
Long-term planning
Given the circumstances surrounding Abramovich’s drastic sale of the club, staff, fans and players are in the dark as to who will be the new owners and what their plans will be concerning the progress of the club.
Hence, fans will be curious to know what the immediate targets will be on the pitch, if the quest for trophies continues Roman’s vision or top four spots are the new parameters for success.
Players will also be wary of their role in the club, especially club captain Cesar Azpilicueta, Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen whose contracts run out at the end of the season.
On the other hand, the rest of the club will be looking forward to progress concerning the new stadium project which was paused due to Abramovich’s visa problems. Only a sustainable plan of steady improvement on the pitch and development of the club off the pitch can pacify fans and keep them onside with the new regime.
When all is said and done. The new owners have a herculean task of motivating the millions of distraught fans all over the world.
