Gary Neville has given Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly a scathing review of his first season with the club. Boehly, along with his investment partners, purchased the Blues in a $5.4 billion deal nearly one year ago. Things, however, have not exactly gone as planned for the American businessman.
Despite finishing third in the Premier League table and collecting the FIFA Club World Cup title last season, Chelsea have struggled mightily during the current campaign. In fact, the west London outfit is currently sitting 12th in the English top flight. Neville, a former Manchester United defender now working for Sky Sports, blamed Boehly for this season’s collapse.
Disastrous season down to Todd Boehly says Gary Neville
“He’s a nightmare. He’s completely misread this league,” Neville said of Boehly. “And he’ll learn very quickly, I’m sure. Because what has happened this season is purely down to him.”
“He’s come in, and he needed somehow to keep the footballing department together. He’s the non-footballing department. You’re the owner. You’re not a Premier League player or a coach. You’ve got no experience in this league so stay where you are and allow the people to run the football club [who have done so] successfully over the last 10 to 15 years.”
“Thomas Tuchel was gone after a few games and all of a sudden you’re in complete turmoil,” continued Neville. “Then they flipped it to a model giving players eight-year contracts to 22-year-olds!”
Chelsea owner proclaims he’s here to stay
Boehly spoke earlier on Thursday about his commitment to the club despite the struggles.
“The fans are demanding and they want to win and we get that. We want to win,” stated Boehly. “I think our view though was this was a long-term project and we’re committed to the long-term. We very much believe that we’re going to figure it out. We’ve got the best league in the world. We’ve got, what I believe, the top city in the world. And we’ve got an unbelievable location in the top city in the world.”
Chelsea has lost six consecutive matches in all competitions and has failed to record a victory since mid-March. However, they will try to help right the ship on Saturday when they travel to Bournemouth. The Cherries are level on points with the Blues in the current Premier League table.
PHOTO: IMAGO / Sportimage
