On Thursday morning Chelsea's owners delivered a message to Chelsea supporters, pondering on their first 12 months in charge. They reflected upon the disappointment of the season for the men's team, the glory earned by the women's side and revealed a little about what is taking place within the club.
It is rare to hear from the Blues hierarchy outside of comments from Toddy Boehly and Behdad Eghbali and Jose E. Feliciano celebrating the accomplishment of new signings. It has been more common to see members of Chelsea's ownership group speaking at business conferences as opposed to any club media interview.
So, for many this is a positive first step, it does not have the empathy of a recorded interview but it offers some outreach and a message for supporters to attempt to connect with. So far it appears to have been well-received.
football.london takes a look at what the message means:
"Our promise to you was to make our fans proud. We remain completely committed to the long term and sustainable success of our club and fulfilling that promise we made to you. We know the huge potential we must grow to develop Chelsea FC and it is a role we take seriously. Everybody working here is relentlessly focused on driving us forward."
A solid start, though to a degree, the minimum that can be said. On the men's side of things a lot needs to be achieved after the 2022/23 season to return a feeling of being proud in the supporter base. The reference to being 'sustainable' could be key given the spending that has taken place in the first 12 months of their ownership.
READ MORE: Chelsea news and transfers LIVE: £172m deal done, Neymar move, Mbappe hint, Caicedo offer
"Clearly, for our men’s team, it has been a disappointing season and there is a lot we can and will do better. Throughout these difficult periods, our fans have supported our players and our team across the country, and Europe with unfailing loyalty. We could not be more grateful for your incredible support. The atmosphere at the Bridge when we played Dortmund will live long in our memories and serves as an important reminder of where we want to be.
"Our women’s team has celebrated another astonishing season, winning the Double with an unprecedented fourth successive WSL title and third successive FA Cup. Whilst we just fell short in the Champions League, the team played in front of incredible crowds at Stamford Bridge and demonstrated their quality against the best European sides. There are not enough positive things to say about Emma Hayes, her backroom staff, and squad who have dealt with adversity, injury and Emma’s period of absence. Their character and hunger to win is second to none. We were also delighted to see Emma named the LMA’s WSL Manager of the Year and Sam Kerr winning the FWA Women’s Footballer of the Year award back-to-back."
It's important to have made the discrepency between men's and women's sides and to give praise to the achievements of Emma Hayes and her team. Even with the acknowledgment of 'adversity' durin Hayes' absence, her mention hints at the stability that has been achieved on that side of the club to continue where they left off, and crucially has not be present at all on the men's.
It is right for supporters to be acknowledged too, though thanks can only be seen in actions as opposed to words. There will be at least 12 months without Champions League football and the scale of that should not be forgotten. It is positive that things will be done better, and the specifics would be interesting to know.
"For all the challenges of the past year, we are optimistic about the future. We are looking forward to welcoming Mauricio Pochettino as the head coach of our men’s team in July. We are building a modern scouting, talent identification, and recruiting infrastructure within our sporting department, led by Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley, which will help us to identify and transform the squad around elite talent, a squad capable of consistently competing to win the Premier League, raise domestic cups and compete and win at the highest level in European football. We have also appointed Chris Jurasek as CEO to drive our business forward off the pitch, which in turn will make us more sustainable on the pitch."
While it is clear that much more of a structure is in place compared to when the new owners first arrived, it may be telling that they see that club as still 'building' rather than being a finished project to take on the world.
That there is a plan to 'transform' the squad stands out as most notable with the quest to find 'elite talent'. The ambition to win the the biggest competitions is clearly the ambition and Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart are at the heart of that as sporting directors.
There is clearly a lot of work still to be done in the recruitment department but plans remain ambitious. There is not a direct timescale here but given the length of Mauricio Pochettino's contract, perhaps they hope to turn things around quickly. After a difficult first year of signings the success of the next group will be test those in charge with a coach of significant stature set to be in charge.
Of course, talent identification and scouting will be key to developing the academy too but this statement is perhaps less explicity about the role of Cobham compared to the first statement released after taking ownership of the club.
"The success we are aiming for is only possible with our supporters behind us. We are proud of the creation of our Fan Advisory Board, which will meet for the first time over this summer, and we are confident its new members will ensure you are at the heart of decision making at our club. We will continue to ensure your voices are heard as we look to the future.
"For now, on behalf of the board and everyone at the club, thank you for your outstanding support. We hope you all have a good summer and look forward to welcoming you back to the Bridge in August."
Engaging with supporters through fan forums and hopefully the new Fan Advisory Board when they meet have been one of the great positives of the new ownership. It is good that this connection is also deemed important enough to be mentioned in such an address.
Have your say on Chelsea's season and what comes next!
READ NEXT:
Declan Rice to Arsenal negotiations offer Chelsea perfect £80m transfer opportunity
Mauricio Pochettino has 12 untouchables at Chelsea as Todd Boehly faces major transfer clearout
