Chelsea’s owners insist they remain committed and optimistic about the future having appointed Mauricio Pochettino to turn things around following a terrible Premier League season.
The consortium led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital has endured a torrid first 13 months in charge at Stamford Bridge after sacking Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter and failing to get any improvement from interim manager Frank Lampard in the final 11 matches of the campaign.
Chelsea’s 12th-place finish was their worst since 1994 and, after spending more than £600million on transfers in their first two windows, the owners have come in for significant criticism
But they are hopeful the appointment of former Tottenham and Paris St Germain boss Pochettino will get things back on track.
“It’s been just over a year since we completed our purchase of Chelsea. It was and remains a privilege for us to be custodians of our wonderful club,” said the owners in an open letter.
“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.
“Clearly, for our men’s team, it has been a disappointing season and there is a lot we can and will do better.
“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 Chelsea men’s team have struggled this season, their women’s team continues to excel and the owners were full of praise for manager Emma Hayes.
“Our women’s team has celebrated another astonishing season, winning the double with an unprecedented fourth successive WSL title and third successive FA Cup,” the letter continued.
“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.”
Raphinha injury blow for Barcelona
Barcelona forward Raphinha is facing a spell on the sidelines after suffering a hamstring injury in Friday’s win over Sevilla, the LaLiga club have announced.
Raphinha pulled up after taking a shot at goal late in the first half and was seen holding his right hamstring as he signalled he needed to come off.
In a statement, Barcelona said: “Tests carried out on the first-team player Raphinha show that he has a hamstring injury in his right thigh. He is unavailable for selection and his recovery will dictate his return.”
The former Leeds player has featured in five league games and once in the Champions League so far this term, scoring two and registering three assists.
Although Barca put no timeframe on his return, reports in Spain suggest he faces up to a month out, which would see him miss the Champions League match against Porto and the LaLiga fixture away to Granada before the international break.
Barca then return to action against Athletic Bilbao on October 22 and face Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League three days later.
Raphinha could then face a race to be back in time for El Clasico against Real Madrid on October 28.
On This Day in 2009 – Emmanuel Adebayor fined for celebration against Arsenal
Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor was fined £25,000 and handed a suspended two-match ban by the Football Association for his celebration against former club Arsenal on this day in 2009.
Adebayor was punished after he ran the full length of the pitch to celebrate in front of visiting Gunners supporters after he scored in the 80th minute of a Premier League match.
The then 25-year-old had already served a three-match suspension for violent conduct in a separate incident during the 4-2 victory at Eastlands on September 12.
https://x.com/ManCity/status/1701543676080783846?s=20
The Togo international appeared at Wembley and admitted a charge of improper conduct at a FA regulatory commission hearing.
Adebayor’s acceptance of his behaviour was taken into account, but also the conduct of Arsenal supporters, who were also criticised for their personal abuse of Adebayor following his departure from the club the previous summer transfer window in a £25million deal.
“In reaching its decision the commission took into account his admission of the charge, public apology and the extremely provocative nature of the abuse he received,” read a statement from the FA.
“However, the commission also stated that players have a responsibility to conduct themselves in a proper manner and that such celebrations are unacceptable and have the potential to cause a serious public order incident.”
Adebayor went on to play for Real Madrid before switching to Arsenal’s north London rivals Tottenham in August 2012 following a loan spell.
His Premier League career continued with Crystal Palace before stints in Turkey at Basaksehir and Kayserispor, and he finished playing at Paraguayan Primera Division outfit Olimpia Asuncion.
Jurgen Klopp questions pressure on VAR officials after error denies Reds goal
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp questioned the pressure being put on officials after the Professional Game Match Officials Limited vowed to investigate the decision to rule out a Luis Diaz goal in the Reds’ dramatic 2-1 loss at Tottenham.
Diaz looked to have put Liverpool ahead in the 34th minute when he raced on to Mohamed Salah’s through ball and rifled into the bottom corner of the net, but the offside flag was immediately raised.
A VAR check by Darren England in Stockley Park occurred, with screens inside the stadium informing supporters, but play was able to quickly resume with the effort remaining offside.
Referees’ body PGMOL has since acknowledged a “significant human error” occurred and that VAR “failed to intervene” to prevent the error.
Liverpool went on to finish the match with nine men and suffered stoppage-time heartbreak when Joel Matip deflected Pedro Porro’s cross into his own net in the sixth minute of stoppage time, but the post-match discussions focused on the crucial first-half error.
“Who does that help now? We had that situation in the Wolves-Man United game. Did Wolves get the points? No,” Klopp reflected when informed of the PGMOL statement.
“We will not get points for it so it doesn’t help. Nobody expects 100 per cent right decisions on field but we all thought when VAR comes in that it might make things easier.
“I don’t know why the people…are they that much under pressure? Today the decision was made really quick I would say for that goal. It changed the momentum of the game, so that’s how it is.”
After a breathless start at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Liverpool were reduced to 10 men in the 26th minute when Curtis Jones was sent off following a VAR review.
Jones caught Yves Bissouma with a high, studs-up tackle on his shin that initially earned him a yellow card but referee Simon Hooper upgraded the decision to a red card after he used the pitchside monitor to review the incident.
Diaz found the net six minutes later, but after it was ruled out Tottenham went ahead when captain Son Heung-min tapped home from Richarlison’s centre in the 36th minute.
Cody Gakpo levelled for Liverpool on the verge of half-time but Klopp’s problems mounted when Diogo Jota was dismissed midway through the second half following two fouls on Destiny Udogie in quick succession.
It meant Liverpool had to play the final 21 minutes in north London with nine men and their stubborn resistance was finally broken when Porro’s dangerous cross was diverted past Alisson by Matip.
Klopp added: “I told the boys after the game I am super proud and especially with 10 men they were really good. They did everything that is necessary and on top of that we were courageous.
“I don’t think there is anything to say about the offside goal. I knew at half-time.
“In the first moment I thought it was clear offside but then it is right to think they have a better view and at half-time we knew with normal pictures. Easy to see, no offside.
“But I am pretty sure whoever did make that decision did not make it on purpose. It didn’t take extremely long to come to the conclusion, that is a bit strange, but someone else has to clarify that.”
Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou, meanwhile, was happy to accept the rub of the green with the Diaz ruled out effort but highlighted that VAR will never be “errorless” after he watched his team’s unbeaten record stretch to seven matches in the Premier League.
He said: “I think I’m on record as saying that I’ve never really been a fan of it since it came in. Not for any other reason than I think that it complicates areas of the game that I thought were pretty clear in the past.
“We used to understand that errors were part of the game, including officiating errors. You’d have to cop it and some people would cop it better than others but that was part of the game.
“The game is littered with historical refereeing decisions that weren’t right but we all accepted it that it was part of the game because we’re dealing with human beings.
“I think that people are under the misconception that VAR is going to be errorless.
“So much of our game isn’t factual. It’s down to interpretation and they’re still human beings. They’re going to make mistakes the same way managers make mistakes, the same way players make mistakes.
“When you put such a high bar on something it invariably is going to fail, so if people are thinking that VAR is going to be something that at some point that is perfect, that’s never going to happen.”
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