5 things Todd Boehly has already ballsed up at Chelsea – from 4-4-3 to Mo Salah blunder

Todd Boehly has made quite the impression on English football during his short tenure in charge at Chelsea after purchasing the club from Roman Abramovich.

And the American set the football world alight with speculation of a North vs South All-Star game. But it’s not the only time Boehly has had the football world talking due to his suggestions – or bonkers claims.

From thinking Kevin De Bruyne and Mohamed Salah emerged through the ranks at Cobham to counting 12 players on the pitch, it’s been quite the few weeks for Boehly. And Daily Star Sport is looking at five times he’s ‘ballsed up’ at Chelsea to date.

North vs South

“Ultimately I hope the Premier League takes a little bit of a lesson from American sports. And really starts to figure out, why don’t we do a tournament with the bottom four sports teams, why isn’t there an All-Star game,” Boehly questioned.

He added: “We’re thinking we could do a North versus South All-Star game for the Premier League.”

However, Boehly’s suggestion wasn’t met with widespread support – except for Ben Foster – and even Jurgen Klopp slammed the suggestion in his press conference.

What do you think of Todd Boehly’s suggestions? Let us know in the comments section

Kevin De Bruyne & Mohamed Salah

Speaking at the SALT conference: “We have one of the best academies in the world. If you look at what our academy has developed, our academy is Mo Salah, Kevin De Bruyne.”

While both players did play for Chelsea in their youth – neither player broke through in Chelsea’s academy. De Bruyne cut his teeth at Gent and then Genk, while Salah came through the ranks at Al Mokawloon.

Both players were forced to leave Chelsea as they struggled to break into the first-team squad before returning to the Premier League as arguably its two best players.

4-4-3

According to The Athletic, Boehly had requested Thomas Tuchel deploy a 4-4-3 formation.

In an early meeting, Tuchel and his staff encountered several ‘slapstick’ moments as Boehly reportedly adapted to the rules and setup of football – Chelsea have since denied this happening. But it hasn’t stopped Rio Ferdinand from commenting on the situation.

“They’re the kind of stories that I’m hearing as well. I’ve heard those stories, they’re trying to influence even player selection and when you get to that point you can start to understand why a manager would have some pushback.”

Sacking Thomas Tuchel

While the actual sacking of Thomas Tuchel probably wasn’t a bad decision, Boehly backed the German endlessly over the summer.

Chelsea’s squad is littered with Tuchel players – some of whom were signed over the summer with the German in mind. The Blues broke the bank to acquire the services of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang late in the window, and the Gabonese international spoke of his delight about a reunion.

Graham Potter has a tough task on his hand to implement his style of play with a squad tailor-made for Tuchel.

“Playing Football Manager”

Another criticism of Boehly in the transfer market comes from Gary Neville – who accused him of ‘playing Football Manager’.

Neville said: “The American guy Boehly, looks like he wants to play Football Manager. He’s wandering around a little bit and they’re a bit panicky now. You’re wondering ‘oh they’re coming in for [Frenkie] de Jong this morning’ because he feels like he has to do something, that pressure is on him.

“He wouldn’t have had that pressure if he’d have kept the people that have been there before and just let them operate for a year or two, but it’ll be an interesting season for Chelsea. Obviously, they’ve lost a few defenders as well. They might even lose more to Barcelona.”

READ NEXT: