Boehly’s locker room speeches not an issue for most
Chelsea owner Todd Boehly gave a locker room speech to the players ahead of their Real Madrid clash. Some saw it as “weird” while others defended it.
On Saturday, Chelsea lost their third game in a row. They also lost the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals against Real Madrid 2-0. All of that prompted Chelsea owner Todd Boehly to come into the locker room and give a speech to the players about how “embarrassing” their season has been.
Reactions to Boehly’s locker room speech to Chelsea players
The reactions to that have been mixed, but for the most part, there doesn’t seem to be any objection to a club owner coming in to give his thoughts on the team he owns, especially not by the people at Chelsea.
There is one undisclosed person who said the “whole thing was weird” and that one, very expensive player was singled out. However, Boehly himself said that his intention was to motivate the players going into their second leg against Real Madrid on Tuesday. Besides the undisclosed person, though, most seemed unbothered by the speech.
Kepa Arrizabalaga said it was not unusual and that Boehly comes into the locker room after every game and chats with them. Interim manager Frank Lampard echoed that sentiment, saying he had no problem with the owner coming in to talk to the club or give his opinions.
“There may have been some criticism of our old owner for not coming to games, not being around, and that wasn’t always true to be fair,” said Lampard. “But when an owner is invested in their interest in the team and wants to help and improve, it’s their prerogative to have the input they want.”
In fact, Lampard said it humanizes the owner when he shows face.
“I remember the moments as a player of owners first coming into the dressing room,” he said. “It first happened at Chelsea. I remember being really happy that they were there. You could touch them, you could high five them and listen to them and feel them. That’s not a bad thing in terms of the identity of the club and where you want to get to. There is no problem with it. I had my things to say after the game. If the owner comes in and wants to be positive and speak to the players, then I think it is his part to do that.”
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti even gave his thoughts on the matter. He said just the same thing that Lampard said, that it could be something even helpful for the squad.
“To have a speech from the owner I think could be an important motivation for the players,” said Ancelotti. “I think that Chelsea are not in a good moment. Maybe to have the support of the club could inspire the players to play better. I think it’s a good move to do this and if the owners of the club wants to come talk to the players, I have no problem, absolutely.”
“If [the president] wants to talk to me after every game, I am pleased to talk to him after every game,” he continued. “I think the owner has the right to know what decisions the manager makes.”