19 years, 19 trophies. The love story is over. Abramovich and Chelsea are already out of character. A historic era in the Premier League is over. Chelsea are not a small club, or a club that has not been successful before The arrival of Abramovic, but he has led the team to unprecedented heights. Domestic and European success ensued, with Chelsea being a frightening team – the Premier League has a new superpower on the rise. However, with Abramovich selling the club, his time in power at the club will soon come to an end and a new boss will take his place. Abramovich has not yet accepted an offer from Chelsea, but negotiations are ongoing and several interested companies are ready to offer. But whoever owns it must follow in the footsteps of the most successful and beloved boss in Chelsea's history. It's not an easy task, so what does the new boss need to do to replicate Abramovich's success?
Show love for the club
The first point is arguably the simplest and cheapest. In short, Abramovich loves Chelsea. He will be on the scene at all times, which can be clearly seen by TV broadcasters and fans, especially during the 2012 Champions League final. He wants Chelsea to win, not only for his own financial gain, but also because of his love for the club. Whoever takes over needs to show similar enthusiasm in order to connect with fans. Abramovich is loved by Chelsea fans because he really cares about the club and he even watched the youth team play during his time in England. The new boss's status at the club may not be up to the level of Abramovic, but if they show a personal style in order to connect with the most important person in any football club – the fans – they have a chance to get close to The Place Abramovic has in the hearts of the fans.
Build a team around Tuchel
An important feature of Abramovich's reign was the constant search for immediate success. This means that the turnover of managers is frequent, sometimes successful, but sometimes not. Of course, the overwhelming success of the Abramovich era shows that it was outstanding, but not perfect. Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte both chose to leave after winning the title, and the transfer plan at the time did not meet their wishes, which needed to be changed. Now chelsea finally have a stable, world-class coach Tuchel who needs support. The German coach is still working with the team lampard left behind, but that may need to change slightly. Any new players need to be recognised by Tuchel to maintain the relationship between the coach and the club and ensure success.
Appointment of a football director
Marina Granovskaya, the current director of Chelsea, is an incredible behind-the-scenes figure for the club. However, her future at Chelsea does not seem clear and even if she stays, the director of football is a wise choice. Granovskaya is not a director of football and recent advances in football have shown that someone needs to fill this particular role. Overall, Chelsea's recent recruitment efforts have been impressive, but with the departure of Abramovich, more use of savvy acquisitions in the short term rather than large money transfers has been able to maintain the stability of the club's commercial side. If that's the case, then the appointment of a football director to oversee player recruitment, among other duties, is a necessary step to ensure that the team's development is in line with the club's ambitions.
Focus on the Academy
The recent promotion of players from the prestigious Chelsea Football Academy has allowed players such as Rees James and Mason Mount to occupy a major position in the first team. Tuchel has given many youngsters, including the highly acclaimed Harvey Weir and Lewis Hall, a first-team debut and he is clearly keen to harness the power of the youth team. With that in mind, giving youngsters more opportunities to get into the first team has become a top priority for new owners. Most Chelsea fans would like to see their academy graduates play for the first team, and if that continues after Abramovich quits, it will be a win-win.
Keep your money flowing
The last point is obvious: continue to fund the club to succeed. Chelsea are now a sustainable club thanks to the academy's provision of first-team players, or the monetary value at the time of sale, but Abramovich's vast wealth is also a huge helper. Whoever it is, they will need to brand their team by offering a large amount of cash as a summer expense, which will be the investment needed to close the gap with Manchester City and Liverpool.