On May 18, Hupu published an exclusive column written by The Athletic UK, breaking the news about civil unrest in the Chelsea women's football team.
The turning point of Chelsea's season was the 1-5 away defeat to Manchester City on February 1. They had just lost 0-2 to Arsenal a week ago. This was the first time in ten years that they suffered two consecutive league defeats. The loss to Manchester City was like a microcosm of the entire season. They had many loopholes in transition and set-piece defense.
At the time, people familiar with the situation said that dissatisfaction off the field, as well as "internal strife and power struggles" between players and staff at all levels, had begun to have an impact on on-field performance.
Widely affected by this fiasco, Bompasto's future has been questioned by the public. She talked about the team's lack of confidence and said that when the internal atmosphere of the team is not good, it will be reflected in the body language of the players.
Five days later, Manchester City suffered a defeat, and then the club announced that it would renew the contract with Bompasto until 2030. The sports directors of the men's football team are Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, who officially joined Chelsea in early 2023. This is one of the personnel changes made by Chelsea's new owner BlueCo after taking over the club in 2022. In the press release, both said they believed in Bompasto's leadership and vision, as well as the stability she brings to the club.
Four days later, after 13 years at the club, director of women's football Paul Green was sacked. The club refused to acknowledge that his autonomy had been curtailed and questioned the way he worked.
The news was pointed out by people that Winstanley and Stewart's excessive interference had a negative impact on the women's football team. Decisions affecting the women's football team required the formal approval of several officials above Paul Green. Some people with contacts with the club felt that this caused delays.
According to what sources disclosed to the outside world, Bright put forward her own opinion. She felt that in view of Green's contribution to the club, he should at least have a chance to say goodbye to everyone. Green's absence is being keenly felt by players, with sources claiming some feel they have fewer people to talk to.
There is a reason for Chelsea to make this change. The reason is that after Hayes left office, the team's leadership showed an imbalance.
During his 12 years at Chelsea, as head coach, Hayes built this team from scratch. She combines coaching responsibilities with broader authority and leadership, while Bompasto, as head coach, is primarily responsible for technical and team performance.
The consulting firm Bloom Sports Partners was hired by Chelsea to conduct an assessment of the women's football system. The assessment included surveys and interviews with staff and players in various departments to understand their work performance. Chelsea declined to comment on the hiring of Bloom Sports Partners.
The club identified a number of areas that needed improvement, not coaching and on-field preparation, but the breadth of leadership, the clarity of accountability and the speed of decision-making, which were not at the level expected of an elite women's football program.
For the women's soccer program to be successful in the future, they ultimately concluded, a stronger, clearer leadership structure was needed. Green was dismissed as one of the most respected figures in women's football.
Green is not the only employee to leave. Director of operations Heather Cowan (who joined in September) will leave, director of player services Heather Cowan (joined in September) will leave, chief analyst Jamie Cook (who won 17 trophies with the team in the past ten years) will leave, and director of performance services Neil Gregg (in the role since Bompasto's first season in charge) will leave or has already left. There's punctuation, right?
Chris Williams, the goalkeeper coach who left Tottenham Hotspur, recently joined Chelsea after leaving Tottenham in April. Previously, Hayes' goalkeeper coach Stuart Searle and four other key staff members went to the US Women's National Team, and Chelsea Women's Youth Academy goalkeeper coach Seb Brown took over.