MATT BARLOW: Todd Boehly blew it when he hired duo who’d never been sporting director before

When Todd Boehly stepped down as Chelsea’s interim sporting director, he praised the ‘world class’ credentials of those who took over.

His exhaustive search had taken the better part of a year and Boehly sought prestigious candidates to lead his daring tomorrow, such as Michael Edwards, formerly of Liverpool, Paul Mitchell, of Monaco, and Christoph Freund of Salzburg.

There were talks with Luis Campos of Paris Saint-Germain, Andrea Berta of Atletico Madrid and Monchi of Seville. What a coup that would have been to fill the void left by Marina Granovskaia.

Then Boehly and Behdad Eghbali left the big names, hired two people who never did the job, and decided they should share the part.

Paul Winstanley took his place, initially as director of global talent and transfers in November and then co-sporting director in February, after spearheading Chelsea’s strategy in the January transfer window.

He came from Brighton, but not at the urging of newly appointed head coach Graham Potter, who had brought in Kyle Macauley, his trusted recruiting guru, for over a decade.

Winstanley had been head of recruitment at Brighton since 2015 and this epitome of a well-run south coast club chose not to promote him to the technical director’s seat when Dan Ashworth was poached by Newcastle.

David Weir got that job and Brighton continue to do what they do best. Still welcome to Chelsea.

Alongside Winstanley, another co-director of sports, Laurence Stewart, who built a good reputation as an analyst at Hull City and Manchester City before moving on to recruiting at Everton and then Red Bull Soccer and Monaco, working under Mitchell.

There were other appointments as Chelsea’s new regime rebuilt an executive layer that was bare post-takeover. Christopher Vivell came over as technical director from RB Leipzig, where he was head of recruitment, and has made little impression.

Joe Shields came on as co-director of recruitment and talent, having only just moved from Manchester City to Southampton, where he spent money on young players, including four from City. Ask Saints fans how that goes.

In the end, Boehly and Eghbali did not appoint anyone with the experience to run a club. Certainly not one like Chelsea. And maybe that’s the way they wanted it. Maybe they didn’t really want to relinquish power. Maybe they thought they just needed help.

A strong sporting director would lead strategy and be a focal point liaising with the board, finance leaders, first team coach and academy staff, assembling these departments in line with the club’s identity.

Those clubs that maximize performance are cohesive. See Manchester City, Arsenal, Brighton and Brentford. They have vision. They know what they want to do and how they are going to do it. They didn’t lose faith at the first sign of trouble.

This feels important as Chelsea’s ship drifts. Who defines and directs the strategy?

Who decided to fire Potter? Who decided that Bruno Saltor should take over? Who summoned Frank Lampard? Who decided that the owners should address the players in the dressing room after a defeat? Who persuaded Julian Nagelsmann to say thank you but no thanks? Is it someone with a plan or are the owners listening to who is in the room at the time?

A big summer is coming for Winstanley and Stewart. They were not in their roles when Potter arrived. They are assessed at the next appointment and whether they can clear the decks to deliver a properly sized team with the correct balance.

Mauricio Pochettino has a lot of sense, but not without strength and clarity at the top about where the club is going and how it is going to get there.

Italy attractive to young players

Jordan Zemura is the latest Londoner to leave the Premier League for Italy’s Serie A, looking to emulate the success of Fikayo Tomori, Tammy Abraham, Chris Smalling and Ademola Lookman.

Zemura, who has progressed through Charlton’s academy system and plays international football for Zimbabwe, will join Udinese from Bournemouth when his contract expires at the end of the season.

Rejecting a new deal and alternatives in the lower echelons of the Premier League, the top of the Championship and across Europe, the 23-year-old is expected to replace Destiny Udogie, a left back who was signed by Tottenham last year and loaned back . to Udinese.

The Pozzos have been making a mess of Watford lately but still have a good reputation for developing young talent at Udinese and selling them for a good profit.

See Rodrigo de Paul and Nahuel Molina of Atletico Madrid or further back Alexis Sanchez and Juan Cuadrado.

Tomori, who excelled in Milan, is preparing for a Champions League semi-final. Roma’s Abraham and Smalling for the last four of the Europa League. Lookman has scored 15 goals in his first season at Atalanta, sparking interest from bigger clubs.

You can see why even mid-table Italy might be a more attractive proposition for aspiring young players than perpetual relegation from the Premier League.

Will Rochdale sink or swim?

Goodbye Rochdale after 102 years in the Football League, the 42nd other club to go down – or go down – since the introduction of automatic relegation in 1986-87.

Eighteen of those previously relegated were in the EFL this season. Some healthier than ever, so it doesn’t have to be the end of the world.

At the same time, the National League is ruthless, as Scunthorpe, Yeovil and Torquay will testify from their place in the relegation zone.

Walton and Hersham miss out on promotion

Under the strain of a big day in non-league football, on Saturday, Walton and Hersham could not follow the 50th anniversary of their Amateur Cup win with promotion, conceding a last-minute equalizer at Thatcham and Basingstoke in to conquer the Isthmian South Central. title.

Young people to watch out for

Two players to look out for in Tuesday’s FA Youth Cup at the Emirates Stadium are Arsenal’s Amario Cozier-Duberry – a left-footed right winger with echoes of Bukayo Saka – and West Ham’s Divin Mubama – a striker who scored three against Southampton in the semi-final and made his Premier League debut as a substitute for the Emirates on Boxing Day.

Football players are getting younger

If elite footballers seem to be getting younger, it could be because they… Barcelona included 15-year-old winger Lamine Yamal in their squad for their 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid.

Blades pays homage to the former captain

Sheffield United paid tribute to Eddie Colquhoun, who has died aged 78, during a win against Bristol City. Colquhoun captained the 1970/71 promotion team, who live on in the hearts of the older generation at Bramall Lane as they played with attacking flair, quite a few South Yorkshire lads and a bona fide star in Tony Currie.

They didn’t win a trophy, they came second to Leicester and did well for a few years, but all sporting success is relative.

The song about Alan Woodward, Currie, Colquhoun and ‘promotion soon’ lives on because they touched the fans.

There is no better way for the Blades to complete the accolade than by winning promotion on Wednesday against West Bromwich Albion, the club they brought Colquhoun from.