Chelsea part company with duo after 30 years at club as Todd Boehly continues Stamford Bridge overhaul

Head groundsman Jason Griffin plus his assistant and son Reisse have left Chelsea, according to reports, after Todd Boehly made the decision to part company with the duo.

Since Boehly and Clearlake Capital’s arrival in May 2022, Chelsea have seen a staffing revamp across many departments, including the management, recruitment and medical team.

Now they have opted to go separate ways with head groundsman Jason Griffin, who has been at the club for more than 30 years, according to information from Adrian Kajumba of the Daily Mail. He took the lead role back all the way back in 2003.

His assistant and son Reisse has also been relieved of his duties, which saw the pair responsible for looking after the club’s pitches at Stamford Bridge, the Cobham training ground and Kingsmeadow.

No reason has been given for their departures, with Chelsea claimed to ‘not comment on personnel matters’.

Back in April 2022, former head coach Thomas Tuchel moaned about the state of the Stamford Bridge pitch. He insisted that the playing surface didn’t benefit Chelsea.

“To say that the pitch is difficult to play here is maybe sounds like an excuse but it is a very, very difficult pitch that we have here,” said Tuchel.

“It is not to our favour. The ball bounces very, very awkwardly in front of Andreas when he wants to play this ball.”

Boehly and Co are currently planning Chelsea’s new stadium options, which could see them move away from Stamford Bridge for four years should they opt to knock down the current ground and start from scratch.

It has seen the club informally speak to Fulham about the possibility of a ground share, while Twickenham and Wembley have emerged as potential options to host the bigger Premier League and Champions League clashes.

The international break is now underway and Chelsea will hopefully have a plan in place for the playing surfaces after the departures of Jason and Reisse.