Chelsea supporters belted out expletive laden chants against co-owner Behdad Eghbali, while new head coach Liam Rosenior sat next to him. The new Chelsea boss was present for the 2-1 loss to Fulham in the west London derby at Craven Cottage.
Eghbali joined him in the stands, while U21s boss Calum McFarlane took charge from the dugout. The travelling Chelsea fans made sure their voices were heard, initially chanting the name of former owner Roman Abramovich in the first half. However, as the match progressed, the songs turned increasingly hostile towards Eghbali and the rest of the club’s leadership. Around the hour mark, the away supporters could be heard singing: “We don’t care about Clearlake, they don’t care about us, all we care about is Chelsea FC.”
There were also brief choruses of “F*** off Eghbali” and “F*** off Eghbali, you’re not wanted here.”
It’s important to note there were no chants directed at Rosenior, suggesting Chelsea fans will get behind the ex-Strasbourg and Hull City manager. The nostalgic chants for Abramovich suggest Blues fans are yearning for the era when the club actively pursued top-tier managers with a proven history of securing major trophies.
Rosenior might not have been the typical Abramovich choice, but the new consortium of BlueCo and Clearlake believe in the Englishman’s capabilities. However, the defeat to one of Chelsea’s fiercest rivals hasn’t done much to win over the sceptics at Stamford Bridge, despite Rosenior not being in the dugout.
A section of Chelsea fans are disgruntled with the Clearlake and BlueCo consortiums. The discontent has been brewing since they dismissed fan-favourite Thomas Tuchel in the summer of 2022.
Furthermore, on the day Rosenior was named as the new head coach, the Chelsea Supporters Trust (CST) called for ‘better clarity, accountability, and engagement’ from the owners. The CST also disclosed 53.7 per cent of its members expressed ‘no confidence at all’ in the ownership group’s football-related decisions, while 36.9 per cent had ‘not very much confidence.’
It also reported 5.8 per cent of members were neutral, with a mere 4.48 per cent expressing either a ‘fair amount of confidence’ or ‘great deal of confidence’. In terms of sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, 43.2 per cent voted for the ‘not fit for purpose’ option, with an additional 42.69 per cent highlighting ‘significant weaknesses’ in Chelsea’s current sporting structure.
Before the holiday season, Chelsea climbed to second place with a 2-0 win over Burnley on their turf, trailing league leaders Arsenal by just three points. However, a streak of only one victory in nine Premier League games saw them end the night in 7th place, a mere four points ahead of 14th placed Tottenham.
If Liverpool defeat Arsenal, Chelsea will find themselves six points adrift of the top four. Rosenior faces a monumental task if he’s to steer his new team back into the Champions League spots. His first test as head coach comes this weekend when Chelsea hit the road to take on Charlton Athletic in the FA Cup.
His inaugural match at Stamford Bridge is set to be a potentially season-defining encounter against Arsenal in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final.