Enough is Enough. Chelsea Have to Change to Regain Our Soul

No more excuses. Change is necessary to save the club we love.

I’ve been a Chelsea fan since 1987. My dad is 77 and has been a Chelsea fan since 1957. Chelsea has been in my family for generations. I’ve seen the dark times and the good times.

I’ve never felt so disconnected from my club as I do today. This isn’t entirely on the new ownership, I’ve felt this way for a good 6-7 years now, but its worse now than its ever been.

I’ve consistently defended the Clearlake/Boehly ownership. I’ve backed their vision. I’ve confronted critics and make arguments for the ownership. Even last year, at its worst, I defended them. I still believe their intentions for Chelsea to be good, and the level of spending shows they have ambition.

But today, with the 2-0 defeat by Everton, my patience began to wear thin.

To be brutally honest, I, and many other fans, am sick and tired of the great institution that is Chelsea Football Club being a joke to rival fans and the media, and public at large. That’s what we are. A joke.

We’re banter fodder for the media. Everyone is mocking us. Everyone is laughing at us. No one respects us anymore.

And its’ happened on the watch of these owners. Its’ simply not acceptable under any circumstances.

I’m tired of watching us be awful every week. I’m tired of spending fortunes on kids who might never play for us, and not listening to your proven top manager on signing PL experience and leaders.

We’re not a social or football experiment. We’re not a mid table small time club. We’re not Brighton. We’re not just another investment portfolio.

We’re Chelsea Football Club.

A club with a proud tradition of producing competitive teams, with leaders, who wear the shirt with pride. A club with a 25 year history of consistent success, with more success and some great teams long before that.

The club of Ted Drake and Roy Bentley. Of Tommy Docherty and Jimmy Greaves. Of Dave Sexton and Peter Osgood. Of Kerry Dixon, Pat Nevin and Paul Cannoville, Of Gianluca Vialli, Roberto Di Matteo and Gianfranco Zola. And more recently, of Jose Mourinho, John Terry, Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba, Petr Cech, and Carlo Ancelotti.

We’re a proud club, and right now we’re a shambles. We’ve spent fortunes on players and yet we’re 12th in the Premier League, below such “giants” as Bournemouth, Brighton and Brentford.

Its’ embarrassing. Its’ shameful. And it has to stop.

I’m not sitting here saying we need to be challenging for the title, or even top 4. What I and most rational fans want, is a team we can believe in, be proud of, who fights for the badge, who knows what it means, and is competitive in every game, even if they lose.

I think we have a hugely talented young squad. But we have no leaders, no warriors, no captains. We have experience but no captains. Even a proven manager like Mauricio Pochettino is struggling. He asked for some experience, some proven players, back in the summer, and was ignored.

And to me, that’s where the real problems stem from. Not from the manager or even the players, but the hierarchy above them.

We’re run by two sporting directors whom, with respect, have never run an elite football club before. They are undoubtedly talented at spotting talent, but serious football clubs get serious people to run them, and the culture they have implemented is not that of a club which is serious about winning trophies.

They clearly have no idea how to build a balanced, competitive squad at a big club. They ignored the managers requests/concerns - which gave been proven to be bang on the money - and so they are responsible for this shambles. They took charge in January and we’ve been the worst team in the PL in their time in charge.

They are not fit for purpose. Look at Arsenal, and Aston Villa. Two clubs with American owners who weren’t doing well. The owners looked at it, recognised the mistakes, and made radical changes. They learned from their mistakes. They hired the right people, implemented a new strategy, and now both are competing for the Premier League.

I believe our owners are smart, willing to listen to experts, and willing to learn from mistakes. So instead of going the easy route of sacking a manager, dump the sporting directors who’ve frankly made a pigs ear of team building and culture setting, and hire someone elite and proven. Money is there, pay it and get the best.

Joe Shields needs to become head of scouting, its’ clear he’s one of the best at what he does. Laurence Stewart can be moved sideways to become the coordinator of the multi-club model. Then get a Paul Mitchell or Luis Campos in to run the mens team and be in charge, with the head coach, of building the team and setting the culture of the mens team. Hell even hire Michael Edwards and his agency to oversee things in the interim whilst you find a new permanent sporting director.

But this isn’t enough. Chelsea have lost our identity. We don’t know who we are anymore. The culture at the club has been torn down.

So my recommendations.

First, make Frank Lampard, or another Chelsea legend (Didier Drogba, Gary Cahill), a director, and let him be part of the recruitment team. He can make recommendations, and moreover, he can be part of negotiations for players. He can liaise with the manager and the players and help set a winning culture.

Second, get John Terry on the coaching staff. He’s a proven assistant coach at PL level and had a positive influence in that role at Aston Villa. There’s simply no excuse not to get him on the coaching staff. He’s a leader, he’s a fighter, and he IS Chelsea. He can infuse the squad with leadership and Chelsea DNA.

Third, I’d be happy to get more ex-players from our great era involved too, in various roles. Eden Hazard could be a club ambassador. Make amends with Didier Drogba and listen to him about what needs to change, get him involved even on a part time basis. Mikel Jon Obi is also an untapped resource we need to use.

Fourth, in the January window, go for PL experience, and not just leaders, but captains. If we want a CB then my recommendation is Lewis Dunk. He’s experienced, a captain, a leader, a warrior and he’s a Chelsea fan too. He’s also the perfect mentor for Levi Colwill and our other young CBs. He’s exactly the profile we need to sign in the next couple of windows. I said in the summer James Ward-Prowse would have been a shrewd signing for his experience, captaincy and leadership, and I only believe that even more now.

Fifth, as said before, the fans are owed a public explanation and apology from the ownership, and the sporting directors. We’re not numbers on a spreadsheet, we’re fans many who’ve cared about this club for decades, and ultimately, its our club - we’re owed explanations and accountability, and honesty from the club.

I don’t believe at all its’ a lost cause, we’ve seen at other clubs all it takes is some structural changes, good appointments and experienced signings and the whole thing can turn around. And as I said I still believe the owners intentions are good.

But their lack of experience in football is plain to see, and the two people running the football side, are simply not up to the job. Everyone wants to win. But we don’t have anyone at the club on the men’s side who knows HOW to win. That needs to change.

Inaction and silence is not enough now. From what I see on social media, and even see in the stadium, about 99% of the fans have lost trust in the owners and want them to take responsibility, communicate with us honestly and take action. The smart fans I know can see the biggest issue isn’t the manager, but people higher up the chain, who need to be held accountable.

Many Chelsea fans like have been patient with the new owners, and I still believe their intentions to be good. But even the most calm, rational fans now are fed up and tired of watching the same rubbish every week, with no communication whatsoever from the ownership. Its’ simply not good enough.

Chelsea fans won’t be placated by new signings/transfer rumours or PR spin, so don’t insult our intelligence by thinking those are enough. We want accountability, and meaningful, structural change, and it needs to happen as soon as possible.

Above all, we want our Chelsea back. Because many of us don’t recognise our club now, and the people in charge HAVE to take responsibility and take action - especially if there’s as ambitious as they claim. There’s no excuses anymore.

The Score