It’s hard to comprehend that Chelsea were on top of the world only a matter of months ago.
Club captain Reece James took centre stage as he and his teammates lifted the Club World Cup trophy under the blazing New Jersey sun in July 2025.
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Chelsea just smashed the newly-crowned European champions Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 to leave fans dreaming of what was to come, but now the excitement and hope around Stamford Bridge has vanished.
The ownership, BlueCo, are the source of a furious fan protest ahead of their Premier League clash against Manchester United tonight, live on eSPORTY.
It’s not the first instance of disapproval either, with NotAProjectCFC spearheading the latest opposition movement amid a potential trophyless season and absence of Champions League football.
Fans of sister club Strasbourg are also set to join the march from the nearby Wolfpack Inn up to the Bridge in a sign that the anti-BlueCo sentiment has stretched across the Channel and into France.
With managerial turnover, owners at loggerheads and players teasing moves elsewhere, Chelsea have had one of the most chaotic eras in its 121-year history.
“Chelsea supporters are not simply asking to win every year,” a recent Supporters’ Trust (CST) letter read. “They are asking to recognise the club they have always supported. At the moment, too many do not.”
Can you blame them? Not really, even if Chelsea did enjoy a dominant run under Roman Abramovich that included five Premier League and two Champions League titles, amongst various other trophies.
A club director is even said to have told NotAProjectCFC that, as per BlueCo, it is ‘f****** obvious we are building one of the best teams in the world’. A majority of the Blues faithful would disagree with this.
Patience is running low in the stands at Stamford Bridge, fans want to see their club competing for football’s biggest honours again.
The current path leads to anywhere but that at this stage, although a few key changes could significantly improve matters for the fans, as well as BlueCo given they finalised the £4.25billion takeover in 2022.
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Change the transfer policy
Chelsea have spent an astronomical amount of money on transfers under BlueCo, with Transfermarkt totalling it at around £1.5b.
The average age of these signings when their deals were done? It’s approximately 21 years and five months, with up-and-coming talent a main part of their strategy.
Cole Palmer and Moises Caicedo both joined in 2023 at 21, and have been big successes in royal blue, whilst Estevao Willian is already looking like a future star at just 18.
But Chelsea cannot build a title-winning team with just youngsters – Liverpool legend Alan Hansen famously said ‘You can’t win anything with kids’, even if the anomaly of the Class of 92 disproved this.
Older heads help to teach those with less experience about what it takes to be successful on the pitch, and a prime example is Thiago Silva.
He moved to Chelsea in 2020 at the age of 35 after winning seven league titles at PSG, joining a squad filled with numerous academy players as a result of a previous transfer ban.
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Silva helped guide Cobham talents such as James, Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham to Champions League glory in his debut season.
This current crop of Chelsea players could hugely benefit from such an accomplished head, and it’s important that BlueCo do not give priority to young signings for the future over those with experience.
eSPORTY understands that they are looking to sign starters in the summer to join their maturing stars, with a centre-back partner for Levi Colwill eyed alongside a new midfielder.
A creative attacker may also arrive, with Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers a player who fits the criteria as he may be considered young at 23, but already has a depth of experience and would start for any club.
Evaluate the director model
Sitting at the top of the recruitment team at Chelsea are the co-sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley.
Dave Fallows leads football development, whilst Sam Jewell and Joe Shields are their director of global recruitment and co-director of recruitment and talent, respectively.
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Their roles and powers will vary, but when comparing this set-up with that of their Premier League rivals, there may well be an argument of ‘less is more’.
For example, Andrea Berta oversees the signings at Arsenal following a successful spell at Atletico Madrid, and Hugo Viana operates in the same role at Manchester City.
Both clubs are competing for this season’s title thanks to the work of their sporting directors, even if they have been in post for a year or so and inherited squads with ready-made, top-quality talent.
Stewart and Winstanley have been at Chelsea for at least three years each, and only a handful of the 35 or so signings they have made can arguably be credited as successes – Palmer, Caicedo and, for their efforts this season, Sanchez and Joao Pedro.
The co-sporting directors signed six-year extensions weeks after the Club World Cup triumph, and their contracts are reportedly incentivised in a similar fashion to those of the players on extensive deals.
When the amount of poor signings has outnumbered the good, it may be a sign that a change to the structure, or even personnel, is needed amongst the Chelsea hierarchy.
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However, it’s understood that there are no plans for any change to the leadership team, with head coach Liam Rosenior comfortable with the model thanks to his time at Strasbourg.
Chelsea are also adamant that they must stick to the current strategy and that it will pay dividends in the long run.
But doubts over their ability to be successful were made clear in a survey run by the CST in January – 43.2 per cent said the current sporting structure is ‘not fit for purpose’.
Also, 46.3 per cent of voters said they have ‘no confidence at all’ in the team responsible for sporting decisions, and 52.5 per cent are very unconfident of on-pitch success in the next three to five years.
Make progress with stadium plans
Formerly an athletics and greyhound track, Stamford Bridge has been the cherished home of Chelsea Football Club since they were founded in 1905.
It is situated on Fulham Road in the flashy west London, and has undergone various redevelopments to make it a stadium that can hold around 40,000 fans.
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However, with Old Trafford set for a 100,000 capacity and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium having up to 62,850, Chelsea trail their rivals when it comes to potential numbers through the gates.
A significant upgrade is needed if the club want extra ticket revenue, something that has been envisaged since the Abramovich reign, with plans to move within the iconic Battersea Power Station chimneys.
Relocation to Earl’s Court, a short walk from the Bridge, is of interest, even if Hammersmith and Fulham Council approved a £10b housing and retail development project.
It is still considered to be an option by Chelsea, who can also work on extra land adjacent to Stamford Bridge thanks to their purchase of the Sir Oswald Stoll Mansions site.
This could lead to a complete rebuild of the stadium or stand-by-stand redevelopment, with both options likely to require Chelsea to play at a temporary home.
But the non-profit organisation Chelsea Pitch Owners own the freehold of Stamford Bridge and lease the stadium back to Chelsea, who pay a nominal rent.
They clarified in a statement in October 2023 that the ‘shareholders and not the Board’ would decide on a temporary or permanent move from their current stadium should there be any advanced plans.
Regardless, BlueCo can earn some trust from the fans by providing a measure of clarity on the situation, whether that’s a confirmation of internal discussions or public acknowledgement of what is needed.
Sign a big-money shirt sponsor
Since the 2023/24 campaign, Chelsea have begun the season without a front-of-shirt sponsor and therefore missed out on opportunities to generate extra income in the financially ruthless Premier League.
Infinite Athlete, DAMAC and IFS.ai have all featured on kits via short-term deals, but the absence of a long-term sponsorship has been glaringly obvious.
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Chelsea came close to securing a long-term sponsorship in 2023 as they reached an agreement with Paramount+ but, amid concerns over upsetting rights holders, the Premier League denied the deal.
Now in 2026, it could be back on the table as Paramount+ look set to complete a reported $111b acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, who own a Premier League broadcaster in TNT Sports.
Chelsea have explored deals with airlines such as Riyadh Air and Qatar Airways, and are understood to be looking for something in excess of £50m/60m-a-year, as well as optimistic of landing a sponsor with or without Champions League football.
BlueCo must look to get a deal over the line for the 2026/27 season, especially when it was recently announced that they made a Premier League record pre-tax loss of £262m for 2024/25.
Clearlake Capital have a 61.5 per cent stake at Chelsea and are one of the world’s largest private equity firms, so they will understand the importance of a sustained source of income to raise capital.
Failure to agree such a potentially lucrative deal yet again would cast more doubt over the ownership’s ability to increase the club’s global presence off the pitch.
Communicate with fans – they want answers
The lengthy CST statement published earlier in the week, which was titled as an open letter to the ownership, had four questions that they wanted answering with a ‘clear and substantive response’.
- Does the club accept that supporter confidence in its current leadership model and direction has fallen to an unacceptably low level?
- What specific changes will now be made to provide greater clarity and accountability in football leadership and decision-making?
- What will change in how supporters are engaged, so that engagement is timely, meaningful, and capable of influencing decisions rather than simply explaining them after the fact?
- How does the club intend to demonstrate that its current strategy can deliver sustained sporting success, financial stability, and a recognisable Chelsea identity in a way that rebuilds supporter trust?
For much of their stewardship, BlueCo have had little engagement with fans through official club channels, with 53.7 per cent of CST members ‘Very dissatisfied’ with its level.
After Chelsea finished 12th at the end of the ownership’s first season, there should have been an address to supporters to explain why they had to endure such a dismal showing for a club of its stature.
Eghbali recently spoke at the CAA World Congress of Sports to ensure fans that they ‘care’ and ‘want the club to be successful’, whilst also making it clear that there is plenty of room for improvement.
It’s all well and good making these reassurances, but why are these comments coming from an external form of communication rather than an in-house message that supporters can access directly?
Some will argue that Abramovich was not a transparent owner as he rarely spoke in public, but many Chelsea fans would not have taken issue with this too much due to the continuous triumphs that were delivered throughout his tenure.
Comms on the club’s future and potential for success aside, fans had another cause for frustration during the week as they waited for news on ticket sales for their FA Cup semi-final against Leeds United.
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The draw was made on April 5, but Chelsea only announced the dates and procedure to purchase tickets for the Wembley Stadium clash on Wednesday afternoon, 11 days before the match on April 26.
Fans of the other three semi-finalists – City, Leeds and Southampton – were able to begin getting access to tickets as early as Tuesday, whilst Chelsea’s sales only began on Friday.
Many were vocal with their annoyance on social media which, whilst not knowing the ins and outs of organising allocations, could have been avoided with news of the information’s release early doors.
Vivid Seats, the American resale site where Todd Boehly is a director, have reportedly had ticket listings for the match worth £1,705, a huge increase from the most expensive price of £150 in the club’s own sale.
The Premier League cite them as an unauthorised ticket website, so BlueCo should address the invalidity of their sales and how they will combat the inflated fees to stop the exploitation of fans.
