Chelsea fans air their concerns

Protests have been fairly rare at Chelsea, and demonstrations against the current ownership — particularly one held before a home game against Brentford in January — have seemingly struggled to settle on a single message. But on Saturday evening it was clear, held up on a huge white banner at the front of the march by Chelsea fans and supporters of sister club Strasbourg: ‘BlueCo Out’.

“We’re very disillusioned with the direction that the club is going at the moment,” said David Cook from NotAProjectCFC, the organisers of Saturday evening’s protest. “The best way to unify (the fanbase), really, I think at this point, is to push the message of BlueCo out. I don’t have any faith in them at this point, and I think we’re left with no other option.”

Protesters’ complaints on Saturday varied. Some sported signs highlighting heavy spending, and multiple fans were unhappy with player recruitment. The ownership’s focus on youth is coming under increasing scrutiny, with suggestions recently — including from Clearlake Capital co-founder Behdad Eghbali and Rosenior — that a tweak to that strategy is coming.

The chants for Roman Abramovich, which persist in spite of the circumstances under which he had to sell the club and the recent punishment for rule-breaking under his ownership, highlight that many view BlueCo’s approach as inferior to their former owner’s. The name of the group organising the protest, NotAProject, points to frustration at what some feel is a strategy failing to deliver on-pitch success at the speed they want.

In an open letter addressed to Chelsea’s owners, board of directors, and senior leadership earlier in the week, the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust raised concerns about BlueCo’s strategy, engagement with supporters, ticketing, and club finances.  “At the heart of supporter concern is a simple point: the current model has demanded a huge amount of faith from the fanbase, while giving too little clarity in return,” the letter read.

BlueCo are unlikely to exit, but they may realise that their strategy needs revision.