AND OFF PITCH WE CAN’T TAKE MUCH MAUR OF THIS Chelsea fans fuming as mood threatens to turn sour
CHELSEA’S £1billion squad have appeared rudderless on the pitch this season.
And now their most prominent supporters’ group have warned there is “serious concern about the direction of the club” off it.
The Chelsea Supporters’ Trust sent a four-page letter to owners Todd Boehly and Bedhad Eghbali (both right) on March 8, highlighting issues that place the club at risk of becoming “a laughing stock”.
And, after getting an unsatisfactory reply yesterday from chief executive Scott Jurasek, the CST chairman Mark Meehan said there is a “disconnection felt towards the club ownership, board as well as the majority of the team and the manager”.
The exchange comes after chairman Boehly, manager Mauricio Pochettino and high-profile signings such as Raheem Sterling have been targeted by furious supporters at recent games.
Chelsea sit 11th in the Premier League table, having seen an unprecedented level of investment in the transfer market over the past two years. Pochettino’s side also lost the
EFL Cup final to an under-strength Liverpool last month, although they will face Manchester City in the last four of the FA Cup.
But the CST’S primary grievances are focused on how the club is being run.
They believe the owners have broken a pledge made when they took over from Roman Abramovich in 2022 to maximise other revenue streams before increasing the costs for matchgoing fans. The CST provided Boehly and Eghbali with seven different examples of rising costs – including merchandise, away game travel and food and drink prices at Stamford Bridge.
And they expressed “serious concerns” over the potential of ticket price rises. No decision has been made, but the club is “assessing the situation”.
Their letter added: “This seems especially pertinent given the recordbreaking expenditure on players that has produced a far from positive impact on the pitch. We are very aware the increase in ticket prices will only add to the ‘penny-pinching’ narrative and we have obvious and real concerns about how supporters would react to this combination of increased prices and mediocre, inconsistent performances on the pitch.”
But the most striking part of the letter is on the mood of the Blues fans.
“The current feeling amongst Chelsea supporters is at its lowest since the early 1980s,” said the letter.
“We are close to, if not already experiencing, a significant shift in supporter opinion that could result in irreversible toxicity, almost irrespective of results on the pitch.”
The CST added that fans felt “an overwhelming sense of helplessness, frustration, and deep concern”.
In response, Jurasek wrote: “Our goal is the same as your goal: to ensure Chelsea Football Club has a bright and successful future.”
But Meehan said the CEO’S letter “doesn’t really address the issue raised, which was about the club opening up to explain and reassure at a difficult and challenging time for everyone”.