Angry Chelsea fans unveiled a banner outside the team's Cobham base during training today, and it wasn't exactly friendly (artist's impression below):
ANCELOTTI + ABRAMOVICH OUT!!!
None of you are fit to wear the shirt
Isn't that just lovely? Remember when our fanbase didn't have the self-entitlement thing going on? I liked that, even though we never won anything. But now we do, and it's all getting a little bit silly. While the media frenzy is focused on Carlo Ancelotti's job, these guys are going after the owner as well. Furthermore, they're either confused about the shirts being worn (is Ancelotti's suit the shirt?) or they've decided to have a go at the whole team too, meaning that John Terry, Frank Lampard, Petr Cech, Didier Drogba et al. are 'unfit' Chelsea shirt wearers.
This, to me, is everything wrong with fandom. I'm starting to appreciate (although I do not agree with) arguments for Carlo being given the sack, but Abramovich too? We are, after all, talking about the owner who's turned Chelsea from a borderline top-four team into a European juggernaught. He's also the owner who's poured so much money into the side he could have just bought London instead. Can we get a grip, please?
If the players are being criticised too, that's also way out of line. I'm not talking about the senior players like Terry and Drogba - they've gotten plenty of flak from fans in the past and I think they're fully capable of ignoring it, but guys like Ross Turnbull and Josh McEachran were in training too. What on earth makes them legitimate targets for a fan protest? McEachran is quite literally a child and one of the last things he needs is our own fans giving him abuse.
Ancelotti was all smiles, pointing out that unless more protesters appeared, he could totally beat them up. At least, that's what I think he meant:
Here, you saw outside just one person who is not happy. In Italy, it's different. You can find outside the training ground 1,000 people not happy. It's difficult to fight with 1,000. With one, you can manage.
-Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti. Source: Sky Sports
Hear that, fans? Be more reasonable or Carlo will beat you up. Do you want to lose a fight with a teddy bear? No? Then behave a little better. Discontent and debate, all fine and dandy. Things are bad, and it may well be that change needs to happen, so protest all you like. But try to express yourself with a modicum of class, please. These guys are the team you support.
As for us over on WAG... it's keep calm and carry on time. Things will get better, one way or another, and I don't feel the urge to shout at anyone about it.