Criticism is deserved, but sometimes it goes way too far...

Fan frustration is fully justified, but turning on the manager and players isn't

I don’t think I’ve ever felt such shame and disappointment after a game than I did after the defeat to Ipswich Town.

Yes, we didn’t play our best game, yes, head coach Enzo Maresca maybe made some mistakes, yes, we’ve every right to be frustrated and angry. Yes, Maresca and the players deserve some criticism, and they need to sort this out fast.

But some of the takes on socials post-match really got to me. I even heard rumours of a certain player’s personal phone number being shared on social media and him being sent death threats. This is yet to be proven and if true likely won’t be made public. But if true, its an absolute disgrace and a dark day to be a Chelsea fan.

Then there’s fans full on turning on Enzo Maresca already. People who said they were fully behind him, suddenly saying his job is at risk now or in the summer. People happy to praise and have patience when we were doing well, now saying this run of, checks notes, two defeats in a row when we’re 4th in the league (which no one expected), is “terminal”.

I don’t even think we were that bad in the first half today. The “penalty” was genuinely the worst decision I’ve seen in my life. We had 20 shots in the game and 5 on target. We were wasteful in front of goal, had one bad decision go against us and gifted them a second goal. After that, our inexperience showed and we let them get under our skin. That’s where the game was lost by us.

In case people forgot, given it was all of 6 days ago, but we just came off a long unbeaten run of 9 games in the league and 13 games in all dating back to the beginning of November. We had an 8 game winning streak. We’ve beaten two of the teams around us. We’re on 35 points half way through the league season, in 4th, better than many predicted.

We’ve also played 7 league games in December, more than in any month so far this season. The likes of Cole Palmer, Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez and Levi Colwill have played 7 games in 30 days - a game every 4 days - having played a game a week before December. Marc Cucurella has played most of those games too. We’ve had to deal with two injuries to centre backs - including one of our first choices, Wesley Fofana, and to Romeo Lavia in midfield, as well as the ban for Mudryk.

The players have looked a little tired in the last week and there’s no question that will have contributed to performances and results. Add to this the lack of experience in our team, and a bad run was always likely around now. That doesn’t excuse the results or performances, but it does explain them.

We now have 4 days until our next PL game, a welcome longer break between games. I have total confidence we’ll come back and put in a proper performance against Crystal Palace, and that Enzo Maresca, with proper time to analyse his decisions, will be able to make necessary changes.

Enzo Maresca is going to defend his players publicly like a good manager will do. But privately, we know his standards for training and performance are high, and he’ll be demanding more than what we’ve shown in the last couple of games, and trying to up their confidence.

After that game on Saturday we don’t play a PL game for 10 days, with only the FA Cup game against Morecambe in that time, where our B team will play. This means first team regulars can be given 2-3 days off to recharge and clear their heads, and will be a lot fresher for the Bournemouth home game on 14th January.

We only play a game week in the league in January and February, which will mean our players will get some more rest between games, and so I’m confident we’ll get back into form then.

There’s no reason for everyone to be so reactionary. Maresca deserves criticism but putting him on notice or wanting him out after what he’s done so far this season is just ungrateful and disrespectful.

We’re not going to get success again until we can stop being so reactionary every time we lose a couple of games. Criticising the manager is totally fair - but all managers make mistakes, as we’ve seen at City this season and at Liverpool at times under Klopp - and he’s barely been here 5 minutes.

Maresca said this squad wasn't ready to challenge for the league when we were on this run. He was right then, he is being proven right now. Our level is top 4. We’re currently 4th.

Even 5th could be CL football this season given how most English teams are doing in Europe, so the odds of us making CL football are still high. The form we’ve shown in being the 4th best team, has been over the calendar year, not just this season. And we’ve not suddenly become worse.

Yes, changes need to be made in the squad for us to challenge for the title. From reports, including on this site, we’re looking at CBs, GKs, ST, and wingers for the summer - and some good targets too. We have talent like Andrey Santos, Lesley Ugochukwu and Estevao Willian likely to come in next summer. So that’s all in hand.

What the players and head coach need right now is us to be right behind them. They’re a young side who are doing better than many expected and make a real effort to connect with fans, who’ve shown they know what it means. Yes, criticize where its deserved, but turning on them fully after two tough games isn’t on for me.

Not going to lie, the way sections of the fanbase react after every game we don’t win, gets me down as a fan. I’m all for fair criticism if its deserved, I’m not interested in toxic positivity for the sake of it. But so often it goes too far, and I admit it affects me and my love of the game.

The dehumanising way players can get treated - and I won’t hide, I’ve been guilty of it too over the years, to my absolute shame - is distasteful. People who’ve been silent when its going well now suddenly reappearing to criticise and stand in their ivory towers, and other people exploiting our bad run for a quick buck, is classless for me.

Football fandom generally, for all clubs, is worse than its ever been. The game is now a product, players and managers are no longer treated as people, they’re objects, commodities. The media plays a part in this too. Social media encourages us to be reactionary and get angry, and I think we need to try and avoid falling into that trap.

I would hope we can just support the coach and the team to turn this around, and not jump on the backs and suddenly make doomsday scenarios. We need to be together to get through this. There’s a lot to be positive about Chelsea right now, and two defeats aren’t changing that.

Onwards.

The Score