Enough bad decisions: Accountability and communication is needed, now...

The treatment of Trevoh Chalobah is a symptom of a bigger problem

I’ve defended the ownership of the club since the beginning. I did and still can see their long term vision for the club, for success investing the best young talent in the world and developing them into an elite team, and I understand it takes time. I also understand how when we don’t have Champions League money, in the short term, we might need to sell some players, maybe ones we don’t want, in order to comply with the rules. That’s just reality.

However, the news about Trevoh Chalobah being left behind from the US tour to intentionally force him out of the club, is a tipping point for me.

Trevoh has done nothing wrong for Chelsea. He went on loan, he developed, he earned his spot in the squad and the team, and has generally performed when he’s played for Chelsea. He’s a leader, a good pro and sets a good example. He’s won two trophies at Chelsea as a starter, the European Super Cup and Club World Cup. He’s been at Chelsea his whole life.

There’s no reason to sell him. I’d arguably keep him over Conor Gallagher, given his versatility and our desire for “swiss army knife” players. He can play RCB, RB, and DM well. He has played in a back 3 and a back 4. He’s excellent on the ball. He’s arguably ready made for Maresca’s system. There’s other players we can sell for the same money (about £25-30m).

But that’s not even the worst thing.

The worst thing, is no player who has given what he has for the club, who has won things as a starter, who has been loyal and professional and expressed no desire to leave, should be treated like this. He’s being forced out of the club.

This is bad in itself, but its a symptom of a bigger problem at the club. One of lack of communication, no accountability and poor handling of players and staff at director level.

This, as it often seems to be, is largely the responsibility of Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, the two sporting directors. This falls under their remit, so it’s their responsibility. It’s become clear to me that at least one if not both of them have no idea how to manage people or have healthy human relationships. This is not how you treat people, generally. It’s cold, heartless and disrespectful. Personally, my view is if they really can’t see how good Trev is, they clearly aren’t the experts they claim to be, because we can all see how good Trev is, and the intangibles he has.

But this cuts a lot deeper, to some concerns many fans have.

I see a LOT of fans on twitter. I listen and I talk to several. One of the most rational, patient, intelligent fans I know, who’s always backed the owners, told me today is he is now afraid for the future of the club. They, as well as many fans, are concerned that the necessary focus on increasing revenue has gone too far, and taken priority over the football, and the good of the team. Making Chelsea profitable and financially compliant IS important, but the football should ALWAYS be the focus and main goal.

We have a CEO in Chris Jarosek, who made fun of the clubs fans, who calls us customers, and who is freezing a lot of fans out with price rises (I only caveat that by saying the price rises themselves were expected, but it was handled poorly), got rid of subsidised away buses, and has shown he has no knowledge of football or football culture, or how to run a football club. A football club is not like a normal business, it takes specific skillset, and although he has business acumen, he’s not a football person.

We have sporting directors who are excellent at spotting talent and pretty good at making smart signings, but have no idea how to either run an elite sporting operation or manage people. They often appear to treat our players like commodities, not human beings.

Some owners and directors read this, so take note. You are losing the fans. More than you think. Many fans are beginning to feel like the owners just don’t care about success on the pitch, don’t respect either fans or players, and only care about money. Whether it’s true or not, with respect, people like Jarosek and even Behdad Eghbali at times come across as not having any kind of understanding or respect for football culture. This may be just an issue of communication, but that’s the impression given.

People like Barbara Charone and Daniel Finklestein, both non executive directors and long time Chelsea fans, are doing an amazing job in their respective roles. They are the only ones in senior roles who seem to have a deep passion, love and understanding of Chelsea FC and football culture. They should be listened to and be given a lot more influence, for me.

Many fans are tired of PR briefings which are clearly not the truth. We’re not fools, we can tell. We’re tired of being patronised. We’re tired of the ownership not communicating honestly and properly with us. The letters in the programme notes last season were positive and a step forward, and I’m grateful for this, but that was not and never will be enough.

Given what's happened on the pitch in the last two years, fans are owed an explanation for many decisions, an apology for the mistakes, and some insight into the ambitions, goals and vision for Chelsea, directly to fans on the club channels. This is now non negotiable. Fans are running out of patience.

Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart should be held accountable for the last 18 months and for treatment of some players and staff. Yes, they have done some good things, I would never deny this, I’ve even talked about on this site. This isn’t a witch hunt and I’ll always try to be balanced. Some of the hires and signings they’ve made have been positive for Chelsea. But, there have been some major mistakes, and Winstanley and Stewart need to own their mistakes, take responsibility and show they’ve learned their lessons.

Aggressively forcing players out of the club who don’t want to leave, who’ve been good servants and good professionals, with poor disrespectful treatment is classless, and in my view, not in the spirit of Chelsea.

Whatever people thought of Mauricio Pochettino as a coach, they did the same with him by essentially not communicating with him for months and never backing him. They’ve been openly trying to sell Conor Gallagher for 18 months. There were even some unconfirmed stories (I’m not saying these are true, but these stories did surface at the time), on how the departure of Jim Fraser, a long time servant to the club, was not handled well. This shows a pattern of behaviour, and its not healthy or acceptable.

This is not elite level executive management of a football club. This is not how big, ambitious, serious football clubs operate. If you want to sell a player or want a manager or staff member out, no problem, but handle it with class and dignity.

I still believe in the owners ambitions and vision for the club, but the optics are awful right now and the treatment of some staff - including players - by those at the top, doesn’t appear to be good at times. If it is, and there’s another side to the story, then fine, but its certainly not the impression being given to fans.

If this season doesn’t go well again, the fans aren’t going to just take it, and a change of manager won’t cut it either. There will need to be changes at a higher level and if no explanation is forthcoming, fans won’t be hesitant to show their feelings, hopefully in a respectful but decisive way.

We are not customers.

We love our club.

We have a lifetime emotional investment in the club.

We’re going to be here, and we want the best for our club. The fans' voices must always be respected and listened to. We really do want to work with the owners for the benefit of the club, we want to collaborate and get behind our team. But we need to know what's coming from the club is professional, to a high standard of football and professionalism, demonstrating clear ambition, and in good faith.

We need to be able to trust the owners and directors. I still trust the owners ambitions and know our sporting directors can spot talent and buy smart well. I have full faith in Joe Shields more than anyone, and am glad he is getting more influence.

But I’m starting to lose trust in our two sporting directors to run the club well. Many fans have lost trust in the entire ownership, and it will take a lot to win it back.

I’d like to think both owners, directors and fans all want what’s good for Chelsea. But there are legitimate and founded concerns, which must be addressed.

The Score