Why it's time for Chelsea fans to question the top brass

Injuries are an unfortunate part of every sport. It is an occurrence that no one likes to see but something many players inevitably end up facing. Only a month ago, Chelsea fans saw their 18-year-old sensation, Callum Hudson-Odoi, being sidelined for a significant amount of time due to a ruptured Achilles.

Having just broken into the first team, it was something that made every Stamford Bridge faithful extremely sad.

On Wednesday night, Ruben Loftus-Cheek suffered the same fate. The 23-year-old who is also an academy product has had to wait a long time to get a consistent run with the first-team and has worked so hard to prove himself, it almost seems unfair.

Unlike in the case of Hudson-Odoi, this time, there is a lot of anger. That's because this isn't just another injury. It is one that was easily avoidable and goes to show a lot of things wrong with the club at the moment.

For starters, it continues to perplex fans why the match was scheduled for the date in the first place. Taking place only three days after Chelsea’s final league match against Leicester, one wonders why the match could not have taken place on a later date.

Just 13 days after the game, the Blues are set to play the Europa League final against Arsenal in Baku. It was always expected that Maurizio Sarri’s side will advance to the showpiece occasion, why did no one in the club’s hierarchy take note of it?

It takes no rocket science to figure out that a trip to another continent is the worst possible distraction a team needs before a match of this magnitude.

There is no doubt that the game was played for an extremely good cause. However, the timing of the match makes little sense. One wonders why the game could not have waited until a couple of months for pre-season. In any case, would it not have been better for Chelsea to play a game in the United States after Christian Pulisic is eligible to wear the blue jersey.

Further, when pictures from Boston started to arrive, it had created a sense of panic in every fan. The pitch was visibly one that was not fit for a football match and predicting an injury on it was not so hard.

Now, Chelsea has lost Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who has been their best player since he was fit to start, putting his back problems behind him. He is someone who gives Chelsea a greater goal threat and more dynamism in midfield. His absence in the final could end up making all the difference.

The pitch at the Gillette Stadium is known to be one not ideal for football. One wonders why people responsible for scheduling the game had not done their research. In such a case, there has to be some sort of repercussion for whoever was responsible. Will there be? Probably not, as a lack of accountability has become the theme at Chelsea over the last few years.

At the moment, the club is under the cloud of a one-year transfer ban by FIFA due to illegally signing minor players. All the talk around is about the Blues’ appeal to the Court of Arbitration of Sport and whether they will get the ban suspended for one window.

However, one has to ask why the club finds itself in this situation in the first place, and why no one in the boardroom is facing the consequence.

Chelsea has not even come close to challenging for the title in the last two seasons

Moreover, Chelsea’s on-field performances are there for everyone to see. While they still have two Premier League titles in the last five years and a few other trophies to boast about, any rational fan will tell you that all that has done is paper over the cracks.

The reality of the situation is that the club has not even been close to challenging for the title in three of the last four seasons. In 2015-16, they were 31 points behind the Champions Leicester City at the end of the season, in 2017-18 and 2018-19, they have finished 30 and 26 points behind Manchester City; who won the title on both seasons. It is worth noting that all this has happened under a different manager each year.

Only a couple of days ago, the club celebrated the seventh anniversary of their maiden Champions League triumph. While the memory is one to cherish, it is worth noting that since that day, Chelsea has only reached the semi-final of the continental competition only once.

The Blues have not won a knockout-tie in the tournament since 2014. In stark contrast, the West London outfit had made the last four on six occasions in the first nine years of Roman Abramovich’s reign from 2003-2012.

Quite clearly, the club has fallen from being a team feared in Europe to almost a team not relevant in the competition.

Quite evidently, the reason behind it is the diminishing squad strength. The difference in the quality of the current team to the side that played a decade ago is staggering. The responsibility for this dramatic fall lies solely with the people responsible for making transfers.

It is well documented how many first choice targets the club has missed out on. The number of average players the club has acquired is no secret either. The signings of Papy Djilobodji, Davide Zappacosta, and Danny Drinkwater speaks for itself and highlights the haphazard transfer business over the years.

Eden Hazard is likely to leave Stamford Bridge this summer

On the other hand, Chelsea is starting to lose its best players every year. In the last two seasons, Diego Costa and Thibaut Courtois left the West London outfit. Now, it is almost certain that Eden Hazard will depart Stamford Bridge this summer.

One must not forget that its almost two years since Michael Emenalo left, and the club still does not have a director of football. In such a case, the lack of identity and direction is hardly unexpected.

It is an unforgivable mistake that despite such inefficiency, the same people are still responsible for doing transfers and running the club. The first team continues to be stagnant, and there has been no change.

There is clearly no recognition of constant failure. While they continue to do a fabulous job on the commercial side of things, their work on the footballing angle is only getting worse and threatens to have long term consequences.

The lack of responsibility is something that has spread on the pitch as well. A lot of Chelsea players are getting new contracts and are under no threat of losing their places or being sold, despite constant underperformance.

For example, Willian has averaged less than five goals a season in the Premier League over six years and yet is someone considered an indispensable member of the squad. There are various examples of the same all over the squad.

At the moment, the owner, board, and players don't seem to face any accountability at Chelsea.

While after every poor season, the manager seems to face the axe, it has now started to feel like scapegoating and a distraction from the real issues. Its high time for Chelsea fans to understand that there is only so much a coach can do with the current squad and without having the proper backing.

Its time for the Stamford Bridge faithful to demand accountability from the people responsible for making decisions. While Roman Abramovic has completely changed the landscape of the club, its time for questions to be asked of him too.

If multiple coaches, who are each some of the most highly rated and respected in the footballing community are complaining about the same thing, they must be right. How long can it only be the manager's fault?

Maurizio Sarri's future at the club is in doubt despite making the top four

If the club continues to be run the same way, it is only bound to decline even more. People at SW6 need only look at Arsenal or Manchester United to know how you can fall off the radar due to this level of incompetence, despite gaining success in the short-term.

At the moment, if even the most optimistic Chelsea fans are not confident about the future, they have a good reason for that.