The Todd Boehly era at Chelsea is still less than a year old, but already it appears that some fans are starting to lose patience.
Chelsea slipped to their 12th defeat of the Premier League season when they were beaten 2-1 by Brighton on Saturday.
Although the scoreline suggests Chelsea were narrowly edged out at Stamford Bridge, in reality, Frank Lampard’s side were well beaten by the Seagulls.
Chelsea were fortunate to take the lead through a deflected Conor Gallagher strike, and were later undone by superb goals from Danny Welbeck and Julio Enciso.
Over 90 minutes Brighton enjoyed 57% possession, had 10 shots on target to Chelsea’s two and posted an xG value of 2.94, compared to Chelsea’s 0.54.
While there is no shame in losing to Roberto De Zerbi’s side, the manner of Chelsea’s performance summed up their whole season.
Despite owner Todd Boehly spending £600m on new signings since he bought the club last summer, Chelsea looked disorganised in defence and lacked fight.
Chelsea legend Lampard is the third manager of the Boehly era, but there has been no noticeable improvement under his management.
Chelsea have lost all three of the matches he has taken charge of, and are now winless in six games. 11th in the table with 39 points, the London side are closer to the relegation zone than their are the top four.
While Boehly cannot necessarily be blamed for the poor performances of the players and the failures of managers, ultimately he is the top dog.
Some Chelsea supporters are growing impatient with the lack of a clear sporting project at Stamford Bridge, summed up by Boehly’s indecision over whether to hire Luis Enrique or Julian Nagelsmann as his next manager.
During Saturday’s defeat, some Chelsea fans let Boehly know exactly how they feel.
Photos from the match show Boehly arguing with supporters sitting in the tier above his private box, a sign of just how frustrating the situation at Stamford Bridge is becoming.
