"We believe this could be a seismic moment in the history of football." That's not a fan losing perspective — that's a fan who's watched nearly $2 billion get spent on transfers across four years, with Chelsea sitting sixth in the Premier League and eliminated from the Champions League 8-2 on aggregate by PSG. The anger is earned.
Supporters group NotAProjectCFC has announced a joint protest march with Strasbourg fan groups ahead of Chelsea's home fixture against Manchester United on April 18. Members of Ultra Boys 90, Kop Ciel et Blanc, Fédération des supporters du RCS, and Pariser section are flying to London to walk to Stamford Bridge alongside Chelsea fans. The unified message is simple: BlueCo Out.
Two clubs, one catastrophic ownership
Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital completed their Chelsea takeover in 2022, then acquired Strasbourg a year later. The multi-club model was supposed to be smart, modern football management. Instead, it's produced a cross-border solidarity movement between two sets of supporters who feel their clubs are being hollowed out.
NotAProjectCFC's statement didn't pull punches: "clubs like RC Strasbourg are being stripped of their identities, and where longstanding and respected fan groups are being censored and repressed." That's a serious accusation. It's also, based on what's happened at both clubs, not a hard one to dismiss.
This is the second protest NotAProjectCFC has organized — the first came ahead of January's match against Brentford. The fact that they're back, and this time with international partners, tells you BlueCo haven't changed course in the slightest.
The evidence on the pitch isn't helping
Chelsea haven't scored in their last two Premier League matches — losses to Newcastle and Everton — and sit outside the top four. Their Champions League campaign is over. The Club World Cup win last summer looks increasingly like a one-off rather than a turning point.
Then there's Liam Rosenior, plucked from Strasbourg after Enzo Maresca was dismissed on New Year's Day following what the club described as a breakdown with the front office. Rosenior hasn't steadied the ship. He's inherited a squad built by committee decisions that don't add up, managing expectations nobody at the top is helping him meet.
And as if the football wasn't bad enough, Chelsea are also carrying a $13.7 million fine, a nine-month transfer ban on academy players, and a suspended one-year senior ban — all for breaches of Premier League spending rules that date back to the Abramovich era. The new owners are paying for old sins while creating new ones.
Chelsea finishing outside the top four is a real possibility right now, and the odds on any kind of trophy challenge next season look increasingly difficult to justify. The fanbase that's organizing protests instead of planning Wembley trips says everything about where this club is.
