TERRACE TALK: Chelsea - No ‘cauldron of hate’ but we made our feelings very clear
Most of us were torn — we were furious with the team, the board, the owner but this was still our club and the thought of publicly berating them felt alien. That said, these circumstances were pretty alien.
In the end the support hit just about the right note on the whole. We left the team under no illusion that we laid the blame for Mourinho’s sacking squarely at the feet of the players but equally it was far from the “cauldron of hate” that many in the press had predicted.
There were numerous banners in the stadium too — all in support of Mourinho. One read “you let the manager down, you let us down”, another declared three of the players “rats” — another simply said “hang your heads in shame”. Hard to argue with them.
I thought it was wrong of much of the crowd to single out Costa and Fabregas. Our league position is not down to just two players, only Willian, Courtois and Azpilicuerta should have been spared the fury of the crowd.
I thought it was especially harsh on Fabregas (not a popular view amongst Chelsea fans) as I believe he was one of the few who actually backed Mourinho. It was more a catastrophic lack of form than a conscious decision to down tools in his case.
Costa is another story — five months into the season and still carrying an excessive amount of weight tells you everything you need to know.
Oscar, Matic, Terry, Ivanovic, Ramires and Hazard should feel a weight on their conscience in terms of this whole affair.
Some may say that Mourinho’s sacking was a psychological boost for the team and that may be true to a certain degree, but this was still a situation manufactured by the players — a team looking for someone else to carry the can for their failings.
The treachery has tainted this team for me. Oscar’s metamorphosis from someone who effectively looked like a guy who won a competition to play midfield for Chelsea into Pele has left a nasty taste in the mouth.
This team (save the aforementioned exceptions) have shown utter contempt for the fans, never mind the manager and for that I can’t forgive them. I’ll put on a brave face and we’ll all pretend that we’re working our way through this but we fans know that it would be best if some players found somewhere else to ply their trade in the summer.
So to the future. Interestingly, Guardiola and Simeone have publicly stated the need to completely overhaul the Chelsea team — with the Spaniard saying that 10 new players were needed.
But then I wouldn’t want to manage a group of turn-coats either.
It is somewhat ironic then to sacrifice a manager for a team that is looking more and more likely to be being dismantled in the summer. Even more bizarre is that when Mourinho asked for a handful of key players he was denied — yet now it’s looking more like wholesale buys will be required.
Hiddink is back but you could have put Lady Gaga at the helm and you would still see us steadily climb the table as the team have now conveniently remembered that they are professional footballers.
It was good to see Drogba there on Saturday — hopefully someone can persuade him to be part of the interim management team, he is someone who will not have taken too kindly to what these players did to Mourinho, someone who will remind them of their responsibilities, someone who would not be shy about putting a point across in the dressing room.
The cracks will mend eventually. New heroes will replace old ones.
Mourinho will be confined to the history books and we’ll get on with supporting our team.
We will forgive but probably will not forget.
For me this affair has left an indelible mark – a scar that will itch when I see Jose doing what he does best for another team, another English team no doubt.
Merry Christmas Jose, you bought us extraordinary times and you deserve to be at the helm of a team who respect you.
The fans of Chelsea Football Club will never forget you.
