Been a bit quiet on here the last couple of days. Just enjoying some time with my wife and boys. It’s been pretty full on over the last few months so I’m buzzing to spend some extra time with the family over the summer. I’ve also been digesting some of the news that broke following the FA Cup Final. On face value I’m glad we’ve secured a manager who feels like the right calibre of appointment for a club like Chelsea. Xabi has won it all. He’s worked under elite managers and, fundamentally, understands what elite looks like and what it takes to get there. The key now is whether he’s genuinely given the autonomy to do the job properly. The micromanagement culture at this football club has to end. His voice should be the loudest football voice in the building. The sporting directors should be facilitating the managers requirements, not imposing their own. Thats also why I categorically still have no faith in the sporting directors. The decision to continue with Callum McFarlane only reinforces that feeling for me. His record has been poor and, personally, I think it sends the wrong message to the incoming manager and his staff. It still feels like the club want their own man on the ground. I also think it’s pretty fucking obvious that a combination of poor results, media scrutiny, player unrest and sustained supporter pressure has contributed to the shift in direction. It really wasn’t that long ago we were hearing briefs about no change to the model, planning around Rosenior and Champions League qualification not being essential. I’m also proud of what supporters have managed to build over the last few months in terms of scrutiny and pressure. We’re certainly not always going to please everyone but we’ve given it a go. We keep moving forward and we keep holding these people accountable. It will always remain BluecoOut for me. The damage has been done and the trust has been broken. chelseafc.com/en/news/articl…

This is something that has been raised. Why not on a cup final day? Genuine question because I think some people are being a bit shortsighted here. These protests aren’t aimed at the manager or the players. They’re not even really about results. They’re aimed at an ownership and sporting structure that have fundamentally failed Chelsea Football Club whilst operating with a level of arrogance and detachment from supporters that many of us have never witnessed before. As we’ve always said, the purpose of these protests is to amplify scrutiny and attention on this ownership. What better stage to do that than Wembley before a Cup Final? Chelsea fans marching together down Wembley Way under one unified message is powerful imagery. It’s also never been done before. The idea that “you can’t protest on a cup final day” effectively gives the ownership a free pass whenever there’s a big occasion attached to the club. If you go back to the Club World Cup, that final and winning it ultimately became part of the narrative used to vindicate the project. Since then we’ve seen huge pay rises handed to directors despite continued failure, more managerial sackings, player unrest, another underwhelming league finish, potentially no European football and the possibility of selling established players to fix financial issues. There’s a far bigger picture at play than just Saturday’s result. The whole point of protest is to stand by your principles regardless of circumstance.

Saturday: Protest Details: ⬇️ 🪧 Wembley Way
🗓️ 16.05.26
⏰ Arrive: 13:00
⏰ March Starts: 13:30 BluecoOut

Take a listen to @dmacook and I speaking with @StamfordChidge about @NotAProjectCFC, our upcoming protest march at Wembley and the in stadium action planned against Spurs. It’s always a pleasure joining the @ChelseaFanCast and we massively appreciate the platform and support they continue to give us.