Chelsea Fans Chant Against Clearlake Ownership Amid Poor Season and Coaching Turmoil

We don't care about Clearlake, they don't care about us.

That chant has emerged as the anthem for Chelsea fans' growing anger toward the club's BlueCo ownership this season.

Chelsea's 3-1 home loss Monday to a second-string Nottingham Forest side in the Premier League eliminated any chance of a fifth-place finish. The result makes it highly unlikely the team will reach its preseason goal of Champions League qualification.

BlueCo now faces a reckoning from an increasingly irate fanbase. The Clearlake chant targets one part of the ownership, but it reflects a broader disconnect between supporters and the club. This comes as Chelsea searches for its sixth permanent manager in four years following Liam Rosenior's sacking last month.

Fans also cite a perceived lack of effort from players and dissatisfaction with ticketing policies.

The club's latest accounts recorded a Premier League-record £262 million pre-tax loss. Uefa continues to monitor Chelsea under a settlement agreement from last summer that regulates player spending.

BlueCo, the holding company of Todd Boehly, his allies and majority investor Clearlake, stands trial with supporters against that backdrop.

Not A Project CFC, a fringe but expanding fan group, demands major changes. The movement has scheduled two protests: one on Wembley Way before the FA Cup final against Manchester City, and another urging fans to turn their backs in the 22nd minute of the final home game against Tottenham. That minute marks 2022, when BlueCo bought Chelsea from sanctioned Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.

Chelsea figures have tried to counter the group. Director Danny Finkelstein told supporters in a leaked conversation that it was obvious the Blues were building one of the world's best teams.

Chelsea sit ninth with three league matches remaining and a cup final ahead. Hosting Tottenham coach Roberto de Zerbi in the directors' box Monday, supposedly to scout opponents, drew fan ire. De Zerbi knows Paul Winstanley and Sam Jewell from Brighton days, but Chelsea fans want Tottenham relegated, especially with a Stamford Bridge matchup in two weeks.

Such missteps have piled on top of poor results, leaving fans feeling ignored.

Since the Abramovich era, Chelsea has replaced nearly every player, senior executive and most backroom staff for the men's team.

Mauricio Pochettino, BlueCo's second head coach, told The Overlap podcast he left because the club did not match his vision. He said Chelsea favored data over human connection and emotion.

Enzo Maresca, his replacement, initially embraced that approach but failed to win over matchgoing fans despite winning the Conference League and Club World Cup and qualifying for the Champions League with a young squad in his lone full season. He left after disputes over transfers, salary and medical department interference with his players.

Liam Rosenior, the next permanent boss, stressed culture and fan relations but lost the dressing room before implementing his plans.

Coaching turnover has fueled concerns from players Enzo Fernandez and Marc Cucurella about their futures.

Fernandez's agent Javier Pastore says the midfielder is underpaid, but Fernandez signed a nine-year deal until 2032. Chelsea wants to discuss improved terms only in summer.

A nine-year contract is absolutely crazy, you don't want to sign a contract like that, former England striker Wayne Rooney told BBC Sport. Maybe financially if you want security, but you don't want to tie yourself in for that long. It's absolute madness.

Chelsea uses incentive-based contracts with bonuses for Champions League qualification and says wages align with the market. The club had the third-highest wage bill in its 2024-25 accounts. Rivals outbid them at times, such as when Marc Guehi joined Manchester City in January.

The rapid player trading has alienated some fans. In CFCUK fanzine, founding editor Dave Johnson wrote that rapport between players and supporters is at an all-time low. Players from the late 1960s got chants in warm-ups and acknowledged fans, he said. Today's squad appears wholly detached from the stands.