BRIGHTON, ENGLAND - APRIL 21: Marc Cucurella of Chelsea looks dejected after the Premier League match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Chelsea at Amex Stadium on April 21, 2026 in Brighton, England. (Photo by Chris Lee - Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)

Chelsea FC via Getty Images

​Liam Rosenior’s Chelsea career ended sadly, though its fate was predictable from the start.

His appointment was unpopular. That should hardly be a surprise.

Since arriving in West London, BlueCo, the club’s American owners, have made bold and sometimes divisive decisions.

Hiring an ex-Fulham player with no Premier League experience was obviously risky.

It wasn’t as if his predecessor, Enzo Maresca, had much more experience. The crucial difference is that he had achieved more in his short career than Rosenior. Either way, the performances that the Italian produced far exceeded those of his English successor.

The mitigating factor for Rosenior is, of course, that he was drafted in midseason and therefore didn’t have the benefit of a full period of preparation.

The reality is that the longer he stayed in the hot seat, the worse things got.

He exits with Champions League qualification, normally considered the bare minimum at Stamford Bridge, looking like a distant hope.

Chelsea fans should worry. Based on last year’s results—Champions League qualification and two trophies—failing to qualify for Europe’s elite competition is a real regression.

There is still a possibility of FA Cup glory, but nobody would argue that could paper over the cracks.

Recent games against Manchester City, Manchester United, and PSG confirm that Chelsea is not at the elite level.

The Manchester United game was a wake-up call. Chelsea started the season ahead of United, but now the roles have reversed.

After both managers left, Chelsea declined while United improved.

Rosenior was unpopular from the start and quickly faced the anger of Chelsea fans. Fans are now directing their frustration with the club’s direction at the boardroom.

Protests against ownership are now a fixture—a glaring indictment of BlueCo’s failing stewardship.

One fan group, NotAProjectCFC, sums up the stands’ feeling. Their name criticizes the strategy of buying young, unproven talent to sell later.

Clubs popularized the ‘project club’ label in the 2000s for teams still chasing success.

At clubs like Manchester City, Tottenham, Brentford, and Leicester, the project idea became both inspiration and excuse for unrealized ambition.

One team that was almost never a ‘project club’ was Chelsea. If anything, they were the opposite; under the leadership of Roman Abramovich, it was immediate success or drastic action. Managers lasted barely two seasons, and although they built a good youth team, the transfer policy was very much ‘win now.’

BlueCo’s aggressive switch rattled Chelsea fans unused to this approach.

As NotAProjectCFC bluntly put it: “With recent events and the ongoing betrayal of what used to make Chelsea unique, it’s f****ing obvious: this regime needs to be confronted with persistent resistance."

“It is clear to us that the current ownership are not listening. They do not care about supporter concerns and they are jeopardising the future of our football club,” they added.

Chelsea’s real problem isn’t angry fans, a poor team, or even the ‘project’ direction.

The real issue is that Chelsea still spends superpower-level money on the ‘project.’

The upshot is that while Liverpool and Arsenal are acquiring established world-class players, like Florian Wirtz and Declan Rice, for high prices, Chelsea are paying the same rate for talents, such as Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo, who are not yet proven.

Now, the argument from the ownership’s perspective is that Rice and Wirtz are likely to depreciate in value and become a net cost to their rivals, whereas Fernandez and Caicedo won’t.

But this only works if the players improve. With an inexperienced coach and squad, that’s unlikely.

You therefore end up in a scenario where players start wondering if they need to leave to improve, and the club is not in a strong enough position to demand a fee that represents a good return on investment.

This spending can’t last. If Chelsea cuts the budget, it must commit fully to the ‘project’ model and buy even less proven talent.

Chelsea fans won’t like this, but it’s likely that the club will miss the Champions League.

One thing is clear: You can’t spend like a superpower and act like a project.