Angry Chelsea fans are planning a protest against the club’s owners following Enzo Maresca’s abrupt departure.
Maresca, 45, left the Blues in acrimonious circumstances following an explosive breakdown in the relationship between the manager and his bosses at Stamford Bridge that had left his position untenable.
‘Not a Project CFC’ are the Chelsea fan group orchestrating the upcoming demonstration, set to take place at the ground ahead of the game against Brentford on January 17.
In a post on X, they wrote that the Blues are ‘run less like an elite club and more like a player trading farm focused on churn, speculation, and long-term potential at the expense of present day competitiveness.’
They also accuse the BlueCo ownership, who have spent more than £1bn since they took over in 2022, of ‘prioritising long-term potential while sacrificing the present.’
‘Not Project CFC’ then made six demands of co-owner Behdad Eghbali and the other club bosses.
The group list ‘clear accountability’, ‘ending micromanagement culture’, flexibility over volume in recruitment, board stability, ‘proper management support and championship ambition’ as their demands.
Chelsea fans last protested against the owners back in February but the club then appeared to be on the up and went on to win the Club World Cup.
Despite a relatively positive start to the Premier League season, tensions rose between Maresca and the hierarchy behind the scenes and form in recent weeks deteriorated.
His exit follows a turbulent period which has seen the side win just one of their last seven Premier League matches. Maresca’s last game was the 2-2 home draw with Bournemouth on Tuesday.
The bitter divorce took another twist on Thursday when Chelsea claimed Maresca lacked ‘mental fortitude and emotional maturity’ to do the job.
The extraordinary comment made by Chelsea in a briefing to reporters was read out live on Sky Sports by Dave Jones in the build-up to coverage of Liverpool’s clash with Leeds.
‘The feeling at Chelsea is he has a lack of mental fortitude and emotional maturity,’ Jones said.
Liam Rosenior, head coach at fellow BlueCo-owned Strasbourg, is currently favourite to take the helm.
Daily Mail Sport understands Bournemouth‘s Andoni Iraola is also being considered. Former Brighton boss Roberto de Zerbi, who is now at Marseille but was an option before the club appointed Maresca, is not on the shortlist.
Cesc Fabregas and John Terry are not thought to feature on the shortlist.
In the meantime, under-21 head coach Calum McFarlane will take charge of the away game against Manchester City this Sunday.
