Chelsea admits they are in a "process of self-reflection" after a long period of turmoil under the new owners. But for many people, having a football club publicly say so only shows the current level of chaos at Stamford Bridge.
It was not until Liam Rosenior was sacked just three months after signing a 6-year contract that Chelsea's board of directors really began to look back at their operating strategy. The policy of massive transfers, awarding long-term contracts and then quickly changing coaches continuously is being seen as the reason why the team is falling into a spiral of instability.
Since the BlueCo group led by Todd Boehly took over Chelsea after the departure of Roman Abramovich, the London team has experienced a crisis on the coaching bench.
Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter, Mauricio Pochettino, Enzo Maresca and Rosenior have all left their hot seats, interspersed with the interim periods of Bruno Saltor, Frank Lampard and currently Calum McFarlane.
Among these, Maresca is the only one to win the title when he helped Chelsea win the Conference League and FIFA Club World Cup last season. However, those short successes have now been almost overshadowed by the overall decline of the team.
The Blues are currently not in a hurry to appoint a new coach. The board wants to avoid repeating old mistakes and is considering a long list of candidates, including Andoni Iraola of Bournemouth, Xabi Alonso and Marco Silva of Fulham.
However, the biggest problem for Chelsea at this time is probably not who they want, but whether top coaches really want to come to Stamford Bridge or not.
Once competing for a Champions League spot, Chelsea is now declining in the Premier League table and even facing difficulties in the race to win tickets to European cups next season.
Inside the dressing room, many signs of instability also began to appear publicly. Captain Enzo Fernandez is said to want to move to Real Madrid, while Marc Cucurella once publicly criticized the directionless operation of the board of directors.
Not only that, the tensions between Todd Boehly and co-owner Behdad Eghbali have also been mentioned many times by the British media, creating a negative image of the power structure at the club.
One of the biggest problems that Chelsea is facing is the too cumbersome decision-making apparatus. The team currently has five Sports Directors and direct intervention from Eghbali in operations. This makes the transfer process and team building inconsistent.
That is especially worrying for coaches like Iraola or Alonso - who are used to working in an environment with a clear structure and transparent authority.
At Bournemouth, Iraola has repeatedly praised the effective relationship with the club's football management department. Meanwhile, Alonso has experienced pressure at Real Madrid, but leaving Bernabeu to immediately enter a chaotic environment like Chelsea is definitely something he must consider.
Even Marco Silva - who publicly complained about Fulham's transfer ambitions - is also said to have doubts about the current situation at Stamford Bridge.
However, football is always volatile. If Chelsea can defeat Manchester City in the FA Cup final and win a ticket to the European Cup next season, the picture at Stamford Bridge could become somewhat more positive.
But at this moment, Chelsea seems to be facing the consequences of the relationships, decisions and strategies that they created in the chaotic years that have passed.
