Sunday 20 December 2015 16:52, UK
Chelsea won the match against Sunderland but their fans appear to have lost a bit of love for the players following Jose Mourinho’s sacking. Adam Bate assesses the atmosphere at Stamford Bridge on an extraordinary afternoon…
Michael Emenalo, Chelsea's little known and less loved technical director, spoke of the "palpable discord" between the club's players and "the individual" who was their manager until Thursday. But in doing so, he coined an appropriate term to sum up the atmosphere between those same players and Chelsea's own supporters at Stamford Bridge this weekend.
The potential problem had been anticipated. Guus Hiddink's appointment was announced - to some polite applause - as fans filed into the stadium, while owner Roman Abramovich took the precaution of seating club legend Didier Drogba between himself and the Dutchman. An antidote to abuse, surely more effective than any bodyguard.
The public address system blared out Bryan Ferry's Let's Stick Together in the hope of promoting an attitude of unity, and even Slade's familiar Christmas ditty left supporters subliminally humming along to words telling them to 'look to the future now'. But you didn't have to strain as hard as that to find the core message that the club wanted their fans to remember.
John Terry's self-preservation skills were tested in his programme notes as he insisted that player power was not an issue, while chairman Bruce Buck vowed that they would "not forget" Jose Mourinho, while urging that supporters "look forward" - something the man himself clearly plans to do, having released a statement stressing that there will be no sabbatical.
Indeed, the air was thick with religious references. One fan proudly held up a cardboard cut-out of Mourinho that carried the message: 'Our Jose sacrificed, why?' Another confused the Christmas spirit with Easter rather more bluntly, utilising a 30-pieces-of-silver analogy in which the Chelsea players were explicitly compared to Judas Iscariot.
Whether or not he rises again, evidently, the cult of Mourinho is alive and well at Stamford Bridge. But while the man himself got to play the King over the Water role, attending Brighton versus Middlesbrough, his erstwhile players - those deemed guilty of 'betrayal' were forced to run the gauntlet of emotions in front of his adoring public.
Chelsea emerged to chants of 'Jose Mourinho' with the names of Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa booed. There were loud cheers for Willian, the one man seen as not letting down his old boss. So would they play with effervescent freedom with the shackles of their oppressor removed or would they continued to be cowed by a lack of confidence and conviction in their play?
It was tempting to feel they'd be damned either way - win and they'd "chucked it" as Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher had claimed, lose and the decision to axe the club's greatest ever manager was no kind of solution to their problems after all. As it turned out, Chelsea scored as many goals in the opening 15 minutes - two - as they'd managed in their previous five Premier League games.
There were some signs of nerves, particularly when Kurt Zouma miscontrolled a pass early on. But with Sunderland complicit in their own demise, the chants of 'Stand up for the Special One' were - briefly - drowned out by cheers as Branislav Ivanovic headed home Willian's corner to give Chelsea the early lead they would have craved.
Those Mourinho chants soon started again. And besides, the goal was a test of mentality having lost leads at home to Swansea, Southampton and Liverpool already this year. The answer was emphatic. Oscar, in particular, seemed in the mood to light up the place in a way he's failed to do for some time with his back-flicks and rabonas. At least Judas had the good grace to keep his head down.
Pedro, who hadn't scored in the Premier League since his debut, put them two up to chants of 'Where were you when we were ****?", while Oscar's penalty was greeted with familiar chants of Mourinho's name. Sam Allardyce had said in the build-up to this game that it was a "pretty bad indictment" on Chelsea's players if they upped their game this week and the fans appeared to agree.
Perversely then, perhaps there was some comfort to be taken by the way Chelsea endured a few moments of difficulty in the second half. After Fabio Borini pulled one back, Sunderland had several chances to put the game back in the balance with only their own deficiencies preventing them to take advantage of the home side's frailties. But the much-needed Chelsea win was secured.
So where do they go from here? Up the table judging by this result and it's already tempting to reassess their capabilities this season. Their FA Cup journey begins next month and a Champions League knockout tie to look forward to in February, so if Hiddink can find some form then there's still plenty for Chelsea to play for this season.
As a result, the positive aspects of this performance could be seen as vindication of sorts for Roman Abramovich and the Chelsea board. Victory over struggling Sunderland is only first step, of course, but in the efforts of several key players, there was evidence of a problem being addressed. However, the healing process between supporters and players could take considerably longer.
