For much of yesterday afternoon Stamford Bridge was engulfed by a strange fusion of grief, defiance and anxiety. The football felt secondary and even Kai Havertz’s late piece of magic to break Newcastle United’s resistance provided nothing more than fleeting distraction and relief from the bleak reality. Yet by the end it felt like a line had been drawn, that at least some supporters were coming to terms with an unprecedented week of upheaval, beginning to comprehend the need to move forward.
Fears of Roman Abramovich's name being chanted persistently by a significant proportion of the 40,000 in attendance proved unfounded, with one chorus quickly drowned out midway through the second half. And while a flag with the disqualified owner's face remained despite a request from at least one fan group for its removal there was a sense of this being a club taking its first ginger steps into a world full of uncertainty.
There are, as Petr Cech said before kick-off, more questions than answers right now but equally there are a couple of certainties to focus on, dates in the calendar when the future will become clearer. The next few days are pivotal, headlined by the soft deadline of Friday for new owners to submit bids to Raine Group, the US firm that had been entrusted with looking after the auction before Abramovich was sanctioned last Thursday.
READ MORE: Kai Havertz magic cannot mask the grim truth as Chelsea look to life post-Roman Abramovich
Several parties are interested, undeterred by the events of the past few days. Except the process is already playing out in an unusually public manner because this is a domain where such transactions are ordinarily wrapped in secrecy and non-disclosure agreements.
The consortium of Todd Boehly, Hansjorg Wyss and Jonathan Goldstein remains keen. Nick Candy, the property developer and Tory donor who claims to be a supporter since early childhood, has made promises even though there are doubts over whether he can afford the takeover alone. Both are seen by the government as serious bidders.
Saudi Media are eager and have the funds but there are concerns around the optics of another group from that country owning a Premier League club, although that is met by an awareness that the UK is an ally and prime minister Boris Johnson is off to Riyadh this week in search of a deal on oil. Saudi Media claims to have no direct government links but its parent company is part-owned by a media conglomerate that is owned by the state. Enough separation to pass the flawed test of the "ownership neutral" Premier League? We'll have to wait and see.
Then there is the presence of Sir Martin Broughton, the former British Airways chief who played a key role in the sale of Liverpool to Fenway Sports Group in 2010. He has held talks with the Boehly group but may also be weighing up constructing an offer of his own that, again, would require additional backing.
Beyond that there are a group of Americans whose level of interest is unclear. There’s the Ricketts family, deeply unpopular with Chicago Cubs fans owing to how the team has been run in recent years. Or how about Woody Johnson, the US ambassador to the UK during Donald Trump’s reign and owner of the dismally-performing NY Jets? And let’s not forget supposed interest from Vivek Ranadive, who has seen his basketball club, Sacramento Kings, jump from one mistake to another.
Regardless of whose name is on the contracts, most crucially this is an opportunity for established fan groups to push for their own stake. And fans should be grateful that there are two bodies with significant power and expertise working hard behind the scenes.
That Chelsea Pitch Owners simply exists offers a degree of protection that cannot be underplayed. What the supporters of Bury, Derby County and a host of other clubs would give to have had stadiums and naming rights in their possession during periods of financial strife.
Because of the CPO, no owner can relocate or rename the club. Without their backing the whole thing falls apart. It is worth remembering that Abramovich tried to purchase the freehold a decade ago but the CPO membership did not vote sufficiently in favour.
The Chelsea Supporters’ Trust, meanwhile, has stepped up and has been lobbying hard across Westminster. Their objectives are clear and logical, seeking to protect the club and its soul for the long-term.
Both groups have seen surges in interest akin to the immediate aftermath of the European Super League collapse. Except across the game there has been a lack of follow through and it can be interpreted as a missed opportunity.
It may not be a straightforward transition, so much is dependent on the new owners' plans, but there is a chance to earn a seat at the table, a long-term success from this period of unprecedented upheaval. When the game hurtles perilously towards a place where its associations with problematic but wealthy owners become more entwined, fan activism is more important than ever.
Which brings us to Tracey Crouch’s fan-led review, which is so far failing its first test in a spectacular and desperate manner. The former sports minister has not responded to an interview request from football.london and several other outlets, although dialogue has resumed with the trust on Monday after several days of no response.
Crouch may not have the final say for she is merely a backbench MP but she does hold plenty of sway. The MP for Chatham and Aylesford won gushing praise for a review that, in hindsight, looks light on substance and she is well respected on both sides of the house. A quick interview calling for her recommendations to be implemented, chief among them pushing for a golden share and a fan representative on the board, would back the government into a corner where they would have to make it a condition for the new owner. Perhaps there are other agendas at play.
While the club and government argue about tickets for upcoming matches, the biggest gesture that can be made to supporters is one that has the potential to be genuinely transformative for the national game and carries weighty consequences far beyond Stamford Bridge. For one of the country's most successful clubs to have its supporters given a firm say in strategical decisions would embolden others to demand the same, a domino effect that would drag our teams back towards being community assets rather than global corporations used for the financial gain of foreign owners or much worse.
It is an open goal in terms of playing to the electorate for a government that was quick to claim it was "doing the opposite" of punishing Chelsea fans. But how is the Tories’ finishing?
