The first rendition was a little sheepish. As if those who started the chant weren't sure it was the right thing to do. Yet it didn't take long for the majority of the travelling 7,500 Chelsea supporters inside the Etihad Stadium to come together and belt out a couple of the club's greatest hits.
There was an homage to the Blues' previous head coach: 'We've got super Tommy Tuchel, he knows exactly what we need' sung those who had made their way up from London. The second chant was far more defiant, perhaps even a little hostile: 'Roman Abramovich, Roman Abramovich, Roman Abramovich, Roman Abramovich'.
It has been some time since the Russian's name echoed around a stadium; Chelsea supporters have certainly not sung it en masse since the sale of the club last May. Yet a torrid run of results and a number of frustrating performances under Graham Potter have created frustration and anger among the fanbase. The Tuchel and Abramovich chants were a manifestation of that.
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Hearts and minds are being lost – and it is a problem for Potter and the new ownership group. Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali have grand ambitions for Chelsea and want to achieve the same success enjoyed under Abramovich. But there are no guarantees, no certainties.
That is unnerving for a group of supporters accustomed to a diet of quick fixes and trophies under Abramovich. Yet it had become clear change was needed at Chelsea with or without the Russian, that the shock therapy utilised for almost two decades was no longer as effective.
In what proved the final four seasons of the Abramovich era – overseen by three different head coaches – Chelsea finished at least 19 points behind the Premier League title winners. The gap to Manchester City opened and then extended, something reflected in the meetings between the two sides this term.
Chelsea's various cup successes, and particularly the Champions League, papered over the cracks – as did the coaching prowess of Tuchel for 12 months. But the problems were still there: an unbalanced midfield, an inconsistent attack, and a haphazard approach to squad building over a number of years.
Boehly and Eghbali aim to change that – it's why an entirely new recruitment structure has been developed. Tuchel was a casualty of the grand design; the German's perceived inability to thrive in an open and collaborative environment saw him replaced by Potter, who had done so at Brighton and Hove Albion.
That decision meant Tuchel departed with his stellar reputation at Chelsea largely intact. It is not a luxury the majority of his predecessors at Stamford Bridge enjoyed, with Abramovich often swinging the axe only after performances and results had nosedived.
As a result, Potter has struggled to step out of Tuchel's shadow. Constant comparisons are made between the two coaches, both from those in the stands and on social media, and calls to bring the German back have only grown louder as Chelsea falter amid ever-growing injury issues.
Potter is not blameless for Chelsea's failings since the beginning of November. He has been tactically outthought in the majority of the Blues' recent defeats, something compounded by his apparent inability to alter the momentum of matches through wise substitutions. That he has been unable to halt the current tailspin, which spans the World Cup break, is also of concern.
However, the 47-year-old is not the root of Chelsea's issues. He is not responsible for the mismanagement of the squad over the past five years. He is not responsible for the uncertainty over several players' futures. He is not responsible for the off-field issues that need resolving behind the scenes at Stamford Bridge.
"We understand the supporters’ frustration and we’ll respect them," said Potter after the 4-0 defeat to Manchester City, a result which saw Chelsea exit the FA Cup at the third-round stage for the first time in 25 years. "There are always other opinions, negativity, and criticism because the results haven’t been positive. That is part of the job and the challenge."
That challenge is perhaps bigger than Potter ever envisaged. Maybe even Boehly and Eghbali too. Chelsea have needed a reset for several years but it was always shunned in favour of a patch job, an immediate solution. It is time to break that pattern, even if it is a painful process for supporters.
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