4 days ago
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New Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior arrived with optimism, but Wednesday's 2-1 defeat at Fulham underlined the scale of the task ahead as Chelsea dropped out of the Premier League top five for the first time since August.
Chelsea have won just one of their past nine league games and two of 11 in all competitions, falling from potential title contenders in November to a side now lagging far behind.
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BBC Sport looks at what Rosenior needs to do to get off to a good start at Stamford Bridge.
Build a relationship with the fans
Just hours after Rosenior was confirmed in his new post, the Chelsea Supporters' Trust released a highly critical survey - not aimed at the appointment, but at the club's leadership.
Among the headlines was that more than half of respondents doubt Chelsea will achieve success in the next three to five years under the current regime. A similar proportion lack confidence in the ownership's decision-making.
Fix inconsistency
Chelsea have spent more than £1.5bn on new players since 2022.
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Although they have raised over £750m through player sales, results have not matched the scale of investment. Much of the criticism has focused on the club assembling the youngest squad in the Premier League, with an average starting XI aged under 24.
No team that young has ever won the title in the Premier League era. Chelsea have shown flashes of quality but often lose control and drop points.
Resolve ill-discipline
Chelsea were reduced to 10 men at Fulham when Marc Cucurella was sent off for pulling back Harry Wilson as he broke through on goal.
Since the start of the 2023-24 season, Chelsea have received 251 yellow cards and 11 reds – the most of any Premier League club.
They have had five red cards for players in the league this season, and one more in their remaining 17 matches would equal an unwanted club record that was set in 2007-08.
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